Chapter 4

We arrived at the very brink of the 18th layer's deepest part, and everything went smoothly, really smoothly.

Each layer of the dungeon consists of a large labyrinth section and a powerful monster's lair, commonly known as the "Boss Room," located at its deepest part.

The labyrinth sections vary in characteristics depending on the floor, but the Boss Room is generally a large, circular room where only the boss monster and its minions are present, a simple setup. Before the Boss Room, there is usually an area where no monsters appear and no warp points exist, known as the "Rest Point," designed for resting and final preparations before the boss battle.

Since there are no warp points, it's typically used for a brief rest and final checks before the boss battle, usually lasting around 10 minutes or so. However, this time, things were a bit different.

"That... there are a lot of people here."

At the rest point, an unusually large number of adventurers had gathered. There were over a dozen people, and it seemed that multiple parties had convened here. Moreover, all of them looked quite battered.

"Huh...? Hey, isn't that Stormbreaker?"

One of the adventurers noticed us and called out. The others turned their gaze, and a few of them let out sighs of relief.

"Maybe they can do it...!"

"...? What happened?"

Rain, sensing the suspicious atmosphere, took the lead and asked.

"Actually, the boss ahead is incredibly strong."

...Honestly, it was the most awkward reason I could have imagined.

The boss is too strong to proceed. In other words, they lack the strength to overcome this floor. Normally, they would train or come up with a strategy. Staying at the rest point and hoping another party would defeat the boss for them is not a healthy approach for adventurers.

"There's a bad vibe here. It feels oppressive."

"It doesn't seem like we can rest properly...,"

Snow and Sunny's words were tinged with fatigue, and I couldn't agree more. Sandra was already leaning on me like a tree, and her greatsword was heavy, making it quite tiring.

"Monog, Snow, Sunny, Sandra,"

Rain, who had finished listening to the story, gestured for us to gather. We moved to a slightly secluded area so the other adventurers wouldn't overhear.

"Apparently, the boss ahead is quite strong."

"It's not surprising. Bosses are supposed to be tough."

"But it's much stronger than we imagined. It's like a few floors ahead in terms of difficulty."

Honestly, it's hard to know how much to trust the information passed by word of mouth. They might have underestimated it and ended up in a bad situation.

"We should be cautious. Right, Monog?"

"Yeah, that's true. If you need to check your equipment, let me know. I've brought the necessary tools for the boss room strategy."

"Okay, let's take a short break."

Regardless, the option to retreat due to the strong enemy is not available to us, at least not to me. We decided to take a brief rest before heading to the boss room.

"Monog, I want to check my bow. The string feels a bit off... Can you come with me?"

"Sure."

Even during the break, we didn't just lounge around. We maintained our weapons to prepare for the battle.

I checked Sunny's bow with her. It seemed the string was slightly loose.

"This string has stretched. I bought a new one at the market the other day."

I took out a bowstring from my [Pocket].

"It's made from the World Tree, processed into a string. It was expensive, but I think it's a good find."

"Wow... It does feel good. The elasticity... yeah, it's great. Good job, Monog."

"Thanks. But using it for the first time in a real battle is a bit scary. I think the current one is still usable..."

"No, I want to replace it. Since you prepared it for me."

Sunny smiled, and I nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed.

I've replaced strings before, so the process was familiar. Ideally, I would replace the frame as well, but it's quite damaged.

"Hey, Sunny. What about this frame?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"This is something I really treasure."

Sunny lovingly stroked the frame. Maybe it has some connection to Rain. If so, I can't say anything about it.

"Or, will you buy a new one for me, Monog?"

"No, that's a bit too much for me."

I finished replacing the string with a wry smile, not wanting to be too reckless. I glanced at Rain and the others, who were chatting and polishing their weapons. Sunny probably wanted to join them, so I hurried to finish.

"Go on, join them."

"Ah, right."

Sunny, initially surprised, smiled and headed over to Rain and the others. It's not good to favor one person, but giving everyone equal opportunities is fair.

"Those guys are in a good mood, aren't they?"

"Yeah, Stormbreaker is gaining a reputation even as a rookie. Maybe they can even defeat that boss... But still, it's annoying that even a supporter can take the glory."

I heard the same kind of complaints about supporters, but this time it was directed at me, a member of Stormbreaker.

"What's your problem?"

When I looked at them, they seemed to think I was challenging them and started walking towards me.

"Just talking. It sounded like you were talking about me."

"Yeah, we were talking about you."

A muscular man approached and grabbed me by the collar, lifting me off the ground. I was at a disadvantage in terms of size and could only keep my toes on the ground.

"It pisses me off that a weakling like you is trying to go ahead of us."

"From what I can see, your party doesn't have a supporter."

"Yeah, we got rid of those guys. They hide behind us and still act like adventurers, which is annoying."

The man sneered, and his followers seemed to agree.

If only they were just bad-tempered. But the reality is that many adventurers are like this. The arrogance of the attackers who grabbed me isn't the only issue. The ghosts of supporters who were cut off and forced to leave the adventurer life seemed to be rubbing off on them.

"You should fall to our side soon."

—Even without them saying it, I knew it was only a matter of time. Today made it clear that my strength is no match for theirs.

"Hey, having fun?"

A sharp voice cut through the air.

Then,

"Ugh...!"

The man who had grabbed me groaned. I saw that thin, flexible fingers were digging into his arm, causing him to loosen his grip and release me.

"Are you okay, Monog?"

"Ah, yeah..."

Rain smiled, but her eyes were not smiling. She was still crushing the man's arm.

"You're being quite rude to my companion. I heard what you were saying."

"Let go...!"

"Actually, I thought about cutting you loose... but Monog would be worried. He's a kind person."

The man groaned, but Rain didn't let up. Her anger seemed to be growing.

"But I'm not kind. It's the attacker's job to decide what's important and what's not."

I could hear the bones in his arm creaking. She seemed to be radiating a killing intent, more intense than facing a monster.

"The supporters, Monog, pick up what we leave behind. That's why we, Stormbreaker, can move forward."

"Rain...!"

"That's why don't lump us in with you."

Rain forcefully pushed the man away, grabbed my hand, and walked towards our companions.

"..."

I couldn't help but gasp.

Snow, Sunny, and Sandra were glaring at the adventurers with visible anger.

"You handled it well, Rain. If it were me, I would have made sure they could never call themselves adventurers again."

"True, a bit more pain would have been for their own good."

"Sandra would have split their heads open."

Each of them spoke in a menacing tone, ready for battle.

"Let's not waste time on them, girls."

Rain laughed and said to them.

Then,

"Even if they are the strong ones who abandon supporters, we might be the weak ones."

"True, without this supporter, we couldn't even call ourselves adventurers."

"We know our limitations... we are all one."

"We are invincible together."

"That's right. If there's a wall in front of us, we'll tear it down without mercy."

They each spoke words that made me feel embarrassed.

I was naturally confused,

"What was that? Did you practice it?"

"No, we just said what we felt."

"Seems a bit too perfect, doesn't it?"

"Monog, you're really clueless."

Snow nudged my shoulder, smiling more relaxedly than before.

"We're not just dummies. We can sense the atmosphere in the adventurer world."

"That's why we've been thinking about it. Maybe Monog is worried too."

I might have been worried, but probably not in the way they thought.

I was thinking about getting kicked out soon and what I would do after leaving the adventurer life...

"Monog is here, so Sandra and the others are invincible."

"Right, Sandra, Snow, and Sunny too. ...So, let's prove it. Let's defeat the boss ahead."

Rain summarized our thoughts.

"We need to show that we're different from the others. I'm counting on you, Monog."

Faced with their expectant gazes, I could only laugh wryly.