Tamori and I stood frozen for several seconds, our minds going blank at the sight of the trio that had just descended to the 26th floor. We eventually regained our senses; while they were unexpected visitors, we reminded ourselves that for explorers capable of diving this deep, outward appearance was a trivial matter.
If their levels were high enough, even a slender child could easily best a brawny giant in a contest of raw strength.
"Um, it’s pretty rare to see a party of three... Maybe they’re a scouting element?" Tamori whispered.
"Yeah, maybe. They're all so lightly equipped, too..."
We observed the trio coming down the stairs with stunned gazes, concluding they were a scouting team for some student party. While all three possessed the basic gear required for an explorer, the supplies they carried were far too meager for long-term activity this deep in the dungeon. Each of them only had a single backpack. At most, that would hold enough for a day trip—maybe an overnight stay if they pushed it. Even though they had successfully reached such a deep floor, they wouldn't be able to stay for long with so few supplies. Exploration costs weren't cheap; if you didn't collect a decent amount of items, you couldn't even break even on the expenses of the dive.
On top of that, a three-person team had a very limited carry capacity for items. In short, it wasn't cost-effective.
"Right. I mean, there's no way... only three people could make it to a floor like this on their own, right?"
"Yeah. It's not impossible, but still... you know?"
To dive this far with only three people would mean they were one of the top explorer parties in the country. We found it hard to believe that these kids could be part of such an elite group. Of course, the possibility wasn't zero, but it was incredibly unlikely.
"Ah, this is bad..."
While we were whispering our theories about them, our eyes suddenly met theirs. We had been staring with such blatant curiosity that any explorer capable of reaching this level was bound to notice.
The gaze they shot back at us was filled with clear disgust at being gawked at. This was definitely bad; we had clearly made a terrible first impression.
"..."
"..."
A heavy silence fell between us, turning into a tense standoff. Tamori and I exchanged awkward glances, realizing we were entirely at fault for making them wary. We decided it was best to apologize immediately.
With that, Morita and I turned our gazes back to them and gave a light bow.
"Ah, sorry about that. We didn't mean to stare so rudely. It's just that we've had a lot of monster attacks targeting the base camp lately, so we're all a bit on edge."
"Oh, no..."
Our quick apology seemed to soften their wariness slightly, but suspicion still lingered in their eyes. We couldn't blame them; we had invited that suspicion ourselves. We just had to take it.
However, we couldn't just stand there facing off forever. I tried to strike up a conversation.
"No, really, I'm sorry. Like I said, monsters have been attacking non-stop for the past few days, so our nerves are frayed. We didn't mean anything by it. Seriously, our apologies."
"Ah, no. You didn't actually do anything to us, so please don't worry about it."
"Haha, I'm glad to hear you say that."
The boy who seemed to be the leader—the one equipped with a kodachi?—accepted our apology, waving his hands dismissively in front of his chest. It seemed we had managed to dispel the worst of the bad impression.
I intended to introduce myself and keep the conversation going to lighten the mood and perhaps exchange information, but they moved first.
"Well, we're in a hurry, so if you'll excuse us."
"Hm? You only just got here. Wouldn't you like to take a break?"
"Ah, no. Our goal is a floor a bit further down, so we plan to rest later."
The boy with the kodachi flatly refused my invitation, though his tone remained polite. It seemed that while we had convinced them we weren't enemies, they still viewed us as a nuisance to be avoided.
If a stranger stared at us like that upon our first meeting, we'd also worry they were up to something and try to keep our distance. We had botched the initial interaction, and there was nothing more I could do.
"Oh, is that so? Well, sorry for holding you up."
"No problem. We'll be going now."
With that, they left the 26th floor staircase plaza at a brisk pace. If I ever ran into them again outside the dungeon, I'd have to apologize properly for making them so uncomfortable.
Still, it was strange. For people who had dived this deep, they looked remarkably clean...
On the seventh day, the long-awaited relief team finally arrived at the base camp. Although the return journey still lay ahead, our scheduled stay within the dungeon was officially over. The Soga Team let out collective sighs of relief as we began the handover process.
It had been a long, brutal seven days.
"Good work, Soga-san. You look absolutely wiped."
"Yeah, I'm truly exhausted this time, Gonda."
"Did something happen?"
"It did. Actually..."
Soga-san went over the handover notes with Gonda, the relief team leader. It sounded more like he was venting his frustrations through a list of warnings.
Then again, if your base camp got attacked nearly fifty times in a single week, anyone would have a lot to complain about.
"Heh, so that's how it was."
"Yeah. So from now on, I think we need to formulate our exploration plans based on the number of people staying... or rather, the total number of active explorers in the area."
"True. This happened because the number of explorers dropped so sharply during the Obon holiday, but the same thing could happen whenever we move the base camp to a different floor. We definitely need a plan."
"Right. I'll put this in a formal report for the company. We'll need to brainstorm some solutions with the other team leaders as soon as possible."
If the base camp was going to be under constant siege like this, we'd never get any rest. Immediate countermeasures were vital. Without a safe place to recuperate, someone would eventually hit their limit and collapse—or worse. For the sake of the company and our own lives, we had to avoid that at all costs.
An obvious solution would be increasing the personnel per team, but finding explorers capable of diving this deep wasn't easy. Most skilled civilian explorers were already signed with major corporations. There were freelancers, of course, but many were part-timers who dived as a hobby. Their levels tended to be lower than professional explorers, and their primary jobs made them hard to scout.
We could try to recruit student explorers nearing graduation, but it took time to turn them into a reliable fighting force. Taking students who were still in school into the dungeon for a week—even with their consent—wasn't a long-term solution. If they did it too often, they'd miss too many classes and end up repeating a year or dropping out. I wondered how many would actually drop out just to dive full-time... Actually, there were probably more than I thought. Still, even then, it would take months of level grinding, coordination training, and bivouac training to make them useful.
"Increasing staff will be hard to do quickly, so maybe we should focus on equipment. I'll think of a few ideas before I head back," Gonda suggested.
He was right. If we couldn't get more people, better gear was the way to go. Even just setting up sensor-triggered buzzers in the corridors leading to the plaza would make guard duty much easier.
"Please do. Just a warning—this pattern might continue until things settle down, so keep your guard up."
"Understood. Thanks for the heads-up."
The handover finally finished, and our Soga Team began preparing for the trek back to the surface. We started loading the collected drop items, checking them against our quota sheet to ensure nothing was left behind. Leaving a valuable drop behind now would make the entire grueling week pointless.
Fortunately, we had collected quite a few extras, so we were all looking forward to a nice temporary bonus and an Obon holiday work allowance.
Two hours later, after loading our gear and taking a final rest, we said our goodbyes to the Gonda Team and departed the 26th floor. The journey was smooth until we reached the 20th floor, but as we climbed higher, the crowds grew and our pace slowed.
"It's getting pretty packed. We might fall behind schedule."
"It's crowded compared to the way down, but we're still fine compared to our original itinerary. Let's just keep moving and stay alert."
"Understood."
Knowing we were only hours away from leaving the dungeon after seven days made everyone impatient. We were technically on time, as Soga-san said, but after the smooth trip down, this felt like a crawl.
Still, we couldn't afford to get sloppy. If a monster attacked and damaged our equipment or drops—or if one of us got hurt—it would be a disaster. I resolved to stay focused, but as is often the case, trouble struck when we least expected it.
"Orcs! And a whole pack of them! Dammit! Team 1, intercept! Teams 2 and 3, guard the gear and supplies!"
"Team 1, on it!"
"Team 2, acknowledged!"
"Team 3, acknowledged!"
As we were moving through the 14th floor, a pack of nearly ten orcs ambushed us, pincering our group from side passages. We deployed immediately under Soga-san's orders, but the sheer numbers made it a struggle. Usually, orcs weren't much of a threat to us, but the circumstances were against us. We were outnumbered and pinned down by the need to protect our cargo. Team 1 had to split into pairs to cover both sides.
But two against a swarm was a tall order!
"There's too many! Soga-san, send another team to help us!"
"Sorry, Iida! I've got my hands full with the ones that slipped past! If I pull anyone else, the items will get trashed! Just hold on a little longer! I'll send help as soon as we clear our side!"
"Tch! Understood! Please hurry!"
"On it!"
Kagawa and I fought desperately, but the orcs kept coming, and more were slipping past us toward the rest of the team. We could kill them eventually, but if they trashed the drop items, we wouldn't meet our collection quota. That would mean our bonuses and extra pay would be docked to cover the company's losses...
As I struggled to hold the line, a loud voice suddenly called out from nearby.
"Do you need a hand?"
Strictly speaking, we could have survived, but for the sake of the cargo, help was more than welcome. Soga-san didn't hesitate.
"Yes! Give us a hand!"
"Understood. We'll start with the ones on the perimeter."
The reply came in a calm, almost bored tone. In the next heartbeat, the heads of every orc surrounding us—except for the one I was currently trading blows with—flew off simultaneously.
...Wait, what?
"Try not to move for a second."
"Huh?"
I froze, stunned by the sheer impossibility of what I was seeing. A split second after the warning, the head of the orc I was fighting also spun into the air. What... what just happened?!
The battle was over in seconds. We could only stare in shock and awe at the people who had intervened.
"Is everyone okay? Sorry if we overstepped, but you looked like you were having a hard time protecting your gear."
"I'm glad no one's hurt."
"Sorry about the blood splatter..."
The trio we had met on the 26th floor stood there, looking slightly apologetic. Their voices were casual, showing not even a hint of exertion after annihilating a pack of orcs in the blink of an eye.
Wait... these kids weren't just scouts... were they?
It was a literal encounter with the unknown.