kscans

Chapter 130 - Longhorn Trail and the C-Rank Promotion Exam

The next day. Having officially graduated from F-rank to E-rank, we were on the 20th floor of the dungeon, aiming to become C-rank adventurers. Unlike the dense jungle of the 5th floor, the scenery here was like something beyond the tree line. A climbing ridge seemed to stretch on endlessly. There were no trees or plants to obstruct the view, and where the trail ended, a field of small flowers, reminiscent of alpine flora, bloomed as far as the eye could see. It was truly a flower garden. A sight worthy of a photograph. The blue sky stretching overhead was so clear that it was easy to forget we were inside a dungeon. I fired a stone sphere from my Earth Magic toward that sky. The sphere flew far into the distance, eventually lost its momentum, and fell in an arc.

"Master, what are you doing?"

Famu, 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 curious if this space had a ceiling."

Indeed, it felt less like a dungeon and more like a completely different dimension. And there was something strangely artificial about this place.

"This floor resembles a picture you showed me, Master."

"Kumo-no-daira. It's the most beautiful place in the world I came from."

The reason it felt artificial was that despite the clear sky, there was no sun to be seen anywhere. There was no day or night in this space; it was probably always like this. It felt like my sense of time was being warped.

"Are there really monsters rampant here?"

"No, there are no monsters in my original world. And there aren't any large animals in places above the tree line either."

Our party members were me, Famu, Mizuki, and Marmi. The party accompanying us was Myra, Cecily, Aira, Fang, Beers, and Wake. Wake had said he would accompany us to protect Marmi until we reached the Area Guardian's room. Then Myra and the others had also volunteered one after another, and a new party had been formed. And there were six chaperones from the guild. It was an extravagant lineup.

"Hey! Monsters!"

Beers shouted, and before I could even draw my weapon, Myra, Cecily, Aira, Fang, and Wake rushed forward. They defeated the monsters in an instant.

"..."

As I was watching them, Cecily came up next to me.

"This party is so much easier to fight with, now that there's no dead weight."

"Are you talking about me?"

I asked back, and Cecily stuck her tongue out.

"Just kidding."

"Of course you are!"

As I replied, Beers ran past me.

"Alright, boys! Behind us now!"

Hearing his call, Cecily and the others rushed off. The monsters were defeated in a flash. For some reason, their expressions were lively. We were just standing there, watching.

"Alright, that's all of them. Let's take a break,"

Fang said, sheathing his weapon. The others who had participated in the battle nodded in agreement. Marmi came 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 chaperones told me that Longhorn Trail has been confirmed up to the 80th floor, and the altitude increases by 100 meters with each floor. If that's the case, we were currently walking at an altitude of 2000 meters. The air pressure would be lower.

"...So what?"

"As the altitude gets higher, the temperature drops and the amount of oxygen decreases. If you keep breathing normally, the amount of oxygen your body takes in decreases, and it doesn't get distributed throughout your body. As a result, you get a headache."

Hearing my words, Marmi 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 truly be a death zone. I wondered how they had managed to progress so far.

"It's better to focus on exhaling. And stay hydrated. Let's take a longer break until our bodies get used to it."

I said, watching her. Mizuki approached.

"It really is like being on a high mountain. The air is so clear and refreshing."

Mizuki took a deep breath as if to take in the fresh air. Her large chest rose and fell.

"Come to think of it, you said you used to go mountain climbing, Mizuki."

"Yeah, my dad used to take me."

I imagined it must have been tough walking with a child.

"By the way, Marmi, wasn't today the day you were supposed to leave? Is this okay?"

"...It was Famu's and Mash's request."

Was it okay to delay for a day for a reason like that? Was there no opposition from those around her? I glanced at Wake.

"...You are a messenger of Lady Laciel. If you were to change your mind and alter your course, it would become their responsibility."

So my request had a binding force. This was not a preferable situation.

"Is Patricia not here today?"

"...She can't fight, so she has the day off today."

Patricia had a powerful fist, but it seemed she wasn't a combatant. Marmi stood up. She brushed the dirt off her clothes.

"Are you okay now?"

"...Yeah, now that I know the reason. I used wind magic to adjust the amount of air around me. It's definitely easier now."

"I see. So you can solve it with magic."

I was impressed with her.

"...Remember this. I'm a genius who passed the magic school entrance exam with the highest scores."

She was happy to be praised and puffed out her chest, speaking proudly.

"Still, we should probably fight some monsters too."

"You're right. I want to confirm our formation with Marmi too,"

Mizuki replied.

"If that's the case, I'll let you fight. There are monsters over there."

Fang, who must have overheard our conversation, pointed. In the direction he pointed, there were monsters.

A group of five monsters. The three in the front were humanoid, but they were twice my height, with slender gray bodies and abnormally long limbs. Their faces were also long and narrow, with only a single eye in the center. They held no weapons. Behind them, gray robes floated in mid-air. They were shaped like people wearing them, but there were no people to be seen.

"...Grimtalls and Shadow Mantles,"

Marmi murmured.

"Are the ones in the back invisible men?"

"...A Shadow Mantle is a monster that is a mantle. The mantle itself is the body."

She raised her wand. Famu and Mizuki drew their swords, and I drew my katana.

"Me, Famu, and Mizuki will each take on one of the enemies in the front. Marmi, please provide support with magic."

Everyone nodded.

"Hey, are you planning to leave the mage by herself? What if someone gets through?"

It was probably Wake. I heard a voice from behind me. I sheathed my katana and picked up my bow again.

"Famu, Mizuki, sorry, but can the two of you handle them? I'll provide support with my bow."

They nodded and headed toward the monsters.

"Are you really going to have them fight an enemy they've never seen before with so few people?!"

This time it was probably Fang. It was like a parent-teacher observation day. It was hard to fight like this. But if Marmi got hurt, we might not be able to enter Miglutt. My role this time was rear support. I drew my bow and, to catch the Grimtalls off guard, I shot at the one in the center. But the arrow didn't hit.

"You're not handling the bow properly, that's why you can't hit anything. You need more practice."

Someone said from behind me. I was annoyed, but it was true. Come to think of it, I'd only practiced with the crossbow on the ship. I nocked a new arrow. This time, I used wind magic to improve my accuracy. The released arrow was swatted away by the Grimtall's whip-like arm. Their leg and body movements were slow, but their arm movements were fast. Famu and Mizuki slashed at the Grimtalls. The monsters swayed like invertebrates, dodging the attacks, and counterattacked with their whip-like arms. The two of them jumped back to dodge. The remaining one lunged at Famu, thrusting its arm like a spear. She blocked it with her two swords, deflecting its trajectory. But its other arm whipped out and struck her.

"Famu!"

She staggered back. Marmi shot a fireball with her fire magic for support, but that too was easily dodged. I shot an arrow as well. It hit the head of the Grimtall pursuing Famu. The monster's movements stopped for a moment, and Famu was able to escape its range. But now, Mizuki was being attacked by two Grimtalls. As I was about to nock another arrow, the Shadow Mantles in the monster's rear guard shot a fireball at us. Marmi blocked it with a magical barrier.

"...This is a pain. I'll wipe them out with lightning. Have Famu and Mizuki fall back."

Marmi raised her wand.

"Famu! Mizuki! Break away!"

As the two of them jumped back, the lightning Marmi unleashed flashed with a tremendous roar. It looked like a direct hit on the Grimtalls. But the monsters didn't fall.

"...They're using support magic to raise their resistance to magic. But it should have done some damage."

I switched to my katana.

"Mo, I'm going to support Famu and the others. Have Famu target the Shadow Mantles."

"...Understood. I'll keep the Shadow Mantles busy so they can't cast spells."

Mizuki was handling two Grimtalls, and Famu was handling one. The two of them were on the defensive, but Famu, in particular, had been moving sluggishly since taking that first hit. I shot a stone sphere with Earth Magic at one of the Grimtalls fighting Mizuki, made a feint as if I was heading that way, then reversed direction and slashed at the Grimtall fighting Famu. The enemy was completely caught off guard, and I managed to slash its legs. The Grimtall fell. I tried to follow up, but the monster swung its arms wildly, and I couldn't get close.

"Mo!"

I shouted, and she shot a fireball at the fallen monster. The monster vanished.

"Famu, healing potion."

"Master!"

I passed her a healing potion from my storage. She caught it securely.

"Once you've recovered, target the Shadow Mantles in the back. If you can't, I'll go."

"I'm fine!"

Famu nodded and turned her gaze to the Shadow Mantles. Seeing that, I moved to support Mizuki.

Marmi and the Shadow Mantles were engaged in a magical duel at opposite ends of the field. Fireballs were flying over our heads. Since there were two monsters, she was being pushed back, but her magical barrier was stopping the enemy's fireballs. I tried to slash at one of the Grimtalls facing Mizuki from behind, but the monster noticed and thrust its arm at me like a spear. I deflected the blow with my blade.

"Mash, be careful. With the whip-like attacks, if you don't stop the fist at the end, it will wrap around and hit you."

Mizuki said. It's just like a whip. It would bend at the point of impact and strike me. Her body had several welts where she had been struck by the flexible arms, which were swelling up.

"Got it."

I faced one of them. It swayed like an invertebrate, with its own unique timing. It was tall with long arms, making it difficult to get into range. Did it even have bones? As I was thinking that, it started swinging its arms. I dodged one arm, and the other immediately followed. I tried hitting it with my blade, but it didn't seem to take any damage, or perhaps it didn't care, because the enemy didn't flinch. I slowly backed away while taking the enemy's attacks. I'm not good with enemies that launch such reckless attacks. To land a hit, I would have to be prepared to take damage myself. While I was hesitating, Mizuki made one of the Grimtalls vanish. Then she slashed at the back of the enemy I was facing. The enemy's movements stopped for a moment. I took that chance to slash at it as well. The monster seemed to have predicted the attack and launched a spear-like thrust at my face. I tilted my head and dodged the attack at the last second. Then, I slashed. The monster staggered but didn't fall. It continued to swing its arms. I broke away.

I checked on Famu. She was slashing at a Shadow Mantle. The torn mantle lost its human shape and fell to the ground as a piece of cloth before vanishing. Her "Kikuichimonji"

and Marmi's fireball exploded on the other enemy, and it vanished as well. I returned my gaze to the front. Mizuki deflected the Grimtall's attack with her shield, closed the distance, and slashed. I shot a stone sphere. It hit its head, and the enemy's movements stopped. Mizuki didn't miss the opportunity and slashed. However, the monster didn't fall. It swung its arms.

"You're persistent!"

She dodged the blow with a backstep. This time, I stepped in and slashed the monster. With that blow, the monster vanished.

"Phew..."

I let out a big sigh. Mizuki was picking up the Mana Seed. Famu also picked up a Mana Seed and returned. I remembered Marmi saying she could draw out mana from Mana Seeds, so I handed the two of them to her.

"...I heard you only get to pick up a Mana Seed about once in a lifetime. Why?"

"Must be because of my good deeds, right? Let's go back to the others."

I decided to play dumb.

When we returned to Myra and the others after the battle, there was a somewhat tense atmosphere.

"Myra, could you heal Mizuki? Did something happen?"

"Well..."

She awkwardly averted her gaze to Cecily.

"Did something happen to Cecily?"

"At the beginning of the battle, she reprimanded Wake-san and Fang for giving orders, and they started fighting."

"..."

I went over to Cecily.

"Mash is the type to come up with a plan after actually engaging the enemy. They can't fight like that. They're just in the way."

Cecily seemed to be angry on my behalf. Was it her who silenced Wake and Fang?

"Weren't you just happily fighting with Wake and the others and smugly teasing me just a moment ago?"

"Hmph, it's okay for me to say it! We're comrades!"

Cecily replied sulkily. I was about to say that's not okay, but it seemed like I would just get yelled at too, so I kept quiet.

"Wake and Fang are more experienced than me. It's only natural that they'd have something to say after seeing me, who's only been in this world for a little over a month."

I also think that my inability to make a plan without actually clashing blades with the enemy is due to my lack of experience. I can't gauge the enemy's true strength. I want to complain about my own low performance. If they want me to do something after transmigrating me, they could have at least made me stronger.

"What? So you're saying they could have come up with a better plan than Mash during the battle with the pirates? Mash was the only one who acted while considering everyone's circumstances and got results. If they were quiet then, they should be quiet now!"

At that time, Wake didn't know about the power of Goddess Summon. I had wanted them to come up with some ideas to avoid the second battle, but a large-scale battle is different from our current party's battles.

"Mash, you have your unreliable moments, but we've never lost under your command,"

Myra interjected. It seemed she was also quite angry. I wanted to know if Aira felt the same way, so I glanced at her.

"It's fine for us to make fun of Mash, but we won't stand for other people complaining about him!"

"Aira, you too?!"

Cecily nodded with satisfaction, arms crossed, at Aira's words, and even Myra nodded. After hearing the opinions of the three of them, I headed over to Wake and Fang.

"I'm sure you heard, but I'm going to have to ask you two to leave the party."

"What did you say?"

Wake's voice became low.

"Wake, I think you're more experienced than me and I should listen to your opinions. But we're fighting as a team. That's the most important thing. I can't follow the opinions of someone who brings down the party's morale."

"I'll be taking Lady Mo with me as well, if you don't mind."

"Understood. I'd like to thank you for accompanying us this far. The three of us—me, Famu, and Mizuki—will tackle the 20th floor. Also, I consider what happened during the pirate subjugation a favor. I'd like to think that with this, we're even."

"...That's a problem! I'm staying to defeat the Area Guardian of this floor,"

Marmi said.

"I was watching the previous battle. Without Lady Mo, even getting this far would have been dangerous, wouldn't it?"

Wake smiled.

I realized that not only Cecily, Myra, and Aira, but also Famu and Mizuki had fierce expressions on their faces.

"The one who makes that judgment is our Master. Not you,"

Famu said. Wake was probably just being sarcastic as a joke. He probably thought I would accept it and we would make up. But since it wasn't getting through to the girls, who were already seeing red, I couldn't back down. Fang, realizing their anger, was slowly backing away, trying to become a bystander like the stunned Beers. It would be nice if Wake had that much charm, but he probably couldn't do it with me.

"You seem to think I'm weak, but the women here don't think so. I also think I'm weak, but I think I can beat you."

"That's the power of Divine Grace. The power of the goddess. It's not your own strength."

"You're just using your special skill to predict your opponent's movements. If my power isn't my own strength, then your power isn't your own strength either. If you don't mind dying, we can fight without special skills."

"Hoh... is that so?"

We were glaring at each other. Marmi stepped in between us.

"...Mash, I apologize for my subordinate's rudeness. Please, let us accompany you until the end as before."

Marmi bowed her head. Seeing that, Wake also bowed his head.

"I went too far. Please accept my apology."

"You should just fight. Mash will win anyway,"

Cecily said, watching him.

In the end, the parent-chaperoned dungeon exploration continued. The battles were fought by me, Famu, Mizuki, and Marmi. We struggled in the first battle, but after that, we were able to handle things smoothly. Part of it was that the number of enemies we encountered was less than five. Wake and Fang no longer said anything even when they saw us fight. However, after the battles, they would look at me with clearly dissatisfied expressions. It was a terrifying pressure, and my performance was only getting worse. Every time I shot an arrow, Wake would give me an exasperated look, and I completely lost the feeling that I could hit anything, so I sealed my bow. At this point, I thought it would be better if they just said something, but since I had shot my mouth off in front of Cecily, I couldn't say anything. Fang didn't say anything openly anymore, but it still seemed to bother him, as he was talking to Mizuki and giving her advice. Even now, Fang was talking to Mizuki. Behind them, Marmi and Cecily were whispering to each other.

"...Cecily, do you really think Mash can beat Wake? No one can beat Wake."

"If Mash fought a hundred times, I think he would lose ninety-nine times. But he would definitely pull out the remaining one."

"...You mean he's lucky?"

"It's a little different. In fact, you underestimated Mash and lost, didn't you, Mo? Wake also gave up midway, but that's because he realized he would lose if he fought, right? The first time, Mash wins."

"...Mmph, that wasn't a magic battle. I never thought a stone could bend like that. And the one who fought Wake was Mizuki."

"Don't forget that Mash was the one who made Mizuki fight."

I feel like Cecily is praising me too much.

"Cecily, you're being creepy today. Why are you praising me so much?"

"Hmph, I'm just teaching the newcomer how to talk. In the first place, it's Mash's fault for going into battle without any confidence!"

"...You're right."

Does she want to become the party's den mother?

"More importantly, we're almost at the Area Guardian's room, so pull yourself together."

I didn't want to be lectured by Cecily any more, so I decided to change the subject to Marmi.

"What's your adventurer rank, Mo?"

"...Actually, I'm also E-rank. If I defeat the Area Guardian with you, Mash, I'll become C-rank too."

Marmi proudly showed me her status sheet. She was indeed E-rank. So she was higher rank than me all this time. Her class was Mage, and her level was 8. Right now, the members of Levante were me, Famu, Mizuki, and Marmi. It must be the effect of my special skill.

"Maybe because we defeated the enemies on the 20th floor. Your level is going up fast."

She also looked surprised after checking her own character sheet.

"...Did you do something?"

I decided to keep quiet. Let her wonder.

As we were doing that, we arrived in front of the Area Guardian's room.

"Well, we're going in. What are you guys going to do?"

"After you guys fight, we'll fight and pass through as well,"

Myra replied to my question.

"...Things are tense. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"We'll be fine. There's no way we can't clear what you guys cleared, Mash. Especially our three vanguards, who are more stable and stronger than the three in Mash's current party."

Myra's smile deeply wounded my heart.

"I'm just kidding,"

Myra whispered in my ear. I wanted to bury my face in her breasts and be comforted.

"Even if I shoot magic at his back, Wake will probably dodge it, so it's fine."

Cecily was saying things that would cause problems later. I wish she wouldn't escalate conflicts unnecessarily. I want to make up with Wake. I turned my gaze to the guild chaperones.

"We will watch you go through the door, and then we will return to the starting point. We pray for your safe return."

We shook hands. Come to think of it, I had shown them an unsightly side of me. Once again, I exchanged glances with Famu, Mizuki, and Marmi.

"Let's go!"

They nodded at my voice.