arc2 · 113-ch113

Chapter 113: Sato Fisheries Co., Ltd. ②

We started from the eleventh floor, and up through the fifteenth floor things went incredibly smoothly. The monsters appearing were mostly E-rank, so they were no match for the four D-rank members of Sato Fisheries.

Since we took the shortest route, we reached the staircase leading to the fifteenth floor in about three hours. It seemed like they were going to take a break and have lunch here. I pulled out the luggage I'd been holding from Storage and set it on the ground.

"I never expected we'd be able to eat this inside a dungeon."

The leader, Ounabara-san, took a bento box out of his backpack and held it up toward the camera. It looked like a seafood chirashi bento, and the band around it clearly read "Sato Fisheries Co., Ltd."

This was probably meant as advertising too. I was impressed that they'd promote their name even in a place like this. Looking more closely, all four of them were eating bento boxes with the same band.

Well, it didn't bother me at all, so I filmed them while eating the sandwiches Mom had premade for me at home. Yeah, Mom's sandwiches really are something special.

Having finished lunch first, I sent Hayate ahead to check the situation up front. From here on, D-rank Ferocious Wolves and Bark Wolves would start appearing, so we need to be careful. Bark Wolves in particular—I'd seen them at the Inubosaki Tower Dungeon too, and they have a Roar skill that hinders movement. Someone like Nishikyo-san from back then would be one thing, but these D-rank guys would definitely feel the effects to some degree.

Sure enough, I spotted three Ferocious Wolves and two Bark Wolves prowling around a spacious area a little further ahead. Taking on all of them at once would be pretty dangerous. We could try luring them out and defeating them one by one, or use the large space to sneak past without being noticed. I figured I'd discuss it with the leader, Ounabara-san.

I dismissed Hayate once, resummoned it, and reported the situation to Ounabara-san.

"Being able to get this kind of information in advance is truly appreciated. That said, wolf-type monsters are sensitive to sound and smell, so slipping past them undetected would be difficult, wouldn't it? If so, I think defeating them one by one would be best. What do you think?"

"That works too, but that large space connects to several passages, so I can use Hayate as a decoy to lure them away. We could advance past while they're distracted. What do you think?"

"I see. If that's possible, I'd like to go with that. There will definitely be situations ahead where we have no choice but to fight, so I'd like to conserve our stamina and magic power as much as possible until then."

As a result of our discussion, we decided I'd use Hayate as a decoy to draw the monsters' attention. Of course, I'd check that no other explorers were in the area I was luring them to before executing the plan.

With the strategy decided, I checked the hall and the passages beyond it. Fortunately, I found an empty corridor, so I'd lure them in there.

The four members of Sato Fisheries and Asahi waited at the entrance to the hall while I sent Hayate charging in. First, I'd aggro the two Bark Wolves.

"Graaawwwwn!"

One of the Bark Wolves immediately used its Roar skill. The loud howl triggered a reaction from the Ferocious Wolves too, and as a result, all five got aggroed at once.

"Even at this distance, it seems to have some effect."

Spear Wielder Mizuhara-san, who had been peeking from the entrance, was clenching and unclenching his right hand, checking the impact of the Bark Wolf's roar. As expected, it was affecting them to a fair degree.

"What? This is nothing!"

On the other hand, Two-Handed Swordsman Kawahara-san didn't seem affected at all, but I couldn't tell if he just hadn't noticed or if it genuinely had little effect on him.

Anyway, while Hayate was leading the wolves down the empty corridor, the four of them and Asahi pressed on ahead. Yeah, this was going smoothly.

Once we were out of the hall, I dismissed Hayate and resummoned it.

"Good grief, this is just too convenient. It's practically cheating."

Ounabara-san muttered that as we passed through the hall. Hayate was already scouting ahead, so I could hear him through Asahi. I couldn't reply.

"Arrow consumption so far: zero. I'm grateful."

Come to think of it, in situations like that, archers sometimes fire an arrow far away to use as a decoy. When they do, they have to give up on recovering that arrow, which means the magic silver-tipped arrow goes to waste. The same applies when a monster escapes without being defeated.

But on this expedition, every monster we encountered had been defeated, and Hayate handled the decoy work, so we hadn't lost a single arrow. Those arrows were apparently quite expensive, and Ikeda-san seemed pretty happy about that. Though it didn't show much on his face.

"I've barely seen any action and I'm brimming with energy! I wanna fight next time!"

"Now, now, we've got a boss fight coming up later, so save all that excess energy for then."

Kawahara-san was getting a little restless, but I wanted him to hold out a bit longer. Just as Mizuhara-san was telling him, we were definitely going to run into combat situations ahead.

See, speak of the devil—two Bark Wolves appeared right away. The passage was narrow and straight, so we had no choice but to fight through them. What's more, having two of them meant even if we let one use its Roar, the other one was still ready to go. The vanguard's movement was going to be pretty restricted.

With that in mind, I sent Hayate charging in as usual. The two Bark Wolves noticed it immediately and took up combat stances.

"Graaawwwwn!"

The first one used its Roar skill. Of course, it had no effect on Hayate, so it just kept closing in. Whether because their skill didn't work or not, the Bark Wolves were now warily glaring at Hayate, so I hit them with a Flashlight.

" Gyau!?"

As expected, both Bark Wolves had their vision stolen and let out pained whimpers. Ikeda-san tried to loose an arrow at them, but...

"Graaawwwwn!"

The other Bark Wolf used its Roar skill. Because of that, Ikeda-san's aim was slightly thrown off, and his arrow missed.

"Sorry."

Ikeda-san quickly nocked another arrow, but Ounabara-san moved even faster.

"No problem. Blade of water, manifest and cleave my enemy. Water Edge!"

At the perfect moment, Ounabara-san unleashed his water magic, Water Edge. Considering the cooldown, he'd aimed for the Bark Wolf that had used Roar first, and successfully landed a wound right at its throat.

Nice, nice. I managed to capture both the footage from behind Ounabara-san and the Bark Wolf's perspective. This was going to be some intense footage.

The Bark Wolf that had used its skill first had taken a hit to the throat and couldn't use Roar anymore. The second Bark Wolf had just used its skill, so it couldn't use it again yet either. In other words, we could fight without worrying about Roar for now.

"Finally my turn! Let's do this, take that!"

"Don't forget about me, seiyah!"

Looking like he couldn't hold back any longer, Two-Handed Swordsman Kawahara-san charged in and swung his greatsword. Spear Wielder Mizuhara-san followed right behind, delivering a thrust with his spear. Their combined attacks dealt heavy damage to the second Bark Wolf.

Of course, Asahi captured their heroic display perfectly with the telephoto camera. Then I immediately switched the camera to Ikeda-san.

"There."

An arrow Ikeda-san loosed pierced the first Bark Wolf right in the chest area. So close—if it had been a little higher, it would've hit the throat wound directly.

Still, there was no doubt he'd dealt significant damage. With the two Bark Wolves on the brink of death, Kawahara-san and Mizuhara-san each delivered the finishing blows, and it was over.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to count as a contribution for me this time, but I was just glad they took them both down without any injuries.

Filming the four of them picking up drop items with Asahi, I sent Hayate scouting ahead once more.