Chapter 179: Reinforce Military Strength
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/
Author: Hirukuma
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
“The remaining two floors are the Rocky Dog Mountain and the Everlasting Floor. What do you think about reinforcing our military strength?”
Hevoy suddenly said after Kikoyu’s note was read at the Director’s office.
Well, I know what he’s trying to say. The gap left by Kikoyu’s little party is quite substantial. Therefore, it’s only natural to find ways to fill it up.
The lowest floor, the Everlasting Floor has yet to be conquered by anyone. No one had ever been able to defeat that floor boss yet.
As for the floor above that, the Rocky Dog Mountain Floor has not been conquered by anyone for nearly a decade.
“Fumu, you’re quite right, but there’s a limit to who we can spare.”
Right now, the current active members of my party are myself and Ramis with Hyurumi on the support side, Mishael, Hevoy and Shui. We also receive the occasional help from Director Bear the elderly couple, the headmaster and the gatekeeper duo, Karios and Gors.
There’s also the Big Eater’s Group, but their abilities may not be as reliable on the lower floors. They’re good for reconnaissance missions, but their ability as a fighting force is not as high.
Having the Director of Darkness or Beginner Floor’s Director would be great, but since they are in leadership positions, they cannot move about easily.
Maybe it’s best to move as usual and call on others as backups as needed.
“What about the people from the Scorching Sand Floor?” asked Hyurumi.
“They are currently investigating the identities of their affiliated hunters. They’re also short on manpower since one of their best parties, the Raging Inferno, ended up like that.”
Since the abnormality on that floor had been resolved, life had resumed as usual. In other words, monsters would appear, so a minimum number of fighters had to be available.
“Which is why, I am thinking of recruiting one of the former members from Whimsical Fools.”
That’s right, there were others from that party. I heard they are quite… odd.
“Are you insane?!” Shui threw herself back in a comically exaggerated way.
For her, as a member of that party to act like this, just how ‘odd’ could these people be shocked by an oddball from that already incredibly ‘whimsical’ party?
Suddenly, I was filled with anxiety.
“They have proven their skills. Personalities aside, they have the skill set needed by the party.”
“Ah, sure, I guess they got the skills. But just what about the inside of their heads?” [1] said Hevoy pleasantly.
The fact that two people who knew them already commented on the stranger’s sanity was quite frightening.
“Do you have any idea where they could be?”
“No really, but definitely not on the floors we have cleared,” said Hevoy. He had been disappearing from time to time, gathering information about shoes as well as investigating the whereabouts of the rest of the Whimsical Fools’ members.
“So, we can assume they are either at the Everlasting Floor or the Rocky Dog Mountain Floor?” [1] asked Director Bear.
“There’s no reason for her to leave the dungeon. So, it’s possible to find her there,” said Hevoy.
“It’s not like she can leave, yeah?” said Shui.
So, the remaining member is a woman? Well, I guess it’s reasonable to expect her to be at the two lower levels since it’s close to impossible to leave the dungeon.
“Well, that makes things easier. Let’s head out to Rocky Dog Mountain Floor and check it out first. We can also reconnect the teleportation circle there too,” [1] said Hyurumi, decisive as always.
“Apologies for the trouble, I’ll be counting on you.”
Looks like we’ll be heading towards Rocky Dog Mountain next. Despite the circumstances, I look forward to seeing what kind of place it is. As for the new member, I’m kind of worried about her.
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Two days later, after Hyurumi had completed her adjustments on the transfer circle for Rocky Dog Mountain Floor, we were transported.
The party consisted of myself, Ramis, Hyurumi, Hevoy, Shui and Mishael. We miss having Kikoyu and the others, but still, our combat power is quite strong.
“As the name suggested, Rocky Dog Mountain Floor’s main feature is a gigantic rock in the shape of a dog. It’s a watery floor with several islands scattered through it.”
I listened to Hyurumi’s explanation as we remained in the transfer room after teleporting, but, a watery floor? Several islands? That’s not quite my image for a Rocky Dog Mountain Floor.
“It doesn’t feel like anyone’s waiting to ambush us, but it’s best to be careful,” Mishael advised.
Ramis nodded before pushing the door open.
A blinding light poured through the doorway.
When our eyes adjusted to the brightness, we could see rows of log houses lining up together. The roofs of these houses appear to be made of straw and some kind of dried leaves.
There were no signs of damage on these houses, so I was glad that the place was still intact.
The sun was not quite as intense as Scorching Sand Floor, but was definitely stronger than Clearflow Lake.
Fine sand covered the ground, reminding me of the lakeside that I had first woken up at, but here, I could see a horizon.
The village was surrounded by wooden stakes, but for some reason, there were none in the water. There was a sense of openness here that was absent on the other floors. This place reminded me of the pictures one would see on posters advertising some foreign resort area.
This place might be an excellent vacation place.
“This place’s perfect for a spot of fishing-su.”
“Our leader loves to fish. The only trouble is, monsters would occasionally pop out from the sea.”
How typical for a fantasy ‘other world’ setting. In the end, people ended up as monster bait, eh? Also, did he just say ‘sea’? Not an unusually large lake, but an actual sea? Are we still inside a dungeon?
It’s just too bad that I can’t make a joke about this, but it’s time to work. While I would like to have fun and enjoy this vacation mood, we’re here for a reason.
“Right, let’s head towards the Hunter Association,” said Hyurumi.
It’s common practice now for us to pay a visit to the director of the floor when we first set foot on it. I wonder… just what sort of person this floor’s director would be?
“O-oi, did you guys just come in through the transfer circle?” a middle-aged man with a trident and sleeveless leather armour came running up to us.
“Yup, we’re from Clearflow Lake~”
“Ohh, that right? I’m going to let the Director know, so just sit tight for a bit!”
He waved at us once before turning around to run full pelt in the other direction. Well, he saved us a trip at least.
We ended up taking shelter in the shade of some palm-like tree and waited for that person to return. Ramis set me down and I started handing out cold drinks to everyone.
As we relaxed, I noticed some of the locals started looking our way.
Three young men and three young women eyed our group interestedly. The young men wore plain collared shirts that were left open over shorts, while the young women wore sleeveless shirts and equally short shorts. On their feet were sandals fastened together with leather straps.
“Those shoes look like they’re not good at making feet sweat…” Hevoy grumbled under his breath.
“Haahh… some things never change-su…” Shui sighed.
The local residents were more curious than afraid, perhaps it’s because people rarely come all the way down to this floor. After a while, some of the young people approached.
“Hey, you guys are from another floor, right?”
“Yup, that’s right,” Ramis beamed at the timid-looking young man, who relaxed under the light of her smile.
“Wow, so the teleportation circle is finally working properly. I can’t wait to eat something other than seafood.”
“It’s not like we go hungry or anything, but fish and sea monsters get boring after a while.”
Woah, since we’re by the sea, it made sense for this place to have plenty of seafood, right? It would be great to have some tasty grilled fish and things with just a touch of soy sauce.
Should I start selling soy sauce? I once encountered a vending machine that only sold soy sauce. Naturally, I bought some. They also have [2] moromi for sale there, but for this place, I think plain soy sauce would suffice.
“Any major monster trouble?” Ramis asked.
“Um, we do get frequent monster attacks, but a group of really skilled hunters arrived just before the teleportation circle started malfunctioning and monster attacks suddenly skyrocketed. They stuck around for a while, helping us get organised and now we can handle those critters without much difficulty.”
At this, the faces of my companions changed. I think everyone had an idea who these really helpful people might be.
“Then, ah, could those hunters possibly be the… Whimsical Fools?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s them! That four-member party is pretty famous here.”
So, they were here.
Well, their goal was probably the same as ours. Having arrived a few months earlier, it’s possible that they have already recruited that person back into their group.
It’s still too early to give up, but one should also manage one’s hopes.
“That’s bad-su… but it could still be fine-su.”
“They may have contacted her first, however, it’s still unclear whether they could reel her in. I don’t think Leader alone could persuade her.”
Well, we can only hope that Leader Keyroil’s invitation has been rejected. But, first things first, let’s gather information. The person with the trident was running back towards us, so, let’s meet with the Director of this Floor and see what he has to say.
Still, after thinking back to the characters that I had encountered… I felt half hopeful and half uneasy…
[Gumihou: Well, I’m looking forward to this already]
[1] Add details, including dialogue tags [2] Moromi – It’s basically a fermentation starter for saké and soy sauce. It’s also known as saké lees, or saké mash
https://www.bitemybun.com/moromi/
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