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

Three days after setting off for Sevarya.

We had been progressing smoothly on the magic carpet without any major issues. Although the map didn’t show a great distance, the road began to veer off, forcing us to take a longer route. Even the map we borrowed showed this detour. Thinking it would be quicker to go straight, we headed directly towards Sevarya, only to hit a steep mountain. Climbing it for the sake of travel didn’t appeal to us, and the detour only added a day to our journey, so we backtracked and returned to the main road. Freesia had made quite a fuss about wanting to climb the mountain, making me wish we had just followed the map from the start.

Honestly, whose idea was it to go straight?

Currently, we were traveling along the coast...

“This is so boring! Nothing exciting is happening!” Freesia complained again.

“Don’t say that. It’s a good thing to travel without trouble,” Noru admonished.

“But we’re so close to the sea and haven’t seen it properly! Let’s travel closer to the shore!” Freesia insisted.

The main road ran inland, so we couldn't see much of the sea. In the morning, we deviated from the road to travel along the coast because Freesia had been whining about it. Estel and the others wanted to see it too, so it wasn’t a problem then. But now, Freesia seemed likely to keep demanding we stay by the sea until we reached the town.

“We spent all morning looking at the sea. Going too far off the main road means it’ll take longer to get back. I promise you can explore all you want once we get to Sevarya, okay?”

“Really? Okay, I’ll wait then!”

We planned to explore the town for a day or two before heading to the guild. Showing up too early might raise suspicions about our quick travel. Freesia seemed satisfied with this plan, humming a tune as she quieted down. Phew, she needs constant distraction, or she’ll start complaining again.

Feeling a bit more relaxed, I continued flying the magic carpet when suddenly, five red dots appeared on the map app.

“There are monsters ahead...”

“Leave it to me!” Freesia said, standing up on the carpet with her bow drawn, while Noru held her steady.

Throughout the journey, Freesia had been handling any monsters we encountered. While the carpet could outrun most threats, we chose to eliminate nearby monsters to prevent others from encountering them.

Freesia’s playful demeanor vanished as she aimed her bow. She held a single arrow but clutched several more in her hand, ready to shoot rapidly. In a flash, she released a flurry of arrows, hitting the barely visible monsters dead-on. The red dots disappeared from the map.

“Amazing as always!” Noru cheered.

“Hehe, this is just normal for an elf like me,” Freesia replied.

“It’s scary that this is normal for your kind...” Estel said.

“From this distance, it’s like a sniper rifle. I couldn’t do anything against that...” I added.

Even after seeing it several times, Freesia’s archery skills were awe-inspiring. She could precisely hit multiple moving targets from an incredible distance. The elves must be terrifying in battle.

“This reminds me of when Sisya used to rush off to fight monsters,” Estel reminisced.

“Yeah, she was always eager to jump into the fray,” Noru agreed.

“Sounds like Sisya was quite the handful. Tell me more!” Freesia said eagerly.

Even though Freesia was a handful in a different way, there wasn’t much difference in the chaos they brought.

While we shared stories about Sisya, more dots appeared on the map app, this time blue ones indicating non-hostile entities, likely people.

“More people ahead. Time to detour again,” I noted.

“We seem to encounter a lot of people on this route,” Estel commented.

“Yeah, probably because we’re near a port town. Lots of trade and villages around,” Noru suggested.

“We’ll need to place the beacons further from the road near Sevarya,” I added.

We had been frequently avoiding people by flying off the main road and overtaking them unseen. This time, we moved closer to the coast again. While traveling along the cliff, Freesia spoke up.

“Hey, can we stop over there for a bit?”

“Sure, but why?”

Freesia pointed to an object perched on the cliff. Upon closer inspection, it was a hemispherical stone structure with a wooden door in the center, resembling a small shrine.

“Is this a shrine? It looks like it’s for some kind of ritual,” I mused.

“It must be for praying for a good catch,” Noru suggested.

“That makes sense, but it’s pretty far from any town,” I noted.

“Is there something special here, Freesia? I don’t see anything unusual,” Estel asked.

“Not sure, just felt something,” Freesia replied, glancing around curiously.

Letting Freesia investigate, we watched as she suddenly drew her bow and fired an arrow into the air. The arrow vanished over the sea.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Hmm, thought I sensed something, but maybe it was nothing,” Freesia said, puzzled.

“You’re always so sensitive. Did you sense something specific?” Noru asked.

“Maybe, but...not sure,” Freesia said, looking uncertain.

Before we could ponder more, the map app showed ten red dots in the sea below.

“Something’s coming from the sea! Get ready!” I warned.

“We’re on a cliff, so they can’t reach us, right?” Estel asked.

“They can’t climb up here. Should I shoot them from here?” Freesia offered.

Good point. The cliff was about 20 meters high. Sea monsters couldn’t climb this, and we could attack from above. As the monsters approached, I realized we couldn't see them.

“They should be here, but I don’t see them,” I said, puzzled.

“They’re too fast!” Noru and Freesia shouted, struggling to track them.

I couldn’t see anything either. Then I felt my strength waning.

“Something’s draining our energy!” I realized.

At that moment, Estel swung her staff, casting a spell that revealed several white, tube-like creatures with wings entangled in dark threads.

“Thanks, Estel,” I said, relieved.

“They were close enough to drain our energy. Easy to catch once I knew their position,” she explained.

“These things were sucking out our magic and energy,” Noru noted, looking at the strange creatures.

“Better check their stats before we finish them off,” I said, examining one.

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●Species: Skyfish

●Level: 60

●HP: 200

●MP: 1200

●Attack: 0

●Defense: 10

●Agility: 520

●Magic Resistance: 0

●Skills: Absorption, Magic Absorption

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“An UMA? These things are insanely fast and drain both HP and MP!” I exclaimed.

After verifying the stats, we quickly eliminated them. Unfortunately, they didn’t drop any items.

“What a weird encounter. Let’s get moving before more show up,” I said.

“Yeah, that was unsettling,” Noru agreed.

“Was it my arrow that attracted them?” Freesia wondered.

“Maybe, but next time, warn us before shooting,” I advised.

“Okay!”

Deciding to leave quickly, we continued our journey to Sevarya, eager to leave the strange shrine and its inhabitants behind.