Chapter 365 - Responsibility (3)

Vengeful Spirit Gorge, the barrier to entry into the seventh floor's Dark Continent.

Once you emerge from it, you reach the lake where we are currently stationed. Beyond that, the region splits into three fields.

The first is the Aribeona Estuary. This route follows the river connected to the lake fed by the waterfall, and it is the fastest way to reach the Dragon Mountains at the heart of the Dark Continent...

'That's where Bellarios spawns.'

The Dragon Mountains are where I can obtain the Essence that will provide my Mana resistance in my final build.

Well, we're only on patrol, so we won't be going that far this time.

Anyway, the second field is the vast jungle stretching east of the estuary, called the Great Forest. It's so extensive that it's subdivided into several fields, but that's its official name.

And... third, the Pantelion Ruins to the west of the estuary. That was the destination of the Fourth Patrol, the roughly thirty-strong unit I belonged to.

"All troops, forward!"

Upon reaching the entrance to the ruins, which were little more than rubble, the patrol reorganized its formation and entered the field in earnest.

Of course, the patrols had been established as an active defense against potential surprise attacks, so we didn't venture deep into the ruins.

But...

"Vanguard, forward!"

"Form a shield wall!"

This place was crawling with monsters to begin with.

["Grrrr...!"]

There were modified beasts with bodies of steel, like golems.

THUD! THUD!

Giant magitech golems.

WHIRRR!

Even mechanical flying monsters that flitted about like drones.

Monsters that had lain dormant throughout the ruins detected intruders and came charging out.

But none broke through the shield-bearing vanguard to reach us.

BOOOOM!

The monsters were stopped by a massive wall of people.

For some reason, the sight felt unfamiliar. I'd never imagined a day would come when I'd be looking at someone else's back from this angle.

'So this is what the others usually see.'

Despite that strange feeling, the moment the order to attack came, I crushed the monsters spilling around the sides with my hammer.

「The character has cast [Swing].」

「Gigawolf defeated. EXP +4」

This might be the seventh floor, but the average monster rank near the entrance to the Pantelion Ruins wasn't very high. Not one of them could properly withstand a single hit. Maybe because they'd been mechanically modified, hitting them felt distinctly different, too.

SCRAAAPE! CRACKLE! CRUNCH!

Whew. Still, this was incredibly easy when all I had to do was swing my hammer.

"Vanguard, to the sides!"

At the patrol commander's shout, the shield-bearing tanks moved in perfect unison, opening a path down the middle. The monsters poured out through the front, but...

"Riona er epura!"

The joint magic had already been completed in the rear.

WHOOOSH!

Something like a beam cannon fired from the center of the formation, piercing about fifteen large monsters. That broke the deadlock, allowing us to swiftly finish off the rest.

'... Hunting really is easier in a raid group. Having a priest keeps the vanguard steady, too.'

Their average rank might have been low, but over a hundred monsters had charged us, and clearing them all out took less than ten minutes. Well, that was only natural with over thirty people on our side, too. Even a hundred kills wouldn't amount to much profit from this battle once it was divided among everyone.

"No Essences dropped, so we'll collect the magic crystals and resume moving!"

Soon, the patrol was circling the outskirts of the ruins along its predetermined route, continuing to hunt... no, patrol.

And...

'Wow, I must have farmed over 100 EXP today alone.'

I'd killed over twenty new monster types on this patrol alone. The monsters here were low-ranked, but many were unique to this field.

"Good work, everyone."

After patrolling for about ten hours, we handed over to the next shift and returned to camp. Then an administrative soldier gave each of us a slip. Apparently, it certified our daily pay and our share of the hunting loot? It sounded like we could submit it to the Merit Office back in the city to collect our payment...

"Hey, friend."

When I turned away after receiving my slip, a man swaggered up and addressed me. I could only tilt my head.

"... Who are you?"

I didn't remember having a friend like this. In fact, I'd never even met this man—

"What's with that reaction? You act like you've never seen me before. I was right beside you the whole fight."

Huh, was he? Now that I thought about it, maybe he had been...

Experience told me the best move here was to gloss over it and change the subject.

"Ah. So what can I do for you?"

When I asked why he'd approached me, the stranger patted my shoulder as though he were my superior.

"You fought damn well back there, didn't you?"

Hmm, was he trying to make friends? Thinking that, I offered a modest reply.

"If you call that fighting well, your standards are low."

"What?"

For some reason, the man frowned.

That wasn't my concern. So, first things first, I flicked his hand off my shoulder.

TAP.

It had been annoying me for a while. If he wanted to make friends, he could at least wipe that look out of his damn eyes.

"So what do you want?"

When I asked again, he dropped his fake smile.

Then...

"I thought I'd offer you a word of advice."

He said something unexpected.

"... Advice?"

"From what I saw, you've mindlessly built up nothing but strength. Keep absorbing Essences like that, and one day you'll find yourself in serious danger."

With that, he drew a dagger and cut his forearm.

"See? Even pressing hard, I can barely cut myself. An explorer ought to be well-balanced like me, rather than just strong—"

"Oh, you're just a dumbass."

"...?"

"Ah, sorry. I meant to keep that to myself."

Even though I'd apologized like a man, the petty bastard stiffened and glared at me. He looked like a tap would kill him, and he had the nerve to show off that pathetic little Physical Resistance stat in front of me?

"By the way, what's your name?"

Still, you never knew, so I asked his name first.

"Melliver Eltein."

What? He wasn't even a Hans?

"I see. Let's meet again sometime."

"Mister, what are you doing over there?"

"As you can see, my companion's here now."

I left, more or less erasing the name I'd just heard from my memory.

* * *

So, his name was Melliver...

'What was it again?'

I couldn't quite remember, but unfortunately, I never encountered him again. I kept taking patrol assignments afterward, but I joined a different patrol each time...

The reason was simple. Each patrol was permanently assigned to a single field. From command's perspective, that was a reasonable arrangement. Having one patrol handle one area would let them learn the terrain and naturally improve their teamwork.

Normally, switching every time like this wouldn't have been possible. Unless you had connections high up in the military, that is.

["Raven, I hear the Eleventh Patrol is going deeper this time..."]

["All right. I'll write you a recommendation."]

["Thanks."]

Thanks to Raven's help behind the scenes, I was able to earn EXP not only in the Pantelion Ruins, my first patrol destination, but also in the Aribeona Estuary and the Great Forest. Of course, we'd only patrolled the outskirts of each, so there were still plenty of monsters I hadn't encountered. Still, every time I switched patrols, my EXP kept climbing.

Time passed without end, until finally, now...

「The character's Level has increased.」

「Magic Power increases by +30.」

「Maximum absorbable Essences increases by +1.」

I'd finally reached the Level 7 I'd been longing for, gaining another Essence slot. That meant I could add new synergy to my current combination.

'The money problem is practically solved, so I won't need to join the fighting again next time. I should grind for an Essence on the next expedition.'

Ah, would I need to get a boat first?

As I sat zoning out, thinking about this and that, I suddenly realized how quiet it was around me.

"Raven."

"What?"

"Where did Erwin and Emily go?"

"That woman left earlier to get some sleep in her tent, and Erwin... I'm not sure. She followed her out not long afterward."

"Hmm, I see."

"So is that all you wanted to ask?"

Even as she said it, Raven had already turned away from me and gone back to reading her paperwork. At least give me time to answer.

'Come to think of it... I guess we're alone.'

I stepped back and refrained from saying anything else so I wouldn't interrupt her work, but this moment felt strangely unfamiliar. Ever since our reunion, Amelia or Erwin had always been with us whenever I saw Raven.

'I should take this chance to ask what I've been wondering about.'

"Say, Raven."

"What is it now?"

"What was... 'that incident' you mentioned before?"

At my cautious question, Raven's pen hand twitched and stopped. She turned to glance at me, too.

"What incident?"

Look at her pretending not to understand.

"You said it outside the cell. That not long after you entered the Magic Tower, 'that incident' happened..."

"... I'd rather not talk about it. It's not important, either."

"... Is that so? Then never mind."

I might spend my days pretending to be a barbarian, but I wasn't about to be rude at a time like this, so I readily let my curiosity go.

Then...

"What about your mother, then? Is she doing well?"

I decided to just make conversation. This might be a slightly sensitive subject, too, but I wasn't entirely uninvolved now.

"Did you... know something...?"

"Huh?"

When I tilted my head at her odd reaction, Raven quickly brushed it aside.

"It's nothing. But... why bring up... my mother all of a sudden? I really don't see why you'd be interested."

Heh, I knew she'd try drawing a line like that.

"Why wouldn't I be interested? I was the one who persuaded your mother to send you to the Magic Tower."

Raven flinched at my casual remark.

"... W-what did you say?"

"I don't know if you remember, but you once came to the library after your mom beat the shit out of you. You bawled like a child and asked me to help—"

"Th-that never happened!"

"Huh? Didn't you say you barely remembered anything from back then?"

"Even so, I... have faith that I wouldn't have done that."

"Oh, do you?"

"I'm not in the mood, so stop joking and tell me. Was what you said true? You... persuaded my mother?"

"Yes."

While I was at it, I told her about what had happened in the past. I'd skipped over most of it at the cell because we hadn't had time. I'd wanted a chance to talk like this at least once. More precisely, I suppose I wanted to know how much of a positive effect my presence had had on the course of events.

After all, who knew? The day might come when I'd use the Stone Fragment of Records again.

'Ah, but I'd better leave that part out.'

Still, as I recounted the past, I omitted some of my conversation with her mother. The reason for that was also extremely simple.

["That child will abandon me."]

["Before I know it, she'll become someone important and look down on me. Then she'll leave for a world of her own. Just as he did that day. She has his blood, after all..."]

["Isn't something wrong here? Why is life so easy for her? I gave birth to her myself, but in my entire life, I've never met anyone willing to help me for a reason like that. But... but why does she..."]

How could I recount something that dark? Especially to the person it was about.

"That's enough about what happened with me at the library. Stop that and tell me. What... did you talk about with my mother that day?"

"Nothing much. I tried to persuade her to send you to the Magic Tower, saying I'd pay all the necessary expenses, and she refused."

"She... refused?"

"Ah, to be precise, she refused the money. Apparently, the Magic Tower had already sent someone a few days earlier. Seems you'd caught their attention by blasting magic at anyone and everyone at such a young age."

"I see... So that was why Mother suddenly changed her mind back then..."

"Ahem. It's a bit awkward to say so myself, but in that sense, I suppose you could call me your benefactor...?"

I subtly tried to draw attention to that fact, but Raven simply ignored me without answering.

"..."

Way to make a man feel awkward.

"So... what happened to your mother? Do you get along a little better now?"

When I steered the conversation back, Raven answered coldly.

"We couldn't, even if I wanted to."

"... Huh?"

"She's already passed away."

For a moment, I was struck speechless, and silence fell.

"Ah, uh... I-is that so? I'm sorry to hear that. She d-didn't seem to have any health problems..."

For the first time in ages, I was so flustered I was stammering. I tried desperately to salvage the situation, but there was no undoing what I'd said.

"It wasn't a health problem. Or an accident. And she certainly hadn't reached the end of her natural life."

"... Then?"

"She hanged herself. Of her own accord."

"..."

"It was about a month after I entered the Magic Tower, I think? Because of the homework my teacher had assigned me, I hadn't been home for a week..."

Raven spoke flatly, as though reading an old diary she'd hidden in a corner of a storeroom.

"There was a rotting smell coming from the bedroom. That was the last time I saw my mother."

"..."

"Don't look like that. I put it all behind me a long time ago. Someone dying is hardly shocking news, anyway."

Seeing me at a loss, Raven was the one offering considerate words, but I truly couldn't say anything. The more she spoke, the more vividly it came back to me.

["Isn't it strange? I've worked my entire life, and all I have to show for it is a single room in this cesspit."]

That final conversation with her mother.

And after the conversation ended...

["What has my life even been?"]

The sight of her from behind as she staggered into the back alley, like someone with no strength left.

* * *

「Bjorn Jandel」

Level: 7(New +1)

Physical: 1,230.39 / Mental: 443.3 / Ability: 1,745.25(New +39)

Item Level: 8,305

Overall Combat Index: 5495.19(New +39)

Obtained Essences: Orc Hero - Rank 5 / Ogre - Rank 3 / Bayon - Rank 3 / Stormgush - Rank 3 / Vol-Herchan - Rank 3 / Gacha Bone - Rank 6