How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 186

Extra Points with an Extra – Episode 186 (186/344)

Episode 207: Shift in Stance (7)

“…A m-monster?!”

What obscured the sky weren’t clouds.

A monster with a size comparable to a tower.

Its pitch-black body sprouted tentacles that wriggled, and verdant flames burned as if its entire body was ablaze, making it utterly horrifying.

“…What is that monster?!”

“Terrifying… I’ve never seen such a monster before!”

“More importantly, it wasn’t there just a moment ago! Where did it come from?!”

If there exists a being that could create such a monster, how terrifying and twisted must their sensibilities be?

Even God wouldn’t have created such a monster.

Some mercenaries with even a shred of faith called upon the name of God and offered a brief prayer.

“Hey, soldier! What is that monster?! I’ve never heard of anything like that!”

“Th-that’s… we don’t know either! We’ve never seen anything like that before!”

The soldier screamed and trembled.

It seemed they genuinely didn’t know.

The problem was that this wasn’t the time to be fighting amongst themselves.

That monster burning with green flames was staring at the mercenaries.

“…Damn it! Take up your weapons!”

“Don’t be afraid, fight!”

How far could they escape by retreating?

More than anything, if they broke formation, even those who could survive wouldn’t.

Veteran mercenaries stepped forward, while those with less experience were sternly rebuked and forced to take up their weapons, preventing them from fleeing.

“…The problem is, I wish it would just back down.”

Was it because B-rank mercenary Fullit muttered those words?

The monster charged straight at them.

“Not a chance!”

The first to step forward were two A-rank mercenaries.

The remaining mercenaries cheered from behind them.

“Oh! Silrun! Martin!”

“We can trust them!”

One of them, a man named Silrun, used Aura [a technique to enhance physical abilities], and the other, a mercenary named Martin, had learned magic through a stroke of luck, reaching the impressive achievement of the 3rd Circle [a measure of magical proficiency].

“I’ll try to hold it back somehow! Martin! I’ll leave the magic to you!”

“…Understood.”

They briefly divided their roles and then took action.

First, the mercenary with the sword, Silrun, charged at the monster, wielding his Aura-infused blade.

*Slash!*

The blue-tinged sword cleanly cleaved through the monster’s torso.

The other mercenaries watching couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at the spectacular swordsmanship.

“Good… it cut right through… What?!”

Silrun’s face, which had almost been filled with hope for a moment, soon contorted.

It felt like his strike had hit empty air.

He didn’t know how, but the sword hadn’t worked at all.

“In that case… Kuhuk!”

He tried to step forward to draw its attention, but the monster was faster.

Several burning tentacles shot out from its torso and slammed into Silrun, sending him flying.

With just that one blow, the A-rank mercenary crashed to the ground and lost consciousness.

“…Damn it! Freeze Storm!”

Left with no choice, the remaining A-rank mercenary, Martin, hastily chanted a spell.

A storm of ice that felt like it could cut through skin enveloped the monster.

The judgment was that using a power that could extinguish the flames would be effective, since its entire body seemed to be burning.

However, it was a misjudgment.

Even after being hit by a powerful storm of cold air that caused even frost to scatter, the monster’s flames didn’t waver.

No, rather, the flames seemed to ignite the ice.

“…Was that not ordinary fire?!”

Martin was horrified, but it was too late.

In an instant, green flames scattered in all directions, and the storm engulfed him instead.

As he screamed, the magic he had completed faltered, and he was struck by a descending tentacle, sending him flying and collapsing as well.

“D-did they die?!”

The sound of someone muttering those words was faintly heard among the soldiers.

In reality, those who had been sent flying had only lost consciousness and were still breathing.

However, they were already in a state of panic to the point where they couldn’t even notice that.

A monster of unknown origin.

The defeat of those they had trusted.

That fact only served to confuse them.

“…R-run away!”

Someone else shouted.

“At this rate, we’ll be caught and killed by that monster! We’ll be eaten alive!”

“Shut up! If we fall back here, we’ll be annihilated!”

Opinions had already begun to diverge.

And as if to exacerbate the chaos, the monster slowly approached them.

The blades of the extended tentacles indiscriminately tore up the ground and began to mess up the surroundings.

*Kwaang!*

Each time a tentacle tore through the ground, the excavated dirt and rocks soared far into the sky and disappeared.

In their eyes, it seemed as if the monster was rampaging and attacking in a fit of rage.

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

Several mercenaries barely mustered their courage and charged, but they were just as futilely struck down and lost consciousness.

“R-run away!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

In the end, some began to flee.

As one person ran away screaming, the formation quickly collapsed.

Eventually, mercenaries and soldiers alike scrambled to escape, and the only humans left there were those who had already lost consciousness.

And the only one standing was a soldier wearing armor and covering his face.

“…Good. Run away well, and tell them. Tell them there’s a terrifying monster here.”

The soldier lightly opened the visor of his helmet and chuckled.

It was Aileen.

“Well, this should be enough to scare them, roughly.”

Aileen gestured towards the monster he had created with his spirit, as if to say, “Good job.”

The monster… or rather, the shadow spirit Fluorite, who had contracted with him, responded by wagging what could be assumed to be its tail.

“This is working better than I thought…”

Creating an unidentified monster to threaten them, scaring them, and then subtly instigating them from behind.

When the monster first appeared, Aileen secretly hid in the back, slipped away from a soldier who had fallen behind, knocked him unconscious, quickly took his equipment, put it on, and hid among them.

Fortunately, no one noticed Aileen’s presence.

And while the mercenaries were being defeated one by one, Aileen deliberately imitated a frightened soldier, screaming and causing chaos.

Originally, when one person makes a fuss, fear tends to spread in turn.

As a result, they fled without even having time to care about each other.

“…The problem is, those who are unconscious.”

Of course, Aileen hadn’t killed the mercenaries and soldiers.

He had only taken away their consciousness.

If there were any villains among them, he would have dealt with them, but as far as he could see, there was no one suspicious.

“I’ll have to leave these guys near the forest separately.”

He could pretend they barely survived being eaten.

Aileen lightly muttered and had Fluorite use its shadow tentacles to wrap around the unconscious guys one by one and toss them into a suitable corner with a *휙! 휙!* sound [onomatopoeia for a whooshing sound].

“I just need to scare them like this a few more times, right?”

* * *

As a result of causing a commotion in a similar way several more times.

Rumors began to spread that most of the mercenaries had finally given up on the request and started to leave.

“How are we supposed to handle such a monster!”

“25 gold coins are nothing! They wouldn’t be enough even if they gave us 50!”

“Are they telling us to die like dogs?!”

Such loud voices could be heard coming from the guild.

It seemed that some had started to give up because it had become too difficult to handle.

‘I’ve managed to separate the guys who don’t know the situation.’

While he was satisfied with the result, an additional message appeared above his head.

Oh! Welcome! Points!

Helping the besieged demi-humans to improve their siege life and driving away the threatening mercenaries.

That alone generates points.

‘Perfect.’

Originally, there would have been casualties from the conflict between the mercenaries and the demi-humans.

However, I intervened and disrupted it.

The one who should have died didn’t die, and the one who should have been injured wasn’t injured.

That must be what’s being calculated and generating the points.

‘But even gathering this much is not enough.’

However, it’s still not enough Influence Points to unlock the grimoire.

‘How can I gather more?’

I’m almost there now.

I pondered quietly.

It would be difficult to acquire them in the short term anymore.

Then from somewhere else?

But there’s no suitable place, and there’s not enough time.

In that case.

‘Should I move more boldly?’

If the lord here is related to that secret organization, he wouldn’t just stand still.

Then let’s aim for that in reverse.

‘Should I strike first this time without waiting?’

Of course, what I need to do now is prepare.

Episode 208: The Best Strategy is Annihilation (1)

After that, my lifestyle became almost fixed.

Driving away the mercenaries and soldiers approaching the Tower of Ruins.

On the other hand, I would sneak into the city and spread rumors that would create unrest.

After continuing to do that for about a week, results began to appear.

The number of mercenaries coming to find them dwindled.

Even in the city, the remaining mercenaries only seemed to be looking at the bulletin board where requests were posted, trying to earn a living.

And I was immediately using the points that came in like this.

Since it’s clear what I need to do, it’s good to use them from time to time.

‘The ability I need to get is already decided.’

This is it.

After acquiring the ability, I immediately activated it.

*Ziiiiing.*

Mana drained and gathered in one place, then crystallized.

And in an instant, a bluish crystal wall was summoned before my eyes.

A shield made of mana.

“It’s working well.”

The Magic Crystal Shield is quite useful among defensive abilities.

It consumes the user’s mana to create a shield with a strength and size befitting that mana.

The strength of the shield is proportional to the mana consumed. For example, even just enough mana to fire ten of Undine’s arrows would give it the strength of a normal steel shield.

‘It’s good to have as many means of defense as possible.’

The method of blocking with a space fixation barrier, as I’ve done so far, is much better in terms of versatility.

Basically, that method doesn’t discriminate against compatibility.

However, there is a disadvantage to the method of fixed defense: the strength of that fixation is proportional to my concentration and mana.

In other words, it collapses if an attack with more power than I expected is poured out.

For example, I had to struggle several times while fighting until now.

On the other hand, this shield feels like a slightly lower compatibility compared to the means of fixed defense.

‘Because the strength is only proportional to the amount of mana consumed.’

In other words, it doesn’t matter if I’m shaken or distracted. All I have to do is activate it.

And.

The activation speed is faster than fixation.

Fixation isn’t slow either, but it basically takes about 1 to 2 seconds to activate.

This one has an even shorter activation time.

Almost in seconds!

I can take it out whenever I decide to put it up.

*Shhh! Shhh!*

I smiled with satisfaction as I repeatedly unfolded and eliminated the shield.

It’s also an advantage that it can be used in conjunction with other defensive measures.

There will be more days to get hit in the future, so it’s good to have it even more firmly prepared.

‘Now the problem is points.’

Still not enough.

I tried to see if that grimoire could be opened, but.

I need more sources of points.

‘Should I go out and hit them properly?’