Metal Slime 230
Chapter 230: The Duty of the Logistic Support TL: Cnine ED/PF: Part 1 Just as Yuuma, Akito, and Rui gripped their weapons and prepared to f
Chapter 230: The Duty of the Logistic Support
TL: Cnine
ED/PF:
Part 1
Just as Yuuma, Akito, and Rui gripped their weapons and prepared to fight, the Indian Seekers stood in front of the monsters. They were the Seekers who acted as the vanguard in the shallow layers.
They brandished their weapons to kill the incoming insect monsters.
Upon a closer look, the monsters were coming in a huge group. Since this was only the 1st floor, their strength was negligible.
「Hyahahaha, no need to panic. Those monsters are small fries. Let the vanguard handle them; they'll do just fine. Our turn is still a ways off.」
Anik laughed happily upon seeing Yuuma and co readying their weapons. Yuuma and co exchanged glances before returning their weapons.
In the end, it turned out that Anik was right—their vanguard could fight without a problem on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors.
And then, upon reaching the 20th floor――
「As expected, the monsters become incomparably stronger.」
Yuuma killed an approaching monster that slipped through the frontline battle.
The hammer, clad in the "Magical Power of Wind," crushed the giant ant that leaped at him.
Rui and Akito, who were fighting against the monsters, also heaved sighs.
「Well, there will be more monsters breaking through the defenses from now on. That's inevitable. But more importantly......」
Akito was looking at Anik and the members of 【Makamayuri (Peacock King)】 who stood around him. Everyone was looking at the monster corpses beneath their feet with weapons in hand.
Though the monsters weren’t that strong, they came in large numbers yet were slaughtered in no time by the members of Anik's clan.
「Fire, thunder, water, and wind... That Seeker clan has users of all attribute magic.」
Akito said with interest. Yuuma, though he only glanced briefly, noticed that the four of them were using different types of magic to defeat the monsters.
【Makamayuri】 consisted of five members—the two strong men and two women, including Anik.
Each of them carried a uniquely shaped sword, spear, axe, or club. He heard they were a group of Seekers formed by a weapon manufacturer.
---Does that mean they made their own weapons?
Anik, the elder, stroked his beard as if nothing had happened. He hadn’t fought in this battle.
Yuuma hadn’t expected that Anik wouldn’t do anything and just let his subordinates fight.
Yuuma was really curious about what kind of fighting style Anik would use once the latter decided to fight.
◇◇◇
「OKAY! LET'S REST IN THIS PLACE TODAY! THE MIDDLE CAPTURE TEAM MAY GO TO SLEEP!」
At Kaila's command, the formation stopped moving, and they began preparing to camp. Even though they were taking a break, they were still in a dungeon with monsters around. It was far from safe.
There were still monsters around them.
「Yuuma, come here!」
When Yuuma looked in that direction, he saw a simple tent had been set up. Akito waved his hand, signaling for him to hurry up.
Tents were being set up one after another around them, and they started a campfire by burning the trees that were already in the dungeon.
Yuuma entered the tent where Akito was and looked at the interior.
The inside of the tent was cramped, barely enough for three people to sleep together side by side on the floor.
「Yuuma, you should sleep now while you can. You've used up some magic, so you need to rest and recover.」
「Have the Seekers in the vanguard formation standing guard for us?」
Yuuma sat on the ground and took off his shoes as soon as he entered the tent.
「That seems to be the case,」 said Rui, who entered after Yuuma.
「It seems we'll be on night duty for the rest of the night.」
「Hee.」
They were currently on the 103rd floor. Aside from the fact that the monsters were getting stronger, the Seekers' mental and physical exhaustion had almost reached its limit.
Yuuma was worrying about the Indian Seekers who were outside, but he realized the only thing he could do was rest. So, he decided to sleep alongside Akito and Rui.
Yuuma woke up after taking a nap for about four hours. He quietly left the tent so as not to wake Rui and Akito, who were still asleep.
The camp was eerily quiet. The quietness of the dungeon, with no distinction between day and night, had an eerie feeling to it.
The surroundings were as dim as ever, with a warm, faint breeze brushing against his cheek. It seemed that no battles had taken place while he was asleep.
Clearing the monsters within the dungeon before many had gone to sleep seemed to have paid off.
The monsters would repopulate inside the dungeon after some time passed.
――Come to think of it, the metal slime also appears once per day.
When Yuuma was looking around while pondering about such things, he saw Anik from 【Makamayuri】 sitting on a small chair beside the tent erected on the outskirts of the camp.
「Anik-san.」
「Ooh, you've woken up already, lad.」
Anik greeted him as carefree as before while looking at Yuuma.
「I can't sleep since I'm too nervous... Is that the same with you, Anik-san?」
Part 2
「Hyohyohyohyohyo, in my case, it's due to age. I'm a light sleeper to begin with, so sleeping for three to four hours is enough for me.」
「I see now...」
Yuuma looked around. The Indian Seekers, who had been fighting continuously from the first floor, were walking cautiously, keeping an eye on their surroundings.
The weapons they were using were damaged, and the battle suits they were wearing were already in tatters.
They worked like bodyguards who never rest.
「What’s going to happen to them after we arrive in the deep layer?」
「Dear me,」 Anik shook his head while combing his white beard.
「They’ll be returning to the surface after this. Considering their capabilities, going any further would be suicidal. Once they return to the 50th floor, the logistic team stationed on the surface is set to come to their aid, so the sacrifices should be kept to a minimum.」
「I see now.」
Despite saying the sacrifices were kept to a minimum, a few Seekers had already died to reach this floor. Thus, Yuuma was left wondering if they could reach the 50th floor in their battered state.
Yuuma's face clouded as he saw Anik laughing merrily.
「What's the matter? Worrying about them?」
「Ah, no, I ju---」
「There’s no need to worry. Everyone here has already made peace with their fate. Even if they were to die, not a single one of them would complain.」
Yuuma nodded silently. That was probably true. Even so, he couldn't help but wonder if the reason he couldn't stop worrying was that he was too naive?
「How young. It’s a good thing that you’re worrying about them, but you should worry about yourself more than them.」
「Eh?」
Anik let out a grin as his eyes captured Yuuma.
「Think about it, the logistic support can only go up to the 50th floor. Meaning that we won’t get more support once we dive even deeper. In short, we have no choice but to defeat the "Guardian of the Labyrinth" in the bottom floor. That’s the only way to survive.」
Hearing Anik's words, Yuuma swallowed hard.
He realized that Anik was absolutely right. The ones who truly faced harsh conditions were the Seekers assigned to areas beyond the middle layers. In the worst case, total annihilation was also a possibility.
Anik stood up while Yuuma was digesting his advice.
「Looks like the others are waking up too. I guess it’s about time to set off. Seems like it’s going to be an exhausting mission.」
When Yuuma looked over, he could see the Seekers gradually emerging from their tents.
Surely, no one would be able to sleep soundly in this kind of situation. Just as he was thinking that, he noticed Anik looking his way.
「Young man, I have high expectations of you.」
「Eh? What do---」
Anik lifted the corner of his mouth at the dumbfounded Yuuma.
「I can’t help but feel that you’re stronger than the other two. Well, it’s just the ramblings of an old man though, so feel free to ignore it.」
「Ahahaha.」
Anik chuckled lightly as he bid farewell and returned to his tent.