The Earth-san Has Leveled Up!

2-21. VS Boss Battle1

From the summit of the second mountain, there was a staircase that descended straight into a sea of clouds.

As expected, torii gates stood in a row, and peering through the tunnel of torii from the mountaintop made one feel as though they were being led into a mysterious world. Though, the dungeon itself was already a mysterious world.

Meiko, Sasara, and Lulu slowly descended the stairs.

No enemies appeared, making them wonder what the point of the climb up until now had been.

However, this made the three of them realize that they were nearing the goal.

After descending the long, long staircase, they found a stone-paved path about three meters wide running across the sea of clouds.

At the end of the straight stone path, they could see what appeared to be the goal, shaped like a series of torii gates.

At the very least, it was Instagram-worthy.

This was the kind of place where one had to take it easy.

Without any events like a swarm of carnivorous fish rushing through the sea of clouds, they walked straight toward the plaza.

The stone-paved path laid over the sea of clouds and the torii gates that seemed to beckon visitors.

Walking solemnly through such a place, they felt an even greater sense of mystery than when they were climbing the mountain.

With each step, Sasara and Lulu felt a heavy emotion creeping into their hearts.

At the very end, they descended a few more steps.

Then, before Meiko and the others, there was a staircase with the same number of steps as the one they had just descended.

Climbing this would lead them to the wide area they had seen from the mountaintop. Seeing it up close, they could truly grasp its vastness.

At the far end of the plaza, eight massive stones adorned with sacred ropes were lined up.

Standing before the particularly large torii gate at the entrance to the plaza, the three of them exchanged glances.

“It’s finally time!”

“Nya, Nya!”

“Y-Yes!”

Overwhelmed by the mystique of the infinite torii, the two were filled with a nervous excitement that seemed to spin in place.

Meiko smiled at them.

“Sasara, Lulu. I think you two don’t know this, so I’ll tell you something good.”

Even though a life-and-death battle might be about to begin, Meiko started speaking as casually as if they were on their way home from school.

Meiko took their hands.

Their slightly cold hands reflexively gripped Meiko’s tightly, as if seeking warmth.

“Remember this.”

Meiko gently squeezed their hands back and said,

“We are the world’s strongest trio.”

At Meiko’s words, the two were stunned.

But as the words sank in, their bodies trembled.

“If the three of us give it our all, haha, there’s no enemy we can’t defeat.”

The strength left their hands, but the hands that squeezed back conveyed a powerful will.

“Meiko…! Yes… yes… you’re right. We are the world’s strongest trio!”

“Nya! We’re the strongest trio, and we’ll knock down any enemy that comes our way!”

Meiko grinned fearlessly at the two, who had relaxed just enough.

Her gently held hands responded firmly to their words.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

“Nya!”

Passing through the large torii gate, they stepped into the area where the eight suspicious rocks stood.

At that moment, the sky began to turn gray.

Startled, they turned around to find that the giant torii gate had disappeared, and the sea of clouds they had come from was now covered in a cloudy haze.

“Sasara, Lulu, it seems we can’t turn back now. Let’s do our best!”

“That’s what I hope for!”

“Nya! We’ll definitely win!”

Placing their backpacks aside, the three crouched down, ready for anything, and prepared their weapons.

Meiko kept her spellbooks in a state of magical readiness.

The eight rocks in the area.

Seven of them softly disappeared.

Meiko instantly judged that they were likely for nighttime use.

Then, the remaining one began to emit a black miasma.

After a while, the sacred rope snapped, and the miasma began to pour out more rapidly.

Finally, the rock shattered, and a massive amount of miasma gushed out from the broken surface.

Soon, the miasma gathered in the air and took the form of a single monster in the center of the area.

GRAAAAAAAH!

The monster, which roared, was about the size of an elephant, with a long neck and tail. It resembled a small Brachiosaurus.

However, its entire body was covered in scales, its feet ended in hooked claws instead of hooves, and its face was that of an Eastern dragon.

It was huge.

Meiko panicked.

With its neck extended, it stood about five meters tall.

The dungeon itself was only slightly above beginner level, and the enemies so far had been smaller than Meiko, so she had expected the boss to be at most the size of a horse or a bear.

But now, the boss was this!?

Had she underestimated it…!?

But the die had already been cast.

Meiko focused heat into the core of her body.

That’s right.

That day, that moment.

It was the same as when she defeated the spring balloon for the first time.

You wouldn’t know unless you tried.

And if you didn’t try, there was only death.

If the enemy had a 1 to 5 advantage, she would grab the dice and slam a 6 onto the board!

“Fire…!”

As if to kill her own hesitation, Meiko shouted the command, and in response, water and fire bullets shot out from her spellbooks.

Watching the magic fly at high speed, Meiko sprinted toward the long-necked dragon.

At the same time, the water and fire bullets hit each of the dragon’s front legs.

With the enemy rushing toward it and its legs taking damage, the dragon’s intent to charge was disrupted.

Meiko taking the lead had been decided in advance.

Meiko still had the effect of [First-Floor Solo Clearer], so the plan was for her to act as the decoy.

The other two had been very opposed to this, but if there was ever a time to use the advantage of being invincible once, it was in a boss battle where a first encounter could easily mean death.

Meiko fired magic at the front legs as soon as it was loaded.

No matter what, she couldn’t let that massive body charge.

That’s why Meiko ran toward the dragon first and focused all her magic on its legs.

Meiko could feel the dragon’s anger growing toward her.

It was scary.

But if she let fear consume her here, what lay beyond that fear would become reality.

If she didn’t want to die, she had to give it her all.

Meiko believed in herself and her comrades and continued to fire magic.

Sasara’s legs froze at the sight of the enemy, which was larger than she had expected.

The fangs on that dragon’s head or the vicious limbs could easily take their lives.

The hand holding the saber trembled.

“Fire…!”

In front of Sasara, Meiko, who was much smaller, charged forward.

As they had discussed beforehand, she stuck to the plan of being the decoy, trusting her comrades behind her, and ran toward the enemy with all her might.

In Sasara’s mind, the image of the little girl who had invited her, who was all alone that day, to train flashed by.

She had accepted Sasara, who had always been bad at making friends, and invited her to train as if it were play. In the end, that training wasn’t just play, but still, Sasara remembered how happy and fun it had been.

[I think you two don’t know this, so I’ll tell you something good.]

Ah, that’s right.

Sasara raised her saber diagonally.

In the depths of her hazel eyes, a flame of strong will burned brightly.

[We are the world’s strongest trio.]

“Meiko…!”

Sasara swung her saber, cutting through her fear!

Lulu was overwhelmed by the roar of the long-necked dragon.

She had become the ninja hero she had always admired, and she thought that no matter what enemy came, they would defeat it together.

But the majesty of the enemy that appeared had buried that spirit deep within her.

She didn’t want to get close to that enemy.

The strength drained from her swift feet.

“Fire…!”

In front of Lulu, Meiko, who was much smaller, charged forward.

As they had discussed beforehand, she stuck to the plan of being the decoy, trusting her comrades behind her, and ran toward the enemy’s flank with all her might.

In Lulu’s mind, the sound of applause from the little hero who had welcomed her with an unhesitating smile on the day she was to become classmates with everyone, while the others looked bewildered, echoed.

She had been sad to leave her friends in Kisumia and anxious about whether she would be accepted in this new place.

Since coming to Japan, Lulu had desperately put on a smile and suppressed her trembling.

How much courage she had drawn from that applause.

[I think you two don’t know this, so I’ll tell you something good.]

That’s right…!

Lulu lowered her stance deeply.

In the depths of her blue eyes, a flame of strong will burned brightly.

[We are the world’s strongest trio.]

“Meeko…!”

Lulu ran forward, leaving her fear behind!