Dragged Into Another World Because of My Otaku Friend-Chapter 77: Hard As Hell

We both rushed forward, each targeting a different cave beast. I leapt into the air, raising my gunblade, now in Blade Form, and brought it down hard on the back of one of the creatures. At the same time, Bob charged his target, slashing horizontally with both of his swords.

But the moment our weapons made contact, we knew something was wrong.

It felt like striking solid steel. My blade rebounded violently, the shock traveling up my arm. The gunblade flew from my grasp, clattering to the ground before vanishing into blue particles. My arm trembled from the force of the recoil. Under the beam of light coming from the cavern’s opening above, I checked the spot I had struck.

Not even a scratch.

Bob did not fare any better. His swords bounced off the creature’s leg as if he’d hit stone. The beast turned toward him with a low growl, its massive fist swinging toward his head. Bob barely managed to dodge, diving to the side and scrambling back to me.

"My hands! That damn ugly thing’s is hard as hell!" he shouted, holding up his swollen, reddened hand.

My right hand was just as red and sore. Maybe that bomb earlier distorted our expectations, made us think these things were not as tough as they looked. But now? I understood perfectly why the Guildmaster wanted us to slay them. These beasts were no joke.

Bob raised his hand and summoned Mina. She appeared in a flash of soft light and immediately used her [Soothing Pollen] skill. A calming mist surrounded our hands, gently healing the swelling.

Cack cack cack.

A strange clicking sound echoed through the cave.

We looked around, trying to find the source. Then we saw it,the same beast that had tried to punch Bob was opening its massive mouth wide. From within, a flickering light pulsed, glowing brighter with each flicker. It clicked every time the light flashed.

Suddenly, the other beasts began turning in our direction, drawn by the sound.

Then, without warning, they all tucked in their limbs, curling into tight balls, boulders made of living rock. One by one, they started rolling straight toward us, like a stampede of living cannonballs.

It looked like dozens of bowling balls aiming for a strike, and by strike, I mean me and Bob as the pins.

"Dodge!"

Both of us jumped to the side. I landed face-first on the ground with a painful thud. The rolling beasts barreled forward in a straight line and slammed into the cave wall one after another, creating huge craters. Dust and smoke filled the air.

"How the hell are we supposed to kill them like this, dude?" Bob groaned, getting to his feet. He was right. Making a dent in their body is already tough, but hitting them while they’re rolling? That’s insane. Even using the [Granitecracker Bomb] now would be useless if this thing not stayed still.

Cack cack cack...

That sound again.

From the thick smoke, the beasts emerged once more, rolling and charging straight toward us.

We ran for our lives. I was not planning to become rock-paste today.

"Bel-bel, should we help them now?" Alice asked, watching the chaos from above. "I mean, throwing a bunch of cave beasts at a couple of newbies seems a bit... hardcore, don’t you think?"

Beltimore remained silent. In his mind, he was curious. Curious to see more of what these two were capable of. He admitted to himself: even he had struggled a bit when facing just one of these cave beasts. And now these two were up against a swarm. Suicidal? Definitely. But something about them made him want to watch to the end.

"I say we keep watching," he finally said. "I’m sure they’ve got something else up their sleeves."

Their eyes stayed fixed on the duo below.

"Arghhh!" Bob and I ran as fast as we could.

I could hear the sound of rolling stone behind us, louder and closer with every second. We were running in circles now as this area was wide and round like a coliseum.

The rumbling grew louder. The ground trembled beneath us.

Then, one of the beasts launched itself from a raised ledge, soaring through the air like a living boulder, aimed straight at its target.

Bob.

"Bob!!" I screamed, my voice cracking with panic as I saw the massive creature hurtling toward him. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

But just as it was about to crush his skull, Bob tripped on a loose rock. His foot caught, and he tumbled forward, rolling awkwardly, like a miniature version of the cave beasts we were trying to escape.

The creature flew right over him.

Bob’s luck did not last, though. His body slammed into the wall with a dull thud, headfirst. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

I stopped running. Glancing back, I saw the wave of beasts still rolling toward us like a stampede of boulders. Then I looked at Bob.

That idiot was still on the ground, completely motionless.

Mina, was tugging at his hair, a panicked look on her tiny face.

If he did not move soon, he’d be flattened like paper.

Without thinking, I turned back and sprinted toward him, right into the path of the incoming monsters.

---

"Alice! Get ready!" Beltimore shouted as he saw Alan charge toward Bob, the group of beasts closing in fast.

Alice’s hands started to glow with radiant energy.

’They failed.’ Beltimore thought grimly. ’But I’ll give them credit for their spirit. I’ll tell Mirinda they still deserve a spot in the guild’.

He adjusted his glasses with a sigh.

Alice raised her left hand, magic swirling around her as a brilliant light took shape, forming a long, shimmering spear.

"Starfire Lance," she whispered, ready to hurl it at the charging beasts—

But then, before she could release it—

BOOM.

Three of the cave beasts were suddenly hurled sideways, crashing into the cave wall and leaving massive craters. Two more were flung in the opposite direction, smashing into a nearby stone pillar with bone-shaking force.

The rest of the beasts stumbled to a halt, abandoning their rolling forms, clearly stunned.

Alice and Beltimore stared, eyes wide in disbelief.

What in the world had just happened?

They turned their gaze toward the source of the impact.

There standing tall in the dust and chaos, was Alan.

And in his hand...

A massive club, covered in jagged spikes, gleaming under the dim cave light.

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om