Using Gacha to Increase My Companions and to Create the Strongest Girls' Army Corps

[TL notes: I would be happy if you gave `The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology` a read pretty fun story :D]

After several hours of exploring the rocky mountain, we had attacked numerous rocks as we progressed deeper, but we still hadn't found the Lupes Rex we were looking for.

"Haa... we haven't found it at all."

"Even after all these battles, it still hasn't shown up..."

We had already defeated over a hundred Lapis. Some were larger than me, but they all turned out to be ordinary Lapis. Despite prioritizing attacks on the bigger rocks, we still hadn't encountered the rare Lupes Rex. This was the first time a rare species had eluded us for so long.

"I'm exhausted... I feel like I need to sleep soon..."

"It's not time to sleep yet."

"I moved a lot today, so I'm tired."

"Hang in there until we're done, then you can sleep as much as you want."

"Ugh..."

Runa leaned against me, looking drained. Although we had woken up early, it wasn't nearly time for sleep. Unlike our usual fast-paced hunts, the steady exploration seemed to be wearing her out. I needed her to push through a bit longer.

"Hehe, more rock salt! I'm looking forward to using it!"

"Sigh, I haven't found any gemstones at all. This is only my third one..."

Unlike the weary Runa, Noru and Sisya were still full of energy as they returned from their hunts. Noru's enthusiasm for food-related items was always reliable. Sisya, though hunting for gemstones, sighed as she examined a small orange gemstone she had picked up. So far, I had found one gemstone, Noru had found four, and Sisya had found three. Noru had given all her gemstones to me, saying she couldn't eat them. However, they were all small, no larger than a pinky finger.

If I were to give Estel a present, I'd want something larger and more suitable for her. I wasn't sure which color gemstone would suit her best. Sisya mentioned wanting to give Runa a yellow or red gemstone. For Estel, perhaps a clear diamond or a red gem would be fitting? I'm not good with these things, so I'm uncertain.

As I pondered, Runa, who was leaning on me, spoke while looking at Sisya and Noru.

"Noru and Sisya seem to handle this kind of work effortlessly. I'm struggling here."

"Ah... We're used to this kind of work. Compared to some of our other experiences, this kind of hunting, where we can enjoy the drop items, is easy."

"That's right. Now that I think about it, we haven't done that since Runa was summoned."

"Hmm? What's 'that'?"

Curious about what they were referring to, Runa asked, and Noru and Sisya began to talk about their intense magic stone hunts. Runa, who listened with great interest, ended up clinging to Sisya, trembling with a pale face by the end of the story. Was it really that horrifying?

"How terrifying... If I had to do that from morning till night, I'd surely collapse in a day."

"Don't be so confident about that... Well, we're trying to avoid that, so don't worry."

"Yes, recently, whenever we have time, Ookura-san and I go hunting for magic stones."

"Sisya, Heiha, please work hard for my sake."

"It would be nice if we could avoid that... but we'll see."

"We can only hope. I'd like to help more, but..."

Even though I wanted to do more gacha, Noru and Estel had already reached a breaking point once before. I didn't want to push them again, so I hunted with Sisya to gather magic stones. I'm determined to pull off the next gacha's big prize after our last defeat.

"Enough about the magic stones; let's focus on the task at hand."

"Yeah, right. Still, after all this hunting, we haven't found it. Could it be that it's not spawning right now?"

"Now that you mention it, we haven't seen the usual light gathering and monster spawning."

"Maybe the monsters here take longer to spawn."

"So, that's how monsters spawn here..."

As Noru suggested, we needed to finish this quest to focus on gathering magic stones later. Despite thoroughly exploring the rocky mountain, we hadn't found the Lupes Rex yet. There were still areas left to search and time until sunset, but finding it today was becoming doubtful. We might have to return tomorrow to continue the search, possibly exploring the other mountain.

After continuing our search for a while longer, the sun began to set without any sign of the Lupes Rex. Just as we were about to give up, we stumbled upon something strange.

"Huh? Ookura-san, there's something similar to the marks we saw where we climbed."

"Hmm? You're right. Does that mean there was a battle here too?"

"Hey, there's another mark over there. It looks like something went on a rampage."

On the flat ground, small mounds of rocks were scattered, each with surfaces that had been partially collapsed. It looked like something incredibly powerful had struck them, creating craters and causing cracks.

"What is this? There are holes everywhere."

"There are so many of them. That one is almost completely destroyed."

Some rocks, standing about 10 meters tall, were half-destroyed and covered in cracks. The force needed to do this must have been immense.

"Could there have been a fierce battle here?"

"Perhaps this is the spawning ground for the Lupes Rex."

"If that's the case, let's hurry and search. I don't want to come back tomorrow."

We couldn't be sure if this was the Lupes Rex's spawning ground, but we were running out of time for the day. We had no time to search further, so we decided to explore this area thoroughly and leave if we couldn't find the Lupes Rex.

After searching around...

"No luck. There aren't even many Lapis around here."

"There were so many before we got here. What's going on?"

In the end, we found nothing. No sign of the Lupes Rex or even any camouflaged Lapis. This area seemed like a total dead end. It looked like we'd have to return tomorrow to continue our search.

"Heiha, what about that one?"

"Hmm?"

I was about to suggest heading back when Runa tugged at my sleeve and pointed. She was indicating a small mound of rock, about 7 or 8 meters tall.

"That's more like a small hill than a rock. It's fused with the ground, so it can't be it."

"But it's unscathed. Maybe it's worth checking out."

"Alright, let's give it a try."

The other battered rock mounds were also fused with the ground, but this one was untouched. It was suspicious enough to check out.

To test it, we backed off and prepared to attack. I activated my Centibar and launched an attack. A silver liquid shot out from the crystal on my shoulder, forming a long, narrow shape, and I mentally commanded it to harden before firing it. The silver projectile hit the rock mound and... shattered, spraying liquid everywhere.

"What the...?"

As we all exchanged puzzled looks, the rock mound began to shake, and then it started to transform, breaking the rocky ground as limbs emerged.

"No way!?"

"It's not just a little bigger..."

"It's almost as big as a Grandis..."

I wanted to shout, "Another one of my Centibar broke, you monster!" but this was no time for that. The information we had was wrong. This was no ordinary Lupes Rex—it was massive!

Despite our confusion, we quickly moved to attack. Runa, as usual, went for a fast strike with her spear. But the spear bounced off its surface, spinning away.

"Damn, it's too hard. My spear won't work."

"Then it's my turn. Take this!"

Without using a skill, none of us could physically damage it. Our best bet was Estel's magic. She opened her book, raised her staff, and began launching fireballs. The first hit caused the massive creature to recoil. Estel's magic was as powerful as ever—against a large target with low magic resistance, this would be over quickly.

Just as I thought that, the recoiling Lupes Rex grabbed a 3-meter rock and threw it at us.

"Whoa! Get out of the way!"

I grabbed Estel and jumped aside, hearing a tremendous crash behind us. Noru and the others had also dodged. The impact site showed the same kind of damage as the other rock mounds. So, this was indeed the culprit!

"It's throwing rocks!"

"It looked slow, but we can't underestimate it."

While we were dodging, the Lupes Rex kept picking up and throwing rocks at us. It seemed to be targeting Estel, who had attacked it, as the rocks kept coming our way. This made it difficult for Estel to aim her spells.

I needed to come up with a plan. Using skills was a last resort, so I'd try a standard strategy for dealing with large foes first.

"Noru! Go slash it!"

"Got it!"

Noru's Regi Erythra could slow its movements. She bravely charged at the rock-throwing Lupes Rex, but it noticed her approach. The creature retracted its limbs, glowed with a red aura, and started spinning, accelerating towards us. Noru had to brake suddenly and turned to flee.

"It's rolling towards us! It's going to crush us!"

"Evade! Evade!"

The rolling Lupes Rex smashed through rocks as it headed our way, with Noru rejoining us as we ran from the red-glowing monster. Estel tried to stop it with a wall of stone, but it shattered on impact, not even slowing it down.

This was bad. The sun was setting, and we were running out of time. We'd have to use skills to finish it off. Just as I thought that, I heard a shout

.

"Leave it to me!"

Runa's voice rang out, and a red flash shot from her direction, striking the Lupes Rex. The giant creature wobbled as the flash pierced through it, causing the red aura to disappear. It finally stopped rolling and crashed into a rock mound.

"Now! Take this!"

Seizing the opportunity, Estel, still in my arms, unleashed a barrage of fireballs. About ten hit the curled-up Lupes Rex, causing it to crack and eventually shatter into particles of light.

"Whew, that scared me..."

"I'm sorry I wasn't of much help..."

"At least we defeated it. But I didn't expect it to be that big."

It wasn't too difficult, but it had been exhausting. Being chased by a giant monster was nerve-wracking.

As I caught my breath, relieved it was over, Runa approached, looking at me with a needy expression and her finger on her lips.

"What's up?"

"Heiha, I need blood."

"Oh, okay. Let me clean up first."

She had used her skill, so she needed blood. I washed my hands with water from my canteen and offered my finger to Runa. She sucked on it with an upward gaze, making me feel guilty.

"Mmm... This is really big..."

"That's the magic core stone. It's supposed to be about the size of a large tablet, but..."

"It's really big. Do Lupes Rex vary in size?"

"We were lucky to encounter such a big one!"

While I was feeding Runa, Noru had collected the loot from the Lupes Rex. It was a large, white, tablet-shaped stone—the magic core stone. It was over a meter tall and quite wide.

The size of the magic core stone seemed to depend on the Lupes Rex. While it was fortunate to find such a large one, I would have preferred to find a normal-sized one sooner. Anyway, we got what we came for, so it was time to head back.