A two-headed ogre.
It was a monster that would probably have to be called a twin-headed ogre. It roared, glaring with its pairs of eyes.
The boom was so loud it felt like our eardrums would burst, and everyone instinctively plugged their ears. As I glanced around, I saw pale faces all around.
So, a Cerberus at the least, or maybe even something worse is appearing.
Is the first principal losing his mind?
[Contractor, isn’t it time to pull out?]
“Do you think we can escape?”
Just from a glance, the monster was about five meters tall. No matter how fast we run, it would catch up with us in three or four strides. It probably wouldn’t try to kill us right away, so we might not end up dead, but there was still a risk of serious injury.
The good news was that it seemed to be just standing there, as if it wanted to let us know it was a test. Its behavior of just staring at us without making a preemptive strike made it seem a bit dumb, but a creature with two heads couldn’t be that stupid.
First things first, we needed to regroup.
“Focus, everyone! Gather around me!”
“B-but what about that monster…”
“It should be fine. Unless we attack first, it doesn’t seem like it will come after us.”
It seems that not attacking first is some last remnant of Andras’ conscience, so I might as well take advantage of that. I looked around at my party members, who were gathering around me in a circle.
“I’ve never seen a two-headed ogre before…”
“This is the first time I’ve heard of such a variant…”
“C-can we even catch it…?”
“Uncle, didn’t you say this wouldn’t be that hard?”
At Viola’s words, everyone’s eyes turned to me. I had indeed said something like that. I shrugged my shoulders and replied.
“It seems like the difficulty has changed because of the surprising number of enemies we face. But we can definitely take it down.”
“B-but, b-but the ogre is strong, and the two-headed variant is…”
“There’s no need to be scared already. Lewis, what did I tell you to do when you encounter a powerful creature?”
At my words, Lewis seemed to recall something and stared into space for a moment before meeting my gaze and responding.
“Aim for the vital points calmly. If you can’t aim for them, create a situation where you can.”
“Exactly.”
Just like that powerful Hydra eventually fell to a thorough attack, we could definitely take down this two-headed ogre if we move strategically. I turned my gaze to the magic user.
“Shuri. What can you tell us about the ogre’s characteristics?”
“Ogres are rarely seen in the Empire, but they sometimes appear in the forests east of the Empire. They have tough skin that doesn’t cut easily, even with iron weapons, and they possess the strength to throw a cow with one hand.”
“Right, that’s correct. Elisa, are there any other characteristics?”
“Uh, uhm, they have high resistance to magic, so even 3rd-grade magic barely hurts them…”
“Correct.”
That’s why ogres are known as some of the more troublesome monsters in the Survival Academy. They’re horrifyingly tough, and their physical attacks are notably powerful.
In games, the ideal scenario would be for a tank to absorb the attacks while a high-damage magic strikes to finish off the enemies, but trying to do that in reality is a different story.
First off, we don’t have a tank.
Evade tanks count as tanks, but against an ogre, Lewis wouldn’t be able to dodge or block all of its attacks. The ogre’s enormous size means it has considerable reach, making it exhausting to avoid its strikes.
If it were Renny, she could just wave at the ogre like swatting flies, and its body would probably rip apart, but that was out of the question. Bringing her along assured that a monster equal to the Hydra would appear at the very least.
So, a bloody fight was inevitable.
But this was merely a training ground.
It had to be within a level of difficulty that wouldn’t drive the first principal mad. We wouldn’t know until we faced it, but it was highly probable this was calibrated to a level we could handle.
“Martina, do you know the standard tactics for dealing with an ogre?”
“I do. The frontline restrains it while the backline accumulates damage to take it down slowly.”
“Correct. But we can’t fight like that. Do you know why?”
“…Because there’s no frontline to block the ogre’s attacks?”
“That’s also true. But the biggest issue is the location.”
“Can I ask what you mean by that?”
“It’s an open space without any obstacles. That means the ogre can move freely. Even a reckless charge could be deadly for our party right now.”
Leaving it free to charge would mean instant game over, but stopping that charge was no easy task.
Furthermore…
My crafting skill probably wouldn’t work against it. An ogre’s structure is too tough for even steel to pierce easily. No matter how high-quality the stone flooring is, it’s still just stone.
Digging into the ground isn’t time-efficient, and before we know it, the party might be scattered.
Ultimately, we had to utilize every party member to take down the twin-headed ogre.
But it shouldn’t be too hard.
Being on stone flooring meant we had one advantage.
“Listen up. I’m going to tell you how to fight from now on…”
——————-
‘An ogre… It looks enormous up close. Can I really block it?’
Lewis tried to calm his wildly beating heart as he gripped his sword. The distance was about twenty steps. The opponent looked like it could kill them anytime it wanted.
“Lewis. Don’t take it too seriously. It’s just an illusion. It won’t try to kill us, so relax.”
A low voice came from behind him. Lewis felt his anxiety settling upon hearing that voice.
A man with a rugged appearance, wielding a Mithril shovel, was akin to a teacher who had taught him plenty throughout his training. Though he had never called him a teacher directly, Lewis regarded him as one.
He was acutely aware of how much his skills had improved under his guidance since the beginning of the second semester. Now, finding an equal among his peers was challenging.
‘Aim for the joints and distract it as much as possible…’
He steadied himself, holding his sword horizontally at shoulder height. As the distance closed to about twenty steps, Lewis watched the approaching ogre’s movements while swallowing hard.
“!@(&!($#!!!”
A roar shook the soul. Lewis forced himself to ignore the blast that could tear his eardrums apart while circulating his mana. Although using all his aura right from the start wasn’t a good choice given its current limits, he trusted his leader.
‘Time for a quick battle to finish this.’
That was his declaration.
“!@*)(#)(!!”
A massive arm, the size of a pillar, came crashing from above. It could crush him like a tomato in the blink of an eye. Lewis dove to the right to evade it and immediately aimed for the ogre’s knee.
His sword, coated in blue aura, scratched against the ogre’s tough hide but didn’t produce any significant damage. If he persistently focused on the same spot, it might be different, but…
“Lewis! Get back!”
He hits the ground with all his force. Lewis’s body was shot backward from the twin-headed ogre. At the same time, a boom shook the space as the magic user’s magic exploded in the air.
“!@*(&$!!”
Was that a scream or a roar of anger?
Amid the blast, the magic user immediately began preparing the next spell.
A second-grade spell to take off the ogre’s head.
“Can you cast that in succession, Elisa?”
“I’ll… I’ll try my best!”
“I’ll lend you my mana!”
Shuri infused her mana into Elisa. The mana spent in casting second-grade magic began filling back up. However, she only managed to replenish about half of the mana used.
Second-grade magic.
Flame Lance.
Gathering the mana would take 15 seconds.
That’s a brief duration.
But right now, it felt like forever.
“Crafting.”
He created a small pit. Given the dungeon floor’s nature, digging deep was impossible, but he could at least make it trip. Johann made sure to carve a decent hole for the ogre’s foot to stumble.
“!@*ㅕ)!#$!??”
Though the ogre staggered, it didn’t fall; Lewis’s blue blade was ready to strike its knee. Johann, supporting Lewis, had a message for Martina.
“Martina! Drench the ogre in oil!”
“Got it!”
In an instant, flammable oil formed from mana began coating the ogre. While the oil didn’t have much effect besides making it slippery, it could still somewhat restrict its movement.
“How long until the spell is complete?”
“Five seconds left!”
‘Five seconds, huh.’
Not much time.
But that was enough time for the ogre to swing its arm once. Johann rolled to dodge the incoming swing aimed at him.
“Lewis!”
“The oil makes my sword slippery!”
“Then back off!”
Truth be told, having oil smeared on them wouldn’t turn out well. Johann and Lewis retreated as much as possible from the ogre.
“Flame… Lance!”
A monstrous spear of fire that looked like it could pierce the ogre’s belly plunged into it. Then, engulfing the ogre’s body was a flame that seemed capable of swallowing a whole house.
“!()@*&()$#&!)!”
‘For now, imitating a creature should have some effect.’
It wouldn’t lose its regenerative properties like a troll when on fire, but it wouldn’t be completely unharmed either.
Johann gazed at the twin-headed ogre, now thrashing about while ablaze. It shot a hateful glare in his direction, boasting a resilience greater than that of an elephant.
“Persistent, aren’t you?”
So, that won’t kill it?
In that case, we had to hit it again.
“Magic users, fall back and prepare your defense spells.”
At Johann’s command, the magic users clumsily retreated. The burning fire ogre remained in a daze. Johann was left idle in front of Viola, who had been waiting nearby.
“Viola. Pour all the explosive liquids onto it. Right now!”
“Okay!”
The bottles of explosive liquid hanging from Viola’s waist flew out in an arc. Though her strength wasn’t that robust, it landed within a safe distance from the burning ogre.
“!@#&!#$(!”
Although it was weaker than the second-grade magic, an explosion was still an explosion. The ogre, which had barely managed to keep its balance, fell over.
“It’s down!”
Shuri’s voice rang out amidst the boom.
Johann charged in with his shovel raised.
The distance was within ten meters. They had to strike while it was still recovering.
“Lewis! Aim for the left head!”
“Got it!”
The silver gleam shone against the ogre’s head lying on the ground.
Once. Twice. Thrice.
As Johann continued to smash the shovel onto the ogre’s head, he could feel the scorching heat; his skin was nearly melting into the shovel.
Without the protective aura, there was no choice but to take such reckless actions. The party was surprised by his audacity, but Lewis quickly picked up on his intent.
You can’t hesitate when an opportunity arises.
Lewis plunged his sword into the ogre’s left head and poured as much aura into it as he could.
The left head of the ogre fell to flames in the end.
Now only the right head remained.
Since the ogre shared one body with two heads, it floundered, unable to stabilize itself. Hence, a final decisive blow was necessary.
Johann withdrew his shovel and stepped back, commanding Viola.
“Explosive liquid. One on the right head.”
“Understood!”
The instant his words left his mouth, a bottle shimmering in rainbow colors sped through the air, crashing into the ogre’s right head, triggering a chemical reaction.
An explosion loud enough to leave a ringing in the ears engulfed the right head of the ogre.
And what awaited them was the slowly fading corpse of the twin-headed ogre, its fire extinguished, turning to ash.
“We did it.”
“Johann!”
The entire party approached him with wide eyes. Johann looked at Millia and Karina hurrying towards him, lying on the ground.
“It’s hot. Karina. I need healing.”
“Don’t ever act so recklessly again!”
Her body was shaking terribly.
Seeing her like that, Johann smiled lightly as if to say it was okay and closed his eyes.
“I’ll just rest for a moment.”
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