Maria's fighting style had become strange. I couldn't help but scratch my head in confusion. She had no aptitude for weapon skills, neither in the game's settings nor in this world.
She was an expert in long-range magic, specifically in the role of artillery. But her fighting style had become... strange, due to my mimicry.
"I might be witnessing a new era of Babe Ruth," I thought to myself.
.
.
.
She wore an elegant white blouse with a green flare skirt. Her outfit had open shoulder blades, a classic Lolita style fashion.
Maria appeared in front of me, dressed in an outfit that did not seem fit for combat training. She held a straw basket bag as if going on a picnic. However, it was rather inappropriate to carry a mace on her shoulder.
My first impression was, "Is she underestimating me?"
"Good day, Amachi-san," she greeted me, bowing while holding back her shoulder-length hair.
"Oh, yes. Hello. Just one thing, um... You're going to guide me and dive into the dungeon, right?" I had to confirm.
Was she underestimating the harsh leveling process? What kind of outfit is that with zero defense?
"Well, you know... I just wanted to dress up a bit," she blushed, glancing at me.
Dress up? I thought. I'm carrying about a thousand melee weapons with hidden weapon arts. Even though I'm empty-handed, I'm fully armed. It looks bad to be empty-handed, so I always carry a rapier at my waist as a fake. I only wear a gauntlet on my left hand, leaving my right hand with a leather glove.
Although both my hands are my dominant hand, right-handed people are more common, so I equipped a gauntlet on my left hand to consider that the trajectory of an attack would concentrate on my left hand side when facing someone. In addition, I don't equip knee pads or shin guards because they slow me down. As for shoes, I wear sports shoes since they provide the highest mobility and flexibility.
"Well, it's okay because I'll protect you if anything happens..." I muttered to myself.
"Oh, what's wrong?" Maria stared at me with shining eyes.
"Well, if something happens, I'll protect you..." I replied.
"Oh, Amachi-san. I have discovered another good thing about you. I will work hard so that I don't become a burden to you," Maria said admiringly.
"Huh? Oh, I see."
I don't quite understand.
I have never had a proper conversation with Maria. Every time we talk, it doesn't go well. You know, there are people you've never talked to, but you just don't get along with them? Maria is probably one of those people for me.
Anyway, let's get back on topic. "First, we'll go into the dungeon and defeat 100 monsters. Of course, Maria will do it alone."
"What, 100!?"
"Yes, that's right."
It might seem like a surprising number, but given encounter rates, it might take all day.
The Metal Slime's encounter rate is dubious. I defeated more than 3,000 monsters before I encountered it. When I was low level, I struggled to defeat even one weakling, spending days on end before I finally met it. And that was after using a practice investment chapter to increase the probability by 100 times.
Moreover, it can only be encountered in Gunma's dungeon; it's virtually impossible to meet it in Mahoro's dungeon.
Of course, even if you dive into Gunma's dungeon now, you won't meet it overnight. It takes time and money like water.
That was the flying development that could only be achieved through flying reincarnation.
That's the challenge for the future. Let's take a break soon and have a Gunma training camp. We need to consider raising everyone's levels.
"I'll be watching from behind, so go ahead and defeat them."
Maria closed her eyes, and when I thought she had come to a conclusion, she said, "Okay. If Amachi-san is watching from behind, then I feel relieved."
On the way to the dungeon, Maria happily talked about how she had made some snacks in a basket. While listening to such stories, we entered the second intermediate dungeon.
The second intermediate dungeon. I chose a dungeon that would be a little challenging for Maria. The monsters are slightly stronger than in the beginner's dungeon, but they are still just small fry. The intermediate level ones come with some tricks.
After walking through the dungeon for a while, three monk monkeys, dungeon monsters specialized in close combat, appeared. I had a reason for giving them to Maria. I thought she would have a little trouble.
"Here they come."
"It seems so. Well, then, please watch. I'll show you my results."
Results? I was a little skeptical, but I said, "Go ahead. Please do your best."
I decided to observe her battle from behind Maria.
The monk monkeys noticed us. They were holding American sacks in both hands, and They were making strange noises, hanging their hands on the walls and ceilings, jump in all directions to close the distance between us.
Maria's expression suddenly turned cold and ruthless.
She swung her mace like a baseball bat and asked, "What are you doing?"
I felt a sense of déjà vu from her fighting style.
She had imbued a small stone in her left hand with fiery heat and dropped it to the ground.
"What is this?" I felt my face contorting in surprise.
The back of her mace was now infused with flames, like a rocket boost.
As the flames erupted, the mace accelerated and struck the small stone with a powerful impact.
There was a loud explosion-like sound.
"What is this? It's my improvised technique," I said.
It was a familiar sight.
It was a copy of the stone-hitting technique I had shown Maria and Komachi before. This was the Maria version of the stone-hitting technique. The red-hot stone traced a straight path like a bullet, leaving behind a trail of fiery smoke.
It exploded at the feet of the Monkey Monks, making a sound like cooking meat on a hot plate. A deep bass-like sound reverberated, like throwing protein into hot oil. The Monkey Monks were obliterated, their bodies bursting apart.
To be precise, they were swallowed up. The sound of their corpses being ground up could be heard. One of the Monkey Monks was instantly killed. It was a corpse that looked like it had been swallowed up by a pyroclastic flow while still alive.
A blackened, charcoal-like mummy remained.
Maria had been defeated by a pretty brutal attack. "What do you think?" she asked, turning back to me with a shy look, seeking my feedback.
"Uh, yeah, it's good," I replied hesitantly, struggling to come up with anything more insightful.
"Well then, here I come!" Maria exclaimed.
Thinking she had taken my comment as praise, Maria fearlessly started taking down the monsters with her powerful fire stone.
It took about an hour to defeat the fifteenth monster, and Maria's body was surrounded by a golden aura as she absorbed its energy.
"She's a prodigy slugger, the first draft pick, and champions of the national high school baseball tournament," I said, blurting out a silly thought.
Despite not being trained, Maria had learned some strange techniques. Like my improvised "throwing pebbles" tactic, a technique that even the Megashuva didn't possess!
Where did she learn this from? Had she just copied me after seeing it once? It was incredible, and she even improved upon it to make it her own. She was a genius.
"What's the draft? Slugger? National tournament?" Maria looked confused, her eyes spinning as she searched for the meanings of the words in her mind.
But there was no such thing as the national tournament in this world, and while baseball existed, Maria didn't seem to understand the meaning of my words.
"Oh, it's nothing," I said, trying to brush off my strange comment.
"I'm sorry. I'm not very knowledgeable and don't understand the meaning of the words," Maria said, looking a little downcast.
"No, what you did was amazing! I mean that in a good way," I said with a smile, complimenting her.
Upon hearing those words, Maria perked up and raised her head. "Wow! Wow. Wow. I just tried to imitate Amachi-san. It's an amazing tactic that I could never have thought of in my life. A fantastic technique that no one has ever done before. I can't compare to Amachi-san's skills, but I did my best. This was my first practical application, but I was surprised at how easily I was able to defeat him. It's amazing to be able to use what's available and achieve maximum results with minimal magic. It's an incredible feat to take beginner-level magic and elevate it to such power. You know, didn't Mageus, the magician specialist, say that physical training is also important?"
Maria flexed her muscles, showing off a little bit of definition. She smiled and expressed her happiness to me quickly.
"That's right, conserving magic is important. And training your body has nothing to do with being a Knight or a Mageus," I replied, partially telling the truth and partially lying, as I hadn't really thought about it.
"Well, my goodness. You have such a broad and astute knowledge. You truly are impressive," Maria praised, showering me with compliments.
Maria seemed like a hostess in a cabaret club, constantly flattery and complimenting everyone. Besides, it's not like using a combination of magic, physical, and weapon techniques is uncommon, and many other people besides me do it too.
She is originally a long-range artillery operator.
Long-range combat involves too much firepower, making it difficult to excel in close-range magic usage.
She can do it, but she's not an expert.
In close combat, she tends to have more weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
She is incredibly weak against Monk-type enemies.
During the depression event, she was defeated by a Monk.
That's why she chose to fight against her natural enemy, the Monkey Monk, and she's starting to become proficient in using ranged and close-range attacks.
She's a genius after all.
"Oh no, other people do it too..." Amachi responded.
"Don't be humble. That's also part of your charm," Maria smiled, seemingly saying, "I know."
"Amachi-san, why don't we take a break this afternoon? I tried making some food for you," Maria pointed to her basket.
"Food?" Amachi asked.
"Yes, it's a little something special. I mixed in a secret energy drink that will make you feel a bit better," Maria coughed.
"What's this 'special something'?" Amachi wondered.
She probably mixed in some sort of energy drink.
"I'm not really that tired," Amachi lied.
It's not entirely true, as she stayed up until late last night and was busy with Kakko and Hisui this morning.
To be honest, if she had a bed in front of her, she'd fall asleep in seconds.
"It's okay. Today's going to be a long day, so let's take a break," Maria suggested.
Amachi agreed, realizing that she needs to take breaks throughout the day to avoid getting tired.
"Okay, let's take a break," Amachi said.