Cleared Misunderstandings and the Herniated-Disc Skeletons
“…What?”
—Tak.
Everyone watching the scene pressed a hand to their forehead. The students. Mage. Yu Juju. Even Lua.
“Why are you reacting like that?”
Himari tilted her head, utterly unable to grasp the reason for their response.
“Before I came to Korea, Father drilled it into me thoroughly. If I hold hands with a man, a baby will be born. So I must never, under any circumstances, forgive a man who tries to take my hand.”
“…….”
“I am still a student, and it would be terribly inconvenient if a baby appeared.”
Himari appealed to Lua with complete sincerity.
“Teacher, I trust you will understand. You are the school nurse, after all.”
“No… I don’t even know where to begin….”
Lua muttered without meaning to.
“You really have it rough, Teacher.”
Mage added with a sigh.
And Yu Juju—
“Who the hell said I was a guy!!”
She clenched her fists, her face burning red. Even her signature speech quirk had vanished; she was genuinely flustered.
“I-I-I’m a girl!”
“…Pardon?”
Himari’s pupils dilated.
“Juju is… what? A girl? But her hair is short, her voice is low, and her chest is sm—”
“Th-that’s far enough!”
Lua lunged forward and clamped a hand over Himari’s mouth. Yu Juju’s face crumpled as she hugged her own chest protectively.
“Himari, I think you’ve got a few things wrong!”
“I do? …Yes. If Teacher is the one instructing me, I will learn.”
Himari folded her hands neatly and waited.
“First of all, Juju is a girl—just like you and me. Sure, she gets along with the guys, and her… hair is short, but that’s just her personal style.”
“I-is that so? To have made such a mistake…!”
Realizing her error, Himari clapped both hands over her mouth in shock.
“Second, holding hands with a guy does not make a baby.”
“Whaaat?!”
Himari reeled. It was no act, no fabricated reaction whatsoever.
Himari simply lacked ordinary common sense. All thanks to the rigid upbringing of her father, Hoshikawa Toshio. He valued nothing but battoujutsu and was absurdly conservative about everything else.
He had probably said those things to keep a tight leash on his daughter before she left for a foreign country.
“Th-then how does a baby come about?”
“Well, of course, thr—”
“…….”
Lua suddenly glanced sideways. She had been too busy reeling from Himari’s bombshell to notice, but every single student was now staring straight at her.
“Thr…”
“Thr?”
…No. Explaining the process of baby-making in front of this many students would be worse than dying on the spot.
“I’ll explain again once we’re out of the Gate….”
“? Understood.”
Lua drew a long breath and forced herself back to calm.
“So first, apologize to Juju. Whether you meant it or not, you hurt her.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
Himari walked over to Yu Juju, who still hadn’t recovered from the shock, and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
“Juju, I am sorry. I made a mistake.”
“Urgh…”
“I failed to learn about you properly and misunderstood. From now on, when I deal with people, I will carefully observe, confirm the facts, and then act with caution.”
It was a model apology worthy of being put on display. Juju, who had been on the verge of tears, scrubbed her face—still flushed with anger and embarrassment—a few times until it returned to normal.
“Haaah, got it. Raise your head already.”
“…….”
“It’s fine. I don’t really dress up much anyway, so it’s not like people never mistake me for a guy.”
Still, Juju’s pretty cute in her own way.
She had that boyish charm, you could say. There had even been a decent following in the community for a “raise-only-Yu-Juju” concept playthrough.
“Alright, we’re good.”
Yu Juju started strapping on her gauntlets.
“Misunderstanding’s cleared, so let’s get along from here on out.”
“Thank you, Juju.”
Himari adjusted the scabbards at her waist as well.
“Once we leave the Gate, I will apologize to you properly once more.”
—At last, the time had come.
The four-person party—tank Yu Juju, dealer Hoshikawa Himari, healer Han Lua, and pro hunter Mage—walked toward the boss room.
The Ball of the Dead does not welcome the living.
Party Limit: 4/4
Transporting to the boss chamber.
—Giiiii…
The door, carved with eerie reliefs, slowly swung open. Beyond it lay pure darkness. The four of them exchanged glances, then stepped inside.
A chill brushed her face, and Lua began counting silently.
10, 9, 8, 7…
She had seen this event hundreds of times. She would not miss the timing.
2, 1.
—Flash!
The instant the countdown ended, the lights blazed on.
“Ugh!”
The sudden glare wrung groans from the rest of the party. Lua had closed her eyes in advance, so the hit was milder for her.
The boss room was a vast cavern deep underground. Bats wheeled near the ceiling; the walls were solid stone. The space was roughly half the size of the gymnasium where the entrance ceremony had been held.
Just like always.
It matched the game so perfectly that Lua almost felt nostalgic.
“What’s that over there?”
From the front, Yu Juju pointed with a gauntleted finger. Two rectangular coffins lay in the center of the cavern—objects that looked ready for undead to burst out of at any second.
“I’ll use a search sk—”
“No need.”
Mage started to activate a skill, but Lua stopped her.
“They’re going to show up any second anyway.”
Her words proved exact.
—KWAJIK!
The coffin lids shattered, and two skeletons rose to their feet. Juju and Himari tensed at once, dropping into combat stances.
—Clack, clack.
These bosses sounded different from the trash mobs. They were humanoid, yes, but their bones looked thicker, and an unidentifiable aura clung to them—one blue, one red.
—Kyaaaa…
The skeletons raised their swords. In the same instant, two skeletal horses erupted from the ground and lowered their backs. The skeletons mounted with practiced ease and donned their helms.
“T-two of them? This ain’t gonna be easy…!”
And that wasn’t all.
Status abnormality: Fear is accumulating.
Current: 1%
As a low-rank Gate the buildup was slow, but beating opponents this tough while under a status effect—even at full strength—would be nearly impossible. They could not afford a drawn-out fight.
—Clop, clop.
The Skeleton Knights began advancing on Lua’s party. Walking at first, then steadily picking up speed into a charge.
“Here they come!”
“Himari, how long do you need for a draw?”
“At least twenty seconds. The longer I prepare, the greater the power.”
Just as expected. Lua nodded.
“Good. Get into stance!”
“Yes, Teacher.”
Himari set her hand on the hilt and began to lower her posture. Lua locked her gaze on the charging skeletons.
Diagnosis (Lv.2)
Target’s current condition: Cervical herniated disc
Diagnosis (Lv.2)
Target’s current condition: Scoliosis
What the—those are the exact diagnoses I got back in the day.
The names were technical, but luckily they were conditions Lua already knew. The blue one had a herniated neck disc; the red one had a crooked spine.
“Did you two just sit at computers all day too?”
“What’d you say?”
“Ah, nothing!”
Lua snapped back to focus and ordered Mage to apply buffs. Like the professional she was, Mage immediately layered attack-up and defense-up skills onto Himari and Juju.
“I’ll take the hits! Taunt!”
The Skeleton Knights charged side by side, then split left and right, swinging their blades. Sparks flew as both of Juju’s gauntlets met the swords.
Status abnormality: Fear
Current: 3%
—KAAANG!
—KAAANG!
“Kh!”
“Juju, are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Thanks to the buffs.”
Juju had taken a little damage, but the Skeleton Knights were completely unharmed. The metal in her gauntlets was only D-class rare metal, after all.
Against C-class monsters, you needed rare metal of C-class or higher to deal any real damage.
—Kyaaaa…
After the exchange the skeletons galloped past and wheeled around to prepare another charge—this time holding lances of bone instead of swords.
“Teacher, I’m ready!”
Himari, still low in her stance, called out. Twenty seconds must have already passed. If she unleashed the draw strike now she could drop one of them—but—
“—No. Keep charging.”
“Pardon?”
“Hold it as long as you possibly can, then swing the moment I give the word. Can you do that?”
“…Understood.”
Lua had a very specific reason for the order.
The twins have to go down at the same time.
Even if you dropped one, as long as the other still lived it would immediately revive at full health. That was their gimmick. Newbies who finally killed one only to watch it pop right back up tended to smash their keyboards in rage.
Status abnormality: Fear
Current: 4%
“Juju, can you hold the next attack?”
“I-I’ll try!”
For someone who wasn’t even a licensed hunter yet, tanking two C-class monsters was a serious burden. They had to finish this before the status effect stacked any higher.
—Clatter-clatter.
“Incoming!”
The Skeleton Knights thundered forward with their long lances leveled.
This ends now.
“Himari, get ready!”
“Yes…!”
Himari’s draw charge was approaching the forty-second mark. One strike. A single strike would finish it.
—Kyaaak!
—Kyaaak!
Both skeletons loosed the same bone-chilling roar.
Status abnormality: Fear
Current: 5%
“Juju, one step forward!”
“Huh? Okay!”
She darted a single pace ahead, then crossed both gauntlets in front of her head in a guard.
After they attack, those things always peel off to either side.
In other words, the only window to strike was the exact instant their attack landed.
“Himari, the second they enter range, cut them down.”
“But Teacher—Juju is standing between me and the enemies.”
“…Doesn’t matter.”
Himari tilted her head for a heartbeat, then firmed her stance again.
She had seen the resolve on Lua’s face.
“Mage! Defense buff on me!”
“What? Why on the healer—”
“Hurry!”
—Clatterclatterclatter.
Status abnormality: Fear
Current: 9%
The moment Lua confirmed the defense buff had settled on her, she moved.
—Kyaaaaa!
The instant the two skeletons’ lances touched Yu Juju’s gauntlets—
“Hup!”
Lua threw every ounce of strength into wrapping her arms around Juju’s waist and toppling them both.
“Wha—?!”
Juju and Lua hit the floor together. And above their heads—
“Haaah—!”
Himari’s Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu erupted.
—KWAANG!
The same sonic boom she had seen before shook the entire space.
A heartbeat later the cavern was split clean in two. The stone walls, the ceiling, the swarm of bats, the torchlight—
and both Skeleton Knights as well.
—Kieeek…
They collapsed on the spot into pathetic heaps of bone.
At the same time, system windows bloomed into view.
Congratulations! You have guided the bosses of The Ball of the Dead—Skeleton Knight (Blue) and Skeleton Knight (Red)—to eternal rest!
The Gate has been cleared.
Time remaining: 45:23:22
An exit has appeared.