061-080 · 062-ch55
Chapter 55: Surface Arc - Those Who Chase Those Who Chase
"Hey, we've got a message from KY!"
The six men gathered in the same room.
They had each been reading books, fiddling with terminals, or doing something like meditation, but at the voice of one of them, they all stopped what they were doing at once.
"So? What kind of skill level do we need to have to team up with him and attack the front line?"
The man who had been meditating asked the man sitting in front of the computer who had called out.
This place looked like some small company's office, and the men were spending their free time in a break room, each doing as they pleased.
There, the man who had been operating a computer in the workspace had called out to them, and they had reacted.
"With our formation of three close-combat specialists, two magic users, and one versatile type, we should be good to go if we have the abilities to handle Deep Layer District 8 or so."
At the man's words, silence fell for a moment.
Then immediately after, angry shouts flew around the room.
"This is some bullshit game! We're barely handling Lower Layer District 10!"
"You're kidding me, right?"
"Even with a full party, Deep Layer District 3 is my limit solo."
"Sorry guys, our underdeveloped group is just holding everyone back."
Just then, their words cut off abruptly.
After making a brief commotion, they quieted down and naturally gathered around the large table in the break room, putting their heads together to consult.
This quick switch from casual banter to serious discussion was unique to them, who usually interacted online.
"So, seriously, what are we going to do?"
The one who spoke up was the man who had been operating the computer.
They were the ones KY was waiting for, currently playing around on the front line.
In other words, they were people who had been watching John Doe's streams since the beginning, and as a result, had awakened to exploration earlier than other viewers and had been improving their skills.
Even so, among them, there was one person with genius-level talent named KY whose growth rate they couldn't possibly keep up with at all.
Nevertheless, about six of the top performers, ranging from those with deep layer-equivalent abilities solo to those with lower layer-equivalent abilities, had gathered to consult daily while exploring, continuing their efforts to catch up with KY even if just a little.
Though you could also say they were being pushed by KY.
Meanwhile, the remaining members who still lacked sufficient ability, and those who weren't explorers when they first started watching John Doe's streams, were currently consulting with the skilled ones on the internet or at this office, each developing their skills in the upper and middle layers.
There wasn't really any need for the people who gathered in that thread to forcibly form a group as explorers, but due to the sense of solidarity from having watched John Doe's streams since the beginning, and the feeling that they surprisingly got along well after actually meeting, they continued to operate as a single guild.
"Even once you get the hang of magic control, going from middle layer to deep layer in a month is impossible. I still feel like my level is seriously lacking."
"If you keep saying stuff like that, you'll get dragged off to KY's forced leveling again."
By the way, while KY doesn't demand seriousness from explorers or parties he teams with on the front lines, when it comes to people from that thread, he normally demands they give it their all with genuine seriousness.
According to him,
"There's no one who can directly feel John's passion and not get fired up, right?"
Or so he says.
When put like that, the others, who had indeed gotten serious about exploration to some extent after being exposed to that passion, couldn't really deny it.
But that aside, the general consensus among nearly everyone was that keeping up with KY, who had originally been deep layer-equivalent and then pushed forward with tremendous talent, was seriously tough.
Even so, the fact that they don't completely reject what KY demands of them shows that they too have been drawn into dungeon exploration, influenced by the distant great genius John Doe and the nearby genius KY.
"Well, for now, we've got no choice but to report back to KY normally, right?"
"...Yeah, I guess so."
"I really want to catch up to him soon, but we seriously don't have enough time. But then again, even if we get him to help train us, I'm not sure we'll grow to a useful level. At that point, it'd be better to let him wander around freely while we do our best."
"Yeah, that's right."
"Don't 'yeah, that's right' me. You don't use dialect, do you?"
"Ahem, well, let's do our best again tomorrow."
"Alright, for now, let's go with that plan."
The group had already finished today's exploration, and since they were waiting for contact from KY, with their plan for tomorrow's activities settled on continuing the status quo, they each began preparing to go home.
"Ah, come to think of it, what about the summary of John's stream?"
"Let's just rely on someone else's today. Besides, it's tough to keep up with John's streams that he just broadcasts almost daily while exploring, you know."
"Should we hire someone for video editing? We make more than enough money for that."
"That's going a bit too far, don't you think? John's been exploration-focused lately."
As they were having this seemingly useless but not entirely useless exchange, the office door opened, and another young man entered.
"Huh, are you guys still here?"
The man sounded surprised that so many people were still there.
He was one of the aforementioned people currently training solo in the middle layer due to insufficient ability.
"Oh, hey, good work."
"Today was the day we were expecting to hear from KY."
"Our exploration ran late, so we figured we might as well wait while we were at it."
"Oh, is that how it was. Thanks for your hard work."
"You should be tired too, working this late. You've been working pretty hard, haven't you?"
As the young man stored his luggage—armor, swords, and the like—in a storage space, he answered the middle-aged explorer's words.
"KY's aura is getting stronger by the day, isn't it...? It's like he's gradually turning into John Doe, don't you think?"
At the young man's words, the others who had finished preparing to leave reacted.
"I know. He's started giving off this incredible pressure when it comes to training."
"He said he was aiming to be like John Doe, but he doesn't have to aim that far."
"Well, I guess we're pretty weird too for seriously trying to match him."
"[[[Yeah, no kidding]]]"
Multiple people agreed simultaneously at one person's words.
This aspect of them hadn't changed at all since when they used to interact on online bulletin boards.
Their basic vibe was the same as in the thread.
"...Well, when you see guys who are that serious about it, I guess."
"Luckily, we're earning more from exploring than we did at our previous companies."
"It's nice that the tax system for explorers has been simplified."
"I know. If there were complicated procedures, I definitely couldn't have handled them alone."
"I guess they want to increase the number of people who become explorers, even if just a little."
While talking about such nonsense, the explorers headed home for the day.
"Wanna go for a drink on the way back?"
"Oh, sounds nice."
"I should join once in a while too."
"Weren't you off alcohol until you mastered magic control?"
"I think I've reached the stage where I need to try a new approach."
"How does that lead to alcohol? What happened to this new approach?"
"The intoxication from alcohol, you see."
"At least come up with a consistent backstory for your excuse."
And after working hard at exploration, the drink they all have together tastes exceptionally good.
They know that too.
The explorers, occasionally taking breaks like this, continue to challenge the dungeon day after day.
As he locked the office door, the man who had been in contact with KY, speaking frankly until the end, thought that with John Doe's statements being clipped and circulating, it seemed to be spreading even more.
People like them, who are genuinely aiming to conquer the deep layers and advance beyond, were increasing in numbers, if only in small groups.
To the extent that even explorers who had been hunting in the middle layers just to earn money for daily life and play were now starting to challenge the lower layers and aim for what lay ahead.
For them too, the effect brought by the transcendent being John Doe was enormous.
Feeling this way, the man quickened his pace to catch up with his companions who had gone on ahead.
Up to Chapter 66 is available for early reading.
I've lightly written about what's happening on the surface, and also included John and Selene's conversation.
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