Chapter 181 Rhapsody of Glory ④
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
…Tester Life, Day 67, Night. 4th Floor. Yusa Hayato, Soccer Club Party Leader (Guild: White Knight¹)…
Late that night, I arrived at the fourth floor via the teleportation room. The area was deserted. I scanned the shadows.
”…They aren’t here,” I muttered.
The figures of the Glory crowd were nowhere to be seen. Seko, my vice-captain and sub-leader, stepped up beside me.
”They’re probably already at the Guardian room,” Seko said.
”Could be. If we move, we might still catch them,” I replied.
I waved the group forward, and we sprinted down the main thoroughfare. We hadn’t been running for more than a few minutes when I caught a glimpse of a large group up ahead, moving at a brisk pace.
”Whoops, stop! Get down!” I hissed.
We scrambled into a nearby side passage. It was clear of Kobolds – the group ahead must have wiped them out already.
”That’s Manda and Mimura’s crew, for sure,” Seko whispered.
”No doubt. They’re making a beeline for the Guardian,” I said.
The guys looked relieved. We had found our marks faster than expected.
”We’ll tail them from a distance,” I instructed. “Keep them in sight, but don’t get sloppy.”
”There’s over thirty of them, Yusa,” one of the guys joked. “Hard to miss a parade that big.”
We followed. It was an easy trek since Manda’s group did all the heavy lifting, clearing out every Kobold in our path. After about ninety minutes, we hit a fork in the main passage.
”Right? That leads to a dead end,” I said, frowning as I watched Manda’s group turn away from the main route.
Suspecting a hidden gimmick, I told the others to stay put in the side passage while I crept forward to scout. I reached the final bend before the dead end and pulled out a small mirror, angling it to see around the corner. Manda’s people were just… sitting there. They were taking a break. No one was searching the walls or triggering switches. Some of them were even rolling out bedrolls.
I slipped back to the fork and huddled with Seko.
”What do you think?” Seko asked.
”Maybe they’re waiting for a specific time? A timed spawn?” I suggested.
”Hey, Yusa,” Takeda interrupted, peeking out toward the main passage. “Someone’s coming from the entrance. Fast.”
We pressed ourselves against the stone wall, watching the main path. A massive Kobold – clad in heavy plate armor with wicked, spiked pauldrons – stomped past. Thump. Thump. Thump. It was flanked by several students I recognized immediately.
It was The Guard’s Kobold and the ‘Bottom-Feeders.’
We held our breath as the armored beast and its eight-man escort vanished down the left passage. I noticed a single member of Manda’s guild peeking out from the right passage, watching the Kobold’s retreat just like we were.
That was too close. If we’d stayed a second longer, we would have been spotted. We retreated deeper into the shadows.
”That was definitely The Guard’s pet and the scrubs,” I said, confirming it with the others.
”Yeah. No way there’s two monsters that terrifying in one floor,” Seko replied. “But why are they with those beggars?”
”Maybe they rented it?” Takeda guessed.
”Who cares why,” I said. “Seko, go check the left passage. That way is supposed to be a dead end with nothing but a Monster House². If the Guardian is anywhere, it’s there.”
Seko slipped away and returned ten minutes later, breathless.
”They’re there,” Seko reported. “The whole Bottom-Feeder guild is huddling in front of the Monster House. The Guard isn’t with them, though. Just the Kobold.”
”That’s it, then,” I said, a grin spreading across my face. “The hidden path to the Guardian is inside that Monster House. Everyone’s been too scared of the Kobold count in there to try it. To think The Guard found it solo… the guy is a total freak.”
”So, is Manda waiting to challenge the room too?” Seko asked.
”No,” I laughed. “Manda is petty. He’s waiting to ambush the scrubs when they’re exhausted. He’s going for the loot and the revenge in one go.”
”Stupid,” Takeda muttered. “If they mess with Nightmare’s people or hurt that Kobold, they’re dead men walking.”
”Let the idiots kill each other,” I said, turning back toward the exit. “We know where the room is now. We’ll come back tomorrow night with the Coach. He’s strong enough to carry us through. We’ll get to the sixth floor, grab some Slaves of our own, and leave these losers behind.”
The group nodded in agreement, already dreaming of the rewards as we slipped away into the night.
* * *
…Tester Life, Day 67, Dead of Night. 4th Floor. Manda Seiji, Leader of ‘Road to Glory’…
”The Apocalypse Kobold is back, Manda-san,” a scout whispered.
”So, they really are using it as their main carry,” I said. My scout had been tracking the beast’s movements from the teleportation array. “Keep an eye on the beggars. Let me know when they move.”
An hour later, the scout returned. Koyama’s pack of scrubs had finished their rest and entered the Monster House with the beast. Fifteen minutes later, the group – minus the beast and a few guards – came back out to rest.
”Clearing a Monster House in fifteen minutes…” I looked at our own Kobold tames. They were shaking. They’d been terrified since the moment The Guard’s beast had growled at them earlier. They were the same rank as the monsters inside the house, but the power gap was pathetic.
”How do the beggars look?” I asked.
”The ones who were in the Guardian battle are trashed, Manda-san. Bruised, bleeding, and exhausted. The others are just bored,” the scout replied.
”Perfect.”
We wouldn’t strike yet. We’d wait for the dawn. We’d wait until they were at their breaking point, right after the consecutive battles with the Floor Guardian and the Area Guardian.
I checked my watch: 2:00 AM.
The beast would likely return in two hours, lead another raid, and then leave. 5:00 AM would be our window. We’d hit them when their eyes were heavy and their guards were down.
”Listen up,” I told my guild. “We move at 0500. We’re going to take every chest they’ve earned. Those Area Guardian tickets? Those are ours now. Those ungrateful bastards did the hard work, and we’re going to reap the rewards.”
”Slave tickets³?” Murakami grinned. “Does that mean we’re getting women delivered right to us?”
”That’s right,” I said. “Consider it reparations. I don’t care if they’re ugly – as long as they have a mouth and a hole, they’ll serve their purpose.”
The group erupted in quiet, eager laughter.
Three hours later, the signal came. The Guard’s beast had departed. Koyama and his twenty-five exhausted scrubs were packing up their gear, looking dead on their feet. We had thirty-eight fresh fighters and the element of surprise.
”It’s time,” I said, standing up.
”Let’s trample them,” Murakami whispered.
I led the way out of the tunnel, my heart pounding with the thrill of the hunt. It was time to show these beggars exactly where they sat on the food chain.
—
Summary:
Yusa’s soccer club party tracks Manda’s guild to a dead-end passage, only to discover that the hidden path to the Guardian room is actually located within a specific Monster House. Meanwhile, Manda’s group is not planning to clear the floor themselves but is preparing a 5:00 AM ambush to rob Koyama’s exhausted ‘beggar’ guild of their hard-earned rewards. The chapter ends with Manda leading his superior numbers to launch a surprise attack on the fatigued students.
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Trivia:
- The ‘Monster House’ on the left was previously ignored because it seemed too difficult.
- Manda’s group is resting in the right dead-end specifically to avoid detection and wait for Koyama’s group to be at their weakest.
- The Guard’s armored Kobold is acting as a ‘carry’ for the weaker students, significantly speeding up their progress.
- Yusa intends to keep this information from his own guild and only share it with their ‘Coach’ to gain an advantage
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Character Insight:
Yusa shows pragmatic opportunism, choosing to retreat and let the other guilds fight rather than getting involved. Manda, conversely, is driven by extreme pride and malice, demonstrating a sociopathic willingness to exploit and dehumanize his fellow students for loot and ‘Slave Tickets.’
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Behind the Scenes:
The ‘Monster House’ as a hidden passage is a common trope in dungeon-crawler subgenres, rewarding players who clear difficult, high-density mob areas.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Yusa – Captain of the soccer club. Student. A playboy who prefers older women.
• Seko – Vice-captain of the soccer club and sub-leader of Yusa’s party.
• Mimura – Seiji’s accomplice, proposes the ‘monster train’ strategy.
• Takeda – Second-year magic user of the battle sport party (Tomoya Yuki’s party the siscon).
• 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.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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