arc03 · 061-ep55

Episode 55: Letting Off Steam

With that settled, I figured the whole circus had finally wound down, so I headed back to reception with Sakurai-san, all set to head for the dungeon—only to have Taishi call out and stop me yet again.

"W-wait up!"

…Okay, this is getting seriously old. That was my thought as I turned around—and there stood Taishi, folded at the waist a full ninety degrees, head bowed.

"I was in the wrong! My eyes were completely clouded……! The gap in ability left zero room for doubt. I caused trouble for the guild staff, and for the other adventurers too. To everyone here—I'm begging you, please accept my apology, that is. I am truly sorry……!"

"…Well, honestly? It was a hassle. But if you're genuinely sorry, that's enough. I'll take the apology. Your teammates are the ones catching flak for this too, so watch yourself—no pulling a stunt like this ever again."

"From the guild's standpoint, this is of course not something we can simply overlook, so do expect some form of disciplinary decision to come down later. Fortunately, though, there was no direct harm whatsoever—no injuries, no damage to the facilities—so I don't believe it will go so far as revoking your adventurer certification."

With that said, Sakurai-san and I wasted no time clearing out of the training room.

One last glance over my shoulder—there was 『Braver』, all five heads bowed together.

……Haah. Man, what do I even make of that.

◇

Back at reception, I had Sakurai-san run my entry procedures right away.

While she did, we talked a little about what had just happened.

"For all my position as your dedicated receptionist, I could not stop a situation like that from happening. I apologize."

"No, no—this was me butting in on my own, so don't dwell on it. No matter how you slice it, the one at fault is him."

"I truly hope it never comes to it, but should something like that happen again—could you leave it to us?"

"That's…… hmmm. Can't really say until the moment actually comes."

"Is… that so……"

"Well, long as it didn't look like you'd come to harm, Sakurai-san, I might just leave it to you."

"……Was that why you stepped in to stop things this time?"

"I mean, yeah, basically. It concerned me too, and it just felt like somebody was gonna get hurt if it kept going."

"That's…… thank you."

"Don't mention it. Call it my thanks for all the accommodations you arrange for me."

"……Yes."

She also walked me through the fine details—the origin and outline of the whole affair—but nothing there really warranted digging into.

As for whoever spread that rumor about me, the guild can't exactly discipline them as things stand, apparently—but they will be getting a stern talking-to, and if they pull the same trick again, revoking their certification goes on the table. I was asked to be satisfied with that for now. Fair enough, honestly. I'm not itching to see anyone punished—as long as it doesn't happen again, that's all I care about.

Still, about all that.

First time in ages I've gotten properly mad, and looking back, I went and handled 『Braver』 pretty rough because of it. Didn't even feel good at the end of it, and now an A-rank party's got me in their sights—what a mess, start to finish.

Which means—time to sweat this stress out in the dungeon.

"Well then—off to explore the dungeon."

"Yes. Please take care—and do come back safely."

Now then—let's get exploring!

◇

Yesterday turned into a Floor 6 outing, what with verifying 【Plunder+】 and test-driving all the new tricks 【Movement Arts】 Lv. 4 can do—but today I'm back to Floor 11 to push the exploration forward and grind levels in earnest.

"I've gotten pretty well used to Floor 11 by now. The simple map's only about 25% filled, so this'll take a while yet……"

I'm used to the place, and my level's already on par with its monsters, so leveling's probably about to crawl—time to switch to full-sprint exploring?

Watch out for poison and there's nothing else worth watching out for, for now. Yeah. Let's do that.

Today's about blowing off steam too, so it's all going on that sweet, sweet exhilaration!

Ohhhh! Gonna farm experience points and money, yeahhh!

◇

Call it expected or call it what you will—Golden Week may have packed the surface, but Floor 11 looked no different from any other day; if anything, weekdays are busier.

Which meant I turned up a few treasure chests too. I was one happy camper.

The contents? Well—low-grade potions, antidote potions, all familiar friends—but the thrill of cracking open a treasure chest is its own reward, so I called it a win.

Monster hunting's coming along nicely too.

And I've discovered shadow wolves are perfect for raising 【Martial Arts】 proficiency.

They're decently quick, and they throw magic around, so planting my feet and trading blows head-on turns into a proper close fight. Their attack power is nothing to write home about, so I don't take much damage—and whatever I do take, 【Movement Arts】' effects and the potions I've picked up cover with room to spare. All of which makes them ideal training for stand-and-fight combat. Whole packs of them get hairy, though, so I only run this drill after cutting their numbers down to two or three.

Yep. Exactly like right about now.

"Aaand, hup."

One of them is throwing bite attacks from point-blank behind its shadow clones—I slip them with a boxing sway and counter! Real body or fake? Punch 'em both and who cares!

Another one jumps through the gap and looses a Shadow Edge. So this is the shadow-flavored version of that wind-wolf magic I saw back on Floor 4. Turns out they did have a ranged attack all along. A black blade of shadow flying through pitch dark—spotting that thing puts me at a hopeless disadvantage.

Alright—nothing ventured.

"Reaaady… go!"

SLAAASH!

Timing it just right, a mana-packed hakkei snuffs it out mid-flight!

Ohhhh, it actually works!

—OW! One had been hiding in the shadows, and it just chomped down on my ankle!

Goddammit! Unforgivable! You tore a hole in my jersey!

"Hngh!"

I kick upward with the very leg it's latched onto, but without 【Iron Demon】 on my feet the damage is pretty sad. Still, it pried the thing loose well enough, so I close the gap with 『Shukuchi』 and uppercut it—mana packed and all—clean into the ceiling.

Naturally, the Shadow Edge-thrower had used all that to close in on me—but too late. It lunges, and I counter!

"Yesss—! Subjugation complete!"

Phew~—fighting rooted in place while surrounded really is rough.

But man, it FEELS like a real fight. Excellent for blowing off steam.

Sure, I could plunder 【Shadow Magic】 and make it a cakewalk—but skip fights like this, and I might freeze up when it truly counts. I'll quietly bank combat experience that doesn't lean on movement.

Alright—about time I checked in with Sakurai-san.

『Sakurai-san, can you hear me~?』

I speak into the 【Comm Stone】, mana flowing through it.

『Yes, I can hear you. Does my voice reach you as well?』

『All good. It's been about four hours, so I figured I'd touch base. Been hunting up a storm today—magic stones are already piling up, so I might head home earlier than yesterday. I'll call again in roughly four hours~』

『Understood. Please keep taking care out there.』

Whew. Seriously—having this versus not having it is a whole different level of peace of mind. Viva la dedicated contact.

Right—heal up and push on!