Chapter 105 Naturally Holding Wooden Swords
"Brrr..."
In the 36th floor of the [God's Remains Labyrinth], Snowfield Floor, Owen stepped out of the [Seal Temple]'s teleportation circle and instinctively muttered to himself as he adjusted his coat's collar.
Although the snowfield was clear and sunny at the moment, a blizzard could start at any time, and the monsters that appeared here were mostly fond of surprise attacks. The environment itself required caution.
Even though he had walked around during the battle against the Nord, he wasn't yet used to it enough to let his guard down.
"Well, let's get moving."
Aaron Gale said.
In front of the 17 explorers, including Owen's ≪Bastard≫, Elliot's ≪Holy Knights≫, and Zara's ≪Silfied≫, he announced in his usual tone.
"I'm sure you all know, but the monsters on the snowfield often launch surprise attacks. Everyone, keep your weapons at the ready from the start."
Aaron himself drew his "Black Radiance" from its scabbard with a smooth motion.
While Owen and the others looked at him with a mixture of confusion and annoyance, they quickly drew their own weapons from their scabbards or held them at the ready.
Aaron nodded in satisfaction as he watched them.
"I must say, your determination to fight with wooden swords or wooden weapons is impressive. I'm touched!! However, I think it's a bit too reckless for you all to fight with those weapons on this floor."
"Huh?"
Owen and the others instinctively checked their own weapons. They were naturally holding wooden swords.
"""What the...?!"""
The fact that they had been fighting with wooden swords lately didn't seem suspicious to them, but now Owen and many of the other members were shocked.
What's going on? This is scary...
And what's even scarier is...
"Wait, I...I only brought a wooden sword today...!!"
Owen muttered in a daze, as if he couldn't believe himself.
Then, similar voices started to rise from the people around him.
"I only have Treant's spear..."
"I just have Treant's bow, and only wooden arrows without arrowheads..."
"I, at least, brought a normal weapon..."
"I also brought my usual staff..."
It seems that only a few of them, including the magicians who can't fight with Treant's staff, brought their usual weapons for exploration.
When counted, out of 17 people, almost half of them brought wooden weapons.
"This is ridiculous, we can't explore in this state, can we...?"
Just as Owen raised his voice, saying that they had to go back and get their weapons,
"There's no choice, I was planning to give these out a bit later, but..."
Aaron took out a "Black Radiance" from his storage ring.
It was a "Black Radiance" without any decorative carvings, with a sturdy and simple design.
Aaron handed it to Owen, saying "Owen, this is yours."
"――Huh? Me?"
"Yeah, it's the one I made for you."
Next, Aaron took out weapons made from 'Elder Treant's core wood' and handed them out one by one, calling out each person's name. Since Elder Treant is a material that can be used for magicians' staffs, even the magicians received black staffs.
Owen was stunned, but then he suddenly realized something and drew the "Black Radiance" from its scabbard, swinging it lightly.
He immediately understood.
"This...is a sword made for me..."
The thickness of the handle and the balance of the sword are things that vary slightly from person to person.
While it's not uncommon for soldiers who are issued weapons to use them despite some discomfort, for explorers who face death every day, it's different. Even small discomforts can be felt intensely, and adjusting the weapon yourself or having a blacksmith adjust it is a key to increasing your chances of survival.
So, a true explorer can immediately tell if their weapon is a good fit for them or not.
When Owen swung the "Black Radiance" that was handed to him, he didn't feel even the slightest bit of discomfort. The handle and the balance of the sword felt just right, as if it were made specifically for him.
――No way.
It's as if this sword was made just for him.
"Is everyone else like this too?"
Looking at his friends who received their own weapons, it seemed like none of them needed any adjustments.
In other words, Aaron had specially made each of their weapons to fit each of the 17 members.
Why did he prepare a weapon for each of them? That's still a mystery...
(But maybe this guy was thinking about us more seriously than I thought...)
Owen thought to himself.
Of course, it's not like they're bonded just because of this.
(Hmph! I'm not going to acknowledge it that easily!)
He told himself in his mind.
Owen isn't the kind of guy who would change his mind just because he received a present. Even if his cheeks were a bit red, it was just because the Snowfield Floor was cold.
Anyway, after Aaron finished handing out the weapons to everyone,
"I recommend using these for this expedition. They may not have any special effects, but as equipment, they're top-notch."
He said.
"And for the archers who didn't bring any arrows, please lend some to those who didn't bring any. Zara, I know you brought a lot, right?"
"――Ugh, fine...I'll collect the arrow fee from you guys later!"
Zara agreed to Aaron's request while complaining.
――The truth is, Zara had actually bought a Storage Ring from the clan the day before, and had stored a large number of arrows inside.
While complaining, Zara didn't seem too unhappy about the Storage Ring being useful already.
"Alright! This time, we're really going to start I've got the regular route down, so I'll lead the way! However, I'll only take down the bare minimum of monsters that attack! You guys take care of the rest!"
"Hmph You don't have to tell me!"
Owen shoots back.
They won't know if they've gotten stronger unless they fight, and relying on a single strong person for everything in a dungeon exploration like this would be a blow to all of our pride.
Aaron nods and continues.
"And this time, I'll prove that you guys have definitely gotten stronger! So when we fight, don't hold back and use your skills freely!"
But these words sparked an involuntary retort.
"Huh? W-wait a minute! If we do that, we'll run out of magical energy before we even reach the 40th floor!!"
Normally, explorers try to conserve their skills as much as possible. If they don't, their magical energy will run out right away.
But Aaron responds as if it's no big deal.
"Didn't you guys use skills left and right when we were hunting?"
"Yeah, because we had to! We couldn't deal any damage otherwise!"
It's true that when they're fighting monster with wooden swords, we use skills every time we attack. But that's just common sense. If we didn't, we wouldn't be able to deal any damage to Treant with those wooden swords.
But this isn't the Grassland Floor, and the monsters that appear here aren't as weak as Treant. Owen don't think their magical energy will last until the 40th floor.
"Well, just do as I say and see what happens. You guys should be fine at this point."
"......"
It's possible that they're being tricked, which is a problem.
But if that's the case, it'll just prove that Aaron's training method was wrong.
"...Alright, I'll do it. You guys in?"
"""Yeah!!"""
Owen agrees, and the others nod in agreement.
"Then, let's get started!"
And so, with Aaron's casual signal, the exploration of Snowfield Floor began.
* * *
[God's Remains Labyrinth] 38th Floor.
Up until now, the exploration has been progressing incredibly smoothly. It's safe to say that they've been taking the shortest route possible to conquer Snowfield Floor.
However, whether this was the "official route" or not was a matter of doubt.
"Damn it! They're coming again!!"
"Everyone, don't hold back on your skills! We'll get overwhelmed by the group!!"
"Take them down!! Just take them down!!"
"Ah! Look, a drop!!"
"You idiot! We don't have time to pick up drops!!"
The angry shouts of the explorers echoed through the air.
The location was not in the middle of a vast snowy plain, but rather in a forest covered in snow.
Just like the Grassland Floor, which also had a forest, the Snowfield Floor wasn't just a vast expanse of snowy terrain. There were also forested areas like this one.
However, compared to the snowy terrain, the forested areas were home to a large number of monsters, making them extremely dangerous. Normally, explorers would avoid these areas unless they were after specific labyrinth resources.
So, why were Owen and the others being attacked by a massive pack of over 100 Ice Wolves in such a place? The reason was Aaron, who had taken the lead.
As it turned out, the official route wasn't the shortest distance. By cutting through the forested areas and the Frost Dragon's nest, one of the most dangerous areas in the Snowfield Floor, they could shorten their route.
Aaron had charged into the forested area, ignoring Owen and the others as they desperately tried to stop him. It was as if he believed that the shortest distance was the official route.
Owen and the others, who didn't know the terrain well, would have gotten lost in the snowy plain if they had lost sight of Aaron. So, they had no choice but to follow him, but by the 38th floor, everyone realized that this decision had been a mistake.
At the 36th floor, they should have ignored Aaron and proceeded with the original route. It would have taken some time and they might have gotten lost without knowledge, but it would have been better than getting into this situation.
"Hey, you guys! Hurry up and defeat them! At this pace, the sun will set!"
Owen and the others, who were desperately fighting off the Ice Wolf pack, heard a voice coming from above.
When they looked up to see where the voice was coming from, they saw Aaron standing on a tree trunk about 10 meters (≈ 33 feet) above the ground, with his sword stuck in the trunk, watching them with a relaxed expression.
As he had declared earlier, it seemed he only intended to defeat the bare minimum number of monsters.
However, for Owen and the others, who were getting increasingly frustrated, Aaron's attitude was only rubbing them the wrong way.
Suddenly, a storm of insults erupted.
"Are you kidding me?! Who do you think is to blame?!"
"This crappy Master is at fault!! Get down here and fight yourself!!"
"Take responsibility! Take responsibility!!"
"Die! Just die already!!"
"......"
However, they didn't understand.
This Aaron Gale was a man who, in the past, had jumped at someone he had lightly insulted without hesitation, and had gotten into repeated brawls at a tavern until he was banned.
Even if he had aged a bit, his fundamental nature wouldn't change, and he had a very childish personality with a low boiling point.
"...Huh?"
Owen was the one who spoke in a puzzled tone.
Just as Aaron had casually waved his hand, a bullet of aura shot out and flew through the gaps between the trees at a speed that was almost invisible, disappearing from view.
And a few seconds later, a loud explosion echoed through the forest.
"""......"""
While fighting the Ice Wolves, everyone suddenly fell silent for a moment.
They were all thinking the same thing.
Could he really...?
A mix of doubt and a strange conviction that, yeah, he would do something like that.
It didn't take long for their conviction to be proven correct.
"He, he actually did it...!! You bastard He actually did it!!"
"A monster is coming!!"
What appeared from outside the forest was not just Frost Jack and Snow Worm, new types of monsters, but...
Boom, boom, boom!!
Bang!! ――and then.
A gigantic monster, Frost Dragon, descended into the forest, crushing trees as it came from above.
"Grrr... Grrrroooarrr!!"
The enormous dragon, wrapped in pure white feathers, was furious for some reason.
Well, the reason was obvious if one looked at its forehead.
Its beautiful pure white feathers were partially blown away, stained red with fresh blood.
"You idiot!!"
"I'll kill you someday! I'll kill you!!"
"Don't you have any human feelings, you bastard!!"
The explorers, driven by their emotions, cursed and began the second round against the massive group of monsters.
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