041-060 · 060-ch53
Chapter 53: Surface Arc - Those Who Follow From Behind
Previously requested story about the early viewer group.
They'll make brief appearances over about 3 chapters.
When the Dungeon Ministry was cleaning up the Explorer's Guild and Dungeon Association, and the uncorrupted staff members set off in groups to study the guild systems of England and America.
The explorers of Japan, not wanting to be outdone by other countries, also intensified their activities, each throwing themselves into conquering the dungeon.
And at the very forefront of these conquests.
In Deep Layer District 12, a multi-guild and office joint expedition of about 20 explorers was attempting to conquer the dungeon.
This was a group composed of explorers whose main role was conquest, supported by explorers who assisted with tasks like ensuring safety during sleep.
Within this group, the party whose main role was conquest was also fighting to carve a path forward.
"KY! Cover the right!"
"Got it!"
A battle between a 7-person party and numerous monsters.
Responding sharply to instructions shouted from the rear, a man called KY leapt out from the middle guard position, cutting down and driving back a monster attempting to attack from the right.
Though he couldn't finish it with a single blow, the wounded monster retreated, allowing the tank supporting that side some breathing room.
"Tch! Reinforcements! KY, keep supporting the front line! Takuto and Nozomi, make absolutely sure the front line doesn't break!"
As if embodying a common deep layer occurrence—new monsters appearing mid-battle—several monsters emerged from the depths of the dungeon and joined the fight.
Seeing this, the man who had been casting magic and giving instructions from the rear immediately issued orders to the front line.
"Roger! Got it!"
"Hmph! There's quite a few, but I'll manage!"
The two tanks supporting the front line, a shield swordsman and spear wielder, complained but held their ground.
Then, just as the front line seemed about to collapse against the numerous monsters, KY, who had been handling support and harassment, moved shoulder-to-shoulder with the front line, inflicting severe wounds on monsters to drive them back, or sometimes finishing them off outright.
And while the vanguard was securing the battlefield in this way, the three magic casters—other than the man giving instructions from the rear—finished their long magic chants.
""Become light in the darkness—""
"Vanguard, fall back! Magic's coming! Aqua Shot!"
Following the command's voice, the three vanguard members nimbly leapt backward.
Then, the completed magic detonated there.
""Alfus Nova""
The magic landed in a position that perfectly avoided catching the three vanguard members in its blast, consuming most of the monsters that had been swarming them in its dazzling light.
A compound magic created through simultaneous chanting by multiple people, eliminating monsters all at once.
However, despite this explosion, the three vanguard and middle guard members didn't let their guard down.
Because they knew the deep layer wasn't so lenient as to end there.
"There they are!"
In the aftermath covered by the dazzling light, several monsters still rose to their feet and charged toward the party.
The two vanguard members each moved to intercept one, engaging and defeating them.
But the remaining monster, ignoring the two vanguards, ran straight past them, aiming for the rear guard magic casters.
"Crap! One got through!"
"It's coming this way!?"
A wounded wolf-type monster, running toward the rear guard magic casters despite the presence of vanguard tanks.
This was another annoying aspect of the deep layer that differed from previous layers—monsters possessed something akin to combat wisdom.
And when they recognized the rear guard as dangerous, they would sometimes ignore the vanguards and attack the rear guard directly.
If this were merely the lower layers, monster attacks would basically target the nearby vanguards.
While this increased the vanguards' burden, there was no need for unnecessary considerations like helping the rear guard, allowing them to concentrate purely on combat actions.
But in the deep layer, that could be fatal.
That's why—
"Right then."
KY approached from behind and sliced the wolf-type monster that had been about to lunge at the female magic caster clean in two.
"Are you unharmed, miss?"
"A-ah, thank you."
The female magic caster could only manage that response to KY's slightly teasing tone.
Or perhaps, from the terror of being cornered by a monster and the shame of having frozen and fallen on her rear, she took KY's offered hand while blushing and stood up.
Protecting the rear guard when monsters broke through the vanguard.
That was also KY's role as a middle guard member waiting in reserve.
As KY pulled the woman's hand to help her up, the other party members who had finished off the remaining monsters gathered around.
"You saved us, KY. I thought we were done for."
"Well, we were almost done for, so be careful. Though that's why we have a middle guard member."
To the tank man's light remark, KY responded with an equally light reply.
Ideally, it would be best if the vanguard could stop them.
But since that doesn't always work, they place a middle guard member.
In this battle as well, with only three members in the 7-person party capable of close combat—the female spear wielder, the male shield swordsman tank, and KY—they had configured the party with two vanguards instead of three, keeping KY in the middle guard position to respond to any situation on either side.
"Multi-person magic really is spectacular when it comes together, huh."
"These incantations are actually pretty difficult, you know? We worked hard to synchronize them."
Casually vigilant of their surroundings, a tomboyish female magic caster—different from the one who had been rescued—replied naturally to KY's light jab.
By the way, this party's composition consisted of three men: the enhancement magic user兼 leader, the shield swordsman tank, and KY; and the remaining three magic casters and spear-wielding vanguard were women, making it a majority-female party.
This wasn't particularly unusual.
When people become explorers and their levels rise, their physical abilities naturally increase as well.
For this reason, explorer is a profession where gender differences tend not to manifest.
In exchange, however, certain gacha-like individual differences do arise, such as what kind of skills one is initially granted.
"What now, Leader? Should we press forward a bit more?"
Cutting through the friendly atmosphere between the magic casters and KY, the tank man asked the enhancement magic user who served as their leader.
He was entrusted with the leader role precisely because, as an enhancement magic user, his special position allowed him to easily view the entire battlefield.
An enhancement magic user, unlike normal magic casters, is a type of magic caster who fights by magically strengthening their comrades.
Therefore, they need to constantly grasp their comrades' condition, and paradoxically, because of their observational abilities on the battlefield, they are often entrusted with the role of battlefield commander—a rare type of magic caster.
"No, let's retreat. This is still too much for us. Just learning that is enough."
And that leader, without hesitation, gave the order to withdraw.
Because from this battle, he had clearly felt their lack of power.
The only reason this battle had succeeded as a battle was due to one person's contribution.
He turned toward that person and bowed his head.
"Thank you for today, KY-san. Without you, we couldn't have done something so reckless."
"Nahaha, well, that's the job of a solo freelancer like me. I'll do it properly, you know."
Though KY, despite being thanked sincerely, maintained a grinning, lighthearted demeanor.
Everyone had grown accustomed to this attitude over the past few days of this conquest, so no one complained.
Even the magic casters who had once complained about his grinning manner were now completely fond of KY.
That's how good KY was at reading the room.
"Well then, shall we return? To our beloved camp."
"Yes, let's. After that... I'd like to move back to around District 10 to hunt, would that be alright with you, KY-san?"
This party, with the exception of KY, was composed of combat members from a certain guild.
Among that guild's high-ability members, they were essentially the second team if one were to form a 6-person party.
That was them.
Therefore, their actual combat power wasn't quite at the front lines, and for them to be accompanying the first team on this expedition and attempting to conquer the dungeon independently was something that shouldn't have been possible under normal circumstances.
"I'm following along this time, remember? I'm counting on you."
The one making this possible was the existence of this man, KY.
To put it simply, by adding one person from outside to their original six members, forming a 7-person party, this party had somehow managed to withstand front-line combat, if only for a moment.
The ability to keep a party of Deep Layer District 8 caliber alive in the front lines of Deep Layer District 12.
The fact that this was an outstanding power even among the front lines was something only the leader, who could see the whole picture, had realized.
That's why, rather than their usual hunting ground in District 8, he suggested District 10, where they could earn more than usual, pinning his hopes on KY's strength.
Meanwhile, KY seemed quite carefree.
While casually making eyes at the female magic casters, he remained at the very rear of the party, vigilant for monsters.
Seeing his figure, the leader felt gratitude for KY's cooperation with them, but at the same time, he wondered why such a skilled explorer remained unaffiliated with any organization, working solo.