Chapter 189: Who Exactly Is He?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 189: Who Exactly Is He?
“Science is all for naught.”
Stepping onto the 38th floor, I saw magical battle drones buzzing through the air, seemingly powered by sorcery. It didn't matter much to me, though, since I possessed the mana core with magic-nullification properties I’d looted from the 35th floor.
—Vroom!
The moment I stepped through the portal, a strange drone beside me began charging something. I let it hit me just to test it; the impact was powerful enough that an explorer with low defense would have been seriously injured.
Clatter…
As their magic was nullified, the drones lost functionality and tumbled to the floor. Perhaps it was because I was getting the hang of it, but I’d figured out how to narrow the range of the nullification field.
Before, other people on the same floor were inadvertently benefiting from it, but not anymore.
“Gah! W-What the?!”
“Don’t worry, I’m an explorer.”
I rarely ran into people, but every time I did, they reacted like this. It’s not like I’m a monster or anything. If they keep acting like this, they might actually hurt my feelings.
“Phew…! You gave me a heart attack. You active here in Calax?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“A Cobalt Grade, huh? Which clan are you with?”
“I’m unaffiliated.”
“Oho! Unaffiliated! That can’t be easy. If you’re interested, come find us at Cedrus. We’ll take you into our clan.”
The explorer, who looked like an ordinary middle-aged man, pressed something like a business card into my hand and went on his way. Is this the normal reaction to seeing an unaffiliated Cobalt Grade? Back in Calax, I’d become something of a public enemy because of that shitty little alliance, so it seemed no one was interested in recruiting me unless they were a massive clan like the Mayerbridge Union.
And besides, hadn't I just finished butchering their leaders before coming down here?
“A clan, huh.”
I tucked the card into my storage artifact for now and headed toward the next inter-floor portal.
* * *
“That’s Aven, right…?”
“It certainly looks like him….”
On the second-floor terrace of a cafe along the main road leading to the Northwest Branch Guild. Beyond the wide mana screen stretched across the curved outer wall of the guild building, Yoo Eon’s figure was being broadcast.
“I’m glad they fixed the transmission artifact error so quickly!”
“Though we did miss seeing Aven on the 37th floor because of it,” Ravi added, munching on a piece of cake Alfi had bought for her.
The culprit was the irregular entity of the Anti-Magica Colossus, originally created to neutralize the recording and transmission artifacts on the 35th floor. Though unintentional, Yoo Eon had consumed that mid-boss’s mana core and proceeded while using its magic-nullification ability.
“But why did the errors only happen on the floors Yoo Eon was passing through…?”
“I wonder.”
Until he learned the trick to narrowing the magic-nullification range, his actions from the 35th to the 37th floor had gone unrecorded.
“That aside, the Young Master truly possesses unique skills.”
“I told you, didn’t I? It’s even more intense when you see it in person. An ordinary person would probably faint from the shock,” Theodora said.
Alfi was seeing Yoo Eon in a combat state for the first time. She had seen scenes of him sprouting Queen Arachne’s legs from his back or using gargoyle wings before, but still.
“Alfi, weren't you an explorer before too?”
“That is correct. Though it was only for a short period.”
Alfi possessed an Aerial Combat Technician License and a decent amount of combat power. She had originally belonged to the Battlefang Clan—a group of ill-mannered beastkin in Roanmarie—but she had since turned over a new leaf and was working as a servant for the Lymain family. She was now in her late twenties, and that was a story from about ten years ago.
“You could say it’s thanks to the Chairwoman.”
“My mom used to be quite the high-flyer back in the day, too.”
“Really?!”
Ravi asked, sounding completely surprised as if she’d never heard this before. While Alfi wiped the whipped cream off the corner of Ravi’s mouth, Theodora began telling a story from when she was barely ten years old.
“She was strong. She used to go out and collect… I mean, recruit beastkin to work under her personally.”
“Wow, I had no idea. She looks so young. Come to think of it, Sera, weren't both of your parents explorers too?”
“Huh? Oh, right… My dad is still an explorer.”
“If it’s Sera’s father….”
Theodora briefly recalled her time at the Mounted Goat Inn. If it was Sera’s father, wasn't he that man she’d met back then?
“I was born in Calax, but I heard they both worked as explorers in Roanmarie.”
“Is that so? What was their grade?”
“I’m not sure about my mom, but my dad is Cobalt Grade. I only heard about my mom being an explorer in passing from my dad; she never talks about it herself….”
“Heh, I see. If they’re from the same generation, they might know each other.”
“Is Miss Sera’s father famous?”
Sera pondered Alfi’s question for a moment. Was her dad famous? Sera had lived in the Labyrinth City for nearly twenty years now, so she wasn't entirely sure, but she’d heard that Roanmarie was much larger and had far more explorers.
No matter how famous a Cobalt-grade explorer was, how famous could they really be?
“From what I’ve heard when he’s been drinking, he claimed everyone in Southeast Roanmarie knew who he was….”
“The Southeast isn't exactly a wealthy district. If he was Cobalt Grade, his earnings should have been decent?”
“Um… I think he said he went around punishing bad people…?”
At Sera’s uncertain words, Alfi flinched slightly. Wasn't the building of her former clan, the Battlefang—a group of delinquent beastkin—located in the Southeast, where many relatively low-grade explorers lived?
“Still, they came to Calax over twenty years ago. Their active periods probably don't overlap.”
“I suppose so.”
“Ah! Yoo Eon is moving to the 40th floor!”
It was already 6:00 PM. For some reason, Yoo Eon was running non-stop without sleeping. Because of his striking appearance, he tended to get more screen time than others.
—Is that guy really human?
—I’m not sure.
Even the people standing in the street watching the screens were focused on Yoo Eon’s progress. Reaching the 40th floor just 18 hours after the start of the event was an incredible record.
The left side of the split transmission screens showed the lower floors, while the few high-grade explorers who had reached the 30th floor or higher were shown on the right. Thanks to the Lymain family’s overwhelming wealth, the four of them had secured a spot in a cafe with a great view and had been watching since midnight.
“I heard the 40th-floor boss is still alive. Surely he’s not going to fight it?”
“The Young Master must have a plan; he’ll likely head straight for the inter-floor portal.”
“Sigh, I asked him to go into the labyrinth with me. When did he get so strong?”
“If you can just master the Divine Beast Power, My Lady, you’ll be able to catch up to him.”
“Easier said than done.”
Theodora let out a deep sigh. She watched Yoo Eon as he entered the 40th floor and began traversing its vast interior.
“…Wait, where is he going?”
“It looks like he’s heading south.”
“Eh, he just passed the portal.”
Ravi mumbled with a dazed expression, stuffing cake into her mouth. Guarding the entrance to the ancient temple ruins at the southernmost tip of the 40th floor was the ‘Master Guardian Knight’—a guardian and annihilation magic golem that was the culmination of ancient sorcery.
Naturally, it was far from the inter-floor portal, and if his goal was to descend quickly to the 41st floor, there was no reason to head to the southern tip.
“No way.”
“Surely not…?”
* * *
—Thump!
“Now Gundams are showing up.”
Since I’d made it to the 40th floor anyway, it would be a shame not to at least say hello to the boss. Normally, I wouldn't go around butchering every floor boss on my way down. After all, they’re much stronger than the other monsters on their floors and require a lot of preparation for battle.
—Creeeeak…
It was a magic golem made of rare metal, with a white base and yellow light leaking from within. Its craftsmanship was on a completely different level from other golems patched together from appropriately sized rocks. The mid-boss on the 35th floor had been intimidating due to its sheer size.
But in the end, its construction was just a regular golem scaled up about ten times.
‘It looks cool.’
Its angular yet sleek design appealed to a man’s sense of romance. Unlike the others made of rounded stones, this was a two-meter-tall humanoid golem modeled closely after the human form.
I pulled my sword and shield from my storage artifact and took a combat stance.
—Whirring…!
Flash!
A mechanical sound echoed, and yellow lights flickered across its entire body. I didn't know its name, but it definitely gave off a Gundam vibe. Not an old-school one, but one of those flashy modern ones.
“I like it. Sword and shield, huh?”
The golem, which had been standing still, drew its own weapons the moment I raised mine. As expected of a creature made of rare metal, its equipment was also crafted from a brilliant white rare metal.
Seeing as it didn't attack first, it seemed quite polite. I suppose I should show some courtesy as well.
Clang!
“This is the Knight’s Oath. You probably don't know it, but… hm?”
But then, something strange happened.
“What the?”
The golem perfectly mimicked the Knight’s Oath, then sheathed its weapon and stepped aside.
“What’s this?”
It then bowed politely and extended its right hand, gesturing toward the entrance of the temple.
“You’re telling me to go in?”
I wasn't sure if it understood me, but it nodded. No, it must have understood to react like that.
“Um, thanks. What a weird guy.”
* * *
“What was that…?”
“I’m not sure either….”
Naturally, the surface world was in a panic. There had been cases where people defeated the Master Guardian Knight to force open the temple entrance, but this was the first time the Master Guardian Knight had personally cleared the way and opened the door.
“Miss Sera, what kind of person is Young Master Aven?”
“I… I don't really know either….”
