Just under an hour after we made it back to the cottage, everyone was assembled. Fortunately, nobody was busy or about to go out. Phew! Besides Akira and me, we had Maeda, Yano, Akabane, Shizuku, and Kataoka. In total, there were seven people.
“Why am I here anyway, Takashiro? Need some info?” Kataoka asked.
Everyone else nodded, looking somewhat puzzled. It was only natural that they’d wonder what was up, seeing as I’d told them they were free today but summoned them not long after.
“Nah, not quite. I’m thinking of finally using the Super Special Warp Stone that Shizuku gave us. I came up with the idea out of nowhere, so I had you all come here... out of nowhere.”
“Oho. My prize will be of assistance to you, then?” said Shizuku, giving a satisfied smile. “Fantastic.”
“Yeah! It’ll be a huge help. Also, sorry to have called you out so suddenly.”
“No, it’s quite fine. I’m not always able to come at a moment’s notice, but I happened to be free today.”
“Thanks!”
“So what am I doing? Should I grab something, gather information, or what?” Kataoka pressed.
“What are you talking about? I said we’re using the SSWS, so you’re going to the dungeon, of course. It’ll give you a ton of time, so the strategy today is to see if you can ignore the Hadean Rose and kill its Black Roses until it finally stops summoning them. If it does stop at some point, then, you can kill the Hadean Rose.”
In a battle-of-attrition approach, this was the first thing I wanted to try out. Considering how willy-nilly that thing was shooting out seeds, it wouldn’t be surprising if there was a way to bypass the fight by waiting for it to run out of ammo.
The big problem was that the necessary Super Special Warp Stones were as scarce as could be. It was possible that nobody besides us had one. The only known way of getting them was, as we saw before, overcrowded and being blocked by other guilds. Nobody was getting any stones from that. Maybe Emily was skilled enough to win her way through, but even then, it would take some time.
Now was our chance. If the Hadean Rose was indeed weaker in a drawn-out battle, then we could overtake the other parties now.
My drama cannon would have to take a backseat here, unfortunately, but I needed to put the mission first. It was a fight to the last, and the ball was in our court! As a result, I was prepared to make an unusual sacrifice bunt!
“I’m into it. If we can throw in a Super Special Warp Stone and win, then I say we go all in.”
“I agree. These stones are scarce enough that I don’t think anyone’s used one yet. But if we want to claim victory, we should give it a try.”
Yano and Maeda both sided with me.
Akabane nodded. “Fair enough. I don’t see a problem. Perhaps that is why the Super Special Warp Stones exist in the first place.”
“There you have it, Ren,” Shizuku said. “This feels like an unusually normal strategy for you, but I suppose that’s natural if there’s no other way.”
“Yeah, I think that sums it up.”
“Okay, I getcha. Again, what am I doing?”
“Kataoka, did you listen at all? We’re using the Super Special Warp Stone, and we need your help with the boss.”
“Huh? Am I going? Then what the heck kind of party are we taking?”
Kataoka raised an eyebrow. Everyone else had a similar reaction. We did have seven people here, after all, which was one more than the maximum allowed.
So, why had I assembled all seven of us? That was the question on everyone’s minds.
“Okay! I will now announce the members of this expedition party! As mentioned already, we have Kataoka! Along with him, we’re sending Shizuku, Maeda, Yano, Akabane, and Akira! Woo! Good luck, everyone!”
I clapped as a way of livening up the presentation.
“What?!” everyone exclaimed at once.
“That’s why you called me?!” Kataoka shouted.
“Dang, are we really doing this without you?” Yano asked. “I guess you do just kinda sit around a lot in that dungeon, huh?”
“But Takashiro’s the one who does most of our strategizing. Without him...” Maeda trailed off.
“Yeah, Kotomi, you’re right. It’ll be tough.”
“Don’t worry, girls. It’s a simple enough job, and you have Akira with you today.”
Without me around, Akira would be a fine leader. I could vouch for her there. My best friend was a capable one! She always enjoyed watching me work, so no doubt she would play along with my plans.
“We’re serious about victory this time,” I went on. “There’s no redefinition, awakening, or giant-killing here, so the plan makes it clear that I’m best suited to be the benchwarmer this time. That means picking someone who’s better for the plan.”
We weren’t going for a one-shot win, but a long-term battle to wait out the Black Roses. There was no room for me in this plan.
Though my ultimate was supposed to be done once per battle, I was bypassing it by destroying my weapons and reforging them. But in a fight with so many small mobs, if I destroyed my weapon for every single one I killed, my wallet would run out before the seeds did.
As my level rose, so did the cost of each forged Canesword. Financing was extremely difficult. I was benching myself, but it was for the best in every way.
Too bad, so sad!
“Ren! Weird plans are normal for you by now, but this is totally abnormal! Are you sure about this?”
Akira looked lonely.
“Yes, ma’am. Remember what Emily said about taking me out of battles of endurance? Well, I figured she was right. I was only considering plans that included me, but if we want to focus on victory, then I have to give that up. I mean, if you have other ideas, I’m happy to hear them out.”
“But that doesn’t sound like fun,” she protested. “What’s the point of gaming if it’s not fun? It doesn’t sound like you at all, Ren.”
“Meh. We don’t really have a choice this time. Besides, if the plan works, I can still be proud! That’s enough for me to be okay with sitting on the sidelines.”
“I know you’re trying to help me, Ren, but I can’t let you suffer because of it.”
“It’s not that deep, bro. It’s just one time! Either way, we’ve only got one Super Special Warp Stone, and I’d hate to fail to get the Rainbow Guard and let your family take you out of school. We do what we have to do to make sure you can be safe and happy gaming.”
“Ren, do you like playing with me?”
“Heck yeah, I do. What kind of question is that?”
“Really? Okay, good. Then I’ll do my best! Honestly, thinking about it objectively, then Kataoka really is better for longer fights with lots of baddies.”
“Heh... It does kinda hurt to hear that from you! Dammit, I’m gonna get you back for that one!”
“Ahahaha! You seem fine, so I guess I shouldn’t worry. We won’t be long; just wait for me!”
“Absolutely. Good luck!”
I would wait at the floating cottage for my friends’ return while doing whatever testing I could.
“That’s a wise decision, Takashiro. Worry not; we will defeat the Hadean Rose. I will take care of Akira in your absence, and rest assured that your sacrifice won’t be in vain,” Akabane said to me, sounding oddly happy about it.
“Don’t talk to me like I’m dying!”
“I understand your desire to participate in these dungeon runs, so I must show my respect for your difficult decision.”
What in the world? She’s in a ridiculously good mood. But whatever. It’s not like she was ever really mean in the first place, so I doubt she’s happy to see me left out.
Is she just happy that she gets to have girl talk with Akira, maybe? She would be, seeing as she wanted to be Akira’s friend so badly.
Lately, Akabane had been a lot nicer than her previously prickly self. She and Akira were always talking these days. I figured that was a good sign.
Even if she did something slightly weird, her brother was so outlandish that anything she did could be ignored with ease. In all ways, we could be lenient with her.
“You seem excited, Akabane. Were you looking forward to hanging out with Akira without me?”
I’d expected a cold shoulder sort of reaction from her. “A-Absolutely not! I am simply speaking the truth!” or something like that.
Instead, Akabane looked at me with exasperation and said, “Excuse me? What are you talking about? People and their relationships are meant to change. We aren’t the same people we were before, even if you’re apt to never change.”
“Um, okay? I don’t entirely get it, but that’s pretty deep. Very philosophical.”
I had no idea what she was trying to say.
“Hmph. Well, it matters not. You have made your feelings known, and I do not mind helping out. I am in your debt, after all. If necessary, I could even ask my brother to lend a hand.”
“Thanks, but I don’t want to ask for too much.”
Definitely not from him. I don’t want to touch him with a ten-foot pole.
I at least had to admire his, uh, skill in getting the gear from the Death Chariot. Without him, we never would have figured that out. So sure, maybe I owed him some thanks.
But even after getting that gear, I was warming the bench. Unfortunately, the strat just rubbed me the wrong way.
Kataoka was behind me in maximum firepower, but he could put out some good damage without spending money. If I tried to emulate him, I would run out of MP and be useless for the rest of the time. MP being short for Money Power, of course!
Just as I was starting to see hope too! I couldn’t help but feel bad about it. If there had been no hope to begin with, I might’ve come up with this strategy much sooner.
But it wasn’t too late. We hadn’t heard of other parties getting Super Special Warp Stones, and they couldn’t be mass-produced yet either. Hopefully, we could still overtake the rest of the teams!
As the gang left for Aswarth’s, I called out, “Good luck, everyone! I’ll be cheering you on from here.”