CH 98.1

A/N: 10/11 – Corrected Ichigaya Metro to Itabashi Metro, the residence of the “Ghost Sword Saint”.

~3rd Person Perspective~

There is a secret on what lurks on the fifth underground floor of the Rikugi Metro, unknown to Abe Shuu and Tamiko, Utsuki, the members of the strike team, or even the scouting team of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office that visited ten years ago.

It has been a year since it was officially announced that no significant resources or rare metro beasts were found in the investigation by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Hunters from neighboring cities have been away, and the excitement in Rikugi Village has cooled down considerably.

The only people who enter the village are the residents of Rikugi Village, who wander around the first and second floors in search of medicinal herbs and the like. The rest of the floors had become a paradise for beasts, and then a group of four beginner-level hunters from Asakusa City arrived.

Leaving their hometown, which lacked metros for low-level hunters, the four were on an expedition to find an affordable hunting ground. We heard a rumor of a “low-level metro that was just built last year” at a branch in Komagome City where we stopped.

The four of them were interested in this place, which did not bring much success for the local hunters.

“‘Water metro’ huh… it’s the perfect place for us.” (Hunter)

Asakusa City is an exotic water city on the shores of Lake Sumida, which flows from the Sumida River. It is the center of trade with Akihabara to the west (the metropolis where the Metro Church is headquartered), Kameido Tribe to the east, Senju Tribe to the north, and Daiba and Sinagawa to the south.

For the four of them, who was born and raised in the “Water City,” one of the most popular tourist destinations in New Tokyo, the name “Water Metro” was enough to make them feel a sense of connection.

After gathering more information, they found that the Rikugi Metro was a perfect fit for them.

The metro beasts inhabiting the area are mainly beginner beasts such as lesser Sahuagin and Baphomet. At best, Catoblepas appear in the deeper levels. For the three of them us, who are still comfortable on the second floor, with an average level of just over 20, this is just the right training ground.

The reputation for poor efficiency is not a problem for them, but fortunately, they do not have to worry about their actual income as they do not have to worry about the cost of the hunt. In fact, it is a good place for them to slowly improve their skills, as they are unlikely to run into other hunters.

They stocked up on food that day and prepared for a long day of hunting. Instead of stopping at the village, which was rumored to have an “ostrich smell,” they went straight into Rikugi Metro.

The search went reasonably well. Even though their level was not high, they had been apprenticed together since they were ten years old, and their coordination was no less than that of a mid-level hunter, and they were not intimidated by the beasts that attacked them in search of flesh and blood. The ups and downs of the terrain were a bit tedious, but the fantastic scenery made the exhaustion go away. The young men were impressed by every single one of them and murmured, “I’m glad we came.”

After a few days of slow progress, they reached the fifth underground floor, where they encountered a group of Baphomets.

They could not turn their backs on these highly mobile creatures, and running away was not an option. Although they were forced to fight against the unexpected number of Baphomets, the four of them stood together as one. They continued to persevere in a solid formation led by their leader, a [Knight], and gradually whittled away the enemy’s numbers.

When they had killed half of the herd of more than 30 beasts, an even more troublesome intruder appeared. It was a catoblepas, which we had heard appeared in the deeper levels.

A boar monster with a blackened body surface. It was one or two times larger than the one they had seen in the Kamade metro. It glared at the human and the goat-monkey alternately with a ferocious look in its eyes, and broke into the two camps to kick them apart.

A three-way battle. Baphomets were jumping around more and more in a fury, Catoblepas was annoyed at the others who had broken in on their own and were now coming at it, and the four hunters were on the defensive, looking for an opportunity to retreat.

—Who among the factions had really pressed the final switch?

Everyone in the room gasped as the thing lurking in the floor came into view.

The hunters looked up at it, and it looked like a water dragon with a long neck.

An hour later.

The raging dragon disappeared, and the area was quiet. The only sound was the dripping of water here and there.

There was no one there. There were no bodies or bloodstains.

The city was a cobblestone pavement, washed clean, and faintly reflecting the light of the firefly moss.

~Shuu’s Perspective~

After walking behind Utsuki, the loli elf, for about ten minutes, we began to see the corpses of baphomets, which had decayed and become a nursery for mycelium plants. These are the so-called “returned” to the metro. Are they leftovers from mutated individuals or something?

After entering the fifth floor and fighting off the third attack, we took a short break to sit side-by-side in the shade of the building. We replenished ourselves with our onigiris.

Utsuki seemed to be quite hungry, and she stuffed her cheeks while crying that it was delicious. She looks like a girl whose parents turned in to monsters. The last of the onigiri fits into her blushing cheek pouch, and the original cheek pouch is not to be outdone and fills up with white rice to compete with her. Incidentally, Tamiko dexterously removes some ingredients from her onigiri. The onigiri are made for manual laborers like Kurano, so the ingredients, such as Tsukudani [A/N: food boiled in soy sauce] Metro Cockroaches and pickled plums, are apparently too salty for Tamiko.

“But—” said Utsuki. “I’m glad Abe and Tamiko came here. I wasn’t doubting you, but when I watch your movements, you really look like masters. How did you manage to become so strong when you’re so young?”

“Well… it just happened, or maybe I was just struggling to survive.” (Shuu)

“It’s a product of my own personality, squeak.” (Tamiko)

“That’s sort of true, I guess.” (Shuu)

“Let me hear more about it next time over drinks.” (Sou)

She leans against me. A bruised loli glancing up to me.

I would like to ask you to refrain from doing such actions because it makes my heart pound unnecessarily. I don’t want to open any new doors. I poke the cheek pouch of the squirrel girl to calm down. Ah, it really calms me down.

“However, you know what? Our job is just to investigate the mutant of Baphomet. I’ll decide whether or not I’m going to fight after I see the actual thing.” (Shuu)

“Yes, of course. If possible, I want to take revenge on behalf of the others, in any case, it’s a one-punch return for me… but it’s dangerous if we leave it alone. If you don’t finish it off as soon as possible, it may eventually grow up to be a ‘named’ monster…” (Sou)

“‘Named’… like the Satan Slime or something?” (Shuu)

Satan Slime, the boss of the 49th floor of the Outsuka Metro that Tamiko and I defeated.

The name does not represent the species itself, but is unique to that particular individual.

Metro beasts with such unique names are called “Titled” or “Named”.

In MMO games, they are “strong monsters with unique names”. For hunters, metro beasts are the second most dangerous threat after demons (excluding the five great beast kings, since some of them are not hostile), and a bounty may be placed on their heads depending on how dangerous they are and the need to subjugate them.

To give an example that of what I heard in the lecture when I was getting my license, the Dragon’s Mushroom Den’s a mutated Wyvern named “Corruption Whirlwind” that has its nests in the middle floor, and the big boss of Itabashi Metro “Ghost Sword Saint”. Also in the Ikebukuro Tribe territory, there are also “endemic species that can become a ‘Named’ after changes in generation” in the Ikebukuro Tribe territory.

By the way, it is not possible to give names to mature and mutant individuals. Also, the difference in names such as Blue Goblin and Red Goblin, Lesser Sahuagin and Land Sahuagin means that they are different species in the same category. It’s like the difference between a Toy Poodle and a Doberman. Basically, no crossbreeding occurs there, but it is said that there are rare cases where crossbreeding occur and powerful mutants are born.

“There aren’t many “Name” metro beasts left, are there?” (Shuu)

“Yes, there are. Basically, a master or someone of a master level will go out there and kill it. But when a name is given to a metro beast, it means that it caused a lot of death and destruction, so… so it will already be too late.” (Sou)

“That’s true.” (Shuu)

If the fifth and sixth underground floors are switched, there is a possibility that they will come to the surface. If a Satan Slime-class beast were to appear in a human village, it is hard to imagine how much damage it would cause.

“If you become a Named Hunter, you can get a reward or a nickname for defeating the Named beast.” (Sou)