358 # 341 Pumpkin ghosts and desert valley raids.txt (1/2)

At night, I log in as usual.

I had planned to go to Hawk Valley for the night, but now that I have a quest, I'm heading to the Sandwall Desert.

First, I take Lily and Love Fire to the town of Nefer to gather information.

Then suddenly I heard something bad.

”...Between you and me, I heard that Konatz village was attacked by these guys and the village was burned to the ground.

Is that true?

'Ah...I heard from my fellow caravans. First off, I'm pretty sure.

I've heard that they can attack caravans, but I didn't expect them to burn a village. But I don't think they'd burn it for no reason. Shall we go? And I'm curious about the famous coconut.

Thanks. I'll just color in the bad news.

Heh... you know what I'm talking about. Brother. Every time.

Now, shall we follow the desert compass to the village of Konatz? The members are Lily, Love Fire, Noah, Hix, and Sinsu.

'Lily, please don't use your powers.

'I know~. Takt.

Then it's fine. We encountered a lot of light bodies on our way to Conut Village. Identify.

Wil-O-Wisp Lv 17

Summoned Monster Target Active

The Wil-O-Wisp and the others deploy a magic circle all at once. Then a red laser comes. A heat lance!

Dive and duck!

We all swoop down at once, ducking the heat lance, and I take aim at the Wil-O-Wisp.

'Shining!'

You could have taken down a Wil-O-Wisp, but I took blitz damage. You've got some nasty skills.

Then Lily attacks the Willowisp with her big swing, which is her specialty, and the Willowispers disappear. Then Lily takes blitz damage, but Lily is stone-faced.

'Huh?　Does it hurt?

Checking her status, Lily didn't take any damage. The Holy Dragon's Blessing is a skill that prevents status disorders. It doesn't prevent skill damage. So it's the Star's Blessing that is suspicious.

Therefore, the Willowisp was to be defeated by Lily.

''That's it!

Love Fire warns that Lily is going to annihilate the Wil-O-Wisp.

'Tact brother!　Up!

What?

We suddenly get a direct hit of fire. Shit!　You're the guy whose annihilation is triggered!

I look up and see an enemy with a pumpkin head, a cloak, and a lantern in his hand.

Jack-o-lantern Lv 35.

Summoned Monster Target Active

Kabokaboo!

You son of a b*tc*... you're laughing at a pumpkin!

The Shining!

Cabo!

My Shining and the flames from the jack-o'-lantern's lantern collide. Chit! Evenly matched!

Cabo!

When the jack-o-lantern waves the lantern, multiple fireballs float in the sky and come flying.

”Waterwall!

I'll block it with a wall of water. He's a joke, but he's strong. But I'm not gonna play in a magic match!

”Rune magic!

Just when I think I've used my rune magic and sealed it, the jack-o'-lantern disappears as an illusion. That was an illusion!

I heard a metallic sound behind me.

The love fire was stopping the knife held by the jack-o-lantern.

'I won't let you!'

Hmm...

Jack-o-lanterns duck as Noah attacks in the shadows.

'Abominable fire!　Flash!

Love Fire fires a flash with an abomination of fire in it, but it is ducked by an illusion. Then the jack-o'-lantern appears in front of me, laughing.

''I've escaped...''

Hmm.

No, thank you. Thank you, Love Fire, Noah. Thanks to you, I now know how to attack the illusion.

What?

I'm going to stock up on Shining with delayed magic. Now I'm ready.

”Koi Fire, tell me which way he'll appear.

Perhaps it's because of that guy's skills, but I don't feel any sign of him. Love Fire is the one to rely on here.

''Ha, yes!

I hold my wand on the jack-o-lantern. It's a lot different than before!

”Shining!

Cabo!

Shining and Jack-o-lantern's flames collide with the increased power of the continuous chanting. This time I push, but here Lily slashes at the Jack Orangutan.

''Yaaaah!''

But the jack-o'-lantern stops his magic and disappears in a vision. Unexpectedly, though, it comes.

'Brother Tact!　Right!

I hold my wand to my right.

”Release!

The Shining was released and hit the jack-o'-lantern with the knife. Bingo. The love fire had stopped the jack-o-lantern's attack earlier. So the moment he attacked, the jack-o-lantern had become real.

Thinking back, Spica had also ducked with the illusion before attacking. I've never used an illusion while attacking. In other words, Illusion is a skill that can't be used while attacking. And when I saw that he ducked Noah's attack, I saw that there was a time lag between attacking and being able to use the illusion. It's a mystery whether Lily knew that and attacked him.

''Ka, kabo...''

The jack-o-lantern disappears in a vision. I'll be back... but now that the story is known, I leave the rest to the love fire.

But the jack-o'-lantern did something I didn't expect. It wasn't me he was after, it was Lily. That's not a wise choice.

'Huh!　Yah!

Kabraaaaah!

Sure enough, Lily's prediction of danger detected the jack-o-lantern's attack, and Lily's counter hit the jack-o-lantern. He was blasted in a straight line to the ground, and the impact of the collision sent a cloud of dust up in the air.

'That was dead.'

I guess.

I'm... sure.

A fine fellow to take on a natural enemy, of all people. Find the fallen jack-o-lantern and dismantle it.

Charcoal: Rare Level 5 Material Quality C-

Charcoal used to make a fire. Also used for cooking, heating and blacksmithing.

Flaming Stone: Rare Level 5 Material Quality C-.

A stone that reacts to fire and burns up. If you make a mistake in mixing it, it can be a disaster, so be careful.

Flaming stone is probably a bomb material. I had a terrible regret about the charcoal. I saw a shichirin and a charcoal stove for sale at Elixir Lapis, but I went through with it. Could the heating apparatus be a kotatsu? I'm sure it wasn't in the elixir lapis... but it could have been somewhere else.

We entered the valley from the desert. Apparently there is a Konatz village at this point.

But it doesn't seem to let us get out of the canyon in one piece.

”Tact!

There's something coming from the right wall!

I raised my hicks to avoid the attack. Coming out of the canyon wall was a huge drill. That drill transforms and becomes a mole. I identify the enemy.

Drimor?

?　?　?

Now the transformation, I want to see it again...did I miss it? I thought the drill was broken in half and then it turned into a mole.

The mole has a drill nose and drill fingers on his hands.

'Mog!'

It's going to transform again. Yeah, it's still a drill all of a sudden. Then it's still a drill, but it's coming towards you.

Hicks uses a lightning breath, but regardless, it's coming towards you. Love Fire warns you as it rises again and flees.

''Tact brother!　Side!

What! A spiky iron ball breaks through the wall, and I can't avoid it, and I get blasted with the whole hix.

”Change!

The love fire turned into a hairball and prevented me from hitting the wall. I can do this for change. It helped, but it worked... identifying the enemy.

Ankylosaurus?

?　?　?

Ankylosaur's tail strike...

Hicks, you okay?

Pi...

That sounds pretty tough. I took a completely unexpected attack. I don't blame you.

”Take it easy and get some rest...

Tact!　Watch out!

Me, the drill flies at my eyes. Then Lily gets the drill.

'Mmmm!　Yah!

Lily popped the drill. It hits the wall, but apparently no damage occurs during the drill.

Then the ankylosaurus starts wagging its tail. Drimor points his finger at me. I get ready for wall magic, but Lily warns me.

'Tact!　No walls!　Koibito!　Noah!　Twirl around, please!

'Yes!　Lilly Sis!

I'll take care of it.

Ankylosaurus sent a spiky iron ball of a tail flying. Lily caught it and popped it.

Drimor sent a finger drill flying. A drill missile! Love Fire uses his spiritual power to change the course of the drill missile, and Nowa flips the rest with his shadow.

From what Lily said, it sounds like the attack can't be blocked by the wall. Alright. I take out my scarlet ring.