"I can't do this anymore. I'm just not strong enough."
I pleaded desperately to my childhood friends — my companions in the Mourning Specter.
"You guys... I can't keep up with you. You understand, right? That our party's Treasure Hall runs... are being held back because of me."
Members of a Treasure Hunter party each have their roles.
Those who repel Monsters— the Attacker. Swordfighters and mages.
Those who disable traps and scout ahead— the Support. Thieves and Alchemists.
Those who heal the wounded and protect the party— the Healer. Guardian Knights.
I had none of those skills. I was completely dead weight.
I had tried. But when someone without talent and someone with talent put in the same effort, it goes without saying that the latter grows stronger.
And my childhood friends — Luke and the others — were astonishingly hard workers. Since every human only has twenty-four hours in a day, there was no way I could ever catch up.
A party is typically made up of five to six members. If I weren't there — if they'd just brought in one or two more members suited to the party's Level in my place — Luke and the others would have been able to push forward much further.
Hearing my words, Luke Saikol nodded with a grave expression.
"Yeah... You're right, Krai. We're not strong enough."
"...?"
"I'm sorry, Krai. If only we were stronger, we wouldn't have to worry you like this..."
Another companion seated beside me — Liliz Smart — agreed with him.
"No, that's not—"
They were strong. Already more than strong enough. Strong enough to keep raising the level of Treasure Halls they conquered, even while carrying dead weight like me.
Running the halls with just the five of them — without me — would have been so much easier.
Luke brushed aside my words like a reed in the wind and said, distant-eyed: "This isn't working, is it... Haha... If I'm stuck at a place like this, becoming the strongest Hunter is a dream on top of a dream. Thanks, man. You've opened my eyes. I'm gonna go apprentice myself under that Sword Saint or whatever they call him and rebuild my fundamentals..."
Luke strolled off to become the disciple of the Sword Saint — a figure renowned throughout the Imperial Capital — as casually as if he were going for a walk. The others each proposed their own plans for improving their strength.
Listening to them, I thought: These guys are hopeless. They think everything will be solved if they just get stronger. No matter how strong you all become, I'll still be weak.
And then it hit me.
I'd start a clan. This couldn't go on like this. I was going to die. And even if I didn't die, I'd end up in something just as bad.
I'd start a clan. I'd build a clan together with other promising parties. In order to bring in new, powerful members for the Mourning Specter.
A new wind was needed. A fresh first step had to be taken.
And so I established the Beginning Footprint, and used managing it as an excuse to escape from Treasure Hall exploration.
That was three years ago.
§ § § There exists a substance called Mana Material.
I don't know the details of how it works, but it's said to be the foundational power of this world — invisible, yet present everywhere. Think of it like an invisible mist.
Normally spread evenly across the world, it can sometimes concentrate in one place due to the influence of Ley Lines and other factors.
When that happens, the power — normally invisible — draws upon the memories of the world's origins to create an extremely limited otherworld within this world.
That is — a Treasure Hall. The reason the occupation of Treasure Hunter has existed since ancient times.
Treasure Halls come in all shapes. Towers, castles, forests, deserts, underground labyrinths — and in unusual cases, ships, skies, or waterfalls. They are otherworlds formed by randomly extracting information from every source across time and space.
The Hunter's objective is the reason Treasure Halls are called Treasure Halls — the special items known as Treasure Weapons, which manifest alongside the world at a high probability.
For example, a water flask that never runs dry.
For example, a ring that shields you from harm — once.
For example, a cloak that lets you fly when worn.
Treasure Halls frequently produce items with extraordinary powers that modern civilization cannot replicate. Depending on their abilities, some are worth enough to live on for a lifetime when sold. These are genuine treasures.
Of course, there are risks.
Resilient life forms that thrive in places rich with Mana Material — Monsters — and living Phantoms generated by the same principles as Treasure Hall manifestation— Sometimes there are traps. Often the terrain itself is a hurdle. Hunters even lose their lives fighting among themselves.
But even faced with threats that could end their lives, Hunters never stop seeking Treasure Halls.
Wealth, glory, and the Power gained by absorbing high concentrations of Mana Material from the air. Treasure Halls were simply too tempting to give up on.
Imperial Capital Zebuldia was the ultimate destination for such Treasure Hunters.
Transportation access. The city's level of development. The nation's strength. Safety above all.
And most importantly — the abundance of Ley Lines that retain Mana Material, with Treasure Halls of various difficulty levels scattered across the surrounding area. This location made the Imperial Capital a holy land for Treasure Hunters.
The countless Treasure Weapons gathered there, and the materials obtained from the many Monsters inhabiting the Treasure Halls, attracted merchants. The assembled supplies in turn drew in more Hunters. When renowned Hunters gathered, the city's safety was further ensured.
This cycle gave the Zebuldia Empire unmatched national strength among the great powers.
When we — a group from a small border town — decided to become Treasure Hunters, we rode multiple carriages, pushed ourselves hard, and made for the distant Imperial Capital. We believed the environment there would forge us and serve as a shortcut to glory.
In the end, it may have tempered us too hard, but even now I don't think that decision was wrong.
The Imperial Capital... The Zebuldia Empire was a nation that had grown through Hunters.
Imperial law protected Treasure Hunters, and in terms of taxes, facilities, and countless other ways, it was a comfortable place to live.
The headquarters of the clan "Beginning Footprint" stood in the heart of the Imperial Capital — on a prime stretch of boulevard.
A clan's headquarters is also called a Clan House, and Beginning Footprint's was a five-story tower built with membership fees generously extracted from its members.
On the top floor, in the Clan Master's office where sunlight streamed in brilliantly, I was dozing off when the Sub Clan Master — Eva — burst through the door with enough force to break it.
Seeing me startle awake, she let out a deep sigh.
"Krai-san, you've completely checked out."
"Ah... Seriously?"
Sub Clan Master Eva Renfield and the staff hired for clan management were not Hunters.
Unlike those monsters, they had delicate, purely undeveloped physiques. Behind slim red-framed glasses glimmered amethyst-like eyes, and her brown hair was neatly kept. Nothing like the rough Hunters — she had the unmistakable appearance of someone highly capable.
Beginning Footprint had roughly ten such staff members besides her, and without them, things would never have run smoothly.
They were the unsung heroes I'd gathered from all over when I retired. The fact that they worked in secret — and wouldn't die even if someone punched them — was also a major plus.
With an unmistakably displeased expression, she placed the newspaper she'd been carrying under her arm onto the desk.
It was the Zebuldia Days — the newspaper with the number-one share in the Empire.
The large photo on the front page was of the shop we'd used for member recruitment yesterday. However, the sign that had hung above the entrance had fallen, there was a massive hole in the wall, and fires burned everywhere. Through the large hole, brawling Hunters could be seen.
The headline read: "Major Clan 'Holy Spirit's Children' — Brawl Breaks Out at Member Recruitment"
Something about it felt off, but I was about to puke.
I let out a huge yawn and skimmed the paper while asking the first thing that needed confirming: "Any civilian casualties?"
"Fortunately, it doesn't seem like there were any."
"Then we're safe. It'd be a disaster if citizens got hurt."
I was glad I'd had the tavern owner evacuate beforehand. Only Hunters had been present.
A top-tier Hunter can kill a person with a single finger. Our clan's motto is: no civilian casualties.
Broken buildings can be fixed. Dead people cannot.
I read through the content. Fortunately, the name "Mourning Specter" did not appear.
Our members do nothing but ridiculous things, so we owe the Zebuldia Days quite a bit. They cut us a certain amount of slack.
But those monsters. They don't understand the concept of holding back. Don't go destroying buildings over a single low-level Treasure Weapon ring.
Eva, who didn't know the details, let her glasses glint as she glared at me with piercing eyes.
"I hear you poured oil on the fire, Krai-san?"
"Well... I didn't mean to, but even without me, it was already pretty bad, you know?"
In the end, the member recruitment ended in a drawn-out mess.
I'd fled the moment tables started flying, so I didn't know the outcome, but apparently it had gotten quite heated.
Young Gilbert had already been taken out by Tino. That's the problem with muscleheads.
Everyone has a combustible nature deep down, and once a spark hits, the flames spread fast.
Ah... I wanted to move somewhere far away already...
"Did Ark have anything to say?"
"I ran into him in the lounge a little while ago. He was watching the paper and cackling away. Didn't seem bothered at all."
That guy really is broad-minded. I supposed that's what people mean by having the makings of a hero.
His party — "Holy Spirit's Children" — being the number-two clan behind Beginning Footprint was truly a relief. Honestly, it saved us a lot.
I tossed the newspaper aside, propped my feet on the desk, and began carefully polishing the Treasure Weapon rings I always wore, one by one. Eva pressed her forehead and spoke.
"What about compensation for the destroyed tavern?"
"Send the bill to Ark. Make sure to calculate the lost opportunity costs too and have him compensate for everything. That was the deal when we borrowed the place."
"We're getting complaints from the Explorer's Guild."
"Handle them appropriately."
Complaints — I was used to them. At first, I'd nearly vomited every time one came in, but since these were the members we had, they came year-round. I couldn't afford to throw up every single time.
Without missing a beat, Eva added nonchalantly: "They say to stop being lazy and come explain yourself in person."
"Ah... A summons, huh? ...I'm gonna be sick."
My stomach lurched.
The Imperial Capital was a city of Treasure Hunters. The largest organization managing them — the Explorer's Guild — wielded tremendous power. In name, "Beginning Footprint" was affiliated with it, and we had no right to refuse a summons.
My face twisted as I let my true feelings slip, and Eva said, exasperated: "You should be used to this by now. How many times is it?"
"No matter how many times it happens, I never get used to summons. Gaark, the Imperial Capital branch chief — that guy is absolutely terrifying. He's definitely killed people before."
"Oh please, don't be ridiculous..."
Gaark, who ran the Explorer's Guild in the Imperial Capital, was a former Hunter.
A former monster who'd taken a position at the Guild upon retiring. It had been some time since then, but his power was as formidable as ever — the kind of man who would wade right into fights between Hunters without batting an eye.
On top of that, he'd been looking after us since we first arrived in the capital, so I couldn't exactly talk back to him. I was backed into a corner.
"You're kidding... If I ignore him, he'll just show up here on his own. That guy."
The one time I'd accidentally ignored him, it had become a huge mess. He was now high on my "absolutely cannot defy" ranking.
More importantly, the Deputy Branch Chief was a reasonable person who could keep Gaark in check, so going to the Guild office where the Deputy was present was actually less painful in practice.
I wished someone could go in my place... but Eva, who practically ran the entire clan operation, was a civilian. I couldn't bring myself to throw her into a den of Hunters.
"Maybe I'll have Ark go instead."
"Krai-san, aren't you relying on Ark too much?"
Because there was nobody else reliable. Having power doesn't necessarily mean having a good personality.
I racked my brain for a while, but in the end, no good ideas came.
"...Fine. I don't want to go, but I guess I will. I really don't want to go out, though. I don't have a bodyguard. And my disguise Treasure Weapon broke the other day..."
If the members of the Mourning Specter were around, someone would come along as my bodyguard. But they'd gone off to tackle a high-difficulty Treasure Hall, and there was no telling when they'd return.
"It'll be fine, I promise. This is the Imperial Capital, after all."
"That's only because nobody's ever attacked me in the city. Well, I did crush everyone who tried, so there haven't been any lately."
I slipped my best ring onto my index finger from among the ones I'd been polishing. The others went into a pouch, I bundled up the chains and fastened them to my belt, and stood up.
Time to dazzle them with my magnificent groveling skills.