Makeshift Wolf Brigade II ①
A table at the Cidre Tavern.
We’ve been on the second floor a lot lately, so this feels kind of fresh.
I just ate, so I’m not hungry. I order a lemonade.
Mr. Agaro is having tea, not ale. Since it’s before work, he’s obviously not drinking.
Juicy-san and Narcissus-san also went with fruit water. Dagaa is having milk.
Mr. Agaro sips his tea and begins to speak.
“The job is… an investigation of the ruins on the 20th and 44th floors of Hydrangea’s Dungeon.”
“Ruins?”
“Hmm. Of what?”
“Na?”
“The ruins are a control facility for the great waterway connecting the Water Dungeon to this town.”
“Um, um, um, that sounds like a pretty important ruin!”
“It would seem so.”
This town has an abundance of water. We’re never particularly short on drinking water.
That’s because it’s connected to the Water Dungeon. I hear there’s even a sewer system in some parts.
I asked.
“An investigation? Is there some kind of problem with the ruins?”
“…Actually, the request is to search for the workers and their escort who went to inspect it.”
“Hmm. So it’s a search for missing people, then.”
“They haven’t returned even after the scheduled number of days.”
“That’s…”
I imagine the worst. Mr. Agaro understands too.
“But why would a First Class ‘Ruinblade’ like you get a direct request for such a job?”
“The escort… is an acquaintance of mine…”
“Mr. Agaro…”
“He’s Tier III, but he’s not bad. Besides, we also need to confirm whether the ruin inspection was completed. It’s not a bad direct request for a First Class, right?”
“…I see. You’re the type to go out of your way to find trouble.”
“Shut up.”
As expected of Narcissus-san. She doesn’t pull any punches.
“Um, um, um, that kind of passionate sense of duty and compassion! It’s very Seeker-like, and I respect that!”
Juicy-san immediately follows up.
Her eyes were sparkling. Mr. Agaro seemed a little taken aback.
“R-Right. So, those are the circumstances. We’re leaving immediately, is that alright?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Um, um, yes. It’s fine.”
“Na!”
“Uh, um, shouldn’t we prepare if we’re going to the 20th or 44th floors? Wouldn’t that be bad?”
I understand the feeling of urgency.
But Dungeon Exploration can easily take a week if things go wrong.
If it’s the 20th or 44th floors, there’s no way we’ll finish today.
If we don’t prepare properly, we’ll be facing the worst-case scenario ourselves.
“You don’t need to worry about that. The 20th and 44th floors are important facilities, so they’re special. There’s a gate in the Guild’s basement that teleports to the 20th floor. From the 20th floor, you can also teleport to the 40th. And the 44th floor is normally inaccessible. You can’t get in without this key.”
Mr. Agaro placed a key on the table for us to see.
It was a silver key embedded with a crystal. Everyone’s gaze gathered on it.
“Hmm.”
“Waf.”
“Na?”
“This is…”
Hmm? This key… it resembles a dimple key from my past life’s memories.
No. It just looks similar.
“That’s why I want to go right now.”
“Understood.”
“If it’s decided, then let’s get going already!”
Narcissus-san stood up, full of enthusiasm.
An exploration, huh? Seems like something might happen.
The Guild’s basement.
There were many small rooms there, from which one could teleport to various places.
This is my third time using this place.
The return destination after the whole Dungeon incident was over.
And when I went with Ms. Pachira, Juicy-san, and Dagaa to get the Monokeros Horn.
“This is it, this is it.”
He unlocked and opened the door, revealing a small room with a green, glowing Teleportation Array.
Upon entering, there was a momentary sense of loss and darkness. When I looked up, I saw the same room.
But when I opened the door, the scenery changed completely. First, I heard the sound of water rushing furiously.
“A waterfall.”
Just as Narcissus-san bluntly stated. Beyond the door, it was a bit dark, and a waterfall was flowing.
I could hear the sound of water falling and flowing from high above. I couldn’t see well, so I made an Orb of Light float.
A cave-like rock face extended like a bridge to the cliff directly beneath the waterfall.
The sky was dark and I couldn’t see it. It wasn’t night, so perhaps it was a ceiling.
“Um, um, there’s something over there!”
In the direction Juicy-san was pointing. Near the waterfall, there was a dull blue building.
About four square buildings, like Hydrangea residences, were lined up.
The largest building had a dome.
The buildings were at the edge of the cliff, and several blue pillars extended into the waterfall basin.
“Is that the 20th-floor ruin?”
“Looks like it.”
“It’s surprisingly big.”
“Um, um, um, I sense something.”
“Na!”
Hearing that, I snapped to attention and used my Relic [Danger Detection].
Countless red dots were approaching us from above the waterfall, the waterfall basin, and below the cliff.
“Enemies are coming!”
Appearing with a grand splashing sound were fishmen—Sahagin.
They had fish-like heads that seemed to cover something, with bulging eyes.
They held tridents, their scale-covered upper bodies bare, and wore loincloths below.
They leaped out of the water one after another, and in no time, we were surrounded.
How many dozens were there? But there wasn’t a shred of crisis, tragedy, or despair among us.
That’s right.
I didn’t feel like we would lose at all. I took Mokusen in hand.
Now, for a real battle.
“Gyopugyopugyopuu!”
“Gyopu!”
“Gyopuuu!”
“Gyoppuraa!”
“Gyogyopuraaa!”
The Sahagin attacked. All at once… were we outnumbered?
I wonder if that’s really the case.
Simultaneously, Juicy-san loosed an arrow, and Mr. Agaro drew his Flame Tongue.
But faster than anyone else was Narcissus-san.
With a two-handed sword created by 【Vanish】, she cut down and erased several Sahagin in front of her.
And then she sneered.
“Aha, that head. Just like Gymnema Sylvester!”
Ah, even though I thought it, I didn’t say it.
Well, there’s the difference that his head is an entire fish.
Narcissus-san laughed as she unreservedly and forcefully cut into the Sahagin swarm.
The 【Vanish】 sword erases anything its blade touches. Terrifying.
“Wof. ‘Ruinblade.’ Tasan. This looks like it’ll be fun!”
Narcissus-san, skillfully performing an inverted rotation in mid-air while mincing the Sahagin.
I’m glad you seem to be enjoying yourself.
Whoops, I parried a trident with Mokusen and thrust.
“Seii!”
“Gyopuaa!”
I quickly withdrew it, swept it around from below, and thrust.
“Taaa!”
“Gyopupaaa!”
Thrust.
“Zeei!”
“Gyopupooaaa!”
Phew. I’m doing pretty well.
Mokusen is an easy-to-use spear.
The wooden shaft is smooth, as if it could slip from my hand, making it easy to maneuver the spear.
And yet, when I grip it firmly, it seems to cling to my hand.
The spearmanship I learned in the training room is the ‘Soaring Sky Breakthrough Style’—its philosophy is ‘Blue Sky Full Bloom, Single Point Breakthrough.’
It’s a spearmanship centered on thrusting, pursuing how best to thrust.
And at the end of that thrust, there is a blue sky. They believed there was a vast expanse.
I honestly don’t quite get that part, but I liked that it’s centered on thrusting.
I wouldn’t do ten thousand thrusts a day, obviously. Or rather, I can’t.
But I feel like I could do about a hundred thrusts a day. It’s that kind of spearmanship.
“Waooooonnnnn!”
A cute dog-like howl, like the ringing of a bell, echoed.
It was Juicy-san. Instead of her bow and arrows, she was punching, kicking, and throwing the Sahagin with her bare hands.
Mr. Agaro was also annihilating them one after another with his Flame Tongue.
Narcissus-san was… yeah. Well.
“Aha, ahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahaha!!! Weak. Weak. Weak. You’re weak. Too weak. You Gymnema Sylvester wannabes!!!”
The purple demoness, laughing boisterously atop the Sahagin corpses.
As expected, battles aren’t about numbers. They’re about quality. I truly feel that.
Before long, the Sahagin were annihilated.
This iteration of the Makeshift Wolf Brigade is also in top form.