Having officially secured my victory in the martial arts tournament, I finally made it back to the clan headquarters after enduring a gauntlet of award ceremonies and interviews.
I headed straight for the Exploration Management Department where Sophie and the others were waiting, only to find Selma and Estella deep in a meeting.
"Ah, it’s Orun-chi!"
I had been hesitating to interrupt their serious conversation, but Estella spotted me and called out.
"Sorry, am I interrupting something?"
"No, not at all. More importantly—I heard you won the tournament. Congratulations."
"Congrats, Orun-chi!"
"Thank you very much."
"Now you're the champion in both name and reality," Selma added. "It’ll make things much easier for the clan to make our moves. Truly, thank you."
It was just as Selma said. This result would likely cause some of the Hero Party's sponsors to shift their support toward the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky. With more funding, we could finally launch projects that had been stalled by a lack of capital. Knowing my performance contributed to that gave me a genuine sense of accomplishment.
"I only did what I could. So... are those the plans for tomorrow onwards?" I asked, gesturing to the documents scattered across the table.
"Yep! The Labyrinth Exploration Prohibition Period ends today, you see. We’ve had a mountain of requests for labyrinth materials piling up from our sponsors, so we were just figuring out how to distribute the workload among the parties."
Naturally, the demand for materials didn't stop just because we weren't allowed inside the labyrinth. The backlog was likely significant; we needed to clear those requests quickly to keep the sponsors happy, so the party assignments required careful thought.
I was considering offering my help when Selma spoke up.
"Orun, you’re supposed to be heading out to the city with Sophie and the rest of the Tenth Unit, right? You’ve done a massive job winning that tournament. Take it easy and enjoy your freedom today."
"She's right!" Estella chimed in. "We’re going to be working you to the bone in the labyrinth again starting tomorrow, after all!"
"Actually," Selma corrected, "since we have to deal with the post-festival cleanup tomorrow, the First Unit won't be heading back into the labyrinth until the day after."
To be honest, it felt a little awkward to go out and play while the two of them were buried in paperwork, but I knew if our positions were reversed, I’d be saying the exact same thing. I decided to accept their kindness.
"...In that case, I’ll take you up on that and go enjoy myself."
"Yeah, have a good time."
After leaving Selma and Estella, I headed into the room the Tenth Unit used as their base. All three of them were already there.
"Ah, Master! Congrats on the win!!" Carol shouted the moment I stepped inside, the first to offer her congratulations.
"Orun-san, congratulations!" Sophie added.
"Congratulations! Master, you were so cool! Knowing that someone like you is my Master... I don't know, it gives me this weird sense of pride!" Log was practically vibrating with excitement. He was definitely in higher spirits than I’d seen him in a long time.
It didn’t feel bad to have them be this happy for me, though.
"Thanks, you guys. We only have about half a day left, but shall we head into town? Is there anywhere specific you want to go?"
"Yes! We’ve each picked one place we want to visit," Log said, his expression suddenly turning serious. "But before that, may I ask one thing?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"We can start exploring the labyrinth again tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. The prohibition period ends today. Are you planning to go back in immediately?"
"Yes. The three of us talked it over. Tomorrow, we’re going to challenge the 30th Floor Conquest again!"
Selma had mentioned that the First Unit wouldn't be going in tomorrow because of the festival cleanup. If it was just for half a day, there shouldn't be an issue.
"Alright. I'll come along this time too. Just like before, I won't interfere or say a word unless it’s a total emergency, so give it everything you’ve got."
"""Yes!!!"""
With the Tenth Unit’s current strength, clearing the 30th floor shouldn't be a problem. Once they reached the 31st floor, they would officially graduate from being rookies. They’d be counted as part of the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky’s main force. I’d have to think of a proper party name for them by then.
Just as those thoughts crossed my mind, a thunderous roar echoed from outside, sounding like multiple massive explosions going off at once.
"!"
"What was that?!"
"An explosion?!"
The sudden noise threw the three of them into a panic.
"It’s okay. The sound came from quite a distance away. Panicking is the worst thing you can do right now. First, take a deep breath and calm down."
After steadying them, I turned toward the window in the direction of the noise. Though the buildings blocked my view of the source, I could see thick plumes of smoke rising into the air.
Based on the direction and distance, that explosion happened... wait. That's right by the Hero Party's mansion!
"Orun!"
Just as I narrowed down the location, Selma rushed into the room.
"Selma-san, I’m going to go check it out. I’m the fastest person we have."
"I was just about to ask the same of you. I’ll head to the Guild headquarters to gather information, just in case."
In an emergency like this, the Guild headquarters was where information gathered fastest. Having Selma, who possessed Telepathy, stationed there was the perfect move.
"Yeah, thanks."
"I’ll keep our telepathic link open. Let me know the moment you find anything."
"Got it."
"Orun-san," "Master," "Master..."
The three rookies looked at me with anxious eyes. I forced a smile and gave each of them a reassuring pat on the head.
"I’m just going to go take a look. You three stay here and follow the instructions from the Exploration Management staff."
"We understand. Orun-san, please be careful."
"I will. I’m off."
I cut the conversation short and activated Technical Up and Agility Up, stacking them both with Double. I leaped out the window, kicked off a Reflective Wall I manifested in mid-air, and shot up into the sky. Once I had enough altitude, I used Mana Convergence to create footholds and sprinted through the air toward the rising smoke.
As I drew closer, the scene below became clear. As I’d feared, the epicenter was exactly where the Hero Party's mansion had been.
Except the mansion was gone. The center of the estate had been razed to the ground, leaving nothing but a flat, empty space surrounded by mountains of rubble.
What the hell happened here?
As I watched from above, a shockwave suddenly erupted, tearing a straight path through the landscape for ten meters. The buildings caught in its wake collapsed instantly, unable to withstand the pressure.
...Did a magic beast appear on the surface? No, it’s the Thanksgiving Festival. Security across the city should be tighter than ever. It’s hard to believe they’d miss a beast capable of this much destruction. If that’s the case, then this is a man-made disaster...
It was a small mercy that this area was a district of luxury estates with very little foot traffic. If this had happened in a crowded part of town, the casualties would have been unthinkable. Not that the current situation wasn't already grave.
I sped toward the source of the shockwave and found a single man standing there. He was casually preparing to swing a sword wreathed in golden mana.
"What the hell are you doing, you idiot!"
I dropped down directly in front of him and drove a full-powered kick into his gut. The man took the hit and spiraled backward, but he landed on his feet as if nothing had happened, seemingly devoid of any damage.
"...Did you do all this?"
"............"
He gave no response.
"—! I asked if you did this! Answer me! Oliver!!"
I’d suspected it the moment he failed to react to my first shout, but Oliver was clearly not himself. His pupils were dilated, and his face was utterly blank, stripped of all emotion. Furthermore, his entire body was radiating a golden, aura-like mist.
That aura had to be mana. To be emitting mana so dense that it was visible to the naked eye without even using an ability... I’d never seen or heard of such a thing.
As I relayed the situation to Selma via telepathy, Oliver slowly raised his arm, pointing the tip of his sword toward the sky.
"—Hey! Stop!"
Sensing what was coming, I yelled for him to stand down, but he didn't listen. Oliver swung the blade down. The strike drew a thin, golden line through the air, hurtling toward me with terrifying speed.
"Tch!"
I threw myself to the side. The building directly behind where I had been standing was sliced clean in two.
The mana on the blade had already dissipated... so that was just a normal swing?! This is insane...
I felt a chill run down my spine at Oliver’s nonsensical power. Before I could even process the shock of his transformation, he raised his sword again.
"!"
I activated Strength Up and Agility Up with a Quintuple stack and lunged at him. As I closed the gap, I manifested a longsword—one meant for the tournament—and slammed it against Oliver’s blade.
As long as I use magic, I won't lose in a contest of strength!
I triggered Impact the moment our blades met. The force generated by our collision exploded outward, leveling the surrounding structures.
But it wasn't just the buildings that couldn't take it. My sword reached its limit too. The blade of my longsword snapped right in the middle.
"—!?"
In the split second I was distracted by my broken weapon, Oliver’s left fist drove toward my exposed chest. I reflexively deployed a Magic Barrier and used Mana Convergence to harden it to its limit. I didn't have the time to trigger another Impact.
My Magic Barrier didn't even slow him down; he punched through it like it was wet paper. Using the fraction of a second the barrier provided, I crossed my arms in front of my chest to take the blow.
"Gugh...!"
Oliver’s fist connected with full force.
"Gah...!"
I was sent flying backward, my body slamming into a nearby building with enough force to crack the stone. I scrambled to my feet immediately and cast Heal on myself, feeling the sharp pain begin to recede.
What is with this strength...?
I had no idea why Oliver was doing this, but he was clearly compromised. This district was sparsely populated, but the stall street was just a short distance away. That area was packed with more people than I could count. They’d likely heard the explosions and started evacuating, but it wasn't hard to imagine the chaos and panic. If he started a rampage there, the casualties would be catastrophic.
I had to stop him.
—If only to stop Oliver from staining his hands with any more sin!
Based on our brief exchange, I didn't think words would reach him at all. If that was the case, the only option left was force.
"You'd better be prepared for a few bruises, Oliver."
I began constructing multiple spell formulas, preparing for my next move.
Thank you for reading to the end.
As the title suggests, things have taken a sharp turn. Round 2 of Orun vs. Oliver—a serious battle with magic—is about to begin.
I hope you'll look forward to the next chapter.