Chapter 279: Competing With Remilie (2/2)

Schieber-san, what do you think? [Ryouma]

Better than I expected. Looks like you didnt need our help, after all. [Schieber]

I was watching for awhile, and I must say, a stone wall that can stack itself sure is convenient. I see theyre easy to rebuild and fine tune too. [Schieber]

Schieber-san and Remilie-san were both watching me, so I asked them how I did, and they told me that it was good enough. Apparently, they finished preparing the tents and the bonfire first, as Sebasu-san could be seen behind Remilie-san with steaming cups on a tray, while Reinbach-sama could be seen tending to the bonfire.

You did a good job. Please have some tea. [Sebasu]

Thank you. [Ryouma]

Ryouma-kun, you can sit here. [Reinbach]

I took Reinbach-samas offer and sat on one of the chairs in front of the fire. Schieber-san, Remilie-san, and Schieber-san also took their seats, and we all sat around the fire.

I didnt notice it when I was moving, but the wind in the canyon is cold and strong. My body temperature would quickly drop staying still, so I warmed myself with the fire and the tea.

Ah, rest at long last. [Ryouma]

Yes, you should rest as much as you can while we can. [Reinbach]

No one disagreed with that, so we quickly had our supper, chatted, and rested ourselves physically and mentally. Before long, the sun finally set, and

I wouldnt have minded even if things didnt go as predicted, but [Reinbach]

As the clock struck their hour, the undead revealed themselves from the darkness. Skeletons and zombies came of course, but there were wisps, undead that resembled human souls, and wraiths, flying half-translucent human-shaped undead, too.

Their numbers continued to increase, but they didnt show any signs of trying to get past our defensive line perhaps due to the light attribute mana used in the Holy s.p.a.ce. But it would be risky to leave them alone, and it also wouldnt be any good for our mental health, so we decided to get rid of them.

They came, so well have to deal with them. Lets do this quickly. [Remilie]

But of course. [Ryouma]

During our supper, it was decided that Remilie-san and I would wipe out the undead with our light magic. In exchange, lookout duty could be put off for later, and we would be able to get proper rest. If nothing else happens, this should be the last job for the day. I need to do my best.

We might as well have a little compet.i.tion while were at it. [Remilie]

A hunting compet.i.tion? [Ryouma]

Yeah, we have to kill them anyway, we might as well enjoy ourselves. Whoever kills more wins, and the loser will have to do one favor for the winner. [Remilie]

As long as its nothing too unreasonable Wait a second. Isnt a magic compet.i.tion too unfavorable to me? Knowledge-wise and experience-wise? [Ryouma]

In that case, how about we compete with just our Light b.a.l.l.s? That way there wont be that much of a gap in skill. Lets also set a time limit. If we competed until one side ran out of mana, Id be at an disadvantage, while youd be at a disadvantage if we limited the number of shots since you have less experience. [Remilie]

Right, that should even things out a bit. [Ryouma]

Are we both in agreement? In that case, lets go with these rules. Sebasu-chan and the others will serve as our referee and tell us how many undead weve killed! [Remilie]

Very well. [Sebasu]

Fine, Ill play along. [Reinbach]

In that case, Ill be the one to count Ryoumas kills. [Schieber]

It was in this way that Remilie-san and I ended up competing. The undead were split into two groups via Holy s.p.a.ce, then we started our little compet.i.tion.

Ready? [Sebasu]

Yes. [Ryouma]

Anytime. [Remilie]

The time limit is 10 minutes. Begin! [Sebasu]

At Sebasu-sans signal, I aimed at the head of the skeletons before me.

Light Ball. [Ryouma]

Then I shot a Light Ball straight for the head, disintegrating it and piercing another one behind it. I could take down several undead at the same time by shooting at the places were the undead clumped up, but

Light Ball. [Ryouma]

!? W-What is that!? [Ryouma]

When I noticed the shadows stretching from behind me, I realized that there were an unusual number of light sources, so I turned around. And as it turns out, Remilie-san had summoned ten Light b.a.l.l.s with a single cast. Moreover, every one of them accurately shot through the heads of the undead.

This is a technique known as Parallel Casting. It allows the caster to cast the same spell multiple times at the same time. Light Ball. It needs some training to use, but Light Ball. [Remilie]

Remilie-san was kind enough to explain, but she didnt stop attacking even once and even showed me a triumphant smile as though she had this game in the bag. It was then that it dawned on me.

Dont tell me The reason you didnt want the number of shots restricted was for this? [Ryouma]

Its too late even if you realize it now. Light Ball. [Remilie]

Thats so childis.h.!.+ [Ryouma]

In that case, I have no choice but to try Parallel Casting too! Remilie-san taught me how to do it too since she was so sure shed win, so

Light Ball Tch. [Ryouma]

I gave it a try, but it was difficult. I managed to cast multiple Light b.a.l.l.s at the same time, but five at a time was the most I could do. More than that and I couldnt maintain them all the way to the shooting phase. Moreover, even if I did succeed in maintaining them, I would fail to move them individually, and in the end, the five Light b.a.l.l.s would shoot at one target. Not only was this pointless, it was a waste of mana.

I could somehow manage with two Light b.a.l.l.s and shoot at two different targets, but then the aim would be off. One would kill, while the other would miss. It was like trying to draw two different things with my left and right. This doesnt seem like something Id be able to do right away.

In that case, I have no choice but to go with my normal Light Ball and shoot faster and more accurately. But I can shoot at most 2 to 3 times in the time it takes her to shoot 10, so the gap in our score is just getting bigger and bigger.

Theres no point in asking for the impossible, but it sure would be great if I could take out multiple enemies at the same time Isnt there some way?

But even as I pondered that to myself, I never stopped shooting the undead precisely one after another.

Its safe since the undead arent trying to get inside the Holy s.p.a.ce. I am paying some attention to them, but when its like this, it feels like Im back at the arcade shooting zombies. Moreover, since the zombies arent attacking, it feels like Im playing on easy mode.

Come to think of it, I havent played any games since coming to this world. I wonder how that series is doing by now. I was into it for awhile If I recall correctly, choosing the ammo was really important. Im not that privy to it since I sucked despite liking it, but there was the explosive ammo, the machine gun, the shotgun

My thoughts strayed for a bit, but it was then that I realized it. Wouldnt it be fine if I just changed my visualization of Light Ball to that of bullets?

I tried it out right away. I didnt know much about the exploding bullets, while the machine gun seemed like it would quickly drain me of my mana, so I went with the shotgun. The shotgun uses buckshot, and it scatters the spheres inside it. As such, I should visualize the Light b.a.l.l.s becoming small spheres and scattering.

Light Ball. [Ryouma]

I tried it out, and the Light Ball scattered as expected, but the damage was too weak. I failed to kill even a single undead, though I did succeed in hurting them. Apparently, I scattered the light b.a.l.l.s too much, so the power suffered.

In that case, Ill use ten times as much mana as usual. This time I succeeded in killing not just the zombie in front, but also the rest of the undead in a fan-shaped area that went as far as 4 meters. I even killed the wraith flying in the air. Looks like I dont need that much mana. The area is too big too, so theres a lot of waste.

Huh? W-What the heck is that!? [Remilie]

Its Light Ball! I just changed the shooting method! [Ryouma]

Remilie-san is using Parallel Casting herself, so it shouldnt matter if I change the shooting method as long as the spell is still Light Ball. The referee, Sebasu-san, didnt say anything, and Remilie-san too didnt complain and just raised the pace. I have to focus.

Theres already plenty of mana, so this time Ill focus on narrowing down the area and lowering the mana to just five times If I recall correctly, there are several types of shotgun ammo, and they differed according to the size of the spheres inside. So just like I did with Holy s.p.a.ce, I equally distributed 50 parts of my mana into the scattering shots.

Light Ball Tch. [Ryouma]

Not good. Controlling the mana isnt easy, and this time, The scatter shot of mana dispersed before they could hit. As a result, I could only take down the two undead in front of me. I focused on my mana control and tried to practice while increasing my score.

10 seconds left 9, 8, 7, 6 [Sebasu]

Before I knew it, Sebasu-san was already giving the countdown. In an attempt to at least make it for the last shot, I differentiated the image from Light Ball and further solidified it.

Lightshot. [Ryouma]

When I unleashed it, I succeeded at wiping away all the undead in a 3m area. The resulting power wasnt quite ten times, but considering how I succeeded at halving the mana usage, its not a bad result at all.

Ive done all I can, so Im plenty satisfied.

Thats enough! [Sebasu]

Sebasu-san gave the signal for the match to end. I was curious what the result was, so I turned to him, only to see him making a glum face. What is this about?

Ryouma-sama, what did you say there in the end? [Sebasu]

Hmm? It was just the usual Light [Ryouma]

Huh? Uh, by any chance, did I accidentally say Lightshot instead? I messed up at the very end?

Unfortunately, since the name of the spell changed, it will have to be cla.s.sified as a different spell. As such, the winner is Remilie-sama. [Sebasu]

Ryouma-chan, you sure tripped at a weird spot. But victory is victory! [Remilie]

When I saw the strange face Remilie-san was making, I couldnt help but have a bad feeling. Just what sort of favor is she planning to get from me?