Since then, there’ve been a few battles, but because the enemies were mainly long-ranged demonic beasts, Lain and Lucre were the ones playing the major roles.
Indeed, this floor is the domain of Rearguard Attackers after all.
On the 87th floor, the demonic beasts form large groups, so there’s a place for the Vanguard to be active, but on the 86th floor, they’re pretty much all alone……
“How’s it? We’re not too bad, right?”
After a battle is over, Selma calls out to me.
“Not too bad, you’re saying….. Surely it’s not just at that level. I seriously think you’re befitting of being the 1st Unit of ‘Night Sky’s Silver Rabbit’.”
I give my honest impression.
This party is not inferior to the Hero Party.
I think that Selma, Will and Lain are already better than those in the same position from the Hero Party.
As for Lucre and I, our counterparts are too good.
In my case, I have to compare myself with Oliver, that guy’s a genius.
I don’t know how strong the new person, Philly, is, but I have no doubt that she’s definitely better than me in terms of support magic multiplier effect.
If that’s the case, even without the explosive power from [Impact], it should be considered that all their overall abilities have improved.
Were the both of us to clash at full strength, I will certainly win, but my buffs have a time limit.
So I think it’s difficult to compare who is relatively superior as an explorer.
And Lucre’s comparison is Luna.
As far as I know, Luna is the best explorer in the Rearguard position.
She isn’t good at support magic, but her attack and recovery magic are at a very high standard, and she’s undoubtedly top class as a Magician and Healer.
Furthermore, she has a Talent.
Her Talent has great synergy wth magic.
She still hasn’t fully grasped it, but if she can completely master it as her own, she has the possibility to be an Enchanter that can surpass Selma.
A very reassuring presence in any party.
“I see…… From Orn’s point of view, do you think we can conquer the 92nd floor?”
I can tell that the other members are listening in on Selma’s question.
“I think it can be done.”
‘……Is that because you’re here?”
“No. It doesn’t matter whether I’m there or not, I think you can defeat the Black Dragon.”
This is not a lie.
The high level of skill these members have would make you think so.
After Albert’s death, all of them must have trained desperately.
“Orn, thank you. We did plan to work diligently this past year, but we weren’t sure if it would bear fruit. To be told that by you, who has climbed to the top, gives us a lot of confidence.”
Lain smiles and thanks me with tears in her eyes.
It’s not hard to imagine how hard this previous has been on these people.
”Night Sky’s Silver Rabbit” is a Clan that has set clearing the Grand Labyrinth as one of its goals.
However, being unable to find a replacement member, they haven’t dived directly into the deep layers for an entire year.
Moreover, as the top explorers in the Clan, they are required to set an example for the other explorers.
Days of continuing to put in effort without knowing whether it’d lead to results.
Pressure from sponsors.
It must have been very stressful.
Still, in my eyes, I see them as strong individuals who are by no means inferior to the members of the Hero Party.
I really want to be of help to these people and I sincerely hope that their hard work will be rewarded.
To achieve that, what I can do is to give my best in conquering this Great Labyrinth.
I once again reaffirmed this.
◇
About two hours have passed since we started diving into the 86th floor.
We finally find a Noxious Sheep.
This individual is slightly smaller than average.
The current objective is Noxious Sheep wool.
To accomplish that, we have to secure the wool before subjugation.
When a demonic beast is defeated, it disappears only to leave behind a magic stone.
There is a low chance that parts of the demonic beast will remain, but in the case where you have a specific demonic beast material as a target, you won’t just leave it to luck.
Because there’s a sure way to obtain parts from demonic beasts.
That is to separate that part from the demonic beast while it is still alive.
By doing so, that part will remain even after the demonic beast disappears.
“Orn, how much do you think you can get from that guy?”
Selma asks me how much wool I can shear.
“If there’s no interference, I think I can at least get two-thirds.”
“That’s enough. Then, the Rearguard will hold it down while staying alert of the surroundings. Will, please follow up and make it easy for Orn to act. I want to test Orn’s [Impact]. Can you match Lain’s magic?”
“If i can get the type, activation location as well as the timing.”
“Got it, then I’ll inform you through [Telepathy]. Alright, let’s go!”
At the same time as Selma’s shout, Will dashes for the Noxious Sheep.
In response to that movement, Selma casts buffs.
Instead of the sword that I’d been using earlier, I make two daggers appear that are about half the length as my sword and grip them in both hands.
Buffing myself with [Dexterity Up], [Agility Up], [Double] and [Sharpness Up] on my dual-wielded daggers, I close in on the Noxious Sheep.
Lain restrains its feet with [Rock Bind] and Lucre slows it down with [Thunder Shock].
The Noxious Sheep spews its reddish-black paralysing breath on Will, who had arrived in front of it, but Selma nullifies it by generating wind around him.
“Raaaaah!”
Will skilfully manipulates his double-edged sword and repeatedly slashes the Noxious Sheep’s face.
I turn around to its flank and shear its wool while being careful to not cut too deep.
The sheared wool is instantly stored.
Just to mention, the magic tool I am storing is not the bracelet I personally own, but a ring-shaped storage magic tool that was provided to me.
In “Night Sky’s Silver Rabbit,” the magic stones and materials obtained during the labyrinth exploration are to be stored in a supplied magic tool.
It’s given to you before you head out on labyrinth exploration, and when you finish, you return it to the Exploration Support Department.
After that, the price of the items obtained during the exploration will be added to the party fund at a later date.
If one wanted to, one could embezzle the items obtained during exploration, but the penalty for doing so is quite severe, so few people do it.
Because of my habit from my days in the Hero Party, I’ll have to be careful to not put it in my personal storage magic tool.
In about five minutes, I’m able to shear off a far bit except around the belly.
Selma decides this is enough.
In my head, after Lain explains the magic she would be activating, the countdown begins.
I keep my distance from the Noxious Sheep and start building the magic formula.
When it hits zero, the ground directly under the Noxious Sheep rises up and skewers it.
–But it doesn’t penetrate very far because of the wool protecting it.
This is Lucre’s magic. Its purpose is not for attack, but to fix its position.
A spear of lightning rains down from the sky above.
“[Impact]!”
Just before the lightning spear reaches the Noxious Sheep, I use [Impact].
Lightning splashes into the surroundings and the Noxious Sheep turns into a black mist.
And luckily, the magic stone and part of the wool that wasn’t sheared remained.
“Orn! Your magic is amazing after all! Even if its wool was already gone, I can’t believe we were able to defeat him with just one advanced magic!”
Lain comes rushing towards me with high spirits.
She’s in such a good mood that it looks as though she could start bouncing at any moment.
Really a person with large gaps in her personality…….
◇ ◇
After that, going through a few battles, we’d collected enough magic stones so we return to the surface.
In total, we eliminated about four Noxious sheep.
We also gathered quite a bit of wool.
“Whew~ After all, it’s calming on the surface~”
Lucre lets out in a silly voice.
Indeed, staying in the lower or deep layers of the Great Labyrinth for long periods of time can drain a lot of energy.
I can understand why she’d say that after we got back.
“If I remember correctly, we dive every other day, right? Does that mean tomorrow is a free day?”
I confirm with Selma tomorrow’s plans.
“Yeah, that’s right. Tomorrow morning I’ll be at the Exploration Management Department, so do you want to go with me? It’d be better to hear from Estella regarding that matter as soon as possible.”
By “that matter,” I assume she’s referring to instructing.
There’s an 80 or 90% chance that I’ll be guiding them, so I want to know the specifics quickly.
Even so, executives of the Clan do seem very busy after all.
As I’m also an executive of the Clan, I’d like to help reduce Selma’s workload.
Well, compared to when I was a member of the Hero Party and had to whip my body into shape after a long day of exploration just to do all kinds of admin work, it’s much easier.
It was tough back then…….
Not to mention Derrick and Aneri were no help at all……
“If that’s the case, I might as well accompany you, I guess. Do you three have plans for tomorrow?”
“We do. Lucre and I are helping with the development and experimentation of magic tools in the Magic Development Lab, and Will is helping out with similar things in the Equipment Development Lab.”
I see.
If they can get opinions from top explorers in the respective fields and receive real-time feedback, the development process would probably be speedier.
Those who are in a certain standing in the Clan can’t only act for themselves, huh?
When I was in the Hero Party, I did administrative work for the party, but all of that was for our own sakes.
But what Selma is doing, and the other three as well, is obviously not just for themselves. They must be focusing on developing highly practical things that can be handled by the average person.
That’s the big difference between a party and a Clan.
“Ah! Hey, hey! Let’s have the welcome party we couldn’t hold yesterday for Orn!”
“Oh! Nice! Let’s do it. A welcome party! Ain’t that fine, sis?”
“Yeah, no problem. Lain and Orn, are you two alright?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’m also okay. Thanks everyone.”
◇ ◇ ◇
Everyone’s coming to my welcome party, so we moved to a private room in a restaurant owned by “Night Sky’s Silver Rabbit”.
Us five enjoyed eating and drinking while making a huge commotion.
Until the welcome party came to a close, from the beginning to end, there was never a pause in the laughter.
–It was natural. Lain is someone who can’t stop laughing, so she was constantly at it.
And her tone and gestures were a match for her youthful appearance.
I think I can understand what Will was saying jokingly this morning.
Still, all these members are good people.
I’m honestly happy that from now on, I can explore the labyrinth with these people.
–