I Will Be Unrivaled With The Skill [Sewing]! They Said It Was A Bad Skill, But With Effort, I will Make It A Hit~ - Chapter 116

Episode 116: The Statue Demon

Maior and the others were never careless.

They had thoroughly maintained vigilance of their surroundings and were mindful of long-range attacks as well.

But the attack came without warning.

Even Attalos, who had endured countless ambushes throughout his life, was completely caught off guard this time and froze up.

However, floating beside him was a sphere deployed by a seasoned comrade.

The sphere’s unique properties were what ultimately saved his life.

“ 【Magic Eater】 !”

Rentulus amplified the magic-attracting function of the shield orb to its maximum capacity.

The blue flame was pulled toward the shield orb as if sucked in. With a whoosh, it struck the orb and was extinguished.

A beat later, Attalos stepped back and drew his sword.

“Rentulus, thanks for the save”

“Yeah. If you’d taken that, it would’ve been bad. I hadn’t even charged the shield orb with much magic, but it still nearly got destroyed in one hit.”

“I didn’t sense it at all… Maior, where’s the enemy?”

“The nearest monster is still quite far off. I can’t tell if the attack came from there or if it’s evading detection entirely. In any case, be ready for the next shot. I’m sharing my visual field now!”

At that moment, Seneca and the others were far from calm.

Under assault from an unknown method, they could only focus on their immediate vicinity within the shared 【Detection】 field of view.

Only Gaia remained composed, analyzing the situation calmly.

“Maior! There’s a monster heading at full speed in the direction of the ‘Gate’!”

Prompted by Gaia’s words, the group turned their eyes to a monster moving with terrifying speed.

“It’s a Gargoyle subspecies!”

Maior shouted.

At that moment, Attalos had a terrible premonition.

The monster appeared to be charging straight toward something with a clear purpose.

“Leave defense to me! 【Brute Force】!”

Rentulus activated his sub-skill and increased the number of shield orbs to ten. Even if they were ambushed again, the magic attraction should respond in time now.

“All units, move out!”

Attalos’s voice rang out.

While running, Plautia checked the positions of the various potions stored in her pouch. These were special concentrated potions crafted by Kito, and even with just what she could carry at her waist, they could respond to a wide variety of situations.

“Seneca, get behind me. You and Rentulus will take the second row! Plautia, Gaia! Protect Maior!”

Attalos gave instructions as he ran at full speed.

No one could match Attalos’s pace, but Seneca and Rentulus quickly moved side by side, preparing for the coming battle.

While the three in front pulled ahead, Maior ran with all his might and delivered a critical message to Attalos.

“Attalos-san! Attack that Gargoyle with everything you’ve got! Now, hurry!!!!”

The gargoyle that had been moving ahead reached the area where the “Gate” had been and began concentrating an enormous amount of magical energy, preparing to do something.

Following the instructions of his student, Attalos didn’t hesitate.

“【Swift Step】! 【Blade Demon】!”

Attalos unleashed one of his trump cards.

Thanks to 【Swift Step】, his movements accelerated to extreme speeds, and he released a spell even faster than his enhanced body.

The spell gleamed with light and took the shape of a sword.

Slicing through the air, the blade-like magic shot forth, successfully interrupting the gargoyle just as it was concentrating its focus.

“Gigiih!”

The gargoyle let out a frustrated cry.

If it had just a little more time, it would have completed its objective.

Still, it had at least achieved the minimum requirement.

Everyone was watching the 【Detection】 field.

In the spot where the massive “Gate” had once stood, a compressed orb of magical energy the size of a fist began to materialize.

The energy spun violently as if it had a will of its own—and then, it gave rise to a small subspace.

“Gigigiiiiii!!!”

The demonic statue let out a mocking laugh as it bathed in the dense magical energy flowing from the subspace.

The moment Attalos saw the formation of the small subspace, he charged at the gargoyle.

Even if the subspace was small, the monster nearby could absorb its power and become a guardian-like entity.

The gargoyle skillfully dodged Attalos’s attack, using its bat-like wings to maneuver nimbly. Then, activating its authority, it opened up the subspace further and summoned a blue flame from the far beyond.

Attalos, having sensed the danger, quickly put distance between himself and stood in front of Seneca and Rentulus, who had come chasing after him.

“Kigii!”

Letting out a screech that grated on the nerves, the gargoyle opened another subspace.

The subspace grew to about half the size of Attalos’s body, and then a beast leapt out of it before the space closed again.

“This thing can open subspace at will?!”

The beast that had burst forth lunged at Attalos. Its body resembled that of a cat, but it had two heads and grotesque faces.

“I’ve never seen a monster like this!”

Just as the two-headed cat tried to bite Attalos, the gargoyle also sprang into motion. It summoned blue fire from subspace again and hurled itself at Attalos.

Even for Attalos, taking a three-pronged attack all at once would be overwhelming. That’s why Seneca dashed forward with all his might.

Seneca had assumed Rentulus would handle the fire, so without hesitation, he headed straight for the gargoyle.

The gargoyle seemed intent on crashing into Attalos midair, so Seneca chose to interfere.

She fixed twenty 【Sewing Pin】 in midair to alter the gargoyle’s trajectory. Then, as the gargoyle was forced to decelerate, Seneca struck at its neck with her full force.

Clang!

However, the gargoyle—made of hard stone—wasn’t even scratched. It was far harder than Seneca had imagined.

After striking, Seneca retreated to Attalos’s side. On the opposite side, Rentulus had already dealt with the blue fire.

“Hey, Attalos. What the hell is this thing? I’ve never seen a monster like it!”

“…Even though the subjugation squads have been taking out the stronger monsters, their numbers weren’t going down. I thought they were just being strengthened by mana accumulation since these were the types of monsters that usually appear in this region. But no… it was because of you, wasn’t it?”

“Ginyuu.”

The gargoyle let out a gleeful sound.

“So its abilities are weird fire and summoning allies? This is going to be a pain in the ass.”

As Rentulus said this, Maior and the others caught up.

“You saw what’s going on, right? You three in the back—handle the cat monster. Even if you can’t defeat it, just keep it in check. We’ll take down the gargoyle.”

“…Understood,” said Plautia sharply in response.

“Rentulus-san. Right before that monster opens subspace, there’s a faint movement of mana.”

“Got it. As long as we don’t miss that signal, we can deal with it.”

“All units, execute Operation Red. I’m counting on you.”

Attalos said this and looked back at Gaia, who had been waiting in the rear. Operation Red was a coordinated strategy where everyone would draw the enemy’s attention, allowing Gaia to hit them with her full-powered magic.

While Seneca and the others coordinated the plan, the gargoyle floated smugly in the air, grinning in a way that made one’s skin crawl. Its movements were mocking.

However, when Seneca and the others glared sharply at it, it let out another “Gigii” and opened a new subspace.

“Seneca, I’m counting on you to handle the cat!”

As another two-headed cat monster leapt out, Attalos left it to Seneca and turned to confront the gargoyle himself.

Gaia was waiting for the perfect moment to fire her spell.

Her magic was already prepared—it could be fired at any moment.

The enemy certainly looked tough, but Gaia was confident that her magic could still deal damage.

Until recently, Gaia had lost confidence. The reason: she had encountered a white dragon.

Gaia could only use her 【Artillery Magic】 once per day.

She’d felt frustrated, angry, and conflicted about that limitation. But she had never doubted its power.

There hadn’t been a single monster she couldn’t bring down after casting it.

She had never met another human who used higher-powered magic than herself.

That’s why, somewhere along the line, she’d grown arrogant.

She had unconsciously believed that if she could just activate her magic, no monster could withstand it.

But when she faced the white dragon, that illusion shattered completely.

It wasn’t as though she didn’t know such beings existed.

After all, the target she practiced her spells on daily was made from the specially treated scales of a low-tier dragon. If she had thought about it even a little, she could’ve imagined the existence of monsters her magic couldn’t harm.

But Gaia had encountered the pinnacle of power in this world far too early.

Before she could objectively assess her own strength.

Before she could calmly analyze it.

Before she could apply imagination.

She had just broken free from the curse of being able to cast only one spell a day, but was about to place a new curse on herself—self-doubt.

What saved her was seeing Maior.

After facing the dragon, Maior had been so devastated it was painful to even look at her. But even so, she pulled herself up from that state and began training again with even more passion than before.

That sight struck a chord deep in Gaia’s heart.

Was it okay for her to stay in shock?

Was it okay to keep turning her eyes away?

After many sleepless nights, Gaia made up her mind.

“If it’s not strong enough, I’ll just get stronger.”

From that point on, she began, for the first time since gaining her skill, training to increase her magic’s power. Thanks to that, her strength had started to improve, bit by bit.

“Gaia!”

Attalos gave the signal.

Gaia thrust her left arm forward.

She converted her mana, forming the ‘seed’ of a powerful spell.

She compressed this seed with all her strength, waiting for the mana to transform even further.

Her comrades had already begun evacuating.

Rentulus’s skill had stopped the enemy in its tracks.

No matter how hard the enemy was, she would pierce through it.

Gaia imbued her thoughts into her skill.

She could feel her mana reaching critical state—high energy level.

All that was left was to fire this violent mana at high speed.

“FIRING!!!!!!”

Gaia released her spell straight at the gargoyle.