There’s already a huge crowd gathered near the entrance: knights, adventurers and the ten priests and priestesses I requested from Beatrice-san. Somehow, I’m not surprised to see Clara is here as well. The moment she sees me approaching, she immediately stands in front of Khriswell.

   “She kind of reminds me of you.” I whisper to Kaede.

   “I do get a tad overprotective when onee-sama is involved.” Kaede admits. “Aren’t you glad that I made you the exception?”

   “Yup. So glad.”

   “Good morning, both of you.” I greet both the priestesses.

   “Good morning, Kotaro-san. A fine morning to you too, Ichika-san, Kaede-san, Maya-san.” Khriswell greets back with a bow.

   Clara, on the other hand, didn’t greet back. She’s too busy glaring daggers at me and growling like a rabid dog. I decided to ignore her.

   “How are you faring with this crowd so far?” I ask Khriswell.

   “I’m doing fine for now.” she replied.

   “That’s good to hear.”

   I bow at all the healers.

   “Thank you all for willing to lend the rest of us a hand.” I say to them.

   “Please think nothing of it, Kotaro-san. You are fighting for the peace of Faypeak. As such, we are more than happy to help.” Khriswell tells me.

   The wonderful men and women of the Church nodded their agreement. Even Clara gave a reluctant nod.

   “Thank you. Please excuse me for now.”

   I go to the adventurers next, or more specifically, to where Darum-san and his party is.

   “Look at all these people, lad! I haven’t gone wild with this kind of crowd since forever!” Darum-san says to me with his usual loud voice while gesturing around him excitedly.

   “I honestly think that you should save your energy for the fight later, Darum-san.”

   “No need to worry about me, lad. If there’s one thing I have plenty of, it’s energy. I have enough of them to be a proper shield. Me and the whole gang. Except Polusa, of course. She’s the spear.”

   Polusa-san is a female centaur who’s part of Darum-san’s party. The plan I came up with last night involves her and five other centaurs to charge forward and open up a way for us when the monsters start pouring out. Following behind the centaurs are a mixture of knights and other adventurers who’re more defense-oriented, more commonly known as tanks. The third line consists of myself, my girlfriends, Catherina and those who use melee weapons. For the fourth and final line, there are healers, mages, archers and those who’re in charge of support roles.

   I bow at Polusa-san and the rest of the centaurs.

   “We’ll be counting on all of you to open up a path later.” I tell them.

   “I’ve told you a gazillion times to stop being so formal, Kotaro!” Polusa-san chides.

   “I can’t help it, Polusa-san. You’re, um, never mind.”

   “Go on. You can just say whatever that’s on your mind.” the centaur encourages.

   I shake my head vigorously. “Nope. Not going to.”

   “He has wizened up after he saw what you did to that dwarf!” Darum-san guffaws.

   Polusa-san stares at Darum-san blankly.

   “Which one are you talking about exactly? I mean, I’ve walloped lots.”

   “You know, the time after we were done with the quest where we had to protect a group of mining dwarves.”

   Polusa-san continued to be clueless for a few more seconds before gasping angrily. Drat, I think she caught on.

   “I still have others to visit, so please excuse me.” I say to no one in particular.

   “Hold it right there, Kotaro!” Polusa-san demands. “You were trying to say that I’m old, weren’t you?”

   “I will confirm nor deny that accusation.”

   “That’s a yes, then! That’s it, you owe me three kegs of beer! You hear me? Three! Whole! Kegs!”

   “Well, if that’s what it takes for you to forgive me. Now please excuse me for real.”

   Next, I walk towards the person I want to speak with the least in probably the entire continent of Faypeak.

   “Good morning, Dame Wilmort.” I greet the paladin formally.

   Catherina nodded at me indifferently.

   “All my knights are in position and ready to strike at any moment.” she reports.

   “Thank you.”

   And that marked the end of our conversation. Simple, efficient and no hard feelings involved. Or so one would think if the reluctant expression on Catherina is ignored. I just hope she’s not going to go off the rail when it’s time to fight the human who defeated Aeshma.

   After we finished making the rounds, my girlfriends and I got into position as well. I check the time. There’s still more than half an hour until the usual time when the monsters are let out. Man, I wish this will be over soon.

   “Things will turn out great, Kotaro-senpai.” Maya says to me all of a sudden.

   “I know I’m being pessimistic, but I can’t help but keep on thinking that there will be hundreds of ways that my plan will go wrong.”

   The vampire puts both her hands on my shoulders.

   “Take five deep breaths, senpai.” she tells me.

   I take a deep breath. And then I let it out. I took another deep breath. I let it out again. I repeated the whole thing for three more times.

   “Are you feeling better now?”

   I nod my head. “Yup. Much better.”

   Maya let goes of my shoulders.

   “If you keep on thinking negatively, you’ll end up having a stomachache, you know!” she chides.

   I lower my head in shame. “I’ll try to be more careful.”

   “Please remember that you’re not alone here. Even if things do go wrong, the rest of us will help you out. Isn’t that right, Ichika-senpai and Kaede-senpai?”

   Both Ichika and Kaede nod their heads in agreement.

   “I-I’m here too, Kotaro-san!” even Khriswell joined in timidly.

   Wow, to think that Khriswell would say something like that to me. I would be teasing her again if Clara isn’t staring daggers at me and swinging her mace menacingly.

   “Thanks, girls.” was all I said.

   Finally, it’s time for the doors to open and more importantly, the monsters to come out. As soon as the doors opened up wide, the first batch of monsters began to pour out. It’s a horde of orcs, all armed to the teeth and wearing tough-looking armors.

   Oh, boy. Looks like Kamei caught wind of our assault and decides to strengthen his vanguard. Even so, the show must go on.

   “CENTAUR SQUAD, CHARGE! THE REST OF YOU, CAST WIND STEPS ON YOURSELVES!” I yell at the top of my lungs.

   With my command, all the centaurs charge towards the orcs like four-legged ballista bolts. Meanwhile, everyone else is busy with the spell which would triple our running speed. With this, we can catch up to the centaurs without being left behind too much.

   By the time we caught up, Polusa-san had already reached the first line of orcs. Her charge has so much momentum three orcs were sent flying by her. Two orcs have tried to intercept her, but were immediately swept aside by her poleaxe. They’re subsequently either trampled by the centaurs who were behind Polusa-san or killed by the tanks.

   We were halfway through the wave of orcs when a different group of monsters came pouring out of the dungeon. This time, it’s a horde of trolls. All of them are huge and, like the orcs, they have weapons and are wearing metallic armors.

   “Archers, get ready! Right before the centaurs reach the trolls, fire Sonic Arrows over the trolls’ heads!” I command.

   Soon, we managed to break through the orcs, and the centaurs are about to clash with the trolls. As I have commanded, the archers were quick to fire Sonic Arrows at the space above the latter. It doesn’t matter that the arrows didn’t hit their mark. That’s not their primary function, anyway.

   SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH~!!!

   I don’t exactly know how these Sonic Arrows work. All I know is that when you fire them, the arrowhead will let out an ear-piercing screech. I’ve never listened to the screech up close as no one has ever fired one of those at me. But, judging from how the trolls are losing their minds over it, I don’t ever plan to. As for us, we’ve plugged our ears with special ear-plugs that block off anything but human voices. In other words, we’ll still be fine even if we end up hearing the screech.

   While the trolls and some of the orcs are covering their ears with their hands and shrieking in pain, the centaurs proceed to make short work of those unfortunate enough to be standing right in front of them. With that, the trolls are more or less neutralized.

   Even after we’ve entered the dungeon, the monsters keep on coming. Somehow, my quick thinking got us through without us being forced to stop and fight them. The good news is, the monsters stopped coming out when we reached the tenth floor. The bad news is the floor boss. Previously, it was a single troll. Now it’s a scythe-holding Lich with a Level of 80. To make things worse, the monsters we passed by are trying to enter the room.

   “Tanks, shut the doors and hold back any monsters that already got through! Lucas-san, please cast Seal on the doors! Mages and archers, please deal with the monsters that got inside! Healers, prepare to cast Holy Ascension on the floor boss! Ichika-senpai and Catherina-san, please hold off the boss!” I command.

   The party members that I mentioned got to work at once. Once the doors were closed by the tanks, Lucas-san cast Seal on it. Now the doors can’t be opened until the Spell is undone. Which is never, as Lucas-san is a renowned mage who’s well-versed in support-type spells. There were only a few stragglers who got through before the doors could be closed, so the archers and mages had an easy time.

   Ichika and Catherina, on the other hand, are struggling with the Lich. Contrary to the usual Lich you see, this one is an excellent fighter as well as a formidable spellcaster. Not only do the two ladies have to deal with barrages after barrages of spells, they’re being pressured by its scythe that’s emitting a sinister aura. Looks like I made the right call to tell the healers to get Raise Dead ready.

   “The Spell is ready, Kotaro-san!” Khriswell informs loudly after a few agonizing minutes.

   “Great, let the skeleton have it!”

   “Understood!”

   To make sure that it can’t run away, Ichika and Catherina made sure to flank it and give it zero space. Seeing how the spells are harmless to them, they can apply all the pressure they want. A moment later, the Lich is surrounded by lots of magic circles. Once the Spells are cast successfully, the Lich is turned to dust and disappears without a trace.

   I wait for a few seconds just in case it can resurrect for the third time, or leave a parting gift, or there’s a second Floor Boss, or something. After counting to ten, I decide that it’s safe.

   “Let’s take a little break!” I announce.

   I went to check on the centaurs immediately. Polusa-san’s right shoulder is bleeding quite a bit. In addition, there are few claw marks on her lower torso. Other centaurs are also suffering from injuries of various severity. The slight consolation is that none of them look permanent or fatal.

   “I need some healers over here!” I called.

   Khriswell and four other healers came over at once. They waste no time in treating the centaurs’ wounds with healing magic.

   “Thank you. Thank you all for being the vanguard and opening up a path for the rest of us. It’s thanks to you that we could get in here with minimum casualties.” I tell the centaurs gratefully while the healers are being busy.

   As I watch, Khriswell has taken care of all of Polusa-san’s wounds. It’s like she was never injured in the first place.

   “Hey, most of the credits go to you, you know. If it weren’t for your quick-thinking and command, we would be in much bigger trouble than having a wound or two.” Polusa-san tells me.

   I look around. Pretty much everyone else is injured too. I myself got a few scratches and wounds that came from weapons, although they’re so negligible I barely noticed them. As to the reason for my light injuries, my comrades have been protecting me from most of the attacks.

   Suddenly, I feel extremely tired. My head was spinning, and I could barely stand. Khriswell was very quick to check on me.

   “Are you okay, Kotaro-san?” she asks me with a concerned look on her face.

   “I’m fine, really.” I assure her. “It’s just that my head is spinning a little.”

   With her help, I slowly sat down on the ground.

   “You’re probably tired. Do you want to chew on some raisins?” Polusa-san asks me.

   “Yes, please.”

   Polusa-san reaches inside the pouch that’s strapped to her waist and brings out a small sack that’s tied at the end with a rope. She then hands it to me. I untie the sack. Inside it is a lot of tiny half-transparent oval objects with something black in the middle.

   “Um, did you coat the raisins with sugar syrup or something?” I ask.

   “Sure did. Not only that, I did a triple coating.” the centaur replied proudly.

   “Suddenly, I’m worried about my blood sugar level. A lot.”

   “Oh, don’t be such a wuss! You’re still young, aren’t you?”

   “I guess eating just one will be fine. Well, here goes.”

   I picked up one of the raisins and put it inside my mouth. Whatever sugar Polusa-san used to coat the raisins, its sweetness is off the roof. This is exactly the kind of sweets my dentist bans me from eating. Still, I can’t be rude and spit it out.
I decide to risk being choked and swallow it in one go.

   “How was the taste?” Polusa-san asks me.

   “I think I can stay awake for the rest of the day.” I replied.

   “It’s good stuff, huh? I always eat one of those when I have to take night quests.”

   “I wasn’t complimenting it.”

   Meanwhile, Khriswell is looking at the sack curiously. I know she has a sweet tooth, but these coated raisins are definitely not for her.

   “I’m sorry Khriswell, these aren’t for you.” I say to the priestess as pat her head and pass the sack back to Polusa-san at the same time.

   Khriswell puffs up her cheeks.

   “Can you not treat me like a child, Kotaro-san?” she demands.

   “I wasn’t, okay? I was just watching out for your health.”

   Khriswell calmed down at once. She then bows at me.

   “I’m sorry for jumping into conclusions.”

   I pat her head again. “It’s fine. Let’s go to Eve-san’s and buy some tiramisu once we’re done here.”

   She shows me a dazzling smile. “Yes!”

   SLAM!

   I look towards the direction where the loud sound came from. Clara has just slammed her mace at the ground. The impact was so huge a crater was created.

   “Oh dear, I have a sudden urge to smash some skulls. Particularly male ones…” Clara says with a monotone.

   …Hmm, I guess break time’s over. I clear my throat loudly.

   “ALRIGHT PEOPLE, BREAK’S OVER! LET’S HEAD TO THE NEXT FLOOR!” I yell.

   Everyone returned to battle mode with just a single yell. I guess they’re that professional.

    All the subsequent floors are filled with monsters that have a Level of 80, even the Floor Bosses. It could be because Kamei can’t make too many high Level monsters in one go. It could be because he’s trying to let our guard down. If it’s the latter, we REALLY have to watch out for his nasty surprises.

   When we reach the fiftieth floor, our casualties are starting to pile up. Sure, the monsters’ Levels aren’t that big of a deal, but their base stats and numbers are a total threat. And don’t get me started on the Floor Bosses. After we defeated the third one, I decided to send some of the more heavily injured folks back to the surface.

   “I sure hope the fight on the surface is already over so that they don’t have to fight anymore for the rest of the day…” I mumble as I watch them leave.

   “You’re worrying too much, Kotaro-senpai. They can definitely take care of themselves.” Maya assures me.

   “Besides, we have our own problems.” Kaede adds. “We still have to head all the way to the final floor, remember?”

    “Right. Okay, let’s go.”

   Reinforcements arrived while we were resting at the thirty sixth floor. Three healers, eight knights and twenty two adventurers, to be exact. All of them look exhausted, and some of them have visible injuries, but they came nonetheless.

   That’s how things went for the next dozen floors. We sent back the more seriously injured folks back to the surface, and folks with less injuries arrived to replace them. Eventually, reinforcements stopped coming altogether, but we have to press on and fight anyway. Or the others are. Maya and I are straight out banned from fighting. According to my plan, the two of us are in charge of taking down the human on floor ninetieth. As such, we’re to preserve our strength until we reach him/her. I could only relent. It’s not like I have any other choice.

   Finally, after hours and hours of fighting, we’re finally here. At the ninetieth floor.