After dinner, we decided to set up a night watch, including the Alliance.
Even though I’m injured and don’t need to push myself, and monsters can’t enter the Safe Area, nor do I think any hunters can reach this far, Slay and Caesar insisted on setting up a night watch, so I accepted their opinion.
Later, they told me that there are apparently some idiots in the Alliance who attempt night raids, which is rare, so a night watch is essential to prevent that.
I hadn’t even considered that, so I was quite dejected.
“As I said yesterday, we’ll be leaving here tomorrow afternoon. Is it safe to assume you all will be accompanying us?”
While eating breakfast, I reconfirmed the original plan with the leaders of each raid.
“Yes. We were actually planning to leave yesterday.”
“Rather, it’s a great help to us that you’re cooperating.”
“Just knowing that the fifth floor was such a dangerous area is valuable enough.”
Slay, Caesar, and El said so in turn.
The Alliance’s objective is to investigate the depths of the Instant Labyrinth, and if possible, it includes confirming the guardian’s chamber.
However, since they didn’t know how many floors there were, they were considering leaving after investigating the fifth and sixth floors.
A success judgment would be made upon reaching the fifth floor after breaking through the fourth, but they wanted to explore the depths if possible.
“Understood. Also, you’ll take credit for the monsters we defeat, as per the questing records?”
“That’s fine, but we have many injured people here. Although High Class individuals have high self-healing capabilities, it’s still uncertain if they can fight.”
“Rather, it seems we’ll be relying on you in that regard.”
The questing records display the monster that delivered the finishing blow.
So, to be extreme, if a hunter from another raid were to deliver the finishing blow to a monster that I had left near death, that hunter would be credited with the defeat, not me.
Of course, that’s rare, and there are few people who would do such a thing among the Amister’s High Class, but since it’s not impossible, it’s crucial to agree on this beforehand to avoid future conflicts.
This Alliance is like a field of corpses, but as expected of everyone being High Class, those who weren’t severely injured have recovered to the point where they can fight.
The six severely injured individuals’ self-healing abilities seemed to be declining; they had recovered enough to walk but were deemed unable to fight, and were excused from night duty for that reason.
Slay and the others have recovered enough to fight without issue, and they intend to fight if monsters appear.
“Given it’s a desert, the most likely monsters are Sand Worms, right?”
“Yes. And perhaps Sand Dragoons, which are quite frightening.”
“Ah, that’s possible. But Sand Dragoons are M-rank, so there probably aren’t many of them?”
“That’s right. And then there are the Scorpion types.”
Emperor Reinhardt, Slay, El, and Caesar were predicting the monsters that would appear on this floor.
I agreed.
There are also Desert Drakes and Sky Scorpions, but they are G-rank, including Sand Worms, so it’s difficult to determine if they will appear.
Perhaps Sand Worms will also be considered rare species.
“In any case, shall we proceed along the path?”
“Indeed. It’s common in any labyrinth, but there are no monsters lurking in the passages, nor are there any traps. Of course, considering the nature of this Instant Labyrinth, we can’t say for sure, but given this is a desert, we must also be prepared for attacks from underground.”
As Emperor Reinhardt said, in the paths within the labyrinth, monsters might walk by, but they don’t lie in ambush.
That’s why we can proceed with the Beast Carriage, but in this Instant Labyrinth, there were Monster Traps right beside the path, and on the fifth floor, there were even traps disguised as treasure chests, so we can’t say that won’t happen.
Still, I’m deciding on the time we leave the labyrinth, ownership of defeated monsters, and the progression route, but the members of the Alliance aren’t complaining at all.
Being ordered around by someone as young as me shouldn’t be pleasant for them, normally.
“Oh, here they come already. Is that a Big Scissors Scorpion?”
“Yes. I believe it’s a P-rank, but there are many of them. Normally, we would flee, but…”
The Big Scissors Scorpion is a huge scorpion monster with enormous pincers, as its name suggests, and it’s a P-U rank Monster.
It’s about the size of a horse, but its defense matches its massive body, making it difficult for even High Class individuals to pierce its shell.
Furthermore, its pincers are sharp enough to easily sever a human body, making them valuable materials for weapons.
Looking from the rear deck, about five of these Big Scissors Scorpions are approaching us.
“Mina, how many can you see from your side?”
“Seven.”
Two more?
No, they must have been hiding behind me.
“If I and Prim go out, it’ll be over quickly, but Your Majesty wants to fight, right?”
“Indeed. Although they are P-U rank, they are positioned at the lower end of P-rank monsters. I don’t intend to fight all of them, of course, but I believe the three of us can defeat one.”
Well, since we defeated the P-R rank Macronaria, I think we can handle up to two.
“Then, one for Your Majesty and the others, one for Mana, Mina, and Flam, one for Athena, Lydia, and Ludia, and one for Raus, Rebecca, and Carol. We can take care of the rest, but what about you, Slay and the others?”
“Since they are valuable prey, we’ll fight too.”
Slay and the others are also using weapons made of Jade Silver and Blue-Gray Iron.
In fact, they defeated a G-I rank Evil Drake on the fourth floor and a P-rank Twin Sword Durahan on the fifth floor, so I think they can handle a few Big Scissors Scorpions.
“Then, Prim and I will be providing support again this time, I suppose.”
“I wish we could fight, though.”
I feel the same as Prim.
It’s not just because I’ll be promoted to A-rank Hunter at level 81, but if I only provide support, my skills will get rusty.
“If we keep going as we are, you’ll have that opportunity.”
“I’ll count on that.”
And so, the Big Scissors Scorpion annihilation battle began. As expected, since the opponents were P-rank, everyone was struggling quite a bit.
The Alliance, which was facing three Big Scissors Scorpions with a little over ten people, hadn’t fully recovered from their injuries yet, but they weren’t here for nothing. They covered each other’s blind spots while attacking the Big Scissors Scorpions, and either avoided or defended against the pincer and tail attacks with the coordinated efforts of two people.
It was impressive.
“They were quite tough, but as long as you’re careful with their pincers, it’s not difficult to handle them.”
“Yes. While sword attacks weren’t very effective, Mina’s Unique Magic and Ludia’s attacks clearly did damage.”
Mana, Mina, and Flam’s group, and Athena, Lydia, and Ludia’s group had already defeated the Big Scissors Scorpions.
I watched out of the corner of my eye. Mana’s group had Mina draw the aggro while Flam kept them at bay. Mina then used Mace Quake to blow the Big Scissors Scorpion away, and Mana finished it by bisecting its head with Sterling Divider.
Athena’s group had Lydia continuously evade the pincer attacks. While this was happening, Athena managed a blow into a gap in its shell with Dragool Spear. As it recoiled, Ludia, wielding Fireing Impact, punched it, flipping it over, and finished it with a flying kick, burning it to a crisp.
Indeed, it clearly demonstrated that blunt weapons are effective against tough enemies.
“Your Majesty and the others… looks like they’re finished too.”
Yes, they are.
Your Majesty’s weapon is a one-handed straight sword, Princess Elis uses a rapier, and Princess Maruca uses two hand axes. Therefore, Princess Maruca is expected to be the primary source of damage.
Even so, the pattern is usually Your Majesty drawing aggro, Princess Elis maintaining distance, and Princess Maruca delivering powerful blows, and this time was no exception, with a very stable fighting style.
In the end, their pincers were severed by Your Majesty and Princess Maruca’s Unique Magic, and Princess Elis’s blow pierced deeply into its head.
“As expected, a stable fighting style.”
“Truly. I’m a little envious.”
Mana muttered sadly, and Mina, Flam, Lydia, Ludia, and Athena seemed to feel the same.
The reason is probably me.
“Even though it’s not my place to say, there’s nothing I can do about this. That’s why I’m working hard to level up and stand next to Yamato, right?”
“That’s true, but Yamato is also getting further and further ahead…”
“I feel like we’re being left behind.”
I could only reply with a “What can I do?”
If there were no other circumstances, I might have considered matching everyone’s pace. However, in the war with Retisencia, which will occur within three years, or rather, two years, I will be in a precarious situation, so I feel the need to become stronger, even by a little.
“It’s okay. It’s not a bad thing for Yamato to get stronger. You know the reason for that too.”
“Yes. In fact, it’s precisely because we heard that story that we’re also working hard to gain strength.”
Is that so?
Well, that’s a welcome thought for me.
There are things I can’t do even if only I become stronger.
The most significant reason for this is the lifespan that extends upon evolution.
Prim and I have evolved into Ancient Class, so our lifespans are about 250 years.
However, everyone else in High Class has about 150 years, a hundred-year difference. And Rika and Yuri, who are in Normal Class, will likely only live about 80 years, so the difference is even greater.
Therefore, it’s safe to say that raising everyone’s levels is a higher priority than hunting monsters.
“It’s not just us, Raus and the others are working hard too. Look.”
Prompted by Flam, I looked towards Raus and the others. There, Raus’s Unique Magic, Heavy Fang Cloud, was swarming the Big Scissors Scorpion, and Rebecca’s painstakingly completed Unique Magic, Thunderscale Rain, struck it.
Rebecca, who evolved into High Undine, was granted an aptitude for lightning magic and the Bestowed Magic of Telekinetic Magic.
Therefore, she combined both and developed a Unique Magic inspired by my Ice Edge Javelin.
Thunderscale Rain is a magic that manipulates launched arrows freely with telekinetic magic, firing multiple lightning bolts wrapped in spiraling water droplets.
She can apparently control up to three arrows simultaneously, but unlike me, she hasn’t learned Accelerating Magic, so she seems to be substituting it with her Demon Eye magic.
Even so, even with just three arrows, the lightning discharged from them is highly conductive due to the water droplets, and it has penetration power, dealing significant damage to the Big Scissors Scorpion.
And when the arrows pierced the Big Scissors Scorpion, all the lightning scorched them from within.
It’s similar to my Ice Edge Javelin, as it was inspired by it, but I don’t think it’s bad.
Once she can use Accelerating Magic, the number of arrows she can control simultaneously will likely increase.
“And then there’s the Alliance; they’re impressive too.”
“Indeed.”
The Alliance members, with their practiced coordination, were defeating the Big Scissors Scorpions one after another.
As scorpion-type monsters, one had to be wary not only of their pincers but also of their venomous tail attacks. However, their tails were prioritized and knocked off by Caesar’s great axe and El’s scythe; the pincers were also being parried by other hunters, making it difficult for the Big Scissors Scorpions to aim.
Finally, they received blows to their heads from Caesar’s great axe, El’s scythe, and the attack of a Martial Artist from Snow Blossom, and then they became motionless.
I last saw the coordination of veteran hunters during the Holy Grave, but in terms of experience, these guys seemed more seasoned.
Or rather, I’ve never seen a scythe before.
“Gracious Lynx and Black Army were formed over 30 years ago, and Falcon’s Beak has been fighting for nearly 20 years, so that level of coordination is second nature to them.”
Ah, so those were raids formed that long ago.
Wise Rainbow has been around for a little over 10 years, and Snow Blossom for about 5 years. Since they are based in a city called Aqua, they have cooperated not only within the Alliance but also on regular requests, so their relationship goes beyond mere acquaintances.
Holy Grave is a raid that hasn’t even been around for 10 years, so it makes sense that they are more seasoned in terms of experience.
We have almost no dealings with veteran hunters, so meeting this Alliance is a significant gain.
