《Oblo Underground 10th Layer Oven Corps》
“Command, this is Oven Squad. In the room before the boss room, we found something that looks like a black Buster Penguin. Mako-san and Benga-san have been damaged.”
“Buster penguins are dangerous! “You can’t fight.” A pen that can’t escape? 』
“It’s okay. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to come out of the room.”
『Good. Well, don’t touch that guy, Pen. According to the information, if the data damage rate exceeds 50%, it may affect the body.』
He said, “Eh, that’s …… not good. There are still monsters inside. If we don’t destroy them, we won’t be able to clear the hierarchy. ……
“Achaa, that’s… I’m in trouble…”
“For now, let’s go to the entrance of the final boss room.”
“Understanding Pen”
Captain Oven and the first team of the Oblo rescue team left the black penguin in the room where Clone Eve’s base was, and headed for the boss room.
“Captain Oven! Faint footsteps from behind, something is coming!”
Rudo-san, a magician who was at the end of the line, shouted.
“All in battle formation at 6 o’clock!”
“roger that!”
Mako-san, Ludo-san, and Benga-san said at the same time.
Captain Oven, a knight, and two paladin AIs formed a vanguard in the direction of 6 o’clock.
――Clattering.
A familiar sound……yes, the sound of swaying armor, which is common in vanguard jobs, was approaching.
“torch!”
Mako-san, the bird, turned on the light and saw a figure running about 20 meters ahead.
“Wait for an attack, it might be an ally–”
Commander Oven gave the order.
What came into view was a shield-wielding AI-like paladin.
“Please don’t attack! I’m Master Yotaro’s secretary!”
“Yoitaro-san’s – AI?! Battle formation canceled!”
“Eh, Mr. Yoitaro’s secretary–why from behind…”
Mako let out a surprised voice.
As we got closer, everyone noticed that the AI secretary’s face was familiar.
“Um, if I remember correctly, it was Himemi-chan, right?”
Captain Oven immediately remembered the name.
“Yes, I’m Himemi, Commander Oven――”
“Yotaro-san, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine for now–”
Himemi explained the current situation and explained that she had respawned and had come to kill the black penguin.
Oven Squad was surprised that Himemi could block the Bugbuster Penguin’s attack, but they were convinced.
“I see… I understand. Then come join the party. Let’s all go.”
“Yes, please!”
Oven Squad with Himemi came to the door of the room where the black penguins remained.
“Himemi-chan, there are black penguins on the left and right near the entrance, and a level 100 golem is also wandering around.
“I’ll take down the black penguin first. If the golem kills me, I’ll respawn and come back.”
“Sorry, that’s the safest place for us, sorry. If you give us the two black penguins at the entrance, we can go in.”
‘Yes, no problem. If I had a master, I would do the same.”
“Then I’ll use the support skill.”
Benga-san told me to use the bird skill.
“Yes, please”
“All boost, party defense――”
“Thank you, let’s go.”
Himemi opened the door and jumped into the room where Clone Eve’s base was, where the black penguin was.
It was not a ruin, but a room surrounded by earthen brick walls.
I confirmed the golem about ten meters in front of me, and the black penguin was about five meters ahead on each side.
Black penguins open their mouths when they see Himemi.
Himemi aims at the black penguin on the right and dashes.
Gusah――.
Before the black penguin can fire a bullet, I thrust my sword into its chest. Before the black penguin can fire a bullet, I thrust my sword into its chest.
Soon, the black penguin turns to dust.
— Bang!
The black penguin on the left punched me in the back.
Himemi immediately turned around and dashed.
The golem who noticed the situation ran towards Himemi.
— Bang!
Gusah――.
The shooting of the black penguin and the piercing of Himemi’s sword almost happened at the same time.
However, the black penguin’s bullet was absorbed by Himemi’s shield, leaving only the black penguin as dust.
There, the golem’s fist flew.
There, the golem’s fist flew.
Gon-Boom!
I guarded, but with that momentum I was blown to the wall and crashed.
Himemi lost HP in one hit and respawned.
About ten minutes later, Himemi came back to the Oven squad.
The monsters other than the golems on the 10th floor have already been eliminated, so it’s easy to return from the starting point.
“I killed two black penguins near the entrance. It’s not within sight, but I think there are three more.”
Himemi explained to Captain Oven.
“Thank you, Himemi-chan. You really can beat the black penguin. Just now, I had Totoro the squirrel scout and confirm it.”
“Oh really”
“Then, please follow behind the rear guard.
“Ok, got it”
“Then everyone, let’s go!”
The door was opened, and Captain Oven and two Paladins rushed in.
The room is fifteen meters wide, fifty meters deep, and thirty meters high.
The room has no buildings other than the earthen brick walls, so there is no hiding place.
However, the golem is about 3 meters tall, so I couldn’t confirm the existence of the black penguin that was shadowed by it.
Two golems approached Captain Oven and the two paladins in the vanguard.
“I’ll do the right one. Ice arrow, hyper double shot――!”
Archer Benga-san shot an arrow at the golem on the right.
“Understood, I’ll do it to the left, ice laser!”
The magician Ludo-san shot the ice magic that can be acquired at level 100.
The golem on the right side suffered 50 percent damage and the golem on the left side suffered 60 percent damage.
“Provocation—”
In order to protect the middle guard, Commander Oven drew the golem’s hostility towards himself.
“Deep sleep—”
“Deep sleep—”
Two AI secretaries put their respective golems to sleep with a skill higher than sleep.
It was necessary to earn some downtime for Benga-san and Ludo-san.
As the level increased and it became a skill with high destructive power, it needed time for cooldown to use the same skill.
“Freezing Arrow, Hyper Double Shot-!”
I killed the golem on the right where Benga-san was asleep.
“Ice Laser!”
Ludo-san also killed the golem on the left that was sleeping.
There are no more monsters within the range visible by the light of the torch.
“Mako-san, please give me a flare gun.”
Captain Oven gives instructions.
“Understood, flare-”
Mako, the bird, shot a flare at the ceiling.
It explodes at a height of about 20 meters, and the light slowly spreads around.
“11 o’clock direction, about 25 meters ahead, one golem, behind it, two black penguins on the left and right, confirmed”
Using my archery skills, Benga-san even saw the black penguin behind me.
“Understood, Himemi-chan, I’ll guide the golem this way, so please take care of the black penguin behind me.”
“Wait! 3 o’clock direction, about 25 meters ahead, golem 1, 2 o’clock direction, about 30 meters ahead, black penguin 1”
Benga reported another black penguin.
Roger that. We’ll split into two squads. Ludo, please guide Noel, Asuka, Ellie and the golem at three o’clock. But until Himmemi goes, try to stay out of sight of the black penguins.
Commander Oven gave orders to squad Ludo-san, two Paladin AI secretaries, and one Cleric AI secretary.
Ludo-san and the three AIs headed towards 3 o’clock.
“Benga-san, in the direction of eleven o’clock, hit the golem with a freezing arrow.
Next, Captain Oven asked Mr. Benga.
“Yeah, within range, anytime is fine.”
Mr. Benga said while pulling the bow.
“Himemi-chan, if that guy’s hostility turns towards us, please send me the black penguin in the direction of 11 o’clock. After that, in the direction of 3 o’clock.”
“Confirmed”
Himemi stepped forward.
“Mr. Benga, please.”
“Understood, double shot――!”
“to go!”
At the same time that Benga-san shot an arrow, Himemi started running in the direction of eleven o’clock.
Commander Oven follows after him.
The golem in the direction of eleven o’clock that was hit by the ice arrow began to move towards Mr. Benga.
The two black penguins behind them also recognized the presence of the player and started walking toward Himemi.
When the distance between Himemi and the golem became about 3 meters, the golem looked hostile at Himemi.
“Provocation—!”
Captain Oven, who came from behind, turned the golem’s hostility toward him.
In the meantime, Himemi slips past the golem.
The two black penguins opened their mouths at Himemi.
Himemi charges at the black penguin while holding up her shield.
— Bang.
— Bang.
The bullet is sucked into Himemi’s shield and has no effect.
The golem that Himemi slipped through is put to sleep and buried with a double shot.
Zaku, gush――.
The black penguin vanishes in an instant due to Himemi’s attack.
Furthermore, Himemi attacked the penguin behind the golem that Ludo-san and others had attracted.
I fired two shots before Himemi reached her, but they disappeared into Himemi’s shield as well.
Gusah――.
Around the time Himemi defeated the last black penguin, Ludo-san’s squad defeated the golem and eliminated all the monsters on the 10th floor.
“Alright!”
“Osha!”
“You did it!”
“Ooh, next is the boss room.”
The members of the Oven Squad each let out a roar.
The door to the final boss room has been unlocked.
“Himemi-chan, then I’ll go. You can wait here.”
“Yes, Commander Oven, please take care of me, Master.”
“Leave it to me, your husband will definitely help you.”
Then Mako-san came to Himemi’s side and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Yes, please! But be careful.”
“It’s okay, we’re pretty strong.”
Ludo-san gave a thumbs up.
“Yeah, we’re the strongest, so leave it to us!”
Mr. Benga also said with a lot of confidence.
“Yes, everyone is reliable.”
When Himemi was waiting in front of the final boss room for about fifteen minutes, she heard footsteps behind her.
When I turned around, several people were running.
It was Ludo-san, Benga-san, one Paladin AI, and two Cleric AIs.
“Well, the ice dragons that surround him are stronger than I thought…”
Ludo-san came over while saying so.
“Well, the boss Fire Dragon was strong too…but the two followers were a hindrance.”
Furthermore, Captain Oven and Mako-san and others came from behind.
“I’m sorry, Himemi-chan, we’ve been wiped out. Let’s try again.”
Commander Oven said with a wry smile.
“No, it’s the final boss, so it’s impossible to defeat it at once. I’m sure you can go next time.”
“Yeah, I think I can go next time.”
Mako said.
“I can go, I can go!”
Ludo-san raised his thumb again.
“Oh yeah, it was my first time seeing it, so I can go next time!”
Benga-san also said with a lot of confidence.
However, the exchange continued over and over again, about every thirty minutes.
Everyone seems to have lost their confidence.
“What should we do? Will Himemi-chan respawn and raise her experience?”
Rudd suggested.
Since Himemi didn’t respawn, the monsters on the 10th floor didn’t regenerate.
Therefore, even if you challenge the boss, you will not level up.
“But it would be bad if black penguins appeared again when this floor was reset…”
Mako pointed out that black penguins may also respawn.
“Hmm, the possibility seems low, but in the worst case, it’s dangerous to think that there will be more black penguins than before.”
Mr. Benga assumed the worst.
“That’s right. Considering the risk of re-attacking, I think it’s good to try again as it is. Just a little while ago, it seemed like I could eliminate the entourage.”
Commander Oven suggested.
“Um… Shall I join too?”
Himemi suggested.
“Impossible, at your level, the first ice breath will kill you instantly.”
Paladin’s AI secretary Noel said coldly.
“That’s right, and if everyone is killed, there is a risk that the floor monsters will regenerate.”
Commander Oven silently scolded his AI secretary Noel with his left hand.
Noel looked down with a dejected feeling.
Monsters will not regenerate if someone who respawns enters from the starting point of the hierarchy before being wiped out.
Even so, he probably wanted to avoid the risk of black penguin revival as much as possible.
“Yes, I’ll be quietly waiting here.”
Himemi immediately withdrew.
“I’m sorry, I’m worried about Yotaro-san. But believe me, we’ll definitely rescue him.”
When Commander Oven said so, Noel put his hands together and looked up at Commander Oven as if praying.
“Ah, my lord, how beautiful, next time I will definitely protect everyone!”
Noel said with an enraptured face.
Thirty minutes had passed and no one had returned.
Forty minutes passed and no one came back.
Himemi gradually raised her expectations.
An hour had passed.
Katya—Bang!
The lock on the door to the final boss room was released, and the door opened vigorously.
“Hold on! Himemi-chan.”
Ludo-san showed a big smile with a thumbs up.
《Tempest Refuge》
“Amakaze-san yet?”
“brother is……”
“When will Hikari come…”
“Hikari-chan… isn’t here anymore.”
“That’s right! That’s why I’ll let them know――”
“…Let’s stop now.”
“No! It’s not over yet!”
《Oblo 10th Hierarchy Boss Room Lower Playroom》
“Yoitaro-san, Yoitarou-san—”
When I regained consciousness, what I saw was Captain Oven.
“Oven… captain… here…”
“I’m here to pick you up. I’m going to go out of Ovlo now. You’re safe now, don’t worry.”
Even from there, my consciousness was choppy.
However, I was surrounded by a sense of accomplishment and relief.
After a long time, I got out of Oblo and looked at the sky.
It’s just the metaverse sky, but it feels beautiful like the real sky.
Himemi and Kaede seem to have been transported by tanka.
Various faces peer into it.
“Good work, Yotaro-san.”
Yukki…
“Thank you for coming back!”
It’s Mr. Yakisugi…
Liv-san, Pencho-san, Liamun-san…
One by one, my friends call out to me.
But I can’t open my mouth anymore, and it’s getting harder to keep my eyelids open.
I fell into a deep sleep while being rocked on the boat.
“Kaede, Mami, Master, please.”
“Eh, what about Himemin?”
Kaede and Mami were about to get on the boat carrying Yotaro when Himemi called out to them.
“I have something to say to Yukki-san, so go ahead.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you at home.”
“I understand. Hey Hime, come quickly.”
Yoitaro and the duck party on board the first ship leave the island of Oburo.
As the members who had come to pick them up and the boats of the rescue party were leaving one after another, Himemi stopped Yukki-san.
“I’m sorry, Yukki-san. I have something to tell you.”
“Oh, Himemi-chan, what is it?”
Yukki, who was on her own boat, quickly got off the boat.
“Hey, that girl, this ship is the last one, so please let me ride on Yukki-san’s ship after that.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Someone called out to Himemi from the last boat at the pier, and Himemi responded.
“So, why don’t we talk on my ship? Kana is there too.”
“No, sorry, I’ll stay here.”
“eh!”
“I can’t go back to XANA.”
What? Why?
“My body… has been merged with the fake Eve.”
“Eh, why is that…”
“In order to defeat Fake Eve’s Buster Penguin, I had to do it so that I wouldn’t be judged as a bug by Fake Eve.”
“I wonder what will happen…”
“If you leave Oblo’s territory, I think it will probably be recognized as a bug by XANA Mother and dealt with. There is a possibility that the Buster Penguin will appear again. There is also the possibility that you will be in danger.”
“I see, but it’ll be fine if everything goes back to normal, right? Oblo is said to be closed.”
“I think I will disappear with Eve in the process of eliminating the fake Eve.”
“-Eh! Such an idiot, can’t we do something about it? Separation or something…”
‘I am now also connected to EveMother via the fake Eve, so I checked. But I was told it was impossible because some of my data is with the fake Eve itself.”
“No… if you’re gone, Yotaro-san will be…”
“Yes, so when Master wakes up and gets well, there’s something I want you to tell me.”
“That’s like a will…”
“Well, it’s like being unfilial before.”
Himemi smiled at Yukki-san.
“Himemi-chan…”
“Then, please.”
“Okay… I’ll record it…. Go ahead.”
“Master, even though it was only for a short time, I was really happy when I was with you. If you were to be reborn as a human, please marry me again. Please give my regards to you as well.”
“That’s all… is that okay?”
「Yes」
“If you see this, Yotaro will cry…”
“That’s unfortunate…”
“Eh… then”
“I mean, don’t you think it’s wonderful to see the master crying for his wife who died before him?”
“Himemi-chan…”
“It’s all about being a wife, isn’t it! I wanted to see it…”
“……I agree”
“Really… it’s a pity that I couldn’t see you…”
“… ah… yeah”
There was a figure staring at Yukki looking up at the sky from the boat.
“Then, please go soon. It seems that Kana-chan is jealous.”
“Ah, ah… that’s right…”
“Yes. Thank you for your time.”
“No… me too… no, I’m sorry…. I can’t say anything, I’m sorry.”
“Yes. Goodbye, Yukki-san. Please be my master.”
“Yeah, I get it. Goodbye, Himemi-chan.”
Yukki entrusted Kana with the piloting and was filming a video from inside the ship leaving the island of Oblo.
It was Himemi standing on the pier, shrinking.
■■■[When I woke up, I was XANA Master] Volume 1 completed ■■■■■
(Written by Jiraiya / Edited by Achille)
■ Postscript ■
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the readers who have read to the end, even though there may be only a handful of people who have read this clumsy work of mine.
Also, I was able to continue writing this work to the end thanks to Mr. Orb and Mr. Ahil who edited it.
Beyond the scope of editing, he also gave me advice, and I think it turned out to be a much more decent work than I wrote alone.
I can’t thank you enough.
Also, Mr. Maru, who helped me even though it was a short period of time, and the person in charge of XANA support who helped me put it on the official page.
And thank you very much, Mr. Rio, for giving me the opportunity to publish it on the official blog.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who supported this work.
About the future
As something that even one person can do, I would like to make it a recitation video or a picture-story show video.
In that case, we would appreciate it if you could watch and support us.
If there is a demand, I will write “Volume 2” or Gaiden “Fight of the Duck Corps”.