After leaving the A rank party, I aim for the deep part of the labyrinth with my former students
"Ah, Yuke! Welcome back!"
When I returned to our base, Marina was editing a livestream video on her tablet.
"Um, this one is the uncut version for submission, and the one I'm working on now is for the 'Clover' stream."
"That really helps. You're amazing, Marina."
"Ehehe. I’ve gotten pretty good at this, haven’t I?"
Marina acted a bit playfully, but her editing skills were genuinely impressive.
I’ve done some editing for streaming too, but mine always ended up feeling a bit too utilitarian.
But Marina was different. She always thought about how to make the viewers enjoy it. It’s like... her work embraced entertainment.
Whenever I watched her edits, I was reminded that our streams shouldn’t just be video logs—they should let people enjoy our adventures. I was always impressed by that.
"Are you and Silk done already?"
"Yes. I’m going to help sort out some documents now. What about you, Sensei?"
"Let’s see…"
Just as I was idly wondering which area would be fun to take on—
A chill ran up from my feet, a horrifying sensation.
Then came a rumbling sound, like a tremor, followed by a ringing in my ears. The base shook slightly.
"What the hell!?"
"I’m not sure. But this… it feels like what we sensed earlier!"
The moment our eyes met, the door flew open, and Nene rushed in.
She pointed frantically toward the street and shouted,
"This is bad! There’s a monster inside the city!"
"What did you say?"
The city of Finis is special.
It was built to suppress the dangerous dungeon maze known as the “Achromatic Darkness.”
Multiple layers of barriers were installed to block monsters from entering from the outside, and to contain any that overflowed from the dungeon.
So if a monster has appeared inside the city...
That means there’s been an overflow from the Achromatic Darkness.
But why? Why so suddenly?
There were far too many things that didn’t make sense.
But now that it had happened, there was no time to question it.
Adventurers in Finis are obligated to respond to emergencies, especially if it involves the Achromatic Darkness. We had to confirm the situation.
"I’m going ahead! Everyone else, gear up before responding!"
I grabbed my rapier from the weapon stand near the door and dashed outside.
Even though Finis is a city of adventurers, the majority of people are non-combatants.
Especially this area—it’s a residential zone a bit removed from the city center.
While running, I pulled out GoPro-kun from my pocket, switched it to "live streaming mode", and sent it floating up into the air.
There were two reasons.
First, to inform others of the situation and report it to the Adventurer’s Guild.
Second, to provide legal evidence that using magic or fighting within the city was justified under emergency provisions.
"Everyone, get inside your homes! Any available adventurers, help check the situation and guide people to safety!"
Shouting as I sprinted up a gentle slope, I started to sense the direction the monster was in.
While I had felt nothing back at the guild, now an eerie presence made my cheek tingle.
"There it is...!"
At the top of the slope, I saw it—a monster that didn’t belong in this city.
It was a large, black, bear-like creature with a pair of distinctive horns, about to attack a mother and child who hadn’t escaped in time.
"—<Glass Shield>!"
Just before its claw could strike, I cast a defensive spell on the mother shielding her child.
With a sharp, high-pitched crack, the monster’s arm was deflected.
Good. I made it in time.
"<Paralyze>, <Slow>, <Venom>, <Blindness>, <Gravity>!"
As I charged toward the monster, I unleashed a rapid series of debuff spells to hold it back.
They worked reasonably well. Ironically, ever since my left arm turned to amber, my casting had improved significantly.
"Gu... Mo...?"
The monster let out a cow-like groan as it fell to its knees on the cobblestones.
I closed the distance and drew my short sword from my belt.
"<Critical Weapon>!"
Just before I struck, I cast an offensive enhancement spell, then slashed with full force.
It was a solid hit, but the thing was tougher than I expected.
I wasn’t quite strong enough to finish it alone.
"Get out of here. I’ll hold it off!"
"Y-Yes!"
Shielding the retreating mother and child, I faced the monster as it got back up.
Up close, it was massive. And bizarre.
I had thought it might be like a minotaur from its general shape, but its head was oddly humanlike.
Except—its face had no mouth or nose. Just one huge, glaring eye.
"GU-MOOOO!"
As if answering that strange cry, another of the same monster appeared nearby.
This was bad. Really bad.
Could I handle two of these beasts at once?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I heard a voice from behind me.
"Sensei!"
At the same moment as Silk’s voice rang out, a sharp whistling of air was followed by an arrow piercing the massive eye of the monster.
The cyclops-like creature, with a single eye covering its face, let out a scream that bordered on a shriek.
Its weakness was obvious—and that was a relief.
"Sorry I’m late!"
"It’s the same type as the one from over there!"
Nene and Marina appeared beside me, weapons in hand.
"Are there more of these things?"
"This block only has these left!"
"We already took care of others!"
I breathed a small sigh of relief at their words.
I’d been worrying about what we’d do if these things were flooding the entire city.
"I have arrived. I’ll kill it… immediately."
"Leave the distraction to me!"
Rain and Jamie, who had just caught up, immediately began chanting spells.
In sync with them, Marina and Nene readied their weapons.
"<Physical Enchant>!"
While leaping back, I lightly snapped my fingers to cast an enhancement spell on Marina and Nene.
With everyone here, we had the upper hand.
Right roles for the right people. I’d work in the spot I knew best.
"<Blizzard>!"
"<Rock Hazard>!"
Rain and Jamie’s magic rained down on the monster.
Both were powerful fifth-tier spells, strong enough to critically injure an ordinary monster.
To get hit by both at once—even this bizarre and tough creature wouldn’t be able to handle it.
"Nene! I’ll cover you!"
"Thanks a bunch!"
As Nene lunged toward the monster with her large dagger, Silk’s arrows flew past her.
Seven in total—all of them striking the monster’s eye, its clear weak spot.
She’d gotten even better. Impressive as always.
"I’ll be taking your head now…"
With the cyclops-like creature stunned, Nene brought her sharp blade to its neck and spun her body gracefully.
The cold killing intent behind her movement turned her slash into a clean decapitation, severing the monster’s head in one blow.
And Marina had already finished her job.
Using her magic sword technique, she combined transformation and unsheathing in a single strike, cutting the other monster clean in two like a gust of wind.
"Alright, target eliminated. Just to be safe, let’s check the other city blocks as well!"
At my words, my teammates nodded with serious expressions
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