Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka - Volume 19 - Chapter 5

 CHAPTER 5

MY DREAM

“Nrrgh…”

Nina had been groaning since morning.

She was sitting at a desk in a mostly empty self-study room with lots of textbooks and references spread out around her.

“Hello, Nina.”

“Ah, Milly.”

The three-years-older elf girl called out to her.

Miliria, who had given Nina permission to shorten her name, was in Balder Class 7th Squad, which, unlike the worst party, was one of the top squads in the Combat Studies Department.

A true elite was concerned about her for some reason.

“It’s rare to see a model student like you groaning at a desk like that. Was there something you were having trouble with?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that. I just wanted to make some notes for Rapi.”

“Rapi? That new kid?”

Nina broke into a smile as Miliria looked puzzled.

“Yes! He’s really incredible! Even though he doesn’t really have any knowledge to start from, he is always trying so hard to keep up with lessons! And he keeps up with my studying, too…he’s the first person I’ve met like that!”

“Th-that’s incredible…”

Nina understood well that her method of studying was about quantity more than quality. Even students who were admitted into the School District, those who had the will to learn, trembled at the almost murderous amount of studying she did. There had never been another student who could keep up with how much she studied, and she had been told more than once that her method was inefficient.

So seeing Rapi, who blindly and faithfully did his best to keep up, was stunning, fresh, and more than anything…moving.

If anything, there were times he slept even later and woke up even earlier than Nina, covering even more subjects than she did. Knowing just how much Nina actually studied, the elf girl’s expression froze, and she updated her evaluation of Rapi.

“I started wanting to support Rapi. I had the idea of making notes for him to make the lessons a little bit easier to follow…”

This was not the first time she had made these sorts of preparation and review notes covering key points. Not to pat her own back, but she could definitely see that the notes she made had been helping Rapi somewhat keep up with the lessons.

At first, it had just been because Leon had asked her to help him some as a new student. But now, knowing his character, she was proactively spending more time with him.

It’s a little different from just getting along with a normal friend, though…

Maybe it was more like a set of gears aligning together? Whatever it was, though, Nina and Rapi had a good affinity for each other.

Also…I feel like he reminds me of Father.

His eyes were hard to see behind the hair, but the feeling when he smiled bashfully and the way he always hurried to try to help people were just like her beloved father.

It wasn’t just because of that, but Nina, who was naturally amiable and a bit of a busybody, had decided of her own volition to support Rapi.

“What do you think of him, Milly?”

“I don’t really know him well enough to have much of an opinion. It hasn’t even been ten days since he enrolled.”

“That’s right! It’s only been that long! And yet he managed to bring everyone in the 3rd Squad together! The 3rd Squad! The worst party! The squad I could never convince to work together and made me want to hide in the bathroom and cry!”

“N-Nina…should you really be that blunt?”

Iglin and the others would never admit it, but Rapi was the pillar holding up the 3rd Squad.

He demonstrated such an impressive level of judgment inside the labyrinth that he was called a Dungeon geek, and even Nina, the squad’s leader, had started relying on his opinions.

He never tried to put himself in the limelight, and often he seemed to just be watching them, but whenever they were struggling, he always shared some wisdom. Thanks to that, the 3rd Squad was currently in the running with a handful of other squads for top marks.

Rapi Flemish. He really was a mysterious person. Bashful and shy with a tendency to be timid and an inability to turn people down. But he was always working hard, kind to others, and had a strong heart.

Nina knew that her eyes were shining as she talked about Rapi. And watching her, Miliria suddenly started giggling.

“Looks like you’re crazy about that rabbit.”

“It feels like you are trying to imply something…”

“That’s just your imagination.”

There was an event after classes that day that just further supported Nina’s view.

“Hey, Combat Studies guys! Can I ask you something?”

After Professor Leon had finished announcements and while the students in Combat Studies were preparing to go into the Dungeon, two human boys from the Smithing Department ran into the room carrying a sword.

“We were interning with Goibniu Familia and failed again! We can’t pass no matter what we make!”

“At this rate, we won’t be able to join! We failed last time we were in Orario, too!”

The burly boys put the weapon on the table in grief and were looking to Nina and the others for help.

The students from Combat Studies gathered in a circle to see what was going on and began the School District standard airing of opinions.

“It looks like a solid magitech weapon to me…”

“Yeah, if anything, isn’t this kinda ace? I’d love the chance to use it.”

“Hmph. I can make better weapons myself.”

“Who asked you, Iglin?! Weird-ass dwarves can just pipe down!”

As the classroom grew louder, Iglin snorted and picked up the sword, producing a blade of light. There was a stunned squeak from somewhere in the room. Rapi.

“Wh-what is that sword…?”

“It’s just a magitech weapon…Ah, right, this is your first time seeing one, isn’t it? I’m the only one in the 3rd Squad who uses magitech gear, and I don’t use it in the Dungeon.”

“It’s an invention produced from the combined efforts of the School District’s Smithing and Alchemy departments. It absorbs the magical energy of its user, increasing the weapon’s reach and power.”

Nina and Iglin, who smoothly swung the blade a bit, explained what it was for Rapi.

There were almost three celches of magic light enveloping the sword. It almost looked like an armor of light. In addition to the weapon’s natural strength, it also increased in power with the force of the magic power put into it.

Rapi was speechless seeing his first magitech weapon.

“There aren’t many magitech weapons going around in Orario, and I’m sure it’s not worthless! It would even work just fine on Dungeon monsters!”

“But still, Lord Goibniu won’t accept it…and he won’t say anything about why.”

The Combat Studies students couldn’t find an answer among themselves either as the Smithing students grumbled.

“Rapi, was there something you wanted to say?”

“Eh?!”

“Your mouth is itching to say something, so just say it! You’re my guardian beast, so have some confidence in yourself!”

For some reason, Chris’s chest swelled with pride while Rapi struggled with whether to say something. Everyone’s gazes turned to him, and he recoiled a bit before nervously beginning…

“Umm, that…this magitech part…is probably easily broken, right…?”

“Hmm? Hey, watch your mouth, new kid.”

“The instructors can all vouch for their strength. There hasn’t been any magitech gear broken during the Dungeon Practical this year.”

The Smithing students glared at Rapi, hitting him with their complaints as he recoiled again.

“Ah, no, I didn’t mean like that…!” He tried to put his thoughts together and carefully picked his words. “This magitech bit is probably a magic item, or a magic-stone device that is worked into the weapon, right…?”

“Yeah, you got it. It’s a fundamentally different structure from normal weapons.”

“So would it be correct to say its durability is compromised by having to fit and protect that mechanism…?”

“…Compared to a normal weapon, yes. But only just barely.”

“Yes, I’m sure it’s just a little bit. I’m sure, but…in the Dungeon, that little bit is scary.”

The smithing students started listening intently as Rapi continued.

“When a weapon breaks in the Dungeon, it’s like losing a limb…is something I’ve heard before.”

“…!”

“Even if you bring multiple weapons while exploring, there is a limit…so I think Orario adventurers probably value weapons that can last longer.”

Orario’s blacksmiths were almost universally highly skilled, and their weapons’ durability and other abilities were all top-class. So given that, sacrificing durability in order to add magitech functions was a fatal trade-off in Orario’s market. That was what Rapi was getting at.

The School District’s magitech weapons were high-quality and capable of enduring real combat, but the slightest difference in longevity could be the line between life and death in the Dungeon.

The students, Nina included, were all stunned by the realization.

“For mages who don’t really get into close-range fights that much, this magitech bit would be good, I think…but no matter how amazing a weapon is, if it is less durable than a normal weapon, I think it will be hard for an adventurer to choose it…yeah.”

Time froze as the students listened to Rapi speaking almost with the voice of an actual adventurer, and then he slipped back into a nervous student’s voice to finish.

“…I see. So Orario’s adventurers care more about durability—the ability to keep fighting—over absolute peak output. Right, that makes sense, since consecutive battles are the norm in the Dungeon!”

“Yeah, when you get into the deeper floors, or when you’re in the middle of an expedition, you can’t always maintain your weapons perfectly. And a magitech weapon needs more careful maintenance than a normal weapon, too…”

“Even if you bring a blacksmith along with you, you need a dedicated facility to really give it the attention it needs.”

“If nothing else, it would be hard to pick as your main weapon! So we have to consider the people using the weapon and not just the weapon’s abilities!”

All of a sudden, the students began talking again, like fish in water.

The Smithing students in particular patted Rapi on the back over and over and thanked him for giving them some hope.

After he shared his thoughts, excitement filled the air as all the students gained a brand-new perspective.

“…Rapi, you should have a little more confidence and share your opinion more!”

“Eh…? N-Nina?”

“Professor Leon said it before, right? Sharing opinions is important! Thanks to you, we’ve all gotten just a little bit wiser! That’s really impressive!”

Nina was pleased by the scene and went over to Rapi, telling him to speak up more. And the rest of the 3rd Squad was in agreement.

“If you mess up, we’ll correct you as many times as we have to. Don’t be afraid of mistakes!”

“Yeah, this is…the School District…”

“Well done, Rapi. As expected of my guardian beast! My intelligence is going to start shooting up!”

With Iglin, Legi, and Chris saying it too, the boy who had been stupefied at first nodded happily and said, “O-okay!”

Rapi really is incredible…

The excitement did not fade as Nina left the room with a smile on her face to change into her battle uniform for the Dungeon Practical.

Even though he usually felt like a little brother who needed to be taken care of, there were times he would show a more reliable side, like a dependable older brother.

That was Rapi’s charm. And that was why Nina couldn’t take her eyes off him.

She often found herself looking for him, and when she saw him, her face would light up and she would run over to him.

Sometimes I feel like an older sister watching a kid brother grow, and sometimes he feels like such a reliable older brother.

Thinking back on how she was behaving, she had a bit of a bitter smile.

…Even though I can’t say a single word to my real sister.

Her expression darkened as she left the schoolhouse, just in time to run into some friends.

“Nina! Going to the Dungeon now?”

“Ah…yes. Are you studying, Betty?”

“That’s right. Cramming for the exam!”

It was the three girls that Rapi had met on the first day.

They were holding textbooks in their arms and looking exhausted as the real exam loomed before them.

When their eyes met, the girls spoke up, as if making up their mind.

“Nina, you should take the Guild exam with us.”

“………”

“You worked so hard. It would be a waste not to. Why not come back to the Education Department?”

“…But I only got a C on the Guild practice exam…”

“My grades are even worse than yours! And five years ago, there was the Miracle of Frot! She passed even though she got a Z on the practice exam! I’m sure you can do it, Nina!”

Her friends all encouraged her.

Looking down, Nina forced herself to smile and apologized.

“…I’m sorry, everyone. I’ve given up already. I’m in Combat Studies now…good luck.”

With that, she left.

She could feel the lonely gazes of her friends on her back as she turned at the next corner. Leaning against the wall in a deserted alley, she fought with all her might against the emotions filling her breast.

“…I’m sure Rapi has already decided on the path he’s going to take…” She murmured quietly.

Even though he had entered after her, he already had a goal, or maybe even a dream. And in that moment, that fact made her feel unbearably, hopelessly miserable.

“………”

She looked up at a dazzlingly clear sky. But the beautiful blue had no answers for her.

After coming back to the School District from Hestia Familia, the days went by swimmingly for me and the 3rd Squad.

Thanks to experiencing both hard times and a sense of accomplishment together in the Dungeon, everyone’s awareness has increased. While on the ship, we work together on coordination, and in the Dungeon, we progress at a solid pace, even managing to safely reach the fourteenth floor. I haven’t probed too deeply into the issue with Nina that Professor Leon asked me to help with, but everyone in the squad is doing their best to work together now, at least.

The morning of my tenth day of school life, the seventh day of the Dungeon Practical, arrives.

“Today’s the day! Let’s go to the fifteenth floor!”

The 3rd Squad is fired up to finally set foot onto the deepest floor that the School District has allowed for student exploration.

No one has any arguments against Iglin’s shout.

Gathered in front of the School District’s main entrance as it undergoes an overhaul in the giant dockyard, we all nod and set out for Orario.

Passing through the southwest gate of the city like always, we go to the Guild Headquarters to take care of the paperwork. No one pushes Nina about her situation anymore as she waits outside the Guild. We’re just waiting for her to tell us more as we finish the paperwork for today. I see Miss Eina looking around at the students in the lobby, but I can’t say anything to her right now. I feel bad for her as I go to the Guild’s big noticeboard.

“Any useful information?”

“No, it’s mostly just quests.”

Iglin leans on the backpack I’m carrying as he checks in with me.

Rapi Flemish is currently the 3rd Squad’s supporter and resident Dungeon geek—no combat ability whatsoever, but a useful source of information and insights. If I wanted to put it nicely, then I guess it’s a position sort of like Lilly’s. Not that I would ever claim to be on her level.

“…Hmm?”

I make a point of checking the information for the floors three above and below our target floor at a minimum. That is the standard Lilly set for herself, and I’m copying that as the 3rd Squad’s supporter. And while performing that routine check, I cock my head at something.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, I’m just a little curious about this Monster Rex information…”

The floor boss of the middle levels, Goliath, has an approximately two-week interval, and when I see the report on it, something feels off.

The board says that the next interval should be two days from now, but…

It was fourteen days ago when the last big banquet after the war game was held…

Mr. Bors and the others returned to the eighteenth floor after that.

Given its role as a safe point, the people in Rivira are the ones who usually slay Goliath. They should have taken care of it this time too since pretty much every familia left the Dungeon and waited aboveground until the great familia war was over. So Goliath, which was born on the seventeenth floor, should have been left alone for a while.

So the earliest someone could have defeated it was Mr. Bors and them fourteen days ago, which is at odds with the report saying it happened twelve days ago. If it said one day left until the interval, people would be cautious, since it would be hard to say when exactly it would come, but two days is right on the cusp of what would make people exploring the middle levels let their guard down.

“Why are you looking at information about a floor boss that shows up on the eighteenth floor? Our goal is the fifteenth floor, isn’t it? You think we would accidentally end up going that far?”

“No, of course not, but…”

Iglin leaves before he can hear me finish muttering, “just to be sure.”

I glance back at the board again as he walks away.

I have heard stories about the residents of Rivira being lazy and not bothering with the hassle of sending a message after defeating Goliath, and that causing confusion, but…

There were a few examples where a party left thinking Goliath was on the eighteenth floor, only to find out the people in Rivira had defeated it three days prior. Maybe this is also just one of those situations.

But there are informants who get a reward from the Guild for going back and forth to the eighteenth floor for up-to-date information about Goliath, too…

Maybe it’s just me…but I should make a mental note just in case.

“Hah.”

Seeing the hume-bunny student leaving the noticeboard, several men smirked.

They were the contacts who had provided the information this time. They were upper-class adventurers nursing a grudge from a few days ago. They’d gotten into an argument with some of the School District students only to have Bell Cranell himself get in their way and not get a chance to vent.

“Let’s see how much you piss yourselves when you hear that howl.”

They sneered while looking down on the well-behaved little children wandering around the lobby.

“HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“Nina, hellhounds from the side!”

“Legi, Chris! Don’t let them get off a breath attack!”

“Roger!” “Leave it to me!”

I’m carefully searching for enemies from behind Nina, and when my alert goes up, 3rd Squad responds fluidly.

The pack of hellhounds coming from three o’clock is scrambled by a dark elf leaping off the walls and ceiling and once they show an opening. Chris shoots across the ground, getting close and unleashing a big swipe with his body-length sword.

The cheerful sound of monsters being split in two rings out as Iglin, who stayed on the main passage, breaks through with the support of Nina’s magic blade.

“Oooooooorrrrryaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Ghgiiii?!”

His hammer slams down, shattering three crystal mantises.

Iglin’s battle-mode roar echoes in the Cave Labyrinth as we finish the combat without issue.

“All right! The fifteenth floor isn’t any trouble, either!”

“Pick up drops. Quickly.”

“I’ll help with the magic stones, Rapi.”

“Thank you, Nina.”

While Iglin hoists his hammer in joy, Legi complains as she and Chris quickly gather drop items, and Nina puts her magic shortsword back at her hip before helping out with the magic stones. No gaps even in the after-battle cleanup.

The 3rd Squad has always been an outlier in terms of individual strength, and now that I’ve reached the fifteenth floor with them, I have to say, they really are something.

We handled the first of the middle levels’ enemies without issue and made good progress. We still haven’t run into any larger enemies like a minotaur, but the 3rd Squad has been working as a party well enough that I don’t have to do much of anything anymore.

And apparently we’ve gotten deeper into the Dungeon faster than any other squad today.

“It feels like we can do anything now! Maybe we could even go all the way to the eighteenth floor?”

“Could. But don’t.”

“Thanks to all of us, there’s only two credits left to earn! Where are the minotaurs, I wonder!”

Everyone is feeling their growth. They have confidence, but not so much as to get overconfident, and high morale, too. This is probably the optimal condition for them. The 3rd Squad right now might be fine against anything in the Cave Labyrinth.

“………”

“Rapi? What is it?”

But there is something bothering me, something other than the party’s condition.

The Dungeon feels different today…I’ve got a bad feeling…

If anyone were to ask what it is, all I could say is “something,” but my instincts are warning me.

I’m looking around enough to make Nina worry a bit—

“KIKAAAAAAAAA!”

“Whoa?! That surprised me!”

Chris leaps into the air as a shrill monster shriek rings out.

A cloud of bad bats born from the ceiling.

“ ”

Realizing it’s just a bat-type monster they fought on higher floors already, the 3rd Squad relaxes, but the warning bell in my head starts blaring.

And then—

“KIAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

“KIKIIIIIIIIII!”

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

A terrible, dissonant chorus fills the air all through the floor.

“Wh-what?!”

“Bad bat cries, everywhere…!”

“A mass emergence?!”

Nina and Legi cover their ears at the screech of countless monsters, and Iglin looks around.

Bad bats’ main means of attack is their screech that impedes movement. And the unmistakable shrieks of tens or even hundreds of them fill the air.

There weren’t any bad bats. That’s what felt off.

That is the answer. I didn’t see a single bat hiding away in the darkness even though they were always here!

Not good!

That late realization reveals an all too slow sense of danger. The sound of rock exploding comes from all directions. It’s the sound of a monster being born.

Because the labyrinth gave birth to so many bad bats, not just from the walls but also from the ceiling, the fifteenth floor’s equilibrium breaks, and the walls collapse.

“Wha—?!”

“Wh-wh-whoooooooooooa?!”

The ceiling above us is filled with holes from giving birth to so many bats, and it starts to fall, too.

A ferocious hail of rubble starts tumbling down.

“!!!”

All my nerves, all my senses as a Level 5 first-tier adventurer scream out.

I push Legi and Iglin forward, grab Nina and Chris under each arm, and leap out from under the collapse with all my might.

There is a series of thunderclaps as the Dungeon roars ferociously and the Cave Labyrinth shudders terrifyingly.

“Lady Hestia?!”

The area around Central Park was lively.

Just as Hestia noticed the mood while going about her job at the Jyaga Maru Kun stand, Lilly suddenly rushed over.

“It seems there was a cave-in in the Dungeon’s middle levels! It’s covering a significant area and several of the School District students were also caught in it…!”

“A cave-in?!” Hestia shouted, forgetting she was still working.

“Ganesha Familia and Loki Familia, and also the School District, are quickly removing the rubble, but…the situation is dangerous.”

“What about Bell?! Where is he right now?!”

Lilly grimaced, confirming the goddess’s concerns.

“Ms. Lyu already went to the Guild to confirm the situation…the 3rd Squad, which Mr. Bell is part of, is currently on the fifteenth floor as part of their Dungeon Practical…”

Spinning around, Hestia looked toward the tower piercing the sky, and the Dungeon that extended below it. The number of her blessings had not decreased. The worst had not happened to Bell. But Hestia’s eyes wavered, and she couldn’t help but say it.

“The fifteenth floor again, Bell…?!”

She experienced a powerful case of déjà vu.

“It’s no good! We’re blocked here, too!”

There’s impatience in Iglin’s voice as he grips his hammer.

Even a dwarf, one of the people of the earth, can only throw up his hands at the mountain of rubble completely blocking the passage. The others all grow pale.

Our current location is the fifteenth floor of the Dungeon.

Having somehow escaped the murderous shower of rocks, the 3rd Squad is at least all together, but we have a different problem.

The massive collapse has blocked all routes back to the surface.

We can’t even use this detour…

Checking the map of the middle floors I bought from the Guild, I mark another red X using a Blood Feather made by Ms. Asfi I bought with my own money.

The main route that we, or rather, every School District student used for coming and going is completely blocked by the rubble. The smaller paths radiating like blood vessels through the floor are all out, too. Every route back to the fourteenth floor has been sealed off.

There are areas that have completely changed shape from the collapse, too, and it’s dangerous even to hang around there to see what is happening.

Most likely, there isn’t a clear route back aboveground…

At least not currently.

Until adventurers with specialized gear for clearing the rubble make it down from the surface, there won’t be a way back. Even now that I’m a first-tier adventurer, it’s not hard to imagine the situation getting even worse if I use a full charge to bust my way through the rubble and cause a secondary collapse from the tremor.

Without specialized knowledge, all I can do is destroy things, which isn’t enough to get out of this situation.

Just hoping that an instructor from the School District is conveniently on the fifteenth floor too, and that we just happen to meet up with them would be the worst plan.

I’m worried if there is anyone else trapped besides us, and if possible, I’d like to help, but…I can’t drag Nina and the others around the whole floor in this situation when they’re already tired…

The 3rd Squad would run out of strength first if we tried that. If I want to search for other people who might have gotten caught up in this, it has to wait at least until I get them all to a safe place first.

“Rapi, is there any other route?!”

“…There is just one more narrow passage to the southwest, but if this is blocked, then I think it probably is, too. Just moving around is going to tire us, so I would not really recommend checking there…”

“That’s…”

Even though it threatens to rob them of their hope, I answer Iglin honestly. I chose to give them an accurate assessment of the situation.

We have no way out, and we’re blocked on all sides, alone and without support.

It’s frustrating…and I feel terrible.

If I had noticed the lack of bad bats sooner. If I had just sensed the looming irregular, they wouldn’t have had to go through this.

I’m still not good enough. Ms. Aiz or Ms. Lyu, Mr. Finn or Master—they all would have noticed the signs of danger immediately and led the party to a safe place. Even though I’m a first-tier adventurer, I’m still green and lacking in experience.

I need to be more careful. I need to be more diligent. I need to sharpen my senses further. To protect myself and to protect my comrades.

Engraving that regret and reflection in my heart, I immediately shift gears and look up.

Just then, as a heavy silence fills the air…

“Nina…what do we do?” Legi asks.

“Eh…?”

“Decide our course.”

What is the party’s plan of action?

Legi precisely and mercilessly asks the commander charged with leading the squad.

Nina gulps, at a loss for how to answer.

“…Thinking about it calmly, there are just two choices. Set up camp on the main route and wait for help from aboveground…”

“Or pin our hopes on the other route Rapi mentioned. For me, I think I’d rather wait for help! Not because I’m trying to avoid the despair from trying to do something that doesn’t work, though! Obviously!”

Iglin and Chris lay out our options. And Chris even honestly shares his thoughts.

Nina’s lips and breaths quiver as she looks at me.

“Rapi…water and rations…and items…how much do we have left…?”

“…If we split it out evenly, the food won’t last half a day. As for items, we have four potions, three magic potions, and two high potions…”

I take everything out of the backpack and line it all up on the ground for everyone to see.

There are also two spare shortswords Legi and Chris can use.

Iglin and the others all take out the items they have, too.

Nina’s judgment to confirm our supplies immediately is correct. Top marks befitting her model-student reputation. But because of that choice, it also feels like we are strangling ourselves.

Confirming the items you have on hand is the equivalent of putting a number on your remaining life. If you lose your calm, it is easy to be driven mad by that cruel, uncaring number. I’ve experienced it myself before.

The only reason that this situation feels fine to me is probably because of the death march I experienced in the deep levels. Kicking aside those pointless thoughts, I put everything back into my backpack and peer at Nina.

Her sweat is terrible. Her breathing is getting shallower. The stress is getting bad.

The big decision that might well influence the lives of her party is weighing down on her, even as all eyes are on her.

Even though it isn’t really right, I can’t help seeing the me from six months ago in her.

I wonder if this is how Lilly felt…

When Welf was injured and I was panicking after thoughtlessly moving all around the floor, sweating terribly.

In that despair-inducing situation, the supporter who should have been weaker than all of us was calmer than everyone.

Lilly isn’t here. So this time, it’s my turn to help them the way Lilly helped me.

“For now, let’s calm down.”

It’s the same thing Lilly said back then.

Everyone’s shoulders jump, and they turn to look at me as I walk over to Nina.

“Breathe, Nina.”

“Huh…?”

“Take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Iiiin. And ouuuut. Iiiin. And ouuuut…yes, just like that.”

Smiling as I demonstrate, I think for a moment, and then hold Nina’s pinky. The good luck charm Ms. Lyu did for me in the deep floors.

Her hand freezes, and then the trembling stops and she lets the tension drain out.

Meeting my gaze, Nina quietly breathes in and out several times, calming her breathing. I walk over to Iglin and hold out my hand, but he rejects me immediately, looking like he might gag. Legi passes too, hiding her hands behind her back.

Chris holds out both hands and says, “I’ll take it!” so I hold his hands, too.

It feels a little awkward, but it is a lot better than before. Everyone has relaxed a bit.

“About our options. I think there is actually one more possibility.”

They all look surprised.

There aren’t any signs of monsters around us, so there is no need to be fully on guard for an attack for the moment. So without hurrying, remembering what Lilly said here before, I give them another proposition.

“The route back to the higher floors is out of the question, I think. But there is also the option of intentionally going lower…to go to the eighteenth floor for safety.”

They’re speechless in shock.

“The eighteenth floor is a safe point where monsters aren’t born from the walls. There’s even an adventurer town there, so if we can make it that far, we’ll be safe.”

Of course, everyone immediately raises their disagreement and questions.

“Wait a minute, Rapi! This is the fifteenth floor! Even the super-ultra-amazing me would be exhausted going another three whole floors!”

“There are pitfalls. If we find one of the many pitfalls in the middle floors, we can jump down into the next floor in one sweep.”

“What about…the floor boss? Its home is…the seventeenth floor…”

“If the information on the Guild board today is right, then there are still two more days left until its interval is up.”

“D-do you have a map, Rapi…?”

“Mhmm. I have maps covering up to the eighteenth floor.”

I answer Chris’s concern, Regi’s question, and Nina’s follow-up without hesitation.

As if remembering me checking the board back in the Guild Headquarters, Iglin looks dazed as he asks, “D-did you know this was going to happen…?”

“I didn’t know. But I wanted to be ready. Just in case something happened…because that’s what the most amazing supporter I know is like.”

Smiling awkwardly, I spread out the maps of the sixteenth and seventeenth floors for them to see.

Lilly always carries a full backpack and does everything to prepare us adventurers.

When it was decided I would be the supporter for the 3rd Squad, I used her as my model. That was really all it was. So I proudly talk about the most amazing supporter I know.

As everyone inhales sharply, I look to Nina.

“Nina, it will be fine, whatever you choose.”

“Eh…?”

“The 3rd Squad is strong. So whichever path you take, I’m sure we will make it back to the surface.”

I smile at her, and her emerald eyes widen.

I just gave her a little push, but the decision is for her and for the rest of the squad to make. It feels like something I shouldn’t be choosing for them. That isn’t Rapi’s role right now. There is a reason for me being here. Not as a familia’s leader, and not as a first-tier adventurer, but as Rapi Flemish.

It isn’t because I think I have the capacity to guide people. But now that I’m Level 5, I can’t afford to just keep running only for myself like I have until now.

The field of view Ms. Lyu was talking about. That shared perspective and influence. The transmission of the light of hope.

Lord Hermes, Lord Balder, and Professor Leon wanted to teach me that through the School District, didn’t they?

That’s how it feels right now.

“Gh…”

Her long brown hair shudders. The lock of jade hair indicating her noble blood, too.

Clutching her rod in both hands as if hugging it to her chest, she forcefully looks up.

“Let’s keep going.”

Iglin and the others look surprised, and I smile.

“Just standing around…that wouldn’t be like us at all!”

Hearing that, this time, Iglin and Chris smile, too. And I’m sure Legi is too, behind her mask.

“All right! Let’s freaking do this! The eighteenth floor! This is payback for everyone who made fun of us! We’ll retract the ignominy of the worst party!”

“My legend is going to be even brighter now! And Iglin, you don’t retract ignominy, you expunge it!”

“That’s rare…Chris being the straight man…That’s a good omen.”

As usual, they all have their own different reactions, but their intentions at least are united. Seeing that, Nina breaks into a smile. I nod too when she looks at me.

Our choice is adventure.

The 3rd Squad sets out for the eighteenth floor.

“Oy, this is bad…the people coming back said there’s no getting through from the fifteenth floor…”

“Adventurers with some experience’ll just make for the eighteenth floor…and I’m sure those School District brats will, too. H-how many people are gonna be in trouble ’cause of us faking the report on Goliath…?!”

“Th-that’s not our fault! We just wanted to scare ’em a bit. Who knew this would happen?!”

Leon glanced at Babel towering before him, hearing some adventurers talking about something suspicious, but knowing that there was no point in dealing with them now. “To think that students would be trapped in the Dungeon like this.”

Central Park was in chaos. While adventurers from various familias and instructors from the School District were all running around, he stood there with a platinum armor chest piece.

On his back was a great longsword.

He walked toward the white tower, lamenting the ill-timing for an incident to have happened today, on the day he was away from observation duty in the Dungeon.

“Even I can’t just chalk this up as another instance of Aoharu. Please, Leon, save the children who must make the most of their youth!”

“I cannot make any promises when the situation is this dire, but I shall do everything in my power, Lady Idun.”

The goddess smiled with faith in the absolute strength of the man who answered her plea with a knightly vow, and then shared everything she knew.

“Currently, Balder Class 7th Squad and 3rd Squad are still inside the Dungeon. The 7th are an elite group, so they should be fine, but the worst party is a concern…”

Idun was not a goddess of battle or fate, and she did not hide her unease.

But in response to her concerns, Leon simply smiled.

“Regarding that, I can say with confidence that you need not worry.”

“Oh?”

And as he readied his powerful legs, before he raced off, he said, “Since he is with the 3rd Squad.”

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“Outta my waaaaaaaaay!”

Iglin met the larger liger fang blocking the way head-on with his hammer.

The al-miraj following it and the dungeon worm popping out of a hole in the ground were slashed repeatedly by the dark elf with her twinblades and the prum with his two-handed sword.

“Keep going, everyone!”

Nina unleashed a slashing blade of wind from her magic sword before swiftly using her healing magic.

Her support from the back lines breathed new life into the three vanguards.

Her decisions had been spot-on after she had been entrusted with actual command. In a situation where stamina and Mind could not be wasted, she was carefully toeing the line before activating her magic, supporting the three on the front lines at all times. After the painful experience on the twelfth floor, the party’s healer had taken to bringing a magic blade with her, and she quickly began growing into her natural leadership potential.

The pressure from monsters has increased since we dropped down to the sixteenth floor! We had to move Legi up to the front line, so our backs are against the wall now!

Which just made it all the clearer to her that this was both the critical juncture and a terrible predicament.

They were long past the amount of time they had originally planned to spend in the Dungeon. They were breaking their personal best for consecutive battles over and over again, testing their limits and experiencing the Dungeon’s true initiation, just as so many other upper-class adventurers had before them.

Their stamina was depleting. And not the sort of stamina that could be recovered with magic. Pushing their minds to the limit over the course of repeated fights, they were starting to lose focus. When a merciless wave of monsters crested on them, a struggle the likes of which they had never experienced at the School District began.

Iglin’s cheek was scratched, Legi’s dark arms were bare from having her sleeves shredded, Chris’s neck was splashed in monster blood and covered in trickles of sweat. And Nina was even worse. Because she was using more magic than anyone, her Mind was at its limit, and a sheen of sweat poured down her body.

If Rapi, waiting right behind her, hadn’t been resupplying her with magic potions with perfect timing, she would have suffered Mind Down by now.

We’re making progress! It’s a tightrope walk, but we’re doing it! With Rapi helping, if we can just get through this, I’m sure we can make it! Just one rest would be enough, and we can make it to the eighteenth floor!

With Rapi supporting with the purple moth grenades and all the other items he had brought with him, the 3rd Squad was fighting as one. Right in that moment, the squad was demonstrating an incredible strength.

So please, just let us…!

They could handle enemies from the front somehow. With the three vanguards and her, they could deal with enemies ahead. As long as it was only one direction, they could respond.

So if nothing more would happen…

—But the labyrinth summoned death’s scythe, sneering at her prayers.

“Nina, behind!”

Chris, who was fighting in the front, spun around.

His shout was filled with an almost never heard tension.

“Minotaurs!”

Hit in the back by a terrifying howl, Nina stopped breathing for an instant.

Somehow managing to turn around, her emerald eyes saw three minotaurs.

“UUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Now of all times, they faced their first encounter with minotaurs, which unleashed a howl that threatened to paralyze them.

Nina shuddered and held out her magic sword.

And that was the end.

Having reached its limit, cracks ran through the green blade as it shattered audibly.

“ ”

Nina froze. Chris and the others were speechless.

The worst possible pincer, as if it had been planned all along.

The three vanguards had their hands full with the monster in front of them. Trying to help her would mean death. And so the first prey of the minotaurs would be none other than the supporter at the back.

The powerless rabbit boy without any fighting strength.

“Ah…”

Despair cracked opened its wide jaw.

The Dungeon roared in laughter.

As Iglin, Legi, and Chris’s hearts began to crumble in the moment of failure, Nina screamed out.

“—Run, Rapi!!!”

The boy had only one answer for her cry.

“It’s okay.”

He slipped his arms from the straps of the backpack.

“I’ll manage somehow.”

The big backpack fell to the ground with a thud.

He fluidly drew two spare shortswords, one in either hand. And he became like the wind.

“ ”

As time slowed for Nina, she saw it.

The minotaur swinging its massive arm down at its prey, and just before it landed…the boy blurred. In an instant, with a teleportation that she could only imagine was her eyes deceiving her, the boy appeared right inside the minotaur’s range, and his right arm became a silver flash.

BOOM! An unbelievable crash.

A thrust like a cannon going off landed in the minotaur’s chest. And then it exploded.

The shadow didn’t stop there.

As a cloud of ash scattered, the figure accelerated.

It closed in on the two monsters that froze with the loss of their comrade. This time, as he whizzed by, his left arm became a flash of silver.

An outthrust sword pierced its target in the chest, and another explosion rocked the room.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!”

The final minotaur roared in fear, swinging its massive nature weapon down.

The ground exploded, creating a cloud of dust, but the vorpal bunny was no longer there.

Slipping past the edge of the ax in a bold escape, he slipped behind the minotaur and ended it.

With its magic stone pierced from behind, the minotaur disappeared into a cloud of ash, never realizing its own fate before it was too late.

“…Huh?”

It was over in an instant.

It had been so fast, so overwhelming, that they couldn’t comprehend it. No one could even grasp just how strong the boy was.

The labyrinth that had been laughing moments earlier had fallen silent.

Nina, Iglin, Legi, Chris, the other monster, too. As the half-elf girl’s lips trembled and let out a single sound, the first to come back to life was the dark-elf girl, who quickly slaughtered the remaining monster.

This time, the combat really was over.

“Hu…huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!”

The next moment, Iglin shouted as he ran over to the hume-bunny boy.

“What the hell was that?!”

“Ummm…I just tried aiming for the magic stone…”

“Those movements…weren’t Level One…!”

“Th-that is…actually, I just leveled up…”

“Why didn’t you tell us?!”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Legi and Chris joined too, surrounding Rapi, who—though he had held back to avoid revealing himself, all his abilities were massively boosted because of his slayer skill, which had made everything much more powerful against these particular enemies—apologized profusely.

Nina stood there slack-jawed until she regained her senses and raced over, running her hands over Rapi’s body, almost hugging him.

“A-are you all right, Rapi?! You’re not injured, are you?! Are you really okay?!”

“I-I’m okay, Nina. More importantly, let’s take a rest!”

“Huh?”

“We need to recover and then keep moving! While the onslaught of monsters has stopped!”

The 3rd Squad all looked unconvinced, but the situation right now was an emergency. What he was saying was very much right, and their judgment was being impacted by exhaustion, so they just dropped the topic and took a short rest.

Using items, quickly recovering, they set out again.

With Chris taking the lead, using his scouting abilities to check their surroundings, they carefully advanced as fast as they could. Fortunately, they were able to find a hole in the ground before long, and the 3rd Squad quickly reached the seventeenth floor.

“There’s a lot about this I don’t really like…but with this, we can make it to the eighteenth floor! And if Rapi can fight, we don’t have to worry about the back as much!”

“We haven’t run into many monsters here, either! The goddesses of fortune are smiling on us!”

More than anything, though it hadn’t been planned, Rapi’s feat had lit a fire under the 3rd Squad.

Even in this predicament, they had a tailwind boosting them, and their morale had increased. They only had a couple sparse encounters that they were able to charge through without slowing down, continuing forward until they reached the big passage that was the key route through the seventeenth floor.

“Rapi, the path!” Legi called out.

“…All we have to do now is follow the path deeper into the floor.”

Rapi spread out the map in both hands and answered frankly. The 3rd Squad’s faces lit up with hope. Nina clutched her rod.

“We can make it…! We can do it!”

Yeah, with this, we can make it. We can make it, but…

I look around us while listening to Nina.

The path is wide, and the ceiling is high. As we walk down the passage even a giant could pass through, we stop seeing even the shadows of monsters.

It’s quiet.

Too quiet.

Even with the hypothesis that the Dungeon is prioritizing regeneration over birthing new monsters due to the massive collapse affecting so much of the fifteenth floor, the silence is deafening.

And I recognize this silence.

“…Ngh?”

The others notice the unnatural situation, too.

Nina, Iglin, Chris, and Legi all look around nervously as they run, and then glance back at me.

Standing at the tail of the party, I just nod back at them. We have no choice but to proceed now. Turning back around, still filled with serious concern, our footsteps echo in the passage.

It isn’t that monsters aren’t appearing. They aren’t coming out. As if they’re waiting—or as if they are dreading the birth of something.

This is…The Guild board’s information really was…

There is a terrible pain in the back of my head at a scene that feels awfully familiar.

I grimace, but even so, I push forward with the rest of the squad. Because of the silence, everyone’s breathing resounds in the passage. The stones kicked by boots clatter, disappearing into the quiet darkness.

A chill strikes the squad.

Chris in the lead starts running faster, giving in to the disquieting air. Nina and the others accelerate to match speed, telling themselves that they can make it as long as the silence holds, just like a certain rookie passing through here did half a year ago.

And then—

“!!!”

“This is the Great Wall of Sorrows…!”

We reach a massive room.

The walls and ceiling are made of an enormous, twisted rock, but the wall on the left alone is different. Legi and Iglin are speechless. That beautiful, smooth, unblemished wall, the root of adventurers’ sorrows.

“Don’t stop, Chris! Forward—” I start to say.

But this time, truly ready to crush the party…

Crack.

“Gh—”

It happens.

That noise.

Nina and the others turn.

A giant crack appears, running vertically through the wall like a lightning bolt.

“—RUN!!!”

Urged on by my shout, they all dash.

We cut through the massive room, but the cruel cry of the shattering wall is faster.

The crumbling noise accelerates. Their faces grow pale as the noise assaults their ears. The wheezing, painful, groaning creaks become a thunderous torrent and a cry of destruction.

The next instant, it is born with a terrible crash.

“UUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Goliath, the Monster Rex!

The gigantic baby that was just born notices the sickly pale students below it and lets out an earsplitting roar.

“ !!!”

The giant runs with a loud shout.

Its tree-trunk-sized legs break the ground with each step, causing tremendous quakes.

“H-Hurrrrrrryyyyyyyy!!!”

Iglin’s panicky shout rings out.

Bursting into sweat as they wring out the last of their strength, everyone begins sprinting at full speed.

Goliath is in fierce pursuit!

Just like six months ago! A rerun of the deadly chase!

—But this time, my mind at least is calm.

Just run, the by-the-book approach. Counterattacking is out of the question. The party’s safety is the top priority.

Even if I dropped the limitation of hiding my identity, the only real choice I have is avoiding a fight with the Monster Rex. My level is higher than it now, but fighting a floor boss is different from fighting a normal monster. I could make any number of mistakes. And even if I hang back as a rear guard, it would be moot if 3rd Squad runs into danger later because they don’t have me. This isn’t the time for an adventure. Risk should be avoided as much as possible.

Judging the distance between the giant staring me down at the back of the party, I continually calculate the leeway I have as the distance closes.

Run. Run. Run.

Nina and the others race like their lives depend on it, because they do, putting as much distance between themselves and the massive, murderous pressure closing in on us as they can.

Abandoning all thoughts, fear, and exhaustion, they just focus on the exit in front of us.

But then, caught in a tremor, a single prum topples over.

“Argh!”

“““Chris?!”””

Chris’s face twists in fear.

Despair grips the others.

Without hesitation, I drop my backpack.

“Hyaaah?!”

“Go, everyone!”

““!!!””

Without slowing down, I pick up his small body. Carrying Chris in my arms, I shout at the other three, who froze for just a second.

Stunned, the 3rd Squad faces forward again and pushes themselves to the limit.

Holding Chris, who is bright red as he clings to me, I kick off the stone floor, too.

“Run, run, ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!!!”

Iglin’s desperate shout is drowned out by the terrible noise of the giant, and as I run at the back of the party, I have to make the terrible decision.

—We won’t make it.

—That pause was fatal.

—Goliath’s attack is going to erupt before we can make it into the connecting passage.

My arms are full. I can’t cast Firebolt. I blundered.

“Oooo.”

There is a big breeze from behind. The giant has swung its arm up over its head. The blow that will shatter everything is coming.

I can hear the desperation in Nina’s, Iglin’s, and Legi’s breathing. They can’t even look back anymore.

Chris’s eyes are screwed up tight, and he’s clinging to my battle uniform as if he can’t bear it.

So I use the brief moment when no one can sense it and let out a little chime.

One second’s charge.

The pure white light enchanting my right leg.

Before the iron hammer of destruction unleashed overhead can kill me, I slam my right foot down on the ground.

“Fly!”

It explodes.

My explosive acceleration cracks the ground, filling the distance between us and the passage that is too far to reach. Slamming into Iglin’s back, I push him, Nina, and Legi forward—just as the destructive blow lands right behind us.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

The wave of destruction, the violent blast of air barrels into the passage at the end of the floor.

We fly.

A repeat of that crash into the narrow cave that I didn’t really want to remember.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah?! Rapiiiiiiiiii!”

Holding Chris tight to my chest even as he lets out a girlish scream, the world spins two, three times. We roll along with Nina, Iglin, and Legi, deeper and deeper into the cavern. The shock falls on all sides, from all angles, but this time I remain conscious, sliding down the gentle slope at a terrible speed, until finally—

“““Ugh?!”””

Shooting out of the exit, the 3rd Squad is thrown sliding across the ground before finally skidding to a stop.

Tears well up in Nina’s eyes as she splays out facing up, Iglin is curled up, hugging and kissing the ground, and Legi is vacantly staring, her cute face visible after losing her mask in the chaos.

And finally, I wince from the pain in my back while setting Chris down.

The prum who is even smaller than Lilly is unconscious.

…It’s…noon…I guess?

My eyes narrow at the light pouring down from above.

Standing up, as if drawn by the light, I see the broad field of green before us and the crystal mums growing from the ceiling.

“The Under Resort…”

Ten minutes later, after I divide the last potion between everyone, 3rd Squad finally starts to move again.

“What do you mean we can’t stay at a lodge?!”

Back in gentleman mode, Iglin’s angry voice echoes through the wood-and-crystal-lined streets. Standing across from him, unshaken by the stern-faced dwarven menace (despite being a student) is the one-eyed leader of the inn town.

“What place in the world allows boarders who can’t pay? Huh?”

“Fifty thousand valis is extortionate!”

“Rivira’s a classy place, a resort that puts any cheap hole-in-the-wall aboveground to shame. If you don’t like it then git, you School District brats.”

“Gh…?!”

Sticking his pinky in his ear, Mr. Bors tells us his demand, while Iglin’s blood vessels look almost ready to burst in rage. Behind him, Legi and Chris are booing and making a fuss while I, carrying Iglin’s hammer on my back, just sneak a wry chuckle.

After sitting around stunned and unable to move for a while, the 3rd Squad made its way to the western end of the floor from the entrance in the south, and with great effort, finally reached Rivira on the edge of a cliff and wetlands around night.

With the glow from the ceiling starting to fade and darkness spreading, the squad tried to get lodging, but the result is as you can see. Apparently, Mr. Bors—or really, pretty much all the residents of Rivira—dislike the students from the School District. They aren’t even willing to deal with us.

Well, they will, but they’re demanding an insane fee.

“If you gimme your weapons and the gear and clothes on your back, I wouldn’t be against letting you stay a night.”

“Gh…! Don’t toy with us! We have to go back through the Dungeon to get back! Who would hand over their weapons and gear?!”

Iglin unleashes a tirade that is almost spittle-flecked, but Mr. Bors just turns away.

Nina and the others look troubled and prepare to search for another lodge, clinging to hope.

The ruffians’ welcome is…a little harsh. Befitting the situation.

Waiting until I am sure the others can’t see me, I go over to Mr. Bors, who started spontaneously cleaning his weapon.

“Umm, Mr. Bors.”

“Ahhh? Who said you could call me that, brat? You ignorant kids can—huh?” As he starts going off, I raise the fringe of hair covering my eyes. “You’re Rabbit Foot?! What are you doing dressed like that?!”

“Shh! It’ll be bad if I get caught…! Don’t let them hear you…!”

I beg him to keep his voice low, and his eyes spin for a moment, but he quickly breaks into a grin. He gestures for me to come behind the counter and into the back.

“You got dragged into some new pain in the ass, didn’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say that…But it’s a bit complicated.”

“If you’re stuck protecting those brats, it’s way more of a pain in the ass than your average quest.”

I grimace even more as he pounds my back with his big hand. If you were just willing to deal with the students this amicably…

“So? You want in?”

“Yes. Could we borrow a room? I will pay you back for it later.”

“The thing is, I said all that to those brats, but the truth is, there isn’t any room anywhere. You came here because of the collapse earlier, right? We’re all full up. Between the people who came down from there and people on their way up from exploration who can’t get out, there’s no vacancies.”

O-oh…now that you mention it…

I had sort of sensed it from the mess on the fifteenth floor, but with all the routes back to the surface blocked, adventurers have no choice but to come here.

“In that case, could you sell us some gear for camping outdoors? We can just find someplace safe and take care of ourselves…”

“Yeah, that I can do. I owe you big time, so I’ll even give you a deal!”

I can’t help smiling a bit when he adds “just a little one,” but there is one other thing I’ve been wondering about.

“About the Goliath that just came out on the seventeenth floor. Do you know what’s happening with it? I imagine there are other people who will be coming here, so it would probably be best to take care of it soon, but…”

“You’re too nice for your own good, or maybe too hardworking. But you don’t gotta worry there. The tremors from the seventeenth floor are gone, so it’s definitely down already. From what Mord said when he tumbled into town, some folks from the School District fought it…”

“Ah, Mr. Mord’s here too?”

It has been a while since the 3rd Squad, exhausted as it was, actually made it all the way to Rivira, and I don’t have any time to go back to the seventeenth floor, but hearing that, I can finally breathe easily. We should have reached the eighteenth floor sooner, so they must have passed on along the way, since we took the safe route into the plain in the center of the floor first instead of traveling straight west along the water’s edge.

I was planning to leave them here with Mr. Bors and then go out to fight myself, but…

“More importantly, with Goliath rampaging a bit, the lines of contact are broken. I’ve got my guys out digging too, but the whole cavern is collapsed, so it’ll take time to get things reopened.”

“Meaning…we’ll have to stay awhile here on the eighteenth floor.”

“Yeah. If you’re camping, then I’d recommend a spot around the lake just down from here. The monsters hang around in the forest where all the food is, so you don’t have to worry too much about bein’ attacked. If you want quick access to food, then you can set up camp in the forest like Loki Familia, but…”

“Ah-ha-ha…if you don’t mind, I’d love to buy some food, too.”

“All right, we’ve got a deal! Though, with you around, they’ll be fine campin’ out wherever!”

Mr. Bors gives me another hearty pat on the back, and I smile awkwardly one more time before buying the camping gear and food. The reason he doesn’t take my familia emblem is because he trusts me not to run out on my tab, I guess.

When he disappears into the storage room to get everything together…I think back to what happened on the floor above, wondering whether I should go help.

“You really have a habit of getting mixed up in incidents, Bell Cranell.”

“Whoa?!”

A voice suddenly echoes in the empty room.

Wait, that voice…

“…Is that…Fels? You’re invisible…?”

“Yes. I came to check on things. Ouranos’s orders. The irregular earlier was just too large. And seeing a student who looked an awful lot like a certain record holder, here I am.”

Invisible thanks to the use of a magic item, Fels is apparently right in front of me. I guess Fels is just that good, but I didn’t sense anyone at all.

Maybe I let my guard down just a little too much when we made it to Rivira.

“But how are you here? All the paths through the fifteenth floor should be…”

“I came through Knossos.”

Ah…I forgot.

Fels has the key, so using that, Knossos could be…

“…Do you know the details of the situation?”

“Leon and the others have saved almost everyone who was trapped in the Cave Labyrinth already. I have put a few adventurers to sleep and am safeguarding them in Knossos as well. As for students, your group is the last to be found, so you needn’t worry anymore, Bell Cranell.”

Fels sees right through me and my plans to return to the Dungeon, letting me know my concerns are misplaced.

“Once the connection between the seventeenth and eighteenth floors is open, the Dungeon’s routes will all be restored. Until then, you may enjoy yourself in this paradise. If it was just you, I could let you through back aboveground, but I’m afraid I cannot allow students through Knossos.”

“No worries. Thank you very much, Fels.”

Right after that—

“Kept you waiting!”

—Mr. Bors comes back in.

“Pardon me,” Fels says in a whisper and moves away as I take the food and camping gear and leave the inn.

Enjoy myself in this paradise, huh…?

For now, I should find Nina and the others.

“Is this really okay, Rapi…? All this gear…”

“It’s fine. He was willing to lend it to us once I explained the situation.”

I smile and fib a little as Nina looks at me in concern.

Like Mr. Bors suggested, we set up two simple tents on the bank of the lake—it goes much easier this time with my experience from camping out during the expedition.

The pseudo-sky has gotten nice and dark overhead, and the crystal stars are glittering. Taking a deep breath and looking at the illusory Dungeon night sky, Nina lowers her eyes.

“If that’s true, then I’m glad…but you’re really saving us at every turn.”

With her long face, it feels like she’s seen through my lie, and my heart skips a beat.

“Ninaaa! Rapiii! My ultra-spectacular dinner is ready!”

Then Chris suddenly calls out from the campfire where the others are taking care of dinner. I feel bad, but I quickly use the opportunity to escape this conversation and head toward the fire.

We’re camping on the crescent shore at the northern edge of the lake. The tents are on the border between the shore and the plains, and the campfire is nearer to the lake’s edge, which is where the other three are waiting.

“Still, though…you’re really incredible, Rapi,” Iglin says earnestly.

“Eh? Wh-what? Where did that come from?”

Using the food Mr. Bors shared with us, dinner is a simple risotto, a warm egg soup, and a block of portable rations to fill our stomachs.

As we sit around the fire, for some reason, everyone is looking at me.

“We’re used to camping out from Fieldwork and Combat Volunteer deployments, but you’re so good at dealing with stuff, and you even managed to get some things out of that nasty adventurer.”

“Mhmm, incredible…”

“Is there a trick to negotiations?!”

Legi nods too, and Chris excitedly leans forward, expecting something great. I struggle with how to explain the situation and end up making a pathetic excuse.

“Umm…just keep asking, I guess?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Iglin looks exasperated, but Chris just laughs.

“I can definitely see Rapi doing that!”

Finally, once we finish eating, as if moving onto the main topic…

“You said you want to be an adventurer, right?” Iglin asks. “So have you decided on your path?”

“Wh-why are…?”

“I can’t help it. It’s annoying, but you’re incredible, even though you’re just a supporter…I just have to know.”

I’m a little stunned, but with him looking so earnestly at me, I’m at a loss for how to respond.

To think he would ever ask me something like this…Does that mean he’s acknowledged us as being a real party? But…I don’t want to be an adventurer; I actually am an adventurer…

If I were really a student right now, I would probably still say Hestia Familia, but I can’t afford to be caught, either…so after struggling with it for a few moments, I answer with the next familia I could see myself considering joining.

“Umm, Loki Familia, I guess…?”

I think Nina’s ears prick up at that, but Iglin just keeps going without picking up on it.

“I guess that makes sense if you want to be an adventurer. I’ve heard their admission rates are insanely low, but I’ve got a feeling you can make it. If they don’t take you, then they must be blind.”

“Th-thanks…?”

My cheeks start to heat up a bit at that surprisingly strong compliment. I’m on the verge of collapsing into a fidgety mess, so I quickly try to shift the topic.

“Umm, what about you, Iglin? Have you decided your path?”

“I’m going to be a blacksmith.”

“Eh?! Even though you’re in Combat Studies?!”

My voice cracks hysterically as Iglin proudly explains his logic.

“Right now, the greatest blacksmith in the mortal realm is Tsubaki Collbrande. It’s something that master smith once said. ‘You have to be able to go down into the deep levels to test your weapons.’ So I’m working on my smithing skills while learning how the people who will use my weapons see things, all while aiming to become a master smith!”

Ms. Tsubaki, take responsibility for what you said…!

“Mmmm, then…what about you, Legi?”

“Assassin.”

“Mmmm?!”

Not really knowing how to respond to Iglin, I shift the topic to Legi, but she just offers another answer that is even harder to react to.

“I’m waiting…for a high elf. A dark one. An amazing high elf…who’ll destroy the white elves.”

“Eh?”

“That’s why I didn’t make friends. I want to be powerful…by myself. But it wasn’t enough…for the Dungeon.”

“!”

“I realized…strength in numbers. It’s so obvious. So…thank you, Rapi, everyone.”

“Legi…”

“Now…I want to train…soldiers.”

If I trust in the language-deciphering capabilities I’ve refined while dealing with Mr. Hegni, then Legi wants to be an assassin because she wishes for the restoration of a dark high elf who will defeat the white elves, who are overwhelmingly superior in number.

I don’t know how she ended up entering the School District, but even though she originally wanted the strength to fight alone, during her time in the Dungeon, she’s learned how brittle fighting alone can be. So now she wants to become an instructor who trains soldiers…is what I think she’s saying.

“I’m going to be an imperial knight! I’ll change our land from the inside, cleansing what has rotted away under the rule of colonizers, restoring the name of Cormac and the lost pride of Ulster!”

Chris, chiming in confidently even though no one asked, is the one with the most levelheaded yet grand goal, and though it’s a bit rude to think this, I’m definitely surprised to hear that coming from him.

“I’m going to restore the glory of my people’s proudest band of knights! I’ll be more amazing than even Braver!”

“M-more than Mr. Finn? That’s a little…”

“I can do it! Because I’m a prum who’s made it to Level Two already! And, well, if Braver insists, I guess I could join Loki Familia! Then I could be with you, and you could keep being my guardian beast!”

I smile watching Chris’s chest swell with pride as he closes his eyes, just like the first time we met.

And finally, everyone’s gaze turns to her.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention it. What are you aiming for, Nina?”

“………”

Nina’s response as she looks down at the cup of soup still in her hands is silence.

After a few moments, she looks up and flashes a lonely smile.

“Nothing, really…”

“………”

Silence fills the air.

Out of all of us, she alone seems lost.

Exactly ten minutes.

Ten minutes since Iglin and I were on guard when the next shift came and I took a nap.

Compared to the five-minute rest in the deep floors, ten minutes here on the tranquil eighteenth floor is luxurious. My thoughts are clear again, as if the muddy slog from before has been washed away. Physically, I’m really that exhausted to begin with. That’s just part of being Level 5 now.

I slip out of the tent, careful not to wake up Iglin, who is sleeping soundly…and see a single girl sitting in front of the fire.

“Nina.”

“Rapi…? We just changed lookouts a few minutes ago…”

“I just couldn’t really sleep…Where is Chris?”

“In our tent. He kept blinking and looked sleepy, so I told him to rest.”

The two tents should theoretically be split between boys and girls, but…well, I guess it’s okay if it’s Chris?

Nina’s long, brown hair sways as she turns back around and stares out at the lake in front of her. After asking for permission, I sit down next to her, leaving a little bit of space between us.

“Nina…did something happen?”

“………”

“Earlier…you seemed not exactly in high spirits.”

She doesn’t answer. The girl who was so bright and cheerful and kind to everyone at the School District is just quietly, coldly staring out at the lake.

“If you have something bothering you…I can listen. You’ve helped me so much all this time.”

Working up my courage, I push in. And also, I tell her that I want to repay her.

After not moving since I sat down, Nina slumps her head.

It looks almost like she is burying her face in her lap, but then, her one jade lock of hair trembles, and she slowly looks up.

“I just…can’t find a dream.”

I turn in surprise and see Nina still looking forward, smiling.

A weak, delicate smile that might crumble and fade any moment.

“I think everyone who enrolls at the School District has some sort of worry or anxiety. Not knowing what they want to be, not knowing their future…but the School District lets those students see all sorts of dreams.”

“…Dreams?”

“Mhmm. So many countries, cultures, jobs, research…the shape of the world. And as students discover the goals they want to achieve, they begin to leave.”

The word dream echoes in my ear as Nina murmurs softly.

“So…maybe it is just hard for people who enrolled without any real reason.”

The smile on her lips looks terribly self-deprecating.

“I have an older sister.”

“…That woman at the Guild Headquarters?”

“Mhmm. Her name is Eina. My wonderful sister.”

I know, though for now I pretend not to.

“I’m not the only one who thinks so, either. Everyone is proud of her.”

And now, there is clearly a shadow in her smile.

“I can’t remember a time before she was enrolled at the School District. I never got a chance to see her face or hear her voice. So that day in the Guild…was my first time meeting her.”

“………”

“But I already knew she was amazing. Everyone in our hometown always said so. She’s so smart; she’s so bright. Whenever I heard those stories, I was always so proud of her, as if her achievements were my own. Father and Mother, too…they were always so proud of her.”

Does she know what her face looks like right now? Does she have the courage to peer into the water and see for herself?

“Our mother…is frail. My sister went to the School District for Mother, and for Father, who is always working so hard to take care of Mother. To get a good job. My sister might not have had a dream, but she did at least have a proper goal. And I…didn’t. The reason I enrolled in the School District is because she did. Because I just thought I should follow the path that she took…that’s all I was thinking when I took the exam for the School District.”

My eyes widen.

Nina confesses that she’s simply been following in Miss Eina’s footsteps.

“Coming here so casually, enrolling, and trudging along all this time…I regret it.”

Hearing her say she regrets it stuns me. As passionate about studying and as hardworking as she is, has Nina been suffering all this time?

“Do you know the first course I took, Rapi?”

“…I don’t, sorry…”

“Theological Synthesis.”

“!!!”

That’s the subject she advised me against when I was picking my courses.

“Because my sister passed it, and everyone praised her for it. So I tried it, too. I thought, surely I can do it.”

“………”

“But I was wrong. That wasn’t true at all. I couldn’t understand anything. I couldn’t learn to read hieroglyphs like her.”

She continues sharing her past, painfully, as if cutting into herself with each word.

—It’s a little hard to recommend it…

—The word is only around one in ten people who take it pass…and even fewer people learn how to properly interpret hieroglyphs.

The advice she gave me…that wasn’t something she had heard from others. It was something she had experienced firsthand.

“I took the practice exam for a job at the Guild, too. Chasing after my sister again. But no matter how much I studied, I couldn’t get good marks. I couldn’t compare to her. So I ran away again, just like with Theological Synthesis.”

“………”

“My sister was so amazing that even after she graduated from the School District, lots of people still remember her. Just like back home. So I keep copying her, just following the path that she took…but I can’t be like her. She’s far more incredible than someone like me.”

Her eyes are starting to become like fountains. Tears fill her emerald eyes, accompanying the flow of emotions she can no longer hold back.

“I did everything my sister did when she was younger, so I just blindly followed in her footsteps. Thinking that would be easier. But…it wasn’t.”

“………”

“I just copied her and didn’t decide anything for myself…I’m so pathetic.”

…You’re wrong.

She’s probably misunderstanding.

Lord Balder and the other deities at the entrance interview, when they heard her desire to enter the School District, would have been able to know if she was lying.

So the real reason she entered the School District is…

“I was in the Education Department originally…but I switched to Combat Studies.”

“Eh?”

“It was just a coincidence…Completely by chance, Professor Leon saw me studying for Magic Theory and spoke to me. He gave me a staff to hold and told me to try channeling magic. I managed to cast a spell. And I was better at athletics than I expected, too…And lots of people told me how good I was.”

“…So you switched to Combat Studies?”

“Mhmm…When I heard my sister struggled with athletics…I became obsessed. I trained my combat abilities, not because I’d found a dream, or because I liked it, but just to protect the little place where I could be me.”

That is probably the thing that feels the worst to Nina.

She’s ashamed of herself for staying in Combat Studies, not because she has some higher goal, like Miss Eina, or a dream, like Iglin or Legi or Chris, but because it’s just an escape.

It’s all to protect her sense of self, so when we talked about our paths, she began to feel like she was being left behind.

“My sister’s letters came to me, at the School District. At first, I wrote back…but a lot happened, and I stopped being able to write.”

“………”

“I thought I was lame for only copying her…and I hated myself for clinging to things she couldn’t do just to protect myself…!”

“…”

“Reading my nice sister’s letters, I couldn’t write anything back…!”

A sob creeps into her voice.

Clear droplets flow from her eyes and down her cheeks, landing on her slender legs. Burying her face in her lap, her shoulders tremble and her fingers clutch her arms.

Venting everything that she has been holding in all this time, she cries.

I don’t say anything. I can’t sidle close to her, and I can’t hold her shoulders or wipe away her tears.

I don’t have an older brother. I don’t have any siblings. Gramps was my only family. I can’t sympathize. I can’t even begin to understand the anxiety and pain she is feeling.

But…

“Agh…”

Taking my overshirt off, I put the battered battle uniform over her shoulders. Just so she doesn’t get any colder. The surface of the lake is rippling, as if a breeze is blowing. It feels like the temperature has dropped a little bit.

And moving a little—really just the tiniest bit—closer, I sit down again.

“Nina…even if you hate yourself…”

Thinking back to all the time I’ve spent at the School District, I just put my honest feelings into words.

“It’s thanks to you that I’ve been able to enjoy all of this.”

“!!!”

“Thanks to you, I’ve learned the joy of studying. And thanks to you…I found a new goal for myself.”

I sit cross-legged on the ground, not looking at her, my eyes fixed on the surface of the lake.

“And you’ve helped the three of them so many times too during the Dungeon Practical.”

“Gh…!”

“I think the way you try to be kind to everyone like your sister…has helped a lot of people.”

The gleam in the sky fades, as if the stars are falling.

The crystals that are actually falling from the ceiling create ripples in the lake. Dozens, hundreds of little ripples.

Like beautiful tears.

Nina looks down again, her voice trembling…and then, she slowly looks up and turns to me.

It is small, but there is a little smile blooming on her face.

“Rapi…you sure know how to make a girl cry.”

“…Sorry…”

“It’s fine…I’m just a little surprised.”

“…Sorry…”

“Ha-ha, why are you apologizing?”

“…I don’t know, but I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be. I’m…happy. Thank you, Rapi.”

I don’t know what to say, seeing her smile, the damp tearstains still visible on her cheeks.

I’m still looking forward, but my face is completely flushed.

Noticing that, she giggles softly. She slides over just a little bit. I start to move away just a little bit, but her outstretched fingers grab me, and I give up.

My face is still red from embarrassment. It’s really hot considering I’m only wearing a sleeveless undershirt.

As the idle question of whether Lady Idun might come do something about this crosses my mind, the two of us continue looking out at the gleaming blue lake.

“I think,” Nina starts, speaking in a tone different from earlier, “people who have found what they want to do must be happy.”

“Hmm…?”

“Lots of bad things might happen, and it might be hard to keep going at the things you like. But even so, I think that’s true for everyone.”

Looking over, I see her face in profile. She is looking up above the lake, at the sea of crystals that make up the night sky here.

“I think people who walk straight ahead, instead of aimlessly wandering, deciding for no real reason, are dazzling. All of you are so much more amazing than someone like me.”

“………”

“Maybe it’s no place for a half-elf without a dream to comment, but…” The girl without a dream to chase smiles a little as she peers up at the fake night sky. “But even so, I think people with dreams are happy…and cool.”

To me, she looks almost sad…or maybe…hollow.

“………”

Following her gaze, my eyes narrow as I stare at the sky, fake, but beautiful nonetheless.

The next morning.

The blue crystals in the ceiling start to shine and brighten, emitting light that resembles early morning aboveground. After Nina drifted off to sleep, lying down with her head on my lap, I stood watch by myself.

I kept the fire going all night so she wouldn’t get cold.

“…Aoharu.”

“…Aoharu.”

Legi comes out of her tent, walking over to us, speaking Idun-ese with a flat expression.

My eyes glaze over as I decide to match the greeting.

“…Hey, Legi. If we get the chance for a little bit of adventure later, would you be interested?”

Not understanding the point of the question, Legi cocks her head a bit, but adjusting her mask, she nods.

“It’s the Under Resort…after all…might as well see…the new…together.”

I smile and thank her.

Careful not to wake Nina up, I leave her with Legi and head to Rivira.

“You’ve got some really weird tastes.”

When Mr. Bors hears my request, he looks fairly exasperated.

“Is it too much…?”

When I smile awkwardly and look up a little pleadingly, he grins.

“Not like we’re going to get the path between floors cleared today anyway. I’ve got nothing to do, so I’ll go along with it! I’ll say it as many times as I have to, but I owe you more than I can ever repay!”

He wraps his thick arm around my neck and makes a little circle with his fingers.

“No point looking a gift horse in the mouth! We can make it a proper protection quest!”

I thank him as the thick arm around my neck threatens to strangle me.

When I get back to the surface, I’ll have to work hard to pay all this back from my own wallet.

““““Field trip?!””””

When I say that after coming back from Rivira, everyone looks stunned.

“Mhmm. Since we came all the way to the eighteenth floor, would you like to go a little deeper?”

“I can understand the temptation, but…the Dungeon’s a completely different beast past this floor, right?!”

“There have been squads who made it to the eighteenth floor in incidents, but no other students have ever explored deeper! Mrgh?! Meaning, this is my chance to leave my mark in new territory?!”

“I said I wanted adventure…but danger?”

“R-right, Rapi. It was so difficult just getting here…”

The party is largely against the idea. But there’s also a bit of interest if it can be done safely, judging from Chris and Legi. So…

“When I went to Rivira, there were some upper-class adventurers who were heading down. They offered to let us come with them if we’re willing to help out…”

““…!””

“And if we can bring back some drops, we might get higher marks…”

““…!””

Nina and Chris, followed by Iglin and Legi, all react to my explanation.

Even though it’s my idea, it still feels a little crazy. Miss Eina would never let me hear the end of it if she found out. But at the same time, it feels safe, too.

Ordinarily, no matter what level you are, entering a floor you’ve never seen is dangerous. But with Mr. Bors and all those second-tier adventurers who have so much experience protecting the party, I’m sure we can safely go at least several floors below this one.

As long as I work hard to support them too, I might be able to show them something they’ve never seen.

“Heeey! We’re here!”

“The adventurers look like they’re ready to go…so what do you want to do?”

There are at least twenty upper-class adventurers waving as they approach the camp.

Seeing that, the members of the 3rd Squad look at each other, and after thinking over it long and hard, they decide to go.

“Th-these weapons are amazing! Even though they’ve been used so roughly this whole time…there aren’t any nicks or cracks!”

Seeing one of the adventurers from Rivira handle a large mammoth fool without issue, Iglin, hammer in hand, shouts in wonder. What particularly draws his attention are the adventurers’ weapons.

“Don’t underestimate Orario’s weapons. They’re way tougher than any of those fancy things you guys make at the School District!”

“Focusing on durability more than the cutting edge? No, there isn’t any compromise on the strength, either…!”

Getting permission to check the animal-man’s weapon, Iglin immediately starts taking advantage of the study opportunity.

I guess that’s not something a future blacksmith can pass up. He isn’t the only one getting worked up. Chris and Legi have commented in surprise several times already about what the adventurers are using and the way they fight.

“This potion is way more effective than the ones provided by the Compounding Department ! It tastes awful, though!”

“Wait…what was that?”

“Just using the monster’s fire to ignite it. Weapon and item strength all comes down to how you use them.”

The three of them are stunned by the knowledge and wisdom of the adventurers they previously looked down on as ruffians.

And since it is technically a quest, Mr. Bors and the others aren’t doing anything rough and are carefully protecting the 3rd Squad from all sides, even though they don’t really like students. I won’t say it’s like a tour bus, but it is going smoothly.

“Hey, Rapi! What is that?! That mushroom’s bigger than a house!”

“It’s a poison mushroom, apparently. I think I’ve heard it’s edible if you have a good enough Resistance ability…”

“It’s edible?!”

And Nina is getting excited at all the new things she is seeing, too.

At the School District, information about the Dungeon beyond the Cave Labyrinth isn’t available to students, so everything is exciting, wondrous, and teeming with the unknown to them.

There are all sorts of mysteries and fantasies lurking in a single moment in the Dungeon. That is what I wanted them to know.

It’s a little haughty, and maybe just my selfishness, but I wanted Iglin and them, and Nina especially, to be interested in some part of it.

I’m sure that is what the concept of a field trip—what Professor Leon mentioned—is really about.

Opportunities like this could bring about a new sort of goal or dream.

The location is the twenty-fourth floor. The deepest part of the middle floors. Legi and the others can’t hide their tension.

“Hey, Nina. Yesterday, you said you only just copied your sister and that you don’t have a goal…but I don’t think that’s true.”

“Huh?”

As we descend into a faintly blue cavern, Nina is right behind me.

“I think…you want to be something other than what Miss Eina is.”

“!”

I can sense her breath catching as I keep walking forward.

I’m sure she’s been compared to Miss Eina ever since she was young. Compared in some way or another to the bright older sister whose face and voice she didn’t know.

I think children are more sensitive and sharper than adults imagine.

And Nina, who was probably smarter than most kids, became very conscious of the comparisons those adults made, even if they didn’t mean it that way, and built up a lot of stress without realizing it.

I doubt the adults had any bad intentions. But after being compared in everything, feeling uneasy in a way she couldn’t comprehend, becoming so nervous she could no longer grasp what her parents were really saying to her, Nina enrolled at the School District.

But I think she also misunderstood something while doing that.

She’s decided that she’s just following Miss Eina’s path because she doesn’t have her own dream, that this is just a bad habit she’s aimlessly fallen into…but I’m sure it’s because she’s desperate to show everyone that she’s even more amazing than Miss Eina, to get them to acknowledge her.

Rivalry, jealousy, and aspiration.

Even experiencing so many failures and setbacks, Nina still hasn’t let go of her true goal.

“So you don’t need to hate yourself.”

She believed that if she got better scores and had greater achievements than Miss Eina, people would say how great she was instead of her sister.

She wants to scream for all the world to hear that she is Nina Tulle.

“You have the things you are good at. You should be proud of them. Because you’re an amazing girl who doesn’t lose even to Miss Eina.”

“Ahhh…”

Reaching the edge of the cave, I turn around, and Nina stops, dumbstruck.

Mr. Bors and the others in front look back dubiously as she freezes and the rest of the 3rd Squad stops moving.

I hold out my hand as she stays frozen in place.

“You’re here because even though you thought you were only running away, you never stopped trying your best. So, shall we?”

Finally, after several seconds, she slowly, hesitantly holds out her hand. Taking it, I lead her out of the cave.

“ ”

What appears before us is the Great Falls, the largest waterfall in the Dungeon.

“This is amaziiiiiiiiing!!!”

“Whooooooooooooooooa!!!”

“…Wow.”

Iglin, Chris, and Legi were all full of excitement.

And Nina’s eyes shot wide open too; she was awed by the sublime sight.

The gemlike falls extended through so many floors, it looked like it might pass through the entire world. The endless spray of water splattered against crystals, like a scene in ancient myth telling of the grand ocean.

Blue, inlaid, gleaming.

Beautiful, cruel, majestic.

And expanding out far below was the New World and the Water Metropolis.

“Incredible…”

After losing themselves in the great falls for a minute, their excitement continued even as they started moving again.

Masses of blue crystals seemingly carved out of the ocean, but different from those on the eighteenth floor. An eternal current where white eels and mermaids that all looked like sisters swam, while vibrant coral and blue petals formed fantastical images. It was so enchanting. The students’ chests were getting hammered by the new and the unknown that surrounded them.

The adventurers protecting them didn’t leave anything to chance, either. Relying on their plentiful experience, they were always on guard, taking out monsters before any could become a problem. And more than anything, this was a field trip to experience something new rather than a search for magic stones and drop items. Taking the shortest route possible, they continued forward, forward, peering into a different world. They were lucky as well that they hadn’t run into as many monsters, and they reached the waterfall basin on the twenty-fifth floor unbelievably quickly.

“It’s so beautiful…”

Looking down from right near the entrance to the floor, the Great Falls were undoubtedly sublime, but looking up from the basin, it was utterly breathtaking.

They’d never seen anything like it before, even while sailing around the world with the School District.

Nina felt like she could begin to understand why adventurers might be enthralled by the Dungeon where they were always risking their lives.

“How is it, Nina?”

“Rapi…what is this…?”

“A reward, I guess?”

“Huh…?”

“A reward for you and everyone else. For how hard you’ve worked.”

The boy who usually felt like a little kid smiled like a reliable, kind older brother who had his eyes hidden behind his hair.

“This is a present for you, who worked so impossibly hard and managed to find something you were good at, even if you still haven’t found your dream.”

“…!”

“Because you are in the 3rd Squad, and because you’ve become strong, we were able to give this to you. This is the proof of your growth. Even if you continued to fail, even if you didn’t manage to achieve what you set out to do, because you’ve grown stronger, we were able to experience this new world,” the rabbit boy who was their guide explained. “Nina, I can’t say anything grand about what your dream might be or what you should do to find a goal. But…I think if a person can be inspired by something, anything, then that person is blessed.”

“I-inspired…?”

“Yes. Excited, passionate, making your heart race, wanting to cry…if you can feel something like that, if something inspires you, then you can keep your head up and try just a little more.”

He spoke carefully, as if recalling his own experiences, digesting each and every memory.

“If this present gives you a little bit of courage…then that’s enough.”

“Rapi…”

Finally, he smiled awkwardly. So awkwardly, and even a little lamely, that it was clear even with the hair covering his eyes.

Nina’s heart ached. Even though she had been so sad last night, it was so warm now. She couldn’t move her lips right at all, and she clutched her right hand to her chest.

“—Oh! You’re in luck, brats! It’s a blue dragon!”

Just then, Bors called out as he peered deeper down the falls.

Nina and the others turned around for a moment, and far below, down past the twenty-sixth floor, a slender figure was swimming through the air, rising into view.

“Hide!” Bors ordered.

The students were caught by surprise, but they obeyed the adventurers who were already running and hid behind clusters of crystals jutting out of the ground like boulders.

Moments later, the dragon rose to the twenty-fifth-floor basin and continued its ascent.

Nina and Rapi watched it in awed silence.

“Is that…an aurora?!”

The long dragon was maybe ten meders in length. It had blue-and-white scales and long, winglike fins that were moving slowly as it swam through the air. But the most eye-catching aspect of all were the red, green, blue, and purple folds of light that trailed behind it.

“Blue dragon…! A rare monster from the lower floors!”

“Right, also known as an aurora dragon. It’s up there with carbuncles in rarity.”

Rapi had known of them, but it was his first time actually seeing one, and he couldn’t hide his shock. Hiding behind the same cluster, Bors grinned.

It went without saying that Nina, Iglin, and the students’ eyes were locked on it, but even some of the upper-class adventurers were staring.

Seeing the aurora and the sublime great falls together was more beautiful than any scene in the world. Spray from the falls splashed through the aurora, looking almost like a spirit’s mischief.

“An aurora in the Dungeon…I can’t believe it…” Iglin murmured in awe.

“Supposedly,” the animal person next to him explained, “that dragon shits magic power out its tail there, which refracts the light from the crystals in this floor, and that’s what creates that pretty thing.”

“Terrible explanation…”

“But even so, it is captivatingly beautiful.”

The description sapped Legi’s excitement, but Chris’s eyes were still gleaming as he described the thrill he felt in a whisper.

The way it floated through the air, seemingly free from the bounds of gravity, resembled voltemeria, a rare monster from the twenty-seventh floor, but its elegance was incomparable. Its round, cute eyes were perfectly clear as it continued to release the aurora that illuminated the adventurers and students.

A moment of inspiration…

Nina gripped her chest as she continued looking up.

Her heart raced as she recalled what Rapi had said moments ago, and she started to feel a hard-to-describe heat.

Nina didn’t know what answer her heart was leading her toward as she just seared the most beautiful, otherworldly scene into her eyes.

“—Gsha!”

“Tch?! Whoa?! Monster! Watch out!”

Just then, behind everyone who was busy staring at the dragon and its aurora, a single blue crab had sneaked up on them and leaped forcefully into their midst.

Iglin spun around wildly, sensing it right after it appeared, and swung his hammer down.

When the hard shell refused to give way entirely, he slammed it down again, and one more time.

A loud, clanging sound echoed in the basin.

The blue crab finally stopped moving.

Then the dragon’s eyes turned downward.

“““““Ugh.”””””

The adventurers and students hiding behind the crystals froze like deer, and the clear, cute, round eyes of the dragon turned an aggressive red. It opened its big mouth wide, revealing rows of sharp fangs.

“““Not good!!!”””

Bors and the adventurers immediately leaped out from behind their cover.

The next to move was Rapi, who was stunned for an instant before pushing the rest of the 3rd Squad out from behind the cluster where they were standing dumbstruck.

The next moment, a gleaming, multicolor storm erupted from the dragon’s mouth.

“GHHHHHHHHH!!!”

A blinding aurora beam burst forth in a spray of light, swallowing up the cluster where they had been standing moments earlier, corroding it.

“Wh—?!”

“The crystals are melting?! A-a heat beam?!”

“No! It’s a magic breath! The light that dragon spews is a mess of poison, paralysis, and all sorts of other afflictions!”

Bors answered Iglin and Chris’s shock with a spittle-flecked shout while continuing to run.

The true nature of the enchanting aurora was a corrosive light that cruelly ate away at the dragon’s prey by causing several different negative debuffs.

Like with the mist the floor boss Amphisbaena used, an unusual breath ability was a common trait for monsters in the Water Metropolis.

Nina and the students gasped at the beautiful and mysterious poison the Dungeon had created.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Far overhead, the blue dragon was going wild.

Unleashing breath attacks from more than twenty meders overhead, it took its time targeting its prey that was running around the floor. The crystals corroded all around them. The water’s surface took on a hideous color and started giving off a putrid smoke.

Rapi dodged a swirl of light and—

“L-let’s run! It can easily target us here! Let’s go into the labyrinth!”

“No! We have to stop it here!”

But Bors immediately shot him down.

“What?!”

“That dragon’s long and thin! It’s not Amphisbaena! It can follow us into any path we take!”

“…!”

“Dealing with that breath inside a narrow passage is way scarier! It’s better to fight it here!”

Even with all his knowledge, Rapi’s lack of fighting experience was visible in his educated guess, and Bors and the other Rivira adventurers immediately gave his suggestion a thumbs-down.

“““So it’s up to you now!”””

“What?! Y-you’re not going to fight with me?!”

“““We didn’t bring any bows or magic swords.”””

“This is outside the terms of the quest, so take care of it yourself, client!”

“That’s…?!”

Rapi groaned as Bors and the others took cover in the relative safety of the entrance to the labyrinth area after drawing a clear line. And while that was going on, the aurora blasts continued to pour down, forcing Rapi to keep dodging.

There’s no sign of it coming down from up there…! It would be reckless to run up the wall, so I guess there’s no real choice but to use magic, but…!

The adventurers’ judgment was correct. With the blue dragon maintaining its altitude, it was impossible to attack it directly. It would take magic or bows and arrows or some other long-distance attack to take it down.

And knowing Rapi’s true identity, they had made a natural and obvious demand—hurry up and use your Firebolt already.

But if they find out my identity…!

Remembering his promise with Balder, Rapi was caught in the middle, but he quickly made up his mind.

Holding out his right arm, he aimed his cannon at the long dragon.

“B-Blasphemous Burn!”

Stubbornly sticking to the script to the end, he used his fake incantation while unleashing a lance of fire.

But the crimson flame and lightning missed its slithering body, hitting nothing.

Gh…! It’s faster than sirens and harpies, even!

He unleashed a barrage of shots, but they were all dodged.

The enemy was a dragon, the strongest of all species of monsters. Its potential and its flying ability were incomparable to other winged species’ from the same floor.

And more than anything, the distance. It was a long range, a distance that Bell was not comfortable fighting at.

He had used Firebolt mostly to control a chaotic fight at close range, or occasionally at midrange. But long range was Bell’s worst distance, and against a quickly moving target high overhead, the difficulty was jacked up even higher. It was difficult for Bell to substitute precision sniping like Hedin’s with a quick attack magic wielded by someone who wasn’t a pure mage or even a magic swordsman.

Why’d I have to find a new challenge now of all times…?!

Just then…

“Whoaaaaa?!”

“—gh?! Iglin!”

The deadly aurora closed in on the fleeing dwarf.

Rapi kicked off the crystal shore, shattering the ground as he pushed his comrade’s body out of the way—and that was all. He could not escape the enormous range of the attack himself and was swallowed up by the corrosive light.

“Ghhhh?!”

Crossing his arms, he shielded himself.

The shortsword in his hand crumbled in moments. Eyes wide, he tried to escape immediately, but the corrosion reached all the way to the ground.

…?! My feet! It’s like a swamp!

Having caught its prey, the dragon increased the force of the aurora, corroding Rapi’s surroundings at a terrifying speed.

Unable to kick off the ground, and discovering that he was actually starting to sink into it, Rapi’s face tensed.

My body…can take it…! But my gear…!

The first-tier adventurer’s body with its naturally high resistances was able to endure the corrosive light so well that it was infuriating the dragon. His skin was tingling and stinging a bit, but that was all. On the other hand, the shortsword and the battle uniform on his back were both starting to rot away.

An unexpected struggle in just the lower floors.

In the Dungeon, the unknown was a threat to adventurers regardless of level.

“Rapi?!”

Nina cried out, barely able to see the shadow of a person in the swirl of light. Sitting on the ground where he had been pushed, Iglin turned pale, and Legi and Chris blanched, too. They started to rush out immediately, but their arms were grabbed by heavy hands.

“Wait! Don’t go out there! If it’s Rabbi—that Rapi kid, he’ll be fine!”

“How could he be fine?! Let me go! Let me go!”

Bors and the others stopped Nina and blocked Iglin and the others.

The ruffians were still keeping to the letter of the quest—protect the students—and managed to hold the struggling girl back.

They had grasped it. They saw the first-tier adventurer’s aim was a test of wills.

But Nina had not. Of course not. She didn’t know the first-tier adventurer that even these adventurers acknowledged. The person she knew was the kind, gentle boy who had guided her here.

“—Lullaby of wind, cradle of flowers.”

And so, she sang.

“…!!! What do you think you’re doing?!”

The noble song that she had been permitted.

“Splendor of old, majesty of yore. White city protecting Mother, atop the floral hill.”

Closing her eyes to focus on her magic, images of her roots flashed through the half-elf girl’s mind.

Her homeland, filled with pure air, unprotected by a city wall, high on a promontory, where countless white petals danced in the blue sky.

Nina’s origin and her blemish, manifested in the nostalgic tears cried into a pillow, the terrible yearning for a home she had once left, that she longed for again after so many failures and setbacks, but that she could never bring herself to return to after failing to become anything.

“Blossom ye flowers. Blossom for this seed that cannot bloom. Sing, O light, to illuminate the noble traveler.”

The girl who could not write her own future, jealous of the travelers, yearning to be like them, came to at least pray that their journeys be fortunate.

So as not to turn her back on the nobility in her veins, she never hesitated to devote herself to others. Unfulfilled and unable to discover a dream, she entrusted her maddening emotions in others, subconsciously using others. The shallow girl’s wish was a foolishly gentle elf’s song.

“Noble blue. Purest white. Purify miasma, and here bequeath a laurel.”

And in all that shallow, foolish devotion, she had met him. The boy who had told her that her path was not shallow, was not foolish, but was incredible, too.

Rapi has given me so much!

The boy who had said that he had been saved by her. That was wrong. It was the opposite. She was always being saved by him.

I haven’t given him anything back at all!

So Nina had to keep helping him. She wanted to be by his side. She wanted to teach him so much more, to be taught so much more.

That was Nina’s wish.

“Whoooa?!”

“Nina?!”

Feeling the growing magic power—and fearful of an Ignis Fatuus—Bors immediately let Nina’s arm go.

Chris was astounded seeing her sublime figure, more gallant than ever before as she held out her staff.

The next instant, she started running.

“Bloom, second sacred mount—”

Attempting the spell she had only just learned, she raced to the light even now eating away at the boy.

She braved danger out of a simple wish to save him.

As she was about to plunge into the light, at the last moment, she finished casting.

“—My name is Alf!”

Her single lock of jade hair gleamed with magic power, and she unleashed her spell.

“Lagriell Krisheim!!!”

A field of white flowers forced the sinister aurora back.

Standing in the stunned gaze of the long dragon and blocking the similarly shocked boy, a domain of dancing white feathers, or perhaps pure white petals, burst into being.

“Wh-what the hell’s that?!”

“Purifying magic! Nina’s barrier that can cure everything!”

Bors was taken aback while Chris and the other students leaned forward excitedly.

Lagriell Krisheim. A rare magic that Nina had manifested. As Chris had said, it could cleanse any and every debuff. A midsize healing barrier that not only cleansed negative effects like poison or paralysis, but even prevented curses and psychological attacks—demarcating the boundaries of a sacred elven field.

A bright field of flowers in place of a royal wood. The indelible scene of her frail, beloved mother had left a tremendous impact on the heart of the girl who had always wished to someday be able to save her.

“Nina…!”

Awestruck, Rapi’s body was already fully healed.

Not only did the barrier cure poisoning, it also enchanted all those inside the barrier with a cleansing light that provided continuous healing, banishing all traces of impurity from its bounds. Even the aurora of the blue dragon, which had such a higher potential than the half-elf girl’s.

“Ughhhhh…!”

Her knees trembled. The aurora roared, trying to crush the barrier of light and Nina’s protection.

But it did not fail. There was no hint of it giving out. Because in that moment, Nina was burning with a sense of duty like none she had ever experienced. She had a goal. The desire to protect the people precious to her until the very end.

The dragon finally grew fed up with the unyielding field of white flowers. Stopping its aurora breath, it quickly descended, intent on crushing it directly with its fangs.

Nina’s eyes widened. Her Lagriell Krisheim had no way to prevent direct physical and magic attacks.

Just as she was about to clench her emerald eyes shut, a slender arm supported her back as she started tilting.

“Thank you, Nina.”

Grateful to the half-elf girl who had lent her support in the test of wills he had set up, the boy stepped forward himself this time. What he drew from his hip was the black knife he always kept close at hand.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

“Hah!”

The moment the fangs were right in front of his eyes, he deflected them with a tremendous slash, protecting Nina, whose eyes widened in shock. Then the boy grabbed on to the dragon’s long body.

Not letting go as the aurora dragon quickly ascended, he held on to a fin, climbing toward the dragon’s head.

“ ”

Nina seared the sight into her eyes: the boy rising through the air while the dragon created a terrifying, beautiful aurora in its wake, and the stunning waterfall and towering crystals in the background.

It was a mysterious, fantastical scene, almost like a page taken out of a heroic epic; it made her heart flutter.

“Nina, we cannot answer to your troubles.”

Professor Leon had once told her this. When she had been at her limit and struggling hopelessly with the environment of the School District, that was the moment he had recommended Combat Studies to her. What Leon had told her then was to never stop questioning.

Leon and Balder and the others would never give her the simple answer she desperately wanted. They refused to tell her what to do, what she should set her sights on. Even though she would have been able to stop feeling the way she did and just blindly pursue whatever they suggested if they had only said the word.

The instructors at the School District would not turn Nina into a puppet.

“If I were to give you any advice…Nina, when the time comes, be honest.”

That was all he had told her, as if praying that the right moment would come someday.

“When your heart is trembling uncontrollably…that is the moment when you’ve found your dream.”

Her dream lit a heroic flame.

“Firebolt!”

While the dragon was trying to shake him off, Rapi leaped out above its head, firing a scarlet blaze into the black knife.

Suddenly, the sound of a loud bell rang out.

Particles of white light gathered, and an enormous wreath of flames clung to the divine blade.

The dragon recoiled from the blazing light, unleashing a final aurora blast from its mouth.

A four-second charge.

Letting his body fall naturally, the adventurer faced the dragon’s breath head-on as he unleashed his attack.

“Argo Vesta!!!”

A crimson slash.

“ Aaaaaaah?!”

The sacred flame slash swallowed up the aurora before blasting the dragon into oblivion.

Looking up, Nina and the others averted their eyes at the blinding flash and the explosion’s blast.

The floor trembled, and even the great falls seemed to groan in terror.

There was a rustle as a rain of gray particles filled the air.

The dragon’s corpse had been turned to ash as the boy splashed down into the basin at the bottom of the falls.

Seeing that, Nina sprinted over.

Bors and Iglin and everyone else gathered too, cheering.

“Rapi!”

“Nina…are you all right?”

Wiping his face, his clothes a mess, the first thing out of the boy’s mouth was still concern for others, and Nina really should have been upset at him.

But just right now, in this one moment, she listened to the ringing in her heart.

That smile.

That kindness.

That dream.

Nina’s heart was trembling, and so she said it without hesitation.

“I want to become an adventurer!”

She shouted it while standing right in front of the stunned boy.

“I want to see all sorts of new things by your side!”

Her tongue had slipped a surprising amount.

“Huh?”

““““““Huh?””””””

It wasn’t just Rapi. All of the 3rd Squad, and even Bors and the adventurers froze, staring at the half-elf girl.

But before she realized what she was saying, her face turned bright red…

Because of the aurora, the boy’s clothes, gear, and magic items were completely worn out. And so, the top of the boy’s head—the wig he was wearing, slipped to the ground with a thud.

“Ah.”

““““““Ah.””””””

This time, trading places with the boy, the girl’s eyes widened in surprise.

The red eyes that had been hidden behind that hair this whole time were revealed.

The long rabbit ears disappeared too, revealing hair like virgin snow, shining in the waterfall’s spray.

Rapi—or rather, Bell, froze.

The 3rd Squad stopped mid-motion.

Bors and the adventurers from Rivira just shrugged, and then the next second, there was a thunderous shout.

““““Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!””””