Chapter 49

After that, there were many battles, but since the opponent was mainly long-range beasts, Rain and Lucre performed exceptionally well.

Indeed, this floor is a stage for rear attackers.

On the 87th floor, there are many beasts that gather in groups, so there are opportunities for front-line fighters, but on the 86th floor, most of the beasts are solitary...

"How about it? We're not bad, right?"

After the battle ended, Selma addressed me.

"Not bad...? That's not the right level. I genuinely think you guys are as good as the Night Sky's Silver Hare's First Squad."

I spoke my honest thoughts.

This party is no less impressive than the Hero Party.

Selma, Will, and Rain are already better than the corresponding members of the Hero Party, in my opinion.

As for me and Lucre, it's a different story.

In my case, I'm compared to Oliver, who is a genius.

I don't know how skilled the new member, Phil, is, but his support magic is definitely better than mine.

If that's the case, even though the explosive power from [Instant Ability Super Boost] is gone, the overall ability should be higher.

If we both go all out, I would definitely win, but my buffs have a time limit.

When viewed relatively as explorers, it's difficult to determine who is better.

And Lucre's comparison is with Luna.

To my knowledge, Luna is the most skilled rear attacker among explorers.

While she is not good at support magic, her offensive and healing magic are at a very high level, and she is undoubtedly in the top tier as a mage and healer.

Furthermore, she has a special ability.

Her special ability has a great synergy with magic.

Even though she is still struggling with it, if she can fully master it, she has the potential to become a better enchanter than Selma.

She is a very reassuring presence in the party.

"Is that so. ...Do you think we can conquer the 92nd floor from Oren's perspective?"

I can tell that the other members are also listening to Selma's question.

"I think we can."

"...Is that because of Oren?"

"No. I think we can defeat the black dragon regardless of whether I'm here or not."

This isn't a lie.

The members' skills are so high that I wonder why they lost in the first place.

They must have trained hard since Albert's death.

"Oren, thank you. We've been trying our best for the past year, but we didn't know if it was paying off. Hearing it from you, who have reached the top, gives us confidence."

Rain's eyes were filled with tears, but she smiled and thanked me.

It's not hard to imagine how difficult this year has been for them.

The Night Sky's Silver Hare is a clan that aims to conquer the Great Labyrinth.

However, they couldn't find a replacement member, so they haven't been able to properly dive into the deeper levels for the past year.

Moreover, as the top explorers in the clan, they were expected to set an example for other explorers.

They continued to work hard, but it was uncertain whether their efforts would bear fruit.

The pressure from sponsors.

It must have been a significant source of stress.

Still, in my eyes, they are on par with the members of the Hero Party.

I genuinely want to help these people and see their efforts rewarded.

The best thing I can do is to put all my effort into conquering the Great Labyrinth.

I reaffirmed this.

◇

It has been about two hours since we started diving into the 86th floor.

We finally found a Noxious Sheep.

This one is slightly smaller than average.

Our goal this time is the Noxious Sheep's wool.

To achieve this, we need to secure the wool before defeating it.

When a beast is defeated, it leaves behind a magic stone and disappears.

Sometimes, parts of the beast can remain, but if we need a specific material, we don't rely on luck.

There is a way to reliably obtain the beast's parts.

It involves separating the part from the beast while it is still alive.

By doing this, the part will remain even after the beast disappears.

"Oren, how much wool do you think you can get from it?"

Selma asks how much wool I can shear.

"If nothing gets in the way, I think I can get at least two-thirds of it."

"That's enough. Then, the rear attackers will hold it in place and keep watch. Will, please support Oren so he can move freely. After I'm done shearing, I want to try Oren's [Instant Ability Super Boost] and see if it can sync with Rain's magic."

"Sure, if I know the type, activation point, and timing."

"Understood. I'll communicate that telepathically. Let's go!"

As Selma gives the command, Will charges towards the Noxious Sheep.

Selma then casts buffs on him.

I switch from the longsword I was using to two short swords, each about half the length, and hold one in each hand.

I cast [Skill Enhancement], [Agility Enhancement], and [Dual Cast] on myself, and [Sharpness Enhancement] on both short swords before closing in on the Noxious Sheep.

Rain restrains the Noxious Sheep's feet with [Rock Bind], and Lucre slows it down with [Thunder Strike].

The Noxious Sheep breathes a red-black breath at Will, but Selma creates a wind around Will to nullify it.

"Raaaaaah!"

Will skillfully wields his dual blades, striking the Noxious Sheep's face repeatedly.

I move to the side, being careful not to cut too deep, and start shearing the wool.

I instantly store the sheared wool.

Incidentally, the storage magic device I'm using is not the bracelet I own but a ring-type storage magic device provided to me.

In the Night Sky's Silver Hare, it is a rule to store the magic stones and materials obtained during dungeon exploration in the provided magic devices.

These are given to us before we go into the dungeon and returned to the exploration support department afterward.

This way, the value of the items obtained is added to the party funds later.

It's possible to hoard items during exploration, but the penalty if caught is severe, so almost no one does it.

I have to be careful not to put items in my personal storage magic device out of habit from my Hero Party days.

After about five minutes, I had sheared most of the wool except for the abdomen.

Selma must have decided it was enough.

After explaining the magic Rain would use in my mind, a countdown began.

I put some distance between myself and the Noxious Sheep and started forming the spell.

At zero, the ground beneath the Noxious Sheep rises and skewers it.

However, the wool prevents it from being pierced deeply.

This is Lucre's magic, not an attack but to fix its position.

A spear of lightning descends from the sky.

"[Instant Ability Super Boost]!"

I activate [Instant Ability Super Boost] just before the lightning spear reaches the Noxious Sheep.

The lightning spreads around, and the Noxious Sheep turns into a black mist.

Fortunately, the magic stone and some of the remaining wool are left behind.

"Oren! That magic is really amazing! Even if the wool was gone, to be able to defeat it with one high-level magic is incredible!"

Rain runs over, highly excited.

She looks like she's about to jump up and down.

She really is a person full of contrasts...

◇

After repeating battles and gathering a considerable amount of magic stones, we returned to the surface.

We defeated about four Noxious Sheep in total.

We also collected a lot of wool.

"Phew~ The surface is so relaxing~"

Lucre lets out a relaxed sigh.

Indeed, spending a long time in the lower or deeper levels of the Great Labyrinth can be quite draining.

I can understand why she feels like letting out a relaxed sigh after returning.

"Right, you dive into the Great Labyrinth every other day, right? So, you're free tomorrow?"

I check tomorrow's schedule with Selma.

"Yeah, that's right. I'll be at the exploration management department in the morning, so do you want to come with me? It's better to hear about the training from Estella as soon as possible."

The training is probably about the instruction I'll be giving to the others. I want to know the details as soon as possible.

Still, it seems that being a clan officer is quite busy.

I'm an officer now, so I want to help reduce Selma's burden.

Compared to the Hero Party days, when I pushed my tired body to do all the administrative work after exploration, this is much easier.

Those were tough times...

Derrick and Annelie didn't help at all...

"If that's the case, I'll come with you. Do the three of you have plans for tomorrow?"

"We do. Rain and I will help with magic and magic device development in the magic development room, and Will will help with equipment development in the equipment development room."

I see.

If the top explorers in each field can provide real-time feedback, the development speed should be much faster.

As an officer in the clan, I can't act just for myself.

When I was in the Hero Party, I did the administrative work for the party, but it was all for our benefit.

However, what Selma and the others are doing is not just for themselves but for everyone. They must be focusing on developing more versatile and widely usable items.

This is a big difference between a party and a clan.

"Hey, hey! Let's have the welcome party for Oren that we couldn't have yesterday!"

"Hey, that's a great idea! Let's have a welcome party! What do you think, boss?"

"Yeah, no problem. Rain and Oren, are you okay with it?"

"Of course, I'm in favor."

"I'm fine with it too. Thanks, everyone."

◇

Since everyone was going to have a welcome party for me, we moved to a private room in a restaurant operated by the Night Sky's Silver Hare.

The five of us enjoyed food and drinks, chatting and laughing.

The welcome party ended with laughter throughout.

--Of course, it was because Rain was always laughing.

And her tone and gestures matched her appearance.

I could understand what Will said jokingly in the morning.

Still, everyone in the party is a good person.

I'm genuinely happy to be able to explore the dungeon with these people in the future.

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