On our way back to Aingurna with a bounty of seafood, we encountered that thing on the 12th Floor. It was a boar-type monster, a Rush Boar—except it was significantly larger than any I had seen before.
I knew immediately that it was a special individual. How? Because it fired a Shadow Arrow straight at me. Its hostility toward me was as intense as ever.
I threw up a Stone Wall to intercept the projectile, but the Shadow Arrow slipped through the earth as if it were nothing. I remembered now—it had been the same when Rache-san threw clods of earth at them. Even a Stone Wall was useless.
I dodged the approaching arrow and prepared my next move. Using the surrounding air, I generated a Wind Golem and ordered it to charge the Shadow Arrow, which had already curved back to target me. The moment they collided, the arrow vanished, and the golem’s reaction disappeared along with it. A golem wasn't exactly a living creature, but it seemed the Shadow Arrow couldn't phase through it. I felt a pang of guilt for the disposable, mindless golem, but at least I knew how to handle the situation.
The Rush Boar seemed capable of moving freely even while firing its arrows, and it charged us with relentless energy. It was a bit faster than a normal specimen, but its behavior patterns were identical. Since I had already defeated plenty of them, dealing with it wasn't difficult.
Seizing the opening when the beast tried to pivot after a charge, Lowell landed a sharp slash. A Rush Boar's fur is notoriously good at deflecting attacks, but Lowell’s skill overcame that property. He carved deep wounds into the beast's massive frame. But he wasn't finished; thorns sprouted from the gashes, coiling around the creature's body. This was the effect of the magic sword imbued with the Tree Attribute that Lowell had been testing. It didn't stop the boar entirely, but it certainly restricted its movements.
Because the Rush Boar's next charge was delayed by the interference from the thorns, Spira’s follow-up attack hit home. Countless Ice Spears erupted from the ground, skewering the beast's underside one after another.
The boar let out a deafening roar of rage, and a swarm of Shadow Arrows manifested around it.
This was bad!
With that many arrows, there was no way to dodge them all, and some were definitely headed for Halfa and Shiroru.
"Shiroru, dodge them yourself!"
『Leave it to me!』
For Shiroru, playing keep-away with the arrows for a while would be easy. The real concern was Halfa. But there was no issue there, either.
"〈Shadow Leap〉!"
Using that magic, I warped to Halfa’s side in an instant. The rest was the same as before. I mass-produced Wind Golems and sent them crashing into the Shadow Arrows. Actually, the arrows didn't seem to recognize the Wind Golems as targets; if I just positioned them between us and the Rush Boar, the projectiles slammed into them on their own. With that, the arrows flying toward us were completely neutralized. Seeing this, Shiroru ran over, and I eliminated the arrows targeting her as well.
During this time, Spira and Lowell continued their assault. However, this special individual was exceptionally tough, as if its durability had been greatly enhanced. Even though the slashes and ice were definitely dealing damage, the boar was still struggling energetically.
"Lowell, get back!"
"Got it!"
I thought we could have won by attrition, but since I had the chance, I decided to try a new technique: Golem Attack. If this didn't trigger the special individual's Barrier, then I could join the offensive as well. It was the perfect opportunity to test it, and I wasn't about to let it slip.
First, I tried a combination of Fireball and Create Golem. I shaped a fire bird and sent it streaking toward the beast.
"Yes! No Barrier!"
The boar was so frostbitten from Spira’s spears that the fire didn't deal much damage, but the fact that it wasn't blocked by a Barrier was the important part. It meant that as long as I used a golem, I could deal damage.
"Alright, let's try this one."
I created another Wind Golem, but this time I incorporated an Air Jet. And since I was going out of my way to use an Air Jet, the material wasn't just ordinary gas. It was a Carbon Monoxide Golem.
"Stick to its face!"
After confirming that no one was in the line of fire, I sent the golem plunging into the boar. It wasn't difficult to attach it to the beast while it was tangled in thorns and pinned to the ground by Ice Spears. As intended, the golem successfully latched onto the boar's snout.
Everything was set. I had the golem slowly decompose while maintaining its grip. Naturally, this released carbon monoxide. Since it was stuck to its face, the boar was forced to inhale it. The high concentration caused poisoning symptoms in an instant. It didn't take long for the massive body to dissolve into light.
"Halfa!"
"Yeah!"
As the boar's body faded, a Black Haze bubbled up in its place. It seemed to set its sights on Lowell. However, I had anticipated that—that was exactly why I had Lowell, our primary melee fighter, step back.
Before the haze could reach him, Halfa’s pure singing voice filled the air. The effect was dramatic; the mist dissolved into the atmosphere as if it had never existed. It appeared that with her Song of Soothing, she could neutralize the malice before it even had a chance to possess someone.
No casualties, no injuries.
Even against a C-Rank special individual, we had achieved a perfect victory!