Jujutsushi 280.2
===
Chapter 280: The Exiled Folks
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1[1-3], R2[4-6], R3[7-9]
Part 4
The sharpness and durability were amazing, but the flow of magical power was the real star. Magic hits way harder when I channel it through the blade. Honestly, it might as well be called a magic sword now.
Using the 『Cross Calibur』 With this sword would likely bring out more power than before. With this, I might even be able to cut down Zagan.
『Saintess’s Yamato Bow』: The basic materials were Sakura’s bow from her archery club days. The basic design remains, but if inspected closely, fine patterns resembling magic formations were engraved into it. These seem to be entirely specialised for Sakura’s light magic, granting stronger effects than typical enhancements.
The bow itself contains a considerable amount of light magical power, faintly glowing like my sword.
『Snow White Bloom』: The enhanced form of the Class Rep’s cherished ice staff. The formerly blue staff was now pure white, like pristine snow. And of course, it’s more than a simple colour change, its power to amplify ice magic has been boosted even further.
When upgraded, Natsukawa-san's knife always pulls up some creepy flavour text. Not just raw power, its area of effect, casting speed, and number of uses have all improved too.
『Ancient Villains』: he evils of antiquity. Even in a peaceful civilisation far more advanced than today, they would invariably reach for a blade. Tranquillity only makes fear more vivid. A single strike could send thousands—no, tens of thousands—into panic.
That blade embodies fear itself. Gorge on blood. Let their death throes ring out.
The ancient, deranged blade is resurrected in the present day.
Since the knife produces this sort of grim flavour text every time it’s strengthened, Natsukawa-san inevitably ends up chasing after the poor creator in annoyance, it was practically a tradition by now.
『Ancient Blade of Purity』: Asuna may have sinned, but now isn’t the moment to judge her. We need her power, and if she wants to make amends, then fighting for everyone was the only choice.
Let's cut our way forward with this sword reforged with an orichalcum alloy.
All of our weapons received major upgrades. Even our secondary gear—like my magic sword and Asuna’s—was enhanced, though not to the same extent due to the limited materials. Still, some improvement was better than none, so we’ll keep strengthening them however we can.
We also managed to update our defensive gear.
『Power Inner』: An inner suit created using special cloth recovered from what seemed to be ancient soldiers’ combat uniforms. The fabric, woven from mana-rich fibres, has outstanding durability and strong resistance to elemental attacks like fire and lightning. In addition, much like Sakura’s 『Oracle Field』, it reacts to the wearer’s magical power and produces a faint barrier across their entire body..
Even though it’s just a single scrap of fabric, it offers ridiculous defensive power. Unfortunately, the special mana-infused fibres are as scarce as orichalcum, so we could only make enough to turn it into underwear, and that was the limit.
『Assassin Suit』: A reinforced suit woven with a larger amount of those special mana-rich fibres. Neither we nor Takanashi-san could break it down through synthesis, so we were about ready to give up on using it as material—until Natsukawa, somehow, managed to wear it just fine. So the suit became hers.
The suit itself looks like a competitive swimsuit, and its defensive function only activates for Natsukawa-san. It was clearly a piece of gear that chooses its wearer, perhaps its compatibility depends on one’s vocation.
『Shield Protector』: Gauntlets and greaves forged from light-steel, reinforced with an orichalcum-touched alloy and magic-woven fibres. They’re sturdy on their own, but the real draw was this: pour in a little magical power, and a full-body light barrier flares to life instantly.
Since I already have the 『Seraphic Aegis(Star Shield of Heaven)』 I gave this set to Asuna, whose defensive options were a bit lacking.
『Diamond Duster』: A snow-white cape enchanted to use Class Rep’s ice-attribute mana to auto-activate a defensive spell. Once magical power flows through it, shimmering particles drift like real diamond dust, instantly forming frost-shields around anything that enters the mist.
It wouldn’t stop a heavy martial blow, but stray arrows and weaker spells are nothing to worry about. With the sheer number of Goma around, mages like the president need every bit of protection they can get.
With upgrades like these, our defensive gear has become far sturdier than before.
Thanks to Takanashi-san, we’ve managed to overhaul our gear into something actually reliable... But even so, the Goma Kingdom was still a terrifying force. A frontal assault, even with our upgraded equipment, would be nothing but suicide.
With the forging work finally behind me, I’d head out tomorrow to help search for the others and scout the kingdom myself. We need an opening. Anything. And we have to find it.
===
Morning came, the five stomachs were still aching after they shared a scrawny bird between the five of them.
Huddled quietly in the corner of a collapsing ruin, hiding from the Goma’s eyes, we talked over the next problem they had to deal with.
「Yeah, this is bad. Our weapons are pretty much done for.」
From the tower assault, to the desperate struggle in that cave they were left behind in, and then all the days they spent running, cutting their way through Goma and wild monsters alike, the blades they forged to be sturdy are now chipped and worn to the point where it’s hard to ignore.
「Himeno, can’t you do something with your alchemy?」
「Not a chance… If I try to tinker with a weapon in this state, I might end up breaking it outright.」
「Yeah, that tracks. I’ve heard even Takanashi-san used to mess up and destroy weapons when she was just starting out.」
「If we want them properly repaired, we’ll need either Takanashi or Momokawa.」
「At least we’ve still got a whetstone. Could be worse.」
Yamada said. Ueda looked utterly disheartened as he examined his cherished『Silver Iron Sword』.
The once brilliant sword was chipped and dull, and even the engraved 『Sharpness』 magic crest had worn down so badly that its enchantment looked ready to fade at any moment.
Back then, we always had someone who could handle proper reforging, so our weapons were kept in flawless condition.
But now, with alchemy completely out of reach, Yamada was right, sharpening their weapon with a whetstone was the only way we’ve got to keep an edge on their blades.
「If we keep using it like this, it’s seriously gonna break for good.」
「It already looks pretty bad… But we don’t have any other weapons.」
「What if we make some new ones? Something cheap we can use on weak monsters?」
「Make them? The only thing we can make is stone-age gear. Better to just take weapons off the Goma.」
「Oi, anyone ever grabbed a weapon off a Goma you’ve flattened?」
「Are you daft? When they charge, we’re too busy screaming and running!」
The Goma in this floor was unlike the other drifter they found in the previous floor.
The Dungeon Goma just wander around in tiny groups. But this spot’s basically right next to the Goma Kingdom. If you see one, there could be hundreds hiding just behind it.
Unless they’ve got a squad that could wipe them out in seconds, it was a much wiser choice to avoid fighting them. Just keep their distance and stay alive.
「Next time we cross paths with a Goma… We’ve no choice but to snatch whatever we can from its corpse.」
It was a pitiable, makeshift plan, but there was no better plan than that, and thus end their discussion.
They didn’t have time to keep talking—everyone was starving. They needed to hunt something decent today. Getting killed by a Goma would be a bad news, but starving to death sounded even worse.
So when each of them picked up their weapons and stepped out of the ruined place they’d crashed in for the night—
There was sharp sound sliced through the air.
「Damn it, AMBUSH!」
Several arrows came cascading down like rain.
It was an ambush by a Goma unit. Their location had clearly been exposed long ago, and the enemy had been lying in wait for them.
「Zabua! Gebaa!」
On the roof of the two-storey ruin, the Goma archers had taken position, with their leader, Gōvu, shouting orders to fire.
Arrows rained from above once again, forcing them to retreat back under the roof of the ruined building.
「I’ll take the lead to open a path!」
「Himeno, Nakajima, take care of those archers!」
「There are archers positioned in several spots, so we can’t get all of them, but we’ll suppress at least half.」
「Himeno, don’t fall behind!」
「I’ll run like my life depends on it!」
With their strategy decided in a heartbeat, the five braced themselves and burst out into the open.
Yamada, clad in full armour and carrying his shield, charged ahead, with Ueda and Mari flanking him tightly.
Himeno and Nakajima followed closely behind, releasing their spells the instant they cleared the threshold of the ruined shelter.
「Mmm— come on, burst wide open— 『Lux Sagita』!」
「————『Ice Blast』」
But Himeno’s 『Lux Sagita』 didn’t fly true; instead it exploded in mid-air with a blinding flash, lighting up the rooftop long before it could pierce the waiting Gorma archers.
She thought she had fired 『Lux Sagita』, but in reality she had cast a rather magnificent 『Flash』. The flood of light washed over the rooftop, wiping out the archers’ vision.
Nakajima’s 『Ice Blast』 exploded among the archers positioned elsewhere. It was an area-of-effect spell, but the aim wasn’t to deal damage, just like Himeno’s flash, it was meant to obstruct their vision. Thick white frost billowed out like smoke, lingering around the Goma.
With that, they managed to force two groups of archers to halt their attacks, but many more Goma were still positioned around them.
Arrows continued to rain from other directions, mixed with crude throwing spears made simply by sharpening wooden stakes, increasing the density of the incoming attacks.
「Gah, damn it, that one grazed me!」