Komori’s magic energy was restored, but the situation was still bad.
The Fire Wall disappeared, and the big ants approached.
They ran, but the big ants were too nimble to be left behind.
There was a way to escape this danger. If they went up to the next floor, the big ants would not follow. It was said that monsters could not move to different floors, except powerful ones like unique monsters.
“We’re being surrounded!”
“Let’s head to the twelfth floor!”
They had to give up on the staircase to the tenth floor, because the path was already blocked by the monsters.
The staircase to the twelfth floor was over five kilometers away if they took the shortest path, but since they had to go around and traverse twice that length, they could not run at full speed the whole way.
Even after a year of training, Komori did not possess the body to run that far at full speed.
“Ahh, ahh, huff uff.”
“Come on! Aren’t you a man!?”
“No… Sex… Ism…”
“Why are you speaking!? Are you an idiot!”
She said, not wanting him to waste his breath.
It seemed like he would reach his limit and collapse at any moment. At that rate, the monsters would catch up before they reached the staircase.
“…Keep running. I’ll go on a date with you when we make it back!”
Komori slowed down.
“Why!?”
Hayami did not expect her encouragement to have the opposite effect.
This guy confessed to me, he’s supposed to be enamored by me. I thought a date would motivate him.
She thought, but she misunderstood.
Komori confessed to her half a year before, when he did not know her too well. As they worked in the dungeon together, they started to understand each other, and respect each other more.
Along the way, feelings of friendship bloomed, and romantic feelings shriveled.
Through their adventurers as seekers, Komori came to see Hayami as a trusted companion, not someone with whom he could have a romantic relationship.
This was not exclusive to Komori, most people in the circle were like this. That was why there were so few couples there.
“Thanks… But… No.”
He thanked her for looking out for him.
While asking in his mind that she stop.
“Hmph!”
◇ ◇ ◇
They kept running, but Komori was at his limit.
But then, the man they chased away appeared.
“Uoh!?”
“Eh!?”
“Ah?”
They turned a corner, and saw a man who took down a big ant with a greatsword. Both sounded surprised.
“Hey you, run!”
Said Hayami, as the big ants chased them.
She did not want to involve him.
Once he noticed the big ants behind them, he started running with them.
“Why!? What did you do!?”
They were obvious questions.
Since Hayami still had strength left, she explained what happened, and the man looked at them after nodding.
“Are you at your limit?”
“N-not yet.”
Said Komori, feeling competitive for some reason, but he looked like he could crash at any moment.
“I see… Turn left over there.”
The man suddenly yelled, and the other two nodded.
They turned left, and he turned right.
Both looked at him with surprise, and saw his face.
‘Leave it to me’, was what his small smile told them.
And as if to prove this, all the big ants turned right after him.
“No way… That man…?”
“Kaha! Ahh, ahh, ahh…”
Once they stopped, Komori crumpled, but his eyes were still on the big ants.
A stranger saved them. They dragged him into this, and he accepted near certain death with a smile.
“Ahh, ahh… Let’s go ask the guild to send reinforcements! We might still be able to save him!”
“!? Yes, let’s go. Can you still run?”
“Sorry, go on without me. We can’t waste time.”
“Okay.”
Hayami then ran to the tenth floor.
Komori tried his hardest to compose his breathing, and then drank a potion.
After that, he could run again.
He was going after Hayami, but turned around after sensing a large presence.
It was a queen big ant, being protected by the rest of the swarm.
Its movements were slow, but its overwhelming sense of presence was befitting of a queen monster.
He gulped, feeling his fear.
Queen big ants were magic pros. They produced fire, created water, and buried their enemies with earth. They were terrifying monsters. Furthermore, they controlled the other big ants through the magic energy in their bodies as if they were their limbs.
Only seekers nearing death could ever see it.
After the queen big ant passed, he said nothing and headed to the exit.
ーーー
By the time he made it back to the guild, there was already a commotion.
The newbies had already explained, but could not properly describe the situation. They got a better grasp after Hayami’s arrival, so the seekers that could move out were readying to do so.
Komori sat on a bench, and took a deep breath with a can of coffee in his hand.
It was no good. He could not be saved.
How do you even face something like that?
These thoughts ran through his mind, filling it with negativity.
He wanted him to live, to be saved, but how?
“Are you okay?”
“…We can’t beat that. I don’t think anyone other than top level seekers can even fight it.”
“That’s why they’re gathering people… Are you going to join them?”
“…Yes. I want to at least know what happened.”
But why?
It might be for his own satisfaction, but if there were any mementos of the man who saved them, he wanted to deliver them to his family.
Deliver them, apologize, and thank them.
How self-righteous, he thought.
He was not thinking about saving him anymore. After all, two hours had passed by the time he made it back.
It was way too much time.
It was impossible for him to fight alone that long. He would have to be a monster himself.
“Eh? Stranded? I see. How many?”
He heard a voice that sounded full of energy, despite the upsetting topic.
Komori looked up to see who was saying that, and saw a man by the counter where they sold things.
“…Doesn’t he look like him?”
Hayami looked at him with surprise, but Komori said no.
“No, he’s completely different. He wasn’t dressed like that. And…”
He observed him a little longer.
“He wasn’t that fat.”
He said while looking at the big guy that looked like he weighed about a hundred kilos, and was carrying big ants.
ーーー
Ren Komori (20)
Level: 14
Skills: Fire Magic, Spread
ーーー
Saki Hayami (19)
Level: 15
Skills: Quick Foot, Foreseeing
ーーー
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“Now way… That man…?”
No way*