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Tl: Sam

…

“A monster appeared!”
“Surround and strike it! Stay calm and we’ll be fine!”

　Advancing through a dungeon naturally meant encountering monsters.
　Since Hoshino, Yuki-san, and I were walking at the very rear, the ones fighting them were inevitably the guild explorers marching up front.

　The famous major guild, “Gold Leo.”
　The mid-tier guild, “Obsidian Bear.”
　And the up-and-coming guild riding momentum, “Iron Stag.”

　The three guilds each formed teams of about ten people to handle the monsters.
　Since this was still the upper level, the monsters that appeared weren’t very strong. Neither Yuki-san nor I stepped in, simply watching over them.

“How does it look, Tanaka-chan? Their fighting, I mean.”

　As I watched the explorers fight, Yuki-san spoke to me.
　Even if you ask me how it looks… How should I answer? Well, giving my honest impressions as I see it should be fine.

“Aren’t they doing well? I think every guild has good coordination. However…”

　I looked at the guild fighting the pure-white furred wolves, “Snow Fangs.”

“The members from Iron Stag seem a bit prone to acting on their own. Their fundamentals are good, though.”
“Indeed. They all have talent, but they’re still young. That’s part of their charm, too, though.”

　Each individual’s movements were good, but their teamwork looked disjointed.
　While they tried to fulfill their respective roles, everyone was trying to stand out, which kept their coordination from connecting smoothly. Their desire to produce results was running ahead of them, causing their efforts to spin their wheels.

　Back in the day, I also spun my wheels trying to get acknowledged by my master quickly, so I understood how they felt.

“Should we warn them before they make a critical mistake?”
“Hmm, I’d love to do that, but it would probably have the opposite effect. Let’s just make sure we can back them up the moment anything happens.”
“Understood.”

　Yuki-san was probably right.
　The members of the Iron Stag Guild didn’t look like the type to listen to advice. Rather than needlessly souring relations, it seemed better to just watch over them.

“Ah, Tanaka-san! The path is opening up!”

　Looking where Hoshino pointed, the path indeed opened up into a massive space.
　I could feel a stronger magic essence from that space than before. Apparently, we were entering the middle level from here.

“Whoa… What an incredible place.”

　As the path opened, before us lay an enormous snowfield.
　A silvery world stretched across the entire area, with clusters of trees growing a short distance ahead.

　There was likely a path leading to the lower level somewhere, but today’s exploration was only planned up to the middle level. The plan was to explore around here and then head back for the day.

「This dungeon is huge」
「An ice/snow dungeon of this scale is rare」
「If it’s just the middle level, the other explorers can handle it, so no turn for Shachiken」
「Can’t Tanakaaa go to the deep level by himself… lol」
「Our senses are numbed, but deep level streams are super rare after all」
「The viewers here have all had their brains melted by Tanaka, so it can’t be helped」

　We advanced through the snowfield.
　And as we set foot into the forested area where trees grew, the explorers walking at the lead came to a halt.

“…Something’s coming.”

　Then, in the very next instant, a barrage of arrows rained down on us from overhead.
　I gripped my sword, intending to slice them down, but seeing the person at the front of the line move, I held off on drawing my blade for a moment.

“Wall: Flame Rahat!”

　A wall of fire appeared before the explorers, burning every single raining arrow to ashes.
　The one who cast it was the young ace of the Iron Stag Guild, Shuji Mikami. Up until now, he had only fought with a sword, but apparently, he could use magic as well.

“Above! There’s something in the trees!”

　One of the explorers shouted.
　Looking up into the trees, several blue-skinned goblins were standing on the branches.

“Ice Goblins, huh.”

　Goblins adapted to cold climates, Ice Goblins.
　Aside from being able to use low-tier ice magic, they were ordinary goblins and not particularly strong opponents. However, they were dexterous and could use tools.
　The Ice Goblins in the trees held bows and arrows in their hands. They weren’t foes that would pose a challenge in a frontal clash, but having arrows rained down from above was quite a hassle.

“I’ll take them! Everyone, watch the surroundings…”
“Wait, Mikami! Something else is coming!”

　Thud-thud-thud! Heavy footsteps rapidly approached.
　The owner of those footsteps charged toward us at breakneck speed.

“OOOOOOHH!!”

　An orc with the same blue skin as the Ice Goblins, an Ice Orc.
　In its hands, the Ice Orc gripped an ice club carved from an icicle.

“Not just goblins, but an orc too! Don’t look down on me, though…!”

　Drawing his sword, Mikami slashed at the Ice Orc while dodging arrows.
　While his sword technique was solid, the strike was caught by the ice club. Ice Orcs were on the stronger side even among monsters that appeared in the middle level.
　In a one-on-one duel it might be one thing, but winning while minding the goblins’ arrows looked difficult.

“Tanaka-chan, did you notice?”
“Yeah… We’re surrounded.”

　A massive number of monsters had appeared, encircling us.
　Not just goblins and orcs. There were many other ice and snow type monsters as well.

　Having this many monsters appear in the middle level was exceedingly rare.
　It seemed the bad premonition Yuki-san had felt had hit the mark after all.

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