"Deal! But my magic won't work at full power from such a great distance."
I agreed with her words, since I had also bought my bow and arrows for this reason.
Currently, I'm a versatile fighter.
I have magic spells and a skill related to the archer path, but my physical stats are far from ordinary or weak.
I literally started with abnormally high overall stats for a human, and with each level up, my strength climbs to a level well above what normally corresponds to my rank.
That's why the weak point of the overly versatile adventurer class doesn't impact me too much.
And that's also why I'm confident in my ability to lure the golem toward Megumin, while staying at a sufficient distance to survive the explosion.
"Don't worry, I'll lure it over here, and you just have to aim well."
With the size of this steel monster, she surely wouldn't miss her shot.
"You're really reliable."
Megumin nods, as if approving a beginner's words with the attitude of an elder.
I really want to correct her a bit... but it's my fault for creating a shota back then.
I need to fix that quickly.
If I get the Tao of the Hell's Paradise universe, then that will indeed be possible to some extent.
"Thanks, but my plan is only possible thanks to you."
My words are sincere.
I would never have chosen this mission without Megumin, because I'm lacking in several aspects.
I'm not confident about defeating this walking machine with my intermediate magic, and my other martial skills are focused against humanoids.
That's also why I was powerless, at one point, on the island.
Against ordinary humans or trained soldiers... OK, I'm almost invincible.
But against three-meter-tall monsters, or killers capable of destroying rocks and their environment with their bare body?
No. I'm not qualified.
My only chance, back then, was to obtain the Tao through the guild card, if I couldn't return through my dimensional skill.
"Huh?! W-what... stop talking nonsense and go deal with that monster!"
At first, I didn't understand Megumin's strange reaction.
But I quickly caught the atmosphere, after leaving her side and casting a brief glance over my shoulder.
An embarrassed face, tinted with red.
I'd have to be blind not to understand the impact of my words on Megumin.
Sometimes, I really tend to forget that I'm in a medieval fantasy-type world.
This isn't a place like Earth, where young girls like Megumin possess a lot of information on several "subjects."
There's clearly a difference in emotional maturity and experience between the two worlds – a difference I wanted to exploit upon arriving here.
But I forgot about that a bit because of various incidents... cough... damn dimensional skill.
For example: here, people very often get married around 15~16 years old, the age of majority in this world.
A decision that seems rushed for a modern man like me, but logical when you know that every winter, several people (and children) get randomly devoured by a Giant Toa or another monster.
Like this "logic," there are others, strange from a modern point of view, but explainable.
Another example: Darkness, who fantasizes about... questionable things.
The probable result of an excess of bad relational information from a young age. A bit like certain readers of dark romance novels without real experience or perspective on the subject.
Add to that the lack of entertainment or global information networks like the Internet, and you get a universe cliché enough to move a girl's heart with a few honeyed words.
After all, they grow up in a world where you have to learn fast, and where information... is often questionable.
That reminds me of Wiz's case. This Lich, though powerful, almost got fooled by a dying fallen angel.
This guy just used his pretty face, and a simple declaration of love without real foundation.
Surprisingly, it had an impact.
Wiz was troubled, and even considered sparing him even though he had challenged her to a magical duel with the aim of killing her.
And she's not an isolated case. There's also Luna.
She becomes scary at the guild if an adventurer has the misfortune to mention their romantic situation.
This shows the state of this world regarding romantic relationships: extremely idealized or biased by romance novels, and supernatural circumstances that reduce life expectancy.
Humans must reproduce quickly, which often pushes them to situations of under-information, frustration... even depression, because of their "delay" compared to others.
Of course, I could always be wrong.
Wiz might just be very kind by nature, since her retirement.
Luna might simply be self-conscious about her celibacy, which has nothing to do with the world's culture.
As for Darkness... she might just be perverted. A personal character trait, not necessarily a bad sexual education.
Maybe a bit of both?
Nothing's certain in the end.
It's Konosuba, anyway. I should avoid using logic too often here.
It's with all these thoughts in mind that I finally found a sufficient distance to begin my confrontation against the golem.
"The air is good and the distance is doable..."
After checking the wind direction and small details, to be sure of the success of my shot... I released the arrow.
120 meters.
This is the norm in the 'professional' world of Earth's archery, but I don't possess equipment equivalent to theirs.
My bow was bought from a random blacksmith, in an equally unknown weapon shop, because I didn't have the luxury of wasting my tight budget.
But I have an asset to compensate for this disgraceful element:
Skills.
Simple, right? The more a skill is leveled up, the more powerful it becomes.
The Bow skill adds a correction to my handling of the weapon in my hands.
Currently, it's at level 4.
If level 1 allows you to use the bow correctly as a beginner, then level 4 is the equivalent of a professional on Earth.
If I add my stats related to strength and agility, in connection with body control...
Bam.
My arrow can easily reach 120 meters, even more.
"Damn, no damage."
However, it's sufficient.
My job isn't to beat the golem, but just to attract its attention toward me.
Trembling.
The golem started walking toward me with a heavy step, which made the ground vibrate up to my location.
But I gritted my teeth facing the steel colossus reducing the distance, and I continued to shoot toward it after confirming the actions undertaken by Megumin.
The latter is already incanting her spell, but it won't arrive in time at this rate...
I immediately started moving, to avoid bringing the golem toward Megumin.
I make sure to focus its attention solely on me.
During the entire process, I chanted a spell related to Lightning magic, to paralyze the monster and give more time to Megumin.
"Lightning!!"
Sizzling.
The golem stopped its movements, as it seemed to malfunction like a robot in electrical overload.
I took advantage of this and the shortened distance to damage its vision, after I rushed quickly toward Megumin.
"D... damn, s... she's almost finished."
An immense magic circle appeared at the magical loli's location, while a ball of energy was slowly formed at the tip of her scepter.
I immediately accelerated my run, while the magical energy slowly reached its critical point.
"Explosion!!!"
(Image)
Boom.
The shockwave was so powerful that I almost got carried away by the wind itself because of my low body weight.
As for the direct target of the spell?
Destroyed.
"D... did I succeed?"
Unlike me, who still has a decent amount of magic after an intermediate spell, Megumin is exhausted on the ground after using her magic.
She has no more mana.
An inevitable situation, because of the advanced level magic and its high level of destruction compared to spells of the same rank.
"Congratulations, you were amazing."
"But you seem... exhausted. Are you okay?"
I'm really happy with the final result.
Not only did I accomplish several quests thanks to the golem's defeat and the subjugation of the Giant Toa, but my guild card also indicates an increase of fourth levels!
As expected from a monster scary enough to make veteran adventurers avoid confronting it...
Thanks to Megumin, who was able to beat this steel giant, I gained a lot of levels at once and money!
I can even potentially use almost everything myself, because Megumin isn't the greedy type.
It seems the system considers my contribution as important during the confrontation.
"I... I'm fine, but... can you help me?"
Even though she displayed an extremely satisfied smile due to her spell, Megumin was unable to look at me directly while making this request.
She's currently unable to move her body, which is really a dangerous situation without someone trustworthy around.
Of course, I didn't take advantage of this state of weakness to... cough.
After all, I'm a gentleman, and I didn't even tease the proud mage bragging about her magic at the top of her lungs regarding her current situation with the use of a single spell.
I simply took her in a princess pose.
"S... stop, you can't fight like that!"
Despite her protests, there was no real struggle in her arms to refute my action.
A clear sign of consent, right? Or is it just the lack of mana? But she could simply refute me completely, without finding easily refutable excuses in the latter case.
As for fighting? There's literally no dangerous monster outside of the golem, according to my memories of this quest, and I can still cast intermediate magic.