Chapter 54: Preparations to Join the Fray
Having received a hefty reward, I left the castle together with Viscount-sama.
“So, what happened after that?”
“Well, it was quite an ordeal…”
When I told him what happened after I was taken away, he got angry, saying, “You idiot, that’s top-secret information! Don’t tell me that!”
I don’t get it. He was the one who asked.
“So, are you heading straight to Belfast now?”
“I’m thinking of going to Oldam first. I received a permit from His Majesty, and I also promised Viscount-sama I’d deliver those monsters.”
“Oh, that’s a great help. That Ape’s hide is good stuff. The more of it, the better. For you too, no amount of strength is enough right now, so this is the best course of action.”
He nodded in satisfaction.
To Viscount-sama, I said, “Well then, I’ll be heading back ahead of you,” loaded the reward onto the cart, and set off.
Although he was wide-eyed at my sudden departure, he wished me a safe journey, saying, “Be careful.”
After that, intending to increase my Magical Power even a little, I bought up all the Magic Stones I could find in the Royal Capital and absorbed them. Then, in a deserted place, I put the money and goods I received as a reward into my Storage Magic, and promptly used my Hunter ID to leave the Royal Capital.
Before coming here, I had thought about going to see Yume after the audience, but given the current situation, I couldn’t take her with me, nor could I spare the time.
So, I decided to skip seeing her this time, thinking I’d go see her if everything went well.
A short distance from the Royal Capital, I took out the secret Magic Tool I had been saving.
Though, it was just an item engraved with a simple wind magic circle.
I attached it to a cylindrical Maso so it could act as a thruster, sprouted huge wings from my back, lowered my stance, leaned forward, and started running.
Once I gained momentum, I activated the wind magic and slightly raised my lowered body.
Normally, Magic Circles are fixed in space, but with a Magic Tool, activation while moving becomes possible.
I had already experimented and confirmed that a non-fixed Magic Tool could provide thrust.
This was an attempt based on the idea that I should probably be able to fly with this.
As expected, I soared powerfully into the sky, the ground rapidly receding below.
Thanks to the Abyss, I was used to high places. Thinking that even if I fell, I’d manage somehow, I continued to ascend rapidly.
Once I reached a certain altitude, I lowered the angle of my wings slightly to descend a bit, and my speed increased dramatically.
Whoa, this is super fast!
Feeling breathless from the excessive speed, I created a full-face helmet to cover my face, and did some trial and error, like turning a bit to check maneuverability, but even so, it didn’t even take two hours.
I circled around to the gate near the academy and landed, then headed straight into the Dungeon.
My target this time is the Golem, which I suspect is made of Mithril.
I feel bad for the Viscount, but I don’t know how much I’ll need this time, so I’ll take it all without reporting it.
In return, I’ll deliver a hefty amount of Apes and dinosaurs.
Please forgive me, I’ll make up for it all later.
With that plan in mind, I dived to the bottom of the Abyss.
I was used to it by now. There was nothing in the room at the bottom of the pit, so I landed and checked the passages, searching for sounds with my enhanced hearing. It wasn’t within visual range, but I could hear a sound from one creature relatively close by.
Crap, I should have scouted more carefully.
Distance-wise, I had plenty of room, but I reminded myself that this kind of slight carelessness could lead to death in this place.
I lured it over and killed it instantly with the Laser Gun, then created a gong with Maso and banged it loudly.
All I had to do then was exterminate the large numbers I lured with the Laser Gun.
The passage was quite long, so I could shoot as much as I wanted.
No matter how many piled up and gathered, in the worst-case scenario, if I created a Magic Circle large enough for its light to fill the passage, everything would be annihilated.
Well, if that happened, all the materials would be annihilated too, though.
Since desperate times call for desperate measures, I always keep that option in mind, but this time too, I finished annihilating the Floor without needing to resort to such tactics.
Next were the dinosaurs, but my approach didn’t change. Actually, these were easier since there were fewer of them.
If I sliced their necks horizontally with the Laser Gun, their heads would fall off, and that would be the end of it.
With the Gun, due to consumption issues, I couldn’t afford to fire enough bullets to decapitate them, but with Light Magic, I could slice them, so it wasn’t a problem.
Even considering that there are Monsters it’s ineffective against, it’s a cheat-level magic.
And then I arrived at the Floor of the Golems, against whom Light Magic is ineffective.
It had been a while since I last came here.
That’s because I had tried to clear it twice, hoping to find a good strategy, but failed both times.
The first time, I tried to extend my Magical Power from a distance to sense beings in my blind spots, but the Golems reacted to that Magical Power, started moving, and attacked.
I had prepared two huge guns, or rather, cannons, so I managed to defeat them with rapid fire before they got close, but I gave up for that day and turned back.
My second attempt involved peeking into blind spots with a mirror. This was often successful, but if I got too close, they would sometimes activate in response to my Maso.
Having them occasionally attack like that was actually more dangerous, so I immediately stopped.
From that day on, I had stopped trying to challenge it.
But that was when I couldn’t bring back the materials.
If I can bring back the materials, the benefit is significant.
If I aim for the Magic Stone with Light Magic, defeating them is easy. It’s just a matter of giving up on absorbing the Magic Stone.
Fortunately, their bodies don’t disappear with Light Magic, so I can shoot as much as I want, making aiming easy.
Preparing the cannons in case, worst-case scenario, I couldn’t hit the Magic Stone with light, I extended my Magical Power to near the room’s entrance, and I got a hit right from the start.
When I immediately shone light on the Magic Stone of the Golem charging at me as if flying, it collapsed to the floor and came skidding towards me, gouging the floor.
The first time, I almost died from this one blow.
Well, I don’t know if you can call something that just charged due to inertia a “blow.”
In any case, this was quite dangerous in its own right, so I made sure to stop it properly.
I created a triangular Maso with the properties of hard rubber, made it bounce upwards and hit the ceiling, completely killing its momentum.
After that, I exterminated the Golems deeper in the room with my Gun and put them into Storage Magic. With this, a viable strategy was established, and I went around the Floor.
Once I started, the subjugation didn’t take that long.
While I was at it, I quickly subjugated the Spiders too.
Enough time had passed that it was probably well past midnight, but I planned to hunt all night today.
I already knew the patterns for the Floors up to where the reptile-like Monsters appeared, so as long as I wasn’t careless, the danger should be minimal. I continued to advance cautiously but quickly.
Whether it was because I was tense or busy, it felt like I reached the planned Floor in no time.
However, figuring I must be tired, I headed back down.
While I was at it, I also annihilated the Treasure Chests. These things are surprisingly safe. I don’t intend to be careless, but they apparently only start moving when you get close enough to touch them, so a one-hit kill solves the problem.
Wondering if I could use them for something, I aimed for their Magic Stones with my Gun, defeated them cleanly, and stored a lot of them in my Storage Magic.
After all that, when I came outside, it was, as expected, daytime.
Well, I started yesterday evening, so this was still quite fast.
Since I haven’t revealed my Storage Magic, I loaded as many Apes and dinosaurs onto the Cart as possible, but it was overwhelmingly not enough space.
“Well, just what fits,” I thought, loaded what I could, and took it to the Dismantling Yard.
The people at the Dismantling Yard knew they couldn’t handle the Apes without calling the guys from the Third Magic Tool Appreciation Society, so they said, “Leave the calling to us,” and I left the place.
There were many things to do.
First, recruiting the members of the Third. If it was impossible, I could just hire people in Belfast, but it was preferable to have people who knew how to process the hides and were familiar with the materials I provided.
So, I visited the Third Magic Tool Appreciation Society and tried to recruit the three of them.
Of course, I told them everything honestly. That it was fine for them to flee before things got dangerous.
“I-I think I’ll go… Ten large gold coins per person, seriously?”
“Of course I’m going too. If we can start under these conditions and run away anytime, you’d be a fool not to go.”
“So, when do we depart?”
“I’m leaving today, but you guys can leave as soon as you’re ready.”
If they were coming, I asked them to decide on an estimated arrival date and meeting place right away.
Then, after giving them travel expenses and promising to meet up, I asked them to take care of the dismantling first, and I immediately set off for my next destination.
“Wait a minute, what are we going to make?”
“Anything that’s useful for war. I’ve gathered all the materials I could from the Floors near the Ape Monsters.”
“Haha, nice, nice! It’s not just profitable, it sounds interesting too!”
Leaving the excited trio behind, I left the Third and asked for Mr. Owen in the staff room.
“Oh, Mr. Owen? He’s on long-term leave. Apparently, there was a death in his family or something.”
Eh… I see. I wanted to at least say hello, but I guess it can’t be helped.
“Kisaragi-sensei, I’d like to handle the buyout procedure for a familiar, could I ask for your help?”
“Ah, of course. That’s a simple task. Ten gold coins and sign this document. The familiar test… you’ve cleared it. Alright, then all that’s left is to present this at the Familiar Pens, get a pass there, show it to the guard, and you’ll be able to take it out.”
Whoa… He’s much more efficient than Mr. Owen.
That guy is always quick to say things like, “You’ll be fine, right? Just handle the rest as you see fit.”
I thanked him, received the documents, and then headed to Akito’s room.
“Ah, you’re back already. Welcome back. Oh, listen to this, Rui! I’ve found a dream too!”
For him to blurt it out as soon as we met, something really good must have happened, I figured. I asked him what was up, a wry smile on my face.
“You see, I’ve decided to aim to be a hero!”
I couldn’t hide my surprise at Akito saying it with such a bright expression. Akito is the type of person who always sees things realistically when it comes to himself. I never thought the word “hero” would come out of his mouth.
Hey, what happened to you! You should talk to your big brother about it!
When I said that, he replied with an unusually sullen face, “I’m not kidding, you know.”
In that case, all the more reason to be concerned. When I replied with a straight face, Akito sighed and started to explain.
Was it because I left him alone in that circle? Had he forgotten common sense?
I was worried about that as we discussed his future path, but it wasn’t anything strange. It was: “I want to become strong. Strong enough to surpass the Knight of the lord I respect.”
His idea of a hero was a realistic one.
If he continues to grow stronger at this pace, that wish will likely come true without issue.
“You can do it, Akito. So, there’s only one thing I have to say to you. Never let your guard down in the Dungeon. Don’t forget that basic ironclad rule.”
I’ve nearly died three times because of that. When I added that, he laughed and said, “Aren’t you the one forgetting it?”
“Yeah. Because of it, I had both my legs torn off. I’ve had my ribs shattered and an arm bent backward, and I’ve also been poisoned throughout my whole body, bringing me to the brink of death. It’s certainly a ridiculous story, nearly dying three times, but at those times, there was carelessness somewhere in my heart. I thought I was safe because my Maso protected me from the cold air, so I never imagined my legs would freeze solid. I didn’t think I’d shatter my arm and ribs just by colliding with a monster that slid in after I crushed its Magic Stone. And I certainly didn’t expect to be afflicted by a potent poison just by lightly touching a monster after defeating it.”
I don’t want Akito to die, so I told him with a serious expression.
“Is that… carelessness…?”
“Yeah, if you’re going to Floors deep enough to become a hero, then it’s carelessness. At least on the Floors I’m currently tackling, you can die from that kind of mistake.”
He’s sharp. He immediately understood what I wanted to say and his expression changed.
“You’re right. If you die, it’s all over. So even that level of carelessness is no good, huh…”
“Well, as long as you’re alive, you can make a full recovery if you have that Potion. Even if your torso is split in two, as long as you can drink it…”
“…Seriously?”
“Yeah. That’s why it’s called an Elixir.”
He glanced at the bag he carries when hunting and froze for a moment.
“Well, Akito, you’re not as foolish as I am, so as long as you understand, you’ll be fine. What I’m more worried about are Hiroki and Ami.”
Naomi wouldn’t want to go to a place like that, and she’s cautious by nature anyway.
I said that thinking so, but an unexpected reply came back.
“Ah, Hiroki and Ami went to Razbel. It seems their mother’s family is from there, and they ended up having to participate in the war…”
“Seriously…?”
I heard even Mr. Owen went with them.
A family misfortune, huh… Well, it certainly is unfortunate. It’s all about how you phrase things, I suppose.
In any case, once I get over there, I’ll have to go tell them to come back right away…
“Got it. I’ll talk to them over there.”
“So you’re going too, Rui?” Akito asked, looking troubled.
“Yeah, I plan to leave town today. Though I’ll be coming back many times depending on the situation.”
To hole up in the Dungeon.
The Viscount also told me it’s better if I’m not seen too much, so I should drop off my hauls at the Dismantling Yard here. I’ve got permission for that, so I can enter the academy normally, and I can come visit anytime.
If I’m alive, that is.
I kept those heavy thoughts to myself and headed to Naomi and the others next.
I asked the dorm supervisor to call them for me, but it seemed Riana-san and Kyouko-chan were out.
Naomi came out, and she led me to a bench outside.
Apparently, she didn’t want me in her room. Well, it doesn’t really matter to me, though.
When I told her I was going to Razbel, she replied flatly, “Oh, okay.” And just like with Akito, when I told her not to let her guard down in the Dungeon, she got angry and said, “You’re one to talk!”
The conversation died down, so I said, “Well, I’m off then,” and turned to leave, but my feet stopped when she hugged me from behind.
Eh, why in this situation…?
“Come back safe, okay…?”
“Yeah, I’ll do my best. With all my might.”
“Oh, fine! Then just do whatever you want!!”
She pushed my back with a slap and ran off towards the dorm.
If you’re worried about me, just act normal… Why do you have to get angry every time?
Even as I thought that, I could feel her own way of worrying, and my cheeks softened a little.