Chapter 105 - PK (1)

Who had opened the rupture?

In other words, who was the mafia member?

That question had been on my mind ever since we entered the Glacial Cavern. To me, the mafia member was a variable.

I needed to determine in advance whether that variable would be positive or negative. So rather than deciding it was Mister Bear, I kept every possibility open and gathered clues.

And as a result...

'So it was you.'

I had found the person I believed to be the mafia member.

But that was all I had so far. I still had no idea what the hell they wanted.

'Ugh, it's not like I can just kill them.'

Not knowing their intentions only made me more uneasy. After all, if I was right about them being the mafia member, there was every chance they would become a negative variable later.

Still...

'I'll have to keep watching for now.'

There was only one mafia member, and they hadn't done anything yet.

Killing them out of the blue would cause problems.

CRACKLE

Unless I intended to silence the two innocent ones as well.

* * *

"Michelle, are you feeling all right?"

"... Me? I'm fine, nyah."

Misha answered as though nothing were wrong, but yesterday's exhaustion must still have been weighing on her. Unlike Jensson and Mister Bear, we'd only gotten three hours of sleep each because we were taking turns keeping watch.

"Don't worry. It's better than the Witch's Forest, isn't it, nyah?"

"That's... true."

I chuckled and put my worries aside. Fair enough. Someone who'd endured that wouldn't falter over this.

"How about you stop flirting so we can get going?"

At Mister Bear's remark, Misha hurried back to her position at the very rear of the formation.

From there, she could immediately spot anyone trying anything. Without her, I probably wouldn't have felt comfortable standing at the front, tank or not.

THUD

I took the first step, and the others followed at my pace.

'So this is what it looks like in real life instead of 2D graphics.'

A dark ice cave.

The frost-covered ground was slippery, and the terrain as a whole had more vertical complexity than the first floor's Crystal Cave. There were steep slopes, and even gaps in the path that we had to cross using ropes.

Still...

"At least there seems to be only one way to go."

Even without a Scout, there was no chance of getting lost. There were side passages here and there, but they soon led to dead ends.

All we had to do was follow the main passage, smashing the monsters that emerged from the ice walls along the way.

THWACK!

For reference, the monsters that appeared here were Wormstones, Saber Tigers, Frost Wolves, Ice Golems, and Owlbears.

Unlike the Blood-Tinted Castle, where rank-seven Bone Knights appeared, most of these monsters were rank eight.

'But in practice, this place is harder.'

The status effect [Hypothermia].

A field debuff that, with no Cold Resistance, reduced Agility by up to 30 and doubled incoming Cold damage.

"Miss Neyfrin, be careful. Perhaps it's because our bodies are stiff, but their attacks seem to hurt more than before."

"Oh, no wonder...! So that's why!"

As we continued, 'Jensson,' who occupied the second row on either side of me, began complaining.

Of course, I didn't slow down out of consideration for them. Their contribution was practically nonexistent anyway.

THWACK

In effect, the three of us—Mister Bear, Misha protecting him, and me—were clearing the way. Before long, we neared the end of the chapter.

Had it taken about four hours to get this far?

After following the winding passage up and down, we emerged into an enormous cavern.

"Whew. What a sight."

Three monsters were trapped in pillars of ice as transparent as crystal.

"White skin. Those are Ice Orcs."

"... Ice Orcs?"

"They're only rank seven. Don't worry."

Each Ice Orc held a different weapon: an axe, a hammer, and a shaman's staff.

"... Don't tell me we have to fight those too?"

"They wouldn't be here for no reason."

Mister Bear answered Jenssia's muttering cynically.

And at that moment...

CRACK

The ice pillars imprisoning the Ice Orcs began cracking and crumbling all at once.

"Well, they're not even giving us time to admire the view."

Regardless of Mister Bear's easygoing reaction...

"Don't panic! Get into formation!"

I urgently shouted at the fidgeting Jensson. After all, staying in formation would make it easier for Misha to watch them.

"Oh, right!"

Jensson moved to either side of me, and Mister Bear retreated to take up a distant firing position. At that very moment...

CRASH! CLATTER!

Chunks of ice tumbled down as the trio of Ice Orcs awoke, snorting ferociously as if to show they deserved their miniboss status.

["SNORTTT!"]

One shaman and two warriors.

It was a fairly balanced lineup, and with [Hypothermia] added to the mix, they were formidable opponents.

If you didn't know the strategy, that is.

"Whew..."

I let out a long breath and raised my shield. I was pretty tense—not because of the orcs, which I could kill whenever I wanted, but for another reason.

'If they're going to pull something, now would be the time.'

There was a mafia member on our team.

Of course, I didn't know what they wanted. Maybe they simply wanted to clear the rupture and had no intention of hurting anyone.

But I had to prepare for the alternative.

Therefore—

BOOM!

I focused solely on defense rather than attacking. It was better to hide my full strength, just in case.

For the same reason, I'd instructed Misha not to intervene unnecessarily and just keep watching.

"Why are you still here instead of running to your boyfriend for once?"

"Something might come at us from behind, nyah. And he's not my boyfriend, nyah."

"Well, not yet, from the looks of it."

Mister Bear questioned Misha's positioning, but apparently found her explanation convincing and let it go.

And then...

"Tsk. Those two might as well not be here. Looks like I'll have to put in some effort this time."

He revealed an ability he hadn't shown us before.

「Avman Urigfried has summoned Irathun the Iron Bear.」

An enormous bear sprang out of a portal that formed in front of Mister Bear.

It was a Spirit beast.

'... Irathun?'

Honestly, I was a little surprised. As a rank-five Therianthrope explorer, I had figured he might already have a Spirit beast contract...

'But I never imagined it would be Summoning.'

Now I understood how he could travel solo despite being an archer. With a tank summon, there was no need to insist on having a team.

["GRAAAAH!!"]

The summoned bear came charging on all fours, then rose up beside me with a roar. With practiced ease, it began occupying one of the warriors all by itself.

'In that case, I'll have to go with Plan B.'

I acted with complete rationality.

Nothing had changed, anyway. Wasn't my holding back precisely why Mister Bear had brought out the Spirit beast he'd been keeping in reserve?

["SNORTTT!"]

For that reason, I allowed the Ice Orc's hammer to hit me.

If I took it on the body, they'd realize I was exaggerating, so I simply rammed my head into it like I was heading a ball.

BOOM!

Between my helmet and my respectable Bone Hardness stat, my skull didn't shatter. The impact merely rattled my brain and left me a little dizzy.

Even that was rapidly fading thanks to my Natural Regeneration stat.

But...

THUD

I crumpled to the ground.

I'd decided that killing the three orc stooges too easily would leave me no chance to probe the mafia member's intentions.

"A-are you all ri... Urgh!"

Karlson rushed over in alarm and took aggro off me.

At that moment...

「You have defeated an Ice Orc Warrior. EXP +3.」

A bolt pierced the hammer-wielding orc's skull.

That switched the shaman's aggro to Mister Bear, but the rank-five explorer was a seasoned veteran.

TAP TAP

Despite standing a little over 190 centimeters tall, he nimbly dodged the spell, loaded his crossbow, and fired with precision.

「Ice Orc Shaman has cast [Steel Ice Wall].」

Even the shaman's defensive skill was useless against that monstrous bolt.

How was a rank-seven monster supposed to stop something like that?

KABOOM!

The bolt shattered the ice wall, buried itself in the shaman's head, and exploded.

「You have defeated an Ice Orc Shaman. EXP +3.」

Only one orc remained.

'At this rate, he'll kill all three with three bolts.'

A sense of futility washed over me. The fight was so one-sided that it made a mockery of my plan to make it harder if it proved too easy.

'So this is a rank-five archer?'

Tsk. The floor was cold, too. Should I just pretend to regain consciousness and get up?

Just as I was considering that, someone murmured.

"So that was your Spirit beast."

An icy voice.

"Now I can go ahead with the plan."

As Mister Bear loaded his next bolt, he coughed up blood and collapsed.

THUD

At last, the mafia member had made a move.

* * *

There were several prerequisites the mafia member had to meet.

Enough knowledge to know how to open a rupture.

Navigation skills good enough to visit the second floor and return within nineteen hours.

The ability to clear it alone.

That alone gave me a rough outline: a Scout with the combat prowess of a rank-five explorer.

That was the mafia member's identity.

The problem was that all three could plausibly fit the bill.

1. Mister Bear.

A rank-five explorer. A way of thinking that somehow resembled a Player's, and so on.

There was no need to belabor it.

2. Karlson.

He was the only one who had given nothing but his name during introductions. He hadn't mentioned his Essences either.

His lower-floor equipment was also well maintained. Like new.

I'd kept watching him, wondering whether it was equipment meant to disguise his strength. Then he gave an excuse for not absorbing the Frost Wolf Essence, too.

Plenty suspicious.

Though not as suspicious as this one.

3. Jenssia Neyfrin.

She'd said she was knowledgeable because she'd trained as a Scout. She'd also said observation was her specialty.

To my mind, all of that was insurance—something to make her later remarks sound natural.

["D-don't tell me we have to kill that and go down?"]

When we met the yeti blocking the cave.

["Oh! It lit up when I touched it."]

In the second chapter.

["I feel like I can't move properly...!"]

When the miniboss cast [Suppression].

["By the way... is it all over now?"]

Before the final wave began, when everyone had let their guard down.

She kept pointing out the crucial details while pretending otherwise, as though she knew the strategy.

Of course, that alone was nothing compared to Mister Bear or Karlson.

If not for the dirt on her shoes.

Shoes were the first thing I'd checked upon entering the rupture. Opening the Glacial Cavern required a trip to the Beasts' Lair on the second floor.

Jenssia was the only one with dirt on her shoes.

Well, it could have been dirt she'd stepped in back in the city and never cleaned off, but...

["Now that I think about it, there was something strange. Jenssia's scent changed after we fell in the water, nyah."]

Misha's report convinced me. Her Smell stat might not rival Rotmiller's, but as a Therianthrope, it was still fairly high.

["She smelled fouler before, nyah."]

["Like the Beasts' Lair?"]

["Oh! Now that you mention it, yes, nyah. I was wondering why it seemed familiar!"]

Jenssia was the mafia member.

And I judged her to be a dangerous variable, with plenty of potential to turn against us.

Thanks to that, I had been able to prepare in advance.

SHUNK!

The moment Jenssia's sword sank into Mister Bear's abdomen, Misha dashed forward as though she'd been waiting for it and hurled a vial, striking her target.

CRASH!

The glass shattered, spilling its contents.

"Thanks. That should be worth thirty million Stones— Aah!"

Jenssia had been about to casually spout some bullshit, but she recoiled in alarm as the liquid drenched her.

"Wh-what? What the hell did you just..."

I quickly got to my feet.

Had my apparent unconsciousness played a part in that bitch choosing this moment to strike?

"What? What is going on...?"

Jenssia looked even more confused.

Instead of answering, I let out a battle cry.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!!!"

What did she think?