Chapter 50: Teammate (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50: Teammate (4)
To be able to retain your teammates, having the right skills was very important. However, other virtues were just as important, like trust. In other words, were they reliable? Of course, when things were going smoothly, this wasn't exactly a problem. In that case, everyone could just laugh, smile, and be happy. But when things weren't like that? Whether you could trust your teammates to have your back during the worst possible scenario was a whole other issue.
It may not even be about trust, but their true character.
These were the sorts of things you couldn't learn about another person, no matter how many times you read their application or chatted with them. A person's true nature was hidden deep within. I hoped we would never have to show each other our true selves. That would be better for everyone.
"No matter how many times I come here, I can't get used to the smell! Hahaha!" Hikurod laughed. "Dwalkie, are you okay?"
"Please don't talk to me—!"
Turning away from the nauseous Dwalkie, I quickly scanned our surroundings. I was currently in a sector on the second floor that was inhabited by blade wolves and could only be accessed through the eastern portal on the first floor: the Den of Beasts. As the name implied, it was mostly populated by beast-type monsters, which was probably why it smelled bad. Really bad.
"Rotmiller, are you okay? I heard you have an essence that affects your nose."
"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. It's not my first time here."
"I see." Was this the ease of an eight-year adventurer? This man gave me peace of mind just by looking at him. Although there was someone else I needed to keep a bit of a closer eye on.
"By the way, when will our wizarrrd come to his senses? I need to go make some money..." Missha showed no empathy toward her teammate's suffering and only cared about her own interests. I was about to add another note to the character evaluation tab open in my head when I paused.
Hmm, am I the same way, though?
"Dwalkie, snap out of it. How much more time are you going to waste?" I snapped, going off on him.
"Right, right. If you're feeling sick from something as minor as this, you can't be an adventurerrr. Grow up, wizard!" Missha immediately agreed with a teasing tone.
However, Dwalkie had an unexpected reaction to hearing this. "You're right. I need to be an adult now."
Uh, had he always been like this? To be honest, I figured he'd just make up some ridiculous excuse or get angry in response.
"Let's go," Dwalkie continued.
"B-But are you orkay?"
"It definitely isn't easy. But how pathetic is it to become a burden to my team just because it's my first time here and I'm a wizard?"
Missha was startled by the unexpected apology. "I didn't say you were a burrrden..."
Dwalkie stood up, looking much more haggard than earlier and wearing a look of determination on his face. "I cannot bring disgrace to the name of Baron Martoin," he grunted.
"...Eeet! Are you pretending to be a nobleman again?! I won't fall for that anymorrre!"
"Hahaha! Let's hurry. I'm really fine now!"
At the sight of him acting all cheerful like he'd been fine from the beginning, Missha got angry, realizing she had fallen for his prank again. With that, we slowly started advancing.
"From here on, everyone, please follow me," Brown announced. "Although it looks flat, this is an area with many pits."
Hikurod looked around. "Pits? I don't see any..."
"They're usually filled with filth, so it'll be hard to tell. But if you don't watch your step, it's easy to fall in."
"...Rotmiller, we trust you."
The Den of Beasts had a canyon terrain with narrow paths and high-soaring cliffs on both sides. Explorers who crossed this map had to wander between the maze-like cliffs to find their way.
Although there are no traps, having a scout is even more important on this floor.
For reference, the monsters that appeared here were blade wolves, wall-mole rats, saber tigers, werewolves, and vulkars, and most of them lived in the caves on the cliffs. It was common for adventurers whose main goal was hunting to enter a cave and do a sweep of the monsters inside. However, our objective was to reach the third floor, so pass.
[You have killed a Giant Blade Wolf. EXP +1]
[You have killed a Saber Tiger. EXP +2]
[You have killed a Werewolf. EXP +2]
[You have killed a Wall-Mole Rat. EXP +1]
Moving quickly, we killed the monsters hanging outside the caves on the way, and soon it was time for a break. There were three hours left until the start of the second day.
[20:58]
We had spent the entire day crossing the map, but it would have taken twice as long to get here without Brown, the scout.
"The entrance is narrow. This would be a good campground," Brown said with a nod.
We cleared out a wall mole rat's den and started preparing it as the base for our camp. Hikurod, Brown, and Missha were adventurers with years of experience, so the process of setting up camp was instantaneous. Even Dwalkie, who had made no contributions other than creating drinking water until now, shone a light on them.
"Since we have alarm magic, one person should be sufficient for the night watch," said Brown.
"Why do we need a night watch?"
"Dwalkie, it's not because I don't trust you, so don't get offended. As you know, it's not just monsters that you need to be wary of in the labyrinth." To become a proper adventurer, you had to be on the lookout for fellow adventurers as well.
"Brown can take the first watch since he has done the most work today, and afterward we can take turns," Hikurod offered.
"Wait, do I have to stand watch?" asked Dwalkie.
"Leave that stuff to us. You get some rest," Hikurod assured him.
The wizard was excluded from night watch duty. It wasn't out of consideration for his low stamina, but because it was customary. Adventurers rewarded others according to merit, and the alarm spell was counted as one person's share of the work.
Well, in truth, this custom probably came about from having to go along with a wizard's whims.
Anyway, having one person stand watch every two hours made for an unbelievably comfortable night. To think I would be getting six hours of sleep... Compared to working as a duo, it was like heaven on earth. Of course, it came with the disadvantage of having to share a proportional cut of the loot, but that could be balanced out by hunting more, stronger monsters.
***
"I am... the great wizard Riol..."
"Stop sleep-talking and wake up, wizard!" Missha shouted.
"From here on, everyone, please follow me," Brown announced. "Although it looks flat, this is an area with many pits."
Hikurod looked around. "Pits? I don't see any..."
"They're usually filled with filth, so it'll be hard to tell. But if you don't watch your step, it's easy to fall in."
"...Rotmiller, we trust you."
The Den of Beasts had a canyon terrain with narrow paths and high-soaring cliffs on both sides. Explorers who crossed this map had to wander between the maze-like cliffs to find their way.
Although there are no traps, having a scout is even more important on this floor.
For reference, the monsters that appeared here were blade wolves, wall-mole rats, saber tigers, werewolves, and vulkars, and most of them lived in the caves on the cliffs. It was common for adventurers whose main goal was hunting to enter a cave and do a sweep of the monsters inside. However, our objective was to reach the third floor, so pass.
[You have killed a Giant Blade Wolf. EXP +1]
[You have killed a Saber Tiger. EXP +2]
[You have killed a Werewolf. EXP +2]
[You have killed a Wall-Mole Rat. EXP +1]
Moving quickly, we killed the monsters hanging outside the caves on the way, and soon it was time for a break. There were three hours left until the start of the second day.
[20:58]
We had spent the entire day crossing the map, but it would have taken twice as long to get here without Brown, the scout.
"The entrance is narrow. This would be a good campground," Brown said with a nod.
We cleared out a wall mole rat's den and started preparing it as the base for our camp. Hikurod, Brown, and Missha were adventurers with years of experience, so the process of setting up camp was instantaneous. Even Dwalkie, who had made no contributions other than creating drinking water until now, shone a light on them.
"Since we have alarm magic, one person should be sufficient for the night watch," said Brown.
"Why do we need a night watch?"
"Dwalkie, it's not because I don't trust you, so don't get offended. As you know, it's not just monsters that you need to be wary of in the labyrinth." To become a proper adventurer, you had to be on the lookout for fellow adventurers as well.
"Brown can take the first watch since he has done the most work today, and afterward we can take turns," Hikurod offered.
"Wait, do I have to stand watch?" asked Dwalkie.
"Leave that stuff to us. You get some rest," Hikurod assured him.
The wizard was excluded from night watch duty. It wasn't out of consideration for his low stamina, but because it was customary. Adventurers rewarded others according to merit, and the alarm spell was counted as one person's share of the work.
Well, in truth, this custom probably came about from having to go along with a wizard's whims.
Anyway, having one person stand watch every two hours made for an unbelievably comfortable night. To think I would be getting six hours of sleep... Compared to working as a duo, it was like heaven on earth. Of course, it came with the disadvantage of having to share a proportional cut of the loot, but that could be balanced out by hunting more, stronger monsters.
***
"I am... the great wizard Riol..."
"Stop sleep-talking and wake up, wizard!" Missha shouted.
"...Is it morning already?"
"I don't know about that, but I know it's time to wake up."
Day two, 5 a.m. Despite my concerns, the first night went by without a hitch. Monsters were detected by the alarm spell four times during Hikurod's watch, and we were once approached by a group of adventurers, which led to all of us waking up, but that was the norm.
"Since Dwalkie has adjusted to the labyrinth now, we'll increase our speed a little," Brown announced.
"Is there a need to rush?" Dwalkie asked.
"It's better to arrive on the third floor as early as possible to set up camp."
On the second day, we reduced the amount of unnecessary chatter and focused solely on moving. Of course, every few minutes, monsters came to block our way, but I welcomed the interruption.
[You have killed a Moon Rock Bear. EXP +1]
[You have killed a Queen Wall Mole. EXP +1]
[You have killed a Bloody Blade Wolf. EXP +1]
At this point, I had killed all the rank-nine monsters in the den. Since this was my first time here, my experience points accumulated quickly. Of course, I didn't have an EXP bar to refer to.
But if I count all the monsters I've caught so far...
It was exactly forty. If the High-Rank Mutant Kill Bonus and the Guardian Kill Bonus were added, that made forty-four EXP.
I still have a long way to go before I reach level four.
As one's level went up, the required amount of experience points needed to accumulate increased exponentially.
Level 1 required 6 points; level 2, 30 points; level 3, 150. Of course, it didn't always increase by five times each level, but it was safe to say that the difficulty felt even greater each time. It was only a +1 EXP increase for a higher-rank monster, but if there were no monsters you could hunt, even getting them became impossible.
Well... it's not like I'm in a hurry to level up.
My current level was three; I was now able to absorb up to three essences. In other words, I still had space for one more. Of course, I didn't expect another essence to come out before I hit level four. Dungeon and Stone wasn't such a user-friendly game.
Of all the games, why did I have to play one like this?
I was starting to regret my choices, but to no avail. After all, I was the freak who felt more alive the higher the difficulty was.
"Everyone, get ready," Brown called. "From this point on, we'll be seeing high-rank species and their numbers will increase dramatically."
We had spent half a day following right behind Brown. The terrain—to be precise, the color of the cliffs—had changed from reddish brown to black.
Is this the start of the second half?
No rank-nine monsters appeared here. However, no one, including me, was very nervous about that.
"It's still just rank-eight monsters on the second floorrr!" Missha rumbled.
Our team had an average rank of seven. Whatever teams they had been a part of in the past, they would have been active at least on the third floor. Well, I was a beginner, but I was an exception because I'd been here numerous times while playing the game.
"By the way, Bjorn, you haven't been on the third floorrr yet, right?" Missha added.
"So?"
My response was headstrong, as I expected her to pick a fight, but Missha expressed genuine admiration instead. "Amazing. It took me a full year to reach the third floorrr!"
"...Is it morning already?"
"I don't know about that, but I know it's time to wake up."
Day two, 5 a.m. Despite my concerns, the first night went by without a hitch. Monsters were detected by the alarm spell four times during Hikurod's watch, and we were once approached by a group of adventurers, which led to all of us waking up, but that was the norm.
"Since Dwalkie has adjusted to the labyrinth now, we'll increase our speed a little," Brown announced.
"Is there a need to rush?" Dwalkie asked.
"It's better to arrive on the third floor as early as possible to set up camp."
On the second day, we reduced the amount of unnecessary chatter and focused solely on moving. Of course, every few minutes, monsters came to block our way, but I welcomed the interruption.
[You have killed a Moon Rock Bear. EXP +1]
[You have killed a Queen Wall Mole. EXP +1]
[You have killed a Bloody Blade Wolf. EXP +1]
At this point, I had killed all the rank-nine monsters in the den. Since this was my first time here, my experience points accumulated quickly. Of course, I didn't have an EXP bar to refer to.
But if I count all the monsters I've caught so far...
It was exactly forty. If the High-Rank Mutant Kill Bonus and the Guardian Kill Bonus were added, that made forty-four EXP.
I still have a long way to go before I reach level four.
As one's level went up, the required amount of experience points needed to accumulate increased exponentially.
Level 1 required 6 points; level 2, 30 points; level 3, 150. Of course, it didn't always increase by five times each level, but it was safe to say that the difficulty felt even greater each time. It was only a +1 EXP increase for a higher-rank monster, but if there were no monsters you could hunt, even getting them became impossible.
Well... it's not like I'm in a hurry to level up.
My current level was three; I was now able to absorb up to three essences. In other words, I still had space for one more. Of course, I didn't expect another essence to come out before I hit level four. Dungeon and Stone wasn't such a user-friendly game.
Of all the games, why did I have to play one like this?
I was starting to regret my choices, but to no avail. After all, I was the freak who felt more alive the higher the difficulty was.
"Everyone, get ready," Brown called. "From this point on, we'll be seeing high-rank species and their numbers will increase dramatically."
We had spent half a day following right behind Brown. The terrain—to be precise, the color of the cliffs—had changed from reddish brown to black.
Is this the start of the second half?
No rank-nine monsters appeared here. However, no one, including me, was very nervous about that.
"It's still just rank-eight monsters on the second floorrr!" Missha rumbled.
Our team had an average rank of seven. Whatever teams they had been a part of in the past, they would have been active at least on the third floor. Well, I was a beginner, but I was an exception because I'd been here numerous times while playing the game.
"By the way, Bjorn, you haven't been on the third floorrr yet, right?" Missha added.
"So?"
My response was headstrong, as I expected her to pick a fight, but Missha expressed genuine admiration instead. "Amazing. It took me a full year to reach the third floorrr!"
That made me feel bad for how I'd acted. "...I was just lucky." I didn't want to dwell on this topic for long, so I kept my answer vague.
Then Hikurod entered the conversation. "One year for the third floor? So how long did it take you to get to the fourth floor?"
"Um, two yearrrs? I think it took that long."
"Same as me."
"Eeet! That's not fairrr! You have less experience than me but you're a rank-six!"
"Instead, Miss Karlstein was born into a good family!"
"Eeet! I told you not to talk about my family!"
Sensing the conversation was about to turn into another long argument, Brown took a step back from navigating and interrupted. "Both of you, stop it." His voice and expression were the same as before, but why could I sense that he was more annoyed this time?
True, if I heard them bickering while I was busy working in the front, I'd also get pissed off.
I brushed it off without much thought.
***
[You have entered the Pilgrim's Path on the third floor.]
A little past noon on the second day, we entered the third floor thanks to the accurate directions we had received from Brown. It was a bit disappointing that I hadn't been able to catch many of the huntable rank-eight monsters in the Den of Beasts, but they weren't just active on the second floor.
I'll get another chance someday.
Shaking off the disappointment, I focused on the current situation. "Rotmiller! Get out of the way!"
I was currently on the Pilgrim's Path on the third floor. In particular, I was at Ironrock Hill, the starting point that connected the third floor to the Den of Beasts. Immediately upon entering, we encountered two rank-seven monsters.
"Dwalkie! Use corrosion magic!"
It was easy to think of the Iron Tusk as a wild warthog with iron molars. Though it was about five times the size of a wild warthog on Mount Jiri.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-eight spell, Corrosion.]
While Brown, the first to enter the portal, avoided the monster and retreated, Dwalkie immediately cast a spell. Right after that, Hikurod and I dashed forward and each took on a monster with our shields.
Bam!
A heavy shock jolted through the shield. My old shield would have dented at the moment of impact like the dwarf's was doing right now.
[Hikurod Murad has cast Emergency Restoration.]
"Bjorn, why are you looking at me all of a sudden? I am not jealous."
"Sure. If you used a hard shield in the first place, you wouldn't have to repair it every time."
"What are you talking about? Anyway, Bjorn! Don't push them away, just stop them from stepping back!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
The Iron Tusk's active skill was Balance Weight. Its effect was Knockback Immunity. This also happened to be the essence Hikurod had.
[Hikurod Murad has cast Balance Weight.]
Do you have no shame?
A wild warthog cub with a main skill just like that one, and the dwarf was ordering me not to get pushed back by one of them? The rage inherent to this barbarian body welled up inside of me. Maybe that was why, instead of waiting for the other team members to attack, I swung my mace and smacked the Iron Tusk's jaw.
"Behelaaa!"
Kak kak kak!
The steel molars that had been affected by Corrosion were shattered with a single blow.
"Come to me, essence!" Missha, who leaped off my back without permission, stuck a dagger into the Iron Tusk's head.
[You have killed an Iron Tusk. EXP +3]
That made one for now. I was going to take care of the other one next, but I stopped and watched for a bit. Dwalkie was casting a spell, one of the few offensive ones he had.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-eight spell, Ice Lance.]
An ice skewer flew into the Iron Tusk's stomach. If it had pierced the head or the heart, it would have been a one-shot kill... But more detailed feedback could wait until later.
Stab!
The battle ended with Brown approaching the falling Iron Tusk, holding a crossbow to its forehead, and firing an arrow. Of course, no essence came out, although that wasn't something to worry about right now.
A monster right in front of the portal?
It seemed the son of a bitch was nearby.
That made me feel bad for how I'd acted. "...I was just lucky." I didn't want to dwell on this topic for long, so I kept my answer vague.
Then Hikurod entered the conversation. "One year for the third floor? So how long did it take you to get to the fourth floor?"
"Um, two yearrrs? I think it took that long."
"Same as me."
"Eeet! That's not fairrr! You have less experience than me but you're a rank-six!"
"Instead, Miss Karlstein was born into a good family!"
"Eeet! I told you not to talk about my family!"
Sensing the conversation was about to turn into another long argument, Brown took a step back from navigating and interrupted. "Both of you, stop it." His voice and expression were the same as before, but why could I sense that he was more annoyed this time?
True, if I heard them bickering while I was busy working in the front, I'd also get pissed off.
I brushed it off without much thought.
***
[You have entered the Pilgrim's Path on the third floor.]
A little past noon on the second day, we entered the third floor thanks to the accurate directions we had received from Brown. It was a bit disappointing that I hadn't been able to catch many of the huntable rank-eight monsters in the Den of Beasts, but they weren't just active on the second floor.
I'll get another chance someday.
Shaking off the disappointment, I focused on the current situation. "Rotmiller! Get out of the way!"
I was currently on the Pilgrim's Path on the third floor. In particular, I was at Ironrock Hill, the starting point that connected the third floor to the Den of Beasts. Immediately upon entering, we encountered two rank-seven monsters.
"Dwalkie! Use corrosion magic!"
It was easy to think of the Iron Tusk as a wild warthog with iron molars. Though it was about five times the size of a wild warthog on Mount Jiri.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-eight spell, Corrosion.]
While Brown, the first to enter the portal, avoided the monster and retreated, Dwalkie immediately cast a spell. Right after that, Hikurod and I dashed forward and each took on a monster with our shields.
Bam!
A heavy shock jolted through the shield. My old shield would have dented at the moment of impact like the dwarf's was doing right now.
[Hikurod Murad has cast Emergency Restoration.]
"Bjorn, why are you looking at me all of a sudden? I am not jealous."
"Sure. If you used a hard shield in the first place, you wouldn't have to repair it every time."
"What are you talking about? Anyway, Bjorn! Don't push them away, just stop them from stepping back!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
The Iron Tusk's active skill was Balance Weight. Its effect was Knockback Immunity. This also happened to be the essence Hikurod had.
[Hikurod Murad has cast Balance Weight.]
Do you have no shame?
A wild warthog cub with a main skill just like that one, and the dwarf was ordering me not to get pushed back by one of them? The rage inherent to this barbarian body welled up inside of me. Maybe that was why, instead of waiting for the other team members to attack, I swung my mace and smacked the Iron Tusk's jaw.
"Behelaaa!"
Kak kak kak!
The steel molars that had been affected by Corrosion were shattered with a single blow.
"Come to me, essence!" Missha, who leaped off my back without permission, stuck a dagger into the Iron Tusk's head.
[You have killed an Iron Tusk. EXP +3]
That made one for now. I was going to take care of the other one next, but I stopped and watched for a bit. Dwalkie was casting a spell, one of the few offensive ones he had.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-eight spell, Ice Lance.]
An ice skewer flew into the Iron Tusk's stomach. If it had pierced the head or the heart, it would have been a one-shot kill... But more detailed feedback could wait until later.
Stab!
The battle ended with Brown approaching the falling Iron Tusk, holding a crossbow to its forehead, and firing an arrow. Of course, no essence came out, although that wasn't something to worry about right now.
A monster right in front of the portal?
It seemed the son of a bitch was nearby.