Chapter 5 – Wonderful Days
Morning.
Preparing my equipment in my room, I go down to the great hall on the first floor.
Today it’s dungeon diving again.
If the 98th floor is fully conquered, the 99th floor would naturally be next. Once a certain amount of information is gathered, busy times will be upon us again in no time.
With the incident of the “[Twilight Owls]”, there’s been no rest, but this is where we must hold our ground as the vanguard party.
Especially as a newcomer, I have to try even harder than everyone else.
Before entering the great hall, I stopped.
I heard cheerful noises from the other side and felt like interrupting, so I hesitated.
Taking a deep breath, I moved my mouth saying “ah-eh-oo” and clearing my throat with a cough to project my voice.
Stand tall, Vim Strauss.
Camilla called me the ace. I should act accordingly.
“Good morning!”
It echoed a little.
For an instant it became quiet, and I felt anxious wondering if something was off.
“Yo! Morning!”
“Morning!”
“Good morning!”
Everyone cheerfully greeted me in return, so I felt relieved.
Good, it seemed I did it normally.
I sat down in an open spot to wait.
It still seemed we had a little time before departure. I must have arrived too early.
Currently in the great hall are members of the vanguard unit. For those whose gear is large, preparation can be difficult in their rooms, so they come early.
With nothing to do, I decided to take a look around.
I was sure I memorized the names of today’s selected members, but there were a few faces I couldn’t match to names. I should confirm.
Let’s see, that’s Carl, Limeunt, so that person must be Fritz. The one over there is the only woman in the vanguard unit, Marianne. Abel is also here.
Everyone seems to be chatting half seriously and half for business in a pleasant atmosphere.
Seeing them from within, the eyes of all the “[Nightfireflies]” members shine.
How do I put it, they speak energetically.
It seems they have firm beliefs backed by success experiences, without doubting this place or their comrades.
Many also seem to have a dignified air.
Perhaps they come from good births and upbringings, as their speech seems politely considerate as well. They have the premise of thinking how the other person sees them and speak accordingly.
Rough characters are common among adventurers, but these people are different. I hear “thank you” and “you’re welcome” a lot.
Thinking it over again, my incongruity here is immense.
But I have to play ace here, don’t I?
I can’t lose confidence worrying alone. I’ll stand firm and do the work worthy of the evaluation and pay I received.
Even looking at it from an adventurer’s perspective, the 99th floor would undoubtedly be an exceptionally special floor.
It goes without saying it’s filled with dense forests. But more than that, the terrain itself is unlike what we’ve seen in dungeons so far. It’s not limited pathways like caves but wide open spaces overgrown with trees above ground.
Naturally, the existence of the “sky” is also a major factor. We must be wary of enemies from above and account for the possibility of rainfall like on the 98th floor.
A floor like this would be a first for any party, including the “[Nightfireflies]”.
We’ll have to gradually establish tactics by applying countermeasures for floors with wide open areas or plant-type monsters.
In addition, there was a slightly unexpected element on this floor related to recent advances by “[Dragon’s Wings]”.
It’s still fresh that Chronos rashly embarked on an unreasonable dungeon dive.
While many parties were focused on exploring the 98th floor, he challenged this floor ahead of them but ended in utter failure with casualties – causing a storm of criticism in Fyllinburg.
Hearing this, I was shaken severely.
Indirectly but undoubtedly, the party I used to belong to committed the grave mistake of taking lives. With that burden alone to bear, I also felt reproach for failing to properly rebuke Chronos.
I couldn’t help but wonder if things might have turned out differently had I made a different choice.
Those who died were also adventurers, having consented to accompanying the vanguard of their own free will, so it’s not for me to say. That reasoning sounded hollow and I couldn’t truly believe it.
But my inner conflict is beside the point. Recently, “[Dragon’s Wings]” seems to finally be achieving some fruitful results. At first, their success came across as just rushing to be the first on the front lines.
There are other rumors too, and the impression of them in the city remains poor. But from an adventurer’s perspective, that recklessness is also a form of daring spirit. In a sense, faulting a party that cut flesh to be first in uncovering dangers lacks meaning. Parties seem to be starting to turn around and reconsider them too.
Anyway, that’s why information on this floor had already largely been organized, including by the floor master.
The main issue is that blind spots are more numerous here than in past floors.
Thinking about it, naturally blind spots tend to be fewer in maze-like floors. As long as you watch out for corners and intersections, you can generally avoid them.
But dense forests breed hazards everywhere you walk.
Freely boosting movement isn’t the best approach. It’s safer to advance slowly while maintaining some distance and mutually covering each other.
So my role should mainly involve information gathering and scouting. But…
The glances directed at me say otherwise.
Everyone seems to expect more from me than that.
My positioning as well—putting me on the front lines while new information comes to light, with the mage Monika and shield bearer Abel at my side—prepared for battle.
That’s why my hands are left empty, in a sense.
While feeling some pressure, I also don’t want to let down the faith shown in me. I’ll try to bring back as much information as possible.
Trees bore signs like types of insects living on them or small monster-like animals.
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“Um, Mr. Vim?”
Realizing I was thinking too much, Monika addressed me.
“About confirming the strengthening of [Flame Screen], is…”
“Yes, what is it?”
“You mentioned you don’t use attribute infusion, right? How do you strengthen magic?”
Ah, since we’re comrades now, I should explain of course.
Now then, in the past I likely would have enthusiastically jumped right in using specialized jargon.
But I’m not that Vim anymore.
I have a concise explanation prepared highlighting the key points.
“Actually, I don’t strengthen magic itself. I adjust how the magic object reaches the target with maximum efficiency after it’s cast.”
“Efficiency, I see.”
“Yes. For example, with a fiery magic like [Flame Screen], air handling becomes especially important – specifically optimizing pressure differences. I shape the flames to burn and spread optimally by regulating pressure to allow oxygen intake, keeping a flame form with minimal loss. I ensure it doesn’t fall below the intended image, so feel free to shoot without worry.”
“I see.”
Yes, a perfect explanation.
“Isn’t that kind of thing hard to do if you’re not familiar with witchcraft? “
Monika seemed to gaze at me curiously, having picked up on my implication.
Getting pressed might make me withdraw, but this started half in jest.
“Well, I did want to be a magic-user in the past…”
“Oh, that’s right, I think I heard that.”
“Yes…there were some things…”
“Some things, like improper guidance?”
“Guidance?”
“From the academy.”
An academy refers to an educational institution, one in each major city or region mostly attended by the middle or upper classes.
The way she casually mentioned it implied Monika came from a privileged family.
“No, I never went to an academy. I came here from the countryside dreaming of dungeons.”
“Then where did you study magic?”
“Self-study, but…”
Monika looked surprised.
“That’s incredible. I admire you.”
“Thank you. But, um, is self-study that unusual? Adventurers have to do theoretical study on the side too.”
“No, I wouldn’t think so. But at least half of magic-users are academy graduates, or had private tutors, right?”
Oh, I see.
“No, no! At least about half of the magicians are academy graduates, you know? And many of them even had private tutors.”
“Oh, I see. That makes sense. No wonder there are so many refined people.”
After all, this is the most prominent and well-off party in Feelbron, so it’s only natural that they’ve been carefully chosen.
Wait a minute, does that mean…
“Could it be that many of the members of the ‘Night Dragonfly’ are like that?”
“Like what, exactly?”
“Well, you know, from noble families.”
“I think that’s quite common. But when powerful individuals in their prime join, the captain often recruits them from other parties.”
It seems I was surrounded by more talented people than I thought.
And on top of that, I found myself in a situation where Camilla referred to me as the “Ace,” as if I had outperformed these people.
Thinking about it that way, it made my spine tingle, and I had to forcibly stretch it to hide my discomfort.
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Vim was never taught anything, we don’t know his full power. Just as humans don’t how strong can gorillas get, because they never train specifically and just live in the wild.
Twilight Owl’s story got cut off though.