CH 64

CHAPTER 64: OUJI METRO, PHANTOM 31ST UNDERGROUND FLOOR

The four of us were ready to move on, but it was almost night, so we decided to leave the challenge to the 31st floor for tomorrow morning and searched for a safe place near the hidden passage.

We took turns standing guard. When Kure was on duty, I kept my eyes closed and used my [Sensory Spores] to check on Kure, but there seemed to be no disturbing activity, so I decided to go to sleep.

But—the next morning.

Some of my towels and pants are missing. The used ones are getting washed at a watering hole and were inside out, but the ones that had been hung out to dry were missing.

Before the exploration, a search of personal belongings was conducted. As expected, we find it in Kure’s pocket. He had given up and said, “I wanted to use it as a good luck charm. I wanted to have something to protect me when I went to an unknown dangerous area,” he said. The discussion went as far as terminating the contract, but since his tearful apology showed signs of remorse, we decided to let the matter drop for this one time.

“I’m starting to feel like an idiot.” (Shuu)

“As reparation, he should give up his pants squeak.” (Tamiko)

“It’s okay. Pants give you dignity.” (Shuu)

We didn’t bother to block the hole, since it seemed that no other hunters had come to this area last night.

The four of us stood in front of the stairs, once again feeling the excitement and nervousness of being the first to arrive.

Since the staircase is completely unlit, Noa hands a [Lightball] to Kure and me. I have my [Sensory Spores], so even in the dark it is not too inconvenient for me, but I have not told Kure about it, so he takes it as well.

Incidentally, we have already shared each of our Fungal Skills yesterday (except [Sensory Spores]). Kure has six Fungal Skills. [Self-Regeneration], [White Armor], [Herculean Strength], [Instant Response], [Telephoto], [Adversity]. [Telephoto] is literally the ability to see things far away, and [Adversity] is the ability to massively increase in physical ability if you take more than a certain amount of damage. It’s a good thing I was able to stop him immediately with my special move, huh?

“Okay, let’s go. Don’t let your guard down.” (Shuu)

“Yes!” (Noa)

“Let’s go!” (Kure)

“I have to pee first, squeak.” (Tamiko)

“That’s our priority.” (Shuu)

The room was wide enough for four adults to walk side by side. Kure was in the lead, followed by Noa and me, Tamiko on my shoulders. The reason I let Kure go first is simply that I don’t want him to walk behind me. I don’t feel like traveling if I feel eyes on my butt from beginning to end.

We descend slowly and carefully, one step at a time. The sound of three people’s footsteps echoes off the walls. It is cool to the touch as if to indicate that there has been no blood for a long time.

“Well, Little Shuu, I’m surprised you found this place. May I ask how?” (Kure)

Kure looks back and asks.

“Well, it just so happens that I felt a very subtle air flow through a crack in the wall… so I thought there might be something in the back. So, I dug into it.” (Shuu)

For this man with the tendency to stalk, it was necessary to keep the existence of [Sensory Spores] a secret.

“Hmm, maybe it’s just a coincidence… I thought it was some kind of Fungal Skill, like [Sense Heat]. I’m not sure if there’s some kind of sensory ability that I don’t know about. I thought it might be the reason why you intercepted my surprise attack without a second glance.” (Kure)

Very perceptive. He’s a pervert who seems to think only about martial arts and butts, but he’s very perceptive. [T/N: All perverts are skilled e.g. Master Roshi, Happosai, Tio Klarus, Hisoka, Jiraiya, etc.]

“But I can’t believe you found this staircase that no one had noticed in the decades that this place has been under the direct control of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. You are indeed the man I fell in love with. Your name will go down in history, starting a new chapter in the history of Ouji.” (Kure)

“I don’t really need that kind of thing.” (Shuu)

As long as I can get Mithril, everything is just excess. Excessive honor would only become a pressure, and from my standpoint, it would be a risk. Thinking about it, it may be better to leave it alone without coming forward.

While talking about such things, I counted up to about a hundred steps, but I still couldn’t see the end of it.

“By the way, Kure… How old are you?” (Shuu)

“Twenty-six. I’m twenty-six, just call me Izuho.” (Kure)

Two years younger. I had imagined he would be a little older than that, given his level.

“You’re twenty-six and level fifty, really?” Noa asked.

“Well, my father was very Spartan. I made my Metro debut when I was seven years old.” (Kure)

“Is that normal for Senju Tribesmen or Is Kure special?” (Shuu)

“I don’t think I’m special, but our educational policy is different. I think that the Senju Tribe may be stricter than other tribes, but as expected, there are very few people of the same standard in the same age group. I’m fine with Izuho.” (Kure)

Noa has an indescribable expression on her face. The fact that he reached level 50 at such a young age is still extraordinary.

“If you put it that way, Little Shuu is the same age, right? I’m surprised that he is a [Master Threadweaver] but his level is also extraordinary. How did you become so strong? I’m really curious.” (Kure)

“I’m twenty-eight… I’ve gone through a lot of hardship, you see. It’s a long story.” (Shuu)

“I’d love to hear about it sometime. And just once, call me Izuho.” (Kure)

Kure, who was looking behind, loses balance at the last word. It’s because he didn’t expect that there wouldn’t be the next step.

I noticed it with [Sensory Spores], but the stairs curve 90 degrees to the right from a small landing. The darkness and stairs continue all the way to the end of the turn, unchanged, and the end is still not in sight.

“Why is there no firefly moss here?” (Shuu)

“Firefly Moss—” Noa said. “Basically, it grows everywhere in the metro, but there are places like this every once in a while. Sometimes there’s no moss in places where there’s not a lot of traffic, or where there’s not a lot of wildlife.”

“You’re saying that the individuals that come through are like spore carriers?” (Shuu)

“I think that’s one factor. I don’t think that’s the case in all of them. If people start coming through here, Firefly Moss will grow eventually.” (Noa)

“I see. Tamiko, are you awake?” (Shuu)

“Of course, squeak.” (Tamiko)

She seemed to be awake as she answered enthusiastically, but her eyes were fluttering at high speed.

“Do you know how much longer we have to travel?” (Shuu)

Her ears twitched. She seemed to be measuring the distance by the echo of our footsteps.

“I still don’t hear anything, squeak.” (Tamiko)

“I guess so. I guess we have a long way to go.” (Shuu)

We continued our descent in silence for a while. We had been descending for more than ten minutes since the beginning. Due to our physical strength as hunters, we were not drained, but it is mentally exhausting to keep going in total darkness. It is even more disheartening to think about the return trip.

(How many meters did we just descend? More than a hundred meters?) (Shuu)

(It looks longer than the stairs of the Boss Slime in Outsuka Metro.) (Shuu)

“If it’s this deep, the metro beasts that come out are going to be a lot different than the ones prior.” (Shuu)

“It would be nice if there was a golem.” (Noa)

“Since I’ve come this far, I want to bring Mithril back with me.” (Shuu)

“Golem, huh?” Kure replied. “Come to think of it, Little Shuu, you were fighting something on the 30th floor that looked very strong, weren’t you? I was watching from a distance to see if it looked dangerous or if I could help out. I was so excited to see you using [Light Blade]. Seeing you penetrating it made me squeal! Kiyaa!!”

“Shut up squeak! You have angered me, squeak!” (Tamiko)

The angry senior squirrel said, “Evil!” and throws an acorn shell like a shuriken, piercing the side of Kure’s head.

“Well, that weird golem is a mature individual, isn’t it?” (Kure)

“Probably.” (Shuu)

Still, it didn’t have any mithril.

“I see… Do you remember the story Ms. Shishikaba and the others were talking about?  It was about the golems kidnapping orphans?” (Kure)

“Oh, it’s the Metro ghost story.” (Shuu)

The story is about a golem, a mature individual, that kidnaps child miners and imprisons them as preserved food.

“In the first place, have you guys ever seen a newborn golem?” (Kure)

“No.” (Shuu)

“No, squeak.” (Tamiko)

“I haven’t either, but the smallest one I’ve ever found was only about the size of my fist. It preys on microorganisms and insects in the ground climbing up the ladder to adulthood while inflating their sandbags. Don’t you think golems are slow and unintelligent in spite of their size?” (Kure)

“Well.” (Shuu)

The golem’s body is almost always made of rocks, so it may not matter, but it is certainly not the smartest thing you have ever seen.

“However, when they become mature individuals, their intelligence massively increases. They are more varied in their attacks and more responsive to threats. It was the same as the one you fought, wasn’t it? The differences between normal and mature individuals are said to be due to individual qualities, age differences, and differences in Metro Beasts they hunt, but in the case of golems, it is said that there are other significant factors as well. Do you know what it is?” (Kure)

“What is it?” (Shuu)

“Experience, they say. When they are young, golems have a very high learning ability. There are rumors that some scholars have even had golems learn tricks with their tentacles. It learns and absorbs various things from humans and beasts. It is said that they take the form of rock puppets because they imitate humans.” (Kure)

To that theory, there should be golems that imitate beasts, but most are uniformly humanoid. Or is it that humans are more intellectually stimulating and influential?

“In this way, individuals with strong curiosity, who have greedily accumulated experience since childhood, sometimes appear to possess intelligence and even emotions. It seems that the golem researcher’s opinion is that they will become a mature individual. That’s just what I got from a guidebook.” (Kure)

—What is a golem? (Shuu)

I thought about it again.

A metro beast is a prehistoric creature transformed by the Super Fungi parasite. Or they are foreign beings that emerged from the depths during the Metro Flood.

These two theories have been taken, and no decision has been made. I speculate that it is the former.

But, if that’s the case—I wonder what the golem was in “the previous world”.

At least, I can’t think of any creature that looks like it that I know of.

Or perhaps it was an “alien” who had come through the Metro?

“Did the guidebook mention such a thing? I haven’t read it all yet.” (Noa)

“You have one of those guidebooks that you can buy at the counter, right? I bought mine at a souvenir shop, so it looks a little different.” (Kure)

“Can you show it to me later?” (Noa)

“Oh, I’m sorry, I read it once and threw it away. But I remember everything, so you can ask me anything.” (Kure)

“Eh?” (Shuu)

“Eh?” (Noa)

“Eh?” (Tamiko)

A brief silence.

“You read it once and you remember everything?” (Noa)

“Yeah, I guess.” (Kure)

“Seriously?” (Noa)

“Well, I’m not bragging, but I haven’t given it a second look.” (Kure)

The pervert who is looking behind crashes into the wall around the corner. The biggest part is that he’s handsome and talented. I wonder if the sense of disappointment is inversely proportional to that. This might be some divine prank. Noa has an indescribable expression on her face during this exchange.

“—a.” (Shuu)

After turning there and advancing a little, the steps end and turn into a horizontal passage. And then—a wall is blocking the way.

It almost feels as if we’ve come to a dead end, but when I bend down a little to take a peek, I see a tiny bit of light leaking through the cracks. There is something on the other side.

“Tamiko, get down.” (Shuu)

[Light Blade] on the [War Hammer] looks even better in the darkness. The rest of the time, it’s all digging, but the rock wall is clearly more fragile than it was on the 30th floor.

Kure picks up the broken pieces and threw them to the edge. While picking things up, he tries to brush against my butt, so I swung my [War Hammer] behind strong enough to smash his head. The two girls are watching the silent exchange between the two with white-out eyes.

Before long, the [War Hammer] punched a hole, and the streaks of light that came in lit up the dust.

“—Good.” (Shuu)

A single full-powered blow shatters the wall. The flood of light that poured in involuntarily made me cover my eyes.

—A new world is spreading ahead.

The chirping of birds can be heard.

The ceiling is high, as we have been descending for tens of minutes. And it is very bright. It was as if the sky was real.

“…Woah…” (Shuu)

I was at a loss for words. The three with me are also stunned speechless.

“…We are in the Metro, right?” (Shuu)

I remember the time when I came out of the Otsuka Metro. It feels similar to that.

Beyond the darkness is a dense forest.

Fog rolls in, and the sounds of beasts come and go. Among them, there is a low, rumbling roar, reminiscent of that of a predator.