Chapter 22, It Was The Correct Decision… Right?

Translator: Lizz

 

On Saturday, they went on their first exploration as a joint party.

 

For the time being, their goal was to understand each other’s abilities, gain battle experience, and raise their strength. But there was one problem.

 

Because Masato was Level 2, he defeated everything alone before the others even acted. His presence made teamwork meaningless and held back the growth of the other members. Both Seiji and Masato reached the same conclusion.

 

The solution was simple. Masato’s role would be only a scout—he would find the monsters, but he would not join the fights.

 

The ones who fought were Seiji, Reika, Hinata, and Rika.

 

Seiji fought from the rear with a composite bow. Reika used a naginata with a faint blue blade, while Hinata wielded a rapier tinged faintly red. They used heatstones and coldstones from Taiwan dungeons, which were stronger and sharper than dungeon iron. They were sharp enough to slice through ordinary iron plates like butter. Their weapons were of a higher grade than those of Masato and Rika.

 

Their armor was also superior. Seiji wore a beautiful green outfit woven from threads dropped by arachne, tougher than iron. Reika and Hinata wore matching armor and boots made from the hides dropped by lizardmen.

 

Masato could not even guess how many tens of millions of yen they had spent on equipment. The difference in weapon quality was so great that the gear he had just bought and felt proud of looked weak in comparison.

 

Because of differences in financial power, their belongings varied greatly. Masato naturally felt envy. Yet not everything was inferior. On the contrary, he reminded himself that combat experience, ability, and above all the skill he had recently acquired—things money could not buy—meant he had not lost overall. That thought lifted his spirits.

 

◆◆◆

 

—Tokyo Dungeon, 3rd floor.

 

It was the same as when he first visited it: a wide grassland, clear visibility, and almost no places to hide.

 

Masato walked about ten meters ahead of the others, checking for traces of orcs. His Detection skill was sealed. He could have used it, but he thought it wasn’t necessary to rely on it.

 

He had no intention of revealing Skill Sublimation. As for his other skills, while he didn’t go out of his way to announce them, he also didn’t plan to hide them during exploration.

 

If he held back because of others watching, then learning them would be meaningless, and he wouldn’t be able to master them.

 

He advanced carefully, examining faint sounds and footprints. Behind him, he heard the cheerful voices of the girls. They seemed to keep at least a minimum level of caution, as all four checked their surroundings.

 

But that didn’t last long. With such clear visibility and no threat of long-range attacks, their guard naturally dropped. Once Seiji joined the conversation, it became even livelier, turning into the atmosphere of a picnic.

 

‘It felt like I was the only one working…’

 

It was natural that Masato would want to complain inwardly. Even though they were in a joint party, psychologically the situation was no different from being solo. In fact, it was worse, because nearby was a group happily chatting.

 

They probably wouldn’t be ambushed by orcs, but there was still the danger of being attacked before they were ready if discovery came too late. Masato considered warning them, but as long as Seiji was at the center of the conversation, it would happen again, so he gave up.

 

The other members weren’t reliable. To ensure everyone’s safety, he reluctantly decided to use his Detection skill.

 

A radar map appeared in Masato’s mind. The terrain within a one‑kilometer radius was displayed, showing differences in elevation and obstacles. Living creatures were marked: blue for those Masato recognized as allies, red for monsters. Their size or species wasn’t shown.

 

At the very edge of the range, two red markers floated ahead.

 

He hesitated for only a moment about whether to warn the others. He couldn’t stand the current situation, and more importantly, with monsters nearby, he wanted them to shift their focus quickly.

 

“There are orcs ahead. Probably two of them.”

 

Masato’s voice finally stopped the chatter.

 

“Can you pinpoint their location…?”

 

Seiji asked on behalf of the group.

 

Masato nodded silently. The picnic mood vanished, and the party switched to battle readiness as they moved forward.

 

No one spoke anymore. Their grips tightened on their weapons. Masato drew two knives from their sheaths, ready to support at any time.

 

In less than a minute, the monsters came into view. As expected, there were two orcs. They carried no weapons and didn’t look like irregular variants. They had noticed Masato’s group but seemed careless, only walking slowly.

 

If they fought as usual, they could handle them easily.

 

“You’re letting us take this one, right?”

 

“I know. I’ll keep watch around us, so the four of you fight.”

 

“Yes, they’re good practice targets. Reika, Hinata, take the orc on the right. Rika, the one on the left is yours.”

 

During exploration, they had agreed to call each other by name without honorifics. The twins leapt forward at the same time. Rika glanced at Masato.

 

“If it gets dangerous, I’ll help. Don’t worry.”

 

“Yes!!”

 

That single line made Rika smile, and she dashed ahead.

 

Meanwhile, Seiji readied his bow, pulled the string tight, and released. The arrow passed the three as they ran and struck the left orc in the eye.

 

“Gwooo!!”

 

The orc clutched its face in agony and crouched down. Without hesitation, Rika calmly brought her sword down on its skull. After a twitch, it died.

 

Confirming the kill, Rika looked to the side.

 

Covered in cuts, the other orc was vanishing as Reika’s naginata pierced its throat.

 

Both corpses disappeared, leaving only magic stones behind.

 

“Nee-chan, you did it!”

 

Hinata hugged her sister Reika. She spun around like a top before slowly landing on the ground.

 

“Don’t get too carried away.”

 

“But come on! This time we took it down perfectly!”

 

“Well… yeah.”

 

Reika answered with a faint smile at her lips. Outwardly she kept her composure, but inside she clearly agreed.

 

Next, Hinata ran over to Rika to praise her effort. Rika had only slashed the already‑fallen orc, so she felt awkward at the exaggerated praise. Still, Hinata’s genuine smile and words drew out her own smile in return.

 

“Is anyone hurt?”

 

At that moment, Seiji walked up, clapping his hands.

 

“Can’t you tell just by looking!? I’m fine!”

 

“We managed to take down one orc without trouble.”

 

“Thanks to the bow, it was easy.”

 

Each gave their own reply, and they commended the results of the hunt. In an instant, the cheerful atmosphere returned.

 

“Good thing there aren’t any other enemies around…”

 

Masato, still using his Detection skill to keep watch, muttered in a voice that faded away almost instantly.