When we came to the field in the miniature garden, I immediately received an explanation from my clone.
“After killing Jagaimu No. 26, I carried it into the warehouse, and in that moment, Jagaimu No.0, who was tied to the truck, cut the chain and escaped.”
“What do you mean, No. 0?”
“It is the ancestor of all the jagaimu here. The number of jagaimu increases by planting the seed jagaimu produced from No. 0’s hind end. It is like a queen, so to speak.”
Since it is a Queen, he should have meant Jagaimu-san, not Jagaimu-kun. No, no, it’s not the time to be thinking about that. If the modified plant goes to the ground, it will be a big deal. It looks like a moving potato, but its vitality is not half bad.
My clone continues to talk.
“I don’t think it has left the dungeon yet, and if it does, it will surely come back to take revenge on me.”
“Revenge?”
“Of course! It has seen the death of all the jagaimu it has spawned. It’s not surprising that it will hold a grudge.”
“W-wait a minute, that jagaimu you’re talking about is that smart?”
“No. 0 is specially given the intelligence of a junior high school student.”
“…………”
I pressed my fingers between my brows. I was so stunned that I couldn’t speak. Pero mutters, as he understood the story.
“But I have a feeling that it will be eaten by a magical beast before it gets to the surface….…”
“That’s a possibility. In fact, I think it’s more likely. But if it could get pass all those monsters and come out on the surface, it will be breeding at a tremendous rate.”
—Then it will prepare its forces and come for revenge. It’s a more serious situation than I thought.
Freya asks a question,
“But…., in the end it is just a potato, isn’t it? No matter how many of them come, I don’t think they’ll be our opponent.”
“That’s what I think too. Humans have an overwhelming advantage on their own after all. However, the problem is with the special individuals like Jagaimu-kun. If they were born in large numbers, it would be quite dangerous.”
“What do you mean special individual?”
“It’s a rare and ferocious individual, and its abilities are ten times greater than that of a normal potato. I was really surprised when it tore off the iron chain you see.”
My clone said so, but he nods proudly several times. It’s me, but I really can’t help but get angry. Does he know who is to blame for this?
“Sigh. It can’t be helped if it ran away. We’ll have to split up and search for it.”
“It’s my bad. Please stop it while it hasn’t come to the surface.”
Each of us decided to choose the floor we were in charge of and follow the tracks of Jagaimu No. 0. Of course, my familiars were also mobilized. We can’t afford to let it escape after all.
◇◇◇
It’s been a week since we started looking for Jagaimu-kun. The dungeon is vast so we completely lost its track. The only sightings were from adventurers who were wandering the fifth floor. It seems that a brown mass rushed passed them at an incredible speed. From this, me and my clone concluded that the potato we are looking for had come to the ground.
“The worst has happened huh.”
I muttered before drinking a glass of dwarf killer in one gulp. In the living room, Pero and Freya are currently huddled with my clone. While looking at the map on the table, they guess the No.0’s whereabouts.
“It is supposed to be on the move in search of abundant nourishment so it’s unlikely that it will leave Mana territory.”
“Mmm… just where exactly is it hiding?”
“It must be lurking in the woods south of Mana. That is a great place to breed.”
Looking at the map, there was a large forest south of Mana. At the edge of the forest is the village of Carne, which immediately reminded me of a place I once visited when I accepted the request to kill the wrapping spider. As my clone had said, that forest is perfect for preparing a fighting force.
“Then I’ll send you guys to the forest. If you do everything in your power, you should be able to find it.”
The three of them nodded at my words. It’s a blunder that came out because of my clone. This problem must be solved by Homeless alone. As the person who issued the cultivation permit, I am also guilty.
(Oniichan! It’s bad! ）
Liz’s voice echoed in my head. It’s a personal line based on her telepathy skill. Her voice was trembling, as if she was extremely panicked.
“What’s the matter? Aren’t you in Mana with Erna?”
(It’s terrible! You should hurry to the city! ）
The line suddenly disconnected. The two of them were supposed to have gone to Mana to do some shopping, but from the looks of it, it seems like something unexpected happened. I decided that we should head to the city immediately to understand the situation.
“Erna and Liz seemed to be in danger. Let’s head to Mana quickly. As for you (my clone), you should wait in the miniature garden.”
“Understood. I’m going to take a look at the vegetables I’m studying.”
After saying that, my clone sips on his tea. It’s time to check what he is researching. It is not a good idea to make a second or third jagaimu. We then ran out of the hideout and headed for Mana.
◇◇◇
When me, Pero and Freya arrived at Mana, we immediately realized that something was wrong. Hundreds of people are crowding at the entrance to the city. They talk with frightened expressions as they look at the southern horizon.
“Shinichi!”
After Erna and Liz made their way through the crowd, they rushed to me.
“What’s with the disturbance there? Please explain the situation.”
“You’ll understand when you look at it!”
In the direction Erna was pointing, a huge light brown mass is moving quickly towards the city. It made the ground vibrate every time it walks. It is about 100 meters tall. The oval body has limbs growing out, and two huge eyes look down at Mana. No mistake. It’s jagaimu-kun.
“Why has it become so big……? Did it absorb too much nutrients from the forest and become that huge?”
“Father, it is not the time to think about that! If you don’t do something about it, the city will be trampled.”
Led by Pero, Erna, Freya and Liz move into a fighting stance. Hey, I am always ready to fight you know.
Suddenly, I noticed that something seems to be under the enemy’s feet. I activated the Nerve Enhancement Skill and temporarily improved my eyesight. What I saw was a myriad of potatoes. The total number is about 10,000. They run across the ground chasing after the queen, Jagaimu No.0.
“I can’t fight a monster like that!”
One of the adventurers exclaimed. The people who had been crowding in the city gate began to flee. It’s that gigantic. Loss of will to fight is normal. However, Homeless cannot afford to run away. We got the responsibility to defeat it.
“Let’s move!”
My comrades scatter at my command. Our strategy is simple. The four of them annihilates the potato soldiers. Then me vs their queen, Jagaimu No. 0.
I stripped off my robe and jacket and threw down the sword I had on my waist. It’s a full-bodied vegetable. It would at least be polite to go with my bare hands. After I activated my race, I grew horns and wings and then I activated the Enhancement Skill. The torrent of power that welled up from the depths of my body distorted the area near me. I am confident that if I clenched my fists, I could crack the ground. That potato. I’ll finish it with one blow.
With an explosive leap, I flew straight towards the giant potato, as if I had drawn a line with a ruler.
“Uooo!”
I punched my right fist at Jagaimu-kun. But it also threw out its ridiculously big right hand. The moment our fists collide, a shockwave shakes the air with a boom. To put it in perspective, it would be like a skyscraper colliding with a human at high speed. If I was a normal person, I’ll lose and I’ll be a minced meat by now.
“Kuu! What power!”
My fist is pressed. The battle lasted less than a second. It swung its powerful arm and sent me flying to the ground. I was slammed into the ground on my back at a breakneck speed.
“…..I thought it was just a vegetable. Its hardness is ridiculous.”
I sat up and scratched my head. I was unscathed because I have impact nullification. But more than that, the problem is its power. I can tear mithril apart with my bare hands, but that potato is far superior to that. It felt like a thick tire when I hit it.
“It’s going to take a lot of work to knock it down with my bare hands then.”
I stood up and brushed off the dirt on my body. Then heavy footsteps sounded and it went dark. When I look up, I saw Jagaimu-kun looking down on me, covering the sun behind.
It’s eye…. that look is completely saying that it has locked me as an object of revenge.
“Alright, time to run.”
I turned my back and made a mad dash.
◇◇◇
Countless jagaimu rushed in. They formed a sea of light brown and went straight to Mana. It is the rebellion of the Jagaimu’s who have vowed revenge on humans. However, someone stopped their progress.
“Multiple Flame Bombs!”
An elf fly in the sky with her golden hair flowing. The magic she unleashed exploded on the ground one after another, trailing a red tail. The flames and shock wave caused the jagaimus on the ground to explode without being able to resist. Still, the surviving ones did not stop in their tracks. They just kept moving forward, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.
“Ice Breath!”
The whitish werewolf’s breath instantly froze the ground and trapped the jagaimus in the ice. He then cuts the jagaimu inside the ice with his long claws. However, there are some jagaimu that crushed the ice and started running again. They are about two meters tall. The skin on the surface has a matcha brown color. Because of their thick and long limbs, they can be recognized as a different entity from the normal jagaimus. One in every hundreds of them blended in among the standard species, and they seemed to play a leadership role.
“Slash”
A girl dressed in black, rides on a dark cloud. In her right hand, she holds a dagger, which slips through the jagaimus and inflicts a fatal wound that is sure to deal a deadly blow. She also hits distant enemies with detonating shurikens to efficiently reduce their numbers. However, the special individual jagaimu do not seem to be intimidated by such attacks. They didn’t even look back at the standard individual that were being killed, their movements are still quickening.
“It’s finally my turn. I have to show you the true value of a Novania.”
A former knight holds her spear with her red hair swaying in the wind. The weapon called Spear of the Water God, was inlaid with a blue jewel. And as if in response to her will, the jewel intensified its brilliance.
A hundred special individuals run forward furiously to form a single herd. The city is already in front of them. They decided to rally their forces to get past the last enemy standing in the way. If even 10% of them can invade the city, they will win. It was enough to devastate Mana.
“Convergence!”
The woman slowly squeezes her left hand. At that moment, the bodies of the special individuals floated up. And when they are densely packed in a spherical shape at a high position, they are squeezed tightly. They couldn’t escape, they were completely trapped by an invisible wall.
“Meteor Shower Burst!”
The spear she threw minced the jagaimus in an instant. The jagaimus falling on the ground are like light yellow rain. Satisfied with the result, Freya raised the corners of her mouth slightly.
Jagaimus scattered on the ground.
The regret of the wrecked potatoes seemed to haunt the battlefield.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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