ch81-ch100 · 088-ch88

Chapter 88: The Birth of a Berserker

SIDE: Umemoto Atsushi (the scout-type guy)

"You're out."

He shoves me and I fall on my rear.

With the gap in Strength between me, a 【Scout】, and Hasegawa the 【Knight】, it's the natural outcome, I suppose.

But that's not the problem.

Why do I have to leave the party?

No—why at this moment, of all times?

"Sorry, pal. For Floor 30, we're going in with a new party member. You know the reason, right?"

That would be because my job is 【Scout】...

Our party had gathered on Floor 1 of the headquarters dungeon, set to depart today to challenge the Floor 30 boss area.

The long-hoped-for Floor 30.

And this is the treatment I get, with my reclass from scout-type to combat job right within reach.

And I'd worked myself to the bone preparing for today...

Scout-types are useless in combat.

So I, of all people, volunteered to handle the preparations so I could be useful to everyone.

By its very nature, you could say scout-types are almost never useful in the headquarters dungeon.

The monsters along the way are snatched up in what amounts to a free-for-all, and the camping that used to be called dangerous now has developed campsites all the way down to Floor 25—challenging Floor 30 is easy these days.

Multiple parties post members for rotating watch shifts, so even the night—a scout-type's home turf—goes unwanted at headquarters.

And in the Floor 30 boss area we were about to challenge, a scout-type is nothing but dead weight.

(The natural result, huh...)

I glance at the other party members.

Every one of them is smirking.

So is the escort party we hired to keep our MP spend down on the way to Floor 30.

(Was this the plan from the very start?)

With 【Scout】 as my main job, I was never treated well by these guys.

The day I always knew was coming had come.

But if so, why not tell me sooner?

Simple.

They were having a laugh watching me prepare so desperately.

All I feel is disgust at how petty they are.

"I see... Thanks for everything."

I'm furious at myself for clinging to a party like this all this time.

At the head of my former party members walking off with their laughter, there stood a woman I didn't recognize.

︙

︙

"...Umemoto-san. Wake up. It's time for your watch."

"Ah... Jun, huh. My bad. I'm up."

A dream, huh...

I had a nasty one.

For some reason, dreams I have in the dungeon stay vivid after I wake.

Even though it's all over a year in the past now...

"Sorry about that. Get some proper rest."

Time to swap watch.

Right now, I'm on Floor 25 of the Ibaraki Dungeon.

A year ago, after being thrown out of my party, I left the headquarters dungeon and moved my base to Ibaraki.

Unlike the headquarters dungeon, every floor of the Ibaraki Dungeon is a cave area.

Being caves, they're pitch black even in daytime. You can't tell right from left.

Which means scout-types are essential for conquering it.

Here, even a 【Scout】 like me would be needed.

That's what I thought.

And it happened right after I moved to Ibaraki.

By chance, I joined a young party as a temporary member—they were recruiting ringers for a Floor 20 attempt.

A scout-type with Floor 20 experience—I fit their requirements perfectly.

After we cleared Floor 20, those young guys—these guys here, that is—for some reason invited me to join the party for real.

Less than a month had passed since my ejection, and I hadn't sorted out my feelings yet.

I turned them down again and again.

But they asked again and again.

Even though they knew my main job was 【Scout】...

(It made me happy...)

In the end, I joined this party.

And it's been a year since.

These guys are something else.

In just one year after breaking Floor 20, they've gotten to the point of challenging Floor 30.

They turn 20 this year, and every one of them is a cut—two cuts—above any adventurers their age I ever saw at headquarters.

Jun the 【Shielder】 in particular might be first- or second-best talent among Double-Rank shield jobs.

He has the rare job 【Healer】 as a sub-job—a 【Shielder】 with the unusual style of fighting while healing himself.

He still seems to be wavering on which high-rank job to take, though...

(Tomorrow, we finally challenge Floor 30.)

This morning, when we set out from Floor 1, I was honestly nervous.

That I'd get thrown out of the party again.

Even knowing they'd never do that, I was scared.

I barely slept yesterday.

That's probably why I had that weird dream just now.

(It'll be fine. Tomorrow we break Floor 30, and once I job-change into a combat job... I can pay these guys back for everything.)

Name: Umemoto Atsushi

Job: 【Scout】【Swordsman】

Lv: 34

HP: 680/680

MP: 480/510

Strength: 40

Endurance: 51

Agility: 91

Magic: 51

This is a 【Scout】's stats.

Truly dreadful stats, even by my own estimation.

︙

︙

"Did we do it?"

The job selection is up.

A high-rank job!

We beat the boss.

I, the scout-type, played decoy and drew in the small fry.

The plan worked perfectly.

The all-out attack by the other four made short work of the Floor 30 boss.

They're good. Really good.

All that's left is to pick our high-rank jobs before going through the 'Gate to Floor 31'...

Ignore the small fry.

"Jun? What's wrong? Hurry up and let's move to Floor 31."

"I'm sorry. I can't decide on a job. What should I..."

The others have already gone through.

It's just me holding the rear, and Jun, who still hasn't finished choosing his job.

In that case...

"Take a high-rank job and buy us time. Hurry it up."

Even if 【Ninja】 showed up, I had zero intention of picking it.

I've had my fill of scout-type life.

【Sword Master】, the high-rank evolution of my 【Swordsman】 sub-job—that was the plan...

But there was something even greater on the selection screen.

Name: Umemoto Atsushi

Job: 【Berserker】【Scout】【Swordsman】

Lv: 34

HP: 680/680→2720

MP: 380/510→510

Strength: 40→187

Endurance: 51→119

Agility: 91→119

Magic: 51→51

Incredible.

Even though I reclassed from 【Scout】, even my Agility went up.

So this is 【Berserker】.

So this is the strongest job.

It feels like power is surging through my whole body.

I'll never... lose to anyone again.

"UOOOOOOOOOO!"

Before I knew it, I'd wiped out every one of the surrounding monsters—the nearly half of them that remained.