Chapter 16 High Ogre
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The moment we stepped in, a single massive High Ogre stood waiting.
Pitch-black skin, stark white hair, and eyes like molten rubies glowing in the dark. Two crooked horns crowned its head. Five meters tall, towering over us like a living fortress.
Otherwise, it looked like the ogres we had crushed on the way here—just bigger, heavier, and far more dangerous.
*Appraisal.*
**Demonic Tribe — High Ogre**
HP 300/300
Mana 0/0
Technique 30/30
Physical Attack 30+20
Physical Defense 40
Magic Attack 0
Magic Defense 10
Speed 15
Movement 2
Trait: Regeneration
Equipment: Oni-Iron Axe
”…Yeah. I can’t break that. You’re our only damage.”
”Great,” she muttered, raising **Lonisera** with steady hands.
Mana shots cracked through the dark, sparks bouncing off its skin like fireflies striking stone. No real damage landed. It roared, axe cleaving down in a deadly sweep.
She danced away with quick steps, keeping its fury on her. I sprinted the opposite direction, boots scraping across stone as I prepared my trap.
Eight meters deep, two meters wide, spiral spikes along the walls. The pit had to be fast and brutal.
The ground shook as I poured Mana Stones into the hole, shaping jagged barbs inside. My fingers trembled, but the formation held. She caught my signal and sprinted toward me, lungs burning, the High Ogre bellowing behind her.
Its axe crashed down. She slid between its legs mid-swing and, on instinct, fired upward.
Square between the legs.
The beast made a strangled sound, crumpling to its knees. I winced in sympathy, toes curling involuntarily. She peppered its back with more shots until it staggered upright, rage blazing.
Then it thundered after her with murderous speed.
She slid past me at the last second.
It didn’t.
The ground vanished under its feet.
Spikes drove through its body like skewers through meat. It shrieked, thrashing against the stone walls.
I tossed a pouch into the pit. Glittering powder burst in a haze. *Create Wall* sealed the hole—then I sparked it.
”Ears, cover now—”
*BOOOOM!!*
The shockwave slammed us flat to the ground. White noise swallowed my hearing. Torakuma screamed somewhere distant, or maybe that was only blood rushing in my head.
Mana-stone gunpowder. My pet project. The “mana gun for isekai girls with no mana.” The one that blew up an orichalcum prototype and made the teacher cry.
Totally worth it.
When the ringing dulled, I crawled toward the crater. She was unconscious but breathing, so I forced myself onward.
The spikes were shattered. The pit was scorched black. The High Ogre’s limbs hung in bloody ribbons, eyes boiled away.
And still—it lived.
”That thing is insane.”
I jumped down into the pit. Heat radiated from the scorched stone, searing through my boots. I grabbed a glowing shard and drove it at its skull.
The strike stopped on bone, the hardest part of its body. Fine. Hammer time.
One strike—cracks formed.
Two strikes—deeper still.
Three strikes—halfway through.
Four strikes—the shard splintered.
Five strikes—the tip pierced its brain.
Six strikes—I smashed with everything I had.
The skull burst like rotten fruit.
The twitching stopped at last.
It crumbled to dust before I could split the chest for its Mana Stone. Dead. Finally. My legs wobbled, and I used my Warhammer as a cane, laughing half-delirious.
A shadow fell across me. Torakuma leapt down, scooped me up in a princess carry, and bounded out of the pit in one effortless leap.
”Absolutely mortifying,” I muttered. If the girl saw this, my dignity was doomed.
…Silence. Her mouth moved, but no sound reached me. Right—my eardrums were gone.
No healing I could craft would fix that. Only Church-blessed salves from the Maiden of Healing, the kind that regrew limbs—and cost just as much.
I pulled two vials from my pack. *Blessed Healing Draughts.* I chugged one and handed her the other. Warmth surged through me—sound snapped back like a wave.
”Phaahh—oh! I can hear!!” she yelped, ears twitching wildly.
”Yeah… the blast shredded our eardrums.”
”Eard… drums? That’s the skin that hears sound, right?”
”That’s the one. Ask a real doctor for details.”
”Ughhh. I’m no good at book stuff…”
She pouted, looking almost cute.
Then, with deadly calm, she said:
”By the way… aren’t you going to wake your consort?”
”Please don’t call her that. She hasn’t… picked me.”
”You’re kidding. You two are obviously in love. You kiss constantly and both act weirdly defensive about chastity.”
”…Still. I’m not sure.”
”Why not?”
”She lives with me now.”
”Already cohabiting, huh.”
”Only because her parents were murdered and she was chased out of her home.”
”…What?”
I steadied my breath and forced the words out.
”She’s half-demon. Her father was from the Nightfall Tribes. Her mother was a succubus. A noble tried to take her mother. When they resisted, it triggered a demon hunt.”
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat.
”They tore her father apart. They raped her mother. They left her hanging in the square for days.”
”…That’s monstrous.”
”If you need a word… call it human ugliness.”
She had survived only by hiding. If they had found her, they would have broken her completely.
”When I found her, she was standing in the rain with dead eyes. I took her home. I fed her. I held her when she cried.”
”…I see.”
”I’m her lifesaver. How could I turn her down if she wanted me?”
”…I guess you couldn’t.”
”So if she falls for someone else someday, I’ll let her go. Even if it kills me. If it’s her choice, I’ll accept it.”
Torakuma studied me for a long moment. “And you? How do you feel about her?”
”I love her. If this feeling needs a name… call it love.”
Her lips curled faintly. “I think you two suit each other.”
”Do you.”
”You’re a good man. Be confident in that.”
”That’s… not easy.”
”If she ever dumps you, come to me. I’ll comfort you.”
”…Seriously?”
”You’d be welcome in my house, you know.”
I blinked. She smiled softly, cheeks warming.
”I’ve fallen for the depth of your love. But I won’t steal you from her. I like what you two have.”
I had no idea how to answer. I hadn’t done anything to deserve such feelings from her.
”You have skill and knowledge but far too little self-worth,” she added. “Have more faith in yourself.”
”Easy for you to say. How am I supposed to feel confident standing next to her?”
”Hm? In my country, you’d be considered a fine-looking man.”
”…So just different standards.”
”Oi, do you have a problem with my country?”
”Just wondering—are *you* considered beautiful there?”
”That phrasing’s weird, but yes.”
”Then our standards aren’t that different.”
”Stop being roundabout. What does my beauty have to do with it?”
”If you count as beautiful there, then our standard matches. You’re insanely beautiful even by ours.”
”U-uh… getting told that straight on is… embarrassing…”
Her ears went red to the tips of her hair. She ducked her head, mumbling.
”Mmnn…”
A faint sound cut through the silence. The girl stirred.
I jolted and hurried to her side.
”With that much love, she’s bound to see it,” Torakuma murmured. I pretended I hadn’t heard.
”Hey, you awake? Anything hurt?” I asked, shaking her shoulder gently.
”…Ah… m’ornin…”
Her words were slurred. Right—she was deaf.
*Sorry to wake you. Can you understand me?* I mouthed.
”Ehh… ahhnnn… n’t hear y…”
*If you can sit up, drink this.* I pulled a draught from my bag—
—and froze as she kissed me.
Vitality poured out of me like water. Succubus instinct. She was draining me to heal herself.
My limbs grew heavy. …Not going to shrivel here, right?
Then she pulled away, eyes sharpened.
”Mm—yep! All fixed!!” she chirped.
”You’re seriously convenient…”
Torakuma and I had needed goddess-blessed draughts. She did it with a kiss. My stats were wrecked, but at least she was fine.
”Hey, lovebirds,” Torakuma called, “that treasure chest looks lonely.”
The girl went crimson. She had forgotten Torakuma was there.
”…Right. Let’s go,” I muttered, holding out my hand.
She shot me a glare that promised this wasn’t over, then took it.
The three of us gathered at the ornate chest.
”Now then—open sesame!!” Torakuma declared, flipping it open.
Inside lay two familiar accessories.
”Huh? These look like the collar and ring you two are wearing,” she said, tilting her head.
”Not just look. Same make. I didn’t think they could drop normally…”
”They’re special then?”
”Yeah. Very.”
*Blessing of the Earth Mother.*
*Prayer of the Earth Mother.*
Getting them this early was wrong.
”Keep this quiet,” I said firmly. “If you tell anyone, only your family.”
”Eh? They’re that dangerous?”
”In a way.”
”…Alright,” she said, face solemn.
I told her the details. Her face drained pale.
”Ehh… basically cursed loot… how the hell did they drop here…”
”Anyway. We don’t need them. You take them.”
”Haah!?” Her tail puffed.
”It’s a chance to get stronger. Take it.”
”N-no way! What are you planning to make me do!?”
”Just keep your mouth shut.”
”…Oh. That’s… surprisingly normal.”
”And help us if we ask. Exploration or research.”
”Hm. May I add one condition?”
”Depends. Say it.”
”The recipe for making these.”
”That’s all? Sure.”
”Truly!?”
”Truly.”
”Then I’ll gladly accept!!” Her face lit up. “It can be a memento of our meeting too.”
”…I guess that works.”
”Ooh! Then it’s not bad at all!!”
She slipped them on immediately. If they boosted her even ten levels, she’d be unstoppable.
*Sorry for deciding this on my own,* I mouthed to the girl.
*We didn’t need them anyway. It’s fine,* her eyes answered.
Good enough. Retroactive permission was still permission.
”Well,” I said, straightening, “we’re almost at our target floor. Let’s finish this.”
”Right!!” they both chimed.
And with their voices at my back, we started up the stairs.
Notes:
• Torakuma – Sturdy, serious-looking man; skilled fighter and tactician; reliable ally guiding the protagonist.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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