21-40 · 031
Chapter 30: Intervention
“All coordinates extracted! I’ve listed the current positions of 312 explorers of B-Rank or higher currently participating in the guild’s defense line and still alive. They’re synced with the transfer system!”
Rin, seated before the huge multi-monitor setup, shouted as she finished her furious typing. She had beaten even the three-minute target, slamming the Enter key with a thwack! A single bead of sweat ran down her face. It was a perfect performance under extreme tension and pressure.
“Excellent work. I’m glad I made you my ally.”
“Hmph, of course. You’d better give me a special bonus when this is over!”
I answered Rin’s banter briefly and activated my right eye’s ‘True Appraisal’ to its fullest. I poured all the magic power I could muster into the black crystal ball in my hand—the ‘Phantom Crystal of the Nameless.’
Thump.
The crystal ball pulsed like a living heart, and a silvery light like stardust filled the vast underground space. Information concealment at a conceptual level, and forcible intervention into all the world’s communication networks. Though it was a fluke, the aberrant power of this Mythic Level artifact turned its fangs on every network centered on Shinjuku.
◇
At the same time. Shinjuku Station front, First Defense Line.
With the asphalt melting and the surrounding buildings collapsing into seas of fire, the explorers stood on the brink of utter despair.
“Damn it! Where are the potions!? The tank’s magic power is at its limit!”
“No good! The rear guard’s MP is completely depleted! We can’t go on…!”
The A-Rank explorer holding a massive tower shield at the front line spat blood and fell to his knees. Before him, a bulging, four-eyed monstrosity—the deep-layer class ‘King Ogre’—raised a massive black steel club.
His great shield, which had withstood hundreds of monster attacks, was already cracked and past its limit. No healing magic came. He had no strength left to flee. Behind him was an underground shelter crammed with civilians who hadn’t been able to evacuate. If he fell here, it was all over.
“…This is it. Sorry, everyone.”
Just as he closed his eyes, resigned to death—
Zzzt… Shhhhhhhh!!
From the smartphones of every explorer on the battlefield. From the speakers of the news helicopters circling overhead, continuing their live broadcast. From every giant outdoor screen illuminating Shinjuku’s night sky. All at once, an earsplitting screech of noise blared out.
“Wha-what!?”
“Communications… the guild’s defense radio has been hijacked!?”
The anchor’s anguished face on the screens abruptly cut to black. And in the center, a single logo quietly appeared.
—A mysterious owl wearing a monocle.
It was the symbol of the unidentified craftsman that every explorer in Japan had seen in recent days and that media around the world had been clamoring about.
“—Can you hear me, explorers of Japan? I am Master_Eye.”
A low, mechanically modulated voice, mixed with static, echoed through the entire city of Shinjuku. Strangely, that voice carried a peculiar pressure that silenced the chaos of the battlefield. Even the approaching monsters halted, wary of the abnormal presence.
“What’s that mark!? What’s going on all of a sudden!?”
“Why hijack communications at a time like this…!”
Ignoring the explorers who looked up at the screens in confusion and stunned silence, the voice from the speakers continued calmly.
“You are fighting well. First, I offer my respect. However, facing a horde of deep-layer monsters with only the weapons you have seems a bit disadvantageous.”
Those words carried not the coldness characteristic of synthesized speech but a heat like genuine pride, resonating across the battlefield.
“I am a merchant at heart. Therefore, I cannot simply stand by and watch the predicament of you explorers, my potential customers.”
The explorers at the depths of despair held their breath, unable to grasp the meaning. But the unidentified ‘Divine Eye’ wove the words that would flip the world upside down.
“From now, I will provide my maximum inventory to all explorers participating in the defense. Use it up as you see fit. Then—transfer to all coordinates!”
SHWOOM!!!
The next instant.
A literal ‘rain of light’ poured down upon the battlefield of Shinjuku, which had been shrouded in the darkness of despair.
Right before the A-Rank explorer, who had been clutching his cracked great shield at the front line and steeling himself for death, space warped with platinum-colored particles. Then, with a solid thud, a magnificent silver great shield—reminiscent of a massive castle wall—sank into the asphalt before him.
“Wh-what is this…!?”
The moment his hand instinctively grasped the grip on the shield’s back, a system voice echoed directly in his mind.
“This shield… could it be Legendary Level…!?”
As he gaped, the King Ogre’s black steel club came down without mercy.
But.
CLAAANG!!!
“…Huh?”
The brutal strike that had been making his bones creak moments ago was repelled effortlessly without the shield budging. More than that, the boundless magic flowing into him through the grip instantly restored his exhausted body to full strength.
“Haha… what is this. The enemy’s attacks feel as light as a child’s toy!”
Miracles weren’t limited to him.
At the feet of the rear-guard mage whose magic had nearly run out, a treasured staff wreathed in blazing flames appeared.
In the hands of the swordsman whose weapon had shattered, a mithril magic sword crackling with purple lightning materialized.
Before the wounded, fallen healer, a top-grade elixir infused with the essence of Yggdrasil leaves shimmered.
At the feet of all 312 explorers participating in the defense line, without exception, Mythic Level and Legendary Level items perfectly suited to their specialties and roles had been transferred, accompanied by light.
“A-amazing…! What is this staff! Just holding it, magic power wells up endlessly!”
“This sword, it’s not just heavy iron! Magic power forms the blade on its own!”
“It’s Eye-sama…! The Divine Eye has given us the strongest weapons!!”
The total value was roughly several hundred billion yen. The pinnacle of weapons and armor that explorers around the world would sell their souls for were scattered across the battlefield without hesitation. In the eyes of the explorers who had been cowering in fear and drowning in despair just seconds ago, a light of hope in the form of overwhelming power was kindled.
At the center of Shinjuku Avenue, Seira, who had been fighting alone atop a mountain of monster corpses, looked up at the owl logo on the outdoor screens and chuckled.
“Nice going, Toru-san. That’s incredibly cool. …Alright, now it’s my turn. I’m not great at this kind of thing, though…”
She took a breath and raised ‘Excalibur’ high toward the sky. An overwhelming pillar of silver light shot straight through the dark, overcast night sky. It was the signal for the counter-attack from the strongest Sword Saint.
“—Now. It’s time to counter-attack, fellow explorers! Let’s show them the true value of the weapons Master_Eye has given us!!”
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!”
As if responding to Seira’s powerful rally, a roar like a battle cry erupted from the explorers throughout Shinjuku.
“LET’S GO!!”
The tank at the front line raised his great shield and charged forward. The King Ogre, which had been impossible to even scratch moments ago, was blown away by the shield’s sheer pressure. Right after, the mages, now wielding staves of unlimited magic power, unleashed enormous spells in unison, turning a vast swarm of monsters into ash with a colossal firestorm. The swordsman, wielding the purple-lightning magic sword, cut through the deep-layer monsters with their tough carapaces like tofu.
It was an overwhelming rout, as if the previous desperate defense had been a lie. Thanks to the support provided by a single craftsman, the defense line, which had been on the verge of collapse, was now pushing the monster horde back completely.