His name was Masamitsu Kumagai, and he was a veteran seeker who started eight years before.
In half a year, he took down the boss of the twentieth floor, and he took down the boss of the thirtieth on his third year. After that, he was recognized as a pro seeker by the Seeker Association.
Being a pro came with big perks, such as earning more money from materials and being able to take corporate sponsors. Also, the chances of finding treasure chests were increased from the thirty-first floor onward, meaning people found at least one if they explored for a week.
Of course, the contents of treasure chests varied, but that combined with the money from selling monster materials meant they could earn millions of yen in a month.
And as he looked at him, Kumagai’s brother who was six years younger said he wanted to follow in his footsteps.
“I want to be a seeker too, so let me go with you.”
His little brother said casually, so Kumagai poked him in the chin and told him not to say nonsense.
“Then give me something I can use to brag about my pro older brother.”
“Get it yourself. It serves as motivation.”
“I get that, but I want to brag.”
Said his embarrassed younger brother. Surely that was just how proud he was of his big brother.
He was already forming a party, and he would start working as a seeker as soon as he graduated high school.
Kumagai wished he would go to university instead, but he could not bring himself to strongly oppose it as long as he was doing it.
Their parents shared that sentiment, being pretty strongly opposed. Two out of three brothers being seekers was taxing on them. Their saving grace was the second son, who had no interest in being a seeker.
He explored with his party without any issues, and found a treasure chest next to rubble on the thirty-fourth floor.
This one was visibly bigger than any other they found, so they expected a large item.
And sure enough, there was a two meter long greatsword.
Sadly, no one in that party used them. They figured they would sell it, but their leader thought of a use.
“Masa, didn’t you say your little brother uses greatswords?”
Asked the leader, and the others nodded.
Money was not an issue, and no one objected to it going to a family member.
But it was Kumagai himself who was not so sure. He cared about his brother and wanted to support him however he could , but he had no intention of involving his party.
“Wait! What the party gets belongs to all of us, right!? I’ll buy it if I have to. You can’t shoulder that cost!”
It was a party rule. Kumagai did not feel like breaking it or causing problems.
But the others shrugged and laughed.
“Don’t worry about it Masa. It’s your brother. We want him to stay safe.”
“Yes, we can’t have you making mistakes because you’re worried about him. Then we should lend a hand, right?”
“As a leader, I can’t think of a better use for it. Just take it. If you don’t want it, sell it.”
After talking him down, they gave Kumagai the greatsword, who then gave it to his little brother.
This greatsword was called greatsword of fortitude, and it was a kind of a peculiar item that increased its power according to its user’s will.
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“Seriously!? Thanks! I’ll catch up to you in no time now!”
“Make sure to thank everyone next time they’re here.”
“Got it.!”
The little brother was happy like a child upon receiving it. He would be registering in the guild the next month, but seeing him like that made his older brother worry.
And then, the day came.
He wanted to accompany him as a guide, but he already had one.
“Big brother! My skill is Great Strength.”
He reported, happy to have a skill that allowed him to use his greatsword better.
The Great Strength skill was not a technical aid or special skill, but it was valuable in taking down monsters. It simply allowed the user to hit them with a heavy weapon, which was enough to take down most monsters.
It was a very good first skill.
◇ ◇ ◇
Their exploration seemed to be going well. They had a good party balance, and his little brother was fighting on the vanguard. They also found two treasure chests in nine months, so their finances were stable.
And then, the party led by the little brother accepted a quest. It was to take down a monster called newbie killer.
That quest had been accepted once before, but the ones that did so failed and were beaten back.
This newbie killer appeared to be a superior species of goblin, a hobgoblin, and it only appeared before adventurers below level nine.
Two parties joined forces to accept it, making it ten people in total. Surely even a unique monster would fall easily to so many.
Kumagai also felt that way, and he had confidence in his little brother.
“Good luck tomorrow.”
“Ou! I’ll catch up to you in no time with this skill!”
He looked at his cheeky little brother, and thought for sure he would be fine. He never imagined they would never talk again.
◇ ◇ ◇
He heard about the quest failing the next night.
Half the adventurers were killed, and the rest barely escaped with their lives. His little brother was among the former, with only three of his classmates surviving.
With what felt like a prayer in his heart, he asked about his little brother. His classmates were tired, and shocked over losing friends, but he had to know.
“He acted as bait for us to get away…”
“Then he might still be alive! Where did that monster appear!?”
“The ninth floor. Right by the staircase.”
Kumagai took off running immediately.
He ran without a sound, with his twin swords at his waist and while praying that his little brother was still alive.
He ran and ran, but found only despair.
“Uwaaaaaaah!!!”
His little brother’s body was on the ground.
He was not breathing, and his body was the most hurt out of all the people who fell there.
Kumagai thought he stood until the end for sure.
He poured all his potions on his body, tried artificial breathing, but he would never breathe again.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry…”
He held the cold body of his little brother, and apologized for not being there in time. No one was listening, but he felt all he could was apologize for being useless as a big brother.
◇ ◇ ◇
Several days later, after his little brother was buried, Kumagai was on the tenth floor.
Revenge.
He had begun roaming the floors from the fifth to the tenth searching for the hobgoblin unique monster. He knew it only appeared before seekers level nine and under, but he still ran around hoping to find it.
The greatsword was not with his younger brother when he found him. Surely the monster had it.
That was unforgivable. He could not allow a monster to wield his little brother’s weapon.
He ran around those floors practically every day, and even though his party told him it was no use, they let him go. Come back when you’re done, they said, but he would rather just quit. He understood he was causing them problems.
Being away from the party temporarily meant they had to stop exploring. He was their scout, and he was in charge of finding and disarming traps, not to mention his role as a sub-attacker in combat.
He was very capable. If he left the party for good, they would not find a replacement easily. The others also knew this, but they could not imagine excluding him from the party regardless after all those years together.
◇ ◇ ◇
His family said nothing. No one blamed him for influencing his little brother to become a seeker.
Just come home safe, was all they said about it.
That stung. He understood he was being unfair, but he wanted to be blamed. He wanted people to tell him it was his fault his little brother died, because he was a seeker.
That might clear the pain left stagnant in his heart a little.
◇ ◇ ◇
In the three months since he started roaming around, no other seeker was hurt. But being there every day got the better of him, and he was in bed for three days. And as if waiting for that, seekers were attacked on the tenth floor.
The Seeker Association urged for people to be careful, but there were no strong rules in place. There was no point.
Unique monsters were strong, and most seekers would lose their lives if they found them. But there were always ones willing to challenge them for the skill orbs and equipment.
If there were people in a party who could pass judgment with a cool head, they would not challenge them recklessly. But others would make rash decisions and fight them.
This seemed to be more common in male only parties.
This last time, it was also thought to be a male only party that paid for their mistake.
But among the seekers who lost their lives was the son of an entrepreneur, who put out another quest to hunt the unique monster.
It was the same as last time, two parties with adventurers below level nine. But a pro seeker party would also be joining.
The plan was simple. The first two parties would go ahead, and stop the unique monster when it appeared. Then one of them would leave and call for reinforcements from the pro party.
Kumagai wanted revenge by his own hand, so he immediately decided to take part, but thought better of it because it would break the party’s coordination.
But he refused to sit still, so he followed the pro party, intending to finish off the unique monster if he saw a chance.
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Their saving grave was the second son -> Their saving grace was the second son
Thanks for the treat.
Right. And then he never does size our MC gets to it instead. To what if he meets MC and realizes MC has the same sword?