Episode 393: Untrodden Stratum
Ibaraki, Red Dungeon, eighty-ninth stratum—
A space where scorching earth stretched on. A monster perched atop a hill glared at the humans below. Tennoji, the leader of the expedition, swallowed hard as he looked at the monster.
A rugged, red carapace, a thick tail, and vicious claws digging into the ground.
Before them was a Drake, a dragon that nested in the Red Dungeon.
Said to be second only to the Ancient Dragon in danger, it was a monster that even high-ranking Seekers struggled against. Ishikawa, who stood beside him with a battleaxe, frowned.
“Tennoji.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Tennoji’s gaze was fixed beyond the hill, where two more Drakes appeared. One from the rocky area on the left, one from the right, making a total of five Drakes approaching.
Tennoji clicked his tongue.
Drakes possessed wings, but they were vestigial and couldn’t be used for flight. However, their firepower was immense, and a moment’s carelessness could mean instant death.
Tennoji lowered his stance, preparing to attack. As Ishikawa readied his battleaxe, Rui, who was behind them, called out.
“I’ll do it. Please leave it to me.”
Tennoji turned around and shook his head. “No.”
“I want Rui and Akito to save their Magical Power for the lower levels. So conserve your Magical Power. Leave this to us.”
Admonished by Tennoji, Rui said, “Understood,” and stepped back.
The Elceed Seekers scattered to the left and right, and at Tennoji’s signal, they charged forward in unison. Displaying well-honed teamwork, they took down the Drakes one after another.
In just five minutes, they annihilated all the Drakes, with zero casualties.
Rui’s face lit up as he exclaimed, “Amazing!” and Akito quipped, “Doing this much is only natural, ya know!”
The group advanced to a deeper stratum.
Their pace of conquest wasn’t particularly fast, but thanks to Tennoji’s policy of minimizing casualties, there had been no deaths so far.
The presence of the Messiah, normally stationed in the rear, was a major factor in keeping the death toll down.
Furthermore, their supply lines were meticulously maintained.
Seekers were stationed at each stratum, ensuring a route for supplies to be delivered from above. This took time, but no one objected, given the goal of reducing injuries and deaths.
After several days, Tennoji and his team reached the one hundred and fortieth stratum.
“From here on, we’ll take the lead,” Rui announced to Tennoji, stepping to the front of the group. Akito, with Gae Bolg resting on his shoulder, stood beside Rui.
Tennoji said, “Don’t push yourselves too hard,” and acknowledged their leadership. From this point onward, only powerful Abyssal Monsters would appear.
Without the two strongest fighters at the forefront, it would be impossible to keep casualties down.
With that thought, Tennoji stepped back with Ishikawa.
Walking across the sun-drenched earth, Rui wiped away sweat and glanced sideways. Akito, too, wiped sweat from his brow as he carried his massive spear on his shoulder.
“Are you okay, Akito? Maybe someone else should carry the spear for you.”
Akito snorted.
“I’m fine, this is nothing. Gae Bolg is my partner, ya know. I can’t stand leaving it to someone else.”
Akito smiled and looked ahead. Rui did the same. In the distance, a cloud of dust was rising.
Something was approaching.
Rui and Akito stopped and readied their weapons. Tennoji and Ishikawa, who were behind them, also halted. The other Seekers seemed to have noticed the change as well.
“I don’t know that monster.”
“We’ve never been to this place before, so we have no idea what kind of monsters will appear,” Rui replied.
Visible within the dust cloud was a red, buffalo-like monster. It was part of a herd, charging toward them.
Its horns glowed red, and it radiated fiery Magical Power from its entire body.
Tennoji and Ishikawa’s faces tightened, but Rui charged forward without hesitation. He entered the dust cloud in an instant, slashing the monsters away.
Using his Godspeed, Rui bisected over twenty buffaloes in the blink of an eye.
Akito was not to be outdone.
He leaped onto Gae Bolg and soared into the sky.
From above, he had a clear view of the massive buffalo herd. There were about one thousand to one thousand two hundred of them. This was no problem, Akito thought, as he gathered Magical Power in his right hand.
A sound like tearing the atmosphere echoed, and the sky began to darken. Akito pointed his hand downward and grinned.
“There’s a whole lotta them. Time to blow ’em all away!”
Bolts of Lightning stretched from the thunderclouds to the earth. Explosions erupted everywhere, and monsters were sent flying. Lightning ran in all directions, mowing down hundreds of buffaloes.
Not wanting to be left behind by Rui and Akito’s onslaught, Tennoji and Ishikawa charged forward as well.
Dozens of high-ranking Seekers plunged into the buffalo herd.
Against Rui, Akito, and the dozens of Seekers, even powerful monsters were insignificant. Their advance was unstoppable, and it took them less than a day to break through the one hundred and seventieth stratum.
◇◇◇
“Nuaaaaaah! Finally made it through!!”
Yuma collapsed onto the ground, then rolled onto his back. After wandering lost in the fog-covered stratum, he had finally managed to escape.
Yuma was utterly exhausted from having wasted several days inside the Dungeon.
“Are you alright, Mitaka-san?”
Akiyama asked with concern. Yuma replied brightly, “Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine,” and said, “Alright,” as he stood up.
“We wasted quite a bit of time, so let’s pick up the pace from here.”
“I’d like to, but…”
Akiyama glanced behind him. Kitazawa and Oura, who were there, wore anxious expressions.
“What’s wrong?”
Akiyama looked at Yuma with a serious expression.
“From here on, even the Elceed Corporation’s Seeker Clans haven’t ventured. For us… this is an untrodden stratum.”