Chapter 33 – The Crossroads of Promotion (1)
– Clap clap
I looked in the mirror and slapped myself on the cheek a couple of times.
It is the day of the showdown.
He is in good physical condition and mentally stable.
I memorized all the characteristics and characteristics of the swordsman monkeys, and recalled the points to be careful of.
I got out of the bathroom and started putting on my gear.
A welcome feeling came.
That feeling when you first enter the dungeon.
The feeling of dragging the body down, both tense and excited.
It wasn’t a very pleasant feeling, but I tried to enjoy the feeling nonetheless.
“After.”
He took a deep breath and put his weapon on his waist.
And I looked around the room.
It is a place of attachment.
A place that has been indebted to since starting the party life.
A place where his older brother told him several times to come and live in his building, but he refused and hugged him.
It was a place where I felt like a friend.
I opened my mouth to control my anxiety.
“I will be back.”
Talk to a room with no one in it.
Then he turned around, opened the door, and headed to the meeting place.
****
When we arrived at the place, everyone was gathered.
There was a strange feeling of tension.
The more he did, the more confident Starchis acted casually.
“Is everyone here? How are you?”
“Great.”
“It’s okay.”
As everyone agreed, his heart beat slightly faster.
The words that should have been reassuring made me nervous.
The fact that everyone was in good health meant that the request would go ahead.
The water has just spilled over.
Starchis nodded and said.
“Our first B-class commission is for Swordsman Monkeys. Have you ever heard of it?”
“Is this a group of monkeys carrying swords?”
Lily replied with a stroke of her hair.
The unpleasant pressure on her chest eased as she decided to play the long game waiting for Starches.
It felt like I changed my sport from sprinting to long running.
Even if they lost now, they did not lose in the long run.
“Yes, that’s right, sister Lily. She’s not going to catch just one monster today. It’s a ‘crowd’.”
“If it’s fighting against a lot of monsters at once… I’ve experienced it a few times.”
Lily thought of the old times when she and Starchis ran away from the Tiger Wolf. Of course, they were creatures outside the dungeon, so it was hard to call them monsters, but even then it was difficult.
“No, sister Lily. You have to think differently. They say they use swordsmanship. I like the idea that she’s going to fight a party of humans. You’ve never experienced anything like that before, have you?”
The three party members realized a B-class request from a new type of enemy.
It was a feeling Starches had already experienced a few days ago.
“Then, the gathering goal is the demonic sword of the swordsman monkey captain?”
Russ also asked with a serious expression.
It was a weapon that Russ, who used a sword, would have heard of at least once.
“Right. The target is the captain’s sword.”
While talking, Starchis looked at the party members.
Bienne felt more stable than yesterday.
Russ had all her equipment as clean as new,
Lily looked calm.
Maybe it was because I was asked to do so, it seemed like everything was well prepared.
“But there is something to be aware of. Russ may already know, but she’s a demonic sword, you really have to be careful. She is not a demonic sword for nothing.”
“How are you?”
Lily asks.
“If the demonic sword’s demonic energy seeps into the wound, the bleeding cannot be stopped until the demonic energy is driven out.”
Russ, who knows the weapon, replies with a worried look on her behalf.
“…Even if I tie it tightly with a bandage?”
Starchis shook his head.
“It’s just soaking the bandage with blood. That’s why older sisters are important. Our goal is to not fight the captain as much as possible.”
“…Yes?”
“To be precise, me and Russ in the front line should not fight the captain as much as possible.”
“Then… Are you saying to bind me with magic and let me attack you?”
“Yes, sister.”
“Should I kill the captain?”
“Right. My sister has to do it.”
“What if I run out of mana while fighting, Starchis?”
“You have to catch it before it runs out. It has to be done in a short time. Noona saves mana unless she is a captain. You know? Noona is the most important request. If my sister fails, well, because me and Russ somehow have to catch it unscathed. I don’t think that will be easy.”
“… You mean to use magic only on the Grand Ape?”
“Unless there are special circumstances. Bien, you should always leave the holy power to purify. I don’t know how things will turn out.”
As if Bien understood, she looked straight at Stachis and nodded her head.
“Finally Russ. The only goal for you and me is to protect. You don’t even have to go forward. Just fight off the other monkeys that approach while Lily attacks the black monkey.”
“Do you have any strategy? Is it Chis?”
“You and I don’t need that, do we? Let’s deal flexibly with the situation while fighting.”
At that, she nodded her head to Russ one last time.
A rough briefing is over.
After making minor preparations, the party approached the dungeon gate.
A gatekeeper stopped them in front.
“A pass.”
Stachis handed over the pass and said.
“How are you? Mister.”
The gatekeeper’s face was familiar to them, now in their second year of party.
The gatekeeper was the same.
“Okay. What else to catch this time… Um?”
The gatekeeper frowned as he went through the papers Starchis had handed him.
She seemed to make sure she was looking at it correctly.
Stachis said to alleviate the suffering.
“The dungeon you want to enter today is different.”
“… Naville Dungeon? Are you on your way? This is a place where A-class and C-class monsters come out.”
“I’m going to try B-class quests from now on.”
The gatekeeper who alternated between the pass and the party said a few words to the staff next to him.
Then, the color of the dungeon gate changed a bit darker, and the gatekeeper spoke soon.
“…Good luck.”
****
The place he came out of through the dungeon was a jungle.
The damp, humid air, sparse drops of water that fall overhead and startle people.
The cries of unknown monsters heard from afar and the sounds mimicking human screams.
Dense trees climbed high without knowing how high the sky was, and vines stretched like spider webs between the trees.
There was nothing strange about a huge monster appearing from behind a tree in an instant.
There was also a fear that small beings with deadly poison would attack if they did not pay attention to every step they took.
Starchis took a deep breath and tasted the air.
It was a grade B scent.
He looked back at Bien and said.
“Bien, you know?”
Bien nodded her head. Bien was also in charge of memorizing the path.
It might be easy to get confused because it’s a new area and it’s a jungle, but Starchis believed in Bien.
“Okay then let’s go. It’s all new, but let me know if you see any signs. I have remembered the traces the swordsman monkeys leave behind.”
Said in a low voice.
There is nothing good about making loud noises here.
It might attract the attention of an A-class monster for no reason.
There was no reason to be cautious enough to have to be quiet right in front of the gate, but Stachis and the rest of the party were new to it, so they did their best.
Starchis led the way and Russ was at the back.
.
.
.
.
Tuk tuk
Stachis swung his weapon and broke the tall grass and leaves that blocked his way.
The grass easily returned to its original position, and there was no significant meaning.
No one said a word throughout the walk.
It was different from the C-class request, where I got used to it and joked or talked about it in detail.
Tree roots, boulders, and small pits informed each other, cutting through the rising and falling jungle.
The jungle continued endlessly.
Bien’s burden of memorizing the road also increased.
She held a small stone in her hand, which sometimes left large marks in the tree.
Occasionally Gadda Vien would give Starchis her signal and stop, closing her eyes and repeating her path.
Rarely, she was told that if this happened and she got lost and she couldn’t get back to the gate entrance, her rescue team would come the moment she was 7 days missing.
Even if you were wiped out while completing the quest, it’s the same.
Rescuers come and check.
Chuck.
Starchis raised his hand and the whole party stopped.
Russ drew his sword and shield from behind her, and the others readied themselves.
Everyone lowered their stance.
Stachis saw a human figure in the distance.
It was obscured by strange plants and trees of various shapes and was difficult to see.
It was the same even when he squinted his eyes.
He glanced at the party member behind him to see if they were ready.
The three party members nodded slightly as he turned around.
Starchis began to approach.
– Swoop, swoosh
Carefully so as not to make the sound of breaking the grass.
He turned his head little by little, looking for the right angle to see them.
It wasn’t moving. Maybe it was the best opportunity.
And as they got a little closer, Stachis realized that they weren’t sword monkeys.
Starchis stood up.
The other party members were also taken aback and poked out from behind him to confirm what he had seen, then got up in the same way.
“…This.”
They were not swords monkeys.
It was a corpse.
It was probably a gatherer who failed the request.
Some bodies had their armor missing.
Helmets, gloves, boots…Etc.
Starchis thought that the rescue team had ripped off the armor as evidence.
Bien came over and knelt down to say a small prayer.
.
.
.
.
I walked past them for a while.
It was so humid that it was difficult to breathe.
Starchis heard Vienne and Lily’s weak gasps and decided to rest.
Maybe we could even camp here.
It was the point at which the day was slowly drawing to a close.
“Let’s rest here for a while.”
This time it wasn’t even that small.
I wanted to put out a tone that felt like I had to be careful, but not scared.
If he’s full of confidence, the party members will too.
It seemed that the previous incident had dampened his morale a little.
Russ and Vienne sat down.
And Lily, like a habit, turned on her magic and tried to look around her once, but Starchis touched her magic.
“Sister, I will look back and come back. Save your mana.”
“… I’m sorry. I forgot.”
“What do you have to be sorry about?”
After saying that, Stachis left to scout the area.
Russ, who was still as fresh as Starchis, constantly checked her equipment.
I looked at the shield, then checked her armor, then pulled out the sword and checked the blade.
“Bien, I also decided to wait until Starchis parted ways.”
Lily said suddenly.
She took out a water bottle from her waistband and took a sip of water.
Then she smiled benevolently. He seemed more relaxed than before.
Bien looked at her in surprise.
She hadn’t told anyone what was on her mind, and I couldn’t guess how Lily knew.
“What… Uh, how…”
“How did you know? If you have that expression on your face throughout the meal, you will notice.”
“…”
Bien bowed her head in her arms.
She felt ashamed that she had been exposed.
“It’s a good choice. I only got hurt when I asked about this and that.”
Russ now holstered her sword and freed her body.
She pretended to be calm, but she was thinking about whether she should too.
Lily continued.
“So… So that it hurts less, you should stick around and wait until we part. All the way. For a long long time.”
“… What if we don’t break up after that?”
Bien asked Lily the question she feared the most. She wanted to know what her answer her was.
“Haha… I will.”
But neither she nor Lily had the answer she deserved.
Russ, who had been listening quietly, wanted to change her subject her.
Because her mind was also getting complicated.
“If you are going to stick around for a long time, focus on the request. Don’t you know that if you fail, you can disband the party?”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want Vien or Lily to stick around for long, but it was something that nobody wanted the party to break up.
-Papakpapak
Suddenly there was the sound of something speeding through the grass.
In an instant, everyone was ready for battle.
“Guys…!”
Fortunately, it was Starchis.
He was talking quietly, almost in a whisper.
“I found it. Trace.”
