Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: The Warrior Provides Counseling
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Balak sent Kairl and Pepira to the training hall, then pondered the newly arrived Elfriede alongside Orek.
"Little bro, about that knife-ear who stirred up chaos in the mini-dungeon this time—any idea who she might be?"
"Honestly, I have no clue. The spirits of nature just kept saying things like 'deceiver' or 'bad guy.'"
So, who the hell is she?
Well, whatever. The Empire barely opens the path to the dungeon, and bam—a powerhouse shows up!
This is getting really exciting!
Plus, this new knife-ear woman was no slouch.
Sure, she wasn't in her right mind during the fight, but even setting that aside, she blocked every single spirit attack.
And that mysterious power at the end!
I'm getting more and more curious about just what this knife-ear is.
Balak glanced slyly at Pepira, the culprit who egged Orek into fighting her in the first place. Unable to meet his gaze, she let out a heavy sigh, clearly guilty.
"…Fine, I admit it. I did goad Orek. So if you're curious, I'll tell you."
"Alright, then spill about this new knife-ear."
"There's an elven kingdom out there somewhere. The one who came in this time is their queen—name's Elfriede Nor Errios. She was the elves' strongest spirit swordsman and spirit archer."
Pepira knew an awful lot about this knife-ear.
But why would a queen show up alone without her guards?
And Pepira's eyes seemed lost in dark memories.
Uh…? H-Hold on!
This could turn into a boring, pretentious backstory dump!
So Balak cut her off before she could start.
"Ugh… fine, I admit it. I'm not that interested in other people's pasts either."
"Exactly! That's the stuff! But if you really wanna say it, sum it up in three lines."
"Uh… um… er…"
Pepira racked her brain and condensed her history with the queen into three lines.
"So, basically, this knife-ear queen was your old contractor, she sold you out to save her own skin, and she never even came to rescue you until everything was over?"
"Yeah…"
Oof.
A past deeper than I imagined.
Of course, in cases this heavy, you should hear both sides—but this doesn't feel like something a third party should butt into.
Let the knife-ears and spirits sort out their own mess. What's more important is that Orek faced off against a powerhouse like that!
So!!!
"Little bro, you're free to fight however you want in the mini-dungeon from now on."
"R-Really? You mean it?"
"Of course. Just make sure to stay objective about yourself while you do."
"Thank you so much!! Big bro!"
Heh, does getting my approval mean that much to you?
Afterward, Orek and Pepira headed back into the mini-dungeon, and Balak turned on the video magic tool to check the new entrants.
**************
A quick survey of recent dungeon challengers showed a sharp spike in knife-ears.
And—
'No, if you're gonna suck that bad, go solo!'
'So much enthusiasm, but if you're weak, this is what happens…'
'Dead again?!"
The trolls were overwhelmingly knife-ears too.
Everyone knew they weren't intentional trolls, but in Balak's dungeon, the moment even one party member drops out, the difficulty skyrockets with no mercy.
That's why if you're not up to snuff, you stick to the mini-dungeon!
But with them flooding in like this, could elf hate start brewing in the dungeon?
And yup!!
He could practically hear every community board exploding!!
● Title: Knife-ears flooding the dungeon are itching for a stab—upvotes if you agree.
● Author: RomanceInHighSeungcheon (989.123)
● They say incompetent but enthusiastic new hires wreck the office, right? Isn't this the same mess?
└ My parties have wiped four times in a row because of those pointy-eared freaks.
└ Weird thing about knife-ears—they're supposed to live over a thousand years. Shouldn't they be better than humans at everything? Why are they so damn weak?
└ Elves used to have this insanely advanced civilization, but they lost the First Great War to the demons. Most of their powerhouses died, their combat tech got lost, and then the Second Great War hit……
└ Explainer guy's here again.
└ Probably just species balance. Doesn't excuse wiping my party though.
└ Newbie here—can't we just exclude knife-ears?
└ Author) This game's so damn realistic that excluding them racks up karma like crazy.
In such a hyper-realistic game, the players' suffering was all too palpable.
Exclude knife-ears from parties, and you're picking a fight with a major race!
This would spawn the RPG killer: fixed parties!!
Situations like this for sure!
"Uh… c-can I join your—"
"Sorry, we're a fixed party!"
"Then how about—"
"This is a pickup group."
Ah… the essence of RPG rot: connections.
Veterans shunning newbies in a cesspool of stale water.
But there was nothing Balak could do!
Newbies should train quietly in the mini-dungeon until the knife-ears wise up. No choice but to wait!
Hang in there, challengers!
He passed the time crunching more entrant stats.
Then the little kitty suddenly came to him.
"B-Balak!"
"Hm? What brings you here?"
"Um, could I get some counseling? Got a minute?"
Counseling?
Has this kid had anything to worry about lately?
Well, she came straight to me, so I should at least hear her out.
Balak turned off the video tool, sat down, and listened to the little kitty.
"First off, Balak! Thank you so much! I can feel myself getting stronger every day!"
"That's because I tailored the training schedule just for you. But if you ever feel like you can't get up the next day, tell me right away."
"I-It happens every day…"
"Oh dear… if we really pushed to your absolute limit, you wouldn't even dream of complaining."
"Eeek?!"
The real trick is stopping just before the true limit—where you can't even get up.
That's one of the training methods old man taught me.
"So, that's not the whole counseling session, right? What's really up?"
"Actually… I have something to say about my tribe."
"About the Nyaotribe?"
The little kitty told him about her kind.
"The Nyaotribe were one of the weakest tribes even in Bestria?"
"Yes! So we got bullied a ton by the other races…"
That's why she called bad guys the ones Karien talked about with the catfolk before?
Then the little kitty got to her real point.
"It makes me so sad that my tribe's such a weak one. But! Since coming here, I see a path forward!"
"Don't tell me… little kitty, you?"
"Y-Yes! If you allow it, Balak, I want to bring my friends here!"
Oh ho, this little kitty.
Not just thinking of herself, but her tribe's future?
Now that's some real potential.
Balak mulled over her request.
Lately, with few challengers, things were boring.
"What can you offer me in return?"
"Ughhh…"
Everything in the world runs on give and take.
Sworn brothers Ferguson and Orek train with me because they've pledged to stick it out here to the end.
Damphir has hidden boss talent, so I scouted her first.
Ophelia married Anima, she's a doll who powered up massively with the click, and she's a smart daughter-in-law handling her own gigs.
But this ridiculously weak kid?
Sure, she's Damphir's friend now, and commendably came to me on her own, so I'm training her.
But what obligation do I have to raise a bunch of catfolk… ahem!
No duty at all.
As time passed and she realized she had nothing to offer, the little kitty sighed deeply.
"Thinking it over, I realize I said something stupid. I'm so sorry…"
"Don't beat yourself up. I'm actually considering your request positively."
"Huh? R-Really?"
"Kid, you never know how things'll turn out."
Just like Orek suddenly became mini-dungeon manager, manpower needs pop up out of nowhere.
Sure, could ask the Demon King or dungeon merchants, but.
Clinging to them too much is a bad move.
So this kid could be the answer to some sudden dungeon crisis.
"Just keep training with Damphir and wait patiently."
"B-Balak! Thank you so much!"
"Now train even harder."
"Got it!"
Seeing her brimming with motivation felt good.
She had one more question, apparently.
"Balak! Balak!"
"Yeah, what's up."
"I heard from Kairl that the dungeon bosses' meeting is coming up soon. Does that mean everyone here goes?"
"Good question. This time, it's just me and my sworn brothers."
"Huh…? So Kairl and Ophelia stay behind?"
"Yep."
No clue what'll go down there, so weak Damphir can't come at all.
Ophelia hates crowds of intelligent beings anyway, so it's me, Ferguson, and Orek—three of us.
"Ooh! Then can I invite Kairl and Ophelia to my village!"
"To your village, kid?"
"Yes!
The dungeon's closing for about 12 hours anyway, so they could visit for a bit, no issue.
Karien said the meeting's really soon too.
Just tell me the damn date already.
Teasing with hype and no follow-up is frustrating!
Anyway, the little kitty left the counseling beaming, heading to the training hall.
Time to check those entrant stats again.
But shortly after, that knife-ear queen Orek fought showed up already.
Eyes full of fire, yeah! Hurry up and come to me!
I'm looking forward to our fight!