Chapter 170: Ogre Extermination
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/
Author: Hirukuma
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
We continued to move along the wall, eventually stopping at a spot that looked decent enough to rest in.
Now that the active fighting was over, it was time for me to properly contribute to our party. Since everyone had just heavily exerted themselves, a round of sports drinks and cold food would be good. However, seeing how the night was closing in, a warm meal would probably be more appreciated.
Although the brush with death was probably a great mental toll, everyone seemed to be in surprisingly good condition and quickly regained their strength and good humour. Perhaps thanks to his high-performance armour, even Mishael was soon up and conscious enough to eat.
โSorry guys, I shouldโve given everyone at least a briefing about the floor boss here,โ Hyurumi was sitting in the sand with her head hung low with shame.
โNo way, itโs not Hyurumiโs fault!โ Ramis quickly declared.
โThatโs right, I was suffering from a sudden bout of hot-headedness as well and dragged everyone into this. Sorry for putting everyone in danger,โ said Hevoy.
โInstead of being helpful, I was a hindrance! Iโll accept any punishment you deem fit, Master Hakkon!โ
Everyone took turns apologising. Well, I rather be with a group of people like this than suffer with people who like to pass the blame on others. While it was heartwarming, this conversation was getting us nowhere.
โA pl-anโ
โMa-keโ
โThatโs right, we can decide who is at fault later, We still have to deal with that ogre,โ said Kikoyu, echoing my sentiment.
Her mature way of speaking doesnโt match her youthful appearance. However, it is possible she may actually be older than Ramisโฆ
โThatโs right, the real question now is what should we do about that Two-Headed Ogre. Do we run, or take it down?โ said Hyurumi, who had perfectly summarised the most crucial points.
โThe enemy is too strong, running is not a bad idea,โ said Hevoy.
Shui stared hard at Hevoy, โAre you alright with this? We left Tasite behind, remember?โ
โUnder those circumstances, he had most likely died from blood loss or was eaten by the Two-Headed Ogre. The Skull Ring could not control that monster at all.โ
โThe ring could only enforce simple commands. As this floorโs master, he could probably only order them to stop or attack. However, once the monsters had gone berserk, they could not be controlled any more. Also, it is likely that the Ruler of the Netherworld helped to keep the monsters in a state of suspended animation or asleep until they receive a signal.โ
Thatโs right. The Two-Headed Ogre had been standing motionless with their eyes closed like a statue until it was โwokenโ up.
โHey, if Tasite had the Skull Ring when the ogre ate himโฆ would the control be transferred to the ogre?โ asked Ramis curiously.
โHahaha, thatโsโฆ unlikelyโฆ but I wouldnโt rule it out,โ said Hyurumi with a laugh.
โIf that is the case, we may have to face a Two-Headed Ogre that could control and manipulate the creature inside this Desert Pillar.โ
Just the thought of a freakishly strong monster with power over those horrifying monsters is frankly terrifying.
โThe monsters on the first floor of the Desert Pillar are considered lower-class creatures. The higher you ascend the Pillar the more powerful the monsters. If that creature could actually control those monsters and attack the village, that would be terrible.โ
โShouldnโt we strike while the ironโs hot and subjugate him here and now? What do you think, Master Hakkon?โ
Could you not bring me into the discussion like this, Mishael?
Everyoneโs eyes were now fixed on me.
What do you expect from a vending machine? Sure, my strategies have worked pretty well to date, but itโs not like I could simply come up with a strategy in a pinch.
โDe-monโ
โSk-illโ
To properly fight against the enemy, one should first know their capabilities.
โOh, good point! Iโll tell you what I know about the Two-Headed Ogre. First, itโs an ogre with two heads. The one on the right is male and the right a female. Its body is harder than steel and its strength is as you all have experienced. If Ramis challenges it head-on, she wonโt stand a chance.โ
We have already experienced its defensive power and monstrous strength. Despite taking a direct hit from three of us, it looked like it took no damage at all.
โMy attack aside, surely Ramis or Mishaelโs attacks could penetrate steel?โ
โThatโs true. Letโs talk about the Two-Headed Ogreโs Gifts. First, its monstrous strength. Weโve all experienced that, right?โ
Everyone nodded.
โThe most troublesome ability is <Harden>. Itโs a gift that greatly strengthens its skin, to the point that it can repel all kinds of attacks. In short, its strength was just <Superhuman Strength> and <Harden>. Simple, but that is why they are practically untouchable.โ
So, it was like giving the ogre both a powerful club and great armour. Simple, but considering its already incredible strength, these two abilities more than doubled its power.
โIf the Leader was here, we could do something about the <Hardening>โฆโ Shui muttered from the side, looking rather sad and forlorn.
Thatโs right, Leader Keyroil has the <Shattering Eye> which neutralizes all other gifts. With him around, we could handily get around the <Harden> skill.
โIt canโt be helped. Thatโs asking for the impossible. Best to just work with what we have.โ
Well said, Hyurumi.
After all, my friends are no less talented than that guy. I believe weโll manage something as long as we work together.
Now that we know what the enemyโs skills are, is there any other pertinent information we should be aware of?
โAside from their Gifts, the Two-Headed Ogre is known to be a glutton for food and drinks,โ said Hyurumi.
In short, they share characteristics similar to those of Japanese Oni. Speaking of ogres who like to drink, Shuten Douji [1] has to be the most famous.
If it happened to have a drinking problemโฆ how about the classic โstrike โem when theyโre drunkโ method? If the <Harden> happens to be a conscious skill, we could even get around that once they fall asleep.
After eating all that food [2] seasoned with salty barbecue sauce, it must be thirsty by now. If we offer it alcohol, it might just gulp down the whole thing.
I can provide as much alcohol as needed. While I rarely drink, it doesnโt mean I canโt. I used to get drinks from vending machines in front of the liquor store for drinking parties with friends.
My friends would say that โItโs much cheaper to buy directly from the storeโ but whenever Iโm buying, it has to be from the vending machine. Ah, how nostalgic.
Thanks to that one friend who enjoyed drinking all sorts of alcohol, my repertoire of drinks is quite wide. I never knew that this little habit would come in handy. I should be thankful to those drinking buddies of mine.
Well, since we have plenty of choices, the question now comes to what type of alcohol to offer it. If weโre aiming to make it get drunk quickly, high-alcohol content types would be the best. By the way, I heard somewhere that drinking alcohol with sports drinks would increase the alcohol absorption rate and get you drunk faster. However, I can vouch that itโs a complete lie.
A-anyway, letโs just go with pure Japanese sakรฉ with the highest alcohol content.
Speaking of Japanese sakรฉ, I found this interesting sakรฉ tasting vending machine at the Osaka airport once. They have about 30 different brands of sakรฉ and for a 100 yen coin, you can get a shot glass worth of drink.
Thinking back, drinking 30 shots of sakรฉ in one go just to satisfy my vending mania was quite the overkillโฆ
[3] Given how big that thing is, a single shot, or even a single 2-litre plastic bottle worth of alcohol probably wonโt do much to it. However, several bottles of alcohol should do it, right?
[3] I have no idea whether it has such things as taste buds, but letโs give it a few types of high alcohol content sakรฉ that are commonly sold at vending machines. In fact, letโs pick Onikoroshi (ogre Slayer) [4] sakรฉ just for luck.
As I lit up the panels with a line of alcoholic drinks, everyone quickly got the idea and started helping out.
While [5] I was churning out alcohol in 2-litre plastic bottles (blasphemy, I know, but we donโt care), a question started to emerge.
โSo,โ said Hyurumi we had a good stack of alcohol. โHow are we going to get it to drink this?โ
Everyone stopped stacking the bottles and looked at each other.
Thatโs right. Itโs not like we could have a beautiful woman offer up alcohol to the ogre. Ascetics of โbeautyโ and gender aside, the Two-Headed Ogre has both male and female heads. With the female head being the sultry-looking typeโฆ
Does that mean that it has a similar sense of beauty?
Should we have both handsome men and beautiful women to serve itโฆ them?
โWhile it should be full after gorging on all those monsters, it doesnโt mean we wonโt be senselessly killed,โ Hyurumi mused.
โUm, in that case, are there any monsters that the Two-Headed wonโt kill? Even marginally?โ [2] asked Ramis. โI know it eats the monsters on the first floor, but even the most powerful monsters wonโt kill certain creatures.โ
โHmmโฆ ah! I think they donโt attack monsters from the โogreโ race. Why do you ask?โ said Hyurumi.
โWell, I was thinking, is it possible to disguise ourselves as part of the ogre race?โ
Oho, way to think outside the box!
As for the disguiseโฆ
All gazes turned towards Hevoy, who slammed a fist into his palm.
โItโs not impossible given enough time. I have encountered a few members of the ogre race. If I overlap their image over myself, we could fool them.โ
โThe Two-Headed Ogre could speak in broken words, but a lower level ogre could be limited to grunts like โguoโ, or โgahโ,โ said Hyurumi thoughtfully.
Suddenly, the nearly impossible task seemed almost doable. It was still a very dangerous role, but Hevoy appeared enthusiastic about it.
Since I canโt think of any other plan, letโs just go with it for now. We donโt have a choice anyway.
Even if we tried to flee, we may be attacked by the Two-Headed Ogre and desert monsters before we even reached the village. If that happens, our survival rate will drop close to zero. It may be best to face the danger now, [2] while the monster is alone and satiated from meat.
โLetโs give it a try. I have an idea how we can get it to drink,โ said Hyurumi with such confidence that I automatically relaxed even though I hadnโt heard her plan yet.
While the rest of the party discussed the disguise, I took the opportunity to review the list of alcohol I could produce. It would be best if we could get our hands on vodka, but I have never encountered vending machine vodka before.
Just looking at all the alcohol was making me tipsy, even though as a vending machine, I wouldnโt feel anything even if all the alcohol bottles were opened in a confined space. [5]
[Gumihou: Adjusted the ending for plot continuity per Note 5]
[1] Shuten Douji โ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuten-d%C5%8Dji
[2] Add details
[3] Adjust details
[4] Onikoroshi really do exist!
https://www.truesake.com/products/wakatake-onigoroshi-dg
[5] Here, the author said โeveryone helped transfer the alcohol into 2 litre-plastic bottlesโ.
Gumihou: Umm, canโt you do that yourself? I mean, you can put menthos into cola bottles with the cola and pachinko balls and lube into plastic bottles before vanishing said bottles after launching them. So, why???
Everyone, who had been diligently transferring the drinks, suddenly stopped in their tracks.
I guess it looks funny?
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