The Underground Ambition

Sub-dungeon #2, inside the Garden underground cavern, the hideout of the Vigilantes. "The world revolves around me." If anyone were to hear that, they would surely call it the height of arrogance... but the leader of the Vigilantes, Dawson, truly believed it. Everything was going smoothly, just as Dawson had planned. It started with this cave, which he had discovered by pure chance. "Where else in this frontier would you find a natural fortress like this?" The entrance was exquisitely hidden from outside eyes, and the tunnels stretching in every direction were no different from a natural labyrinth. It was the perfect place to secretly build his strength and plot grand things without worrying about prying eyes.

"Soon, Garden will be under my feet." A plan that the idiot Guard Captain, who only cares about looking cool, could never even imagine was being meticulously carried out right here. Training elite Vigilante members. Stockpiling equipment for the rebellion. And on top of that, a "secret weapon" that could wipe out two or three Gardens in one go if he felt like it... A laugh bubbled up, but Dawson quickly straightened his face. No. Would he be satisfied with just being the ruler of Garden? With this much power gathered? Dawson shook his head. "My vessel isn't that small." A strong body tempered by real combat, sharp tactics that catch everyone off guard, and the charisma to captivate his subordinates. What on earth was he lacking?

Dawson pondered it carefully, but no matter how he looked at it, he was perfect. "If push comes to shove, I can just smash anyone's head in with this, and they'll be done in one hit." Dawson's true friend, the one he could trust more than anyone, "Garden's Meteor", was always by his side. This artifact had never disappointed Dawson. "Using Garden as a base, I'll take the entire West, and then..." Perhaps, just maybe. The seat of the Imperial Emperor, the one above ten thousand people on that high throne, might not just be a dream. Yes. That's right. If a man is born into this world with a pair of balls, he should dream big. Ambition grew within his chest. "Is there a law saying I can't be Emperor? It's not like the blood of kings and nobles is special. Yes, there's no reason I can't do it. I can do it because it's me."

Dawson leaned against the cave wall, lost in sweet thoughts. Golden wealth and glory wrapped around his body, and beautiful, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fair-skinned women from the capital served him... Drip. A cold drop of water from a stalactite woke Dawson up. Soon after, an oblivious subordinate approached Dawson, his footsteps thumping loudly.

"Leader!"

"...You bastard, it's loud. I told you to keep your voice down because sound echoes in the cave."

"Ah, sorry."

"What is it?"

"You know that path I found earlier? I went all the way to the end this time, and well, it turns out it connects to another area, not the cave."

Dawson closed his eyes and listened half-heartedly with an annoyed expression. Right now, Dawson's interest was entirely focused on the upcoming grand undertaking. Ha, this frustrating idiot. We're about to decide whether or not to take over Garden, and he's obsessed with cave exploration games... But even if he was a dull subordinate, to Dawson, every single one of them was a force he couldn't afford to lose. If he wanted to reach the position of an absolute ruler in the future, he couldn't neglect training his ability to manage people. Dawson summoned his patience and opened his mouth.

"So, where does it lead?"

"I think it's the underground waterway. The smell coming from it is really foul..."

"Block it with planks."

"Huh?"

"I said block it with planks, you idiot. Don't make me say it twice. If you leave it, sewage will flow in."

The subordinate hesitated for a moment, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish, then looked at Dawson's expression and said, "Um, by any chance... could someone be invading through there?"

"Oh, this guy really..." A thick vein bulged on Dawson's temple. The subordinate hurriedly shut his mouth.

"Who the hell is wandering around the underground waterway, huh? Invading? Are rats coming in droves? Don't piss me off, just take a few guys and go block that hole, damn it."

"Ah, okay."

The subordinate didn't say anything more and moved away from Dawson as if fleeing. What a temper, that son of a bitch... He grumbled silently, but he was in a position where he had no choice but to quietly follow orders. That was how firm Dawson's authority was in the Vigilante group.

—Kishaaak!

As Mitchell's fist exploded, the Ratman collapsed pathetically. This was the underground waterway. Our party, which had increased its strength with the addition of Mitchell and Wagner, was continuing the hunt smoothly.

"What is this? It's nothing special, is it?" Mitchell snorted confidently. It wasn't wrong. The Ratman was a monster that Flora and I had caught together. Now that we had recruited a tanker and a dealer, the Ratmen were no longer our match. There was no need for strategies like setting up magic shields. Just kill them as you see them.

"Still, you never know, so always stay behind me." Wagner held up his shield reliably, and Flora and I followed closely behind him. It couldn't be more stable. If this were a mobile game, it would be fine to turn on auto-hunt and take a nap.

'The magic stones are dropping nicely, too.' I was also happy that the effect of the magic stone collection rune imbued in Flora's gloves was shining, and the number of magic stones the Ratmen spat out had increased significantly compared to before. Every single one of these was precious experience points. I left most of the hunting to Mitchell and Wagner and focused on collecting the spoils. It felt like I was closer to a pet picking up items than a party leader, but... things would be a little different from now on.

We reached the entrance of the sub-dungeon we had marked on the map, the "Polluted Waste Deposit".

"Oh, kid. Did you find this? Not bad—"

Mitchell ruffled my hair as if pretending to stroke it. The discovery of a sub-dungeon is considered a significant achievement. If you report it to the Guard or the Adventurer's Guild, you can get a decent reward. However, I didn't tell anyone. Of course. You can monopolize a honey-like hunting ground, so who cares about that kind of achievement points?

The basic scenery was similar to the underground waterway. Narrow, dark paths stretched out, and polluted water flowed beside them. However, the color of the water was different from here on out. A bright green wastewater that seemed like it would never exist in nature. It was similar to the color of the highlighter I often used when taking notes in my school days.

"Be careful never to dip your feet in the water." I reminded everyone once again. If you touch the sewage in the deposit, poisoning is a given, and there's a low probability of getting the 'mutation' status effect. Simply put, you could end up with three arms or two dicks. Uh, two dicks...? That's kind of tempting?

"Estelle-ssi, why are you like that?"

"...It's nothing. Let's go."

I put aside my useless delusions and focused again. After entering the sub-dungeon, the atmosphere of the party had changed significantly. Unlike the relaxed atmosphere when catching Ratmen, everyone looked a little tense. Naturally, a tight formation was formed without anyone telling them to. At the forefront was Wagner, holding up a large shield. Behind him was Mitchell, looking around with hawk-like eyes, ready for battle. In the rear, the goddess of magic, Flora, and I.

Thump, thump. Only the sound of our footsteps echoed emptily in the waterway where the fluorescent wastewater glowed faintly. Then. Wagner, who was in the lead, stopped walking.

"There's something."

Soon after, a strange figure appeared in the darkness across the waterway. A giant eyeball floating in the air. And a lump of mud crawling along the floor, dragging its body. It was a "Translucent Eyeball" and a "Mud Monster".

"That's disgusting. Come at me, you bastards!"

Ta-dat— Mitchell kicked off the ground and leaped with all her might. A kick that drew a semicircular trajectory struck the Translucent Eyeball, and the bursting body fluids scattered in all directions. Oh, Mitchell's kick could catch a Translucent Eyeball in one hit. It was good news, but the battle wasn't over yet.

"What is this bastard?" Mitchell's eyes widened. The flesh of the Translucent Eyeball gathered in the air, and after a while, it split into two small eyeballs. A troublesome trait of the Translucent Eyeball. If you kill it with a physical attack, it splits up to two times. Soon, one eyeball stared at Mitchell, and the other stared at Flora in the back.

"Oh, shit, why is it like this? My body—"

"Huh? I, I'm strange too!"

Another trait of the Translucent Eyeball. A.k.a. 'Bizarre Gaze'. It slows down the opponent it looks at with its contaminated gaze or absorbs magic power. If you are exposed to the gaze for a long time, you will eventually lose your life. Meanwhile, the Mud Monster wrapped around Wagner's legs.

"...Ugh."

The Mud Monster didn't have any lethally dangerous techniques, but the fact that it clung persistently was annoying. Wagner, who was running to help the party, had his ankles tied to the spot.

'Well, even so, this much.'

While everyone was struggling with the monsters, I stood in the back with my arms crossed and calmly observed the situation. Even though it was a situation where the party could fall into a panic and collapse, they were dealing with the crisis reasonably well for inexperienced adventurers. It meant they had potential. 'Maybe it's worth raising them?' According to the original plan, these guys were ones I would use a little and throw away, but looking at it, it might be okay to modify the plan slightly.

"Hey, kid! Are you playing by yourself!" Mitchell shouted, dumbfounded. It was about time I helped.

"Mitchell, don't make eye contact with the eyeballs."

"What? Suddenly what—"

"If you don't look directly at them, your body will be less slow. And don't space out after popping the eyeballs, attack again immediately. Then you can kill them immediately without giving them a chance to split."

"Uh, uh? Okay."

While advising, I shot a magic arrow at the eyeball tormenting Flora. Pzzzt— An arrow imbued with the ice attribute pierced the pupil of the eyeball accurately. The Translucent Eyeball fell to the floor pathetically like a piece of a popped balloon.

"Relax your legs, Wagner. The more you struggle, the more it clings."

The Mud Monster reacts to the movement of living things. When Wagner relaxed his legs as I said and stood still in place, the Mud Monster wiggled its body and looked for a new target. I focused my magic on my ritual dagger. Ice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠magic "Frost Sword". Receiving the bonus from the ritual dagger's "Elemental Amplification" option, the ice blade shone bluer than before. The Mud Monster, sensing me approaching quietly, stretched its body long like taffy and rushed at me—

Slash. The Mud Monster couldn't even touch a hair on my head and was cut in half in the air. The monsters in the Polluted Waste Deposit commonly have ice attacks as their weakness. The reason the Mud Monster, which should have clung to the blade, was frozen by the cold and sliced off was because of this.

"Thank you, Estelle."

As the battle ended, Wagner expressed his gratitude.

"Whew— I survived thanks to Estelle-ssi. When that eyeball looked at me, my head suddenly got dizzy... Whew—"

"...Kid, not bad?"

Mitchell also looked at me with a completely different gaze, as if she had seen me again. It was the flow I expected. 'As expected, you have to let them get hit once to know they're grateful.' I could have told them the strategy for the monsters appearing in the deposit beforehand, but I didn't. Human hearts are treacherous. Even if I told them in advance, they wouldn't feel grateful like they do now. At best, they would forget that I helped them and think it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their own skill. So, I plan to work our party a little harder. To accumulate real combat experience, and above all, to maintain my dignity as a party leader.

"You guys, is that your best?"

"Huh?"

Mitchell's eyebrows twitched, but she closed her mouth as if she didn't have a proper response. Because she knew that her form just now wasn't good either. "What was that disgrace just now, anyway? Running out alone blindly, and not being able to do anything and fumbling around."

"..."

Everyone was silently listening to my sharp reprimand. If someone saw it, the sight of three adventurers being unable to say anything and fumbling in front of one girl would look funny... but the atmosphere was quite serious. That's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right. This is how you take the initiative. I drove the wedge with a very strict, solemn, and serious face.

"The party leader is very disappointed in you guys."