Raid Dungeon Battle (3)

In the sealed-off graveyard area, GGiant Tester swept through the hordes of Zombies and Skeletons. It was a fighting style that made full use of his large size.

"Hm?"

However, some enemies were still left standing here and there—Ghosts.

"The golem and the slime are strong against physical attacks… but against enemies immune to physical damage, it's a real pain."

"But that's why you've got a secret weapon, right, Kehma?"

"Yeah—Wait, hold on a sec."

Just as Kehma was about to unleash the secret weapon, magic flew in from behind.

It wasn't aimed at GGiant Tester, but rather a carpet-bombing-style magical attack targeting the surviving ghosts—well, undead—still lingering.

[Leave the leftovers to us, Golem guy.]

[Please don't hog all the spotlight, leave some room for our performance too~]

[Ghosts without meat shields are just walking targets, after all.]

The voices came from Dungeon Cores that controlled a Myconid (a giant walking mushroom), a Vampire, and a dog-type monster.

"Oh right. We're not the only ones here this time."

Yeah. This Dungeon Battle wasn't just our [Cave of Desires] going at it alone. Under Haku-san's command, other dungeons had joined the fight as well.

In other words, this was a role division. Enemies vulnerable to physical attacks would be handled by us, while the others resistant to physical but weak to magic could be left to our allies. It was great—everyone had a clear job.

"Leave the Zombies and Skeletons to me. You guys handle the ghosts."

[Got it.]

[Actually, the newbie's doing way too well. Leave some glory for your seniors, will you?]

[Well, with a body that big, you probably suck at precision work anyway. Leave it to us.]

The Myconids and Vampires all deployed magic circles at once, unleashing offensive spells like Fireball and Ice Lance, sweeping through the ghosts.

Meanwhile, the dog monsters were cheerfully crunching up the bones of Skeletons they had missed.

"Not having to do everything ourselves is really nice."

"Yeah, though if someone like Core Number 10 had to deal with all of this alone, I'd feel a little bad."

Well, that's just how this battle was structured.

… Actually, does Core Number 10 even have any allies in a faction? Most of the top ten original coresFirst Lot seem to have formed factions—like Haku-san, the Demon King, or the Dragon King.

"Come to think of it, I've never heard of an 'Undead Faction' or anything like that."

"Huh? That so, Rokuko? I'd figure there'd be quite a few undead types. That Vampire senpai seems to be on our side at least."

"Never heard of a 'Demon Faction' either. Honestly, isn't it more normal not to look after other cores? Ane-sama and the others are the exceptions."

There was also the Beast King Faction, which Mikan had apparently been a part of, but that was mostly hands-off. They had a 'push-your-kid-off-a-cliff-to-teach-them' sort of attitude—very beast-king-like.

"If it's decided that you will be the next one to die, then maybe. But if bringing faction members in can't change the tide, they'll probably just abandon you and pretend they're uninvolved. That's the safer play."

"Kehma, if Ane-sama was in trouble, I'd definitely go help her!"

"Yeah, I mean, it'd be different if there's that kind of bond."

At the very least, it seemed Core Number 10 didn't have anyone like that.

But thinking about it logically, a dungeon is already a collective power in itself. Forming an even bigger group on top of that doesn't have much point. It's often more efficient to use your resources on yourself or your direct subordinates instead of raising others.

"… Thinking about it that way, doesn't that mean Haku-san and the others being in the top ten despite supporting others is actually kind of crazy?"

"Yeah. It means the actual gap is even bigger than the rankings show."

Haku-san was already a high-ranking core, and on top of that, she had backup from other cores. No wonder this battle was so one-sided.

The battle in the graveyard area was already decided—it was basically a mop-up operation at this point.

"Kehma, something's moving on the enemy's side."

"Yeah, figured there'd be more."

Then, as if to mark the climax of the graveyard area, the spirits of the defeated zombies and skeletons began to gather, eventually forming into a massive ghost immune to physical attacks—King Ghost.

[Golem guy, fall back. Ghosts are a bad match for you, right?]

[A large-scale undead summoning gimmick, huh? Maybe we should try that ourselves.]

[Looks like their trump card—using the graveyard as a ritual site. Alright, time to show the junior what we've got.]

The seniors stepped forward, ready to take charge.

How reassuring. However…

"No, senpai. This one's ours! —Mode change: Magic Gauntlet!"

"Roger! Magic Gauntlet!"

As Rei echoed the command, magical power wrapped around the golem's fists. Then he punched the King Ghost, sending it flying.

[Wait, physical attacks worked!? What's going on, golem guy!?]

"Heh heh heh, this is our secret weapon—the Magic Gauntlet! For a short time, a Slime releases a ton of magic, letting us punch ghosts."

[Ah, so it's a mana strike. Makes sense that it'd work on ghosts. Nice job, junior.]

[… Well, we were already chanting, so we'll toss in some support fire anyway.]

Because it exhausts the Slime, it can only be used for a short time. It's a special move specifically prepped for ghost-type bosses—meant to be used when it really counts.

"If we could deploy it only on impact, it'd last longer though."

"Yeah, but the Slime can't toggle it that precisely… Still, by keeping it active, we can do this too!"

With fists wrapped in magic, he grabbed the King Ghost and locked it in a full-body hold.

"Now, senpai! While I'm holding it!"

[Ah, okay. Everyone, fire! No lightning spells!]

[Be careful not to hit the Golem!]

[Prepare your spells—fire in sequence! The target's huge!]

Thanks to our beautiful teamwork, the King Ghost was vanquished.

Slime-kun, leave the Golem to handle things for a while and take a well-earned rest.