Chapter 202 Tactical Rangers ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Tester Life: Day 73, Late Night. 6th Floor, Side Room.
Sanada Yakumo
Unlike the Soul-less Doll¹s, who instinctively moved to shield their blonde-haired Owner²s, Kurokawa remained a shattered heap on the floor. I turned my attention back to him, my voice flat.
”So, what’s the game plan? The teleport pad is under surveillance twenty-four-seven. No resupplies. You stay in this dungeon, you starve. Simple as that.”
”I… we…” Kurokawa’s eyes darted around, looking for an exit that didn’t exist.
Just as I thought.
”You were probably planning to roll some other testers for their gear,” I said, leaning against the cold stone wall. “Do that, and you’ve got a target on your back from every soul in this place. Right now, some people actually feel sorry for you. But the second you turn bandit, you’re the enemy. My guild, Nightmare³, has a reputation to maintain. If the other testers come to me begging for a cleanup crew, it’ll be hard to say no. After all, everyone loves a hero killing a villain.”
Beside me, Sheena tilted her head, whispering, “Reputation?” Rock followed suit, looking equally confused.
On the surface, anyway, I thought. Reality doesn’t matter; image is everything.
”B-but we have no choice!” Kurokawa cried out. “We have to protect Roa! If we go back, they’ll kill us-or worse. If we’re going to be victims, I’d rather be the one taking!”
”We’ve been robbed of everything since we got here,” a man holding a shield added, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and desperation. “Why is it wrong to take what we need to survive?”
Another man, his eyes hollow and dark, muttered under his breath, “I’m tired of losing…”
I looked at him. That was the face of a man on the edge. I’d seen it a thousand times back when I was a child soldier-that Thousand-Yard Stare where the soul just checks out to cope with the redline stress. Usually, a little ‘titty-therapy’ and a warm bed fix that right up. Once his Soul-less Doll gets her ego back, he’ll be fine. Tits really are the ultimate healer.
It was time to reel them in. I stood over Kurokawa, casting a long shadow.
”You want power?”
”What?”
”The power to protect your women, to eat until you’re full in a clean room, and to sleep without worrying about a goblin slitting your throat.”
”I… of course I do, but…”
”Then I’ll give it to you. You’ll have the backing of Nightmare.”
The room went silent. Then, a cacophony of disbelief broke out.
”Wait, the Guard Captain’s guild?”
”Is he serious? We wouldn’t have to hide anymore?”
”We could go back to our rooms!”
Kurokawa looked up, his face a mask of hope and suspicion. “If you take us in, won’t the others hate you too?”
”Officially, we have nothing to do with you,” I said, reaching into my Magic Pouch⁴. “But from the shadows, you’ll be my shadow operatives. Consider this your signing bonus.”
I began dumping gear onto the floor. A Portable Magic Crystal⁵, a Rank-5 Magic Tent⁶, Warding Incense⁷, and a small armory of Black Iron⁸ weapons-swords, spears, and knives. I threw in a handful of high-grade Potions and twenty Orc Magic Stones just to sweeten the pot.
The Magic Tent was a luxury-twenty square meters with a bath, kitchen, and toilet. Far better than rotting in a dungeon corner. The Portable Crystal meant they could cash in drops and buy food without ever hitting the main hub.
”This is… a fortune,” Kurokawa whispered, staring at the pile of Black Iron.
”It’s an investment,” I replied. “I don’t care that you killed your ‘friends.’ In the world I come from, a comrade is someone you’d die for, not someone who steals your girl or shames you for a laugh. Real bonds are forged in blood, not school hallways.”
I remembered my own ‘family’ back eight years ago-the squad that was abandoned as decoys. We had a bond, alright. We called it the *Oath of the Peach Butt*, sworn after we’d collectively ‘taken back’ the mistress of a captain we hated. It was crude, stupid, and the only thing that kept us alive.
”You weren’t friends with those people,” I told him. “And you weren’t comrades. Now, you have a choice. Be victims, or be mine.”
Kurokawa stood up and bowed so low his forehead nearly hit the stone. “Thank you, Guildmaster. We… we thought we were dead men. We’ll do whatever it takes.”
”Don’t thank me. Thank Sheena,” I said, nodding toward her.
”Sheena-san?” Kurokawa looked at her with awe.
Sheena didn’t return the sentiment. Her voice was ice. “Don’t get it twisted. I’m here for the girls who were turned into toys because you were too weak to protect them. As far as I’m concerned, you can all rot.”
Ghk! The words hit them like a physical blow.
”One more thing,” I added with a smirk. “Those girls you’re so desperate to protect? They’re stronger than you.”
”What?”
I looked at the red-haired woman standing by Kurokawa. “Roa. Former soldier, right? What’s your Mana Capacity?”
”D-Plus,” she replied, her voice devoid of emotion.
Kurokawa froze. He was likely an E-Rank. The girl he thought was a helpless victim was his superior in every tactical metric. I went down the line. Mona, the former adventurer: D-Rank. Taria, the mage: D-Rank.
”Taria, show them,” I commanded.
”Understood. Ice Lance.” Three spears of jagged ice materialized in the air, radiating a chill that made the men shiver.
”Cancel it,” I said quickly. I didn’t need her poking holes in the ceiling. As the ice vanished, I handed Kurokawa a map of the floors up to the 8th. “They’re strong, but they have no ego. They need you to give them purpose. Get strong enough to actually deserve them by the time they wake up.”
”We will,” Kurokawa promised, his eyes finally showing a spark of genuine fire. “I’ll become a man worthy of Roa.”
Finally, I pulled out seven vials of white liquid-Oblivion Medicine⁹. 20,000 DP¹⁰ a pop.
”This is for the girls. It wipes the last month of their memory. When they wake up, the trauma, the abuse… it’ll all be gone. They won’t remember what was done to them.”
The men began to weep. It was the one thing they couldn’t give themselves: a clean slate.
”Now, one last thing,” I said, turning to leave. “Since you’re my off-the-books unit, you need a name. Let’s go with Nightmare Tactical Rangers.”
”Tactical Rangers… I like it,” one of the men muttered.
”Sounds like a real spec-ops group,” another added, grinning.
I didn’t tell them the acronym. NTR¹¹. Given their history with their ‘friends’ stealing their girls, it was a joke only I would appreciate.
”Good luck, boys. Don’t die.”
—
Summary:
Yakumo recruits Kurokawa’s group of broken outcasts into a secret sub-unit of Nightmare. He provides them with high-tier survival gear and a map to help them grow stronger in the deeper dungeon levels. Finally, he gives them medicine to wipe the traumatic memories of their female partners and gives the group a name with a cruel double meaning.
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Trivia:
- Yakumo spent 350,000 DP on gear for this investment.
- The ‘Soul-less Dolls’ are actually higher rank (D/D+) than their owners (likely E).
- The term ‘NTR’ refers to the Japanese genre Netorare (cuckolding), mocking the group’s history.
- The ‘Oath of the Peach Butt’ is a crude parody of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ Oath of the Peach Garden.
- Yakumo was a child soldier, which explains his tactical and mental state
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Character Insight:
Yakumo demonstrates his ‘investment’ mindset, valuing utility and loyalty over traditional morality. Kurokawa and his group transition from despairing victims to motivated subordinates, finding a ‘true bond’ in their shared trauma and betrayal.
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Behind the Scenes:
The author uses the contrast between the ‘clean’ image of Nightmare and Yakumo’s ‘black’ operations to heighten the dark fantasy elements.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Yakumo – A 25-year-old scarred veteran—Guard Captain, Nightmare Guildmaster, and dungeon harem owner. Former child soldier turned pragmatic, cynical leader with a battle-torn face from wars past. Strong and intimidating, he manages testers, slaves, and DP with calculating possessiveness.
• Sana – Black ponytail, hooded/sharp eyes, kyudo practitioner, average height.
• Kurokawa – A scarred male student and leader of a fugitive group, marked by burns from an Ogre Ninja attack. Once part of the guild Road to Glory, he owns the soulless doll Roa and seeks revenge for her loss. Now hunted by the White Knights, he leads a band of betrayed outcasts, his mind twisted by obsession.
• Sheena – A stunning rabbit-eared Beastman Soul-less Doll—165 cm tall, F/G-cup chest, narrow waist, wide hips, and an extra-fluffy tail. Nightmare guild member, sharp-tongued and devoted to Yakumo. Cold to the weak, carrot-obsessed, with twitching ears when happy—now with her ego restored.
• Rock – A male Kobold summoned from a Magic Sealing Crystal. He has grey fur, round eyes, and a face resembling a Shiba Inu. He wears a leather jacket and a pilot’s cap
• Roa – Kurokawa’s 20-year-old Soul-less Doll—a tall, slender former soldier with shoulder-length red hair, striking legs, and a cursed crotch tattoo. D+ Mana Capacity, she’s Jin’s partner, now hollow-eyed and amnesiac from an Oblivion Potion.
• Taria – A Soul-less Doll with long dark-brown hair—a former D-Rank mana adventurer mage skilled in intermediate ice magic. Once protected by others, she now steps up to fight alongside them.
• Mona – Takahashi’s first Soul-less Doll—a petite, short brown-haired former D-Rank adventurer from the White Knight guild. Once highly popular, now violated by others and trapped in her broken state.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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