The Tusk-Slayer
"Well, we've rested enough now. Time to move out."
The target was the 40th floor, so Moura had said as Rai stepped forward and headed for the wall, he shot a strange look at the dwarf adventurer.
BOOM!
A simple kick that sent the wall crashing like it had kicked a passerby left the party gaping in shock.
"You still haven't learned the chant, right? I never could do it."
"Stop blaming others and fix your pathetic mana control instead~"
Handling the wall like it was the most obvious thing in the world, Aslan stepped straight through. Rai simply walked past him.
"As expected of top-tier adventurers..."
"If you get kicked like that, you'll end up with a hole in your stomach..."
Both Kaylen and Michelle muttered under their breath. Realizing he had looked exactly like that earlier, Cindy followed Rai while Zeroa tugged on Moura's sleeve and urged him to keep going.
Following the map, they reached the staircase in record time. The party pushed forward and quickly hit the 40th floor.
When Rai announced they had arrived and looked tired, Sierra and Moura's group exchanged disgusted glances.
"Aigoo, that took forever."
"It's thanks to your party having the map, Moura-san. Seriously, thank you."
Cindy bowed her head gratefully, but the rest of the party could only offer awkward smiles.
"It's a bit awkward to ask, but... where is your party's porter?"
Moura scratched his head. Michelle's face darkened.
"Godrian, that bastard abandoned us and ran. If I catch him, I'll kill him."
"Ran?"
"Yeah. Sierra threw herself in front of me when the chimera almost got me, and that jerk doesn't even know it. Because of him we're left with nothing."
Grimacing, Kaylen added, "Most adventurers leave their gear with porters so they can focus on fighting. If the porter runs, we have almost nothing left."
With only personal potions and water flasks, Moura's party had lost every useful dungeon item, including the ones they had been saving for emergencies. A huge loss.
Now that Rai was here, it didn't matter. Originally, they would have been scrambling to figure out how to get out alive even if they'd survived the chimera.
Shaken by Godrian's betrayal, Cindy looked uncomfortable. Moura noticed and ruffled her hair.
"Don't worry about it, Cindy. Thanks to him we survived. Besides, you should still chew out Craosa for recommending a loser like that."
"Craosa? How was he supposed to know someone would bolt? Godrian was fine until today."
"As long as he's alive today, sure. A single porter can't navigate the dungeon alone."
Hearing their exchange, Cindy remembered Rai's words and began thinking about the structural problems in adventurer society.
Studying the map, Rai gathered his group.
"We're here to gather Paniac."
"I heard Tatara-chi are dropping Paniac lately."
"What exactly is a Tatara-chi?"
"It's a bird-like monster. The real name is Tatara-chi, but it got the nickname from pecking at its own head with its beak."
Cindy answered. Aslan nodded enthusiastically, his energy completely unmarred by tension.
"Speaking of which, what's your grade?"
"E3? Nah, my first rank. I became an adventurer yesterday."
"You're E1 now. Rat Slayer."
"Ah, man, I told you not to use that nickname."
Moura's party blinked, completely lost. It was rare for an adventurer of decent skill to stay at a low grade, but they couldn't understand how someone who only started yesterday was already E1.
Recalling his own three-month climb to E1, Kaylen felt a chill.
Physically possible?
Even with high skill, limited quests meant it took time. Processing one quest per hour was absurd, and E1 in a single day was impossible.
Since these people weren't show-offs, the story was probably true.
Seeing the party stare at Cindy, who still looked normal, she nodded.
"Anyway, we're going to capture the Tatara-chi and harvest the Paniac. Michelle, please find the monsters."
"Huh? I don't even smell that thing."
Rai had brought the rest of the group partly to increase harvest numbers, but the real reason was Michelle. As a beastkin, her sense of smell far outstripped a human's, letting her identify monsters by scent alone.
"Sure, I'll bring back one. Just remember the scent."
Rai spoke confidently. Michelle answered awkwardly.
"The rest of you can harvest with Cindy. Zeroa and Aslan, focus on guarding the Tatara-chi and patrolling the area."
"Understood."
"Roger."
After the two answered, Rai slipped a tracking tag onto Zeroa's wrist and pulled him toward the wall.
"You said we could pass through walls earlier, right? Let's switch chants."
Rai studied the wall, then drew an intricate mana pattern on its surface. Kaylen and Michelle watched him curiously while Cindy shrugged and said she didn't know what he was doing.
"Um..."
"Ah, you said you're a Pure Magician, right? I'm trying to analyze mana waves. Could you help?"
"I- I would never dare..."
Thinking she had been brought here to observe, Sierra was startled when Rai asked her to help. Nodding at Rai's smile, she stepped closer to assist, though she was mainly just watching with happy eyes.
Noticing Sierra's unusually close position, Cindy remembered Aslan's earlier words and gave Rai a suspicious look.
After a long while of adjusting the chant, Rai created a non-passing thread and high-fived Zeroa with both hands. Immediately behind them, Sierra awkwardly raised both hands.
Clap. Rai and Sierra high-fived. He then drew a magical circle from the thread.
"It's the mana chant."
"Eh? You're giving this to me?"
"We made it together. It only works here, but still..."
Different dungeons had different patterns, so it only worked in Legandia's dungeon, yet it was incredibly valuable. Since Sierra was a Pure Magician, she could analyze patterns and use the chant elsewhere later.
Stunned, Sierra frantically copied the chant when Rai urged her to hurry and receive it.
Having saved her life and now received a priceless gift, she gazed at Rai with admiration. Cindy watched the scene, her eyes gradually narrowing.
"Hold on a second."
Rai connected the thread to Zeroa, then vanished into the darkness.
When the "second" really was over and Moura started to sit, Rai returned dragging two unconscious Tatara-chi.
Moura froze awkwardly as Rai grabbed the long necks of the creatures and dragged them straight to the ground, then slammed them down with Aslan and Zeroa.
"Fight."
Without giving them time to prepare, Rai used magic to forcefully wake the Tatara-chi.
SCREECH—!!!
The creatures stood with earsplitting cries. They had elongated legs, necks, and bodies three times larger than humans. After scanning the surroundings and coming to their senses, they immediately opened their beaks and attacked.
Chaos erupted among Moura's party as Aslan and Zeroa charged forward to face the Tatara-chi.
Though unfamiliar with the overhead pecking, Aslan knocked the descending beak aside with the back of his hand, grabbed the nape of its neck, slammed it to the ground, and pinned its head with his foot.
"Die."
A bone-chilling voice. Aslan beheaded the creature, wiped blood from his face, and glared at the screaming party.
Since the chimera, he had always fought with brutal, merciless force. His sharp eyes that never quite met yours and the blood on his face made his appearance terrifying.
"Who told you to die?"
Rai smacked Aslan's head from behind and scolded him.
"If you kill it too soon, the dungeon will absorb it. We need the material on its back."
"Ah, got it. You should have said something earlier."
Treating the terrifying Aslan like a child, Rai looked at the crumpled party members huddled in the corner.
"You all know the harvesting method, right? Then I'll leave it to you. Michelle, come with me. I remember the scent."
"Yes!"
"Do your guard duty well. No slacking."
"I'll do my best. Go ahead."
Michelle followed Rai with military precision. Cindy and Moura's group rushed to the dead Tatara-chi before the dungeon swallowed their bodies.
Harvesting from the creature itself wasn't popular. The beak was decent, but the rest was useless.
Yet Tatara-chi had one oddity: plants grew on their backs, forming a small garden on the hard shell like a turtle's carapace. Most were common weeds, but some were rare herbs or special plants, varying wildly by dungeon or local environment. Hunters therefore targeted the plants more than the creature itself.
Paniac was an extremely sensitive moss-like plant. Harvest without care and it would die instantly.
Moura had hoped the multiple plants growing on the Tatara-chi would give them a big haul, but while the four of them were still picking, Rai returned dragging two more unconscious ones and dropped them.
"What if they all wake up at once?"
Zeroa and Aslan could only fight so much. Moura stayed silent.
If they kept coming at this rate, dozens might appear. Even the two of them couldn't stop hundreds at once.
Imagining his head being torn off, Moura's hands moved faster. The others ignored other plants and focused solely on Paniac. Once the Tatara-chi were gone, they vanished as Aslan finished them.
With their lives on the line, Moura's party showed terrifying focus, but Rai's haul never seemed to end. He even brought tens. Michelle, exhausted, had been carried on his back.
Hours of aching hands finally gave out. Rai announced a short break. The party sighed in relief.
"Still carrying Michelle and you have that face? Look at your fingers—blisters everywhere. You're the lucky one."
Complaining, Kaylen glared at Michelle. She just stared blankly.
"...Why?"
"Scared."
Michelle whispered. The others leaned in to listen.
"That guy is too strong."
"...Beastkin don't like strong men?"
Recalling the ecology of her kind, Moura asked. Michelle shook her head in terror.
"Strong is fine, but not too strong. You want to know what happened?"
Michelle recounted the incident.
Paniac was rare and expensive, so high-grade adventurers had been hunting Tatara-chi on the 40th floor. Among them were villains. On the way back with Rai and Michelle, they attacked.
Thinking the two of them were easy prey, the party demanded the Tatara-chi. Rai looked up at Michelle.
"Bad guys, huh?"
"Yes. This is a guild report issue."
"Can you report to the guild?"
The rough-looking man never finished his sentence. His head flew off. The party watched in a daze as his companion's head followed, then another, and another.
Rai walked past the headless party with his usual calm expression.
The story left the party pale. They exchanged glances.
"So the Tatara-chi wasn't the monster... Rai-san was the Tatara-chi. Haha."
Offering an awkward smile, Kaylen tried to joke. No one laughed.
"You don't forgive injustice."
True, but the cruel scene still puzzled them. Moura looked at Sierra, who gazed at Rai with a mix of awe and reverence.
"You really are an amazing person."
Rai glanced at the laughing party, then told them, "Let's keep harvesting hard."
The entire group nodded with one mind.
If this had been the material world instead of a dungeon, Rai's relentless slaughter would have destroyed an entire ecosystem. Now satisfied, he looked at the gathered materials.
"It finished sooner than I thought. I planned for three days, but it wrapped up in two."
Moura's party could only laugh at Rai's casual tone. Reaching three days for the 40th floor and he was already finished.
Zeroa placed other harvestable plants on the pile of Paniac he had collected before killing the Tatara-chi. Rai hesitated, then divided the items, keeping extra Paniac for himself and handing the rest to Moura.
"We're here for Paniac, so we'll take more."
"Sure, whatever you want. We only did porter work."
"And this is Cindy's share."
He took a quarter of the remaining Paniac and gave it to Cindy, then added one gold.
"The contract was three days and you did well. Ten silver bonus! Am I a good guy or what? Not a pervert—everything I said about those eyes was a lie."
"Um... um... but..."
Porters couldn't claim ownership of dungeon loot. When Cindy explained, Rai asked innocently, "Why? Porters aren't adventurers. Whether it's small or big work, you're part of the same party. You didn't mess up and you've been perfect so far. You have every right to it."
"What about my share?"
Asking as if it were obvious, Aslan made Rai grin.
"Volunteer service."
"What the hell?"
"The headmistress gave the order? Then give me the Paniac and remove your name?"
Rai's words made Aslan cough and turn away.
"Hmph, hmph. Tell the headmistress I worked hard."
Even if grades didn't matter, Aslan was still a student. He knew the professor's "work" was graded too.
Naturally receiving the loot while chatting, Cindy looked uneasy. Michelle stood beside her and said to take it. Adventurers had to stockpile what they could.
"Then let's head back for a drink! Today I'm buying."
Rai declared cheerfully and pulled out a Return Stone.
Normally two per person, but Rai had insisted on carrying enough for the entire party. Thanks to him, even Cindy—who was usually ignored in normal parties—could return with everyone. After reporting to the guild, the group headed to the tavern.
Other than the receptionist stubbornly demanding Rai sell the Paniac to the guild, nothing else happened.
Moura, who loved strong drinks, was thrilled to see Rai and Aslan drinking heartily. All fear vanished; the two now clapped each other on the back and danced on the table.
Michelle, feeling bolder, clung to Rai and asked why he was so strong. Kaylen asked Aslan and Zeroa how they trained.
Everyone enjoying the feast with happy faces, Cindy sipped her drink.
Selling the Paniac Rai had given her would bring years of income. Even after a year of extravagant spending, it would feel like pocket change.
More impressive than the money was the way Rai treated them as equals. She had never felt such camaraderie.
Thinking of Rai's words and the party she had experienced, Cindy wondered how to change adventurer society.
After the banquet, morning light filtered through the windows. Cindy woke in bed.
Thanks to Rai booking an entire room, the entire dungeon group was sprawled out drunk. With a generous private suite, Cindy stretched happily.
Still a bit hungover, she decided to grab water and head to the bath.
"..."
In the hallway, a door opened right beside her. Rai stepped out, followed by Michelle, who was clinging to him with cheeks rubbing together.
"Ah..."
Sierra appeared a moment later, looking embarrassed to see Cindy.
Cindy stared at Michelle and Sierra in turn, then at Rai.
"G-Good morning?"
"..."
"Pervert."
Rai froze. Cindy turned and walked back into the room.