Chapter 179 Rhapsody of Glory ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Note: Within the 10th floor and above, the respawn time for Monster Houses¹, Guardians, and Area Guardians is three hours.
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Tester Life: Day 67, Night. Test Dungeon, 4th Floor. Guild: Road to Glory.
Guild Master: Manda Seiji.
Our party hurried toward the 4th-floor Teleportation Array². We were moving to intercept Koyama’s pack of freeloaders in the 1st-floor transit room before they knew what hit them.
However, with only five minutes left until we reached the Array, I spotted our scouts sprinting back from that direction. Their faces were ashen.
”M-Manda!” one panted.
”Boss! We found them! We finally found those upstarts!”
”For real?” I felt my expression soften. Finally. Where had those parasites been hiding? But then I noticed their expressions. “Wait, why do you guys look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
”Sir, it’s… they’re with the Guard’s Apocalypse Kobold.”
”We ducked into a side-path to take a piss before heading back to the 1st floor,” the scout explained. “We heard voices from the back. We snuck a look, and there they were – three of Koyama’s cronies at a dead-end, tucked away with that psycho Kobold.”
”What? The Guard’s Kobold is with them? How does that even work?” I asked. Why would that monster be hanging out with a bunch of beggars? “Was the Guard there himself?”
”No, sir. Nowhere in sight.”
As I stood there bewildered, Murakami checked the immediate area, but the Guard was truly absent. Did they catch wind of our ambush and rent a bodyguard? No – if they had that kind of muscle, they’d be out in the open, and the rest of the pack would be with them.
To avoid drawing a crowd, we ducked into a nearby side-alley. I wiped out an attacking Kobold with a clean Wind Cutter and huddled with the scouts to talk strategy.
”Okay, first off, the Guard’s familiar being with those losers isn’t a play against us,” I reasoned.
”Agreed,” Murakami said. “If it were, they’d have been flaunting that beast all day during their hunt.”
Mimura turned to the scout. “That side-hole near the Array… you’re talking about that dead-end, right? And you only saw three of Koyama’s people? Where was Koyama?”
”He wasn’t there,” the scout replied.
”And no Guard in sight…” Murakami rubbed his chin. “So that hole is a hand-off point? It’s about the time the Guard usually wraps up his hunt. Maybe he dropped the familiar off on his way out for Koyama’s group to pick up?”
”But why?” Murakami asked. “Why lend them that kind of firepower?”
”Who knows? But you don’t lend out a nuke like that without a damn good reason,” I said.
Fukuda, one of Mimura’s guys, suddenly looked struck by an idea. “Wait… what if he leaked the location of the 4th-floor Guardian to them? And he lent them the familiar to make sure they could actually clear it?”
”Get real,” someone scoffed. “I heard from three different sources they haven’t even joined Nightmare yet. Why would he give up top-tier intel to outsiders?”
”I know it sounds crazy,” Fukuda doubled down. “But think about the timing. Why else would they be meeting a familiar at this hour?”
”Hmm. It’s hard to imagine Nightmare giving away the farm before a contract is signed,” I admitted. “But Fukuda might be onto something. It’s not a zero-percent chance. New plan: you guys stay here. Eyes on the familiar and the beggars. We’re going to round up the rest of the guild and wait on the 3rd floor. If they move, you report it instantly. If Fukuda is right, these idiots are about to lead us straight to the Guardian’s front door.”
”Are you serious!?”
”Hell yeah! Leave it to us, Boss! We’ll be ghosts!”
”Man, I’m actually getting hyped for this.”
”Do it. We’ll be waiting,” I said, and we headed toward the 4th-floor Array.
On the way, I stole a glance into that side-path. Sure enough, three of Koyama’s pets were there, standing next to that monstrosity of a Kobold. They were fidgeting, looking over their shoulders – classic behavior for someone waiting on a delivery.
Are they really going for the kill? If they clear the 4th-floor Guardian, the path to the 5th – and the Area Guardian – is wide open. They’d be paving our way to the 6th floor while giving us the perfect chance to jump them. Two birds, one stone.
I kept my pulse steady, issued the orders to mobilize, and headed for the 3rd floor.
* * *
”Boss! Koyama just stepped off the Teleportation Array! He hooked up with the Apocalypse Kobold and they’re hauling ass deeper into the dungeon!”
We’d barely finished gathering the troops near the 3rd-floor Array when the scout came bursting through the light.
”That settles it,” I said. “They’re going for the Guardian. I want one party on their tail. You, take another party and stake out the main thoroughfare. I want to know where the rest of those parasites are.”
”You got it! Oh man, I can’t believe we’re actually gonna find the Guardian room!” The scout grabbed a few guys and vanished back into the Teleportation Array.
”Damn, Fukuda, I didn’t think you had it in you to be right for once,” Mimura laughed.
”Tell me about it. Best mistake I ever made.”
”Still,” Murakami muttered, “I can’t believe he’d just hand over Guardian intel. Doesn’t he worry about it leaking?”
”Maybe it’s the new girl?” someone piped up. “The Guard just picked up that silver-haired foreign slave, right? What was her name… Leticia?”
”Yeah, that loli-chest chick.”
”Exactly. She’s in the same animation track as Senior Koyama and the others. Maybe she begged the Guard to throw them a bone?”
”Could be. Didn’t know the Guard was into the ‘little sister’ type, though. Isn’t she, like, barely thirteen?”
”Thirteen, yeah. And you know how it goes – you buy a slave, you’re going to be ‘servicing’ her until you lose your mind. It’s a straight-up crime. Once we get back to the real world, I’m blasting this all over the internet.”
”Gyahaha! I love it! Let’s pin the Kickboxing Club murders on him too while we’re at it. Get a little payback for all the times he’s pushed us around.”
”I’m posting his real name,” another guy chimed in. “Even if the cops don’t get him, he’ll never be able to show his face in Japan again.”
I let them talk. I’d already planned for all of that. Between my old man’s connections and Horita’s parents’ influence, I’m going to make sure that bastard rots in a cage. We don’t have proof for the killings, but the s*xual misconduct? That’ll stick. Especially since she’s not the only minor he’s laid hands on.
With this much dirt, even Horita’s parents – who told me to back off – will have to move. He crossed me. Once we’re top-side, I’m going to dismantle his entire life.
The Teleportation Array flashed again. The scouts were back with more. Apparently, shortly after Koyama moved, the rest of the Upstart Alliance started flooding the 4th floor. They’d been camping on the 2nd floor since noon, waiting for the floor to clear out so they could move in secret.
Clever. They’d been planning this all day. They stayed hidden specifically to dodge us and the other students. But now, Koyama’s party was the vanguard. We’d know the Guardian’s coordinates any minute now.
Two hours later, the word came in. Koyama’s crew had breached a Monster House in the far reaches of the 4th-floor main passage – the one on the left at the fork. They ignored every other room and went straight for that one.
”So the Monster House was the gateway all along.”
I’d had my suspicions, but after hearing the Kendo Club got nothing but three shitty wooden chests for their trouble, I’d backed off. I figured those guys were just masochists for trying it twice. Turns out, it was a decoy. There was a ‘hit’ room after all.
”Wait, isn’t that the room with the massive Kobold swarm?” Murakami asked.
”Yeah,” Mimura spat. “That’s why everyone stayed clear. We joked about it being the one, but nobody was suicidal enough to try.”
”I mean, if you fight that many Kobolds and only get a wooden chest, you’d never live it down,” a henchman added.
”Tch. So the Guard cleared it solo just to find the right one?”
”The guy’s a total freak.”
”Social execution is the only way to handle a monster like that.”
I had to agree. The Guard was insane. He must have ground through every Monster House on the floor until he hit paydirt, regardless of the rewards. It’s the behavior of a lunatic.
The Array glowed again. The main passage scouts were back.
”We were watching from a distance. Koyama’s party and that Apocalypse Kobold just came running back from the direction of the 4th-floor Array. They’re moving fast.”
”That’s the confirmation we needed,” I said.
That Monster House is definitely the link. Koyama and his pets used the familiar to cheese the 4th-floor Guardian, cleared the 5th-floor Area Guardian right after, and looped back through the 6th-floor Array. The 5th floor is a one-way trip, so that’s the only way back.
But damn, they’re fast. Less than two hours to clear two Guardians? Even with a carry, they’re getting stronger. I need to put them down now before they become a real problem.
”So, Boss? We jumping them in the Monster House next time?”
”No. I’m not an idiot. I’m not taking that kind of risk.”
”Wait, so we’re just calling it a day?” Mimura asked, disappointed. “We just take the intel and go home?”
”I mean, that Kobold is a problem,” Murakami muttered. “We can just catch them on the 6th floor some other day when they don’t have the Guard’s dog with them.”
”Tch. Lucky bastards. If it weren’t for that dog, I’d gut them right here.”
”I said I wasn’t taking risks,” I interrupted. “I didn’t say the ambush was off.”
”You mean we’re still going!?” Murakami’s eyes lit up.
”Of course. We wait for the Apocalypse Kobold to take the next group into the Guardian room. While it’s busy in there, we hit the ones left behind. There’ll be less than twenty of them, and they’ll be fried from clearing the Monster House. It’ll be a slaughter.”
I just needed one more check, but it was obvious: they were cycling groups through. We’d wait for the two-hour window when the familiar was occupied. Koyama’s party was already done, but they’d stay behind to help the others clear the room. They’d be the perfect first targets.
”God, Boss, you’re a genius!”
”Exactly. Why fight the monster when you can just wait for it to leave?”
”Our beef is with Koyama anyway. If the others scatter, who cares?”
”We’ll just round up the stragglers after we’re done making an example out of Koyama.”
”I don’t even care about Koyama that much,” Mimura admitted, “but if the boss says jump, I’m in.”
”I care,” Murakami growled. “We gave those pricks Magic Stones to keep them alive, and this is how they pay us back? By trying to sneak ahead? Ungrateful shits.”
The rest of the guild was in. They all felt it – the insult of being outplayed by the ‘beggars’ they’d taken pity on. It was time for a reality check.
”Alright. We move to the fork in the main passage. We’ll hide in the right-hand tunnel and wait. Once we see that familiar pass by with the next group, it’s showtime. We’ll hit them when they’re at their weakest, late in the night.”
It was a long haul to the depths of the dungeon. I didn’t feel like running, so we started the trek early.
”Man, Boss, this is perfect! I’m going to break that beggar Koyama. I’m going to turn him into a slave!”
”Seiji,” Murakami said, his voice cold. “The plan is still the same for Koyama, right? One hand, one ear, and a chunk of his face? And the rest of them lose a hand?”
”Yeah. Nightmare won’t touch them if they’re crippled. Once they’re starving and desperate, maybe we’ll let them join our guild. We can use them as pack mules, just like the familiars. Or maybe they can be our front-line meat walls for the next Guardian fight.”
Without a hand, their combat ability would be trash. Nightmare would drop them like a bad habit. They’d be ruined.
And then, I’d be the one to ‘save’ them. I’d force them into the guild and work them until they broke. It’s exactly what they deserve.
”Hahaha! A meat wall! I love it!”
”Hey, we’ll be right there with them. If they die protecting us, that’s just life, right?”
”They spent a month hiding in holes and eating off our charity,” I said, the scar on my cheek beginning to throb. “Then they think they can turn around and spit in our faces? This is the price.”
”Yeah,” Murakami hissed, touching his hand. “My thumb still hurts where it used to be.”
”My ear too,” another added.
”Those bastards trashed my uniform… I’m covered in Kobold scars because of them.”
The grievances started pouring out. My own face felt hot. I remembered the DP I had to beg from the teachers just to buy Potions after our last run-in.
They’re going to pay that debt back in blood and labor. I’ll make them pay every cent back as my slaves.
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Summary:
Manda Seiji’s guild discovers that Koyama’s ‘beggar army’ is being secretly assisted by the Guard’s powerful Kobold familiar to clear floor Guardians. Seiji formulates a plan to exploit the familiar’s absence during battle to ambush and cripple Koyama’s group. The chapter ends with the guild moving into position, fueled by petty grudges and a desire to enslave their former peers.
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Trivia:
- The 3-hour respawn rule for bosses on floors 1-9.
- Koyama and Leticia are in the same animation track at school.
- The 5th floor is a one-way path, requiring a loop back from the 6th floor.
- Seiji is personally in debt (DP) due to his previous defeat.
- Murakami’s injuries (thumb/ear) were inflicted by the Guard, not Koyama, but he directs his hate toward Koyama anyway
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Character Insight:
Seiji exhibits sociopathic tendencies, viewing other students either as ‘parasites’ to be purged or ‘meat walls’ to be used. His motivation is purely ego-driven, seeking to ‘socially execute’ his rivals through doxing and physical mutilation.
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Behind the Scenes:
The ‘End-of-the-Century’ (Sekimatsu) tag on the Kobold is a recurring trope in Japanese media referring to post-apocalyptic punk aesthetics similar to Fist of the North Star.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Seiji – Former professional soccer striker who played for overseas clubs a decade ago. Divorced with children. Currently working as a teacher/coach in the dungeon. 32 years old.
• Koyama – Koyama Sanjuro. A 3rd‑year Animation Department student and the underdogs’ de facto frontliner, Sanjuro masks his fear with grand speeches and humor, leading his group through dungeon nights with reckless courage and nerdy flair.
• Murakami – A core member of Manda/Seiji (Soccer Coach)’s guild. He is missing a thumb and an ear from a previous incident with the Guard. He seeks violent revenge.
• Mimura – Seiji’s accomplice, proposes the ‘monster train’ strategy.
• Fukuda – A subordinate of Mimura (Seiji (soccer coach)’s accomplice) who correctly deduces the connection between the Guard and Koyama’s group.
• Leticia – French exchange student, animation major 1st year, silver hair, small stature, slim, large breasts, 13 years old.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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