Chapter 154: Special Technique?

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

Taking advantage of the free time, I carried out Sarah and the others’ training. We went into the marshes twice, and each time we brought back materials, the dissection staff at Marie’s place seemed to have screamed in response.

Within ten days, we managed to gather four giant deer, as big as a two-story house, and several giant toads and poison toads from the marshlands, about ten marshland lizards… Though it was a trading company that dealt with labyrinth materials, it seems they exceeded their capacity when including dissection.

Giant deer are rare, but after searching all four layers of the marshland, we found one or two. It felt like there was a fixed number that could appear.

Well, Marie seemed delighted, but it seems the dissection of poison toads was quite challenging. As they used the toxins for medicine, delicate work was required, and since they piled them up like a mountain, it must have been tough. It felt somewhat apologetic.

In reality, Marie tried to encourage them by offering a wage increase, thinking it was a lucrative opportunity, but it seemed it was impossible. She apologetically declined, saying that it would affect the dissection of fire dragons.

Well, I earned 60 million eltos, and the rest could be stored in the magic bag without any issues. I would release them when the timing was right. When I asked Marie if adventurers made good money, she said that having a magic bag gave them a considerable advantage.

The elite adventurers who possessed magic bags could advance much further, and apparently, the bag’s capacity was about the size of a one-story house. Undeniably, the pioneering tools were cheat-like. They might seem unassuming, but they were truly powerful.

————

“Sarah and the others are allowed to go outside, but you must not neglect your training. Also, if you encounter the Valkyries outside again, don’t believe them. See you later.”

Early in the morning on the day of the reunion with Alec and the others, Sarah’s party was given a light warning and Dolly was given a reassuring look. With Dolly as their escort, there was no need to worry.

As she would be away from the spring house for a while, I also asked Nomos for help with managing things to ensure everything was in order. But I was concerned about meeting the Valkyries again. I occasionally bumped into them while wandering around. It was quite unnerving to feel like I was being closely watched.

Well, since there was no sign of them plotting anything bad, it should be fine as long as I didn’t get too mesmerized by their beauty. That’s what I convinced myself. It was about time to depart. I bowed to Sebastian and headed towards the labyrinth with Silphy and Bell. Since I had already informed Dyne that she would be needed from the 66th floor, I didn’t have to worry about her sulking.

(Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since we’ve acted as this group.)

“Has it been that long?” “Kyu?” “Is that so?” “Kukuu?”

Bell and the others tilted their heads, wondering if that was the case. They were so cute that I wanted to stroke them, but since we were outside, I resisted the temptation.

“Indeed, it has been a while. Since I was accompanying Sarah and the others as their guardian, it’s been a long time since we acted together as this group.”

“Well, for the spirits, even the time since they met Yuta has been recent, so it might be hard for Bell and the others to understand.”

Spirits do have long lifespans… come to think of it, do they have a limited lifespan? Silphy added some additional information, and Bell and the others finally seemed to understand.

“It’s been a while!” “Kyu-kyu!” “I see, it’s been a while.” “Kukuu.”

They seemed pleased to have understood and happily flew around during the early-morning labyrinth city. If their voices were heard by the people of the labyrinth city, it might wake them up. Watching Bell and the others happily fly around, I sought comfort. Maybe I would get used to it after a few repetitions?

———–

Except for some scuffles with other adventurers inside the cave and right in front of the boss’s room, we practically flew through the floors, reaching the 49th floor in about four hours, considering the subjective time. It was pretty fast, since we were not being discreet.

The boss’s room was not an issue because we had already defeated it, so no monsters would come out. However, the process of opening the door was a bit tedious. Moreover, after closing the entrance door, the exit door would slowly open automatically, which was slightly frustrating when we were in a hurry.

The monsters blocking our path were blown away by Bell and the others flying around. If other adventurers passed by behind him, they might get lucky and pick up some materials.

“Yuta, are we heading straight to the top, or should we visit that base over there in the middle?”

Ah, that base made by the adventurer guild on the 49th floor… What should I do?

“…Let’s skip it. It would be troublesome if someone inside wants to come with us.”

“Understood. Then, let’s go.”

Without stopping at the base, we continued flying through the sky towards the summit. The volcanic region was a bit troublesome with wyverns and firebirds attacking occasionally. While fending off the occasional wyverns that swooped down, we finally reached the top.

“Oh, the Labyrinth Wings and Muscle Star are waiting in front of the staircase. They seem excited. They do recognize me, right? I hope they won’t attack me. Just to be safe, I’ll wave my hand lightly as I descend slowly.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“N-No, we haven’t been waiting that long… Yuta-kun, you can fly?”

“Yes, I can.”

I said it as if it were nothing. I had to be careful not to sound too boastful, or it would backfire and become awkward. After this, Alec and Muscle would probably report to the guild that I could fly.

It might attract attention from those around me that I could fly, but I could leave it to the adventurer guild, and once it got past that, I could freely fly around. It was not a bad choice.

“Ha ha, I see… Is that so?”

Alec seemed like he wanted to say something really badly. I didn’t want to be bombarded with questions, so I wanted to wrap it up and part ways.

“Yuta-dono! With that power, is it possible for you to carry us and fly?”

Before the conversation could move forward, Muscle jumped in. He had an excited expression, and I immediately knew what he wanted to say. He was planning to fly around with me, but lying here would be discovered immediately.

“Yes, it’s possible, but I don’t intend to carry all of you and fly. Let’s defeat the Fire Dragon as quickly as possible. Please wait behind me, everyone. Please don’t do anything unnecessary.”

As I didn’t want to fly with Muscle and the others, I wanted to move the conversation forward and prevent any requests.

“Huh, already? What about breaks and discussions?”

Alec was surprised.

“It will be done in one strike, so there’s no need for breaks or discussions.”

“But, irregularities happen in battles. We should plan as much as possible.”

Alec gave him a serious warning. He was an A-rank adventurer with a lot of experience, so his words were convincing.

“…Then, if I can’t defeat it in one strike, I’ll retreat. There’s no point in fighting unnecessarily and getting injured.”

I didn’t want to be exposed to a strategy meeting with A-rank adventurers; I felt like my ignorance would be revealed. Although no one seemed convinced by my words, I forced the conversation to move forward.

“We won’t move far from the entrance, so we can retreat anytime. Don’t worry. Shall we go then?”

“W-Wait a minute! It can’t be that easy…”

“Alec, we would just be a burden. As long as we can escape if it doesn’t work, it should be enough.”

Muscle provided support. He might look like a dangerous person calling himself “Muscle,” but surprisingly, he responded reasonably.

“However, we’re dealing with a Fire Dragon!”

“Calm down, Alec. Yuta-dono said he can defeat it in one strike, and he has the record to prove it. If he were to give instructions to an inexperienced group like us, who just asked Yuta-dono for help at the Grandmaster’s request, it would be absurd. When we agreed to the Grandmaster’s proposal, we entrusted our lives to Yuta-dono. We should quietly follow him, don’t you think?”

Alec showed a surprised expression at Muscle’s words and then seemed to be deep in thought.

“…I understand. Yuta-san, I’m sorry for the trouble. Please take care of us.”

Alec lowered his head. He switched from “kun” to “san” in his honorifics. But even though he looked like the type to solve everything with his muscles, Muscle’s character became hard to understand.

After calmly persuading Alec, I noticed that Muscle lowered his head while puffing up his muscles and nodded. I decided to avoid getting too close to them, as I could easily get carried away once we became friends.

Although I might respect Muscle if he didn’t show off his muscles… it was hard to imagine someone named “Muscle” without the muscle appeal. Anyway, I didn’t have any intention of admiring him.

“Don’t worry, I understand your concerns. Shall we proceed then?”

Bell and the others seemed bored, so I wanted to finish quickly. With the Labyrinth Wings and Muscle Star in tow, we descended the stairs. Oh, there was something I needed to confirm.

“Um, has anyone in your group ever seen a Fire Dragon? It’s quite imposing, and I don’t want anyone panicking.”

I remembered how my legs trembled the first time I saw one. While A-rank adventurers might be fine, I wanted to make sure.

“We’ve come to check if we can defeat the Fire Dragon, so we’re fine. How about you, Muscle-san?”

“We’ve seen it too, so we’re okay. We decided to retreat as we thought we couldn’t handle it, but there won’t be any panic.”

“I see, that’s reassuring. Once we open the door and enter, I’ll be busy preparing my spirit magic, so please don’t talk to me. If I determine that the attack failed, please evacuate individually.”

The Labyrinth Wings and Muscle Star members nodded in agreement. As I wanted to keep my spirit magic a secret from the adventurer guild, revealing everything during a regular request to defeat the dragon would be risky. After discussing with Silphy, I decided to use hushed chanting and gestures for the spirit magic.

At first, I thought of coming up with a cool chant for the magic, but it felt too cheesy, so I decided to pretend to mumble instead. I nearly went too far and started saying my right eye was throbbing and all. As someone with disciples, I couldn’t go that far. I couldn’t suppress everything, though.

I sent a signal to Silphy with my eyes to open the door. We entered, and the Fire Dragon roared at us menacingly. I pretended to be calm. Were my legs trembling? Silphy would handle it in one shot, so it would be fine. I convinced myself, mumbling in a low voice and adding some improvised hand movements.

The Fire Dragon approached with heavy footsteps. A voice of panic could be heard behind me. Sorry, a little more teasing to go, so hang in there.

…Okay, it’s about time. Some people are saying they want to escape, and it would be troublesome if someone actually did. They had been warned enough. With my right hand raised high, I shouted the name of the finishing move and swung it down dramatically.

“Final Wind Slash!”

As I improvised some embarrassing words, Silphy cut off the Fire Dragon’s head. On either side of me, Bell and the others imitated me, swinging their right hands and shouting the name of the technique. Rain and Tamamo were making high-pitched sounds like “Kyuu Kyuu” and “Kuu Kuu,” but they were trying to shout the technique name, probably.

A scene of silence followed.

“Was that a failure?”

As one of Alec’s companions muttered, the Fire Dragon’s head slid off and fell to the ground. I really wanted to act all cool, but I had to play it off as if it was nothing.