Chapter 152: I Wonder How He’ll React
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 152: I Wonder How He’ll React
“Have a safe trip.”
“I will, Sera. I’m not sure exactly how long it will take, but…”
“If we’re only going to the 30th Floor, we should be back before tomorrow evening.”
“So he says.”
Today, even Auntie Marta had come out to see us off, which was a rare sight.
“Marta! I’m heading out!”
“Don’t overdo it. Take care of yourself.”
“Yeah! I got it!”
It was 9:30 AM. We would likely reach the guild before 10:00. Father had donned his leather armor for the first time in a while, and it suited him surprisingly well. In most games, characters with such small, compact frames usually ended up being rogues.
“Young man! Here!”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Give me a shoulder ride! Let’s head to the Southwest Branch!”
“Sigh… Yes, sir. Understood.”
* * *
And so, another peaceful day at the Southwest Guild Branch. In a place teeming with low-grade explorers, Father’s party was nothing short of a gathering of monsters. Of course, since their appearance didn't scream 'elite,' they probably looked more like a group of lunatics burdened with a hoard of curse skills.
Clatter—
—Hey, look. Isn't that a Cobalt-grade Explorer’s Plate...?
—You’re right. But they look completely insane….
Most low-grade explorers held a certain romanticized image of high-grade explorers, Cobalt and above. Usually, those who were active publicly were members of famous, high-profile clans.
High-grade explorers who cared so little for their appearance were a rare sight. This kind of reaction was only natural.
“Oh! Roland, you’re here. And the young man too?”
“Yes. How are you feeling today?”
Ding!
“Excellent! Roland, you little runt. It’s been a while since you’ve headed into the labyrinth, hasn't it?”
“Gahahaha! This is going to be fun!”
Father was practically bouncing with excitement. Mr. Bontes and Mr. Gadel were scanning the quest board for anything worth taking, but the Southwest Branch rarely received requests above Platinum Grade.
However, Father’s party had no intention of diving too deep today. They picked up one of the sparse 3rd Stratum requests and headed to the desk for confirmation.
Once the request was processed, Mr. Bontes tucked the form into the pouch hanging from his waist and joined us along with Mr. Gadel.
“Hey there, young man.”
“Hello. I see you’ve taken a request.”
“Yeah. It’s a request to pull four teeth from an Ancient Damse.”
“An Ancient Damse… what does it look like?”
“A giant dragonfly. Among the flying types, they’re quite difficult to deal with. We got lucky. I’m surprised a request like this trickled down to the Southwest.”
The reward was 8 gold. Once you reached the 3rd Stratum, you started earning money in gold units as if it were nothing. Or perhaps the combat power of those giant dragonflies was higher than I thought.
“Alright, let’s head in. It’s a quest party up to the 30th Floor.”
Mr. Gadel, Mr. Gerick, and Mr. Bontes all stared at me intently. Wondering what was wrong, I looked toward the desk.
‘Ah.’
Dahlia was busy attending to other explorers with a bright smile. These men might not look it, but they were the type who found it difficult to talk to women.
I stepped forward and stood in line at the desk, and they immediately scurried over to line up behind me.
“Oh, welcome, Aven.”
“Hello, Dahlia. It’s been a while since I’ve headed into the labyrinth.”
“I see. But the person on your shoulders is….”
“I’m going too!”
Dahlia looked at Father perched on my shoulders, tilted her head, and asked me a question.
“Um… Aven, by any chance, how old is this little boy…?”
“Father, how long have you lived?”
“Forty-two? Forty-three? I’m not really sure.”
“Ah, perhaps..”
As if finally grasping the situation, Dahlia nodded slowly and began writing something on the documents.
“Yes, it’s an Age Regression Skill.”
“Hey, look here, young lady! I’m a Cobalt-grade explorer!”
“Oh my…! M-my apologies. Ahem! Then, that’s one Gold Grade and one Cobalt Grade. Is that correct?”
“No, it’s four Cobalt Grades.”
I stepped aside slightly to reveal the three explorers hovering awkwardly behind me. Their hesitant behavior, so at odds with their rugged appearances, made it hard to believe they were actually Cobalt Grade.
“All of them are Cobalt Grade… I-I see….”
Dahlia revised the documents once more. Thus, a five-man party consisting of one Gold Grade and four Cobalt Grades was formed for a quest run to the 30th Floor. After finishing the paperwork, Dahlia slid the documents toward me for a signature and whispered softly.
“Y-you’re going to be okay, right…?”
“Yes. It’s not what you’re thinking, Dahlia.”
With their terrifying appearances, it was no wonder she was worried.
* * *
“Woo-hoo!! The refreshing air of the labyrinth! My body is reacting to the twisted mana!!”
Twang, strum—
As soon as we entered the labyrinth, Mr. Gerick began plucking his lute to express his joy. Regardless of his eccentricities, he was undoubtedly a Cobalt-grade explorer; there would be much to learn from traveling with them.
“It’s 10:20. Let’s aim to reach the 10th Floor by 12:00.”
Seeing everyone nod at Mr. Gadel’s words, it seemed it wasn't an unreasonable demand. Traversing ten floors in two hours. It was a speed the old me could never have dreamed of.
But thanks to the wings I obtained in Roanmarie, I felt I could keep up with their pace.
“How about you, young man? Can you keep up?”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
I took off my top and manifested the Gargoyle wings from my back.
Flap—
“Oho, now this is interesting… Wait, are those Gargoyle wings?”
“You recognized them?”
“We used to be based in Roanmarie, after all.”
“Is that so? Then why did you come to Calax…?”
Roanmarie had more explorers and, naturally, far better amenities. In terms of general living, Roanmarie was likely several times more advanced.
“We followed Marta to Calax. These guys just followed me.”
“Aha….”
He moved his entire base of operations for Auntie Marta. It was a remarkable display of pure devotion.
“Alright, enough small talk. Shall we head out?”
Mr. Bontes began to tense his body, just like last time.
Pffft—
‘Is that really necessary to activate the skill?’
Just like before, Mr. Bontes let out a loud, healthy burst of gas. As the giant cat emerged from his back, he climbed onto it with practiced ease.
I could understand Mr. Bontes’s movement speed since he rode a swift cat, but I wondered about the others.
“Hey, you. Bontes. Scoot forward a bit.”
“Who’s Bontes?”
To my surprise, all three of them—excluding Father—sat in a row atop the cat. It was quite a sight.
“Roland! Aren't you getting on?”
“I’ve got this to ride!”
Father extended his arms toward me with a beaming smile.
“Ah.”
* * *
‘They’re incredibly fast.’
Mr. Gadel was a mage, so he wasn't particularly large, but he was still a sturdy man. Mr. Gerick and Mr. Bontes were tall and muscular, yet even with the three of them on its back, the cat moved at an incredible speed.
However, it wasn't a speed I couldn't match. In fact, if I pushed myself, I felt I could even overtake them. Even considering that, it was impressive. Mr. Bontes played a huge role in this.
Thud!
“Send us to the 8th Floor.”
“Yes! Understood!”
I skillfully folded my wings in mid-air and landed at the 7th Floor Base. Father flashed his Cobalt-grade Explorer’s Plate at the portal keeper with practiced ease. Shortly after, the cat arrived as well.
“Alright, let’s go. 8th Floor.”
“Oh! We’re lucky today!”
Amazingly, we reached the 8th Floor in just one hour. Part of it was luck, landing near the next transition point, but their raw speed was undeniable.
It was a pace I couldn't have imagined in the past.
“Everyone, what are we doing for food?”
“There’s plenty to eat once we hit the 3rd Stratum. We’ll just starve a bit through the 2nd Stratum, then head up to the 21st Floor and pick some fruit or something.”
“In that case, I’ll go hunt a few Wild Boars.”
“You’re going to carry them? They’ll be heavy.”
“It’s fine. I have a skill that lets me carry them easily.”
Ding!
“That’s wonderful! Should we wait for you at the base?”
“Yes. Father, would you like to join them?”
“No! I’m coming with you! I need to see how you handle your sword!”
“Understood.”
And so, the other three headed to the base first. I planned to store about three Wild Boars before heading back. I didn't think I’d really need to use my sword, though.
Holding Father in my arms, I flew over the forest and scanned the area. Fortunately, I spotted a spot where three Wild Boars were gathered.
“Father, I’m going to land.”
“Right. Got it!”
I momentarily retracted my wings and increased my body weight to descend rapidly. Before hitting the ground, I redeployed my wings to slow down and landed instantly in front of the Wild Boars.
“How do you want to do this?”
“Why don't you try taking two? I’ll handle one.”
Father brandished a sword that was longer than he was tall, which hung at his waist. Curiously, he wore it on his right hip instead of his left. Was he left-handed?
“Hup.”
Father unfastened the sword, scabbard and all, and suddenly tossed it onto the ground.
“Watch closely. If we’re going to coordinate later, you need to see how I fight.”
“Yes, sir.”
Clatter—
The sword lay on the ground. Father closed his eyes for a moment, then shifted his gaze toward the Wild Boars.
‘The sword…?’
Suddenly, Father’s sword fell from the air above a Wild Boar. Using the skill he had shown me before, he had manifested his arm above the boar, which was at least 50 meters away.
Click—!
He grabbed the falling hilt, drew the blade, and—
Slash—
In an instant, he severed the Wild Boar’s neck.
“That skill is….”
“Portal. I can summon a portal, one meter in size in any direction, anywhere within 300 meters.”
“That’s incredible.”
He used the Portal skill to drop the sword above the Wild Boar. Then, he opened another portal to thrust his arm through, caught the falling sword, and decapitated the beast in a flash.
Father’s arms were shorter than the blade, making it look difficult to draw the sword completely from its scabbard, but since he could change the position of his hand anywhere using the skill, it wasn't an issue.
“Then, if you push your body through the Portal skill, can't you move 300 meters at a time…?”
“I can't give up the wings.”
“..Well, that’s true.”
He had a point.
“Now, what about you?”
“I should get to it as well.”
I slammed the tail protruding from my lower back into the ground and propelled myself forward like a spring. I closed the distance to the two remaining Wild Boars in an instant. They were currently panicking, seeing their companion’s head suddenly fall off.
Boom!
I manifested Draconium—the biological metal I had received from Iris—around my fist and slammed it into a Wild Boar’s head like a sledgehammer.
Squeal!!
Both died instantly. Using the mouth at the tip of my tail, I stored their carcasses and returned.
“Oh..! Can you pull those things you just ate back out?”
“Yes, I can.”
“What a magnificent skill! Let’s go!”
The Wild Boar hunt took less than twenty minutes. When we returned to the base, the others had already arrived.
“You caught the Wild Boars?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Great! Let’s head down!”
We traversed the 9th Floor without any major incidents. In one hour and forty minutes, we reached the 10th Floor Base.
“Let’s aim for about six hours for the 2nd Stratum.”
“Sounds good. I’d hate to eat dinner in a gloomy place like this.”
Taking a total of eight hours to reach the 21st Floor.
‘That’s incredible.’
They were definitely Cobalt Grade. I’d have to think carefully about how to handle things with Theodora later.
“Ah, young man. Did you say the 18th Floor was your limit?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“I heard the 2nd Stratum Boss is still alive. Do you want to take a look?”
“Hmm….”
The Lich. I really did need to see that bastard’s face at least once.
“Would that be alright?”
“It doesn't matter to us!”
“Then… alright. I actually have a reason to take down the Lich.”
“Really? I don't know what’s going on, but I hope it works out!”
“Thank you.”
I had delayed killing the Lich for too long. It wasn't my intention, but I had simply become too strong.
‘I wonder how he’ll react.’