Chapter 99

Chapter 99: The Desert (3)

FWOOOOSH—!

In the middle of a desert, stinging sand-laden winds blowing—

A structure ringed with coiled barbed wire and soldiers standing guard before it caught my eye.

As we approached, the soldiers shouted.

"This area ahead is dangerous! Please use another route!"

Not a speck of mana could be sensed from them. Non-Awakened, in other words.

Behind them, an S-rank Gate was spewing a massive mana storm—and the people guarding it were non-Awakened.

Unbelievable.

Which idiot had stationed non-Awakened in a place this perilous?

Were they saying they had to put someone there, but their precious Heroes were too good for this?

Heroes who feared death. What a joke.

At the very least, Heroes could buy some time if the Gate went berserk. These soldiers couldn't stall for even one second.

"Please open up. We're Asian Heroes here to raid the dungeon."

"Heroes!"

The word "Hero" made the soldiers light up.

Nobody would turn away people who'd come to save them.

"Oh my! Distinguished visitors in such a humble place......! Please, do come in!"

The expedition followed the soldiers' escort through the barbed wire.

Apparently, they hadn't expected anyone to come to this suicide spot voluntarily—or perhaps they were in too much of a rush—because they didn't check our identities.

Inside the perimeter, a makeshift base had been set up.

We were guided to the largest tent deep inside.

"Please follow me."

The guiding soldier threw open the tent flap and went in.

The tent interior was spacious enough to comfortably hold all twenty-plus of us.

"Commander, si~r! The Heroes have arrived! Commander, si~r! Huh......?"

His slack-jawed voice echoed through the tent.

The reason was immediately clear. Nobody was inside.

The soldier spoke with an awkward expression.

"Ah, it seems the Commander has stepped out. Please wait a moment. I'll find out right away."

The soldier dashed outside.

The Heroes stared after him in bewilderment.

"Gone on a patrol, maybe?"

"What's there to patrol? It's not like he can go inside the Gate and play vanguard for us."

While everyone was perplexed, Zhuge Soyon alone had her eyes narrowed.

Without warning, she began ransacking the tent from top to bottom.

Nobody knew what she was doing, but she was the smartest person on the expedition—so they watched with the assumption that she had her reasons.

Shortly after, the soldier who'd said he'd look around returned.

"Heroes, the Commander's location is still... eek? What are you doing?"

The soldier gaped at the tent, now torn apart by Zhuge Soyon.

Unfazed, Zhuge Soyon asked.

"How do you guys eat?"

"E-eat?"

"Is there something wrong with your head? I'm asking what you eat. Why can't you understand something that simple? Are you braindead? Is there something wrong with your head?"

Zhuge Soyon addressed the soldier—who looked old enough to be her uncle—with casual disrespect and outright insults, all delivered with perfect nonchalance.

Right, this was what she was like.

I'd been watching her act sweet around me so long that I'd momentarily forgotten her true nature.

"Oh, uh, th-that's......"

The soldier's face turned beet red.

Whether from anger at being berated by a child or from embarrassment, he couldn't form a proper answer and stammered pitifully.

Zhuge Soyon let out a heavy sigh and said.

"Then just answer yes or no. I doubt you're getting proper meals in this sandstorm. You eat jerky or something, right?"

"Y-yes."

"And you each store it in your own tent?"

"Yes."

"There's the answer. I searched this tent and didn't find so much as a piece of jerky—let alone a scrap of bread. Meaning the Commander packed everything and ran."

Detective Zhuge Soyon's conclusion left everyone's jaws hanging.

Half were impressed by Zhuge Soyon's deduction, and half were shocked at the commander who'd abandoned his subordinates and fled.

"B-but......"

The soldier had been trying to formulate a rebuttal, judging by his hemming and hawing.

Zhuge Soyon stared at him as if daring him to try.

"...The Hero is probably right."

In the end, the soldier couldn't produce a single counterargument and accepted the commander's desertion.

The speed of his acceptance told you everything about the commander's daily behavior.

Then again, the desertion itself had already told you that much.

Non-Awakened sentries. A commanding officer who'd fled in the night.

The response was so exemplary it brought tears to my eyes. I wanted to give a standing ovation.

"Let's just get moving."

"Hey, you don't have any reports or intel to share with us?"

"Forget it. As if they'd know anything worth telling."

The commander's absence was a crisis for the soldiers, but for the Heroes it was merely absurd—no real setback.

There hadn't been any supplies or intelligence we'd planned to procure on-site, so heading straight for the dungeon was all that mattered.

The soldier stood there with a dazed expression, watching the expedition depart.

Given his courage in braving this godforsaken outpost, I figured he deserved a word of advice.

"You should pack up and withdraw. Staying any longer will only get you hurt. The barbed wire's up, so nobody's going to wander this way."

"B-but... what if an emergency arises......"

"Being a meat shield requires some actual ability. You can't help at all, so go home."

"Yes......"

The soldier's shoulders slumped dejectedly, but his steps were light.

The dejection of being told he was useless, and the relief of escaping danger—both were visible at once.

Having stayed here instead of fleeing was courage worthy of praise on its own.

From here on, it was our show.

***

"Oh my. So that's why they were guarding it."

"A desert, and they built this? Nice touch."

The expedition was collectively astonished at the sight of the Gate.

Or more precisely, the location housing the Gate.

The Gate had opened inside a pyramid.

Which created one problem.

"How do we get in?"

Exactly.

Whether because this wasn't a tourist-developed site or someone had intentionally sealed it, there was no visible way into the pyramid.

Murakami declared cheerfully.

"We smash our way in. Between the Gate going berserk and wiping out a country, a little damage to a cultural heritage site is the more pleasant option."

No objections.

True to his word, Murakami smashed through the stone wall, forcing a door open so we could enter.

I recalled that visiting a pyramid had once been on my bucket list.

Well, technically I'd checked it off. Just not in a way that brought any joy.

On the way to the Gate, Wang Sheng asked.

"Professor, what's the strategy?"

"We'll see once we're inside."

"Then... the vanguard?"

The mood froze at the word "vanguard."

As always, designating the vanguard in a dungeon raid was a matter of great importance.

The veteran Murakami offered his opinion first.

"We're from different guilds, so loading it all on one party is bad form. We rotate daily. Thoughts?"

"...Fine."

Everyone agreed in principle, but their expressions asked why this man was being reasonable.

Coming from someone dripping with superiority complex, they'd fully expected him to dump it on the weakest party. Murakami snorted.

"If I want to clear this dungeon safely with brats like you, I need at least this much efficiency. If someone half-asses the vanguard job, the whole expedition's sunk."

So the old curmudgeon was the type who griped but got the job done?

Better person than I thought.

"If we're setting the order... hmm......"

The party leaders' mental abacuses clattered furiously.

Day one first.

Obviously, the start of the dungeon would have only weaker monsters, making vanguard duty easiest.

That much made first look like the best slot.

The problem was that nothing guaranteed the raid would wrap up neatly on day four.

If it ended on day three, the fourth slot got a free pass—no vanguard duty at all.

But if the raid stretched to day five, the first slot had to go again, including the hardest stretch. A death sentence.

Baekryeon proposed.

"I'll count to three and everyone calls out the number they want. How about it?"

"Fine."

Wang Sheng agreed.

Murakami and Do Yeonha also nodded.

"Three, two... one."

When Baekryeon counted down, the leaders' voices overlapped.

"First!"

"Fourth."

Wang Sheng called first.

Everyone else called fourth.

"Huh?"

Wang Sheng stared at the party leaders with an expression that said he didn't understand why they'd made that choice.

Before long, his face filled with a mix of emotion and guilt.

"Huh? Wh-what? You guys... you're unexpectedly decent people? Volunteering for the hardest fourth slot... but here I am... gah!"

Zhuge Soyon smacked the back of Wang Sheng's head, cutting short his one-man show.

Of course, an S-rank Hero wouldn't actually take damage. If anything, the hand that struck him hurt more—Zhuge Soyon was cradling her own hand.

"Ow, god, what is this rock head! You absolute moron! Is that brain of yours decorative?!"

"Huh? What?"

"The expedition ending on day four makes fourth the easiest! If it ends on day three, fourth is a complete free pass. If it goes to day five, we're the ones doing another round!"

"Wh-what? W-wait!"

By the time Wang Sheng grasped the situation, the ship had sailed.

The other three parties had already finished preparing to draw lots.

Baekryeon had somehow produced lots and was holding them out to Murakami and Do Yeonha.

"Draw, then check the number inside."

The results were decided cleanly, free of any skill interference.

First slot: Wang Sheng's Cheongseong Guild.

Second: Murakami's Katanaz Guild.

Third: Do Yeonha's Geumok Guild.

Fourth day: Baekryeon's Yeonho Guild.

The losers eyed Baekryeon—who'd prepared the lots—with suspicion, but they knew better than anyone that she hadn't cheated.

Murakami in particular couldn't protest—failing to catch any rigging, if there had been any, meant he'd lost to Baekryeon regardless.

Baekryeon spoke cheerfully.

"Right, now that the order's set, let's send in the vanguard......"

"Hold on."

When I intervened, all eyes converged on me.

The lot-drawing had been entertaining enough to just watch, but right now I had a better option than sending a vanguard.

"There's no need to send a vanguard."

Everyone looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

"No need? Why?"

"I can fill the vanguard's role myself."

"Ooh! Then please!"

Wang Sheng, who'd been wearing a death mask, brightened instantly. The other leaders, however, did not.

Murakami, Baekryeon, and Do Yeonha exchanged uneasy looks.

The vanguard was a role everyone hated, but it was critically important to dungeon raids.

Nobody wanted faulty intel derailing the strategy.

"Er... you don't mean helping Cheongseong—you mean by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, can you really manage that? I've never heard of anyone soloing the vanguard in an S+-rank dungeon."

"Then today will be a first."

For now, their expressions leaned more toward doubt than trust—but soon enough, those faces would be full of astonishment.

The paper I'd just completed—Monster Taming.

The time had come to demonstrate the true potential of this new technique that the world didn't yet know how to use.