Chapter 66 - Field Boss (2)

Floor lords. The equivalent of field bosses, one on each floor.

Their names, attributes, and attack patterns all differed, but they had one thing in common. No matter what you tried, fighting one was simply impossible for explorers at that floor's level.

For example, defeating the first floor's Floor lord required an expedition of at least thirty people. Assuming, of course, that every last one of them was at least a fourth-floor explorer. And that was the absolute minimum.

That was why I had to think this through. Misha and I would be facing an instant game over if the two of us happened to run into it. You couldn't outrun that thing at normal movement speed.

Where should we go, then? What could we do to improve our chances of survival, even slightly, instead of just trembling and praying we wouldn't encounter it?

The answer was to head to the Orc Habitat. Just as most of the explorers here had done.

"Bjorn, why are there so many people here, nyah?"

"Because the Djarwi Clan is here."

The Djarwi Clan was a large clan that operated on the sixth floor and above. According to the dwarf, its membership apparently numbered in the hundreds.

There was no way all of them happened to be gathered in one place, but...

'At least ten teams must have come down. Even on the third floor, they'd need that many people to control a hunting ground.'

Of course, even that force would have a hard time defeating it. Well, it wasn't impossible if they were willing to accept casualties... but only if they knew the proper strategy and had spent months preparing.

'Still, sticking with them should buy us time to escape if we encounter the Floor lord.'

Having made a strictly pragmatic decision, I led Misha into the crowd of explorers. A rather unusual scene was unfolding.

"H-hey! I heard you have a high-ranking mage with you! Please, have them cast a portal spell for me! I'll pay whatever it takes...!"

"It was you! You're the ones who summoned the Floor lord!!"

"E-excuse me, what's going to happen to us? You're a big clan. Surely you won't throw us out?"

Some pleaded desperately. Some denied reality and searched for someone to blame. Others calmly tried to assess the situation.

Amid the clamor of all these different people, an officer of the Djarwi Clan spoke.

"Everyone, please remain calm. This place is safe. Our priest has cast Proclamation: Destruction of Evil, and our Scouts are already keeping watch in every direction."

"In accordance with the provisions agreed upon with the royal family and the Guild, we of the Djarwi Clan will do our utmost to ensure that as many explorers as possible return to the city alive in this disaster."

"However! If anyone refuses to comply with our instructions or causes trouble, we will have no choice but to expel them! We ask for your understanding on that point."

It was a little long-winded, but a reasonably clear announcement. The final warning must have been particularly effective, because everyone who had been shouting whatever they pleased fell silent.

"At least we don't have to worry about being thrown out."

"Phew, that's a relief, nyah..."

After surveying our surroundings for a moment, I found a suitable spot and sat with my back against a tree.

"... Aren't you a little too relaxed, nyah?"

"It's not as if there's anything else we can do."

We had to rest as much as possible while we could. No one knew how things might change later.

"Hmm, that's true, nyah."

Apparently convinced, Misha promptly plopped down beside me.

"Misha, just asking, but are you confident in your ears?"

"I don't know. People do sometimes tell me they like my ears, nyah."

What was she talking about now?

"I meant whether you're good at hearing things from far away."

"Oh, I'm fairly confident about that, nyah."

"Then listen carefully to their conversation. Don't stare at them. It'll give us away."

"All right, nyah."

At my instruction, Misha leaned back and closed her eyes. The triangular ears on top of her head kept twitching as she concentrated.

"Hmm, I'm not sure, but I think they're arguing, nyah."

"About what?"

"They're too far away for me to make out that much detail. One thing's for sure: they're talking about the Floor lord, nyah."

Well, obviously. What else would the officers be discussing so urgently in a situation like this?

'They'll notice if we get any closer, so I suppose this is the best we can do...'

"Just keep listening for now. Let me know if anything unusual comes up."

"All right, nyah."

Leaving Misha in eavesdropping mode, I slowly surveyed the crowd and gauged their reactions. Aside from a few complaints and signs of anxiety, most people seemed reassured.

"When they chased us out of here, I thought it was utter bullshit. You really never know how things will turn out."

"Indeed. A Proclamation: Destruction of Evil covering such a vast area... Only a clan like theirs could have a priest like that with them."

"All I can say is that God has helped us. A Floor lord appears on the third floor for the first time in ten years, and they just happen to be down here?"

Whatever wrongs the Djarwi Clan had committed while occupying the Orc Habitat, most people were satisfied with the current situation and grateful for it.

Though not everyone was.

"Say, is it just the two of you?"

As I was observing my surroundings, a man approached me. Surely he wasn't trying to pick a fight here.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing much. It's just that, at a time like this, shouldn't we stick together?"

"Keep it short."

"The Djarwi Clan says they'll protect us, but there's no telling what might happen. Would you like to join us?"

Ah, he wanted to cooperate, if only temporarily.

"We've already gathered about thirty people. It looks like you've lost your companions in all this too. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone to rely on, even for a little while?"

Before answering, I checked one thing.

"I am Bjorn, son of Jandel. What's your name?"

"Jack Fletcher."

Okay. As long as it wasn't Hans.

"Fine."

I'd agree for now. If something seemed wrong, I could just keep my mouth shut then. It wasn't as if I'd signed any papers.

"Decisive, just as I'd expect from a barbarian. I'll be off, then. Get some rest. I'll come find you if anything happens."

"Understood."

The man left, and about two hours passed without incident.

Thanks to the high-ranking priest's Proclamation: Destruction of Evil, the Chaos Spirits couldn't even approach. There didn't seem to be anything that might upset the situation.

At least, not from the outside.

"Misha, wake up."

I shook Misha awake. She'd switched from eavesdropping mode to sleep mode.

"Did something happen, nyah?"

Not yet. But if my prediction was right...

"Something will soon."

"What do you mean, nyah?"

"Look around. There are far too many people now."

The Djarwi Clan had been accepting refugees without conditions. And at last, they had reached capacity.

The area covered by Proclamation: Destruction of Evil was only about twice the size of a school playground. And it wasn't even open ground; this was a forest. Yet there already seemed to be more than five hundred people here.

"... Shouldn't we stop letting people in?"

"If we take in any more, we won't even have room to sit."

"And if a monster gets in while we're packed in like that..."

Selfishness always found fertile ground in circumstances. Anxiety spread among those who had arrived first, and such arguments slowly began to surface.

"Bjorn, what's going to happen to us now, nyah?"

"Who knows? It depends on what the Djarwi Clan decides."

Whether to keep taking people in to the absolute limit or stop admissions here and lock the gates, the clan would have to make a choice.

Sure enough, not long afterward, a clan officer made another announcement.

"Thanks to Proclamation: Destruction of Evil, this place is serving as the only safe zone on the third floor. It is truly a miracle the likes of which we may never see again. However..."

Cutting out the waffle, the message was simple.

"Our priest wishes you all to show respect to God."

Respect. For the record, that did not mean anything intangible, like prayer, conversion, or worship.

"One million Stones per person. Payment must be made here, immediately. Magic crystals and goods are also acceptable."

No one believed this was the priest's demand. Well, the two sides must have reached an agreement... but it was undoubtedly the clan bastards who had proposed it first.

'They started off pretending to be honorable, talking about the royal family and the Guild, but in the end, they've chosen profit.'

Even if they simply turned refugees away, they'd still be criticized for that decision afterward. Apparently, they'd decided they might as well make some money out of it.

Naturally, there was opposition.

"There's no way we'd have that many magic crystals! You're essentially telling us to hand over our equipment in this situation. Isn't that just telling us to die?!"

The loudest voice belonged to Jack Fletcher.

"Our hundred-strong band will not stand idly by and tolerate your tyranny!"

Having shouted his defiance, Jack Fletcher looked around. I'd seen it coming and was already looking elsewhere, so I managed to avoid meeting his eyes.

Had the other members of his hundred-strong band done the same?

"Uh, uh... Everyone, say something. If we just sit here, we can't stand up to their tyranny...!"

Jack Fletcher stammered in confusion. And with that, the brief protest ended.

"The million Stones are both a token of respect to God and a protection fee. You may lose a few pieces of equipment now, but with us here, what is there to worry about?"

Of course there's something to worry about, you bastard. Proclamation: Destruction of Evil might be a broken-as-fuck skill, but against a Floor lord, it was no better than a scrap of paper.

Of course, I kept those complaints to myself. I was a barbarian who knew how to compromise with reality.

"Misha, leave consumables like potions alone. Take out things we don't need as much as possible."

"Got it, nyah."

Like the other explorers, we hurriedly rummaged through our backpacks, picking out items we could turn into money. Thanks to the equipment we'd looted from the plunderers earlier, we didn't have to take off anything we were wearing.

'Whew. A million Stones a day to rest on bare dirt...'

It felt like a fucking waste, but as a fee for using Proclamation: Destruction of Evil, it was worth paying. Besides, hadn't he just said it himself? The price included protection.

"Unless they lowball us on the prices too, this should be enough."

After gathering a few pieces of equipment from the religious nut's party, we were ready to pay tribute.

Not everyone was as fortunate as us, though. As third-floor explorers, they could raise a million Stones by handing over the equipment they wore, but...

"Without this, am I supposed to starve to death afterward?"

"We only have to last one day, and they want a million Stones? Unbelievable."

Quite a few people—too many to call a small minority—refused to pay the protection fee and chose to leave of their own accord. The clan didn't stop them. And it continued collecting protection fees from new arrivals as well.

From at least three hundred people.

'So they've made at least three hundred million Stones. In just one day...'

This was practically duplicating money out of thin air. Fuck, was power truly invincible and divine after all?

I didn't know, but in the end, they too would have to pray to the heavens. If the Floor lord arrived here, their market would come crashing down that very instant.

'If I hadn't been planning for that situation in the first place, I wouldn't have paid the protection fee either.'

I felt this all the time: every last bastard here lacked imagination. Of course, they must have had their reasons for this choice.

The third floor was vast, so they probably figured they were more likely not to encounter the Floor lord than to encounter it. It was already day fifteen, so even if they did, they only had to hold out for one day. With this much firepower, that should be possible.

Yes, that must have been what they thought. Only the best-case scenario. Only what favored them.

But they needed to understand something. No one had known that a Floor lord would be summoned in the first place, forcing every explorer on the floor to stop hunting and face this situation.

'Well, that goes for me too.'

But at least I imagined it. The absolute worst that could happen to me. Of course, those imaginings failed to come true more often than they did...

But how would it turn out this time?

'I'll find out if I wait and see.'

I quietly closed my eyes. After that, time passed like the calm before a storm.

[19 : 07]

Five hours remained until the end of day fifteen.

PITTER, PATTER, PITTER-PATTER

Black rain fell from the ceiling through the trees, soaking the ground black.

「The area has been corrupted. [Proclamation: Destruction of Evil] is dispelled.」

The pure-white patterns covering the ground lost their glow in an instant.

And then.