Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 14: Volcanic Quarry (2)

Class-D? You’ve got to be kidding me.

Since when did that happen? I could’ve sworn the boss was Class-E in the game. Was it really some kind of Variant?

Just my luck, I guess...

Still, it doesn’t change what I’m here for.

On the monster’s spine, between the black scales, were thin silver-white lines that formed a strange lattice pattern, glowing faintly under the haze.

’Nice...it’s still intact.’

"That’s the target? You’re kidding, right?" Aidan muttered beside me.

Colette, who was just barely able to stand from the heat, swallowed hard. "It looks...much stronger than the golems."

I ran the pattern inside my head, even if it was a Variant, things shouldn’t change too much.

Lizard-type monsters, just like in the game, had the ability to abandon their tails and regrow them completely.

But once that’s done, a lot of their energy is spent on regrowing said tail, and therefore weakens the boss greatly.

And so, the only viable path forward is to cut off its tail and defeat it in a weakened state.

"Everyone listen, Aidan, Colette and I will take turns juggling the monster’s attention. Ruby, I need you to chip away at it and open a clean path."

"And Cecilia, I need you to go for its tail once its distracted. With your high Output, you can chop it off all in one go."

They all nodded in unison, except Cecilia, who seemed to be deep in thought. But she clenched her fist, the determination in her eyes saying enough.

"Alright then, let’s pass this evaluation, everyone."

On my command, the three of us who were going to distract it slid down the slope at once with our Spell Drivers in hand.

[Repulse]

Aidan sent a sword flying towards the creature, managing to catch it off guard, but the blade just bounced off its hard scales.

"Colette, pester it!"

"On it!"

[Magic Bullet]

[Magic Bullet]

Two bullets of light flew straight at the Salamander. It managed to dodge one, but thesecond slammed into its head, causing it to stumble backwards.

GRAAAAAAAAK!

The beast stomped into the ground, causing the earth to tremble and columns of earth to erupt upward.

I barely managed to stay on my feet, but it wasn’t done just yet.

Inhaling sharply, the Salamander shot out clumps of lava the size of a boulder towards us. Needless to say, getting hit by one of those things was a death sentence.

I constantly looked at Colette throughout the fight, making sure it wasn’t after her. Somebody needs to be paying me double wages to be her bodyguard.

But I digress.

Quickly moving to the side, I dodged another clump of lava before pointing the barrel of my gun straight at one of the earthen pillars.

[Push]

The entire thing cracked before shooting forward like a battering ram at the monster.

CRASH—!

The entire thing slammed into the Salamander, causing it to become staggered for a second.

"Aidan, now! Pin it down!"

But he didn’t need to be told, already moving closer. His swords hovered above the Salamander, but just when they were about to descend.

WHOOOSH—!

The monster had snapped out of its stupor, swiping its tail and managing to catch Aidan within its range before he could react.

He went flying, back slamming against one of the earthen pillars before slumping down to the ground.

"Shit..."

[Boost]

Energy filled my body as I sprinted toward him as fast as I could.

"Aidan!"

"Still alive..." he groaned.

"Great, then complain later."

I grabbed him under the arm and started dragging him away from the center of the basin.

Every few seconds, the ground shook beneath us.

GRAAAAAAAAK!

I managed to get Aidan to a safe place away from the battle, only to realize that with both him and me out of the fight—

Colette was all alone.

[Magic Bullet] x3

Bullets of light flew from her Spell Driver one after another, striking the Salamander’s head, jaw, front legs—anywhere that would keep its attention on her.

But the problem was that...it was working. The monster’s burning eyes were fixed entirely on Colette now.

"Ruby! Cover her!"

"I’m trying!"

[Aqua Piercer]

A thin stream of compressed water shot toward the Salamander’s neck, but the monster twisted last second.

The spell sliced through the empty air and struck the far wall instead, carving a smoking line into the black rock.

Ruby clicked her tongue and tried again.

[Aqua Piercer] x2

PSSHH! PSSSH!

Both missed.

It wasn’t that Ruby’s aim was bad. If anything her aim was scarily precise.

The problem was that the Salamander was just way too fast, twisting and snapping around. Every time Ruby found an opening, the monster shifted enough for the shot to miss.

"Damn it..."

Colette was breathing heavily, the heat visibly draining her strength from the apparent look on her face. Her arm trembled every time she fired another spell.

They were ridiculously fast, a barrage that even I wasn’t too confident on blocking. But the Salamander was a monster with thick hide who could just tank it.

And fast casting didn’t mean infinite casting. At this rate, she was going to burn out.

I raised my gun.

"Colette, fall back!"

But before my voice could reach her, someone stepped just past me. It was Cecilia.

Her damaged leg still dragged slightly, but her fists were clenched so tightly that the gloves around her hands creaked.

"I can do it...buy me an opportunity."

"...Alright."

I charged forward, with [Boost] increasing my speed, I could just barely match the Salamander’s.

Though after using it for a while, I felt like I had more control on my body, on how the spell worked.

’Perks of being a named character, I guess?’

I appeared on the monster’s side, shooting off a couple [Firebolts] to get its attention before charging straight at it.

GRAAAAAAAAK!

The earth trembled, causing me to almost slip. The Salamander didn’t let the opportunity slide, whipping a claw aimed straight at my face, intending to turn me into minced meat.

But I dropped just low enough to feel the heat pass right over my face.

And when I was in range, approximately twenty meters...I aimed the barrel straight at its head, casting a single spell.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Structural Disruption Type—]

[Overload]

KRRRKKKK—!

The Spell Driver cracked apart before shattering in my hand, but it was enough.

A blue line of Logos flew toward the Salamander and entered its head. The effects were immediate.

The monster slumped, eyes rolling into its head for a few seconds as an overload of data short-circuited its neural core all at once.

"Cecilia!"

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Innate Thermal Compression Type—]

[Corona Break]

Heat built up underneath her feet, compressing and holding until it became a literal ball of fire.

Before—

PSHHHHHH!

The ball of fire exploded, launching her forward at an insane speed, so fast that it must’ve broken the sound barrier.

Cecilia’s fist pulled back, wrapped in a dazzling gleam of flames, before driving it straight into the Salamander’s tail.

BOOOOOOOM—!

Her punch connected, causing the tail to fracture and...

KRKKK—ACK!

The entire thing fell off, revealing a mess of both flesh and blackened rock underneath the initial skin layer.

Do you know how impressive it is to cut something using only bludgeoning force?! Cecilia practically sliced a rock with her punch!

Though I couldn’t afford to be impressed any longer. Now that the tail was gone, the Salamander’s energy would be forced into regeneration. Which meant this was our only chance to finish it.

"Ruby!"

Ruby raised both hands, pink light floating around her as she pressed her palms together into a spout-like shape.

[Aqua Piercer]

The compressed stream of water flew straight through the air. And this time, the Salamander couldn’t dodge at all.

And there was only one outcome.

SHLK—!

The attack pierced its head and shattered the core in one go. The monster stiffened, then collapsed as its pupil shrank, before disappearing altogether.

THUD!

[Target Monster Defeated.]

A circular distortion opened in the air, revealing the exit portal back to the evaluation grounds.

Aidan groaned from where he was sitting against the rock. "We got it this time...right?"

I really needed to stop teaming up with this guy. All he throws out are black flags after black flags...

Colette let out a tired laugh while Ruby helped Cecilia onto her back. Her leg couldn’t withstand the force of all that power and was twisted in a pretty nasty-looking angle.

I couldn’t read her expression. But that was probably fine. I was too tired regardless.

"Let’s get out of here for now."

"Agreed..."

One by one, we stepped through the portal and were greeted with cool air. I really felt like I had returned from hell itself.

But for some reason, the front of the portal was packed.

Professors, staff members, medical operators, and even a few armored personnel stood in formation around the Gate entrance.

Some were holding emergency equipment while others had their Spell Drivers drawn and ready.

I blinked in confusion. "...What’s going on?"

Professor Irene managed to look over, realizing how bad of a state we were in.

And lowkey, even I hadn’t realized it as well.

Aidan had some broken ribs for sure and Colette was probably in Logos sickness right now. Ruby was covered in ash while Cecilia was on her back, completely out of it.

And then there was me, holding the broken remains of my standard-issued Gun-type Spell Driver.

"Are you guys alright?!" the professor sprinted in our direction. "The Gate readings became unstable midway...we were preparing to send in a rescue team."

Oh...that kind of explained the crowd.

I scratched the back of my head. "Well, it’s not necessary anymore. We’re all alive, and the boss is dead."

"...What do you mean?"

"For the record, that thing was definitely not Class-E."

"But yeah, the boss is dead."