arc3 · 139-ch139

Chapter 139: Kokushi Musou's Reaction ②

side Shinonome Gaia

"That was really dangerous again."

We'd updated the highest floor anyone had ever reached, the thirty-third floor of the Tokyo Mouse Park Dungeon, but the real problem came after that.

"First of all, that lich, yeah. We ain't gettin' past him unless we take him down."

Just like Soraku said, what had been waiting for us on the thirty-third floor was a monster called a lich. It wielded three attributes of magic, and all of them were top-class. Its chanting speed, the power of its magic, its precision — all far above mine.

"If we'd fought that lich on our first encounter, we wouldn't have gotten away unscathed, would we."

Everyone nodded at Shizuka-san's words. If we'd challenged it with just the four of us, some of us would probably have — no, depending on the circumstances, we might even have been wiped out entirely.

"Thinkin' about it that way, SS-san's drones really are cheatin', yeah. Especially that Hayate, or whatever it was called? The one you can resummon even after it's destroyed — that's just cheating."

Yes, we owed our lives to SS-san's drones again this time. One of SS-san's drones seems to be summoned with a skill, and even if it's destroyed, he can resummon it right away. Thanks to that, we were able to obtain the lich's information completely unharmed.

Once we had the lich's information, we split on whether to fight it. Soraku wanted to fight, Ryuga flat-out refused, saying it was far too dangerous. That's when I came to the conclusion that we should retreat. SS-san's opinion was the deciding factor, though.

But in the end, retreating turned out to be the right call. After all, Terror's Symbol had been closing in right behind us.

"We were saved again, huh."

Ryuga doesn't say much, but he seems grateful to SS-san too. Honestly, you could say he saved our lives this time as well.

"Actually, after going toe-to-toe with Terror's Symbol, how did the two of you feel about it?"

I asked the two who'd fought it hand-to-hand.

"Right now, it's impossible, yeah. But if we went up another four levels — no, three — I reckon we could manage it, don't you think?"

"I agree with Soraku."

Honestly, I think our levels are already quite high. The higher your level gets, the harder it is to raise, but the more you gain when you do. Even so, if we need three more, that just tells you how strong that monster was.

"So what about you, Gaia-san? How many more levels do you think you'd need before you could take down the lich?"

Oh, now Shizuka-san's asked me in return. To take down that lich, it does seem like I'd need three more levels. After all, the other side is a first-class magic user who uses three attributes. Even with my comrades with me, I'd need to get stronger to take it down.

"In my case, I think I'd need three more as well. Of course, I'd need everyone's help too."

In the end, to conquer the thirty-third floor, we'd need at least three more levels. Of course, we'd been leveling up whenever we had free time before now, but having a clear goal to aim for changes your motivation completely.

Everyone else seemed to feel the same way, and I could sense their eagerness to set out for leveling starting tomorrow.

"So, what happened while I was unconscious, anyway?"

Come to think of it, Ryuga had been unconscious when SS-san summoned the new drone. From the flow of our conversation on the way back, he seems to have gotten the gist of the situation, but we never told him the details.

"Well, somethin' unbelievable happened!"

Soraku, who'd seen it up close, started explaining with growing excitement. But I understand how he feels. That was truly like a miracle. No, calling it simply a miracle would be rude to SS-san. It was a miracle that only happened because SS-san kept fighting to the very end and, even in that tense situation, kept playing out the best move at the fastest speed.

Along with Soraku's animated gestures and explanation, Ryuga was nodding along, looking impressed from time to time. Shizuka-san and I, who'd actually seen it, were hanging on Soraku's every word too. The despair of that time, and the hope and elation that came after — I can still recall it all vividly.

"I wonder how much SS-san helped us on this expedition?"

Everyone glanced at each other at Shizuka-san's words. I feel like he helped us more times than I can count, so we decided to try listing just the ones we could actually put a finger on.

"Having him make the enemy cast its magic first before we go into battle helps a lot."

"Monster info helps."

"The Flashlight was pretty effective for holding back wraith-types too, wasn't it."

"If he hadn't been there, I don't think I could've held back the Possessed Wonder Armor on my own."

"Is SS-san actually gettin' any rest during the breaks? He's doin' recon the whole time..."

"His field of vision is wide."

"Come to think of it, it was SS-san who found the Parasite Shadow hiding in the Skeleton King's shadow too, wasn't it."

"That one was bad! We were this close to gettin' possessed!"

"Personally, I'm really grateful I don't have to carry the luggage."

"Talk like that and we'll be talkin' about how much money he's earned us from the livestream videos."

"His dodging is good."

"Um... being able to eat delicious food in the dungeon is what makes me happiest."

"Support? He took down a Possession Phantom solo, didn't he? At this point, isn't he more like a combatant?"

"Thanks to the video, we can see our weak points."

"At least this time, since it was a livestream, it was really helpful to get information from knowledgeable people in real time."

"SS-san was the one who stopped us from fighting the lich too."

"But the biggest help was that, right?"

"Terror's Symbol."

In the end, all of our voices overlapped, but when we listed them out, there were more than we could count. And yet, there's that humble attitude of his. Is he some kind of saint, or what?

"Hey, since nobody's sayin' it, I'm gonna go ahead and say this — can't we bring SS-san into the party as a member?"

Everyone looked at each other at Soraku's words. Yeah, I'm sure everyone had been thinking the same thing.

Honestly, whether SS-san's drones are with us or not changes the entire strategy completely. Without his drones now, the efficiency is so bad that I've lost all motivation. Of course, that doesn't mean we won't dive, but still.

"It'd help if he were with us."

Everyone nodded at Ryuga's words, but SS-san is the exclusive cameraman for a party called Hyakka Ryouran. Inviting someone like him to join our party as a member would be, in the usual parlance, poaching.

Poaching explorer parties isn't forbidden, but by unspoken agreement, it's considered taboo. In fact, there's a party that saw its popularity plummet and gave up streaming because of it.

But he has benefits so great they'd be worth shouldering that risk. Soraku's words must have come from knowing that.

"I'll ask about it casually, just on the off chance."

That's all I could say to everyone.