arc1 · 019-ch19

Episode 19: Yatsugatake Dungeon

The day after returning to university, today was the day to dive into Yatsugatake Dungeon with Kokushi Musou. Meeting time was 9 AM. I woke up at 5 AM. Even though I wouldn't have to talk, doing things with strangers still made me nervous. And if those strangers happen to be Japan's #1 party, that's even more pressure.

The straight-line distance from Mount Takao to Yatsugatake is probably about seventy kilometers. If my drone flies at full speed, I should be able to make it in about thirty-five minutes. Still, you never know what might happen, so I departed an hour early and headed to the destination at a slightly reduced speed.

Yatsugatake Dungeon, being B-rank in difficulty, doesn't have that many challengers. Even so, I could spot several parties from a distance. But when I reached the entrance to Yatsugatake Dungeon, Kokushi Musou's party was immediately recognizable.

That's because a group of four was at the center of a ring formed by many onlookers. I landed the drone right in front of that party. Just that alone was enough to hear the crowd buzzing.

"Heh, so you really came by remote operation. This is starting to look really promising!"

The first to speak was a short-haired young man with black hair, shouldering a spear that must have been at least two meters long. His name should be Nishikyo Soraku. Said to be Japan's strongest spear wielder.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Shinonome Gaia. I serve as the leader of Kokushi Musou. Is it okay to call you SS? You should be able to hear our voices, right? If you can hear us, could you blink the light twice?"

Next, the leader of Kokushi Musou addressed the drone with polite words. Even through our email exchanges, I thought this, but for the leader of Japan's strongest party, his way of speaking is surprisingly gentle.

As promised beforehand, I blinked the light twice.

"Thank you. Well then, let me briefly explain the plan for this time."

I'd heard it through email beforehand, but the leader was going over the schedule again to confirm. He's really kind... no, I guess he's cautious. That might be why he was able to climb to the top.

Once Shinonome-san finished his explanation, it was finally time to enter Yatsugatake Dungeon. This time, I'd send the drone ahead and film them walking through the gate from the front. Then, the footage of them entering the dungeon would be from behind.

Since this was planned to be a long three-day job, the battery definitely wouldn't last. So for the first time, I'd be using magic stones as a power source. I'd explained it beforehand, but since it's my first time, I'm a little nervous.

Once they all entered the dungeon, my drone followed after.

(This is a mountain-type dungeon, huh.)

Yatsugatake Dungeon is a strange one where you walk along the mountainside, descend some stairs that open up in the ground, and beyond that is more mountainside again. Even though you're going down stairs, every floor has a sky. I don't understand the mechanism, but apparently that's just how dungeons are.

Kokushi Musou had never been to this dungeon before. So they needed to conquer it from the first floor. Of course, they avoided the lower-floor monsters as much as possible and hurried forward.

According to the plan, today they'd advance to the fifteenth floor and camp there. Tomorrow they'd reach the twenty-fifth floor, and on the final day, they'd make it to the thirtieth floor, rest in front of the boss room, and then challenge the boss.

Still, fifteen floors by the end of today? As expected of an A-rank party, their conquest speed is incredible. Even though the slope is gradual, they ascend it effortlessly. The monsters that occasionally appear seem to sense this party's strength and run away. By the way, the monsters that appeared were mostly animal types like rabbits, deer, tanuki, and foxes.

After about two hours, we reached the fifth floor, and monsters started attacking more frequently. The first engagement was with a bird-type monster. I think it was called a Wing Eagle. The cheeky thing uses wind magic. To think that monsters using magic would appear on the fifth floor—this is definitely a B-rank dungeon.

By the way, I was the one who first noticed this Wing Eagle. I made the drone fly erratically to signal that a monster was coming toward us.

"Whoa, you're pretty good at spotting stuff! You could work as a scout too!"

I received praise from Nishikyo-san, but I didn't have time to bask in it. Shinonome-san started preparing his magic, so I quickly raised the drone's altitude and filmed him chanting in a close-up shot.

Then, I successfully captured the Stone Needle launched by Shinonome-san passing right by the drone, and finally filmed the moment it pierced the Wing Eagle in a close-up. Oops, I should also capture the Wing Eagle as it falls.

"That was amazing. That's movement a rental drone could never achieve."

When I returned near the party again, I could hear Kitora-san's praise too.

"Gaia's being unfair! Make sure you capture my gallant figure properly too!"

Nishikyo-san was complaining, probably because he didn't get a chance to shine. But this time, it wasn't my fault. I'll pray that a non-flying monster shows up next.

The next one to appear was a monster called Horn Deer, a deer-type. Its sharp horns can easily slice through a human body. An explorer of D-rank would have a tough fight on their hands. But the ones I'm with right now are Kokushi Musou, an A-rank party. The moment Nishikyo-san spotted the Horn Deer, he happily broke into a run.

"This time it's my turn! Film me looking cool!"

As instructed, I flew the drone alongside Nishikyo-san to capture his profile from the side, but...

"Hey, wait a sec! Hey, hold on! Don't you run away!"

Since Nishikyo-san was shouting while chasing it, the Horn Deer sensed danger and fled. Since there was distance to begin with, it got away before he could catch it. I'd wanted to film him looking cool, but instead ended up capturing a pathetic scene.

"Please... cut that scene."

He asked in a quiet voice as we left, but since it was an amusing scene, I secretly thought I'd definitely use it.

After that, we smoothly progressed through the sixth and seventh floors, reaching the tenth floor in about five hours. We'd barely taken any breaks up to this point. Their stamina is incredible.

"Now then, the boss on the tenth floor is a Lightning Deer, right? It's a C-rank monster. Don't let your guard down."

Boss monsters don't run away, so finally I'd get to film a proper battle scene. I was getting excited too.

The four members of Kokushi Musou charged into the boss room. I filmed them from behind and above, and the camera caught the Lightning Deer standing quietly in the center. As I gradually zoomed in toward its face, the camera revealed horns crackling with lightning.

(What the heck, this is seriously cool...)

Once you get to C-rank, even monsters become quite photogenic. A sphere of light appeared between the Lightning Deer's horns. This is the Lightning Deer's specialty magic, Lightning Ball.

Shifting the perspective to Kokushi Musou, I wondered how they'd handle the Lightning Deer's preemptive attack.

"Earth Wall!"

First, Shinonome-san cast the earth magic Earth Wall. A wall of earth rose up and caught the lightning ball released by the Lightning Deer.

Snap!

The Lightning Ball burst apart with a loud noise. Of course, the damage was zero. In that dazzling light, the drone's camera captured Nishikyo-san's figure. Light gathered at his fingertips, and a silver spear materialized.

Now that I think about it, I've heard that explorers whose job level has risen can create their own weapons. It's apparently one of several job skills, but you need to raise your level quite a bit before you can learn it. As expected of a member of Japan's strongest party. For them, this much is just par for the course.

"Hryaa! Spear Thrust Stone Pierce!"

The moment Shinonome-san's Earth Wall disappeared, Nishikyo-san shot out like an arrow, unleashing a Spear Wielder job skill. The spear seemed to blur for a moment, and then it was lodged in the Lightning Deer's throat.

"Mighty Arm Fierce Strike"

Furthermore, Kitora-san's right hook plunged into its torso. He was already wearing golden gauntlets on his hands without me even noticing.

That said, a C-rank monster fell after just two hits? As expected of an A-rank party, their teamwork is superb, but the power behind each strike is on another level. I wanted to become like that too.