(The enemy characters that spawn here are basically small fry, so clearing them out is a breeze! Even the Toadstinger has a blatant weakness. This is the perfect spot to farm Experience Points and Trust!)
Since they were originally just villagers or mountain climbers, the people controlled by the Magic Armor Beast possessed little combat ability. Provided one had a decent level and equipment, their stats were low enough to be defeated in a single blow.
Despite their weakness, the amount of Experience Points gained from defeating them was fairly high. Better yet, because they appeared in massive numbers, a player could level up multiple times in one go.
On top of that, there was an added bonus: the level of Trust from the students would rise based on how many Rioters were defeated while the player stayed behind to buy time.
However, while the Experience Points and Trust were decent enough, it wasn't exactly the most efficient farming method in the game. That was why the other Reincarnators—the ones who had defeated the Small Crabs during the incident Rush caused the other day—hadn't bothered to accept this Request.
But for Zenon, who had failed to distinguish himself back then, this Request was the perfect event to accumulate both.
The enemies were mere trash mobs he could one-shot with his superior stats. It even came with the added perk of raising the Affection Level of his companions with every kill.
Even the Toadstinger, the Mastermind behind the incident, wasn't particularly powerful. Since it was a Magic Armor Beast formed from a fusion of a plant and an insect, it had a glaring vulnerability to the Flame Attribute.
As for the only real concern—the sleep status ailment—it was easily countered by bringing recovery items as long as one had prior knowledge of the encounter.
Accordingly, Zenon had come prepared with a massive stock of Wake-up Medicine and had even mastered Flame Attribute Magic before taking on the Request.
(This is the true peak of being a peerless player with Game Knowledge! Ah, this is absolutely the best!!)
Watching the students and villagers who had accepted the Request descend into panic while he understood every single mechanic of the disaster felt even better than he had imagined.
It was like watching from a high vantage point, or perhaps it was simply the intoxicating sense of being special—he felt a profound surge of superiority.
Once he defeated the Toadstinger and cleared the Request, his companions would look at him with gazes full of envy and admiration. It was, in a word, magnificent.
To be able to taste such triumph while closing the gap between himself and the other Reincarnators made all the time he'd spent grinding Luminous History worth it.
(That’s right! If Scum Yugo shows up as an enemy character, I’ll just kill him and make it look like an accident! That would make Melt a free agent again. With the Affection Level I’m farming right now, my chances of adding her to the party would be higher than ever!)
Zenon’s face twisted into a slovenly grin as he recalled the sensation of Melt's large, soft breasts against his arm when she had clung to him during her rescue.
Judging by her reaction, he was certain her Affection Level for him must be rising. With that in mind, he began to plot how to use this Request to permanently remove Yugo—the only obstacle to adding her to his harem—from the picture.
Yugo had been swallowed by the Matango spores earlier. By now, the Toadstinger’s toxins had likely taken hold, turning him into a mindless puppet of the Magic Armor Beast.
If he appeared as an enemy, it would be a stroke of luck; Zenon would simply cut him down. If he claimed the boy was a formidable foe and he couldn't afford to hold back, Melt and the others would surely accept the explanation.
Once the Magic Armor Beast was dead and the incident resolved, Melt—whose Affection Level should be skyrocketing thanks to the event—would surely come crawling to him.
Just as he was reveling in the thought of this win-win scenario, the near-screaming voice of a female student broke his concentration.
"This is bad! The mist is already right there! We have to hurry!"
Though they had managed to buy some time, their group was moving too slowly. The Rioters and the Matango spores—the Red Mist—had caught up to them in the blink of an eye.
But even this was exactly as the events played out in Luminous History. This was where the players were supposed to come face-to-face with the Toadstinger and begin the showdown.
It was finally time for the boss battle. The moment had come to show off his heroic side to his companions and Melt.
Bathed in a sense of excitement and exaltation, Zenon drew his straight sword and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Everyone! It’s come to this! We’ll intercept them here!! Don’t worry, I’ll take the lead! Everyone else, back me up!"
"Ze-Zenon-san! Understood!"
"We’ll fight too! Together with Master Zenon!"
This was perfect. He felt truly alive. Zenon basked in the cheers of his followers.
His charisma as a Protagonist hadn't faded yet. He wasn't finished. He could still turn this all around.
If he performed well here, he would be worshipped as a hero once again. For that to happen, he absolutely had to repel the Magic Armor Beast.
(Now, come on, Toadstinger! I’m ready for you! I’ve got your attack patterns memorized! I’m going to beat you to a pulp!)
His preparations and counters were flawless. Since he had even learned the magic to strike its weakness, there was no way he could lose.
If possible, he wanted to finish Yugo off before the Toadstinger was dead to reset Melt’s romantic flag... but he could play that by ear.
As he watched the Rioters lumbering toward them, Zenon smirked, sensing something approaching from within the encroaching mist behind them.
The boss was making its entrance. Recalling the event sequence he had seen countless times in Luminous History, he turned to face the Toadstinger emerging from the red spores—
"...Eh?"
A pathetic, hollow sound leaked from Zenon's lips.
His eyes widened in shock, his mind grinding to a halt as he stared at the figure emerging from the Red Mist.
The creature that appeared was not the Toadstinger, the fusion of a mushroom and a bee.
Zenon had been expecting the oddly charming form of a Magic Armor Beast with bee stingers for arms. He was unable to hide his utter confusion as something entirely different manifested.
If it had merely been a change in the event's scripted content, he might not have been this shaken. The problem was the specific creature that stood in the Toadstinger's place.
A black carapace. Heavy, razor-sharp claws. Jagged thorns covering its entire body.
He recognized this monster, which was currently spitting foam from a mandibles that clicked incessantly as they opened and closed.
"A-A-A...!? Wh-wh-wh-why is he here...!?"
Bitter memories flooded Zenon's mind—terrifying sights he had tried so hard to forget.
The monster that Rush had transformed into—the beast that had once beaten him into the dirt—now stood before him once again.