arc1 · 034-ch34

Episode 34: Tokyo Skyscraper Dungeon ②

"Well, we've arrived at the twenty-fifth floor. Let's take a short break here, then search for C-rank wolves on this floor."

Starting from the twenty-first floor, it had taken about five hours to reach the twenty-fifth. They'd catch their breath here at the stairway, then circle this floor. Following the leader Toomi-san's instructions, the members sat down and pulled their lunches from their packs.

"Let's go over the info on elemental wolves while we eat."

While eating, Toomi-san reviewed the data on monsters that appeared on this floor. Just like during the Kokushi Musou run, these strategy meeting scenes scored surprisingly high in viewer ratings. Since they served as reference for other parties, they apparently even gave bonuses to adventurer rank assessments.

With meal scenes being in high demand too, I had to make sure to stream the content properly.

There were five types of elemental wolves that appeared from the twenty-fifth floor onward: the fire-attribute Flame Wolf, the water-attribute Aqua Wolf, the wind-attribute Storm Wolf, the earth-attribute Earth Wolf, and the lightning-attribute Lightning Wolf.

Apparently, the Storm Wolf was the easiest to fight among them, since Akatsuki-san's fire magic exploited its weakness. Conversely, the Flame Wolf and Aqua Wolf, which had fire resistance, were dangerous opponents.

What's more, although none of these five wolf types used magic, their claw and bite attacks were imbued with their respective attributes. So they dealt not just physical damage, but elemental damage on top of that.

Each wolf also had its own distinctive trait. The Flame Wolf had higher attack power than the others, while the Earth Wolf had high defense instead. The Storm Wolf was highly agile, the Aqua Wolf healed from injuries quickly. And the most troublesome of all was the Lightning Wolf—its attribute attacks came with an added paralysis effect.

I really wished they'd use this kind of stuff in university lectures.

Once the light meal and strategy meeting wrapped up, the four stood up and resumed their exploration. Their steps were more cautious than before, with Kurokage-san at the front, concentrating all her senses on detecting the presence of monsters.

I filmed the four of them from behind, careful not to get in the way—just like a support member watching from the rear.

"One incoming. One Storm Wolf."

The first encounter was the best possible scenario—a single enemy with an advantageous attribute.

"Bullet of flame, gather before me and pierce my enemy—Fire Bullet!"

With the opponent being a wind attribute, Akatsuki-san began her incantation with visible delight, then launched a speed-focused Fire Bullet.

"Graaah!"

The Storm Wolf tried to dodge the magic using its natural agility, but one of the several shots Akatsuki-san fired struck it in the hind leg, drawing blood.

"Nice one, Kureha!"

Since it was a favorable matchup, even a single Fire Bullet managed to deal decent damage. And for a Storm Wolf that prided itself on speed, the leg wound was—as Himehana said—a blessing for the frontliners.

Even wounded, the Storm Wolf moved faster than the Ferocious Wolves had. But Himehana kept pace with its movements perfectly, engaging in a fierce back-and-forth with her twin swords.

"I'll provide support!"

Toomi-san's spear joined the fray, and the Storm Wolf was cornered further and further.

Wounds accumulated on the Storm Wolf under the relentless assault of close-range and mid-range attacks. This excellent coordination would serve as a great reference for many other parties too.

"Kyah!"

"Don't forget about me either."

Kurokage-san appeared as if threading through the gap between Himehana and Toomi-san. I could tell from her lip movement that she'd said "me." This was definitely a captions moment. And the timing was a learning opportunity too—she'd emerged from the Storm Wolf's blind spot at a perfectly inescapable moment.

Whether the damage from the surprise attack had done its job, the Storm Wolf went down without putting up much of a fight. Good, good—this brought Hyakka Ryouran's promotion to C-rank one step closer. As I filmed Himehana cheerfully picking up the magic stone, I threw a fist pump back in my room.

"Let's keep this up and take down a few more."

I bobbed the camera in response to Toomi-san's words, then—as if the party members up ahead had turned around to look back—I filmed the group from the front. Naturally, I was being extremely careful while watching the screen to make sure no monsters were nearby. I wasn't going to pull another screwup like getting noticed by sound.

With my drone taking the lead, we pressed on—when I faintly heard what sounded like a monster's breathing.

I halted the drone midair and switched to telephoto to get a look ahead.

(This is bad—there's a Flame Wolf and an Aqua Wolf out there.)

Whether it was the backlash from the first fight's luck, the worst possible pair had shown up simultaneously. Fortunately, they didn't seem to have noticed us yet. I quietly turned the drone around and moved it in front of Kurokage-san.

"Hm? Looks like you're trying to tell me something?"

Kurokage-san seemed to pick up on my intent from the drone's movement. She signaled the three behind her to stop with a hand sign, then crouched low and stared ahead.

"It's a Flame and an Aqua. Kaoru, what do we do?"

Kurokage-san had confirmed the two wolves as well, and was deferring the decision to Toomi-san. Retreat was a possibility depending on the situation.

"A Flame and an Aqua would be too tough for us right now. Let's turn back and take a different route."

Toomi-san's decisive judgment was the right call, I thought—but then, for some reason, a faint breeze blew through the dungeon. I never would have imagined wind blowing inside a cave-type dungeon. And the direction of that wind was blowing from behind Hyakka Ryouran toward the front.

"Grrrrrr!"

"They've spotted us!? Battle formation!"

With the enemy having detected them, they had no choice but to fight. Toomi-san's sharp command rang out, and the well-trained members shifted into combat formation in an instant.

"Kureha, use your magic only for suppression. I'll hold back the Aqua—Himehana, you take the Flame. Rin, I need you to support us."

Toomi-san was quick to give orders as always, but her expression wasn't encouraging. This was going to be a rough fight. After zooming in on the four members' faces, I turned the camera toward the two monsters—mirroring the same movement as the Hyakka Ryouran members' gazes.