Chapter 51

The goal is to defeat Monpare in 7 days.

First, Seiki needs to get used to the monsters on the 10th floor.

The monsters that appear on the 10th floor of "Chikaho" are anthropomorphic anteaters, the same type as their owners, and their names are Beruberu.

They are the same species as the boss that appeared on the 9th floor of the garage dungeon but are the regular type and slightly smaller in size.

According to Kagemitsu, their strength is on par with their owners.

Beruberu are equipped with short swords, long swords, and spears.

Their skill level is equivalent to 4th to 5th-floor class adventurers, but they have high physical abilities.

Judging their strength by their techniques would be a painful mistake.

Seiki has once wiped out a Monpare led by an owner.

So, defeating Beruberu's Monpare is not an absolutely impossible level.

However, Beruberu are armed.

Seiki needs to quickly learn the different movements of these monsters.

If he can't, there will be no way to find a way out.

Above all, Seiki must be able to step onto the 10th floor for the plan to start.

On the day he visited Aerial's team house, Seiki was immediately taken by Kagemitsu and others to the 8th floor of "Chikaho."

The three who accompanied Seiki were Kagemitsu, Yoshi, and Van.

Becky was doing other work at the house.

The cat had been injured when it faced Monpare and lost before. It has healed, but it is resting as a precaution.

"You don't need to be too hyped up. With our skills, the 10th floor is a breeze."

"Sure."

Seiki didn't doubt their skills at all.

In fact, their skills were so high that there was no room for his words to become a flag.

Among the "Ichi" series from Ichibishi and the "KS" from Kawamae, Aerial's armaments are all high-end.

Each one costs an eye-watering amount.

They wield these effortlessly, dispatching monsters one after another.

The speed of the great sword swings.

The arrows released.

Everything is just a step beyond Seiki's perception.

Kagemitsu's attack trajectory blurs.

This is probably just half of his true strength.

Seiki can tell from the way he uses his muscles.

"...Amazing."

"Yeah. Got it now?"

Kagemitsu muttered self-mockingly in response to Seiki's praise.

"The monsters all target me! Having a presence is a good thing, isn't it?"

"Ah, yeah, that seems to be the case..."

Seiki was evaluating their skills, but...

Indeed, the monsters were targeting Kagemitsu.

Having too much presence seems to be unexpectedly troublesome.

"By the way, how do you separate Monpare from the rare species?"

"Hehe. That's a surprise."

Kagemitsu evaded the question.

Perhaps they have some special strategy.

Do they use a magic item?

Or perhaps an awakened skill?

Seiki was curious but didn't press for an answer.

It would be much more enjoyable to wait and see.

* * *

Seiki and Kagemitsu walked together at the front.

Vaan and Yoshi leaned in to each other, watching them.

"That's amazing."

"Yeah. Is he really just an intermediate adventurer?"

What they were looking at was 'Kuuki's' presence.

Even though they had descended to the middle layer, the 8th floor of "Chikaho" is where the owners appear.

The owners are anthropomorphic and have very high attack power.

They have a wide range and are not monsters that can be taken lightly by beginners to intermediates.

Naturally, this applies to Kuuki, who has just descended to the middle layer.

But...

Kuuki walks through the dungeon calmly and confidently.

It's not because Kagemitsu is there with his great sword.

If Kuuki were completely relaxed because of Kagemitsu's presence, he would be more careless.

If he were careless, he wouldn't be able to notice the monsters before Kagemitsu and take the first move.

His first move was a thrown short sword.

He uses the short sword of the 'One' Silver Wolf.

He throws it almost simultaneously as the owner appears.

The short swords deeply pierce the owner's eyes.

Then, the plant monsters on his back literally crush two Silver Wolves.

Kagemitsu only finishes off the wounded owner.

He pulls the short swords from the dead owner and continues walking.

All the while, Kuuki continues talking to Kagemitsu without breaking his flow.

"...Scary."

"Yeah. I've never seen this type before."

They couldn't see the depth of his skills.

They had no idea what would happen if he fought at full strength.

Yoshi and Vaan were tasked with assessing Kuuki's skills and considering how much he could contribute to Monpare.

Naturally, Aerial had no intention of using Kuuki as a disposable tool.

If an adventurer died while taking on a request from Aerial, the reputation of 'using weak adventurers as disposable tools' would follow them to hell.

They couldn't tarnish the name of Aerial that Kagemitsu had built up.

That's why Yoshi and Vaan carefully assessed his strength.

If Kuuki's skills were lacking, they would consider training him.

But so far, they didn't feel the need to train him.

His fighting style was so advanced that even Yoshi and Vaan might not be able to handle it if he followed a certain pattern.

Kagemitsu's ultimate goal of stealth.

Could this be the completed form right in front of them?

"...I'm glad he's friendly with us."

"Absolutely..."

Yoshi and Vaan both quietly exhaled in relief.

* * *

With Yoshi and Vaan guarding the rear, Seiki continued to walk, maintaining a high level of tension.

When the first monster appeared,

it was instantly killed by Yoshi's bow and Kagemitsu's great sword.

Furthermore, they didn't even break their breathing rhythm while attacking.

Seiki's breathing would be slightly disrupted.

But disrupted breathing creates openings.

It also leads to a decrease in stamina.

...I see.

This is how they became so strong!

Seiki understood the secret of their strength from their movements.

He understood and tried to emulate it.

To get closer to the rankers.

To gain presence by getting closer to the rankers.

Seiki expanded his detection range.

When a monster was detected, he immediately threw a short sword.

He focused on his breathing, but not too much.

He continued his conversation with Kagemitsu in the same rhythm.

This was quite difficult.

His breathing would inevitably be disrupted when he tried too hard.

No.

Don't give up!

Analyze, analyze,

Hypothesize, execute.

Retry!

Seiki gradually grasped the method to maintain his breathing rhythm.

"Do you use the short swords by throwing them?"

"The ones I throw are from before the update. Losing them doesn't hurt my wallet."

"True."

"By the way, how do you see with that mask? There are no holes for your eyes."

"The mask is a magic item. It doesn't obstruct your vision even when worn."

"Is that a magic item? Can I ask about its effect?"

"It increases presence."

"Huh?"

"So, it increases presence when worn!"

"Damn, that's useful!"

"Be respectful to the mask! It's a god item!!"

While chatting, Seiki thoroughly detected the dungeon.

Kagemitsu's movements when cutting monsters were also very helpful.

He wanted to observe them closely, but they were hard to see.

He imagined their movements based on the changes in the space he detected.

The 8th-floor boss was quickly slain by Kagemitsu.

Seiki had no chance to participate.

They activated the gate and advanced to the 9th floor.

The 9th floor only had owners appearing.

But Seiki and the others didn't stop moving.

Seiki had defeated many owners, and Kagemitsu and the others fought even stronger enemies.

Without taking a break, they reached the boss room.

"Do you want to fight together or watch from here?"

"..."

The boss was a type of monster with the owner wielding weapons.

It probably had the same strength as the boss in the garage.

Seiki could defeat it if given enough time.

But if he joined, he would just be a hindrance to Kagemitsu and the others, whose strength was far superior.

"I'll learn how to fight here."

"Alright. Yoshi, Vaan, let's take it down quickly."

"Okay."

"Got it."

At Kagemitsu's command, Yoshi and Vaan got into battle stances.

Behind them, Seiki heightened his concentration.

What was about to happen was a battle by the top team in Hokkaido.

He couldn't afford to miss a single moment.

Even the slightest hint couldn't be missed.

Seiki's concentration reached its peak.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely.

At the moment of maximum tension,

Kagemitsu lunged forward.

"Raaaaaah!"

—So fast!

A speed that Seiki's eyes couldn't even catch.

The air pushed Seiki's body strongly as it was left behind.

One second after the attack.

In just one second, the Long-Armed Goblin's torso was separated.

—Yes!

I saw it!!

Seiki made a mental fist pump.

What Seiki saw was the actual form, just barely not a residual image.

Kagemitsu approached the boss with a strong presence.

Vaan jumped out from the side and moved ahead.

The boss, distracted by the presence, swung its weapon at Kagemitsu.

Vaan deflected it.

Before the boss could regain its stance, an arrow flew.

It pierced the center of the boss's eyes.

Then—Kagemitsu's great sword severed the boss's torso, which was now wide open.

This all happened in one second.

A terrifying suppression power.

And teamwork.

"How was it?"

"I can't think of any praise."

No matter how he praised them, envy would inevitably mix in.

Envious.

Seiki was envious of this strength.

At the same time, his body was filled with excitement.

If he worked hard, he could reach this level...

When it came to Masatsugu, he thought he could never match him.

But watching Aerial's fighting style gave him a sense that maybe he could reach this level.

Perhaps it was the difference between Masatsugu and Aerial.

Or maybe Seiki had grown stronger, and the path to the distant heights had become visible.

In any case, watching Kagemitsu and the others fight excited Seiki.

His blood heated up and coursed through his body.

This was a valuable experience, being able to observe someone else's fighting style closely.

He couldn't help but be excited.

He wanted to move.

He wanted to imitate it right away.

But Seiki restrained that impulse.

If he moved freely, he would just be a child.

Seiki immediately engraved the images and sensations he had just observed in his mind.

To apply them in his next solo battle.

The 10th floor looked almost the same as the garage dungeon.

The only difference was the number of large trees on the plain.

There were 1,000 or 2,000 trees. This side had more trees.

But the atmosphere was exactly the same.

It felt as if the garage dungeon was on the other side of the dungeon walls.

In the center of the plain, they spotted a black mass.

"...Is that Monpare?"

"Yeah. There are more than before."

Kagemitsu's face twisted in annoyance.

The total number was not 100 or 200.

Are we supposed to defeat that?

It's ridiculous...

Seiki was immediately discouraged.

Anyone would say no if asked to fight hundreds of monsters.

But since he had agreed to do it, he had no choice but to face it.

—Yes, he would work hard.

If he worked hard here, he might gain a strong presence!!

"Let's start by fighting the grunts to adjust."

"Alright."

Seiki had never fought Beruberu other than the boss.

He needed time to learn their quirks and fighting style.

"Hey, don't go forward. If they notice you, it's bad."

"...Ah, right."

Kagemitsu's hand was placed on Seiki's chest as he tried to move forward.

Cold sweat trickled down Seiki's spine.

How much strength did Kagemitsu have?

He was only using one arm to press Seiki's chest, yet it felt like being blocked by a concrete building.

But Seiki's tension wasn't due to that.

He felt a strong presence from the center of the Monpare cluster in the center of the plain.

If they moved any further, they would enter its detection range.

The boundary, like a thin curtain of air, was clearly present just in front of them.

The presence Seiki felt was from a rare species.

Even from a considerable distance, he felt a threat that made his spine tingle.

If Kagemitsu hadn't stopped him, Seiki would have entered the enemy's detection range and been attacked.

That was close.

Seiki wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"How do we lure the monsters here without attracting the rare species?"

While detecting the monsters, they might accidentally pull the rare species.

"Just watch."

Kagemitsu nodded, and Yoshi drew his bow.

The arrow he released cleanly avoided the detection range and stuck into the ground.

"Whoa."

Seiki widened his detection range and realized there was a monster near where the arrow landed.

The distance was about 200 meters.

The monster noticed their presence when the arrow hit the ground.

"...Is that arrow disposable?"

"No way."

Looking closer, Yoshi was rotating his hand.

It seemed he had attached a thread to the arrow's fletching.

"Arrows are consumables, but they should be used in the right place."

"I see."

"Alright, it's your turn, Kuuki. At the very least, we need you to build up enough strength to survive a charge into Monpare."

"That's quite a reckless request."

"Of course. You're going to hunt a lot of monsters from now on. I'd be in trouble if you died easily."

True.

Seiki chuckled and drew his short sword.

"Rara, draw their attention once. When the fight starts, please assist with dangerous attacks."

Sure, sure.

Rara moved sinuously as if to say that.

In front of Seiki, a Beruberu with a sword was approaching.

But its target was Kagemitsu, who was standing behind.

Rara's provocation shot hit the Beruberu.

The Beruberu, which had been looking at Kagemitsu, now aimed at Seiki.

"...Well then."

Seiki focused his mind.

He calmed his breathing and delved deep.

A new enemy.

A new battle.

Seiki's heart raced with excitement at this first encounter.

Well—

Let's go on an adventure!

"Yoku" (いいだけ) in Hokkaido dialect means "a lot" or "quite a bit."

"Yoku tabeta" (いいだけ食った) means "I ate a lot" or "I ate quite a bit," often used in a relatively negative sense, like "I can't eat any more! I'm full!"

As of this moment, we are closing the "Guess the God's Name Quiz."

We had 27 correct answers!

Thank you very much for the many entries!