Chapter 23: Fifth-Class Explorer ⑪
Only one week left until the Great of Rounds.
Just one more week. And yet, I still hadn’t succeeded even once.
“Hmm…”
Haiyaan folded his arms and groaned.
The training room brightened, and I collapsed to my knees.
Day after day, night after night. I did take breaks, but my life had been nothing but training.
And still, not a glimmer of hope.
I mean, how am I supposed to deal with things like gaze, sightlines, vision—things you can’t even see?
No matter how much I used Stillness to focus my eyes, it was no good.
Whenever I unleashed Vanish, it erased my eyes along with it.
I knew it wasn’t impossible.
Alweld could do it.
And judging by the way he talked, it wasn’t like he was using some kind of special relic.
It was pure technique.
Which meant it wasn’t impossible for me, either. Even if it was unimaginably difficult.
“Haaah… haaah… dammit… guh!”
“Wof. Stop your training for now.”
“What!?”
“At this rate, it doesn’t matter how many hours you spend. It’s useless. You know that better than anyone.”
“…Hearing it from Haiyaan really stings…”
“What’s wrong with me saying it? Either way, you need rest. Times like this, that’s what matters.”
“…Fine. I’ll rest.”
Truthfully, I knew my body and mind were at their limit.
But my heart was still restless. Frustrated. Damn it. Damn it all.
I wanted to slam my fist against the training room wall, but I held myself back.
Leaving the training room in dejection, I found Shardina waiting.
She was holding a tray with a glass. She looked at me.
“Water. Drink. Desu.”
“Ah, thank you.”
My throat was parched, so it was a lifesaver. The cold water refreshed me as it went down.
“You drank it properly, Desu?”
“Yeah, thanks. I feel better.”
“If so, then good. Desu.”
Then she fixed me with her usual challenging blue eyes.
Blue eyes. Blue horns. Blue… blue… blue…… blue.
“…”
“W-what, Desu?”
“Blue—ah! Ahh!!”
I remembered. I finally remembered! In the Fire Dungeon, there was a blue light!
I had completely forgotten.
A blue light. A super ultra rare! How could I forget that!?
“W-what’s wrong, Desu?”
“Alright. Let’s go!”
“Eh? Go where, Desu!?”
I left the lab, went into my room, and froze.
Suuu… suu… suu…
Mineha-san was once again asleep in my bed, lightly dressed.
And she was in her large state, sound asleep. Nearby, Dagaa was also dozing.
One person, one beast. They looked so content.
I had been shocked when I first came home to find this.
It didn’t happen at night, but in the daytime or afternoon, I’d return to find her napping in my room.
“…”
I left them be.
The witches weren’t around today.
All the First-Rank Explorers had been summoned to Hydrangea, so they were away.
Of course, that included Alweld.
Not that I was worried about Alweld launching another attack anyway.
I’d known for a while that wouldn’t happen.
I reminded myself not to forget. On the way, I bought a thick knife at a weapon shop.
The sharpness was so-so, but its durability was guaranteed.
I wanted to buy a second one, but I hesitated.
The way I kept breaking knives, and how fast I broke them—it was starting to scare even me.
So when I saw a new knife, I couldn’t help but think I might snap it too.
Still, knives were the only weapons I could truly handle.
I had worked hard to learn Knife Magic.
So I had to be more careful than ever with them.
But… truthfully, there was a part of me that had already given up.
Shardina’s eyes lingered on a sword hanging on the wall.
A cutlass—mostly used in naval battles. She stared at it.
“You want that?”
“I feel like it is… calling Wokushime, Desu.”
O-oh. Since it was cheap despite being on display, I bought it for her.
A cutlass, of all things. Curious, I asked the shopkeeper about it.
Apparently, the owner had found it back during his explorer days, in a sea dungeon.
Huh. An out-of-place artifact, maybe. But Shardina didn’t comment further.
Still… why exactly was she tagging along with me today?
Well, whatever. Let’s head to the Fire Dungeon.
On the third floor, after I took down a Fire Lizard, someone called out to me.
“Sir Wof.”
I turned and saw a land catfish, wearing a karakasa hat and a cloak with a traditional arabesque pattern, smoking a pipe.
“Alexander-san!”
“It’s been a while. Long time no see.”
He bowed politely. It really had been a while.
“What’s with this monster, Desu?”
“Oh my, so you’re an inorganic maid with the scent of a cow.”
For a moment, Shardina and Alexander glared at each other, sparks flying.
“Shardina. He’s a former First-Rank. He might even be stronger than Munieka.”
“Stronger… than Head Maid, Desu…?”
“Probably.”
“Munieka? My, my. That face. You do look just like her.”
“She’s called Minosdoll. Based on Munieka.”
“Minos… I see. How fascinating.”
Alexander puffed his pipe.
“Are you here to set up teleportation circles, Alexander-san?”
“No, no. I came to check and process an event.”
“You mean the chimera on the 13th floor?”
“Oh? You know about it, meaning you’re involved, Wof-dono?”
“Well, a little. We were just heading there now.”
“A coincidence then. Would you allow me to accompany you?”
“Of course. Shardina, is that fine?”
“If Master decided it, then it is fine. Desu.”
An unexpected ally gained, we headed to the 13th floor.
“By the way, I’ve heard this year’s Great of Rounds is shaping up to be lively.”
“Seems that way.”
“And I heard about you too, Wof-dono. Not just the witch—half of the Unconquerable, too. Even I was surprised.”
Alexander seemed amused.
Shardina nodded.
“Master, amazing. Womanizer. Flirt. Desu.”
Where on earth did she learn those words?
“Um, it’s not like I was trying to ‘conquer’ anyone, alright?”
It was more like I just… grew close to them.
But, well… phrased that way, I couldn’t exactly deny it either.
“Still, the fact that Knight Attendant the Retainer named you means it’s natural people would take it that way.”
“…But if no one had been named, I heard guild staff would handle it.”
“That’s true. But remember—those would be Grand Guild staff.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Grand Guild staff are the elite of the elite, the highest rank of guild employees. Depending on circumstances, they can even manage branch guildmasters. And remember—First-Class Explorers themselves are also Grand Guild staff. They are not mere clerks, Wof-dono. Take that as a warning.”
“That serious…? I see.”
So, basically like how head-office employees outrank branch managers.
“Also, being nominated usually means someone close to you—like family or friends. But choosing the opposite sex is… something else entirely.”
“It’s different?”
“It is, yes. Because you’ll be spending time in the same room, after all.”
“Huh? The same room…?”
“When the Great of Rounds begins, the Retainer’s Knight Attendant stays with the First-Class Explorer constantly. Naturally, they also share the same room.”
“…Is that so…”
“You’ll get the details later, but that’s the gist of it.”
That… yeah, that makes sense. No wonder people would think so.
“By the way, has this ever happened through a nomination before?”
“Nope. Unprecedented. I’m sure the other First-Ranks—especially the veterans—are shocked. You’ll stand out, without a doubt, Wof-dono.”
“Master, stand out. As expected, desu.”
“…Hahaha.”
I felt a kind of resignation. Strange… how did things end up like this?
With those thoughts swirling, I cleared the 9th floor by cutting down a pack of Fire Wolves that surrounded me.
Was it Munieka-san’s memory? Shardina handled the cutlass brilliantly.
Using sword techniques I’d never even seen before, she toyed with the Fire Wolves and sliced them apart.
Come to think of it, did she possess some kind of automatic-type relic?
Alexander-san, as usual, fought with an easy air about him.
I used Vanish, blasting several Fire Wolves out of existence.
When the battle ended, Alexander-san spoke to me.
“You’re using it differently than before, I see.”
“I’ve been training, actually. But I can’t seem to handle it well.”
Maybe… just maybe, he could give me some advice as a senior.
Thinking that, I opened up to him.
“I see, I see. You’re struggling to control it with your line of sight.”
“Yes.”
“If I may offer some humble advice, I’d say your focus isn’t properly fixed.”
“…Focus?”
“Perhaps, Wof-dono, you’ve been looking only straight ahead?”
“Eh—w-well, yes.”
Alexander-san pulled out his kiseru pipe.
“When you look only forward, you’re actually also seeing the surroundings. Human vision is a fan shape. Unless you can focus that into a single point, you can’t truly control it.”
“…Into a single point…”
A point. A dot.
Come to think of it, in my memories from my past life, there was something in games called a pointer.
Yes—that’s it. A target pointer. A glowing dot. Right, I remember now.
A glowing dot? Ah—it’s there. A glowing dot. It exists.
Yes, this is it. This is it!!
It exists. I have a glowing dot.
I can do this.
I will do this.
Yes, this is it.
“Thank you, Alexander-san. I think I’ve grasped something.”
“Well then, that’s splendid to hear.”
I might actually be able to pull this off.
During training, I had no leads whatsoever, no clue at all.
But now… I could see it. Or at least, I felt like I could.
10th floor.
In the wide chamber appeared a great serpent wreathed in flames—Keeper Salamandra.
“Um, Alexander-san, Shardina. Could you let me handle this one?”
“Fine by me.”
“Master’s order, I obey, desu.”
I faced Salamandara head-on.
My goal: erase its flames.
To be honest, I didn’t think I could manage it with just that.
But I felt like I had caught onto something. And I knew this glowing dot.
I drew my knife—the thick blade I had just bought today.
I took my stance and invoked my relics.
Danger Sense and Silent.
Using them together, I could see red glowing dots on Salamandra.
Yes, this was it. The glowing dots.
The white, red, and black points of light that came with Danger Sense’s judgment.
They existed for me. I was the only one who could see them.
With Silent, I fixed all my attention on one of the red dots.
“ShhhhaaAAAAAH!”
Salamandara lunged at me with jaws wide. I dodged, deflecting with my knife.
The flames burned hot.
“Master!?”
“He’ll be fine.”
Alexander said calmly.
The glowing dot.
It wasn’t just for danger judgment.
It was a target pointer. A lock-on.
The dot never left the enemy. The red or black dots of Danger Sense never slipped away.
Focusing with Stillness, I finally realized something.
I’d had it all along. Everything I needed, from the very start.
Frustrating—so frustrating. But also… joyful. So very joyful.
At last, I could stand alongside them.
I fixed my will on the red glowing dot of Danger Sense, and without raising my hand, I spoke:
“Vanish.”
Only Salamandara’s flames disappeared.
At that moment, the dungeon shook, and something inside me felt like it burst open.
Deep Silent:
When focusing in a calm state, a target pointer—a glowing dot—appears. It can be aligned through thought alone. Inner voice can be heard. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 3 minutes.
A target pointer… longer usage time, same cooldown.
Thought control. I can move the glowing dot anywhere I imagine.
“JAAAAAAAAAA!!”
“Vanish!”
Only the Salamandara’s head—marked by a glowing dot that wasn’t red—was erased.
“Ohh. Well done indeed.”
“Master! Amazing! Amazing, desu!!”
Shardina beamed with joy.
I bowed my head to Alexander-san.
“Thank you.”
Truly—thank you.
Now then. Let’s keep moving forward.