Chapter 127 – Majolica’s dungeon – 5F – (Fred’s point of view)

My name is Fred, and I’m a B ranked adventurer, despite what you might think.
I’m not a first-class adventurer like an A rank just yet, but I’m proud to say I’ve been steadily getting better.

After returning from the twenty-second floor to take a break, I receive a quest about a superior species that appeared on the fifth floor.
A dark wolf.

At first I don’t think there’s really any need for me to go hunt it, but unfortunately it looks like they just don’t have the hands to spare.
Bloody Rose just got back from a long excursion, but they can’t do it because they took a long break from the academy.

And so, we gather fifty people, among them B ranked parties I know, and C ranked parties.

It might be overkill, but we need the numbers, because when a superior species of wolf appears, the number of wolves explodes and they tend to form a pack.
Fighting packs of wolves in the forest can be tricky, so we should try to lure them outside if we can.

After the guild explains everything, they also supply two return stones to be used in case of an emergency.
The two groups going to the fifth and sixth floor each get one.
I’m on the fifth floor by the way.

Only twenty people can enter a boss room, but this is a regular floor, so we split into two groups of twenty five.
The two return stones we were supplied play a part in making this decision.

After discussing our plan, we decide to make a base camp near the entrance to the fifth floor, while also searching for the territory of the dark wolf.

Apparently there’s a party that just came in from the first floor.
In the unlikely event that they make it to the fifth floor, we’re going to have to explain what’s going on.
I also heard that other than the party that reported this in the first place, there aren’t any records of adventurers entering the dungeon from the fifth floor and above.

Incidentally, these adventurers usually hang around the C ranked boss room, so they entered through the sixth floor, went back to the fifth floor to gather some materials as usual, and then encountered the monster as it was attacking.
They ran back to the sixth floor and straight to just before the boss room, and returned to the surface to report without fighting the monster.

They ran all the way to the tenth floor because they couldn’t use the device on the sixth floor.
It would be faster to head to the fourth floor and continue from there, but walking near a wall to find the staircase could take a long time if they were unlucky.

I think neither option was great, but they just really didn’t want to stay in the field where a superior species is.

We head to the dungeon first thing in the morning, and start splitting into an exploration team and a base camp building team.

But then, a four person party arrives from the fourth floor.
The fact that they’re here at this hour tells me they must have camped near the staircase on the fourth floor.

But still, not bad, making it here right after entering the dungeon.
There’s a guy wearing a mask and three slaves, but only the guy and the beast person look like they can fight.
The kid and the other girl really don’t look like they can put up much of a fight…

They tell me they’re rookies, and it’s their first time in a dungeon.
I tell them about the superior species, but the guy asks me if they can explore anyway.
The people with me all look at him with iffy expressions when they hear that,

Still, three slave girls… One of them is a kid, but the other two are good looking.
I’m sure those guys are jealous.
Yes, I’m kind of miffed too, so?

But they’re not bothered by any of that, and seem unconcerned as they disappear into the forest.

Oh, there’s the signal smoke.
That’s where the staircase is, in the opposite direction of where the rookies went.
First we need to mark the place where they raised the signal smoke and explore that area, and we’ll have to meet up.

We also release signal smoke, but we need to be on alert, because it might attract the attention of the dark wolf.

Afterwards, people come back from the forest, and report that they spotted the wolf’s pack.
They say they didn’t get a good look at the superior species, but it was bigger than the others, and had black fur.

That’s the one.
If they say it isn’t what they thought… We’ll still get paid, and it’s the guild’s loss.
Maybe the adventurers who reported it suffer a penalty? No, that’s not really done unless they decide it was on purpose.
If adventurers got penalized for stuff like this, no one would report anything.

“Fred, we’re ready.”

Everyone’s here, so we spend the rest of the day investigating the area that the wolf made its territory.

The wolf is in an open area, but it’s surrounded by densely packed trees.
Some people here swing long weapons, so I don’t think they’ll be able to fight to their full potential.

So we come up with the idea of having fast runners attack with long rage weapons to lure the wolves to this side.
Worst case scenario, we can burn the forest, because forests are where wolves are at their best.

The next morning, we put that plan into action.
We stop near the forest too, but maintain some distance.
We need to be able to run to the fourth floor if we find ourselves at a disadvantage.

But from what we’ve seen, there’s the dark wolf and fifteen normal wolves.
Considering the skill of the adventurers we have with us, it shouldn’t be a problem.

“It’s starting.”

I hear the explosive sound of magic from far away, which serves as the signal for arrows to fly from multiple directions, as everyone retreats this way.
It’s a good thing we have a lot of people here who can use a bow.

It should take about an hour of running to get here.
It’s kind of annoying to have to stand here and wait, but not doing so could lead to us having to fight in their favorite environment, so we just have to deal with it.

The sounds are getting closer and closer, and sometimes we hear trees being knocked down by the shock waves of magic.

“They’re coming!”

Someone yells, and an adventurer comes stumbling out of the forest.
He’s been running and evading attacks from those fast wolves, so he looks exhausted.

We move in to back him up right away, and fight back the wolves that jump to attack.

We don’t follow them too deeply.
If they decide to turn back, we’ll have to use items to bring them into the open.
Wolves do retreat, but meet up with the others and jump out of the forest.

I can’t help but smile at a plan going exactly as we anticipated.

Wolves fall one after the other to our strong and well coordinated attacks.

The wolves also seem well coordinated, but they can’t bring their full force to bear, as they’re crushed one after the other.
This wouldn’t be so simple if we were in the forest, but we have the advantage here.

It’s easy.
They all think so, and so do I.

The wolves look shaken, as they see other wolves going down one after the other.
I can’t really tell their emotions, but they seem scared and cornered.

My experience tells me they’re going to try to run, but then the mood changes.

A wolf with black fur emerges from the forest.
It walks slowly, but each step feels heavy.

The wolves seem terrified, and before I can even question why, it kills a nearby wolf.

Wolves are monsters that feel deep kinship towards others of their kind, and it’s the same for superior species.
And yet, it killed it like it was kicking away a stone from the road.

We’re taken aback by this, but then it kills another.

The wolves run at us at full speed, like they’re trying to get away from that other one.

They fight fiercely, but are no match for us.
One goes down, and then another, but this is where the nightmare starts.

The dark wolf starts moving again.
I think that party that’s fighting closest to it is a C ranked party.
They fight well together, and are a balanced party.
An adventurer carrying a shield blocks attacks, as the back row and the vanguard work together to take advantage of these openings.
It’s exactly as it should be.

Yes, should be.
The shield blocks an attack, an arrow flies, and a sword is swung.
These attacks should be damaging the dark wolf.

But everything is repelled.
There isn’t a scratch on it.

Everyone stops and looks, as the dark wolf slowly swings one of its front paws.
Darkness comes out of it, and splits both the shield and the person holding it in two.
The swordsman is too shocked to move, and the darkness then turns into a spear that impales him.

What kind of attack is this? A dark wolf doesn’t do this.

And that defensive power too.
A dark wolf isn’t that tough.

That party is trampled in the blink of an eye, and falls silent.

Next, it attacks a B ranked party, and the result is the same.
They die without putting up much of a fight.

“I-is that actually a shadow wolf…?”

That’s a superior species that’s said to be similar to dark wolves.

Why didn’t anyone notice? Did everyone just assume it was a dark wolf because that’s what we were told?

The way to tell them apart is…

Before I can remember, someone screams, and everyone runs away in panic.

Terror spreads, and I call for everyone to regroup, but it’s no good.

There’s no order or anything here, everyone’s just running in a mad dash.

They don’t even know where they’re running, or turn around when they hear screams.

They just run.
That’s all anyone can think about now.