“Th-that’s not what I meant!”
Maybe the lack of sleep is messing with her head or something.
“Aren’t you in a hurry?” I asked.
Mist stopped to think for a moment.
“With the Dragon-Eyed Cup, all of my concerns about money would be eliminated. It would greatly speed up my journey to never have to worry about travel expenses again. A few days’ delay will be of no great import.”
She’s not backing down… She’s stubborn, and bound by what she feels are her obligations to others.
And she’s a swordswoman, huh? I wouldn’t mind having somebody out in front, just in case anything gets too close…it’d also be a good opportunity to ask her things about this world.
Piggymaru, reading the room, stayed silent.
“I have a few conditions.”
“Go ahead.”
“No questions about my personal life. You’ll be my bodyguard, and I’ll be guarded—that’s where our relationship ends.”
“Completely understood.”
“There’s also no guarantee we’ll be back up to the surface soon—if you have to head back by yourself, that’s your responsibility, not mine. If those conditions sound reasonable, I’ll take you on.”
“Thank you,” she said, looking relieved. She quickly regained her composure. “By my honor, I swear to protect you, Sir Hati, even if it means my life!”
Those dark rings under her eyes still bother me. She looks pale, too. Lack of sleep, maybe?
“…”
Maybe I should use my Sleep skill on her at some point to help her rest.
I pushed the button under the altar, which closed the door at the far end of the hall—just as the Great Sage wrote. After the door scraped shut, the altar split in half, revealing a staircase.
“A staircase…under the altar?” said Mist, staring wide-eyed at the hole that had appeared.
“Don’t tell the Baron about anything we find down here. You don’t want to start any trouble with him, do you?”
“Of course. I won’t say a word.”
The staircase was wide enough for us to walk down side by side. I held up my leather pouch to light the way.
“What a strange lantern,” remarked Mist cautiously.
I guess she’s worried about asking personal questions—she did promise not to.
“Not something you see every day, huh? It’s important to me.”
That wasn’t a lie.
Mist touched her visor, activating the beam on her forehead to light the way forward.
“Do a lot of people have visors like yours?” I asked.
“No, I don’t think they’re very common.”
At the bottom of the staircase, we found a ruined corridor stretching out into the dark.
Nothing like the endless sprawling caves of the Ruins of Disposal…this place was clearly built to be lived in.
“No monsters so far.”
“Sir Hati, actually, I—”
“Yes?”
“Ah…it’s nothing. Please, don’t worry about it.”
What do you mean, “it’s nothing”? It’s obviously something. Whatever. She was probably about to ask a question and thought better of it.
We continued walking.
It’s hardly a labyrinth, but I should try to remember where we’ve been.
As we continued down the corridor , Piggymaru slid around to my side and silently motioned that something was coming—monster nearby.
It burst around a corner ahead of us, letting out a battle cry as it charged. I had never seen this kind of monster before—its head reminded me of a flower bud with three goggling golden eyes set on the outside, but its body appeared human. This is way more unsettling than any of the things on the upper floors.
Mist drew her sword and moved in to cover me.
“Leave this to me, Sir Hati.”
The monster’s head opened wide like a flower in bloom, and several long tentacles shot out in Mist’s direction.
Slice! Slash! Slice—!
She cut them down one by one, moving forward as she did with elegant, precise footwork. She closed in on the monster before I even knew what was happening.
Swoosh!
With a single stroke, she split it in two.
“Hh-gheeehh—!”
The monster let out a final cry, then fell silent. Mist wiped the blood from her sword and returned it to her scabbard. I almost wanted to applaud.
“Nice work.”
Mist gave a short bow. “Not at all.”
Hmm, so this is what it’s like to have a frontline fighter on my side. It’ll be nice to have someone like her watching my back. Piggymaru’s a great lookout but really lacking in combat ability. I could get used to having a bodyguard.
“Let us continue, Sir Hati.”
“Sure.”
The lower floors were bigger than the upper ones, but also much simpler—less like mazes. There were several landmark-like wall decorations and pillars that kept us from getting lost.
“By the way,” I said as we walked down another long corridor.
“Yes?”
“I want to ask about monsters. What’s the difference between the normal monsters and the ones with gold eyes?”
“Golden-eyed monsters are said to provide more experience points,” Mist replied with hesitation. “People on the continent sometimes call it soul power, because they believe you absorb the soul of the monster you kill.”
So she knows what experience points are.
“The Heroes from Another World can use these monsters to level up—improve their abilities and strengths. Have you heard of the heroes?”
“Some stories, yeah.”
Experience points. Leveling up. Seems like the mechanics of us heroes are pretty well known.
“It’s said that the heroes do not gain experience points from killing other humans, only monsters.”
Those four guys in the forest looked really experienced, but I didn’t level up at all after killing them—it makes sense if humans don’t give experience at all. It’s probably a good thing, too. Otherwise, heroes might go on murder sprees to improve their stats. This world’s most famous heroes could be sacrificed to level us up…that sounds like something the foul Goddess would do if she could.
“So, these golden-eyed monsters are an important source of EXP?” I asked.
“Yes. A time long ago, the heroes overhunted and greatly reduced the population. They even came into conflict with each other over who got to kill the dwindling number of monsters. That eventually drove the remaining monsters underground, into the ruins.”
I suppose from the monsters’ perspectives, we’re mass murderers.
“And that’s why so many golden-eyed monsters live underground like this?”
“So it is said. Though many of them have also fled to the Land of the Golden-Eyed Monsters.”
The monsters ran from us heroes and found their way underground to create dungeons.
“Occasionally monsters venture out of the ruins. Wherever possible, there are groups set up to manage them and keep watch at the exit,” explained Mist.
“Couldn’t they just seal them up for good?”
“Seal them in, and the monsters will just dig their way out some other way. At least with just one exit, we know where they’ll emerge and can manage the risk.”
The Ruins of Disposal were completely sealed, though…
Like she’d read my mind, Mist answered my unspoken question. “I have heard tales of powerful ruins that were closed up by the gods so the monsters inside can never escape, but if those ruins exist at all, they are few and far between, and they don’t require any real management.”
I guess only a god—or a Goddess—could pull it off.
“What about the monsters that don’t have golden eyes?” I asked.
“They’re just regular old monsters.”
Regular for you, sure.
“Some monsters are friendly to huma
ns,” she continued. “Golden-eyes are notoriously aggressive, but there are plenty of peaceful monsters out there.”
“But is there anything special about these golden-eyes?”
“Are you aware of Demon King essence?”
“I’ve heard of it, yes.”
That foul Goddess explained it to us just after our summoning—it’s special mana that the Demon King’s army uses, I think?
“It’s said that if the Root of All Evil ever appears in this world, Demon King essence will wreak havoc across the whole continent. The legends speak of monsters who absorb it, and their eyes are turned gold by terrible influence. The essence unlocks the strength and aggression that lies within each monster—though peaceful, docile ones aren’t affected at all. This is all just a theory, though it was passed down by no less than the Great Sage Anglin.”
I should’ve expected to hear his name again.
“The Great Sage was friends with some monsters. He had a special fondness for slimes.”
“…”
“Is something the matter?”
“I’m thinking, that’s all.”
“Oh?”
I looked down at my robes.
Maybe I should just show Piggymaru to Mist after all. Still…
“…”
Golden-eyed monsters.
Gold.
The golden hero—Kirihara Takuto.
Maybe I’m overthinking it, but…golden monsters, golden hero…I have a terrible feeling that there’s a link between them.
Sogou Ayaka
SOGOU AYAKA SWUNG her flail hard into the skeleton’s flank. The impact was dull and heavy, and it sent sharp pain running through her wrists. Ayaka retreated and raised her weapon again. The skeleton froze for a second, then crumbled to the ground. She wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“Hah…”
The Goddess had sent them to the ancient Enchanted Bone Ruins on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Alion to train. She wanted them to get used to real fighting, she’d said, and gain experience points. The ruins were filled with monsters, apparently, and she warned them not to go deeper than the first underground floor of any ruins they discovered. In this area, though, enough monsters walked the forests that there was no need to venture into the ruins at all. The Goddess told them to run if they encountered any horned monsters—“skeleton knights,” she had called them. The forest was overrun with undead enemies, most of which were known as skull-types. Ayaka had been horrified to see bones moving around on their own the first few times, but…she’d gotten used to it.
She retrieved her spear from the rubble it was standing in and returned it to the leather sleeve on her back. Her flail was much more effective here—crushing the bones was easier than trying to cut through them. Her Kisou style of ancient martial arts was built for the battlefield and intended to adapt to any situation. Its main focus was the spear, but sometimes that wasn’t the right weapon for the job.
This is the first time I’ve ever used anything like a flail, though. It’s a little like the chain sickle, but the impact and weight are completely different.
“You’re naturally talented, Ayaka, but you were born into a time and a place where these weapons simply aren’t needed anymore. Is that a blessing or a curse? I can’t say…”
My grandmother said that to me. I need these skills now more than ever, Grandmother…
“Ksheeeee—!”
A skeleton with a shortsword leaped out from the darkness. They can use human weapons? Do they retain memories from when they were alive?
Ayaka waited for the right time to strike, then stepped forward, swinging the flail around and crushing the monster’s ribs to splinters.
Crunch! Snap!
Level up!
Level 4 → Level 5
She checked her stats.
I still can’t use my unique skills…
Ayaka stood alone in the forest ruins. Thick green leaves cast dappled shadows in the afternoon sunlight.
2-C had already divided itself into groups.
Kirihara Takuto’s group was all elites, and as an S-class, he was their leader. He was followed by A-class Oyamada Shougo and a number of other heroes, all B-class or higher.
Ikusaba Asagi was the head of a large group, but their strongest heroes were only B-class. Her group was exclusively female—most of the girls had joined her when things went south. Ayaka seemed strangely fixated on Kashima Kobato, who’d joined her group.
I hope Kashima-san’s doing okay…
Yasu Tomohiro’s group was filled with outcasts, anybody that had been turned away from Ikusaba and Kirihara’s circles. They had two C-class heroes, but the rest were D-class. They seemed to hope that A-class Yasu could save them from what was to come. Since Ikusaba had taken the girls, Yasu’s group was entirely male.
Then there were the Takao sisters, S-class and A-class. They weren’t a group, exactly—more of a pair—and they stuck together the same way they always had. The other students actively avoided them.
They were teleported into another world, but it’s like they’re completely unfazed by everything.
Ayaka resolved to learn from their example.
2-C’s homeroom teacher, Zakurogi, was still waiting in the Goddess Vicius’s castle, along with all the other students who hadn’t passed the initiation ceremony.
Finally, there was Sogou Ayaka. She had defied the Goddess, and everybody knew it. Nobody wanted to work with her and risk holy wrath.
This is just how things are; no point getting upset about it. I was only doing what I thought was right…if solitude is my reward for that, I’m fine with it.
“Wait up! I said wait, you freakin’ sack of bones!”
“C’mon! Get back here!”
“Hey, bony! You’re already dead, ain’tcha?! So who cares if I kill you again, huh?”
Ayaka recognized the familiar voices of Kirihara’s group long before they charged out of the brush in their new other-world clothes.
“What?! That bony bastard’s already crushed!” a boy said.
“What the heck, Ayaka? You stole our kill!” the girl beside him complained.
“Huh?”
“That’s, like, so mean! That was our bony!” she protested.
“You should ask permission first,” another boy cut in. “Man, I feel like an idiot for running all this way!”
“Just ’cause you were class rep doesn’t mean you can steal other people’s kills!”
Kirihara’s group kept complaining as Oyamada burst out from the trees.
“What have we here?! Ayaka-sensei, all on her lonesome?! You wound me, Ayaka, you really do~! Illegal huntin’ in our territory?”
Oyamada tapped her shoulder with the flat of his greatsword. It felt like a threat.
Your territory?
She looked down at the ground to see a thin line traced in the dirt.
“These are our hunting grounds, you got that? You’re an outsider, Ayaka-sensei! You ain’t one of us! It’s basically criminal for you to hunt here. Class leader to convict? So uncool~!”
“That’s enough, Shougo,” said Kirihara, stepping out from the trees wearing a long hooded cloak. He looked like something out of a fantasy movie, or maybe an anime villain.
“Hey, you’re not the boss of me! You makin’ excuses for her now?!” Oyamada shot back angrily.
“Sogou’s still an S-class. You A-class heroes can whine at her all you like, but she could take you all down in an instant. That’s why she stole your kill—it’s how little she thinks of you,” said Kirihara, shaking his head.
“But I didn’t mean to—”
“Enough,” said Kirihara, raising his hand to silence her. “I’ve heard it all from Vicius.”
“You heard…what, exactly?” asked Akaya.
“You’re mentally unstable. Your little outburst when we disposed of that E-class trash…you were so stressed that you snapped. Don’t worry, I understand.”
Kirihara stepped toward
her, leaving his group behind.
“You’re still confused. You’re so overwhelmed that you barely have any idea what you’re doing, do you?”
“Is that really what you see when you look at me?” asked Ayaka.
“I’m scared of you, Sogou. That’s all.”
“What?”
Scared of me?
“You were so sensible—the core of the class. But getting teleported to this other world really did a number on you, huh? It’s like you’ve gone insane.”
“Listen, Kirihara-kun. I just don’t trust the Goddess, and I think we should—”
“No, Sogou. You listen to me,” he interrupted, patting her on the arm. “From the second you refused to join our group, I knew you were too far gone.”
The rest of them looked on, pity in their eyes.
“Kirihara…kun.”
“But you’re an S-class. You’re valuable. But you can’t think rationally anymore. It’s a shame, it really is.”
Kirihara turned to walk away, then stopped suddenly and looked up at the sky.
“If I’m the king, you’ll obviously never be my queen, but maybe you could be an adequate knight. Defend me with your life and all that.”
He turned to look back at her, his expression smug and self-assured.
“I’m waiting for the day you wake up and serve me as you should—but I don’t hold out much hope, Sogou Ayaka.”
Oyamada laughed loudly.
“What a rollercoaster! 2-C class hero to zero in the blink of an eye!” he declared.
The other group members looked on, all of them suddenly smugly superior.
“I don’t really get it~! Sogou can just use her special martial arts, right?”
“Couldn’t she, like, take down the Demon King all by herself?!”
“For sure, yeah! The Goddess took her down in one hit, but that had to be a fluke!”
“Sogou-san, you’re so strong~! Fighting against the Goddess all by yourself? We could never do that!”
Ayaka shook her head and turned to walk away.
“Hey. Ayaka,” Oyamada called after her.
“What is it?”
“Give us some money, and we might let you use our hunting spot for a while. Ikusaba and the others already paid their fee. Whaddya say?”
Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells (Light Novel) Vol. 2 Page 6