Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: 11. First Collaboration (5)
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Sudden dungeons could appear anytime, anywhere, true to their name.
Even Ian didn't know about every single one.
Memory Correction didn't reveal everything, either.
Thus, handling sudden dungeons fell entirely to the cities or nations overseeing those areas.
The "search teams" were regional standing units created for precisely that purpose—one of their roles, at least.
By the time the search team discovered the E-rank sudden dungeon, monsters had already spilled out.
The silver lining was that the monsters from this dungeon had extremely low mobility.
Even though they'd started emerging quite a while ago, they hadn't spread far.
-Thung!
The search squad leader went flying far away.
The monster—a cave lizard—had whipped its tail and smacked him.
Low mobility, but tough hide and immense strength.
Even sprawled on the ground looking small, it was bigger than an adult man.
Its head came up to knee height on a person.
"Squad leader! Are you all right?!"
Another squad member blocked in front of him and thrust out his spear.
The spearhead's best effort was scraping the tough hide.
The superhuman search squad leader could handle F-rank monsters somehow, but E-rank was beyond him.
Such was the limit for a superhuman who lacked any real talent or strength.
'Hero support hasn't arrived yet...'
It had been some time since the messenger galloped off to the team tackling a nearby E-rank dungeon.
Holding out until they arrived was their job, but even that was no easy task.
"Argh!"
Exhausted squad members fell one after another.
They were weaker superhumans than the squad leader, so the outcome was inevitable.
-Churruk...
Drooling toxic saliva, the lizard crawled sluggishly toward one squad member.
The squad leader flung himself forward, scooped up the member, and dragged him away.
But low on stamina himself, he collapsed mid-escape, tumbling down with the other man.
"Squad leader... I messed up..."
"Don't say unlucky crap like that."
A growing pack of cave lizards closed in on them before long.
He'd said the words, but he knew there was no hope left.
'Is this it...?'
Just as defeat and resignation weighed heavy.
-Kwa-duk!
An ice spear plummeted down.
Tower-like in size, the massive ice spear plunged vertically, smashing the lizards positioned around them.
So enormous, one spear pulverized several at once.
"Wha..."
And it wasn't just one.
Multiple ice spears targeted the cave lizards surrounding them.
"A mage... A mage is here!"
"S-seems like it... But what kind of magic is this..."
That was far from over.
Far off, at the passageway where monsters poured from the sudden dungeon, massive lightning rained down relentlessly.
The squad leader had once aspired to be a hero but given up long ago.
As such, he took great interest in heroes and had met several thanks to his job.
To him, magic this powerful was utterly alien.
'...Thunderbolt? Why would a mage of that caliber be here...'
Cave lizards burst apart under lightning strikes that seemed to upheave the earth.
The firepower was so overwhelming they didn't burn or scorch—they simply exploded.
Watching the spells, the squad leader felt puzzled.
'Thunderbolt falls from the sky, but that spawned vertically from a magic circle in mid-air... Could it be Lightning Bolt...? Is something like that even possible?'
The distant bolts heated even the air here.
"Must be one hell of a mage. Can't even see them yet..."
"Wasn't the nearby dungeon E-rank?"
"Yes."
The squad leader puzzled further.
This wasn't firepower for just clearing an E-rank...
"Are you okayyyy?!"
A thunderous shout echoed from afar as a girl with windswept orange hair came sprinting in.
Her outfit and gear marked her unmistakably as a priestess.
Trailing her was a woman who screamed "mage"—a massive conical hat draped over her upper body, her face flushed as red as her hair, as she ran.
"Those are serious injuries!"
The orange-haired priestess began healing right away upon closing in.
"Thank you. I'm Malcolm, leader of Superbia Search Squad 5..."
"Don't talk! It'll reopen the wounds!"
"......"
A squad member asked in his stead.
"We truly appreciate it. Are you the heroes who came after the messenger?"
"Yes! I'm Helena!"
The arriving red-haired mage donned her hat.
Malcolm realized why she'd covered her upper body while running.
'Must be tough to run like that...'
The red-haired mage's companions arrived alongside her.
An elf, a silver-haired maid with her eyes covered, a scholarly girl with braided pigtails, and a man who looked more villain than hero.
A bizarre lineup, leaving the squad leader struggling to pick out the heroes.
'That guy's the warrior, I bet... but the maid? What the hell?'
"I'm good now—please tend to the squad members."
"Got it!"
A cave lizard slipping through the encirclement came into view.
A hole had opened on another side.
"Ah! Monster...!"
As Helena floundered, the apparent warrior man spoke up.
"Helena, stay focused on healing. Vivian, block them from escaping first."
"Yes."
Malcolm staggered to his feet and approached the man, who seemed both warrior and leader.
"I'm Malcolm, leader of Superbia Search Squad 5."
"Ian."
"Thank you for the support, Hero Ian."
"...Ah, I'm not a hero."
"Pardon?"
"I'm this party's manager."
Ian.
A name that rang familiar.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Helena's healing had improved even further.
More than when they'd checked at the training center.
Far beyond merely above average.
Even right after clearing a dungeon and bone-tired, her condition was far better.
The reason was obvious.
She wasn't fatigued—Helena was utterly locked in on this moment.
Perhaps reminded of her village nearly falling.
Or the thrill from the dungeon they'd just cleared lingered.
Vivian was in much the same state.
Pouring out absurd firepower, yet her mana control was precise and delicate.
Another confirmation that both shone far brighter in real combat.
Ian asked Malcolm, who pondered gravely.
"Monsters anywhere else besides here?"
"Yes. We've spread search teams wide around the dungeon."
The most basic response to a sudden dungeon.
Encircling to keep monsters contained.
After getting locations from Malcolm, I sent Kati.
[Cleanup finished.] They hadn't spread far, so Kati returned quickly.
"Fortunately, no fatalities, and nowhere else had this many monsters."
"Pardon? How do you..."
I tapped the ring and gave a short explanation.
"Artifact. Anyway, survivors will head here..."
Mid-conversation, Kati returned.
The injured had recovered enough to move on their own, and all cave lizards outside were cleared.
"We'll start the dungeon now."
"Y-, y-, yes. Understood."
Malcolm snapped out of his artifact-induced daze.
"A few will stand by outside, just in case."
Malcolm swiftly reorganized: sent those needing more care away, gathered the fit ones.
Meanwhile, I called Vivian and Helena.
"No time to dawdle—quick rundown, then in."
"Yes."
"Yes!"
"This dungeon forks too. Problem: paths never merge. Even the final room's split."
V-shaped forks all the way to the boss chamber.
No boss monster here, but some other form—no room for teamwork anyway.
"Your skills could clear either solo no problem. But paths stay separate to the end, so who I tag along with is the issue..."
Vivian and Helena locked eyes.
"Me..."
Before Helena could finish.
"I'll go solo."
Vivian spoke first.
"Ah... No! Vivian, you..."
"Vivian spoke first—done. I'll go with Helena. In exchange, Kati and Mercy stick with Vivian. Never know."
"Yes. Got it."
Cave lizards still tried crawling out nonstop, so they hurried in.
A few returned search team members spotted them and murmured.
"...Those the heroes? Kinda a crowd."
"Only the two at the back are heroes."
"Two handling this...? What rank?"
Doubtful, given the low headcount.
Malcolm shut it down immediately.
"You punks muttering shit about the folks here to help?"
"......"
"Everyone who just mumbled—heads to the dirt, now. You stay latest. Clear?"
Leaving the minor uproar, they entered the sudden dungeon.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Ian kept briefing on the dungeon right up to the fork.
Most crucial: the monsters.
Cave lizards often clung flat to passage walls or ceilings.
Hide color and texture mimicked the cave surfaces—extra caution required.
Temporary heroes frequently met screaming ends, ambushed by ceiling-droppers during a split-second lapse.
Don't slack vigilance; they hid in wall-floor cracks too, Ian stressed.
At the fork, Ian emphasized again.
"Ceilings, walls, wall or floor cracks—all careful. They're sluggish, so push ahead and you might get hit from behind."
Aimed at Vivian.
Helena was with Ian anyway—no need there.
That earnest worry laced with impatience secretly pleased Vivian.
Even knowing her own pettiness.
"Yes. I'll be super careful."
"You'll nail it, Vivian! Don't get hurt!"
"You too, Helena."
"First to arrive wins!"
"Oi, Mercy. This ain't a race."
"Can't lose!"
"Told you, not a race?"
"Ah! Really?!"
Helena, Ian, and Iris took the left path.
Vivian, Kati, and Mercy entered right.
◆◆◆ Even knowing the setup suited Vivian perfectly, Ian cautioned care repeatedly.
Real combat meant the unexpected; he couldn't help worrying.
The worry proved needless.
As predicted, the dungeon was primed for Vivian.
"Oho..."
Mercy marveled from behind.
Dropping from ceilings or ambushing from cracks.
All pointless.
The "Auto-Intercept Magic Construct" from their prior artifact handled cave lizard ambushes on its own.
Vivian's monstrous Lightning Bolts lancing from the cloud-shaped construct struck only lizards with pinpoint accuracy.
No risk to Mercy or Kati.
That was enemy detection for you.
Her own power, yet Vivian couldn't help marveling.
'Handles stuff I didn't even notice...'
She felt anew just how incredible artifacts were.
Vivian's job? Advance and zap any visible cave lizards.
The artifact even reacted to drooling saliva.
-Bang!
A mid-air plummeting lizard evaporated with its spit.
Vivian glanced up and grinned in satisfaction.
'All thanks to Ian...'
Without Ian, she'd never have dreamed such feats.
"At this rate, first place!"
Mercy teased from the rear.
Vivian giggled, then replied with gusto.
"Yeah! I'll do even better!"
◆◆◆ Helena asked gravely just before the passage.
"Ian."
"Yeah?"
"Do we gotta clear this as fast as possible?"
"Hmm... We're blocking the paths now, so no desperate rush. But no point dragging it out."
"I... wanna try something."
"What?"
"Um, hard to explain... Pushing the path with a barrier..."
Ian couldn't visualize it.
Dungeon fight experiment? No reason to nix it.
"Sure, go wild. I'll cover the rear. Still, no slacking."
"Yes...! Got it!"
Helena spread a broad barrier, tweaking its shape and size slowly.
To fit the passage.
Then Ian got it—what she wanted to try.
"Waaaah-!"
Helena shaped the barrier to the passage's exact width, then charged forward, shoving ahead.
Cave lizards on walls and ceiling swept up, hurled wildly.
A bona fide bulldozer scooping monsters.
Repulsion bounced them far—only to smash into the oncoming barrier, repeating the cycle.
Ian gave a wry chuckle at the brutish solution.
'Repulsion attacks exist, sure... but like this...'
Helena tore through the dungeon at ferocious speed.
Crack stragglers? Ian's job.
Iris jotted notes watching Helena tank ahead like a chariot.
'Priest barriers viable offensively too...'
◆◆◆ Malcolm and his squad held the dungeon entrance firm.
Earlier loose-lips still bowed with heads planted.
"What's going on inside...?"
One search member asked.
Massive roars leaked out soon after entry.
Lightning ripping air, shattering walls.
And some colossal thing grinding earth in a full-force charge—sound hard to even imagine...
"Remarkable heroes. They pull off the unimaginable."
E-rank clear aside, Malcolm was certain.
They'd surpassed that realm already.
As they waited, distant hill-climbers appeared.
Villagers from nearby farms.
"Malcolm! You hurt?"
The lead elder asked.
Malcolm knew him from repeated patrols.
"Elder, what brings you? Ah, priestess healed me and all the wounded."
"What kind of question? Heroes came to help—we gotta give thanks."
"Ahaha..."
"But why these soldiers like that?"
"They badmouthed 'only two heroes'..."
"Tsk tsk. Days more like this, then."
Blood rushing, eyes near-popping, yet those soldiers couldn't rise.
But "just two" made villagers uneasy too.
Sensible reaction.
Hero parties minimum three, even smallest.
Reading it, Malcolm grinned.
"No worries. Those two are plenty."
Villagers relaxed then.
Malcolm sketched their feats; folks gathered expectantly for the heroes.
Crowd formed outside, awaiting Ian's party.
◆◆◆ Supers: 1% of population.
Heroes: 1% of supers.
Official heroes: 1% of heroes.
Only they challenged C-rank+ dungeons.
Top SS-rank heroes: five parties.
S-rank below: ten.
A-rank: two digits.
In other words, A-rank dungeons were blindfolded strolls for the 1st Hero Party atop all.
In that A-rank, Aria got hurt.
"......"
She blankly rolled up her sleeve, eyed her forearm.
Laughable "injury."
Minor scrape from a playing kid's tumble.
Ian's custom nun habit, enchant-stacked tougher than plate.
Bare skin? Minor tear at worst.
Aria could heal that with a breath.
Point wasn't that.
She'd allowed injury at all.
Not solely Sylvia's absence.
Complacency. Arrogance.
Confusion.
Aria had seemed mentally unmoored since entry.
Head stuffed with envy, regret for the unattainable.
Each miracle ballooned thoughts of him.
A nagging itch unfelt in his presence.
Kept evoking Ian.
"......"
"Aria..."
Kaily called, laced with turmoil.
"1st Party title feels too lavish now."
Beatrice sneered.
Aria didn't retort.
"...I'm fine."
Not serious.
Dungeon cleared.
No reason not to be.
She rose smiling, eyed the lofty magic stone.
That one? Hers if wanted.
Anytime.
So no craving.
But reminders of the impossible soured it.
All three had to face it now.
The faint rift had sharpened.
That rift was Ian's empty spot.
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