Chapter 44

"Rin, I'm planning to head to the Kenzaki Dungeon. What about you?"

"Of course, I'm going too."

I, of course, and Zero, who possesses a unique skill, should be able to fight on par with the monsters in a C-rank dungeon. It seems Zero shared the same understanding and had already decided to head to the scene.

"Wait, Rin! I'm going too!"

"…Yui?"

Just as we were about to set off, Yui, who was supposed to be less than level 100, made this claim.

"Yui, do you understand the difficulty of the Kenzaki Dungeon? It's a tough place where you need to be at least level 300. There's also the possibility of a labyrinth collapse, making the monsters even more aggressive and powerful than usual."

"Of course, I don't intend to fight myself. I want to cast healing magic on those who have been severely injured by the monsters. If you think I'll be a burden, I won't follow, of course..."

"…Hmm."

Indeed, she had a point, and I reconsidered.

The reason being, while it's impossible to use health potions on those who haven't obtained status, it is possible to cast healing magic. As you know, healers are very rare. It's better to have as many as possible with excellent abilities.

Moreover, I had just heard the reason why she became an adventurer.

I wanted to respect her will as much as possible.

"Alright, Yui, you can come with us. But you must stay by my side at all times."

"―! Yes, thank you!"

Yui nodded, her face lighting up.

As long as she stays within a 10-meter radius of me, I can protect her without any issues. I've been continuously slaying the monsters in the Kenzaki Dungeon to the point where I can confidently say that.

We set off again, the three of us heading towards the Kenzaki Dungeon.

The encounter with the monsters happened soon after.

"Hey, monsters are coming this way! Is there any adventurer who can fight!?"

Just as we were about a third of the way from the shopping mall to the Kenzaki Dungeon, we heard a shout. A man was there, and a bit further away, several orcs were standing. They had already invaded this far. We needed to act quickly.

"Leave this to me."

"Zero?"

Before I could take out a weapon from my item box, Zero sprinted towards the group of orcs.

I wondered if she would be okay without any weapon in her hand. The next moment, she spoke.

"Respond to my will―Magic Sword."

As Zero chanted, a longsword appeared in her hand. The handle seemed to be solid, but the blade was a strange, undulating yellow-green substance.

"Haa!"

Despite the distance of about 20 meters between her and the orcs, Zero swung the sword forcefully. The yellow-green blade extended rapidly, decapitating one orc. She then moved on to the second and third.

"That's Zero's unique skill, huh."

Zero had called it a magic sword. It's a magical sword... I couldn't predict all its capabilities, but it seemed quite powerful from what I saw.

However, I couldn't keep observing forever.

It seemed the timing was right for more monsters to appear. A group of orcs and horn rabbits emerged, totaling over 10.

But...

"...You're slow."

I muttered under my breath.

"Rin, over 10 monsters are coming from that direction... Huh?"

Just as Yui let out a surprised cry, all the monsters collapsed on the spot, as if cut down by an invisible blade.

It seems Yui's current level wasn't high enough to see it.

"Don't worry about it, let's go."

"Wh-what? Wh-what? Wh-what?"

Yui was still in shock, but I didn't have the luxury to comfort her. I joined Zero, who had finished off the remaining orcs, and we sprinted towards the Kenzaki Dungeon again.

While running, Zero spoke to me.

"Rin, did you take out that group of monsters just now?"

"Yeah, but did you see it?"

I thought Zero might have been able to follow my movements, but she shook her head.

"No, I didn't see it. I just noticed the group of monsters out of the corner of my eye and thought I needed to hurry to defeat the orcs and get there. By the time I finished, it was all over... I was honestly surprised. You really are strong, Rin."

"Considering you usually see the likes of Fumi and the others, it shouldn't be that surprising."

"That's not true. Regardless of them, the fact that you're amazing is undeniable."

The direct praise made me feel a bit embarrassed.

By the time we finished talking, we had arrived at the Kenzaki Dungeon.

Nearby, multiple adventurers were treating injured civilians. It seemed safer to have the adventurers around rather than to keep the civilians away from the gate. It looked like only first aid had been provided so far.

"Yui, use your healing magic."

"Yes!"

Ultimately, Yui's presence was justified.

Without her, the treatment of the injured would have been quite different.

I spoke to a nearby adventurer.

"What's the current situation?"

"Ah, yes. We're trying to stop the large number of monsters coming out of the gate. The monsters that appeared at the beginning managed to break through, so other adventurers are heading to slay them."

Those breakthrough monsters were probably the ones we fought earlier.

"What about reinforcements?"

"Well... We did request help from the guild, but it will take 20 to 30 minutes for a properly prepared B-rank party to arrive, even if they are dispatched from a nearby guild."

"I see... That's a pretty tight timeline."

As I said this, I recalled the characteristics of a labyrinth collapse.

There are several issues with a labyrinth collapse.

One is the large number of monsters coming out of the gate.

The other is that the monsters inside the dungeon become more powerful than usual.

The principle is that the magic power used to maintain the dungeon, which has nowhere to go when the dungeon collapses, is absorbed by the monsters. As a result, the monsters along the way become about 1.5 times stronger, and the dungeon boss becomes several times stronger. This final boss is called the Last Boss. By slaying the Last Boss, the dungeon can be completely destroyed, stopping the labyrinth collapse.

The longer it takes, the stronger the Last Boss becomes. If the dungeon collapses completely before it can be slain, the Last Boss will emerge outside. Therefore, it's crucial to slay it as quickly as possible. However, as mentioned, the Last Boss is very powerful, so parties of a higher rank than the dungeon's rank are assigned to the task. For the Kenzaki Dungeon, that would be a B-rank party or higher.

However, the crucial B-rank party won't arrive for another 20 to 30 minutes. The fact that we can't call adventurers who are not in the re-challenge period is also affecting the situation. How much stronger will the Last Boss become in that time?

...Should I go and slay it alone?

This thought crossed my mind, but my rational self advised against it.

Because...

I looked at Yui.

I had just told Yui that I had cleared the dungeon yesterday. If I use the dungeon teleportation to enter, she will surely suspect something.

Even if I could solve that problem, if I slay the Last Boss alone, my true strength would be revealed to the public. I want to avoid that for now.

Considering all factors, it's better to leave this to someone else. I hope the B-rank party arrives as soon as possible.

Just as I thought this...

"Haha, you all seem to be in trouble. It looks like my power is needed―the power of this, the [King of Unique]!"

A loud male voice echoed.

Indeed, the unique ones have arrived.