kscans

Chapter 129 - Chapter 129

In the Komura Dungeon that had appeared in Shizuoka Prefecture.

"Man, this place is seriously tough."

"Trying to clear this as a duo is just insane."

"Hayate-kun and his crew are monsters, for real."

Standing before the remains of a giant monster that were fading into light, Nagumo Ryunosuke, Kurosaki Shingo, and Ichinose Kazuma were taking a break, once again struck by just how abnormal Hayate and his friends were.

Grade 6 dungeons were of a difficulty that recommended a party of eight or more for raiding. Once higher-difficulty dungeons were unlocked and they could acquire the gear from them, clearing with a smaller group wouldn't be as hard.

But Hayate and Rena had conquered this dungeon all the way to the seventh floor, where Ryunosuke and the others now stood, with just the two of them.

"Hayate-kun does the work of ten people all by himself."

"He can be both an attacker and a tank."

Support mage Hatori Suzuka and fist fighter Takemiya Hazuki had also joined Ryunosuke's party. The five of them were currently advancing through the Komura Dungeon.

"Hayate-kun isn't just an attacker and a tank, he's the commander."

"Ah, right."

"And Rena-chan executes his orders more faithfully than anyone."

"Any enemy Hayate takes too long to wear down, Shinonome finishes off."

"That pair is seriously the strongest."

"But come on, there are five of us. We can't be whining now, can we?"

They intended to defeat this dungeon's mid-boss in another half a day.

That was the mission Hayate had given them.

"Alright, break's over!"

"Right. Let's get to it."

"Let's hurry up and go take down that mid-boss."

"But we have to adjust our timing."

"We can't communicate in here. We have to sync up by time."

"I'm sure Hayate-kun's group will be fine."

Assuming their actions were also being monitored by the Goddess, they avoided discussing their strategy inside the dungeon.

All they could do was stick to the time they had agreed upon and reach the appointed place.

"The problem might be us..."

"We'll be fine, too."

"Yes. We'll be fine."

"Because we—"

"—have cleared the Hard Mode of the Hayate-Style Dungeon Raiding Course!!"

Having overcome the hellish training had become the source of their confidence.

--*--

Meanwhile, Hayate, Rena, Naoto, and Mei were in the Komura Dungeon that had appeared in Kanagawa Prefecture.

"Alright. Looks like we're the ones playing catch-up now."

"The Goddess only fights at the very beginning, after all."

"We can't lose to the S-class students."

"Let's hurry and catch up!!"

Before entering the dungeon, they had checked the stream and confirmed that Ryunosuke's group had already advanced to the seventh floor.

"They've only got three floors left, right? Can we catch up?"

"It's not about catching up, we have to overtake them."

"Yeah, you're right."

"We won't lose when it comes to firepower!"

While doing a final check of his equipment, Hayate stared into the depths of the dungeon.

"Alright, let's go."

""Okay!"" "Yeah!"

Plant-type dungeons had relatively easy monsters to defeat, so within the same grade, they were usually the first to be cleared. That was why Hayate and Rena had been focusing their efforts here.

Even though they had paused their raid for a while, their bodies still remembered the feel of fighting the monsters. There were often subtle differences between the FWO game and the real-world dungeons, but those memories were still fresh.

"Naoto, a strong attack is coming from the right. Block it with a skill."

"Got it!"

"Sakinon, start chanting. It doesn't have to be a composite spell."

"Okey-dokey."

"Rena... yep, keep doing what you're doing, please."

"Okay!"

Rena, who was beginning to fully understand which enemies to target to support Hayate, had already started moving in anticipation of his commands.

She could act without being told. It was proof that she had perfectly understood the thoughts of her idol.

A satisfied smile on her face, Rena unleashed powerful attacks on the distant monsters.

Hayate and Rena had been able to clear up to the seventh floor non-stop as a pair. Now, a tank and another attacker, clad in the best equipment available and having overcome their demon instructor's training, had joined them. There was no way their clearing speed wouldn't increase.

They raced up through the Komura Dungeon at a speed reminiscent of the RTA (Real-Time Attack) runs certain players used to do back when FWO was a game.

And then, around noon that day—

"Phew. We somehow made it on schedule."

Having defeated the mid-boss, Genbu, Hayate and the others stood before the final boss's room.

"This is it."

"This is our first time fighting the Goddess."

"My heart's pounding a little."

Naoto and Mei looked anxious.

"It's okay. You're all strong. Besides, you have me, and I've beaten the Goddess once already. I'm strong."

Hayate used words he normally wouldn't to encourage Naoto and the others.

His voice gave them strength. Reassured that they had the strongest ally with them, the look of anxiety vanished from Naoto and Mei's faces.

Confirming this, Hayate placed his hand on the boss room door.

He conveyed his determination to the viewers who were surely watching this mandatory stream.

"Everyone! Today, we're going to exceed the Management's (Goddess's) expectations!!"

It was the line of the strongest streamer, who had once used the four-sword style—a style no one thought could be mastered—to clear one high-difficulty mission after another set by the FWO management.