Manuke FPS

“It’s Schwarz, you needed me?”

After shooting practice, I returned to camp. When I was having a late lunch, a guild staffer told me that Varold and Keith were looking for me. I finished my food in a hurry and went to headquarters. Aside from them, there were a large number of Adventurers and guild staff inside the tent.

“You finally come, Schwarz. Seemed like you weren’t in the camp. Where’d you go?”

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I went out to… do some practice.”

“Heh, I’ve heard about your mapping. Such an admirable attitude you have.”

The one who spoke was an adventurer standing by Varold’s side. He was large with short brown hair and wore plate armor. He seemed to be in his thirties, and among the adventurers in the tent, he was the burliest with an energetic aura.

“You are?”

“I’m Linel, an A-Ranked Adventurer of Rafflesia.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Schwarz, D-Ranked adventurer.”

An A-rank… Mitche and Frau were B-Rank, but there were even higher ranked adventurers in the camp? And Rafflesia… It was probably a clan name. I only knew of two Rafflesia. One was a plant in Southeast Asia with big red flowers that smelled like rotten flesh, and the other was a white flower used as an ingredient in some soup I had eaten when in China for a tournament. It was said to be dragon fruit flower or something. I was sure it was written as Night-Blooming Cereus, but called Rafflesia.

“Will you also join the attack party, mapper?”

This guy…

“Yes. The plan is for me and some Sasanqua members to form a full party.”

“Those she-foxes huh! Ain’t that nice mapper, you’re the only guy allowed in the party, you-“

“Linel, let’s end our business here. Schwarz, we called you here about the attack tomorrow. The Sasanqua members won’t be able to join us until tomorrow, and we’re not sure if they’ll come in the morning or afternoon.”

Linel’s snide talk was stopped by Keith, but I couldn’t stomach the guy. As if he still hadn’t said enough, Linel clicked his tongue while moving away from the desk.

Keith and Varold were looking for me to discuss tomorrow’s schedule. I would have to wait for the Sasanqua members, but tomorrow morning, two other parties would go into the labyrinth ahead of our team. One was the Rafflesia members’ party and the other was a party of General Guild Staff.

The Guild party would stop at the Spring and set up a base there. The Spring wasn’t very spacious, but we still didn’t know the true extent of this labyrinth and having a place to recover our strength was necessary. The Guild would be in charge of this. Once the base was complete, they would return to camp, gather supplies and go back to the spring.

The Rafflesia party would go past the Spring, explore deeper into the labyrinth as well as make another map. They would take a day of rest at the camp every 3 days during the exploration. Our attack party would start the day after tomorrow and would follow the same schedule as Rafflesia’s party. At the same time, a group of knights that formed up to conquer the labyrinth would come from Barga. They’d also follow the same schedule to ensure there would always be one attack party in the labyrinth.

While we were discussing these things, Linel was talking to the other members of Rafflesia. Their lineup was like this: Linel as the Vanguard and the two female mages as rear guards. Of the remaining three members, two were in light equipments and the third was a guy who was almost 2 meters tall in plate armor. He looked even bulkier than Linel. All the Rafflesia members were human.

One of the guys in light armor approached us when he noticed our discussion had finished.

“You must be Schwarz. Do you have a minute? I’m an A-ranked Adventurer of Rafflesia, Will. I’m the one in charge of mapping in our party. I’ve seen your map.”

He extended his hand to me.

Does this world also have handshakes? Well, probably…

I clasped my hand with his. We agreed on a mutual provision of the map, shared some information about cartography and confirmed a non-interference agreement with each other.

(T/N: They acknowledged and respected the fact that both of them would draw the map of the Labyrinth.)

Unlike Linel, this young man Will had good manners and seemed quite smart. His short brown hair was well cared for and had a shine that didn’t suit an adventurer at all.

So such an adventurer also existed… But deep down he probably was like Linel. He kept talking as if Linel’s lack of manners earlier was nothing. Seemed like it was a normal thing for these fellows.

“Will, please feel free to use the Spring to draw your map. I will clean up a small room in front of it to use.”

“Is it alright?”

“No problem at all. I can’t concentrate when being watched, so I’ll prepare some quiet place to work. Varold. Keith. Excuse me, but is it alright if I bring some tools from my mapping tent into the Labyrinth?”

“Ah, Remi especially prepared them for you, so use them however you want.”

“Thank you. Then please excuse me.”

◆◆◇◆◆◇◆◆

The Rafflesia and Guild parties headed to the labyrinth the next morning. I was to leave the day after, and I also had some free time until the Sasanqua members arrived. I used that time to sweep the area around the labyrinth in place of the Rafflesia team, crushing the monsters being called in by the labyrinth.

I also took this chance to get some practical training with the Scar. How it felt maneuvering while carrying the P90 and how to switch magazines; whether or not a goblin could be killed with a single headshot; how the gun’s penetrating power is. I needed to verify those things to see if the rifle was a good choice or not.

In my original world, everyone in the hunting scene knew that intermediate rifles weren’t sufficient for large beasts, but 7.62×51 NATO rounds in VMB were surely more powerful than anything a real gun could fire.

How do I know this? Because goblin heads would burst open when I landed headshots. Human heads didn’t get blown clean off the necks when you shot them using a real firearm with the same caliber. I found its power reliable, but frightening… This couldn’t be used on people. That time in Barga when I had gotten into a scruff with a group of adventurers at the second-hand shop, I had shot them in the knees with my 5.7.

5.7s used the 5.7x28mm NATO rounds, which had decent penetrating power, so they went cleanly through the knees. If I had used the 7.62x51mm rounds, there was no doubt that not only would the knees have burst, but the whole leg would also have been blown off…

Not just this caliber, but I also had to confirm the power of my shotguns and sniper rifles as soon as possible. I had so many small-arms that I didn’t even remember the amount anymore. To choose the most suitable firearm, not only for this labyrinth but others I would conquer in the future, I needed to fully grasp the power of the VMB system.

With these thoughts, I hunted the monsters in the labyrinth’s vicinity. I didn’t take any of the raw monster materials though. I tried to skin a glass wolf, but my hands and the surroundings were covered in blood half-way in – I ended up vomiting. So I swore to take only the mana stones. I cleaned the labyrinth’s surroundings for the whole morning before returning to camp at noon for a break. There I found a group of female adventurers in the dining tent, two of whom I recognized.

“Ah! He’s back, nya!”

“Welcome back, Mitche, Frau.”

“We just arrived a little while ago. Let me introduce you to our Sasanqua members. Marinda, a heavy combatant; Ruu, a swordswoman; and Lapitilica Barga, a magician.”

“I’m Schwarz, a D-Ranked Adventurer. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Marinda, A-ranked adventurer of Sasanqua. Nice to meet you, Schwarz!”

It was rude to say, but it was difficult to think that Marinda was a woman. She was even taller than me – probably 190cm in height or so- with close-cropped red-hair and tanned skin. Maybe she was from the same town as Remi? She had well-defined features, but exceptionally big physique. Her arms were several times thicker than mine…

“Ruu, A-ranked adventurer from Sasanqua. Nice to meet you.”

Ruu, on the other hand, was slender, with long black hair pulled together to rest at her back. She felt like a Japanese black-eyed beauty… She had an intense gaze when she looked at me. She was a swordswoman, but the sword at her waist didn’t look to be Western style. There was a slight curve to it – so maybe a katana?

“I’m Lapitilica Barga, C-Ranked adventurer from Sasanqua. Please call me Lali. Nice to meet you, Schwarz.”

Lapitilicia was the youngest of the group. Everyone including myself being over 20, but she still looked to be in her teens, and not even 150cm tall. She had short blonde hair and wore a white priestly robe.

And her name was… Barga? She used full name so maybe she was from a noble family. Was the Barga in her name the same as the Fort City of Barga? So this girl was the daughter of a Lord.

“Lali is the third daughter of Barga’s lord, Duke Franklin Barga, nya. But she is training with Sasanqua so don’t care too much about that, nya.”

“I-Is that so… Nice to meet you.”

Mitche probably had sensed my astonishment and decided to mess with me. We discussed the exploration in the tent, confirmed each other’s skills, and the team’s lineup. When arrangements were completed, the sun had set completely.

We headed out to the Labyrinth the day after the Sasanqua members arrived. My role in the party was to scout. I would lead the way and keep an eye out for enemies as I walked through while reading the map displayed on my goggles. The others were checking the map the Guild staff had copied from mine to verify the accuracy.

“Schwarz’s map is amazing! This is the first time I’ve seen something like this! It doesn’t only show the shape, but also helps us grasp the distances!”

“Our cartographer should learn from him.”

Marinda and Ruu talked while reading the map. The current line up was 1-2-2-1 with me leading, Marinda and Ruu next, followed by Frau and Lali, and Mitche at the rear. I wasn’t sure if this line up was correct or normal, but it had been decided that I would take the lead. So the Sasanqua members naturally followed behind in their usual formation.

In order to accustom ourselves with fighting in the labyrinth, we fought with Marinda, Ruu, and Lali as the core until we reached the Spring of Purity. Marinda was a heavy combatant as well as the shield of the party. She used a short-handled double-edged ax and a large shield about 1m tall. The shield was a Scutum-styled shield, a large but slightly curved on the sides shield – popular during the Roman era. She used the shield to stop goblin attacks and knock them down, then finish them off with the ax.

Ruu’s sword definitely resembled a katana, but it wasn’t an actual katana. The guard was different and there was no hamon, but the sword’s shape was definitely like a Japanese katana, single-edged and narrow with a curve.

Ruu’s sword gave off a very strange feeling, as if the sword smith had intended to forge a katana but abandoned his work half way and consented with a katana-shaped sword. Regardless, Ruu’s swordsmanship was truly amazing. She seemed to favor killing opponents with one slash, cutting the goblin’s head with one sword stroke before giving a final stab to the heart; all of which flowed smoothly together.

As for Lali, she seemed to play the support role, providing support buffs to Marinda and Ruu. These buffs had a lot of effects from helping the target’s magic circulate more effectively, increasing physical strength, to forming magical barriers.

By the way, last night, we had a heated discussion about whether to include Lila’s title when talking or not. I had a habit of calling everyone I was acquainted with “-san”, and I had almost never called anyone by name only.

Basically, speaking courteously could be considered a part of my character, but Lali thought that I was calling her that way because she was a Lord’s daughter. She insisted that it was not necessary and that she was younger so there wasn’t a need to use any title.

In the end, we agreed with using “-san” to simplify things.

“The Spring of Purity is just past this small room.”

“We finally arrived, nya-“

We passed the room and entered the Spring. According to the Guild party, there would be necessities inside to set up a camp like tools, materials and food.

“So small.”

Ruu muttered. And she was right. The Spring was being used as a temporary base for both Rafflesia and our parties. The division was clear; Rafflesia took up half the space and the other half was for us. However, on our half, the spring swelled up and formed a small pond that took up about 1/4 of our intended space. A member from the Guild party was staying in the Spring as a caretaker, and he rushed over to us and started to explain. He talked a lot but the long story short was:

Rafflesia had disregarded the division decided by headquarters and forcibly divided the place on site themselves.

“They’re even more high-handed than expected.”

“Rafflesia is the oldest clan in the country, famous for being established by the Kurtmelga Royal Family. Even now, they’re still reigning on top of the other clans.”

Frau mentioned while bringing her bags over to our side. The schedule was to take a short break then start exploring.

“Just resting well is enough! Let’s rest and get ready for the exploration in the afternoon!”

“That’s right. The sooner we conquer this labyrinth the better. There’s tea, do you want some, Schwarz?”

Lali fetched water from the spring, moving like a small animal. The other members also seemed to have gotten over the division issue and began setting up camp. I wanted to unpack too, but…

I should just give up. The conditions I gave Remi couldn’t be kept after all…

The 3 conditions I had asked for when I took the job this time were: to not credit me as the cartographer; to set up a small research party only and to not disclose my mapping method and other skills. These 3 conditions were proposed so I could avoid being restricted in my activities later on, but how had things been in reality?

In the guise of idle chit-chat, I myself did tell the Sasanqua members about my abilities. Of course, I asked them not to tell anyone else. But the fact I was the Cartographer had already been known, not only to the Guild staff in camp but also to the top clan of this country. Joining the assault party was a good thing, but it would result in attracting too much attention.

So troublesome!

“Schwarz, you didn’t bring anything to set up camp, nya?”

Mitche, noticing that I had not taken off my meager equipment, asked.

“I did, but nothing for a proper camp, only some blankets and food. I’ll take them out when it’s time to sleep.”

After that, we drank the tea that Lali made and entrusted our equipment to the caretaker. We then resumed our exploration into the depth of the Spring. The planned exploration time was 3 hours including the return time. So we would walk for about 1.5 hours, then return to the camp. From this point on, all 6 of us would take part in battles. The map displayed on my goggles showed that the road ahead was no different from what we had walked so far – still full of corners and dead ends.

“At the crossing ahead, the left is a dead end with 3 goblins. The right is the correct route with 2 goblins.”

Hearing the amplified sounds in my ear pads and the light points on the map, I could more or less grasp all the enemy movements. Up until now, I hadn’t encountered any enemies that were not displayed on the map or picked up by my earpads. I didn’t think all enemies would be like this, but they surely had been easy to spot.

“Marinda, Schwarz – take care of the right. The rest, take the left.”

The arrangement was that I would report my scouting and Frau would give orders as the leader. Even though Frau was B-ranked while Miranda and Ruu were A-ranked, she held more seniority in Sasanqua. So, it was natural she’d be the leader.

I switched the P90 to full-auto and resumed walking while aiming down the sight. Marinda walked beside me, shield at the ready. We turned right at the T-shaped crossroad, continued a little and saw our goblins. They were goblin fighters, not normal ones. Goblin fighters were twice the size of normal goblins and carried big clubs. I remained in place while gliding the crosshairs to trace them and fired two consecutive rapid two-shots.

Marinda stiffened when I started my ranged attacks. Seeing the goblins falling down, she raised her shield in caution. In the end, the two goblin fighters dropped dead before they managed to do anything. With the right path cleared, I looked behind me and saw the other three goblins were also taken down. They also appeared to be goblin fighters.

“Schwarz, you’re amazing!”

Patting my shoulders heartily, Miranda praised. It hurt a little…

“Having Schwarz is fun, nya.” Mitche also said while collecting mana stones and bringing them over to Lali. She was in charge of safekeeping of the stones we got. When she received the mana stones of the two goblins I had killed, she said to me cheerfully with sparkling eyes: “You’ve worked hard!” This kid is so cute.

Thereafter, we continued on while avoiding dead ends. We went through a series of small rooms and large rooms, killing goblins along the way. In the depths of the Spring, there seemed to be almost no normal goblins. There were mainly just groups of Fighter Goblins along with others like Mages or Assassins in the mix.

I saw 10 light points moving around in some dead ends on the map. They were probably the Rafflesia party. Seemed like they met a dead end on the way back to camp. I didn’t want to meet them so I said nothing and led everyone down the right path, going deeper into the labyrinth.

“There’s a small room ahead with perhaps 3 goblins inside… I don’t remember hearing this kind of sound before. The footsteps are heavier than the fighter goblins.”

“Hobgoblins?”

“Probably. Hobgoblins are a little bigger than fighter goblins in size, but in strength, they’re not just a little stronger. We’re counting on you, Miranda.”

“Leave it to me! I’ll crush them properly!”

We moved closer to the small room. Even from the entrance, their shapes were unmistakable. Fighter goblins have the same green skin as normal goblins, but the ones we saw had reddish-brown skin. They were a head taller than the fighters and carried double-edged swords rather than clubs.

“They have bio-armors*! Schwarz, take the left! Miranda to the center! Mitche and Ruu to the right! Lali, support them!”

We moved with Frau’s instructions. I tracked the left hobgoblin with my crosshair and shot at his head. The hobgoblin managed to dodge two of my shots by tilting his head, but the third shot was impossible to dodge. The bullet went into his right eye, bursting it. With one eye lost, and blinded by rage, the hobgoblin let out a roar – charging at me. I fired 2 rapid shots, both went into his chest. The hobgoblin jerked backward with each shot, stumbled a bit then fell down, face up.

The light point on my goggles went out, and I didn’t hear the hobgoblin breathing. After confirming that he was dead, I glided my crosshair onto the other goblins that the team was fighting. But their battles were also coming to an end. Marinda cut her hobgoblin in half at the waist. Frau and Lali’s fireballs struck the last hobgoblin as Ruu killed it with a two-handed slash.

I changed magazines out of my firearm while thinking that even though the 5.7×28 rounds were not as effective as with the usual goblins, they were still good enough for these hobgoblins. Seemed like it would soon be time to use the SCAR. Everyone returned to their normal positions and we continued on our way.