Chapter 57
[We successfully conquered the 74th floor.]
[Clear time: 7 hours 37 minutes (New record)]
7 hours and 37 minutes.
A record far shorter than the Hero’s previous shortest time of 1 day, 17 hours, and 42 minutes.
The Project Guild members who saw the record appear on the large monitor in the operations room all froze with their mouths hanging open.
“C-can this be right? The 74th floor was conquered in only seven hours?”
“The debuff gimmick that’s Ms. Sonya’s kryptonite as a lycanthrope, right? And yet she set a record like this…….”
“She couldn’t even conquer it with the supporter she brought before.”
“That man she brought this time must have helped.”
“Ms. Sonya even left her scent on him herself…….”
All the hunters gathered in the operations room admired the record Sonya had set.
There was only one thing they could see in the operations room.
A map showing the locations of Sonya and Kim Mincheol inside the dungeon.
They had already been watching the two conquer the dungeon at an incredible speed for some time.
The hunters couldn’t help marveling at Sonya’s skill when they saw the situation board showing the two of them moving almost nonstop to the boss room.
Of course, they seemed to have encountered some trouble in the boss room, since it had taken them a little time.
Even so, it had taken only seven hours.
The operations room was packed with hunters who had gathered to witness the moment a new record was written.
At first, only three people—the guild manager, the guild master, and the situation analyst—had watched the proceedings in the operations room.
But as soon as word spread that the two were progressing at an unbelievable speed, hunters began gathering one after another.
By now, it was safe to say that every Project Guild hunter who wasn’t resting had gathered there.
“What could have happened inside?”
“I’m curious how they fought.”
“We’ll probably have to retrieve the video-recording camera Ms. Sonya took with her.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I want to see what an incredible fight Ms. Sonya had inside…….”
“I want to see it soon.”
Many of the hunters in the Project Guild had joined because they admired Sonya’s strength.
A hunter who never retreated, no matter the circumstances.
Her beautiful appearance and exhilarating fighting style.
Among the Seven Heroes, she was the most popular hunter aside from Hero Yusera.
She was even famous for making the recording devices containing footage of her and Hero Yusera’s conquests available to everyone.
-Because it would be nice if we all became stronger together.
Thanks to her always distributing her conquest footage for that reason, she had many hunters—especially female hunters—who followed her.
After all, hunters naturally admired the strong.
That was why anticipation for the new footage she would release after this conquest was also growing.
“When will the portal open?”
“Why haven’t they come out yet, even though the conquest is over?”
“It should be about time for them to return…….”
“Looks like they’re still settling the contribution rankings.”
“What is there to calculate? Ms. Sonya did almost all of it anyway, didn’t she?”
The hunters waiting for Sonya’s triumphant return in front of the portal began murmuring.
Five minutes had passed since the record appeared, but the portal still hadn’t opened.
Once the contribution calculation was complete, a portal connecting to the outside of the Tower would open automatically.
The more party members there were and the more complicated the contribution calculation became, the longer it took, so it sometimes took multi-person parties several hours to complete the calculation.
But that was irrelevant for solo conquerors.
Of course, Sonya had taken a companion with her this time, but he was an ordinary beginner with no experience as a hunter.
That was what everyone knew.
“Maybe he gave her buffs from the side?”
“If he gave her an item effective against debuffs, then he wouldn’t have contributed nothing.”
“That’s true…….”
Speculation ran rampant throughout the room.
As the hunters gathered in front of the portal leading to the Tower and in the operations room whispered among themselves,
“The contribution rankings are up! They’ll be back soon……huh?”
the contribution rankings appeared on the situation board.
[Conquest contribution 1st place : Kim Mincheol]
[Conquest contribution 2nd place : Sonya]
[Kim Mincheol is the main conqueror.]
[1st : 7 hours 37 minutes – Kim Mincheol (Sonya) (New record)]
[2nd : 1 day 17 hours 42 minutes - Yusera]
…….
All the hunters standing before the Project Guild’s situation board fell silent.
Even with so many people present, the sound of the computers running could be heard.
No one could say another word.
“I’m reading this wrong, right?”
“Uh……could it be an error?”
“Ms. Sonya is in second place?”
“And the man she brought is first?”
Everyone rubbed their eyes and looked at the situation board again.
[Conquest contribution 1st place : Kim Mincheol]
[Conquest contribution 2nd place : Sonya]
Contribution was calculated by the Tower.
There could be no error.
The Tower had judged that Kim Mincheol had contributed more on the 74th floor.
“…What really happened inside?”
“Now I’m even more curious.”
“Could he actually be a hidden powerhouse? Ms. Sonya wouldn’t bring just anyone, right?”
“That’s it. A reclusive master we never knew about!”
“Come on, could he really be stronger than a Seven Hero?”
“That would make it even stranger. The 74th floor has a gimmick that makes it stronger when more powerful people are present, doesn’t it?”
“……”
The more they talked, the more the image of the man named Kim Mincheol whom Sonya had brought swelled in the guild members’ minds.
One confusion after another.
And the same thought occurred to everyone.
“I want to see the video…….”
What could have happened inside?
Just as everyone’s anticipation was building at the appearance of a new powerhouse,
Hummm.
the portal opened.
A blue portal announcing that the dungeon had been cleared.
Everyone’s attention turned toward the portal.
“They’re back!”
The guild members lined up to welcome Sonya’s triumphant return after successfully conquering the dungeon.
Flash.
At last, the two of them appeared as they passed through the portal.
The guild members were once again left speechless at their condition.
“M-Ms. Sonya?!”
It was Sonya, who had always looked neat and wrinkle-free even in a suit.
Even the combat suit she wore over it had never been scuffed—the hallmark of Sonya.
But now every button had been torn off her combat suit, and it was ripped and ruined in various places.
With her face bright red, she hung her head low and was barely managing to fasten the torn front of her suit with trembling hands.
Her formerly proud black tail was tucked completely between her legs, and her ears drooped miserably.
And Kim Mincheol, standing beside her, was supporting her.
Kim Mincheol, whose body was slightly larger than Sonya’s, was using the suit he had been wearing to cover her body.
That suit was also tattered, as though it had been torn apart by a wild beast.
Kim Mincheol wasn’t unscathed either.
His equipment was in a similarly battered and ragged state.
Even on his slightly exposed shoulder, there were clear teeth marks with blood beading along them.
The two of them had red faces and were soaked in sweat as they gasped for breath.
They looked far too battered to be the people who had conquered the 74th floor in the shortest time.
Sonya had never looked this battered after any dungeon.
That meant the boss had been strong enough to give even Sonya a hard time.
Which meant that
Kim Mincheol, who had entered with her, was stronger than Sonya.
What’s more, he was even supporting her.
Seeing that, the guild members realized why Kim Mincheol’s contribution was higher.
‘How fiercely must they have fought inside……!’
‘For Ms. Sonya’s armor to be torn apart so brutally. If the boss of the 74th floor had grown that strong…….’
‘Then how strong is that man, Kim Mincheol……?’
‘I’ve never seen Ms. Sonya look like that.’
‘She can’t even seem to regain consciousness.’
Step.
When the two took one step forward,
everyone stepped back to make way for them.
A strange heat seemed to radiate from the two of them.
That sight prompted the guild members to imagine countless things.
The sight of Sonya and Kim Mincheol fighting back-to-back.
They realized that he was the first man to whom Sonya, who had never entrusted her back to anyone, had finally entrusted it.
‘There’s some serious fighting spirit.’
Their assumptions began running wild.
That Kim Mincheol was an incredibly powerful recluse.
“G-good work!”
“You worked hard!”
“Congratulations on setting a new record!”
All the guild members praised Sonya and Kim Mincheol.
And then.
“Um, Ms. Sonya, did the camera record this run properly? We need to retrieve it…….”
At the guild manager’s question, Sonya abruptly raised her head.
“Ah, that……. I forgot about it.”
She took the video-recording device out from inside her clothes.
The device that had recorded the entire conquest.
All the secrets of the conquest that had aroused everyone’s curiosity were contained inside it.
Every guild member stared at the object in Sonya’s hand with eager anticipation.
Crunch!
That was, at least, until it broke in Sonya’s hand.
“…Thank you. Otherwise, I would have been humiliated.”
“Huh?”
Sonya, who had crushed the video-recording device with her own hand, staggered through the crowd.
The guild manager stared at her blankly.
It was completely unexpected.
“Mr. Mincheol, you don’t have to support me anymore.”
A gentle voice directed at Mincheol.
Sonya had destroyed the video-recording device she had never once damaged before.
Everything was enough to set the guild members’ imaginations ablaze.
Until the two of them returned to the recovery room, every guild member stared blankly at their retreating backs.
“…What could have happened inside?”
That was the question everyone wanted to ask.
***
‘This is too much.’
The gazes of the Project Guild members that I felt as soon as I came out of the Tower.
How should I put it?
Their eyes were filled with emotions I couldn’t describe in words.
“It must be because of the contribution ranking, right?”
Yeah.
I didn’t understand either.
For me to rank first.
Even though Sonya had defeated the boss monster all by herself, I had ranked first.
“The Tower must have recognized that Sonya became a new boss monster.”
Maybe there had been some special bonus based on the difference in combat power between her and me.
I mulled over the gazes of the Project Guild members while recovering alone in the recovery room.
They were definitely looking at me with a misunderstanding.
They looked as though they thought I had defeated the boss instead of Sonya.
But I couldn’t bring myself to tell them the truth.
How could I explain it?
-Actually, Ms. Sonya got excited and tried to pounce on me. I restrained her with the collar and stopped her a few times while calming her down with the World Tree’s mana. I did touch her body a little while giving her a massage, but let’s just consider that a bit of harmless affection.
Hmm.
Even I knew no one would ever believe that.
And I couldn’t say it, either.
Sonya had a social standing to consider.
The Seven Heroes.
A figure respected by everyone.
When we came out through the portal, I saw that almost every guild member had waited to see us.
I knew how important and extraordinary she was to this guild.
How could I tell them that such an idol had nearly committed a perverted act?
For Sonya’s honor, it was only right to keep it a secret.
“I wonder if she’s calmed down by now.”
It had been an hour since I entered the recovery room, following the guild manager’s explanation that anyone who entered the Tower had to rest there for a while to recover the accumulated demonic energy.
Sonya and I had entered separate recovery rooms.
It was because of Sonya’s strong insistence.
-I-I want to rest alone. Let me rest alone. W-we can’t stay together.
Her face had been so red.
She must have been embarrassed.
Given the circumstances.
As we left the Tower, I looked at the red collar I had retrieved.
The item the manager had made to control a rampage.
“This really works like a charm.”
Thank you, Manager.
Without this, I definitely would have lost either my life or my chastity.
“I suppose I can leave soon.”
Wearing the new clothes supplied by the Project Guild, I examined my body, now completely free of wounds.
Sonya had pounced on me, tearing my clothes and leaving wounds here and there.
But the combat suit I had been wearing had been supplied by the Project Guild, and magic had healed all my wounds.
“I’m fine now.”
And as though it had read my thoughts,
-Recovery complete, Mr. Kim Mincheol.
an announcement rang out inside the recovery room.
When I left the recovery room,
“……”
“There he is.”
“He doesn’t look strong…….”
“Idiot, true masters don’t show it. The Hero is like that too.”
Gazes fixed on me from every direction.
They belonged to the members of the Project Guild.
When I made eye contact with them, several hunters lowered their heads.
The female hunters looked at me with faces full of curiosity.
Some even flashed me flirtatious eye-smiles.
Hmm, was it because I had come through the portal with Sonya earlier?
Attention was pouring in.
Is this what it feels like to be popular?
It was then.
“Keep your eyes down, will you?”
Sonya, who had come out of the recovery room, growled at the female hunters looking at me.
At her single remark, all the hunters left.
Sonya had also changed her clothes completely, just like me.
The only thing they had in common was that they were black suits; every detail was different. In particular, her tie was yellow, resembling the color of her eyes.
She had her hands behind her back, and I thought I caught a glimpse of several layers of black plastic bags there.
“Are you feeling all right?”
“Ah, yes……. M-Mr. Mincheol, are you all right?”
“I’m fine now.”
“Th-that’s a relief.”
Standing in front of me, Sonya fidgeted with her fingers before lowering her head.
“I-I’m sorry. I lost control and put you in danger…….”
She twisted her body restlessly without meeting my eyes.
“I’m sorry as well. I forced you to do something rather embarrassing.”
I felt a little guilty because I had treated her like an actual dog.
It was a little much.
No matter that she was a beastkin, she was a grown adult—and a woman.
I had even rubbed her chin and patted her head as though she were an actual dog.
That must have been embarrassing for her.
I should apologize properly here.
“Ah, that……. I-it’s okay. It felt good, too—no! It wasn’t unpleasant.”
“…That’s a relief.”
Her face turned bright red as she scratched the back of her head.
“M-Mr. Mincheol.”
“Yes.”
“If you don’t mind, that collar…….”
It was just as she shyly began to open her mouth.
“Sonya! Congratulations! I heard you cleared the 74th floor in record time!”
A bright, gentle voice came from the entrance to the waiting room.
A swaying blonde ponytail. It was the Hero, Yusera, whom we had encountered before entering the dungeon.
“Y-Yusera?”
Sonya flinched in surprise and shrank back.
Yusera lightly walked over and stood between the two of us.
Her blue eyes shone with interest.
“Hmm~, what’s this atmosphere~?”
After looking back and forth between Sonya and me, she smiled and leaned right up to Sonya’s ear.
Then she whispered loudly enough for even me to hear.
“Sonya, you two did it in there, didn’t you?”
“……?!”
At those words,
“W-wha, wh-wh, what are you talking about, you crazy bitch aaah!!!”
Sonya’s scream rang throughout the waiting room.