NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26.1
Let’s Report the End of the Stampede!
More than an hour had passed since the start of the stampede.
There were hardly any monsters coming out of the dungeon now.
And yet…
“He still hasn’t returned…”
Haruki had yet to reappear from the dungeon.
Karen had assumed that he would return when the stampede started.
And yet, he hadn’t. It was too late.
“I’m sorry.”
Karen said to the elderly man whose wounds she had been treating.
He was resting and also watching the dungeon.
It seemed like he intended to go inside soon.
“Is there a problem?”
“Yes. Um…actually, one of my team members who is an Adventurer went inside…and he hasn’t returned. His name is Karaboshi.”
“…Who?”
He tilted his head in puzzlement.
No! No! No! She had to hold back the impulse to shout.
It was because he was like air.
It wasn’t this soldier’s fault.
“He is the lord of this house and an Adventurer.”
“…Ah, I think I remember somebody like that?”
Apparently, he still wasn’t quite sure about it yet.
Poor thing.
Karen was feeling overwhelming pity towards Haruki right now.
“Could I go inside in order to see what happened?”
“There may still be monsters wandering around.”
“I’ll run away if there is. So it’s okay.”
“…Well, you’re an Adventurer too, aren’t you? But all of us are going in after we finish resting. Can’t you wait?”
She had waited for his return long enough.
She could wait no longer.
Perhaps he had now seen her resolve.
The old man looked at her soberly and shook his head.
“Very well. It might not have ended yet. So don’t push yourself too hard, even if you are an Adventurer.”
“I know. Thank you.”
＊
[Hunt] Stampede Strategy Headquarters(165th monster)
773 Name: Nameless Japanese Defense Force
This is Oita.
Three dungeon stampedes have ended.
774 Name: Nameless Japanese Defense Force
This is Akita. It’s finished here as well.
It was just as the WIKI information said. Killing the boss will end the stampede.
The monsters scattered as soon as the boss went down.
775 Name: Nameless Japanese Defense Force
Are you serious!
We’ll try that over here.
776 Name: Nameless Japanese Defense Force
>>775 Be careful.
I don’t know if it’s the dungeon or if it’s random.
But the boss levels are all different. Charging in without thinking will result in your death.
BTW, bosses are rare breeds.
777 Name: Nameless Japanese Defense Force
>>776 Understood.
But how do we crush them?
Stampedes are basically monster parades, right?
So you have to get through the monster parade to get to the boss? Lol
778 Name: Nameless Japanese Defense Force
>>777 Our place had a shortcut we were able to use.
It’s probably impossible to get to the boss without using a different path.
The only ones who could do it are those weirdos, Masatsugu or Bacon.
779 Name: Masatsugu★
>>778 Who’re you calling a weirdo?
780 Name: Nameless Japanese Defense Force
Here he is!!
How’s the situation?
781 Name: Masatsugu★
Sapporo is finished.
Everyone is fine.
Does anyone know what is happening in Shinjuku?
I can’t get in contact with Bacon.
782 Name: Nameless Japanese Defense Force
This is Saitama.
Should I head over there to check?
783 Name: Masatsugu★
No, it could be dangerous to go without understanding the situation.
In any case, try to find someone who can contact them.
And prepare to return to Tokyo, just in case.
784 Name: Nameless Japanese Defense Force
Understood.
I’ll contact you if we find anything.
785 Name: Nameless Japanese Defense Force
- Leave it to us.
786 Name: Masatsugu★
To Bacon,
It can be here or a blog.
Just leave some sort of trail.
I’ll wait until tomorrow morning.
＊
Haruki awoke with the feeling of weight on his stomach.
But when he tried to get up, he saw Karen there. She had her ear on his chest and her face was bright red.
“Morning?”
“I couldn’t find you for so long. I thought you had been eaten.”
“…Oh. Sorry.”
Haruki was currently inside of the dungeon.
He had told her that he would get out when he could.
She had probably come to look for him, since he was taking too long.
It couldn’t be helped. He had not been able to escape.
However, it seemed like a bad idea to say that now.
He felt a vicious presence that would send him back into unconsciousness if he made such an excuse.
…Huh? Has Karen always been this scary?
“Please explain to me what happened.”
No, he could see an Ashura statue behind her now!
Haruki sat upright and explained in detail what had happened up until now.
While he sweated…
“…Can I ask you one thing?”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Karaboshi, you said that you took a pot with you that hard potatoes come out of when you went to face the monster parade. But why did you think that would be enough to defeat the monsters?”
“…”
When asked this question, he felt as if all of the blood in his body had frozen.
Why had he thought that throwing some hard rocks at the monsters would be enough to defeat them?
And he had only raised Throwing by 1 point.
The centipedes…could be killed by just stepping on them. So that was understandable.
However, the black raccoons attacked in groups that were difficult to deal with.
And the silver wolves were just as strong if not stronger.