"We can't let our righteous companion fight alone!"
Benimaru naturally couldn't just retreat like this. At the very least, he had to leave together with Ogerpon.
Rumble~
But before he could give any order, the ground in front of them began to quake.
The mud collapsed inward, revealing gaping sinkholes beneath the battlefield.
In the next moment, an enormous swarm of Insect Monsters surged from the depths like a tidal wave.
"…Holy shit."
Even Rin, watching from a distance, twitched his lips. "What the hell are these things? There's way too many of them."
Just a glance showed at least 5,000.
And Rin was certain even more were still underground.
As for their levels…
Under Rin's Appraisal, these insects weren't as strong as the previous wave. They were smaller, too.
"Mostly D-rank. About 20 percent are C-minus. A few hundred C-rank. Maybe a hundred C-plus."
Rin completely ignored the D-ranks.
For Growth to function, the defeated enemies couldn't be too far below Ogerpon's level.
In general, if the monster's magicules were lower than C-minus, even if Ogerpon killed it, she wouldn't gain any existence value.
So, despite the overwhelming numbers, only around 1,000 were actually worth consuming.
"Still, that should be enough for her to push into true A-rank."
And based on the Cardinal World's systems, once Ogerpon reached A-rank and received a disaster-class designation, her chances of completing an evolution into a more advanced Ogre form would rise significantly.
"Should we retreat?"
Rin didn't care about the D-rank fodder.
They weren't strong enough to even scratch Ogerpon's defenses.
More importantly…
[Defeated C-rank monster x1. Gained 4 existence points.]
[Defeated C-minus-rank monster x2. Gained 3 existence points.]
[Defeated C-plus-rank monster x1. Gained 8 existence points.]
[…]
Since Ogerpon had joined the battlefield, every time she felled an enemy, she gained existence value.
In just ten minutes, she had already jumped from over 8,000 to more than 8,500.
"At this rate, and with the remaining C-rank monsters…"
Rin calculated. "She should be able to break 10,000 and reach A-rank by the end of this fight."
A-rank was a turning point.
Below A-rank was one world. Above it, another.
Even the most average A-rank monster could single-handedly level an Ogre village.
"…Let's go!"
Rin made up his mind. He wasn't going to let this feast slip through his fingers.
"Ogerpon!"
"Rin?"
Through their familiar connection, Ogerpon heard Rin's voice.
"Can you keep fighting?"
"Ogerpon isn't tired at all!"
She was still smashing Insect Monsters left and right with her Ivy Cudgel. "Ogerpon can fight them all day long!"
Great. She's Captain America now.
Of course, that was a joke.
But the Elemental Spirit race did have terrifying stamina and endless energy.
More than that, the Growth talent was working nonstop, converting defeated foes into magicules and energy.
According to the Cardinal World's rules, the larger the magicule reservoir, the more power an individual possessed.
So instead of wearing out, Ogerpon's condition was actually better than when the battle started.
"Good."
"Then…"
Knowing her state, Rin raised his hand and cast a loudspeaking spell. "Friends of the Ogre tribe, Ogerpon and I are here to help you!"
"That voice?"
The gathered Ogres looked up. Benimaru narrowed his eyes, searching the treetops and horizon.
"The Ogerpon he mentioned… is that the little one tearing everything apart?"
"So her name is Ogerpon?"
"That's a weird name."
"Wait, is she actually a named monster?"
"She has a name?!"
The chatter spread quickly through the group.
Benimaru ignored the noise. He just waited for the next command from the one giving orders.
Rin had no plans to enter the melee himself.
His role was a summoner and mage—a backline commander. Jumping headfirst into the swarm would be suicide.
"Next, I'll cast a powerful spell on the insect nest to force everything hiding underground to the surface."
"If their numbers are beyond imagination, I'll have Ogerpon retreat immediately."
"You all retreat with her."
Simple, clear.
Benimaru immediately understood.
The strength of the nest was unknown. So was the number of enemies hiding below.
If Rin's spell forced out tens of thousands…
Staying behind would mean death.
Retreating to regroup would be the only smart move.
But if it turned out there weren't as many as feared.
Then there'd be no need for the Ogre tribe.
Rin already had his own army of one.
General Ogerpon, capable of crushing legions alone.
"Everyone!"
Benimaru made a snap decision. "Follow the orders of the one giving commands!"
Shuna was his sister. Shion, his childhood friend.
Both had just been saved by Ogerpon.
That alone was a debt the Ogre tribe could never repay.
Running away and abandoning their benefactor?
That would be the greatest shame.
"…Not bad."
From afar, Rin saw the shift in the Ogres' formation and nodded in approval.
"Let's begin."
He turned his attention away from Benimaru and the others.
Raising both hands slowly, Rin began gathering all the magicules within his body.
Thanks to Ogerpon's rampage, his own magicules had passed 4,500.
That was more than enough to cast Konosuba's strongest magic.
And what was Konosuba's most powerful magic?
Obviously…
Explosion Magic.
The legendary spell from the crazy Crimson Demon girl Megumin.
In the original world, Megumin had funneled every single skill point into Explosion Magic.
By the end, her spell was basically a portable nuke.
Rin's Explosion Magic was still Lv1. He hadn't fed it any points yet.
But now that he'd returned to the Cardinal World…
With the Mage profession, he had near-limitless possibilities.
Magic power responded freely to his will. Wind stirred the air. Elements—earth, fire, water, light, dark, even time and space—awakened.
Despite the name, Explosion Magic wasn't fire-element based.
Its true nature was Destruction Magic.
It absorbed, compressed, and broke down ambient magical elements, then released them in one earth-splitting burst.
And Rin, using the Mage's deep analysis, had stopped relying on shortcuts.
Now, he understood the spell's essence.
His magicules poured out like a flood… only to be refilled just as fast.
Consume, replenish, consume again.
With each cycle, the energy stored in the spell ballooned.
"What's going on?"
The large-scale manipulation of magic elements caused the entire region around Rin to grow heavy with pressure.
Even Shuna, a caster herself, went pale.
"…This kind of magic—"
To her eyes, the place where Rin stood had turned into a void.
A pit of absolute black.
A sunless abyss swallowing all things.
Buzz buzz buzz~
Multicolored particles flowed toward Rin's outstretched palms, forming glowing, prismatic rivers.
Trees shook.
The sky darkened.
Above them, a massive ring of stars slowly formed in the air.
Then, a giant crimson magic circle.
And then… another.
And another.
A third. A fourth…
Dozens of massive circles stacked together, rising like a tower piercing the sky.
(To be continued.)
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