Chapter 152: People who will move beyond the Fifty floor

Leave a Comment / Spirits' paradise and ideal life in another world / By IX

Most of the discussion with the Grandmaster had concluded. Now, all that remained was to review the documents and be introduced to the adventurers who would accompany me. I wonder if they also need to go through the procedures for ranking up.

It seemed that the Grandmaster perceived my weakness as being related to women, as he kept asking about my preferences persistently. While I didn’t mind such conversations, I didn’t feel bold enough to discuss my tastes with people I had just met. When a secretary-like woman appeared from the back, accompanied by a group of men, I felt a little relieved.

“These are the adventurers who will go with you. The ones with the wings are ‘Labyrinth’s Wing,’ and the muscular ones are ‘Muscle Star.’ Please rely on them.”

“Y-Yes.”

I was entrusted with an amazing team. Labyrinth’s Wing seemed fine, consisting of three men and two women, forming a balanced group with a swordsman, a spear user, a thief, a magician, and a priest. The leader was quite handsome, which was a bit frustrating, but compared to the other group, it didn’t matter much.

As for Muscle Star… I understood what they meant. It seemed like the type that worshipped muscles. Every one of them had bulging muscles, and even those who were dressed as magicians or priests were impressively buff. I wondered how they would manage to wear full armor with all that muscle.

Silphy discreetly distanced herself from the Muscle Star members. It seemed that she wasn’t comfortable with them.

“Both teams are A-rank adventurer parties, and they are among the top performers in this country. I brought Muscle Star from the capital,” the Grandmaster explained after noticing my somewhat slow reaction. Well, that wasn’t the issue, and I hoped he wasn’t the one who brought Muscle Star along. I’d rather not have to deal with them.

“There are no S-rank individuals, huh?”

“No, we can’t confine S-rank adventurers to the labyrinth.”

I see, that makes sense. Progressing through the labyrinth with S-rank adventurers would be beneficial, but if they were always occupied with gathering materials, they wouldn’t be able to act in times of crisis. Being S-rank seems to come with a lot of complications. Still, I was a little curious to see an S-rank adventurer.

“That’s understandable.”

“I’m Alec, the leader of Labyrinth’s Wing. As an adventurer, it’s a bit embarrassing to be led by others, but please take care of us.”

“Th-Thank you, I’ll do my best.”

Alec seemed to have a good personality. He’s handsome too, and while I should be envious, I can’t help but be curious about the person beside him.

“I’m Muscle. I have a different real name, but call me Muscle because that’s my soul’s name. By the way, I heard you also use a hammer, but it looks like your muscles are lacking,” Muscle said, tilting his head curiously. His soul’s name is Muscle… He seems like an eccentric person. I don’t want to get involved, but can I switch? I looked at the Grandmaster, who nodded in response. What’s with that nod?

“Uh, I’m Yuta. Nice to meet you. Please don’t mind my hammer; it has some special features.”

“I see, you’re not the type to use muscles…”

Muscle seemed disappointed, probably expecting someone to share his passion for muscles. I exchanged greetings with the rest of the party members, but I couldn’t remember most of their names. Well, it’s a short acquaintance, and as long as I know Alec and Muscle, I should be fine.

“So, are we ready to depart? I think we should dive into the labyrinth once to confirm our cooperation…”

“Yes, that’s right. We’ll be acting together, so I want to assess our abilities to some extent.”

Alec and Muscle started to confirm their plans, but it was a bit different from what I had in mind.

“Um, it seems we have some differences in our approach, so I’ll let you know—I won’t be going with you all the way. I’ll meet you before the staircase to the 50th floor. From there, you can all enter the boss room and defeat the Fire Dragon. Once I’ve taken down the Fire Dragon and reached the 51st floor, we’ll part ways.”

To be precise, it’s Silphy who will defeat the Fire Dragon, but explaining that probably wouldn’t be understood. For a moment, I considered having each member enter the boss room separately and acquire ten Fire Dragon bodies, but Silphy would probably get angry, so I’ll abandon that idea.

“And just so you know, all the Fire Dragon materials are mine.”

I mentioned this to avoid any potential complications. I still have some Fire Dragon materials left from the previous time, and I don’t mind sharing everything except for the meat, but I should sell those to Marie, who has been kind to me. I’ll take the heart and tongue, though. I’m excited about trying some dragon tongue, a delicacy that surpasses beef tongue.

Also, I’ve been wanting to start working on processing the materials. I have a fascination with dragon equipment. At first, I thought of asking Ax-san, but since Mel became my disciple, I should request help from Mel instead. Even though it’s not her specialty, as a craftsman, she probably knows other artisans. After all, her family has been blacksmiths for generations in the Labyrinth City; they must have great connections.

On another note, I wonder if I should make some dragon equipment for Sara and the others? It’s a dilemma whether it’s alright to equip kids with such dangerous things, but considering the dangerous nature of their job, it might be better to provide them with good equipment. However, there’s also the possibility of kidnappings targeting them for their equipment. I should carefully think this through before making a decision.

“So, the meeting place is in front of the Fire Dragon’s room, and Yuta-kun will be fighting alone?”

I haven’t been called “kun” in a long time.

“Our help isn’t needed?”

Alec and Muscle looked puzzled and turned to the Grandmaster, who also seemed surprised.

“Huh? You’re not going together?”

“That’s right. I only promised to assist in clearing the 50th floor. I won’t bother with the other layers. Besides, if you can’t reach the 50th floor without me, it’s pointless, isn’t it?”

“But isn’t it normal to go together? And it’s safer to fight as a team than alone. They are an exceptional party, and it would be troublesome if a mistake caused someone’s death.”

Ah, this might be my chance. I’m planning to impress Labyrinth’s Wing and Muscle Star (with Silphy’s help), but making a strong statement here might make a bigger impact.

“No, I’ve been taking down the Fire Dragon alone from the beginning. Besides, it’s just a Fire Dragon; there’s no way I’ll lose no matter what mistakes I make.”

I said with a stupid grin on my face. In reality, I’m worried that I might get nervous when facing the Fire Dragon. I believe I can win if I focus, but the overwhelming presence of the Fire Dragon is concerning.

The other adventurers around us were also making a commotion, and the rumors will probably spread quickly. If I show Labyrinth’s Wing and Muscle Star how easily I defeat the Fire Dragon in reality, it’ll be perfect.

“Are you serious?”

The atmosphere around the Grandmaster, which had been light, suddenly changed. He emitted a tense aura and started to inquire in an intimidating manner.

“You’re serious? That you can defeat it with a single blow? Easy?”

“Yuta! You’re amazing. But you could make a bigger impact, you know?”

Silphy was delighted. She must have accurately read my thoughts and was enjoying this situation. It’s that feeling when you get carried away without noticing it, but when you finally come to your senses, it’s embarrassing. I feel like I’m creating my own black history.

“Seriously? One blow to the Fire Dragon? Easy?”

In an instant, the Grandmaster returned to a lighter tone, showing confusion. Now that I think about it, besides the people related to Marie, who disassembled the wholesale Fire Dragon, not many others know that I took it down in one hit.

“That’s right, so there’s no need to worry. How long will it take Labyrinth’s Wing and Muscle Star to reach the Fire Dragon’s room?”

“Uh, well, if it’s just Labyrinth’s Wing, it would take about ten days, but with Muscle Star’s cooperation, we might get there a bit faster.”

Alec answered, still seeming confused. It would indeed take quite a while—ten days. I’m glad I won’t be going with them. If I were with the Muscle Star people, they’d probably force me to do muscle training.

I had a friend back in Japan who was into muscle training, and he’d work out his muscles anywhere if he had the time. The Muscle Star people seemed even more intense, and I’m sure they would start doing muscle training during breaks and camping in the labyrinth. It might be a biased assumption, but it’s not hard to imagine. Well, as long as they can make it in ten days, it’s fine.

“I see. Let’s meet in front of the Fire Dragon’s room ten days from now then. The Adventurer’s Guild has facilities on the 49th floor, so we can adjust the time, right?”

“Ah, that’s fine, but are we really not going to fight the Fire Dragon?”

Alec seemed a bit disappointed. Did he want to experience fighting the Fire Dragon? I wanted to say something like, “If you fight that thing, you’ll die immediately.”

“I, too, desire to battle the Fire Dragon with my muscles…”

Muscle joined the conversation. The other party members at the back also nodded with inflated muscles. I don’t get it. While I can communicate with spirits, I don’t understand the feelings of muscles, nor do I want to.

“Please give up on fighting the Fire Dragon. I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks either.”

I don’t want to get crushed or roasted after saying that I wanted to try fighting it. Failing the request and having to do it all over again would be annoying. Alec and the Muscle Star members seemed disappointed, but Alec’s companions looked somewhat relieved.

“I guess we can’t be demanding when someone else is taking us there.”

“Yeah, I’ll work on becoming strong so that I can challenge it myself someday.”

Both of them seemed to have good personalities. It’s like they picked people who wouldn’t argue about the choice. It’s just my impression, but I was expecting someone to say, “There’s no way someone like him can defeat the Fire Dragon!” or something like that. Well, it’s not like they’d bring someone like that, but you can’t be too sure with Valkyries around.

“Alright then. So, after this, is it just the document verification and rank-up procedures?”

“No, wait wait wait, how strong are you really? I knew you defeated the Fire Dragon, but I hadn’t heard that it was with a single blow.”

The Grandmaster, who had been confused, returned to his senses. How strong am I? I highly doubt they would let the contract spirits go all out against me… I understand it would be a disastrous situation. He’s undoubtedly a dangerous individual.

“It’s difficult to judge exactly how strong I am, but I can say I’m strong enough to defeat the Fire Dragon with a single blow.”

It’s a bit embarrassing to boast about my own strength. It’s like saying, “I’m really good at fighting,” and it feels strange. Besides, I can’t defeat the Fire Dragon alone—I’m just borrowing the might of a tiger.

“I have no idea! And if you’re that strong, wouldn’t showing your strength have convinced the previous Guildmaster? The situation wouldn’t have been so chaotic, right? Why?”

It’s because I, as a spirit user, was despised and harassed by the previous Guildmaster, and I wanted to get back at them with some cunning retaliation… but it takes a lot of nerve to explain this in front of adventurers who mostly don’t know much about me. I’ll try to cover it up.

“Well, it was just how things turned out. I didn’t want to sell valuable materials to the adventurers’ guild that harassed me, so I sold them elsewhere, and then various things got intertwined, and that’s how it ended up that way.”

I was met with a look of great disappointment.

“Anyway, I want to get back home as soon as possible, so could we continue with the procedure?”

As the atmosphere around us became awkward, I quickly verified the documents and proceeded with the rank-up procedure.

“Alright then, let’s meet in front of the Fire Dragon’s room ten days from now.”

I said this to Labyrinth’s Wing and Muscle Star and hurriedly left the guild. I’ll try to believe that the outcome of the discussion wasn’t that bad.