Chapter 130 - Longhorn Trail and the C-Rank Promotion Exam
The next day. Having officially graduated from F-Rank, we were now E-Rank adventurers on the 20th floor of the dungeon, aiming for C-Rank. Unlike the dense jungle of the 5th floor, this area presented a landscape that looked as though it were above the treeline. An ascending ridgeline seemed to stretch on endlessly.
There was no vegetation to obstruct our view, and off the trail, small flowers reminiscent of alpine plants bloomed as far as the eye could see. It was truly a field of flowers—a scene worth capturing in a photograph. The blue sky overhead was so clear it was easy to forget we were inside a dungeon at all. I launched a stone sphere from my earth magic toward that sky. It soared far into the distance until it lost momentum, arcing back down to the ground.
"Master, what are you doing?"
Fam, who was walking ahead of me, turned back. She seemed a little out of breath. The oxygen might be thin here.
"Oh, I was just wondering if this space has a ceiling."
It really was less a dungeon and more a completely different dimension. And there was something strangely artificial about it.
"This floor resembles a place I saw in one of your photos, Master."
"Kumo no Daira. It's the most beautiful place in the world I came from."
What made it feel artificial was the fact that, despite the clear sky, there was no sun to be seen. This space likely had no day or night, remaining in this state perpetually. It felt like it could easily warp one's sense of time.
"Is it infested with monsters, too?"
"No, there are no monsters in my world. Besides, there aren't any large animals above the treeline."
Our party members were myself, Fam, Mizuki, and Marmie. Accompanying us were Maira, Cecily, Aira, Fang, Beers, and Wake. Wake had insisted on escorting Marmie until we reached the Area Guardian's room. At that, Maira and the others had volunteered one after another, forming a whole new party. On top of that, six members from the guild were with us as observers. It was an extravagant lineup.
"Hey! Monsters ahead!"
Beers shouted, but before I could even draw my weapon, Maira, Cecily, Aira, Fang, and Wake were already rushing forward. They defeated the monsters in the blink of an eye.
"…"
As I watched them, Cecily came up beside me.
"This party is so much easier to fight with when there's no dead weight."
"Are you talking about me?"
When I asked, Cecily stuck her tongue out.
"I'm kidding."
"I would hope so!"
As I replied, Beers sprinted past me.
"Alright, boys and girls! Behind us now!"
At his call, Cecily and the others charged off again. The monsters were dispatched in an instant. For some reason, their expressions seemed full of life. We could do nothing but watch.
"Alright, that's all of them. Let's take a break."
Fang said as he sheathed his weapon. The others who had fought nodded in agreement. Marmie came over and squatted down next to me.
"…My head hurts a little."
"It seems the theme for the 20th floor of this dungeon is a high mountain."
One of the escorts overheard me and explained that Longhorn Trail had been explored up to the 80th floor, and the elevation increased by 100 meters with each level. If that was true, we were currently walking at an altitude of 2,000 meters. The air pressure would be lower.
"…So what?"
"As the altitude increases, the temperature drops and the amount of oxygen decreases. If you keep breathing normally, you take in less oxygen, and it doesn't circulate through your body properly. The result is a headache."
Hearing my explanation, Marmie took a deep breath. Her small chest rose and fell. I didn't know how many floors this dungeon had, but the 80th floor would be a literal death zone. I wondered how they'd managed to explore that far.
"It's better to focus on exhaling when you breathe. And stay hydrated. Let's take a longer break until your body adjusts."
I said, watching her. Mizuki approached us.
"It really is like being on a high mountain. The air is so clear and crisp, it feels great."
Mizuki took a deep breath as if to drink in the fresh air. Her large chest rose and fell.
"Come to think of it, you mentioned you used to go mountain climbing, didn't you, Mizuki?"
"Yeah, my dad used to take me."
I imagined it must have been a lot of work for him, taking a child along.
"By the way, Marmie, wasn't today the day you were supposed to depart? Is this okay?"
"…It was a request from you and Fam."
Was that reason enough to delay by a full day? Didn't anyone around her object? I glanced over at Wake.
"…You are an envoy of Lady Racshell. If you were to change your mind and alter your course, they would be held responsible."
So my request carried some kind of force. It wasn't a very welcome situation.
"Is Patricia not here today?"
"…She can't fight, so she has the day off today."
It seemed that despite Patricia's powerful fist, she wasn't considered a combatant. Marmie stood up and brushed the dirt from her clothes.
"Are you feeling better already?"
"…Yes, now that I know the reason. I used wind magic to adjust the amount of air around me. It really did help."
"I see. So it can be solved with magic."
I was impressed.
"…Remember this. I'm a genius who graduated at the top of my class from the magic academy."
She puffed out her chest and spoke boastfully, perhaps pleased by the praise.
"Still, it'd be nice if we could fight some monsters, too."
"I agree. I want to confirm our formation with Marmie, too," Mizuki replied.
"If that's the case, I'll let you fight. There are some monsters right over there."
Fang, who must have overheard our conversation, pointed. In the distance, we could see the figures of monsters.
There were five monsters in the group. The three in front were humanoid, but they were twice my height, with slender, gray bodies and abnormally long limbs. Their faces were also long and thin, with a single eye in the center. They held no weapons. Behind them, gray robes floated in the air. They were shaped as if someone was wearing them, but no person was visible.
"…Grimtals and Shadow Mantles."
Marmie murmured.
"Is that back one an invisible man?"
"…A Shadow Mantle is a cloak monster. The cloak itself is the body."
She readied her wand. Fam and Mizuki drew their swords, and I drew my katana.
"Fam, Mizuki, and I will each take on one of the frontline enemies. Marmie, I need you on magical support."
Everyone nodded.
"Hey, are you planning on leaving the mage alone? What happens if someone gets past you?"
It was probably Wake. A voice came from behind me. I sheathed my katana and picked up my bow instead.
"Fam, Mizuki, sorry, but I need you two to handle them. I'll hang back and provide support with my bow."
They nodded and charged toward the monsters.
"You're going to let them take on an unseen enemy with such a small group?!"
That was probably Fang this time. This felt like Parent Observation Day at school. It was hard to fight like this. But if Marmie got hurt, we might not be allowed into Migul. My role this time was rear support. I drew my bow, aiming to shoot the central Grimtal to disrupt their advance. But the arrow missed.
"You're missing because your form is all wrong. You're out of practice."
Someone behind me commented. It was irritating, but they were right. I remembered I'd spent all my time on the ship practicing with a crossbow. I nocked another arrow. This time, I used wind magic to improve its accuracy. The fired arrow was swatted away by the Grimtal's whip-like arm. While its leg and body movements were sluggish, its arms were incredibly fast. Fam and Mizuki lunged at the Grimtals. The monsters twisted their bodies like mollusks to evade the attacks, then countered with their whipping arms. The two of them jumped back to dodge. The remaining Grimtal thrust an arm like a spear at Fam. She blocked it with her two swords, deflecting its trajectory. But its other arm whipped out and struck her.
"Fam!"
She stumbled and retreated. Marmie fired a fireball to support her, but it was easily dodged. I loosed another arrow. It struck the head of the Grimtal pursuing Fam. The monster froze for a moment, allowing Fam to escape its reach. But now Mizuki was under attack from two Grimtals. Just as I was about to nock another arrow, the Shadow Mantles in the rear launched fireballs at us. Marmie blocked them with a magic barrier.
"…This is a pain. I'll wipe them out with a lightning strike. Have Fam and Mizuki fall back."
Marmie raised her wand.
"Fam! Mizuki! Disengage!"
Just as the two of them jumped back, the lightning Marmie unleashed shot forth with a deafening roar. It looked like a direct hit on the Grimtals. But the monsters didn't fall.
"…They're using support magic to raise their magic resistance. But it should have done some damage."
I switched back to my katana.
"Mo, I'm going to back up Fam and the others. I want Fam to target the Shadow Mantles."
"…Got it. I'll keep the Shadow Mantles busy so they can't cast any spells."
Mizuki was holding off two Grimtals, while Fam handled one. Both were on the defensive, but Fam's movements had been sluggish ever since she took that first hit. I fired a stone sphere from my earth magic at one of the Grimtals fighting Mizuki, feinted as if I were heading that way, then spun around and charged the one fighting Fam. The enemy was completely caught off guard, and I managed to slash its leg. The Grimtal collapsed. I tried to press the attack, but the monster thrashed its arms about wildly, making it impossible to get close.
"Mo!"
I shouted, and she launched a fireball at the fallen monster. The creature vanished.
"Fam, healing potion."
"Master!"
I passed her a potion from my storage. She caught it securely.
"Once you've recovered, go for the Shadow Mantles in the back. If you can't, I will."
"I'll be fine!"
Fam nodded and turned her gaze toward the Shadow Mantles. Seeing this, I moved to support Mizuki.
Marmie and the Shadow Mantles were exchanging spells from opposite ends of the battlefield. Fireballs flew over our heads. With two of them, she was being pushed back, but her magic barrier was holding against their attacks. I tried to slash one of the Grimtals fighting Mizuki from behind, but the monster noticed and thrust its arm at me like a spear. I deflected the blow with the flat of my blade.
"Mash, be careful. With that whip-like attack, if you don't stop the fist at the tip, it'll wrap around and strike you anyway."
Mizuki warned. It was just like a whip. It would bend at the point of impact and still manage to hit me. Her body was covered in several welts from its flexible arms, swollen up like earthworms.
"Got it."
I faced off against one of them. It swayed like a mollusk, with its own unique rhythm. It was tall with long arms, making it difficult to get into range. Did it even have bones? As I pondered this, it swung its arms at me. I dodged one arm, only for the other to immediately lash out. I tried striking it with my blade, but the enemy didn't flinch, either because it took no damage or simply didn't care. I slowly backed away while parrying its attacks. I was not good against enemies that attacked so recklessly. To land a blow, I'd have to be prepared to take damage myself. While I hesitated, Mizuki made one of the Grimtals vanish. Then she slashed at the back of the one I was facing. The enemy's movements paused for a moment. I seized the opportunity and attacked. The monster must have predicted the move, as it launched a spear-like thrust at my face. I dodged it by a hair's breadth by tilting my head. Then, I cut it down. The monster staggered but didn't fall. It kept swinging its arms. I broke away to create distance.
I glanced over at Fam. She was slashing at a Shadow Mantle. The torn cloak lost its human shape, fell to the ground as a scrap of cloth, and vanished. Her [Kikuichimonji] and one of Marmie's fireballs exploded against the other enemy, annihilating it. I shifted my gaze back. Mizuki deflected a Grimtal's attack with her shield, closed the distance, and slashed it. I launched a stone sphere. It hit the creature in the head, and its movements stopped. Mizuki didn't miss the opening and struck again. But the monster still didn't fall. It swung its arms.
"So persistent!"
She dodged the blow with a backstep. This time, I stepped in and slashed the monster. With that strike, it finally vanished.
"Phew…"
I let out a long breath. Mizuki was picking up the magic seeds. Fam also returned with the seeds she'd collected. I remembered Marmie saying she could extract mana from them, so I handed both to her.
"…I heard you only ever find a magic seed about once in a lifetime. Why?"
"Must be because of our good daily conduct, right? Let's get back to the others."
I decided to play dumb.
When we returned to Maira and the others, there was a vaguely hostile atmosphere.
"Maira, I need you to heal Mizuki. Did something happen?"
"Well…"
She looked awkwardly toward Cecily.
"Did something happen with Cecily?"
"She called out Wake-san and Fang for giving orders at the start of the battle, and they started fighting."
"…"
I went over to Cecily.
"Mash is the type who figures out a strategy after engaging the enemy. They were making it impossible to fight. They were just getting in the way."
It seemed Cecily was angry on my behalf. Was she the one who'd silenced Wake and Fang?
"Weren't you happily fighting alongside Wake and the others just a moment ago, smugly teasing me?"
"Hmph, it's different when I say it! We're comrades!"
Cecily replied, sulking. I thought about telling her that wasn't okay, but I figured I'd just get an earful myself, so I kept quiet.
"Wake and Fang are more experienced than me. It's natural they'd have something to say when they see someone like me who's only been in this world for a little over a month."
I knew that my inability to form a plan without first clashing blades with an enemy was due to my lack of experience. I couldn't gauge an enemy's true strength beforehand. I wanted to complain about my own poor performance. If someone wanted me to do something after transferring me here, they could have at least made me a little stronger.
"What? Are you saying they could have come up with a better plan than you during the pirate battle? You were the only one who acted with everyone's circumstances in mind and got results. If they were going to stay silent then, they should stay silent now!"
Back then, Wake didn't know about the power of the Goddess Summon. I had hoped he would offer some ideas for avoiding the second battle, but a large-scale engagement is different from a small party skirmish like this.
"Mash, you may be unreliable at times, but we have never lost under your command."
Maira interjected. It seemed she was quite angry, too. I glanced at Aira to see if she felt the same.
"It's fine for us to make fun of Mash, but we won't stand for anyone else complaining about him!"
"You too, Aira?!"
Cecily crossed her arms and nodded in satisfaction at Aira's words, and even Maira nodded along. After hearing the three of them out, I went over to Wake and Fang.
"I'm sure you heard, but I'm asking you two to leave the party."
"What did you say?" Wake's voice dropped.
"Wake, you have more experience than me, and I believe I should listen to your opinions. But we fight as a team. That comes first. I can't follow the advice of someone who poisons the party's atmosphere."
"I'll be taking Lady Mo with me as well. Do you have a problem with that?"
"I understand. Let me thank you for accompanying us this far. The three of us—myself, Fam, and Mizuki—will clear the 20th floor alone. Also, I considered myself in your debt for the pirate subjugation. With this, I want you to consider us even."
"…That's a problem! I'm staying to defeat this floor's Area Guardian."
Marmie said.
"I saw that last fight. It looks like you'll have trouble just getting through the floor without Lady Mo, doesn't it?"
Wake said with a smirk. I noticed that not only Cecily, Maira, and Aira, but even Fam and Mizuki now had stern expressions on their faces.
"That is for my Master to decide, not you," Fam said. Wake was probably making a sarcastic joke, thinking I'd accept it and we'd call a truce. But with the girls already seeing red, it was beyond reasoning with them, and I couldn't back down. Fang, realizing their anger, was slowly backing away, trying to join Beers in the role of a bystander. If only Wake had that much charm, but I suppose he couldn't bring himself to do it with me.
"You seem to think I'm weak. But the women here don't think so. I think I'm weak too, but I think I can beat you."
"That's the power of your Divine Blessing. The Goddess's power. It's not your own strength."
"And you just use your Special Skill to read your opponent's movements. If my power isn't my own, then neither is yours. If you're fine with dying, I don't mind fighting without special skills."
"Hoh… is that so."
We glared at each other. Marmie stepped between us.
"…Mash, I apologize for the rudeness of my subordinate. Please, allow us to accompany you to the end as we have been."
Marmie bowed her head. Seeing this, Wake also bowed his head.
"I went too far. Please accept my apology."
"You should just fight. Mash would win anyway," Cecily said, watching him.
In the end, our dungeon exploration with chaperones continued. The fighting was done by me, Fam, Mizuki, and Marmie. We struggled in the first battle, but after that, we proceeded smoothly. It helped that we were encountering enemies in groups smaller than five. Wake and Fang no longer said anything while we fought. However, after each battle, they would stare at me with obviously dissatisfied expressions. The pressure was terrifying, and my performance only continued to decline. Every time I drew my bow, Wake would give me a look of exasperation, and I lost all confidence in hitting anything, so I gave up on using it. At this point, I thought it would be better if they just said something, but after the big speech I'd given in front of Cecily, I couldn't say a word. Fang had stopped commenting openly, but he must have still been concerned, as he was talking to Mizuki and giving her advice. He was talking to her right now. In the back, Marmie and Cecily were whispering to each other.
"…Cecily, do you really think Mash can beat Wake? No one can beat Wake."
"I think if Mash fought him a hundred times, he'd lose ninety-nine. But he'd definitely win that one remaining time."
"…You mean he's just lucky?"
"Not exactly. Look, Mo lost because she underestimated Mash, right? And Wake may have backed down, but that's because he realized he would lose if he fought, right? Mash wins the first time."
"…Hmph. That wasn't a contest of magic. I never thought a stone could curve like that. Besides, it was Mizuki who fought Wake."
"Don't forget that it was Mash who had Mizuki fight him."
I felt like Cecily was praising me a bit too much.
"Cecily, you're being creepy today. Why are you hyping me up so much?"
"Hmph, I'm just teaching the newcomer how to talk. Besides, it's your fault for going into battle looking so unconfident!"
"…You have a point."
Was she trying to become the party's matriarch or something?
"More importantly, we're almost at the Area Guardian's room, so shape up!"
Not wanting to be lectured by Cecily any further, I decided to change the subject to Marmie.
"Mo, what's your adventurer rank?"
"…I'm actually E-Rank, too. If I defeat the Area Guardian with you, I'll become C-Rank as well."
Marmie proudly showed me her status sheet. She was indeed E-Rank. So she'd been higher-ranked than me all this time. Her job was listed as Mage, and her level was now 8. Currently, the members of Levante were me, Fam, Mizuki, and Marmie. It was likely the effect of my special skill.
"Is it from defeating the enemies on the 20th floor? You're leveling up fast."
She looked at her own character sheet in surprise.
"…Did you do something?"
I decided to keep quiet. Let her wonder. Just then, we arrived in front of the Area Guardian's room.
"Alright, we're going in. What are you all going to do?"
"After you've fought, we'll fight and pass through as well."
Maira answered my question.
"…Things are a little tense. Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"We'll be fine. There's no way we can't clear something that your party cleared. Especially since our three frontliners are much more stable and stronger than the three in your current party."
Maira's smile cut my heart deep.
"I'm just kidding," Maira whispered in my ear. I wanted to bury my face in her chest and be healed.
"It'll be fine. Even if you shoot Wake in the back with magic, he'll probably just dodge it."
Cecily said something that was sure to cause trouble later. I wish she wouldn't escalate conflicts more than necessary. I wanted to make up with Wake. I turned my gaze to the guild escorts.
"We will see you off at the door, then return to the starting point. We pray for your safe return."
We shook hands. Looking back, I had shown them a rather unsightly side of myself. I looked again at Fam, Mizuki, and Marmie, and we all exchanged glances.
"Let's go!"
At my voice, they nodded.
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