Giant Bat Battle

A large bubble floated softly through the air. And inside, a three-year-old child with bird wings was tucked away. It was a rather whimsical sight—though waiting at his destination was a vicious swarm of bats.

This was the application of Fire Bullet that Mia had come up with. Kuu, inside the bubble, advanced while flapping his wings quietly. We watched with bated breath.

When Kuu reached the halfway point toward the iron bars where the Tinnitus Bats were clustered, the monsters reacted. Still hanging from the stalactites, the Boss Bat spread its wings wide in intimidation. Around it, five minion bats began to fly in unison.

Six mouths opened at once, releasing waves of sound that echoed throughout the room. It was a deafening roar that pierced the eardrums, earplugs be damned. Yoru, whose ears were pinned down and held shut by my hands, trembled in fear. Had we not kept our distance, we would have surely been knocked unconscious.

Given that, Kuu, who took the brunt of it at half that distance—naturally, floated there with a nonchalant face. However, the bubble that had been covering him vanished completely. The Water Bubble had absorbed all the impact, popping in his stead.

The bird-child now stood face-to-face with the six bats that had just exhausted their specialty skills. They were already well within the range of Kuu’s own skill.

“Now, Kuu! !”

“Kooooooooo!”

At Paula’s command, Kuu flapped his hands vigorously. A massive amount of mana-infused feathers danced, swirling in the wind and raining down upon the Tinnitus Bats. One after another, the monsters fell to the ground, their faces, bellies, and wings pierced by Kuu’s feather-arrows.

However, it seemed the Boss Bat didn’t have a large body for nothing. Alone among them, it managed to barely hold its ground despite having feathers sprouting all over its body. Its mouth opened again, and a tremendous wave of sound began to overflow—

Snap, snap, snap. The sounds of Mia consecutively snapping her fingers rang out first.

The fireballs released in rapid succession streaked past Yoru and headed straight for the target. Perhaps because it was focused on Kuu right in front of it, the Boss Bat took the crimson masses full-on without evading. Letting out a death-throe shriek, the large, flame-engulfed bat plummeted to the earth.

It bounced once upon hitting the ground, struggled for a moment, and then stopped moving. After a single breath of silence, the iron bars began to move upward. At that sight, we all raised our voices in victory.

“Hell yeah!”

“Yay! Kuu-chi, you did it!”

“Mia, that was excellent support as well.”

“Splendid!”

Rushing over, we found the bird-child perched atop the fallen Boss Bat, letting out a victory cry.

“Koo!”

Yoru patted his head soothingly, as if praising Kuu’s brave fight. The younger brother, praised by his sister, snuggled up to her happily. It was a truly heartwarming gesture.

Then, the two looked up at me, drooling as they made their request.

“Master!”

“Kuu!”

“Yeah, you can eat.”

With eyes sparkling, the monster-kids vied to be the first to sink their teeth into the still-smoldering Boss Bat. They tore off chunks of meat and swallowed them whole without even chewing. Yeah, this style of eating definitely has a “monster” feel to it.

Leaving the two absorbed in their meal, I quickly gathered the minion bats. Fortunately, in front of the stairs where the bosses had been stationed, there were no dung-covered stalagmites. However, three of the minions killed by Kuu’s skill were caught on the smelly protrusions a bit further away.

Taking care not to touch the droppings, I opened my item list to stow the bats. Or so I intended, but my fingertip accidentally grazed a protrusion. In the next instant, the dung-covered stone protrusion in front of me vanished.

“Eh?”

Hurriedly checking the item list, the name Suspicious Stone jumped out at me. The number of stars indicating rarity was unknown. It was a so-called “unidentified item.”

In the Transmutation command, I set it with a White Magic Stone and tried Analyze. The revealed name of the stone was Bat Guano-Urea Stone, a name whose suspiciousness hadn’t decreased in the slightest.

But it had two stars.

“…………What on earth is this?”

I should remember most items, but I had no memory of this. Hmm, despite the terrible name, the rarity was unexpectedly high. This is a classic Dra-Chro 2 trope. This means there’s a high probability it’s an incredibly useful item.

Setting aside the search for its use for later, I went around touching and collecting the piles of bat dung one by one. In less than a few minutes, the floor of the stairs room was clean and clear. The stench that had been so foul vanished without a trace.

“Thank heavens for the pocket dimension. Now, let’s collect the boss too.”

Excluding the head and wings, the large bat’s body had been picked clean. Yoru and Kuu looked so cute let out satisfied sighs that I reached out to pat their heads while finishing up the remains.

They promptly pulled away.

“Hm?”

I reached for Yoru’s head again. She quickly dodged. Thinking to try Kuu instead, I reached out. He rolled away to escape.

“W-what’s wrong…?”

“Um, touching them with that hand is a no-go, right?”

“I must agree, Sir.”

Receiving the standoffish glares of the women, I stared at my hand in sorrow. It was covered in bat dung. Yeah, I’d run away too.

I pulled out a Slime Pouch filled with Labyrinth Water and washed the filth away thoroughly. Just in case, I sprinkled some of the remaining deodorizer on myself. When I held out my hand again, Yoru and Kuu gave it a sniff and then rested their chins on my palm.

From the remains of the Boss Bat, I collected feathers and a Green Magic Cluster (Small). This made the third type of two-star item. Also, (Bat Wings) had been added to Kuu’s arm equipment. Touching them to check, I found that membrane-like wings had grown beneath his feathers. His Speed had increased, likely because it was now easier for him to fly.

There was no change in Yoru. Perhaps because she doesn’t have the aptitude for flight, it wasn’t recognized as equipment. Also, based on the examples so far, it seems the target for Eat is limited to boss monsters.

“That’s about the gist of what we’ve learned.”

“I see, it is quite interesting.”

“Whoa, Yoru-chi and Kuu-chi are amazing!”

“And, I’d like to let them eat one more type of boss. What do you guys think?”

Level-wise, the next floor should be a breeze, and honestly, I really want to see how strong they can get. At my suggestion, Paula and Mia smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, let’s keep going!”

“Yes, I will follow you anywhere.”

“Advancing!”

“Koo koo!”

And so, we chose to descend the stairs once again.