Chapter 132: Team Play (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 132: Team Play (2)
The portal shimmered like an aurora on the North Sea, and a heavy silence settled in front of it. Neither Missha nor Hikurod said anything and just looked at each other. That was how unfamiliar the face Rotmiller was making right now was.
Crunch.
Like the very definition of "gritted teeth," Rotmiller's clenched-shut mouth trembled. It seemed we were seeing his rock bottom for the first time. His inferiority complex must have been hidden somewhere deep down by self-control and the desire to improve.
"...It's not too late yet." Rotmiller broke the silence. "There are three parties ahead of us. Even with the most high-level team, the time difference would only be about thirty minutes. If we follow them quickly, we might be able to get ahead of them on the second floor."
At first glance, this sounded logical. However, when you broke it down point by point, it was full of issues. The problem was, even knowing this, everyone nodded awkwardly.
"A-Ah! That would work. I-I also don't want to give up after we got here so earrrly."
"H-Hahaha! S-So I wasn't the only one?"
"...I-I also agree."
Nice guys. It was obvious what they were thinking. Rather than refusing, they probably thought it was better to force themselves to agree and just suffer.
"Bjorn... what do you think?"
Eyes drifted to me, as I had not yet expressed an opinion. Ha, so annoying. Why did I always have to play this role?
I sighed inwardly, but decided to be blunt. "Do you all have something wrong with your heads?" There was already a thirty-minute gap on the first floor. That gap would widen further on the second floor. We were also already exhausted just from getting here. "You want to outrun them in this state? Do you really think we can do that?"
The three of them kept their mouths shut and avoided my gaze. Therefore, I ignored them and stared at Rotmiller.
"Brown Rotmiller, that's enough. I'll follow you on the first floor anytime. But the second floor is too much for us. Don't put your teammates at risk because of your stubbornness."
Rotmiller closed his mouth in a fit of indignation. I said nothing more and just stared at him. His reply came a beat later. "I'm sorry. I must've lost my mind for a while there. Forget what I said."
"I already forgot it."
Rotmiller offered words of apology, and I calmly let it go. The other three let out the breaths they had been holding back. Fortunately, it seemed that the situation had been handled without an argument.
What a headache.
The problem was, nothing was resolved yet.
***
The scout position existed to reduce travel time in a labyrinth where saving time meant survival. Their combat power was lacking in comparison to team members in other roles, but a scout's betrayal was always fatal. Scout was the only position that could conspire with the environment itself.
Since the district chief knows that, he must have tried to appeal to Rotmiller first.
The scout controlled the journey through the labyrinth. In other words, it would be quite possible for one to pretend to guide us and lead us to a trap prepared by the district chief.
...Maybe I should've sat this expedition out.
I had decided to trust Rotmiller because I knew what he was usually like. His personality was straightforward to the point of stubbornness. He was a sincere man who stayed away from luck and stuck to effort. I had assumed that someone like that would not be tempted by whatever schemes the district chief tried to use him for.
But Rotmiller today? He was acting so strangely that he seemed almost like a different person. His logic was nowhere to be found. He seemed impatient and desperate, like someone who had been driven to the edge of a cliff.
It's probably because of that district chief bastard.
Of course, I still thought the possibility of betrayal was low. This man was not an idiot, and if he really meant to betray us, he wouldn't have acted out of the ordinary. However, I still had to assume the worst and be careful.
...I should keep an eye on him for now.
With these worries in the back of my mind, the exploration resumed. However, despite my concerns, Rotmiller looked like his usual rational self as he led the group.
[You have entered the Rock Desert on the second floor.]
He found the exact route through the desert even when the compass went dead. On the morning of the second day, he located the portal to the third floor.
[You have entered the Pilgrim's Path on the third floor.]
There was no big difference on the third floor, which we arrived at earlier than ever. He headed straight to the Witch's Forest with minimal combat, and at 10 p.m., he took a break to rest. It was the same at midnight, the start of the third day. We all woke up for a moment to watch the third floor being dyed with silver light.
"Hahaha! I don't know why I never watched this before and just slept through it all this time!"
"It's probably because there was no one to share it with."
"Dwalkie, that was so cheesy."
This was perhaps a tradition unique to Team Half-Wit. No one suggested it, but ever since our first expedition, we always watched the lights together like an unspoken rule.
[You have entered the Tower of Heavens on the fourth floor.]
Anyway, the expedition went smoothly after that. On the evening of the seventh day, we reached the fourth floor. This calmed me down, too. It meant that there was no longer any need for me to be suspicious of Rotmiller.
It must have been my mistake.
The fourth floor was an independent one. Once you entered, after about five minutes, no other adventurers could enter the same space as you. I watched my back throughout the first few battles to see if anyone came in after us, but no other adventurers had appeared by the time we cleared the Tower of Heavens's first floor.
"Bjorn! What are you thinking so harrrd about?"
"Let's go up."
So, I completely let go of my worries and focused on the expedition. Well, not completely. I couldn't help that this was a part of my personality. I believed that there was no such thing as 100 percent certainty in this world, especially if you were on an expedition where anything could happen.
Anyway, after entering the fourth floor, we focused on going up the tower by alternately taking the stairways of Wisdom and Courage. On the way, there was a moment when all the available staircases happened to be those of Patience, but it ended up going more smoothly than I thought it would. It was a psychological ordeal, but it wasn't too difficult to get through. Whoever showed up and whatever they babbled, you just had to filter it out through the other ear.
To be honest, what came after the ordeal was more annoying.
"Wahhh, Bjorrrn...!"
"Stop crying. It's over."
"If you abandon me too, then I'll rrreally be all alone!"
I didn't know what the hell she saw or heard, but as soon as we cleared the floor, Missha started wailing.
But Rotmiller today? He was acting so strangely that he seemed almost like a different person. His logic was nowhere to be found. He seemed impatient and desperate, like someone who had been driven to the edge of a cliff.
It's probably because of that district chief bastard.
Of course, I still thought the possibility of betrayal was low. This man was not an idiot, and if he really meant to betray us, he wouldn't have acted out of the ordinary. However, I still had to assume the worst and be careful.
...I should keep an eye on him for now.
With these worries in the back of my mind, the exploration resumed. However, despite my concerns, Rotmiller looked like his usual rational self as he led the group.
[You have entered the Rock Desert on the second floor.]
He found the exact route through the desert even when the compass went dead. On the morning of the second day, he located the portal to the third floor.
[You have entered the Pilgrim's Path on the third floor.]
There was no big difference on the third floor, which we arrived at earlier than ever. He headed straight to the Witch's Forest with minimal combat, and at 10 p.m., he took a break to rest. It was the same at midnight, the start of the third day. We all woke up for a moment to watch the third floor being dyed with silver light.
"Hahaha! I don't know why I never watched this before and just slept through it all this time!"
"It's probably because there was no one to share it with."
"Dwalkie, that was so cheesy."
This was perhaps a tradition unique to Team Half-Wit. No one suggested it, but ever since our first expedition, we always watched the lights together like an unspoken rule.
[You have entered the Tower of Heavens on the fourth floor.]
Anyway, the expedition went smoothly after that. On the evening of the seventh day, we reached the fourth floor. This calmed me down, too. It meant that there was no longer any need for me to be suspicious of Rotmiller.
It must have been my mistake.
The fourth floor was an independent one. Once you entered, after about five minutes, no other adventurers could enter the same space as you. I watched my back throughout the first few battles to see if anyone came in after us, but no other adventurers had appeared by the time we cleared the Tower of Heavens's first floor.
"Bjorn! What are you thinking so harrrd about?"
"Let's go up."
So, I completely let go of my worries and focused on the expedition. Well, not completely. I couldn't help that this was a part of my personality. I believed that there was no such thing as 100 percent certainty in this world, especially if you were on an expedition where anything could happen.
Anyway, after entering the fourth floor, we focused on going up the tower by alternately taking the stairways of Wisdom and Courage. On the way, there was a moment when all the available staircases happened to be those of Patience, but it ended up going more smoothly than I thought it would. It was a psychological ordeal, but it wasn't too difficult to get through. Whoever showed up and whatever they babbled, you just had to filter it out through the other ear.
To be honest, what came after the ordeal was more annoying.
"Wahhh, Bjorrrn...!"
"Stop crying. It's over."
"If you abandon me too, then I'll rrreally be all alone!"
I didn't know what the hell she saw or heard, but as soon as we cleared the floor, Missha started wailing.
Hikurod, meanwhile, was on his knees in despair. "The swords I make are no better than scrap metal..."
Dwalkie was staring blankly into space like he was out of his mind and Rotmiller was silently clenching his fists. Both of them looked somewhat angry.
...That's concerning.
While they were all recovering, I checked the box set in the center of the floor, a reward that you could only obtain by choosing a trial of Patience. If you were lucky here, you might get a numbered item or a random essence below rank six.
Of course, not a chance. Sure enough, there were only twelve rank-seven mana stones inside.
"If you're all done resting, let's get going again."
After spending nearly thirty minutes calming down, the expedition resumed. After that, nothing happened. We beat up more monsters and continued climbing the floors. Soon it was the twelfth day and we'd reached the hundredth floor.
"I think this is the first time I've ever come this far."
From the hundredth floor on, the difficulty of the trials locked on the highest level and rank-six monsters appeared more frequently. However, we didn't run into too much trouble here either, thanks to the development of our two main damage dealers. Their compatibility was quite good too.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-seven attack spell Cold Storm.]
[Missha Karlstein has cast Ice Crush.]
Dwalkie had used his hard-earned money to learn not only support magic, but also a rank-seven wide-range Cold spell. When you threw in Missha, dealing with rank-six monsters was no problem. With two tanks and damage support on top of that, our team's balance had increased dramatically. It would be a different story if a rank-five monster like the Troll appeared again, though.
Still, I've been using our money to prepare a lot, so it makes sense that things are going much better than back then.
In fact, it was strange to worry about rank-five monsters on the fourth floor. It wasn't like we'd run into a Hans on the way.
Looks like Rotmiller has come to his senses now, too.
Despite our rocky beginning, the expedition continued to proceed smoothly. Then the start of the nineteenth day came.
***
It was 6:32 a.m. I checked my watch and scanned our surroundings. All four of my teammates were sleeping comfortably in their respective spots.
Being awake alone feels like I'm on night watch again.
I buried myself in my sleeping bag again and closed my eyes, but I couldn't fall back asleep easily, perhaps thanks to my increased energy. No, wait, was it because there were already only four days left until the labyrinth closed?
I feel restless for some reason.
I'd been feeling this way for the past few days, but our teamwork had improved considerably. It felt like we finally had a good rhythm going. Even if I didn't give an order, they were each on top of their game, and they had started communicating with each other a bit through looks and gestures. No matter what happened, we were gradually growing into a proper team.
Compared to our first expedition, the difference is ridiculous.
Just look at Dwalkie—the change was like night and day. He almost didn't seem like a rookie anymore, and his battle instincts were growing sharper by the day. Except, although I felt that way, I also felt a little melancholy. I knew we didn't have many days left together.
Hikurod, meanwhile, was on his knees in despair. "The swords I make are no better than scrap metal..."
Dwalkie was staring blankly into space like he was out of his mind and Rotmiller was silently clenching his fists. Both of them looked somewhat angry.
...That's concerning.
While they were all recovering, I checked the box set in the center of the floor, a reward that you could only obtain by choosing a trial of Patience. If you were lucky here, you might get a numbered item or a random essence below rank six.
Of course, not a chance. Sure enough, there were only twelve rank-seven mana stones inside.
"If you're all done resting, let's get going again."
After spending nearly thirty minutes calming down, the expedition resumed. After that, nothing happened. We beat up more monsters and continued climbing the floors. Soon it was the twelfth day and we'd reached the hundredth floor.
"I think this is the first time I've ever come this far."
From the hundredth floor on, the difficulty of the trials locked on the highest level and rank-six monsters appeared more frequently. However, we didn't run into too much trouble here either, thanks to the development of our two main damage dealers. Their compatibility was quite good too.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-seven attack spell Cold Storm.]
[Missha Karlstein has cast Ice Crush.]
Dwalkie had used his hard-earned money to learn not only support magic, but also a rank-seven wide-range Cold spell. When you threw in Missha, dealing with rank-six monsters was no problem. With two tanks and damage support on top of that, our team's balance had increased dramatically. It would be a different story if a rank-five monster like the Troll appeared again, though.
Still, I've been using our money to prepare a lot, so it makes sense that things are going much better than back then.
In fact, it was strange to worry about rank-five monsters on the fourth floor. It wasn't like we'd run into a Hans on the way.
Looks like Rotmiller has come to his senses now, too.
Despite our rocky beginning, the expedition continued to proceed smoothly. Then the start of the nineteenth day came.
***
It was 6:32 a.m. I checked my watch and scanned our surroundings. All four of my teammates were sleeping comfortably in their respective spots.
Being awake alone feels like I'm on night watch again.
I buried myself in my sleeping bag again and closed my eyes, but I couldn't fall back asleep easily, perhaps thanks to my increased energy. No, wait, was it because there were already only four days left until the labyrinth closed?
I feel restless for some reason.
I'd been feeling this way for the past few days, but our teamwork had improved considerably. It felt like we finally had a good rhythm going. Even if I didn't give an order, they were each on top of their game, and they had started communicating with each other a bit through looks and gestures. No matter what happened, we were gradually growing into a proper team.
Compared to our first expedition, the difference is ridiculous.
Just look at Dwalkie—the change was like night and day. He almost didn't seem like a rookie anymore, and his battle instincts were growing sharper by the day. Except, although I felt that way, I also felt a little melancholy. I knew we didn't have many days left together.
Think logically without being swept up in emotion.
This was the first full-time team I had formed in this strange world. I had decided to avoid showing affection to the people here as much as possible, but being human, that wasn't up to my brain to decide. I was sure I'd remember this team for a long time.
Step.
When my thoughts reached that point, I suddenly sensed a presence. I lifted my head slightly to check, and it was Rotmiller. "Did I wake you up?" he asked.
"No, I woke up earlier."
"Then I'm glad. I thought you woke up because of me this time, too."
This time too...?
Was it just me, or was there a hidden meaning behind those words? I was sure it wasn't nothing. Rotmiller was smart. He must have been aware that I'd still been keeping an eye on him even though he'd been pretending not to notice.
"Why don't we talk, since you're awake?"
"...Fine."
I got out of my sleeping bag and sat down against the wall with Rotmiller. There was an awkward silence. Ah, was this the first time the two of us had talked since that day? Feeling suffocated for some reason, I took a piece of beef jerky out of my pocket and chewed on it.
Munch. Munch. Munch.
Yeah, it was a little more bearable with some sound.
Rotmiller, who had asked to speak with me, only opened his mouth after I finished an entire piece of jerky. "...I plan to leave the team after this expedition."
"You're leaving the team?" It was abrupt, but not entirely unexpected. I had considered this exact scenario. "It's because of me."
"No, because of me."
Huh? "What does that mean?"
"...Give me one of those." When I handed over a piece of jerky, Rotmiller gnawed on it and continued. It was a bit of a long story. "I can't say that the district chief's proposal has nothing to do with this decision. I can't claim not to be greedy. To be given a position as a scout in a large clan...? Even though I knew it was a lie, my heart kept pounding. That was the first time I realized that it was time for me to leave this team.
"Ah, but don't be too hard on yourself. Actually, I'm used to this. The other races... no, those with talent easily rise to the top. I have been a member of many parties over the past eight years, and there have been many times I was left behind because I couldn't keep up with them. Sometimes I was kicked out, sometimes I left on my own before it got worse. That's how I've survived as an adventurer. But, it wasn't an easy decision this time."
I spoke up for the first time. "How so?"
Rotmiller replied with a grin. "Because I care for you guys. I knew it was time to leave, but I hated to admit it. So I tried to hide what happened with the district chief and participate in this expedition anyway. I wished this adventure could last even a little longer. But..." Rotmiller swallowed the jerky he was slowly chewing on. "Everything has to come to an end eventually."
Those words left me speechless. Rotmiller stared straight ahead and said nothing as if he was waiting for some kind of an answer. Then the alarm went off, and the others started to stir one by one.
"It is time for everyone to wake up. I'll be on my way, so you get ready to leave too."
Rotmiller left to pack his sleeping bag. I took my watch out of my pocket. It was eight a.m., time for the nineteenth day's adventure to begin.
***
Rotmiller was like me in many ways. He tried not to give others his affection, but he felt affection anyway. He nevertheless made logical decisions without being swept up in it. The only difference was that I just did this for myself, while this man was doing it for us.
It wasn't that I didn't have altruistic persuasions, though. If I continued moving up with these guys, the game would only end once someone died. So before that, I wanted to end this team with my own hands.
"Bjorn!"
To be honest, the back of my head was tingling. I hadn't thought Rotmiller would be thinking about something like that. I wondered what he thought of me. What on earth had been going through his head as he felt my watchful gaze on him? Those endless questions ran through my head.
"Bjorrrn! Where has your mind run off to?" Missha shook my shoulder and jolted me from my thoughts. "Stop messing arrround and get packed up."
"Okay..."
I came to my senses and helped clean up our campsite. Then, after gathering together and having a simple meal, we headed up the stairs.
I'll tell him when we get back to the city. The two of us are leaving anyway, so there's no need for him to leave.
My thoughts were jumbled up, but I decided to focus solely on this expedition for now. There were still four days left. We were able to easily defeat rank-six monsters, but the Tower of Heavens was a place where the difficulty level rose dramatically depending on the combination of enemies that appeared. I couldn't let my guard down until we got back to the city.
[You have completed the ordeal.]
After defeating the latest group of monsters, I froze. But, no, it wasn't just me.
"...All three routes are Stairs of Destiny," Rotmiller said.
"What are we going to do? Didn't you say those could be dangerous?" Dwalkie asked.
Wow, so this really does happen.
Think logically without being swept up in emotion.
This was the first full-time team I had formed in this strange world. I had decided to avoid showing affection to the people here as much as possible, but being human, that wasn't up to my brain to decide. I was sure I'd remember this team for a long time.
Step.
When my thoughts reached that point, I suddenly sensed a presence. I lifted my head slightly to check, and it was Rotmiller. "Did I wake you up?" he asked.
"No, I woke up earlier."
"Then I'm glad. I thought you woke up because of me this time, too."
This time too...?
Was it just me, or was there a hidden meaning behind those words? I was sure it wasn't nothing. Rotmiller was smart. He must have been aware that I'd still been keeping an eye on him even though he'd been pretending not to notice.
"Why don't we talk, since you're awake?"
"...Fine."
I got out of my sleeping bag and sat down against the wall with Rotmiller. There was an awkward silence. Ah, was this the first time the two of us had talked since that day? Feeling suffocated for some reason, I took a piece of beef jerky out of my pocket and chewed on it.
Munch. Munch. Munch.
Yeah, it was a little more bearable with some sound.
Rotmiller, who had asked to speak with me, only opened his mouth after I finished an entire piece of jerky. "...I plan to leave the team after this expedition."
"You're leaving the team?" It was abrupt, but not entirely unexpected. I had considered this exact scenario. "It's because of me."
"No, because of me."
Huh? "What does that mean?"
"...Give me one of those." When I handed over a piece of jerky, Rotmiller gnawed on it and continued. It was a bit of a long story. "I can't say that the district chief's proposal has nothing to do with this decision. I can't claim not to be greedy. To be given a position as a scout in a large clan...? Even though I knew it was a lie, my heart kept pounding. That was the first time I realized that it was time for me to leave this team.
"Ah, but don't be too hard on yourself. Actually, I'm used to this. The other races... no, those with talent easily rise to the top. I have been a member of many parties over the past eight years, and there have been many times I was left behind because I couldn't keep up with them. Sometimes I was kicked out, sometimes I left on my own before it got worse. That's how I've survived as an adventurer. But, it wasn't an easy decision this time."
I spoke up for the first time. "How so?"
Rotmiller replied with a grin. "Because I care for you guys. I knew it was time to leave, but I hated to admit it. So I tried to hide what happened with the district chief and participate in this expedition anyway. I wished this adventure could last even a little longer. But..." Rotmiller swallowed the jerky he was slowly chewing on. "Everything has to come to an end eventually."
Those words left me speechless. Rotmiller stared straight ahead and said nothing as if he was waiting for some kind of an answer. Then the alarm went off, and the others started to stir one by one.
"It is time for everyone to wake up. I'll be on my way, so you get ready to leave too."
Rotmiller left to pack his sleeping bag. I took my watch out of my pocket. It was eight a.m., time for the nineteenth day's adventure to begin.
***
Rotmiller was like me in many ways. He tried not to give others his affection, but he felt affection anyway. He nevertheless made logical decisions without being swept up in it. The only difference was that I just did this for myself, while this man was doing it for us.
It wasn't that I didn't have altruistic persuasions, though. If I continued moving up with these guys, the game would only end once someone died. So before that, I wanted to end this team with my own hands.
"Bjorn!"
To be honest, the back of my head was tingling. I hadn't thought Rotmiller would be thinking about something like that. I wondered what he thought of me. What on earth had been going through his head as he felt my watchful gaze on him? Those endless questions ran through my head.
"Bjorrrn! Where has your mind run off to?" Missha shook my shoulder and jolted me from my thoughts. "Stop messing arrround and get packed up."
"Okay..."
I came to my senses and helped clean up our campsite. Then, after gathering together and having a simple meal, we headed up the stairs.
I'll tell him when we get back to the city. The two of us are leaving anyway, so there's no need for him to leave.
My thoughts were jumbled up, but I decided to focus solely on this expedition for now. There were still four days left. We were able to easily defeat rank-six monsters, but the Tower of Heavens was a place where the difficulty level rose dramatically depending on the combination of enemies that appeared. I couldn't let my guard down until we got back to the city.
[You have completed the ordeal.]
After defeating the latest group of monsters, I froze. But, no, it wasn't just me.
"...All three routes are Stairs of Destiny," Rotmiller said.
"What are we going to do? Didn't you say those could be dangerous?" Dwalkie asked.
Wow, so this really does happen.