Chapter 228 : The Bremen Band
Chapter 228: The Bremen Band
A dungeon.
A mystery that remained unexplained even to this day.
An alien labyrinth formed through incomprehensible phenomena.
Because all kinds of rare resources appeared within them, countless people attempted to conquer dungeons.
Especially for the Finders Department, which I now belonged to, dungeons were an inseparable part of our lives.
Countless matters revolved around them, and our grades could only be proven through our achievements in conquering them.
Successfully clearing a dungeon brought honor and rewards.
But valuable rewards always came hand in hand with danger.
In the worst-case scenario, a single mistake could leave you seriously injured—or even cost you your life.
Throughout the academy slumbered more dungeons than anyone could possibly count.
And this forest was one of them.
Towering trees grew densely together, blocking one's vision, while branching paths and dead-end thickets created a maze-like structure.
Looking around, Philip shivered as though an eerie chill had run down his spine.
'...I thought I'd be at least a little scared.'
But now that I was actually here, I didn't feel much of anything.
Was it because I'd been influenced by Villed's fearless body?
I couldn't feel any fear.
I reached out and placed my hand against a nearby tree.
Rustle...
The tree writhed as though it possessed nerves, and its leaves shook violently.
“Ugh, that startled me...!”
Philip's eyes widened as he hurriedly drew his wand.
“Calm down.
It's not a monster.”
When I answered, Philip slowly lowered his wand.
“I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing trees move...
Ah, one moment, Senior.”
“...?”
After taking several deep breaths, Philip gripped his wand with both hands.
“I've calmed down.
I think I can use magic now.”
Even within the darkness, where only a sliver of moonlight reached, Philip's eyes shone brightly.
“Would it be alright if I cast Lantern?
I'd like to be of at least a little help to you Seniors.”
Although trembling with fear, Philip was doing his best not to become dead weight.
It was admirable enough that I found myself genuinely impressed.
'I was just planning to make a torch.'
...As it happened, Philip was the only one among us capable of casting Lantern.
Lantern was a basic practical spell that any second-year student could use.
Unfortunately...
Neither Lapin nor I could cast it.
The two of us knew how to use the abilities of Spirit Creatures, but our talent for magic itself was utterly hopeless.
However, Philip seemed to have misunderstood, assuming that both Lapin and I could naturally use Lantern.
'Well, whatever.
Having a Lantern only makes things easier for me.'
I gave a small nod.
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you!”
As Philip waved his wand—
Snap!
A small light floated into the air.
The surroundings became softly illuminated, opening up our field of vision.
Looking ahead, the road split into four separate paths.
“I do happen to have a map.”
Philip pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket.
But I shook my head.
“It won't be of any use.
The terrain completely changed after this place became a dungeon.”
“Ah...
I figured as much...”
Philip quietly put the paper back into his pocket.
If there had only been two paths, the odds of choosing correctly would've been fifty percent.
But with four...
Those odds were cut in half.
If you chose the wrong path, conquering the dungeon would become considerably slower.
But who was I?
As a gamer, claiming I didn't care about my clear time would be a complete lie.
A slow clear was an insult to a gamer's pride.
I simply couldn't allow it.
For the fastest possible clear, I stepped forward.
“I happen to have a detection spell.
Wait here.”
Naturally...
That was a complete lie.
“Ooh!
As expected of a Finders Department Senior!”
Pretending to concentrate, I stared ahead.
...This Hidden Dungeon was one I'd cleared countless times in the game.
Every strategy was engraved into my memory.
Not only the monsters, their types, and their numbers...
But every single trap as well.
“This way.
Follow me.”
I led them down the far-left path.
Lapin and Philip followed close behind.
After walking for quite some time...
I suddenly came to a stop and placed a finger against my lips.
Lapin silently nodded once.
Meanwhile, Philip tightly shut his mouth and nodded vigorously.
I crouched behind the bushes.
'...That's quite a bizarre appearance.'
The dungeon's first obstacle came into view.
A donkey.
Standing on top of it was a hunting dog.
On top of that sat a cat.
And finally...
A rooster perched at the very top, the four animals stacked together like a tower.
Their hides were pitch black, and they remained completely motionless, creating an unsettling sight.
Personally, it didn't affect me very much...
But glancing beside me, I saw Philip staring with wide eyes while trembling uncontrollably.
For an ordinary student like Philip, it was certainly enough to send chills down his spine.
'Then again...
Those things weren't Beast-type monsters.
They were Ghost-type monsters.'
Their weakness was Light-element attacks and Fire-element attacks.
“I'll be right back.”
I stood up from the bushes.
“Please be careful, Senior.”
Sweat streamed down Philip's face as he continued.
“Those things...
They're incredibly strong.
No...
Incredibly doesn't even begin to describe it.”
Philip wasn't exaggerating.
Among first-year students, he was one of the rare few capable of using Detection Magic.
Detection Magic was, simply put, an advanced spell that allowed you to instinctively gauge the strength of dungeons and monsters.
The fact that Philip kept warning me over and over again was proof enough.
There was a reason this place had been designated a Dangerous Zone.
“Stay here quietly.”
“Yes, Senior!
Good luck...!”
Hiding within the bushes, Philip clenched both fists as he cheered us on.
Exchanging a glance with Lapin, I slowly advanced toward the monsters.
'This is the perfect place to test my sword.'
My whole body had been itching for a real fight.
'Yeah.
My actual combat experience kept getting postponed.'
Before the vacation ended, I'd planned to visit a dungeon together with Lapin.
I wanted to see how well the two of us could coordinate after learning the Wolf Swordsmanship.
Moreover, I believed we needed plenty of real combat experience if we wanted to awaken the remaining forty-nine Spirit Creatures sleeping within Lapin.
...But things never went exactly as planned.
Unexpected events kept piling up, from being dragged into Mock Battles to preparing for Lunatic Mode.
'Still...
I'm glad we managed to come here together in the end.'
Lapin had steadily improved her stamina by exercising for thirty minutes every morning.
Meanwhile, I'd honed my senses through repeated sword sparring with the Manager.
We'd prepared thoroughly for this dungeon.
Now...
All that remained was to see the results.
“Let's go.”
“Okay.”
Shing—!
I drew the Titanium Sword from my Subspace.
Lapin slipped on her combat gloves and stepped forward before the monsters.
...Their name was the Bremen Band.
Each of the four monsters fulfilled a different role, making the order in which they were defeated critically important.
If the kill order became mixed up...
The strategy immediately failed.
The four animals would enter an uncontrollable berserk state, forcing us to retreat.
'First, the rooster.'
If the rooster crowed three times, all of them would receive a tremendous increase in speed and physical ability.
'The longer the battle drags on, the more overwhelmingly advantageous it becomes for them.
I have to finish this as quickly as possible.'
I clenched my hand.
A card engulfed in flames appeared in my grasp.
'Hwayo!'
A golden magic circle appeared before me before being torn open.
Hwayo emerged from within.
Fwoooosh—!
A massive blaze split apart the darkness.
Cock-a...!
A preemptive strike.
It landed a critical hit on the rooster.
Knocked away by the impact, it crashed onto the ground.
Heehiiing!
The tower of animals separated apart, preparing to counterattack.
Cock-a-doodle!
The fallen rooster hid behind the other animals as it crowed.
One crow had no effect.
It only had two remaining.
Grrraaaah!
The hunting dog charged first.
The instant it leaped toward me—
Yelp!
Thud!
A heavy impact echoed through the forest, as though struck by an enormous iron mace.
The hunting dog collapsed onto the ground.
“Kyaaahaha~!”
Lapin laughed cheerfully.
It seemed she'd punched it.
Rabbit ears had appeared atop the silk hat resting on her head.
It looked like she'd fused with Late, the rabbit-type Spirit Creature.
Using the ability known as Speed Accumulation, she could produce an effect similar to Time Stop.
Because of that...
I could leave every bit of support entirely to Lapin.
Cock-a-doodle~!
The rooster's second crow echoed through the forest.
Only one remained.
Swaaash!
Avoiding the cat charging toward me, I rolled forward and rushed straight toward the rooster.
Clenching my hand again, another flame-covered card appeared.
At the same time, the Titanium Sword ignited in blazing fire.
Cock...
Slash!
Before the rooster could let out its third crow...
I severed its head.
It instantly turned to ash and disappeared.
'Next.'
The cat was next.
As time passed, its speed continued stacking higher and higher.
The longer it was left alive, the faster it became...
Eventually becoming even more troublesome than the boss itself.
Which was precisely why it had to die immediately after the rooster.
'Lapin!'
Was it because Lapin was my Spirit Creature?
During battle...
Just exchanging glances was enough for us to understand each other perfectly.
“Got it~!”
Speed Accumulation.
Swaaa... Yowl!
The leaping cat was suddenly struck by something.
Its body froze helplessly in midair.
Slash!
I swung my sword, cleaving apart the suspended cat.
It crumbled into black ash.
'Only the hunting dog and donkey remain.'
The hunting dog possessed no special abilities or attack patterns.
Instead, it simply had extremely high attack power.
Which only made it easier for me to deal with.
Exchanging another glance with Lapin, the hunting dog's forelegs buckled.
Slash!
Slash!
Two swings of my sword.
The hunting dog dissolved into ash.
'Now only the donkey.'
Although the donkey itself wasn't particularly powerful...
If it managed to land a successful rear kick, it possessed the ability to resurrect the dead animals.
But alone...
The donkey was nothing more than a punching bag.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
After several swings of my sword, it too crumbled into black ash.
Just like that...
The Bremen Band had been completely eliminated.
“...You really did it, Seniors!”
Philip emerged from the bushes and hurried over to us.
The Bremen Band was considered a fairly difficult monster encounter.
But both Lapin and I, fighting alongside Spirit Creatures, were hardly weak ourselves.
“...Amazing.
They were certainly powerful opponents.”
“This much is nothing.”
When I answered, Philip nodded.
“I suppose this is the level expected of someone accepted into the Finders Department.
Someone like me doesn't even come close.”
Although Philip smiled...
It wasn't the smile of someone genuinely happy.
“Kyaaahaha~!
We won~!”
Still wearing the silk hat, Lapin laughed excitedly in celebration.
Philip, who had been smiling bitterly, stared blankly at Lapin for quite some time.
It seemed he'd been rather shocked to see the usually quiet Lapin acting like a completely different person.
“...Senior.
Is she really the same quiet person who was with us just moments ago?”
Philip quietly asked me.
“Well...
Think of it like she's merged with someone else living inside her heart.”
“Then...
Does she have a split personality?”
“Something similar.
But don't worry.
She's not dangerous.”
“...Ahaha.”
Philip slowly nodded.
It was time to move on to the next area.
Ahead of us, the road split into two paths.
“Let's go that way.”
Just as I chose the left path—
The silk hat disappeared, and Lapin returned to normal.
She trotted over to me.
I wondered what she wanted to say.
After glancing toward a tree where no one appeared to be standing...
She quietly whispered into my ear.
“...I smell, someone else's scent over there.”