Chapter 30: The Hirano-Nishiyama pair

Hey, Momokawa, Futaba-san, help us beat the Boss, Im beggin ya here!

As his first series of words, Hirano-kun came to us with that.

Err, by Boss you mean?

For the moment, it seems like he isnt bent on attacking us, so I try probing by returning a question.

A Dog, its a dog man, a big version of those red ones! Its like, super fast, and dodges Magic too, we seriously cant do a thing with just me and Nishiyama

Uh huh

Seems like a chief-like Monsters for the Red Dogs is the Boss Hirano-kuns talking about, but its not like were in a game so something like Boss Monsters give a feel like, the hells with that.

Am I right to think, Momokawa-kun, you dont know about the Boss?

Perhaps inferring from my face that seemed not to fully accept the premise, the glasses wearing Nishiyama asked. For now, lets quietly accept my ignorance.

Youve been transferred here, so Id have thought you beat the Boss

Do you mean, that frog?

Ah, so you had a frog. In our case, it was a Skeleton though

From there, roughly according to Nishiyama-sans words, it appears that this Boss is the Monster that rests in the room with the Magic Circle you use for warping to other areas.

This dungeon isnt fully connected via physical passages, and in specific spots, there seems to be space-time displacement, in other words, warp enabled Transfer Circles set up. Furthermore, its decided that this warp room will have a large class Monster inhabiting it, and the mechanisms set such that the Transfer Circle wont activate unless you beat it. To be point-blank, you need that Monsters core to work the Circle so all paths lead to beating the Monster anyway.

First time Im hearing it, all of that

Seriously? It was written plain and simple though

I think, the info getting to us has individual differences in timing

At some point before I realized, my Note Circle was updated with the info on Goma. So it could be that, depending on the vocation, different amounts of information come in, its a possibility.

Anyway, rather than pondering on this kinda-useful but maybe not Note Circle info, I need to prioritize forming a pact of cooperation with these classmates.

Err, So uhm, you mean to say, we cant progress without beating that Red Dog Boss

Yes exactly, simple right?

Any alternate routes? Or what about secret passages or loopholes?

This floor is constructed in a simple box shape, so the farthest room is the Boss room any side you pick [1]

According to Nishiyama-sans explanation, right after exiting this Fairy Square, the path splits to the left and right. And going either way, you go the same distance in a monotonous path until the paths connect again. Finally, as if placed exactly opposite to this Fairy Square, you find the Boss Room.

The paths on both sides are connected to many other rooms, but dont lead into any other passages, and apparently, a fixed number of Skeletons come out inside.

Hmm, maybe theyre being made somewhere else, and then sent to all the rooms with Transfer Magic? Well, theres no way Monsters would just pop into existence in real life, so one could think its accomplished through the power of magic.

About hidden passages, sorry but with our vocations and skill sets, its impossible

You gotta be a Thief or somethin for doin that

A Thiefs detection Skills are something Im well aware of from hearing about Natsukawa Minami from Futaba-san.

And, these two must also know of a Thiefs Skills since they mentioned it.

Implying, either one of them is a Thief, or they know one, I can think of those 2 possibilities. Right, lets take this chance to probe them.

Thief Skills huh, you know any details?

Y-Yeah, I mean, right

Hirano-kun, we have to tell them. I mean, if we dont, they wont see just how scary that Boss is

Youre right, said a paling Hirano-kun, as he collected his thoughts and began talking.

Actually, we also had Itou

In other words, Itou Seiji, it must be him. Theres no Itou among the girls so theres no mistake.

He was like me, the type that doesnt stand out in class. As for his club activities or friend circle, I only ever rarely spoke to him so I dont know.

So you mean, Itou-kun was a Thief

Yeah, thanks to that guy, we cleared the first place hella easy

He could find traps, and even open Treasure Chests

Treasure Chests? Theres those too?

Ridiculous, its become more and more RPG than IRL! as if reading my thoughts, No way Momokawa, you dont even know about Treasure Chests, both their expressions seemed to say.

Well, I guess you gotta be a Thief to find those chests huh. Anyway, I dont really get it but they really exist, Treasure Chests.

Inside, you can find things like mana recovery potions, and if youre lucky, even weapons. Look, this wand Im using, we found this in a Treasure Chest too

Looking at which, shes holding a 50 cm(~20in) long thin branch-like stick with a big green marble-like stone fixed to the tip, Im a wind attribute wand! it gave a strong impression as such. If I saw this in modern Japan, Id think its a quality cosplay accessory, but come to the otherworld, this must be the genuine article.

Hee~, pretty cool but, Itou-kun not being here means

Well, uh yeah, you guessed it

Its when we first encountered the Boss, see. In the floor before this, it was really easy, and theres also that fact that we got a bit cocky

Looking at their pained expressions, theyve faced real human death, and understand the cruelty of the dungeon, is the impression I get.

But dude, we cant just stay here right. The Boss is scary as hell, but if we cant beat it, we cant get outta here

Of course, with the area set up so simple that theres no use looking for other routes, its the same as saying were stuck here. Thanks to the Fairy Square, we wont starve right away, but sooner or later well reach the limit no doubt.

So were beggin ya man, all 4 of us workin together, we might just do it!

Yeah, well, thats fine and all but

At this point, Im not denying we have to beat the Boss to progress. Whats bothering me is, what comes after.

You two, you already know, about how only 3 people can escape right?Vissit novelbin(.)c.m for updates

Y-yeah, that a, well, yea

Hirano-kun makes a slightly awkward face. Once you know this utter despair-inducing number restriction rule, its a truly natural reaction.

Momokawa-kun, I dont think its the right time to think about that. And with only 3 people, dont you think we wont progress in this dungeon at all?

I see, Nishikawa-san makes a valid point. Even the Armor Bear, its too dangerous a Monster to challenge it with just three people. As we go through the dungeon, I cant think there wont be powerful Monsters lying in wait. No, if we go with the premise that the whole dungeon has a Boss Room system like this place, then the deeper we go, there will definitely be tougher Monsters stationed.

Theres no way I can disregard the merits of gathering more than 3 members.

But, there are guys who wont think like that. They wont cooperate, that much is still ok, but guys who like to kill first ask questions later could also be there

In fact, I can attest to it. Case in point, theres Higuchi who made no pause in deciding to kill me. But I dont need to particularly mention that. I need to be very careful how much of my info and experience I reveal to these two.

Think a bit, if we have more than three on our side, they cant attack us so easily right?

Power in numbers. Adding to that, us having vocations make it so that our strength is likely more than meets the eye. Even with a gathering of frail-looking girls, it could be that actually, all of them can blast out fire balls or something.

So youre saying, we prioritize conquering the dungeon, and leave thinking of escape for later?

Yes, somewhere along the line, we could even find something other than that Divine Gate. Also, look at us, arent we strong? We can probably make it out of the forest outside too

Finding fault or opposing these hope-filled words, its too early for that. Certainly, we do know too little about this otherworld. What we can do, what we cant. It may be time to not narrow down, but look into increasing our choices.

Got it, Im sorry for the nonsense. For now, lets work together, and aim for crushing that Boss

Ooh, thanks a bunch Momokawa!

Thanks Momokawa-kun, we finally got some hope!

We laugh, and somewhat exchange handshakes. For the time being, weve established a cooperation pact, and the mood is calm but Futaba-san has been silent for all this while so Im worried.

Momokawa-kun, youre fine with this?

As I glance towards her, she brings her face close and asks in a whisper.

For now, its better to work together. But if the time comes, be ready

It may be obvious, but I dont wholeheartedly trust Hirano-kun and Nishiyama-san yet. I can say I agree with Nishiyama-sans opinion. But while saying logical niceties on the outside, they could be secretly planning to trick us, its a possibility I cant deny.

Its a sad story, but if they betray, I cant really do much. If on top, even Futaba-san betrays me, then its really over. A Shaman with no allies, is much too powerless.

OK, leave it to me, Momokawa-kun

Id given her the obvious warning, but Futaba-san smiled and replied powerfully.

Hirano-kun, Nishiyama-san, from me too, best regards

Along with Futaba-sans bright smile and exchanged greetings, our jolly party of 4 was formed.

Well then, first is self-intros, or rather should I say vocation-intros?

Oi Nishiyama, that stuff, we can just figure out with some Skeleton hunting right?

Ah, right, thats right. You could say itll be much more clear that way. So Momokawa-kun, Futaba-san, wed like to go fight some Skeletons, and have everyone see each others powers, is that alright?

Now then, its a bit sudden, but seems like its come to the time where I must reveal my vocation.

Well, theres no way we can fight the Boss without everyone having a grasp of each others abilities. So long as were cooperating, we need to lay out our powers, to the bare necessity that is.

Got it, lets go

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[1] Box isnt accurate, its more like an ellipse with two pointed ends as well see a bit later.

Chapter end