Evil Avalon - Volume 2 - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Kano’s Crocodile Tears

We reached the fifth floor a little after five in the afternoon.

Bright lights illuminated the entrance to the rest area. Adventurers filled the room and ate their lunch on mats they’d rolled out atop every spare spot on the floor. It was common practice for adventurers raiding the fifth floor to return to the monster-free rest area to eat lunch because there were relatively few safe areas on the remainder of the floor. The sharp turns and blind corners elsewhere made it difficult to spot approaching monsters.

The peddlers capitalized on the occasion, walking around the crowd selling lunch boxes and drinks. Stall owners shouted above the noise to attract customers. The luscious smell of food drew adventurers to the stalls, and many walked around carrying food and chatting to their neighbors.

I was ready for a meal too, but we would have plenty of time to rest after we’d reached the bridge-dropping spot. So, we planned to head there first, then we could relax and eat the food we’d brought from outside.

However, I noticed the two girls looked exhausted despite being all right in the morning.

“Are you hanging in there, Satsuki?” asked Risa.

“Just about,” replied Satsuki. “I think I might collapse when we get there, though...”

“It’s not much farther now,” said Risa encouragingly.

Both of them were below level 5. Although their physical enhancements would help somewhat, trekking through thick crowds for over five hours had naturally worn them out.

I was perfectly okay, as I could handle long journeys like this at level 19 without breaking a sweat. I wasn’t yet sure how far my extraordinary stamina could take me.

“But it’s already past twelve,” remarked Satsuki. “And we’ve got the return journey to consider too. If it takes this long, we won’t be able to raid the fifth floor on school days.”

“Others can’t,” said Risa. “But we can use the gates.”

Satsuki was momentarily silent, then said, “Right...”

The problem our classmates had was that it took too long to reach their raiding spots because they had to enter the dungeon through the portal. It was horrible for students in Class D and above since they wouldn’t get to raid on school days. The First Swordcraft Club and First Magic Club we’d seen in the morning would likely take several days to reach their destination.

So, how did they train on school days? The answer was that in DEC, they’d train at their clubs and gain tiny amounts of experience points by sparring in a magic field against an opponent of similar strength. Such a method likely held true in this world. This system was why the upper classes invested much in their clubs and why Class E’s inability to join clubs was so debilitating.

“If we want to form a circle, we’ll have to get stronger ourselves first,” said Satsuki.

“That’s right,” agreed Risa. “Otherwise, our classmates won’t see the point in joining. Right. We’ve had our break, so let’s get going.”

We all performed some stretches and set off once more.

“I’ll lead the way, so stay close,” I said.

“Thanks,” said Satsuki. “And thanks for carrying our bags too. It’s a big help.”

“Ha ha, I knew we brought you along for a reason, Souta,” quipped Risa, giggling.

It was the least I could do. I cast Basic Restoration on the girls to help with their weariness at least a little.

***

We traveled through the floor, up and down hills, keeping an eye out for orcs as we went. Eventually, we crossed a large rope bridge over a deep valley, and the room where the orc lord spawned came into view.

“This is...the place the guild warns everyone to stay away from,” commented Satsuki. “We’re here, aren’t we?” She was nervously clutching her chest with both hands, shivering. Encountering the orc lord at level 4 meant almost certain death to most adventurers, and our assurances weren’t enough to ease her fear. I could remember being absolutely terrified the first time I’d seen the orc lord, to be fair. The sight of the orc lord now didn’t have the same effect, which made me think that the fear was a reaction to his Aura.

I tiptoed up to the room and peeked inside to check whether the orc lord was there... But the room was empty. Someone must have lured him away already.

“It’s not there,” I said, returning to the girls. “My sister’s bridge-dropping right now, which is probably why.”

“Wow... Your sister is really something,” marveled Satsuki.

Luring the orc lord wasn’t difficult if you had enough stamina; as long as you knew the way, all you had to do was keep running while taking care not to spring any traps. It was much scarier if you weren’t the best runner, like when I had first lured the orc lord.

“We’re almost there now,” said Risa.

“Yeah,” I replied. “The bridge will be gone, so we’ll need to go the long way around to get to the other side.”

If the bridge were intact, we could follow a straight path to reach our destination in no time, but we’d need to take a more indirect path without the bridge. Even so, we didn’t have long to go. Risa put on a brave face and encouraged Satsuki to keep going.

***

After we walked for another kilometer, the valley we were trying to reach finally came into sight. I looked around for a spot to rest until I spotted my mother and sister sitting on a rolled-out mat, munching on snacks a little below us.

“Look, there’s bro!” called out Kano. “And...the girls from earlier?”

“Come on down,” said my mother, patting an empty spot on the mat. “There’s room for you all to sit down.” She offered us tea as well.

I was glad to see that she looked all right.

“Look how strong I’ve become!” added my mother, swinging the sword I’d given her. Her leveling appeared to be going well. She had been an adventurer for a time before she’d met our father, making it down to the fourth floor. So, she knew how to handle weapons.

To pass the time between bridge-drops, Kano brought a game console while my mother had a book to read. That seemed like an awfully cavalier approach to the dungeon. But there was nothing else to do before the orc lord respawned, so it made a bit of sense.

Risa and Satsuki thanked my mother, slumped onto the vacant spots on the mat, and began drinking the tea. They were visibly exhausted from the long journey here and so tired that they didn’t even have enough energy to hide it. We hadn’t stopped to rest often, and they’d done it all on an empty stomach. Plus, the last stretch from the orc lord’s room had been along paths with steep slopes.

“When will the bridge be ready again?” I asked.

“About twenty minutes, I think,” replied Kano. “Me and mom are going home when we’ve finished eating.”

The aim of their raid today was to power level our mother to level 7, and they’d accomplished that, meaning they were just finishing the snacks they’d brought before leaving.

“Cool, we’ll take over once we’ve filled our bellies,” I said.

“No fair!” whined Kano. “If you’re sticking around, I want to take part too!”

“You need to get our mom home safely,” I scolded her. “This is a dangerous area, even for a level 7.”

A level 7 would have no trouble defeating any goblin soldiers or orc assaulters they might encounter. But there was still the risk of running into a train of monsters another adventurer created. I didn’t want to endanger my mother by making her return alone on a route she didn’t even know.

When I explained this to Kano, she threw herself at Satsuki’s feet and tearily said, “Bro doesn’t want me around!”

I tried to pull Kano away from Satsuki to stop her from embarrassing me in front of the girls, but her grip on Satsuki’s legs was iron tight.

“I think it’d be wonderful for your sister to raid with us!” argued Satsuki.

“Yeah, Souta, stop being such a meanie!” added Risa.

Kano’s crocodile tears had won her the support of both girls and simultaneously made me look like the bad guy.

Well, Kano won’t do any harm by joining in, I thought. And the girls don’t mind... So I guess it’s fine. As a compromise, I told Kano that she’d have to drop our mother off first and return if she wanted to raid with us.

And so, Kano waved her hands happily as she left and said, “Okay, I’ll come back when mom’s through the gate!”

My mother looked at Satsuki and Risa, then winked at me and whispered, “Good luck, Souta.”

Once they were both gone, I turned back to Satsuki and Risa, who were eating their lunch on the mat, and explained the strategy for bridge-dropping. To receive the experience points for bridge-dropping, they had to cut the ropes on either side at the same time.

“I’m still a bit scared of taking on a level 10 monster,” confessed Satsuki, having turned pale as the time to get started drew near.

“How many experience points do you think we’ll get?” asked Risa. She seemed way more excited, eager to test the game’s bridge-dropping trick in real life. Bridge-dropping worked the same as in the game, though. The only difference was the screaming of the orcs as they fell.

“Don’t worry. If the trick doesn’t work, I’ll mop up the surviving monsters,” I assured them.

“I wish that could reassure me, but I still don’t know how strong you really are...” said Satsuki.

Even though I’d planned to demonstrate my strength by taking down some orcs on the way here, we had encountered none. My sister had apparently paraded around the area, slaying all the monsters to kill time.

“I’ll signal you to cut the ropes,” I explained. “So don’t let yourself get spooked into dropping the bridge before they’re far enough over.”

“I just have to cut the rope here, right?” asked Satsuki. Her mood improved after I’d explained what she’d have to do. She was eager to get going, no longer nervous because she knew her task was simple. All she had to do was cut a rope, so it didn’t matter that she was still tired since it didn’t require much strength.

“This brings me back,” noted Risa.

Just then, the bridge rose and began to repair itself with a tremendous noise. It was like time was running backward, and I heard Satsuki gasp with surprise behind me.

The powerful restorative features of the dungeon would repair buildings, walls, and other structures a set amount of time after they had been damaged or destroyed. It amazed me the first time I saw it with my eyes. I’d never thought deeply about it in the game, even if it was something else entirely to witness such a deviation from the laws of physics.

The fact that the bridge had repaired itself meant the orc lord would have respawned as well.

“I’ll fetch the orc lord,” I said. “Don’t freak out when you see how many monsters I bring back.”

“Okay, um... Be careful...” said Satsuki.

“Good luck!” exclaimed Risa.

The two girls smiled and waved as I left. Their smiles were all I needed to push me onward. Let’s do this!