In Raids, Ally Composition Matters

"Heh-heh."

Brigit let out a pleased snort through her nose.

"Heh-heh. Gong Ryun. You little bastard."

"What's gotten into you?"

She pressed herself right up against his back, clinging to him with deliberate closeness. Through the fabric of their clothes, the hard muscle and soft flesh of her body pressed against him without the slightest pretense of subtlety.

"You've gotten pretty damn good, haven't you? Last time I saw you, you were a total baby."

"I've always been a fast learner."

"Your combat instincts have sharpened up a lot too. Honestly, when you suddenly popped out of nowhere I was a little startled."

"Hmph. Comes with doing mercenary work every day."

"Keh-heh-heh. Well, you are ridiculously diligent."

Dependable, hardworking, and full of growth potential. Those had always been, from ancient times to the present day, extremely solid attractions.

"Heh-heh. You little punk… what a good boy you've become. Who are you trying to marry, getting this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠well-behaved?"

"Speaking of which, is anyone hurt? Whew, that hydra was seriously aggressive."

"Looks like this big sister needs to give you a nice, juicy reward, doesn't she?"

"Ah. Now that I think of it, where the hell did this hydra even come from? I should check the ventilation shafts."

"Tsk."

Gong Ryun peered into the ventilation opening.

It was set into the ceiling, though, so looking inside properly was nearly impossible. He considered climbing up for a better look, but without the ability to jump that high he gave up on the idea.

So he sent Un-rang instead. Un-rang used air-walking to tread upon empty space, rose to the vent, shoved his upper body inside, and scanned the interior with his enhanced vision.

"There's a pit deeper in," he reported.

"A pit?"

"It looked rather like a cave. My guess is that a nearby hydra burrow expanded until it connected with this place."

"Hmm. What should we do about that?"

The survey itself was finished—should they just leave? Or should they pay a visit to the hydra burrow?

"What's there to think about?! Let's go check it out!!"

Brigit declared with absolute confidence.

"Exploring unknown threats is part of a survey mission in the first place! That commission note is just a manual! And if you report a space-locust nest to the planetary government, you get paid whether it's related to the job or not! Even if we just grab a little proof that there's a nest down there, that's bounty money!"

"Can the three of us push through it?"

"We don't have to wipe them all out! We just need to check the threat level and come back! It's a survey, not an extermination!"

"That makes sense."

"And if things go south we just run. What else is light-footwork for?"

"What about me?"

"Keh-heh… Gong Ryun, you… this big sister will specially carry you out in a princess hold… Heh-heh. Count yourself lucky."

"Uh… well, okay. Shall we go, then?"

And so they decided to enter the hydra burrow.

Everyone used air-walking to reach ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the ventilation shaft. Brigit, who had gone up first, hauled Gong Ryun up with a sharp yank. They also retrieved the black box. Unfortunately Gong Ryun couldn't cut it free with palm techniques, so Un-rang pried the iron pillar open with his staff and extracted the device. The black box was stuffed into a backpack.

The ventilation duct was surprisingly spacious for what it was. If they crouched low enough, they could pass through without trouble.

They advanced in single file until a large hole yawned open in the side wall. Beyond it, a tunnel had been carved out like a natural cave.

At first the tunnel was as narrow as the ventilation shaft itself. But the farther they went, the wider it became.

After walking a while they entered a stretch broad enough that they no longer had to duck their heads.

The party pressed steadily onward. The tunnel kept widening.

At the beginning it had felt like a rough, natural cave, but gradually it began to look more like a path. Before long it had become a broad, open space stretching ahead like a mining gallery. And the floor started to grow level.

"Is this really a natural tunnel?"

"Probably not. The early stretch coming out of the vent was dug by hydras, but deeper in this is a mine shaft. Look—the floor's flat. Flat floors mean mines. You have to level the ground to haul rock and dirt."

Exactly as Brigit the civil-engineering expert said, the walls and ceiling were wildly uneven, yet only the floor was smooth.

"A mine right next to the research lab? Did the lab build it?"

"Hmm. Hard to say. Do people usually put a mine next to a research facility? I never cared how planetary exploration worked a few centuries ago, so I don't really know… but if they had high-performance tunneling tech and solid enough bedrock, it's not impossible. Could be an experimental mine for studying the planet's geology."

"Huh. That so?"

"And we've walked quite a ways before hitting any flat ground, so the mine itself might not even be close. The hydras could have just been digging this direction and punched into the lab by accident."

"How did they even connect to it?"

"Well, there's another theory. Some private mining outfit might have started digging right next door without even knowing the lab existed. Small-to-medium mining companies dig half-assed all the time."

"How did the hydras know to come to the lab?"

"Hydras can sense empty spaces underground," Un-rang explained. "That's why they show up in mines so often. They burrow around like moles, and whenever they find a hollow—mines, caves, whatever—they nest there."

That was why hydras appeared without warning. They tunneled through the earth the way earthworms did, moving quietly and deep enough that sensors couldn't catch them. Once even a single one found an empty space and settled in, it laid eggs and built a nest. Then it sent scouts to search for more hollow ground nearby. They repeated the cycle endlessly. So whenever a hydra nest turned up in some forgotten corner of a mine, it was an emergency—it meant the creatures had already spread all through the surrounding area.

It was the same idea as the old saying: if you see even one cockroach, the house is already infested. They've already bred plenty in the places you can't see.

In their present situation, the small hydra they had killed earlier had almost certainly been a scout sent out to expand the nest.

"So that's how it was. A hydra nest had already opened in this mine, and one of the scouts was digging toward the lab looking for extra nesting space. It must have been the one that ate all the canned food."

"It ate every food can and left only the battery packs, so that does seem right."

"Anyway. We're continuing forward for now, yes?"

"If we hold formation there should be no problem."

They ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arranged themselves into formation.

Gong Ryun took the front—the sturdiest tank.

Un-rang held the middle—a damage dealer with long-range staff attacks.

Brigit took the rear—rear defense and wide-area disruption with her shock-step technique.

They stood in a single file.

In a narrow passage like this, enemies had no room to slip through the line.

"Mm. Excellent. With this combination we can hardly lose."

The party advanced just as they were.

-Kiiirrrrrrrr!!!

After they had gone some distance, three hydras came into view.

-Kiirararararara!!!

-Kiiirrrrrrrrrr!!

-Kiiirerererere!!!

The hydras charged toward them in a savage rush.

Gong Ryun's party handled it with practiced ease.

First, Brigit at the rear stamped her shock-step. The moment her foot slammed down, a shockwave raced forward.

The wave ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ignored Un-rang and Gong Ryun entirely and continued ahead, taking effect right beneath the hydras.

-KWAJIJIK!!!

The ground's alignment shifted. The floor under the hydras bucked upward or dropped away like a violently oscillating stock chart. The earth zigzagged up and down—a wide-area technique that gutted mobility.

The beasts' charge fell into chaos. Their momentum collapsed.

Gong Ryun, at the front, tanked the weakened rush with his body.

While he held them, Un-rang smashed the monsters' skulls with his iron staff.

-Keurrr…

In moments the hydras were all dead.

They lay sprawled out, blood pouring from shattered heads.

The combination really was excellent. Tank, damage, and wide-area control—all three elements were present. Adding just one ally with area-disruption ability made the formation far more stable than the phalanx tactics Un-rang and Gong Ryun had used alone last time.

They continued forward, smashing the skull of every hydra they met.

Even when larger groups came at once, the narrow corridor meant only a few could engage simultaneously. Calmly picking them off one by one was enough.

-Kiiirrrrrr!!!

Hydra charge!

-KUNG!!!

Brigit's shock-step!

-KWANG!

Gong Ryun's body tanking!

-PEOSEOK!!!

Un-rang's skull-crushing!

-Kekk-odak.

Dead.

That was the pattern, over and over.

By now everyone felt confident. It wasn't just a good combination—all three of them were solid martial artists with rock-solid fundamentals, so the work was almost easy.

Hydra corpses piled up in their wake.

"We've passed a few forks. They're not going to come from behind, right?"

"Hahaha! Then I'll tank the rear! This big sister is plenty tough! Look at these muscles!"

"Ha-ha-ha! Truly reassuring! At this rate we might clear the whole place!"

They were advancing without resistance when the passage suddenly widened.

Until now they had walked single file; now the corridor was broad enough for all three to stand abreast without trouble.

-Kiirrrrrrrrrr!!!

-Kiirararararara!!!

And then the hydras came. About five of them.

Because the passage was wider, they no longer charged one after another in a line. Instead the whole pack rushed them in a mass.

The old single-file formation was no longer usable.

And that was the moment Gong Ryun stepped forward.

"Hmph. Perfect timing. I'll use that."

"Gong Ryun. Are you truly going to use it?"

"Indeed. Let me show you this body's new technique."

"Ohhh!! Gong Ryun!! What is it!! Did you really learn swordsmanship, you pretty boy!! But where's the sword?"

Gong Ryun slipped a hand into his inner pocket.

A cool, heavy sensation. He fitted the metal artificial nails onto his fingers.

And then…

-SSWAAAAAAAEK!!!!!!!!

A ferocious palm technique exploded outward.