“…What’s going on!?”
The plan was proceeding well.
The unique monster was successfully stalled, and the pro seekers were warned.
When he got there after the seekers rushed towards the hobgoblin, it was hurt and looked as though it could die at any moment.
Even a powerful unique monster had no hope of winning against opponents that were literally on a whole other level.
The difference in power was too big, and they kept pummeling it without giving it any room to move.
The seekers doing it were not into torturing monsters, but the person who put out the quest requested that it be hurt as much as possible before being put down, and that the execution of this bad taste request be filmed.
Kumagai looked on at this disgusting sight, but as he thought he should at least finish it off, a change occurred.
Wind suddenly blew inside the dungeon, and a lot of black mist was sucked into the hurt hobgoblin.
Its body was gradually healed, and became twice the size. It could now hold the greatsword with one hand, and seemed completely different from before. There was a nastier air to it than an ogre.
Something abnormal happened, the hobgoblin evolved.
The unique monster now had an air to it that showed even a pro party would not easily beat it.
And it was not an empty threat. The seekers who were tormenting it had a bad feeling and retreated a few steps, but the next moment, the vanguard lost their heads.
A spraying liquid dirtied the area around them.
Seekers were surprised and made a move, while another’s upper body hit the ground.
“Run!!”
Someone decided to retreat. It was a wise decision, which raised their odds of survival even if just a little. But that voice drew the unique monster’s attention, and its sights.
A greatsword hit the screaming person in the mouth, leaving the upper half on the blade.
Only the eyes moved, looking at the unique monster. The face was expressionless, and lost its original shape after being sent against a wall.
The others tried to resist, but had trouble even attacking as they lost their lives.
And then, this violence was turned towards the other two parties.
They were too scared to move, as they watched the pros being killed.
It was only when their bodies were cut in half that they realized they had to escape.
One swing killed two, and the second three. The last swing of the greatsword of fortitude cut five in half.
Kumagai could do nothing but watch. He erased his presence and concealed his breath, making not a single sound as he tried his best to contain his heartbeat as well.
His heart that was filled with thirst for revenge was now occupied with fear.
Go away quickly, don’t find me, was all he could hope for.
But the unique monster noticed him.
In the blink of an eye, it moved to where Kumagai was hiding, and tried to cut him in half with a sweep of the greatsword of fortitude.
Kumagai was scared of the unique monster, but he had gone past the thirtieth floor.
He just barely blocked with his twin swords, but he was flung back and his head hit the wall. The last thing he saw with his hazy consciousness was a black something coming out of the unique monster.
◇ ◇ ◇
It was a third failure. Something the Seeker Association wanted to hide.
Kumagai survived somehow, and he provided information and footage to them, but the guild did not want to make it public.
“Why!? Why won’t you tell people about that dangerous monster!?”
He asked the president of the seeker association, who was sitting at a reception desk. That unique monster was dangerous, and others might challenge it. Even if they did not, there was a chance unaware seekers exploring the tenth floor would die.
Surely the president was aware, so why…
“Ah, let’s talk somewhere else.”
The president seemed annoyed, and took Kumagai to her office. He was urged to sit on a sofa, and offered tea.
“I don’t like the decoration in this room. Wouldn’t it be better if it was simpler?”
“…I wouldn’t know.”
“Too many useless things. It’s hard to pick out the useful from the useless. That’s why there are filters for everything, things, people, the dungeon.”
“…So the people dying are useless?”
Like his little brother…
He clenched his teeth with frustration.
He could not accept that. Even if the unique monster was that sort of filter, saying the people being killed were useless was unforgivable.
He reached towards his twin swords.
“Don’t. It’s not like we want people to die needlessly. That’s part of why we won’t divulge that information. There are many reckless people in this line of work. Among them, idiots who will hear of that unique monster and rush after it. We won’t divulge that specifically so they won’t do that. Understand?”
“Then why put out a quest!? People can’t beat that dangerous monster, right!?”
“The association didn’t put out that quest. It was a civilian who did it outside the association. Even if you didn’t know, it’s your own fault if you accept it.”
“But my brother did accept it from the guild…”
He tried to remember. Where did his little brother accept the quest?
Who accepted it?
He could not remember. He just assumed it was from the association.
Yes. This one came from outside.
“We knew there was a unique monster. For a long time. It was easy to deal with it, so we never put out a quest.
It didn’t attack seekers level ten and above, so we just had to assign adventurers of level ten or higher to new seekers until they made it past the tenth floor. Simple, right? And if we spread rumors that the floors before the tenth were unprofitable, no one would go there.”
Of course, there would be exceptions.
Kumagai hung his head. He blamed them, but actually knew nothing. He felt embarrassed for lashing out over his little brother’s death.
Still, he tried to think of a way to take down the unique monster. Why did it suddenly change? It was practically dead before it sucked in that black mist. That caused the transformation.
He wanted to know where it came from, and asked the president.
“Did you see that video?”
“Of the hobgoblin?”
“Yes. Did you know it could suddenly change and become stronger?”
“…That was my first time seeing that phenomenon. But I did know it could become really strong.”
“What was…?”
“You don’t have to know. In fact, stop going after that unique monster, you can’t beat it and you will lose your life for nothing.”
“…Could you beat it?”
If Kumagai could not beat it, all he could do was rely on a seeker above him, like the president. He was leaving it to someone else, but he could not think of another way.
“Me? No, you can’t make a lady who retreated from the front lines fight it. If you want it beat, you either get stronger or make newbies stronger to make them fight it. Anyway, we are done here. You’re causing problems to your party, so while I know you want to take revenge for a family member, you should stop neglecting the people that are still here.”
She clapped, and prompted Kumagai to leave. She waved her hands signaling they had nothing more to talk about.
Kumagai got up and left without saying anything.
What was left was self-loathing and an indescribable feeling of despondency.
He should have talked to his little brother more, and checked where the quest came from. He should have intervened earlier, before the unique monster became stronger.
It was all what ifs, but he could not help thinking about it.
◇ ◇ ◇
Kumagai returned to his party. He did not forget about the unique monster, as he could never forget about his little brother being killed.
If he asked, his party would help, but he did not believe he could win even with his party. They were not that different from the ones the unique monster killed.
He looked into where the quest his little brother accepted came from, and discovered it also came from someone who lost a family member.
He spoke to the member of his little brother’s party who brought it to them, and he apologized on his knees.
◇ ◇ ◇
After returning to his party, Kumagai was more proactive in battle.
It was as though something spurred him on, or perhaps he was running from his fear, but he polished his skills.
It was to the point where he was warned by his party that he was going too far forward, and had to go back.
Even when his party took days off to rest after an exploration, he went to the dungeon to fight monsters. He fought with a ghastly expression. And the result was that he surpassed his party in terms of power.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Hey, Masa! Have you seen this video!?”
He fought for three years and a bit. They reached the thirty-eighth floor, and everyone was leveling up nicely.
One day, in the early afternoon, as he tended to his weapon in the apartment building his party rented, the leader of the party came running with a smartphone in hand.
“What is it? Did an old girlfriend get married?”
“Idiot, that’s not it! Look!”
It was a video of a young fat seeker fighting two hobgoblins, while protecting others.
He managed to overpower and beat them without much danger, and looked very strong doing so.
And…
“…The greatsword of fortitude.”
The adventurer was using the weapon they found in a treasure chest on the thirty-fourth floor. The one he gave his little brother, and was supposedly used by the unique monster that killed him.
He could not understand why that seeker had it. He knew of a way to get it, by defeating it, but he saw it. Kumagai saw that overwhelming power that could only cause despair. A regular seeker could have no hope of beating it.
“Hey! Masa!?”
Kumagai left the apartment building and ran to the Seeker Association.
There was no guarantee he would find that man there, but he might figure something out by asking at the reception desk.
He remembered the conversation with the president as he ran. Filtered, surviving seekers.
Someone different from others. Special.
This seeker might have avenged his little brother.
He ran as fast as he could to meet this seeker.
ーーー
Masamitsu Kumagai (27)
Level: 28
Skills: Trap Detection, Acceleration, See Through
ーーー
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Bro is gonna be like “please don’t bug me” at first.