I Was a Small Fish When I Reincarnated, but It Seems That I Can Become a Dragon, so I Will Do My Best - Extra Chapter 256
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Naoya : AION Mall Otherworldly Store
Maria : Mebius World Online
9-4. Wave Ripple Barrier
“What is this?”
“Annoying, yet nostalgic.”
“Oh, so you know about this, Tekeris?”
“Of course.”
In front of us stood a barrier that constantly rippled.
We could tell that something was inside, but the ripples made it impossible to see clearly.
It feels… watery? What is this? Well, if it’s a barrier, I can probably destroy it with my Kekkai (Barrier Break), so I don’t think there’s a problem… Should I break it?
With that thought, I reached out my hand to touch it.
But Tekeris grabbed my arm and stopped me.
“Whoa!”
“Don’t touch it.”
“Huh? But I can’t use my Barrier without touching it…”
“There are barriers in this world that you cannot even touch. Just watch.”
After saying that, Tekeris let go of my arm and picked up a small branch and a stone from nearby.
He played with them in his hand for a moment before tossing the branch first.
As soon as the tip of the branch touched the barrier, it rippled.
The ripples lasted only as long as the contact, and then the branch was lightly repelled.
At a glance, it seemed like it was just bouncing off. But when he picked it up…
“What do you think?”
“Wait… what?”
When Tekeris waved the branch, it bent and twisted like a snake.
“I explained it before, didn’t I? This is an attack using the skill called Ripple. This barrier is the Wave Ripple Barrier. It’s a skill that Arnicc often used to protect himself.”
“The fibers of the branch are…”
“The branch can bend, but if it’s repeatedly bent, it will, of course, break. In other words…”
This time, he threw the stone.
The moment it struck the Wave Ripple Barrier, it made a grinding noise and was reduced to powder.
Since the ripples are physical, it was inevitable that the solid stone would be destroyed like that.
The branch is like flesh, and the stone is like bone.
Thinking about it that way, it was easy to imagine what would happen if someone touched this Wave Ripple Barrier with their bare hands.
I shuddered at the thought of how recklessly I had almost touched it earlier.
“So, what should we do about this?”
“It seems like maintaining this skill requires concentration. So, they won’t be able to do much else.”
“And that means?”
“If we can distract them, the barrier will break immediately.”
How are we supposed to do that!?
The person inside this ironclad barrier… is it Arnicc? How are we supposed to distract them!? It doesn’t seem like any skills will work against this!
Hearing Tekeris’s almost impossible way of breaking the barrier, a few others sighed as well.
At this rate, we won’t be able to move from here. We’ll have to figure out some way to destroy this barrier.
“Amariaz, what do you think?”
“Hmm… I’ve never heard of the Wave Ripple Barrier before.”
“Really?”
“A long time ago, people could create their own skills. So, this is probably Arnicc’s original skill.”
“So that means the Ripple skill is also…?”
“Yeah, it’s likely derived from Sky Rupture.”
A skill not granted by Amariaz…
Ugh, that sounds like a real pain! And on top of that, there’s still the troublesome Sky Rupture skill, right?
Ugh, this is…
Can we really win…? I’m starting to feel anxious.
“Hmm…”
Kenra looked intently at the shattered stone.
It had split vertically before being finely crushed.
“Hmph.”
He nodded, then stood up and unsheathed a katana with a aiguchi koshirae (a short sword fitting).
It seemed like he had realized something. Since he was the only one moving, everyone’s eyes turned toward Kenra.
With a beautiful stance, he raised the sword gracefully.
After taking the sword into a high stance, he began moving his body slowly, as if tracing each move of a practiced form.
Kenra, skilled in iaijutsu (the art of drawing and cutting with a sword), rarely performed such motions. However, this time, he understood that iaijutsu alone wouldn’t solve the problem.
He took a deep breath and held it.
Gripping the hilt tightly, he shouted as he swung down.
“Ha!!”
Shing! The katana sliced downward in a straight line from above… and unlike the stone Tekeris had thrown earlier, the sword didn’t break.
“It’s not broken!”
“Oh!”
And then, the barrier cracked.
A gap large enough for two people to pass through opened up. However, it was gradually shrinking.
But if Kenra could do it one more time, all of us could get inside.
Relieved that his idea had worked, Kenra sighed with relief.
“Honestly, it was a gamble… Ripples can only spread outward. So if I cut vertically, as long as the spot I sliced isn’t the center of the ripples, I thought I could cut the barrier without breaking the sword.”
“Kenra-san, you’re amazing!”
“To think it had such a weakness… Impressive.”
Even Tekeris, who usually only relied on brute strength, couldn’t help but express admiration. He hadn’t considered using skill and technique to manipulate a situation like this.
After all, in ancient times, there were no swords or katana. Weapons were more like lumps of iron or logs.
In any case, we had found a way in! Let’s ask Kenra-san to do it again!
“Kenra-san, please, can you do it again?”
“Understood. On the count of three, I will cut again. When that happens, everyone please enter the barrier.”
There should be plenty of time for everyone to get inside after the barrier cracks, so no one would be left behind.
Kenra immediately assumed the high stance again and moved his body gracefully, tracing the form. Then, with a single swift motion, he slashed.
For a moment, nothing happened, but soon a large crack appeared in the barrier.
At that moment, we all started to enter one by one.
Following behind me and Amariaz were Abyss and Iubora.
Finally, Tekeris and Kenra entered.
The group had successfully made it inside and, at last, laid eyes on the enemy’s base of operations.
“…It looks a lot like the place where I was captured.”
“Maybe it’s some kind of research facility…”
Before us stood a massive white building made of reinforced concrete, towering imposingly, completely ignoring the surrounding landscape.