Tier V Seeker ⑪
Only one week left until the Great O’Browns.
Just one more week. And yet, I still haven’t succeeded even once.
“Hmm.”
Hayyarn hummed, crossing his arms.
The training room lights came on, and I collapsed to my knees.
Day after day, night after night. We’ve been taking breaks, but every day has been spent training.
I can’t see any ray of hope at all.
In the first place, gaze, field of vision, line of sight… how am I supposed to control something invisible?
Just focusing intently on my eyeballs using [The Silent One] is completely useless.
No matter what, the 【Vanish】 I cast ends up erasing my eyeballs along with everything else.
I know it’s not impossible.
Alveld can do it.
From the way he spoke, it’s probably not some dedicated Relic for it.
It’s purely skill.
So it’s not that I can’t do it. Even if it’s incredibly difficult.
“Hah… hah… No good… Kuuhh!”
“Wof. We’re stopping training for a while.”
“What?!”
“Continuing like this is pointless, no matter how many hours you put in. You understand that best, don’t you?”
“…For Hayyarn to say that…”
“Hold on. What is wrong with me saying it? In any case, it is best you rest. Especially in times like these.”
“…Alright. I’ll rest.”
Honestly, I knew very well that my mind and body were completely worn out.
Even so, my heart feels impatient. It’s frustrating. Ahh, damn it. Damn it.
I felt like punching the training room wall, but I held back.
Leaving the training room dejected, I found Shardina there.
She was holding a tray with a cup on it. She looked at me.
“Water. Drink. Desu.”
“Ah, thank you.”
My throat was dry, so this was a lifesaver. The cold water passing down my throat quenched my thirst.
“Did you, drink it all, desu?”
“Yeah, thanks. I feel refreshed.”
“If so, then, that is, good. Desu.”
Then she stared intently at me. Those same challenging… blue eyes.
And her blue Horns. Blue eyes. Blue… blue… blue… Blue.
“…”
“W-What is it, desu?”
“Blue— Ah! Aaah!!”
I remembered. I remembered! There was a blue light in the Fire Dungeon!
I’d forgotten. Completely forgotten.
That blue light. A Super Ultra Rare! How could I forget that!
“W-What’s wrong, desu?”
“Alright. Let’s go!”
“Eh? Where to, desu!?”
I left the Lab, entered my room, and stopped in my tracks.
“Suu… suuu… suu…“
Mineha-san, lightly dressed, was sleeping in my bed again.
Moreover, she was sleeping soundly in her large form. Nearby, Dagaa was also asleep.
One person and one animal. They looked happy.
This was what surprised me when I first returned home.
It doesn’t happen at night, thankfully, but during the day or afternoon.
Even after I came back, she sometimes sleeps in my room.
“…”
Let’s leave them be. The Witch isn’t here today.
All the First Class Seekers gathered in Hydrangea, so they were summoned for a meeting.
Naturally, Alveld too.
But even if that weren’t the case, Alveld wouldn’t attack again.
I’ve known that for a long time now.
I shouldn’t forget. I bought a thick Knife at a weapon shop on the way.
Its sharpness is questionable, but its sturdiness is guaranteed.
I wanted one more, but I hesitated.
The frequency and speed at which I break Knives has become so fast that even I’m getting scared.
So when I see a new Knife, I worry that I might just break it.
That said, Knives are what I’m best at using.
I also worked hard to master 【Knife Magic】.
So I need to handle them more carefully than ever before.
But… there’s also a part of me that has somewhat given up.
Suddenly, I noticed Shardina looking at a sword.
It was hanging on the wall. A cutlass? A sword mainly used in naval battles.
She was staring intently at it.
“Do you want it?”
“I feel like, it is calling to me, desu.”
O-Oh. Since it was hanging on the wall and was cheap, I bought it for her.
A cutlass here? Curious, I asked the shopkeeper.
Apparently, it’s something the owner found in a maritime Dungeon back when he was a Seeker.
Huh, I thought maybe it was OOPArts, but Shardina didn’t say anything specific about it.
By the way, why is she following me?
Oh well. Let’s hurry to the Fire Dungeon.
After defeating a Fire Lizard on the 3rd floor, someone called out to me.
“Wof-dono.”
Turning around, I saw a Land Catfish wearing a conical hat and a cloak with an arabesque pattern.
He was smoking a kiseru pipe. An arabesque pattern… they have those here?
“Alexander-san!”
“Long time no see, yasu. It has been a while.”
He bowed his head politely. It really has been a long time.
“What is, this Monster, desu?”
“Oh my, a Maid who smells like an inorganic cow, yasu.”
Shardina and Alexander-san glared sharply at each other for just a moment.
“Shardina. He’s a former First Class Seeker. He might even be stronger than Munieca-san.”
“Stronger than, the Head Maid, desu…?”
“Probably.”
“Munieca? Oh my, oh my. How curious. The Maid’s features. She looks just like Munieca-dono, yasu naa.”
“She’s called a Minos Doll. She’s based on Munieca-san.”
“Minos… That explains it. But you do interesting things, yasu nee.”
Alexander-san took a puff from his kiseru.
“By the way, Alexander-san, are you here to set up a Teleportation Array?”
“No, no, I am here to confirm and handle an Event, yasu.”
“Is that the one with the Chimera on the 13th floor?”
“Oh? Since you know, does that mean Wof-dono is involved, yasu ka?”
“Well, just a little. We’re heading there now.”
“What a coincidence, yasu na. May I accompany you as well, yasu ka?”
“Of course. Is that okay with you too, Shardina?”
“If Master, has decided, then that is fine, desu.”
Having gained an unexpected helper, we proceeded towards the 13th floor.
“Speaking of which, I hear this year’s Great O’Browns is becoming quite amusing, yasu ze.”
“It seems so.”
“I heard about Wof-dono too, yasu ze. To capture not only the Witch, but also half of The Impregnable… even I was surprised, yasu.”
Alexander-san looked amused.
Shardina nodded.
“Master, amazing. Sukekomashi. Womanizer, desu.”
Where did she learn words like that?
“Um, it’s not like I intended to ‘capture’ anyone or anything like that.”
It’s true we became friends.
Well, but… when people put it like that… I guess I can’t really deny it.
“However, yasu nee. The fact that she appointed you as her Tsukaeshi means it wouldn’t be strange for people to see it that way, yasu yo.”
“…But I heard that if there’s no appointment, a Guild staff member does it.”
“That is indeed true, yasu. But you know. Even if we say Guild staff, that person would be an employee of the Grand Guild, yasu ze.”
“How is that different?”
“Grand Guild employees are the elite, the chosen few among Guild staff, yasu ze. Well, prefacing this with ‘depending on the case’, yasu ga, Grand Guild staff can even manage the Guild Masters of each branch, and Tier I Seekers are also considered Grand Guild staff, yasu. I advise you, Wof-dono, they are not mere Guild employees, yasu ze.”
“That much… I see.”
Is it like how head office employees are higher ranking than branch managers?
“Also, appointing someone usually means choosing someone close, especially relatives or friends, yasu ga, choosing someone of the opposite sex is something else entirely, yasu yo.”
“It’s different?”
“It is different, yasu yo. Because you’ll be spending time in the same room, yasu kara ne.”
“Eh? The same room…?”
“Once the Great O’Browns starts, the Tsukaeshi stays with the Tier I Seeker constantly, yasu yo. Naturally, that includes sharing a room, yasu.”
“…Is that so…”
“You will be explained the details later, yasu ga, but basically, that is how it is, yasu ze.”
That… I can certainly see why people would think that. It can’t be helped if they see it that way, huh.
“By the way, has this ever happened before through an appointment?”
“Never, yasu ne. It is unprecedented, yasu. I think the other Tier I Seekers, especially the veterans, are quite surprised, yasu yo. You are bound to stand out, Wof-dono, yasu ze.”
“Master. Stands out. As expected, desu.”
“…Hahaha.”
I felt resigned. Strange. How did things end up like this?
With those feelings swirling inside, we were surrounded by a pack of Firewolves on the 9th floor, but we made short work of them.
Is it Munieca-san’s memories? Shardina handled the cutlass splendidly.
She toyed with the Firewolves using sword techniques I’d never seen before, slicing them up.
Come to think of it, does she have some kind of auto-type Relic?
Alexander-san fought nonchalantly as always.
I used 【Vanish】. I erased several Firewolves.
After the battle ended, Alexander-san spoke to me.
“That is a different way of using it than before, yasu na.”
“Actually, I’m in the middle of special training. But I can’t handle it well.”
I thought maybe, as a predecessor, he might give me some advice.
Thinking that, I explained my situation.
“I see, yasu na. You cannot handle it well using your line of sight.”
“Yes.”
“From my perspective, if I may offer some clumsy advice, yasu ga, I think your focus isn’t fixed, yasu ze.”
“…Focus?”
“Perhaps, Wof-dono, you were only looking straight ahead, yasu ka?”
“Eh, yes, well.”
Alexander-san took out his kiseru.
“Even when looking straight ahead, you are actually seeing the periphery, yasu yo. The eye’s field of vision is fan-shaped, yasu ze. Unless you concentrate that onto a single point, you cannot say you have truly mastered handling it, yasu.”
“…A single point…”
Point. A point, huh. Come to think of it, in a game from my past life’s memories, there was something called a pointer.
Uh, right. A target pointer. A point of light. Ah, yeah, there was.
A point of light? Ah, I have one. A point of light. Don’t I have one? That’s right, this is it. This is it!!
I have one! Don’t I have a point of light?!
I can do it.
I can do it.
That’s right. This is it.
“Thank you very much, Alexander-san. I think I’m starting to grasp something.”
“Well now, that’s the best thing I could hear.”
Maybe I can do it.
During the training, I had absolutely no clue, no understanding at all.
But now, I saw it. I felt like I saw it.
Floor 10.
In the wide space, a great serpent wreathed in flames appeared. The Keeper Salamandra.
“Um, Alexander-san. Shardina. Could you leave this one to me?”
“Sure thing.”
“Master’s order, obey, desu.”
I faced the Salamandra.
My objective was to extinguish the fire covering the Salamandra’s body.
To be honest, I didn’t think that alone would be enough.
But I felt like I’d grasped something. And I recognized those points of light.
I took the Knife in hand. The thick Knife I’d just bought today.
I took a stance and used my Relics.
[Danger Detection] and [The Silent One].
Using them simultaneously, red points of light appeared on the Salamandra.
Yes. This was it. The points of light. The white, red, and black points of light from [Danger Detection]’s judgment.
They were mine. Points of light only I could perceive.
Using [The Silent One], I focused my consciousness on the red point of light.
Shaaaaaaa!
The Salamandra opened its great maw and lunged. While dodging, I deflected it with my Knife.
It was burning, so it was hot.
“Master!?”
“He’ll be alright.”
Points of light. These weren’t just the points of light for [Danger Detection]’s judgment.
They were target pointers. A lock-on.
The points of light wouldn’t leave the enemy. The red and black points from [Danger Detection] would never leave.
I focused using [The Silent One]. I finally realized it, now of all times.
I had it. I had everything I needed from the very beginning.
It’s frustrating. So frustrating. But I’m happy. So happy.
I can finally stand alongside them.
Focusing on the red point of light from [Danger Detection] using [The Silent One], I cast without raising my hand.
“[Vanish].”
Only the Salamandra’s flames were extinguished.
At that moment, the Dungeon trembled, and I felt like something clicked inside my mind.
[Deep Silent One: When concentrating in a calm state of mind, target pointers (points of light) appear and can be aimed via thought control. Can hear inner voices. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 3 minutes]
Target pointers… The duration increased, and the cooldown is unchanged.
Thought control. Does that mean I can move the target pointers—the points of light—wherever I think?
Jaaaaaaaah!
“[Vanish].”
Only the Salamandra’s head, marked by a point of light that wasn’t red, vanished.
“Hoh. Not bad at all.”
“Master, amazing, amazing, desu!”
Shardina smiled.
I bowed my head to Alexander-san.
“Thank you very much.”
Truly, thank you so much.
Now, let’s move forward.