CH 52

“I think everyone knows, but we are the Hero Party.” (Yuki)

The leader of the party, a.k.a. the Hero, began to speak after confirming that the other explorers were gathering at the call of the Hero Party.

“We were diving in the forest area inside dungeon today, and when we came back to the 14th layer, we encountered a unique monster. Naturally, we defeated the unique monster with our own hands.” (Yuki)

There was a murmur around me. It was not a murmur of surprise, but a murmur of admiration for the hero, who was as strong as ever. One unique monster is nothing to worry about now.

“But there was a problem with that unique monster. The only problem with this unique monster was that it seemed to have an instigation skill. In the time it took us to defeat it, a lot of monsters had gathered under it.” (Yuki)

The Dungeon Market quieted down as the Hero’s story grew more and more serious, and everyone listened carefully to his voice. I wondered if this was charisma, rather than strength. Well, I respect him.

“We defeated the monsters that were around the unique monster, but it seems that the influence of the unique monster was a bit more widespread.”

Then, the Hero paused his words and a bitter expression crosses his face.

“The monsters that reacted to the skill of the unique monster did not scatter even when we killed the unique monster, and they are gathering and pointing their fangs to the upper layers.” (Yuki)

A murmur spreads. A shocked murmuring. It’s no wonder everyone is shocked. What the Hero Party has caused is a stampede. Since that had been caused by a 14th-floor monster, it would require at least the ability of an intermediate explorer to deal with all of those monsters.

“I’m sorry to add to the grief, but the monsters don’t know the way to the upper levels, and it’s taking most of the monsters on each level with it, so they’re slowly making their way up.” (Yuki)

At one time, Stampede was thought to stop at the boss room. The front and back of the boss room can only be traveled through transitions. And the monsters can’t use the transfer team. That is until they found out.

When a monster meets some conditions, it becomes a stampede and gains the right to move through the floors. It is speculated that all Stampedes are treated as one unique monster, but it is not certain.

And then there are the Stampedes. These monsters enter the exit hall of the Boss Room and run into the walls. And then, they will move directly to the door of the Boss Room.

As it turns out, the boss room is no obstacle for the Stampede.

And what it means is.

“The worst that can happen is that the ground will be flooded with monsters. Like when the dungeons first appeared on Earth.” (Yuki)

Yes. In Japan, after the first dungeon was built and some experiments were conducted, they have never let the monsters out of the dungeon. That’s why we don’t know much about the threat of monsters on the ground. At first, the damage was small because the monsters were weakened. So what about this time?　Maybe they will be weakened. However,

“The monsters that are going up the dungeon now are not the small fry monsters from the first four floors like they were the first time, and if we put them on the ground, the casualties are likely to be greater.” (Yuki)

We need to deal with the monsters, but there are not enough of us to deal with them with a few elites. If so, what should we do?

“I want everyone to help me. Protect Japan, Hokkaido, and this city!” (Yuki)

The Hero’s words created a moment of silence in the dungeon market, and then,

“””Oooo!””” (Crowd)

The explorers raised their voices in a shout. They were filled with the fighting spirit and determination to improve. And a boundless spirit of exploration. People went into the dungeon in search of treasures, in search of power, and in search of the unknown. And they sought the unknown. That’s what explorers are.

“Everyone, tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m., according to the judgment of each person’s ability, the front line will be deployed at the top of the stairs of each level above the fifth level!” (Yuki)

“””Oooo!””” (Crowd)

Here in Hokkaido, a great alliance of explorers has been created.

And here are two people who can’t read the mood.

“Brother, what are we going to do?” (Haru)

“Oh, let’s not leave tomorrow, let’s do some light fighting and see what happens.” (Kei)

“Yes, we can deal with anything and probably won’t lose.” (Haru)

The brother and sister who had enough time were not in a hurry, nor were they motivated. They just forgot one fact.

“Oh, I forgot to reserve a place to stay.” (Kei)

“Oh, by the way…” (Haru)

“”Huh?!”” (Haru & Kei)

In the end, we stayed at a hotel a little far away from here for the night. Well, the hotels near the dungeon were either impossible to get into without a reservation, already full, or expensive. And we can’t stay there because of that.

So we stayed at a hotel a few stops away by train.

“Aah, still sleepy.” (Kei)

Sleeping late. And we have to be in front of the dungeon by seven o’clock. Even if we just watch, it’s not a good impression to join in the middle. We have to be careful because people who make a bad impression stand out more than people who make a good impression.

The time was now 7:00 am. The mission is about to begin.

“Thank you, everyone, for gathering today. We are about to start a monster interception operation.” (Yuki)

The hero and his party went up to the stage and began to speak with microphones. Surrounding them were many men and women of all ages with weapons, and if you looked closely, you could see TV cameras. The scale of the event was truly quite impressive.

“First, we, the Advance Explorers, will go on a raid from the 6th floor onwards, each party in turn. I want the rest of the groups to take down every single monster before the fifth layer. The order should be from the strongest to the least.” (Yuki)

After saying that much, the hero let out a sigh.

“There’s nothing you can get. There is no reward. Still, for the sake of honor, for the sake of Japan. Let’s go, let’s start the mission!” (Yuki)

“””Ohhhhh!””” (Crowd)

With an explosive cry, the sound of metal clanking rang out, and explorers poured into the dungeon one after another. It is a breathtaking sight to see such a large number of people diving into the dungeon all at once at the same time.

And then,

“Well, shall we go too?” (Kei)

“Yep, we can’t transfer, so let’s go slowly.” (Haru)

The strongest siblings also began to move forward.

When they entered the dungeon, there were already no people around. They probably moved to the standby area right away. I had memorized the map of the lower levels, so I proceeded without hesitation. There were no monsters on the path at all. I guess I would normally think that was ominous. Well, in all likelihood, the explorers who came before us had probably eradicated them.

In any case, they are small fry monsters that will die if we kick them.

I walked straight through the first floor and immediately saw the stairs to the second floor. There were dozens of people gathered there. They wore equipment that made them look like beginners. The fact that no monster materials were used in their equipment suggested that they were explorers who hadn’t even made it past the fifth floor yet.

Continuing down, we came to the stairs from the second floor to the third floor. Some people here are wearing equipment made from monster materials. I guess they just don’t have good equipment for the lower levels. I saw many people using equipment from outside the dungeon.

And the stairs leading down to the fourth floor. The atmosphere of the explorers here was different from those at the top. Perhaps this is where the intermediate-level explorers are.

Some of the explorers were talking to each other, but there was a lot of caution. I could see that there was always some kind of skill or magic at work.

“I’ve been thinking about this, aren’t the people upstairs too complacent?” (Kei)

“Yep, they weren’t using any skills or anything.” (Haru)

Well, I understood well that those who can’t do that can’t become Intermediate Explorers. And then, monsters started to arrive, about three every minute. I couldn’t tell if the monsters were normal or Stampede monsters anymore.

It was time to go to the next floor.

“Hey you, siblings. You’d better not go down there. There’s a lot of high-level Intermediate guys around. You’ll get caught.” (Older Explorer)

“Oh, sure. Well we’re intermediate level, so can we join with the interception here?” (Kei)

It seems that it is better not to go to the lower levels. The main reason for this is that you will be noticed. And well, if an older explorer gives you advice, you might as well follow it.

“Then, Haru. Let’s do it?” (Kei)

“Yeah!” (Haru)

We pulled out our weapons with enthusiasm. From the front, we could see the monsters rushing towards us. And then,

“Teryaaa—!” (Older Explorer)

The older explorer who was in front cut it in one slash.

“Oi, kid. There aren’t many monsters now, so you can put away your weapons and rest.” (Older Explorer)

No, well, I appreciate the concern, but…

The brother and sister thought.

Will you let us fight, even for a bit? Soon.