Episode 230: The Role of Rear Support
As Yuma, Akito, and Rui gripped their weapons, ready to fight, the Indian Seekers stood before the monsters. They were the Seekers at the head of the formation.
They brandished their respective weapons, scattering the Insectoid Monsters.
Upon closer inspection, the monsters weren’t that large. Being only on the first few levels, they probably weren’t very strong.
“Hyah, hyah, hyah, no need to panic. Just leave these monsters to them. Our turn is still far off.”
Anik laughed merrily. Yuma and the others exchanged glances and sheathed their weapons.
In the end, they advanced through the first, second, and third levels with only the lead Seekers fighting, and they progressed without any problems.
Then, on the twelfth floor—
“The monsters are getting stronger, as expected.”
The lead Seekers couldn’t defeat them all, and Yuma swept aside a monster that had gotten too close with his Pickel.
The Iron hammer, imbued with Wind Magical Power, tore apart the giant ant that had pounced on him.
Rui and Akito also defeated monsters, exhaling in relief.
“Well, there will probably be more monsters breaking through the defenses from now on. Can’t be helped. More importantly…”
Akito turned his gaze towards Anik and the members of the Peacock King (Mahamayuri), who were standing there. All of them had their weapons ready, looking down at the corpses of the monsters scattered at their feet.
Even though the monsters weren’t that strong, they had slaughtered a considerable number of them in an instant.
“Fire, Lightning, Water, and Wind… that Seeker Clan seems to be able to use all kinds of magic.”
Akito said with interest. Yuma had only glanced briefly, but each of the four was using magic of a different attribute to defeat the monsters.
The Peacock King (Mahamayuri) consisted of Anik and two burly men and two women, a group of five in total.
Each of them wielded oddly shaped Longswords, spears, axes, and clubs. Yuma had heard that they were a Seeker Clan originally created by a weapons manufacturer.
If that was the case, did that mean they made those weapons themselves?
The elderly Anik stroked his beard as if nothing had happened. Anik hadn’t fought in this battle.
Surely he wasn’t just letting his subordinates fight while he did nothing.
Yuma became very interested in what kind of fighting style Anik had.
◇◇◇
“Alright! We’ll take a rest here today. The mid-level exploration team, get some sleep!”
At Kaira’s command, the formation stopped, and they began preparing for a bivouac. Even though it was called a rest, they were taking it inside a Dungeon filled with Monsters. It couldn’t be safe.
There was a constant presence of Monsters around them.
“Hey, Yuma, over here!”
Yuma turned to see a simple tent had been set up. Akito beckoned him, saying, “Hurry up.”
Tents were being erected one after another around them, and they started a bonfire, burning the trees that were originally in the Dungeon.
Yuma opened the entrance to the tent that Akito had entered and peeked inside.
It was a narrow space, barely enough for three people to sleep side by side.
“Yuma, you need to sleep now. You used some Magical Power, even if it was just a little. You need to rest and recover.”
“Are the Seekers who were at the front taking watch?”
Yuma entered the tent, sat down, and took off his shoes.
Then, Rui, who had entered after him, replied, “It seems so.”
“They’re going to be on watch all night.”
“Heeh.”
They were currently on the hundred and third floor. The Monsters that appeared were becoming more powerful, and they must be reaching their physical and mental limits.
Yuma was worried about the Indian Seekers outside, but he figured the only thing he could do was rest, so he decided to sleep with Akito and Rui.
After taking a nap for about four hours, Yuma woke up and left the tent, careful not to wake Rui and Akito, who were still sleeping.
It was a quiet space. The silence of the Dungeon, where there was no day or night, was somehow eerie.
The surroundings were still dim, and a lukewarm wind caressed his cheeks. It seemed that no battles had occurred.
The sweep of the Monsters in the Dungeon before many people began to rest must have been effective.
It takes a certain amount of time for Monsters to reappear in the Dungeon.
–Come to think of it, Metal Slimes appeared every day.
As Yuma was thinking about this, he happened to notice a small chair next to a tent a little ways away, where Anik of the Peacock King (Mahamayuri) was sitting.
“Anik-san.”
“Oh, young one. You’re already awake?”
Anik gave him his usual carefree smile.
“I was too nervous to sleep… Anik-san, can’t you sleep either?”
“Hyah, hyah, hyah, I’m an old geezer, so my sleep is shallow to begin with. Three or four hours of sleep is enough for me.”
“I see…”
Yuma looked around. The Indian Seekers, who had been fighting since the first floor, were walking around, keeping watch.
The weapons they were using were damaged, and the battle suits they were wearing were tattered.
It seemed they were really guarding without rest.
“What are those people going to do after this? Are they going to go all the way to the bottom floor?”
Anik stroked his white beard and shook his head, saying, “No, no.”
“They’ll be returning to the surface after this. Considering their abilities, it would be tough for them to go any further. We’ve arranged for the rear support team on the surface to come when they reach the fiftieth floor, so there will be fewer sacrifices.”
“I see.”
He said there would be fewer sacrifices, but several people had already died on the way here. Would they really be able to reach the fiftieth floor in that tattered state?
Yuma’s face clouded with worry. Seeing this, Anik laughed, “Hyah, hyah, hyah.”
“What’s wrong? Are you worried about them?”
“Ah, no…”
“There’s no need to worry. Everyone here is prepared. There isn’t a single one of them who would complain, even if they died.”
Yuma nodded silently. He knew that was probably true. Still, he couldn’t help but worry. Was his way of thinking too naive?
“Young one, it’s good to worry about others, but you should worry about yourself more.”
“Eh?”
Anik grinned and looked at Yuma.
“Think about it. Rear support is limited to the fiftieth floor. We who go deeper won’t have any support. In other words, we have no choice but to go to the bottom floor and defeat the Labyrinth Guardian. There’s no other way for us to return alive.”
Hearing Anik’s story, Yuma swallowed hard.
That was certainly true. The Seekers in charge of the middle levels and beyond were the ones who were really in a tough spot. In some cases, they could even be wiped out.
Ignoring the silent Yuma, Anik stood up, saying, “Well then,” and looked around.
“It seems the others are waking up too. It’s about time to depart. It’s going to be a tough trek.”
Yuma also looked around and saw Seekers emerging from their tents here and there.
After all, there probably wasn’t anyone who could sleep soundly in this situation. Just as he was thinking this, he noticed that Anik was looking at him.
“Young one, I have high hopes for you.”
“Eh? What do you mean…”
Caught off guard, Yuma tilted his head in confusion. Anik raised the corner of his mouth.
“I just have a feeling that you’re stronger than the other two. But that’s just an old man’s rambling, so you don’t have to pay any attention to it.”
“H-haah.”
Anik said, “See ya,” laughed merrily, and returned to his tent.