“—Shall we begin? Just so you know, once we start, there’s no turning back,”
“Yes. I understand.”
In the end, my all-in proposal was accepted.
They were a little suspicious, but I managed to stimulate the pride of Alken and his party, who had been Explorers for a long time. The matter was settled when I provocatively said, “I don’t mind a two-on-four match.”
They must be convinced that they couldn’t possibly lose to two children who were low-level until just a few days ago. Their expressions conveyed that they wanted to teach us, who had grown arrogant, the difference in power.
In this world’s common sense, leveling up takes years. They must not have imagined that we would reach Level 6 in a matter of days.
—And then, we proceeded to the “Seidō” to make our oath and share information about the monster in question.
The monster we were to subjugate was called the Hangshadow.
It was said to be a black liquid creature that clung to the labyrinth walls like a shadow.
Its characteristic was to surprise Explorers from hiding and hang them. It was resistant to physical attacks like swords and could only be dealt a decisive blow with magic. Apparently, there was a unique drop item, and the victory would be decided by the number of these items.
“—Here I go! Let’s start!”
With those words, Alken and his party split into two groups and took off running.
It was clear that they were serious. They seemed to want us to experience not just a defeat, but an overwhelming one.
However, we, their opponents—
“Dia, you understand, right?”
“Yeah, I understand.”
—did not move.
Alken and his party looked at us with puzzled eyes, but they didn’t turn back.
After confirming that they were out of my sight, I began to chant.
“Well then, let’s win overwhelmingly. —Magic: Dimension – Multiple Expansion.”
I used MP without restraint to search for targets.
As I grew accustomed to using this magic, I expanded my senses for a brief moment and absorbed a large amount of information.
Among the information instantly captured, I recognized only the form of the monsters in my mind.
By omitting unnecessary information, I suppressed the wasteful consumption of MP.
As a result of this efficient search, I succeeded in finding several Hangshadows hiding.
The MP consumption did not even reach 10.
A reasonably good outcome.
“Dia, I’ve found a few targets. I admit they might be good at hiding, but they’re a bad match for me. There’s no way we can lose this match.”
“As expected, Christ… It feels like there’s no room for me to show off… But I guess it can’t be helped this time.”
“No, your magic will be the main force in combat, so don’t let your guard down.”
Joking with each other, Dia and I set off.
We proceeded through the winding labyrinth, taking the shortest path to the targets.
Once the targets were close, we would use a final confirmation with “Dimension” to pinpoint their location and move into a sniping position.
“First one, found. Well then, like with the boss last time, put it on my arm.”
“Got it. Here goes… —Flame Arrow!”
A flash of light tore through the darkness of the labyrinth—and the target died instantly.
We immediately collected the drop item and moved on to the next target.
Since Hangshadows don’t seem to move much, this tactic was highly efficient.
“Alright, next. Dia, shoot.”
“O-Oh. —Flame Arrow!”
The second one also died instantly.
Only about ten minutes had passed.
Looking at my remaining MP, I calculated that it would last for an hour. Then, with a second cast of the magic “Dimension – Multiple Expansion,” I located additional targets.
“Alright. Let’s keep this up.”
“—Flame Arrow!”
We hunted the Hangshadows without wasting any time.
Occasionally, we encountered Hangshadows that evaded our shots, but I am strong against monsters that hide their forms.
As long as I have “Dimension,” I cannot be caught off guard. Furthermore, with “Gaze,” I can see their details, so I won’t lose them.
In less than an hour, we had obtained ten Hangshadow drop items.
Then, we went to the designated meeting room on the 6th floor and leisurely waited for Alken and his party.
***
“N-No way…!!”
“Impossible!”
“Hey, Alken! This is your fault!”
The two parties gathered in the space before the stairs leading from the 5th to the 6th floor to confirm their results.
The entrance was a room with only two exits, clearly within “Seidō.”
Alken and his party were in a state of disbelief, all four of them in a frenzy. And it was understandable. In the past hour, they had lost all their money.
Representing them, Alken shouted at us.
“—N-No! You cheated! Because that’s impossible, right!? Even if you were a veteran, that brat was Level 1! And yet, ten! Ten of them!? Impossible!”
Alken approached us with the intensity of someone about to grab us.
“No, we defeated ten. It’s true.”
“That’s right! Don’t make false accusations! We—especially Christ—are strong! So this is only natural!!”
Dia chimed in with my rebuttal. For some reason, he didn’t forget to push my strengths.
Even in this situation, he was being needlessly devoted.
“Impossible!! That store clerk guy was someone who got beaten down on the first floor after coming from the countryside!? And yet! This outcome is impossible!”
Alken repeated “impossible.”
This was a little unexpected. I thought they would make more excuses, like the items picked up being invalid, or items they already possessed being invalid, but it seems that wasn’t the case. Perhaps their thinking abilities had deteriorated in the face of this unbelievable development.
“Damn it! Hey, you guys, surround them!!”
However, this turn of events was as expected.
Alken and his party resorted to brute force.
They held weapons and blocked our escape route.
I had anticipated this.
Ultimately, a match like this is nothing more than the strong imposing their will on the weak.
The strong deceive and take from the weak.
A match solely for that purpose.
There was no order to it.
I harbored a small amount of hostility towards this disorder.
The “heat” simmering within my body grew larger.
“As expected… this is how it turns out. If we had lost, and acted as you are now, we would have trampled on you. That’s why we initiated this match. And even if you lost, you thought you could trample on us like this. That’s why we initiated this match. You just wanted to extort money from the ignorant weak… That’s all.”
I coldly criticized Alken and his party.
“So what! In this world, only the strong survive!”
Alken roared in response.
“What about the oath of duel… It’s not a problem once we leave the country, right? You’ll definitely get rid of us and move on to other money-making schemes in another country.”
“Hah, you get it. We can make money outside the labyrinth too. I’m sorry, but you die here!”
I thought as much.
That’s why I bet all my money.
For this kind of brute force development.
I gave up on talking to Alken and addressed Dia.
“See, Dia… It wasn’t worth it, was it?”
“Ah… It turned out just as Christ said…”
Dia had his head down the moment Alken’s party resorted to force.
Dia must have believed that the match was fair.
He dreamed that if they won, they would be recognized.
Even with their past conflicts, he held on to the fleeting dream that skill alone could earn respect—
Reality was different.
All that remained was violence, disguised as animosity.
Dia seemed to hold a certain reverence for duels and oaths, so the shock was especially significant for him.
“I’ll handle the rest, so you step back, Dia.”
“I… I’ll help too!!”
“No, it’s fine. It’s enough.”
I drew my sword.
About thirty percent of my MP remained.
Anticipating this outcome, I had saved a certain amount of MP.
It was enough to overwhelm them.
Then, I muttered.
“—Magic: Dimension – Decisive Calculation.”
“You brats—!”
As the magic ended, Alken, who was in front of me, lunged at me.
His beastman swordsman companion and a nimble-looking spear user followed suit.
In the back, a female mage began chanting.
Based on this information, I conceived the shortest path to subjugation and moved my body.
—First, Alken’s sword slashed through the air, grazing my nose.
Too slow.
For me, Alken was too slow.
He was a man with a higher level than me.
However, his skill and speed were several grades below mine. Moreover, with the compensation from “Dimension – Decisive Calculation,” it was impossible for him to hit me.
The difference in our action timelines felt absolute.
As I dodved, I lightly stabbed Alken’s dominant hand with my sword, and then injured both his legs.
After watching him be cut and collapse—I also parried the charging spear user.
As I slipped past, I also cut the spear user’s dominant hand with my sword. Without stopping, I ran towards the mage. On the way, the beastman swordsman roared and leaped at me, but before he could bring his sword down, I stabbed his arm. I swept the legs of the beastman swordsman, enduring the pain, and leaped over his head. Finally, I pointed the tip of my sword at the throat of the mage, who had stopped to chant.
—This all happened in a matter of seconds.
I spoke in as low a voice as possible.
“—What I truly desired from this match was not money. My wish is that you, who insulted Dia, will never appear before us again. Therefore, if you disappear, I will do nothing further.”
“I-Impossible…”
Alken and his party uttered fragmented exclamations, clutching their wounded areas.
The outcome of the battle was decided in a few seconds.
They must have never experienced anything like this in their lives. Stunned, they watched their fellow mage have a sword pointed at her throat.
“Please answer quickly. If you don’t say you’ll disappear, I’ll have to inflict more injuries.”
Saying this, I moved the sword closer to the female mage’s throat.
“F-Fine… I surrender. I’ll disappear immediately.”
First, the female mage, who was directly threatened with a sword, admitted defeat.
Consequently, the beastman swordsman and the spear user also indicated their intent to surrender.
“Damn it…! In any case, we’ve messed up in ‘Seidō’. We can’t stay in this country…!”
Then, Alken also spoke of leaving the country.
The difference in power between us was obvious.
Furthermore, with an escape route provided, they had no choice but to take it.
Most importantly, they seemed to have realized my true intentions. If my goal wasn’t money, they could calculate that it would be better to comply obediently.
“Good. This matter is resolved. Let’s consider ourselves unlucky.”
With that, I gestured with my sword for Alken and his party to leave the room.
“If we leave the country, you won’t do anything else, right?”
“That’s right. However, I’ll report this to the Guild, so it’s best you leave Valt Country as soon as possible.”
“Tch… Damn it. Fine, we’ll just disappear, right…”
With those words, Alken and his party began to walk away.
The beastman swordsman lent his shoulder to Alken, and the four of them left the room as a group.
Along the way, I could vaguely hear the four of them arguing in hushed tones.
I watched them leave without letting my guard down, and let out a breath once they were out of sight.
“Whew…”
“I-I’m sorry… For causing you trouble…”
After everything was over and they were gone, Dia apologized with a dejected look.
“No, it’s fine. I was also angry at them. I’m glad I got to see their pathetic display.”
“I didn’t mean for… If they had just recognized me, that would have been enough…”
While I felt my stress relieved by seeing Alken and his party’s crestfallen faces, Dia didn’t seem to feel the same. Perhaps, for better or worse, with his pure heart, Dia had imagined a scene where they would praise each other’s efforts if they won this match.
However, that was just a dream.
Yes.
All of this was a dream.
“Unfortunately, that’s difficult. Mutual recognition is a very difficult thing.”
For example, it’s a question of “whether I will recognize this world.”
A truly difficult problem.
“I see… So, Christ, what do we do now?”
“Let’s see. My MP is low, so we should head back—”
“No, it would be problematic if you went back.”
Just as I was about to suggest returning, I was interrupted by an unknown voice from above.
“—?!”
Startled by a voice from an unexpected direction, I leaped backward.
“Dimension – Decisive Calculation” had been focused on Alken and his party.
The fact that we were inside “Seidō.”
These factors caused a lapse in my search.
“Ah, I apologize. Did I startle you? But, it would be a little bothersome if you left now. It’s rare to meet children like you.”
The owner of the voice was clinging to the labyrinth ceiling.
And it was a grotesque being.
Its form resembled the Hangshadows I had just hunted.
However, while similar, it was a completely different entity. Hangshadows never took human form, nor did they speak.
But this creature, formed from shadow-like black liquid into a human shape, spoke with intelligence.
Its body was of a wriggling black liquid.
Its face was a flat Noh mask with no discernible features.
This utterly monstrous being spoke to us.
Its soles were stuck to the ceiling, and its masked face was constantly directed at us.
I dripped cold sweat as I “Gazed” at it, confirming the monster’s details.
【Twenty Guardians】The one who steals the logic of darkness
It was not human.
It had no rank as a monster.
It simply had the designation “Guardian” with the title “The one who steals the logic of darkness.”
Faced with this “Display,” I was astounded, and the monster’s black Noh mask responded with a smile.
“Hehehe. I am the guardian of the 20th floor, Teeda, the one who steals the logic of darkness. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
And he politely introduced himself as the boss monster of the 20th floor.
『Before the Boss Battle』
【Status】
Name: Aikawa Uzunami HP: 189/197 MP: 127/262 Class:
Level: 6
Strength: 4.12 Stamina: 4.21 Dexterity: 5.11 Speed: 7.24 Intelligence: 7.23 Magic Power: 11.43 Aptitude: 7.00
Condition: Confusion: 5.30
Experience Points: 2238/3200
Innate Skills: Swordsmanship 1.02 Ice Magic 2.02
Acquired Skills: Dimensional Magic 5.02
??? : ???
??? : ???
Ice Magic: Freeze 1.00 Ice 1.01
Dimensional Magic: Dimension 1.02
Unique Magic: Dimension – Multiple Expansion 1.01
Dimension – Decisive Calculation 1.02
Ice – Makeshift Arrow 1.00
