kscans

Chapter 134 - The Mukuro Dungeon

Inside the boss room of the Grade 7 dungeon, the Mukuro Dungeon—

"Kurosaki-san, your barrage is thinning out."

"Slacking off isn't a good look, Shingo-san."

"I-I'm already giving it my all, you know!?"

Hayate, Kurosaki Shingo, and Ichinose Kazuma were carving a path through an endless horde of skeleton soldiers, pushing toward the center of the boss room.

The final boss of the Mukuro Dungeon was a Necromancer. The annoying thing about it was its ability to infinitely summon skeleton soldiers. The standard strategy was to cut down several hundred of them to force a path to the Necromancer and take it down.

However, there was another, lesser-known strategy for this dungeon.

"Everyone, I'm ready! Be careful!"

Sakino Mei's voice echoed from a distance.

"Ah, looks like the magic team is ready to go."

"Too bad. Sakinon was faster than us."

"Does this mean... I don't have to keep up the barrage anymore?"

Hayate and his two companions were the vanguard team, tasked with charging the Necromancer head-on. Nagumo Ryunosuke, Hatori Suzuka, and Takemiya Hazuki formed a similar assault team, but with fewer options for area-of-effect attacks, they were currently a bit behind Hayate's group, kicking aside skeletons as they advanced.

Meanwhile, Rena and Naoto were protecting Mei as she prepared a single, decisive area-of-effect spell to wipe everything out at once. This was the one-shot team, and theirs was the other strategy.

"Here I go! Activating Fusion Magic—"

A mage's powerful spells were generally ineffective against the dark-attribute skeleton soldiers and the Necromancer. To deal damage, one needed holy-attribute magic, which Mei couldn't use. So, she had Kazuma, a Healer, imbue a Scroll with a holy-attribute attack spell. She then used it to grant the holy attribute to her specialty, explosion magic.

"SHINING EXPLOSION!!"

A tempest of sacred energy ravaged the boss room. The skeleton soldiers were blown away without a chance to resist.

"Feels different from her usual explosion magic. It's almost... gentle."

"That's because for us, it counts as a healing-type spell."

"So, trying to reach the Necromancer before Mei-chan finished her chant... that was a totally impossible mission from the start, wasn't it?"

"I figured we might make it if we really pushed ourselves."

"No way we could have."

Ryunosuke's group walked over to where Hayate was. The holy explosion was still raging around them, but as Mei's allies, it caused them no harm, allowing them to walk right through it.

"We were trying our best, you know."

"As expected of a Grade 7 dungeon. Even the basic skeleton soldiers are incredibly tough."

Suzuka, a mage who specialized in healing and support skills, could enchant her allies' weapons with the holy attribute. She had been supporting Ryunosuke and Hazuki in their fight. Had they continued, they would have certainly been able to defeat the Necromancer on their own.

It was just that Mei's spell had been faster.

The blast cleared.

Grk, ggg...

"Whoa, it's still standing!"

The Necromancer had somehow withstood Mei's spell. Everyone moved at once to deliver the finishing blow.

"Dinner is on my team!"

Hayate surged forward, accelerating with the power of his Manipulators.

"Damn it. Hazuki, go!!"

"You got it!"

Ryunosuke launched a slashing attack at Hazuki's feet. She kicked off it, rocketing forward at incredible speed and overtaking Hayate.

"Hey, are you serious?"

"Ehehe. It's all mine!"

Hazuki moved to destroy the Necromancer's core, but—

"Huh? No way..."

Before her knuckle-claws could connect, an arrow flying from a distance shattered the core.

"Sakinon-san did most of the work. I'm not about to let you steal the final blow."

Hayate and Hazuki turned to see Rena in the distance, still holding her post-shot pose, smiling with satisfaction.

──＊＊＊──

"Alright, everyone. It's time to announce the results of today's competition."

All the S-class students of Shinonome Academy had gathered at the family restaurant Hayate and Naoto frequented.

"Today's winner is the 'Magic Blast Team,' consisting of Rena, Naoto, and Sakinon!"

"Yay!"

"We did it!"

"That was a nice shot at the end, Rena-chan."

Taking a fatal blow meant losing consciousness and not waking up. Getting attacked by a monster just plain hurt. These were the dungeons that had appeared in the real world. And yet, even in a Grade 7—the most difficult dungeon yet to be cleared anywhere in the world—Hayate and his friends had enough leeway to bet dinner on which team could defeat the boss.

"We may have lost the bet, but that Grade 7 dungeon was a piece of cake."

"Well, we've been properly upgrading our weapons as we go. The gear Rena-chan made for us is working great."

"Fufu. Back when FWO was just a game, I did earn the [Creator] title, after all."

"Don't you have to register 1,000 new recipes to get that?"

"Even if you play like crazy, just registering ten is considered amazing."

"I knew Hayate was a hardcore FWO player, but you too, Shinonome?"

Ryunosuke, who had barely played FWO, seemed slightly taken aback.

"Still, thanks to her constantly updating our gear to the best available, clearing dungeons is a breeze."

That, right there, was the problem.

"...It's too tame."

The man who muttered those words was once known as the strongest solo player.

A four-sword-style streamer who had single-handedly conquered the Grade 7 Mukuro Dungeon, a feat that, in the FWO game, was recommended for two parties of eight or more.

"Hayate, what's wrong?"

Rena's voice was filled with concern as she looked at his troubled expression.

"It's not that clearing dungeons with everyone isn't fun... but, how do I put it? There's not enough thrill. I don't feel that tension, that razor's-edge back-and-forth with the enemy."

"Hey, hold on. This is reality, you know? If you get hurt, it hurts. One wrong move and you could die. What in the world are you trying to say?"

"I know that, Naoto. I think I know that, but..."

With my four-sword style, I can clear this on my own. I need to prove it.

That feeling was swelling inside Hayate.

"Everyone, I'm sorry. The next one, Grade 8... I'm going to clear it alone."