The members of "First Steps" were all lined up and filing outside. None of the excitement or anticipation that hunters would normally feel before heading out on an adventure could be seen among them.
Instead, the air was thick with tension, as though they were heading to their deaths. And here I was, having followed their wishes exactly.
Tinno had moved to the side, watching the line of people depart with a look of relief.
Liliz circled from behind me to stand in front, her lips puckered as she spoke.
"Hey. Why can't I go? Why not? This is the kind of opponent Ark-chan could handle, right? I wanna go too. Come on! Klye-chan, please. Come on?"
Her voice was wheedling.
Liliz acknowledged Ark's abilities. Even the seemingly unstoppable "Peerless Shadow" was apparently a tough match for Ark Rodan, the all-purpose magic swordsman.
Her pink irises glinted with the thrill of a fierce battle. This girl was a lost cause — part of her brain had clearly short-circuited.
Besides, the "Divine Creation Potion" she'd mentioned wanting earlier — that was a supreme luxury item from the Treasure Hall.
The "Mourning Specter" had brought back exactly one of them, to be used only in emergencies, so I wouldn't hesitate to deploy it if the situation called for it. But doing so would result in a catastrophic loss.
I sighed as Liliz grabbed my arm and shook it like a child throwing a tantrum.
"Come on, you don't exactly have a track record of playing well with others."
"Ehhhh... It'll be fine. Everyone adjusts to me, so..."
That's exactly what "not playing well with others" means.
Behind us, Tinno had gone pale, anxiously watching Liliz's expression. I reached over and pinched Liliz's cheek.
Liliz looked up at me with a blank expression. I continued kneading her cheek without letting go.
Even though it was supposed to be reinforced with Mana Material, her skin was soft and unblemished. Mana Material really was a mysterious substance.
"Besides, Liliz, you just got back from the last hunt. You should take it easy for a while."
Everyone would be happier if she just stayed put and behaved. Of course, that included me.
Liliz beamed a radiant smile at my words. I wished she'd always look like that.
"Kyaa, Klye-chan, you're so nice! But I'm totally fine. Right, Tinny?"
"Y-yes! You're fine, big sister... Mastaa."
"See?"
Tinno nodded desperately, clearly having gone pale. She looked like she was being threatened no matter how you looked at it.
Liliz and I had known each other for a long time. Pretty much since we were barely old enough to understand the world. So I could more or less tell what she was thinking.
The mischief glinting in her eyes gave it away.
You're planning to sneak out, aren't you? Not happening.
It wasn't that I particularly minded spending the "Divine Creation Potion," but I could already picture it — Liliz cutting a swath through the other parties cautiously exploring the Treasure Hall, striding through it as though she owned the place.
Reluctantly, I draped an arm over Liliz's shoulder, lowering my voice as if sharing a secret, and tried to reason with her.
"Now, now, calm down, Liliz. You've got... let's see, there are other things you need to do..."
"...Ehh? Really? Hmm... Well, I guess that can't be helped."
Liliz blinked rapidly, letting out a disappointed voice. But at least she wouldn't sneak out on her own now.
Having a long history with someone meant knowing how to handle them.
The fact that I was still being made to serve as Clan Master, despite Ark being universally acknowledged as the strongest member in this clan, probably had something to do with that as well.
Liliz glanced sideways at me, the corners of her lips quirking upward.
"Hmm, then should I just send Tinny? There was a Phantom with all sorts of weapons, and it'd be perfect for training..."
Whoa, whoa — that's a terrible idea.
This time the "First Steps" members would be there, so it probably wouldn't be as bad as last time, but Tinno didn't seem to have good compatibility with the "White Wolf's Den." Otherwise, monsters like that wouldn't have shown up.
As a Solo, Tinno wasn't well-suited for these kinds of missions to begin with, and the Phantoms that appeared there seemed to have a slightly high ability level.
Liliz, you might not know this, but... the Treasure Hall is somewhere you approach with a sufficient safety margin.
Given what happened last time, sending Tinno back to the "White Wolf's Den" would make me a monster of a Mastaa.
I wanted to... maintain a good image. Especially since the person in question was a young woman, even if she was a junior.
"No."
"Aw, come on."
"That's the end of the discussion."
"Ughhh..."
I handled the still-displeased Liliz, released my arm from her shoulder, and looked up.
Just then, a large young hunter — Lyle — approached us.
He wasn't a founding member, but he was a veteran. He stood a little taller than me, and his well-worn, dull metal armor had an indescribable sheen to it.
We were close in age, so we got along fairly well. I remembered him recently celebrating reaching Level 5 with a big, rowdy party at the tavern.
Lyle looked at Liliz beside me with an uncomfortable expression for a moment, then turned to me and spoke as though he'd steeled himself.
"Klye, this request... um... is it really okay?"
A little further away, I could see other hunters watching us apprehensively. It seemed he'd drawn the short straw.
But what was I supposed to do with that question? The information I had about this mission was extremely limited.
Maybe even less than what Lyle and the others knew.
But... right. I was the Master. Since I was the Master, I should act like one.
I gave a thumbs up to encourage my companions.
"Don't worry! It might be a difficult mission, but I'm confident that 'First Steps' will definitely complete the commission!"
"..."
...Huh? That's weird.
Given the flow of the conversation, I'd expected cheers or battle cries. Instead, silence greeted me.
The hunters behind us and Lyle both wore indescribable expressions. Then Lyle spoke up with some hesitation.
"Yeah... so... how to put it? If possible... could you, as this clan's Master and as a Level 8 hunter, maybe give us some... pointers?"
"Pointers...?"
Now that was a tough one. I glanced over at Eva, who was standing a short distance away after Liliz had forced her back, but Eva simply gave a small nod without saying anything.
Apparently, the eye contact hadn't gotten through.
Pointers, pointers. As for pointers about navigating the Treasure Hall, these first-rate hunters hardly needed me to spell them out.
Watch out for Phantoms. Don't fight among yourselves. Let the Thief-class member go ahead to detect traps. Avoid going Solo as much as possible. Being given that kind of advice would only be annoying.
But beyond that... let me think.
I furrowed my brow and groaned for a while, then looked up, sighed, and spoke.
"I'm not sure if they'll show up, but if you see anything that looks slime-like, you'd better be careful."
Well, the advice didn't have to be perfect. Citri Slime — where on earth had that thing gone?
Lyle heard my words and stared at me as though he were looking at a madman. Rude guy.
"Slime!? There's no way slimes would appear in the 'White Wolf's Den'!"
Treasure Halls typically generated Phantoms that matched their location. Even if an external Monster managed to get in, it would normally be killed by the naturally occurring Phantoms, so seeing Monsters inside a Treasure Hall was rare.
And when the name in question was the weakest of all Monsters — a slime — that kind of reaction was understandable.
"That's why I said I'm not sure if they'll show up."
"...No, I'm not doubting you, but... hey. Let me ask one thing — what made you come up with the word 'slime'?"
I didn't answer, and just smiled.
Behind us, hunters who'd overheard our conversation were already starting to discuss anti-slime countermeasures. You guys are way too gullible...
"Oh, and if they do appear, they won't be normal slimes, so be careful."
"Huh!? Not normal slimes? What do you mean?"
Beats me.
They probably had "slime" in the name, and their weaknesses were probably similar to a regular slime, but Citry was finicky by nature...
As Lyle and the others descended into confusion once more, I smiled cheerfully while silently prostrating myself in my mind.
§ § § It was a wide, bright space that didn't feel like it was underground.
Documents lay scattered haphazardly across arranged desks. Bookshelves lining the walls were packed tight with thick volumes, and a pungent, nose-stinging chemical smell clung to the cool air.
The shelves held countless bottles of reagents lined up in neat rows, and the broad table was covered with reports written in strange characters different from the common language used in the Empire.
In the center of the room, a bizarre apparatus shaped like an inverted cone of coiled glass tubes emitted a quiet hum. The glass tips were embedded in the floor, occasionally trembling slightly — as if with a heartbeat.
Observing it from an adjacent desk, a man in a deep green robe heaved a deep sigh.
He was old enough to be called an elderly man. His face was creased with wrinkles, and more than half his hair had turned white. Yet his movements still carried a certain vigor.
Most notably, his eyes harbored a dark energy.
An informed observer would have recognized that the robe he wore and the silver staff — as tall as the man himself — resting beside him were equipment of the highest grade, short of Treasure Hall produce. They could dramatically enhance a user's mana and boasted formidable defensive capabilities — gear that even a Treasure Hunter Mage would struggle to obtain.
Muffled footsteps could be heard from the ceiling above. The sounds of hunters passing overhead.
Footsteps that should have been nearly imperceptible, but the surveillance magic built into the room was relaying the unusual state of the Treasure Hall above.
"So it's time, then..."
The man gazed at the ceiling and murmured, without particular regret.
He had known this situation would eventually come.
The great feat he had spent years trying to accomplish could never remain hidden forever. No matter how unpopular the "White Wolf's Den" was as a Treasure Hall, it wasn't as though hunters never came.
It had simply happened a little sooner than expected.
Rudolf's intrusion had been the result of a patron's rash excitement upon seeing the first signs of success in research that had finally begun to bear fruit. If he'd been given a little more time, rescue would have arrived and survival would have been assured — that much was certain.
It was infuriating to abandon the "laboratory" just as things were getting on track, but this wasn't the only location he had. He had backups elsewhere.
Anger clouded judgment. He had to remain calm.
Recalling the report from the Imperial Capital, he stroked his short beard and muttered to himself.
"'Thousand Transformations,' hm... what a troublesome man. Why must hunters always get in the way?"
For a man who had once enjoyed great renown as a Mage, Treasure Hunters were objects of contempt.
Adventurers who risked their own lives to infiltrate dangerous Treasure Halls and steal their treasures — little more than grave robbers.
Crude and barbaric, showing no respect for knowledge or history, wielding the mysterious power of Mana Material as though it were their own. Scoundrels, all of them.
But — things were somewhat different now.
Gripping his staff, the Mage twisted his lips into a grin.
A laboratory built beneath a Treasure Hall. Years immersed in research in that space, and the mysterious power had dramatically enhanced the Mage's abilities.
And that power had fundamentally changed his understanding of the world.
Mana Material. An unknown force that no one had yet learned to control.
The Hunters, who benefited most from its power, had every reason to be so full of themselves — it was truly formidable.
After just a few years of being bathed in its power, the man had gained several times the strength it had taken him decades to accumulate.
If that was the case, then what kind of power would those rare "Level 8" hunters — existing among all hunters in mere handfuls — possess?
He held no contempt. But neither would he overestimate them.
"...Retreating from this location isn't a problem, but... hmm..."
The Mage looked up at the ceiling — toward where one of the "White Wolf's Den's" passages should be.
The personnel dispatched to investigate the "White Wolf's Den" currently numbered around twenty.
They were no doubt searching right now for the "cause" that had raised the Treasure Hall's level — a cause that would never be found.
Since no major accidents had occurred, it was unlikely that significantly more personnel would be dispatched.
If the man simply left now, the "White Wolf's Den" would gradually return to normal over time.
That would be far too — boring.
"Well, since I'm retreating anyway, might as well conduct one final experiment..."
He opened a desk drawer and removed a vial. Inside was an inky liquid, different from any known potion.
It was a forbidden substance that his most promising disciple had stumbled upon by accident.
A byproduct of years of experimentation on manipulating Mana Material — a potion that sent Mana Material into violent overdrive.
It had been far too dangerous to use before, but now, on the eve of retreat, he hesitated not at all.
With unsteady hands, he loaded the vial into a special syringe designed with thick fur padding, made to pierce even the Phantoms that appeared in the "White Wolf's Den." The needle gleamed dully.
If this were brought to light, even if its creation had been accidental — that disciple would have rivalled the man himself in fame.
Of course, Mana Material manipulation was prohibited in every country, so we're talking about the underworld's version of fame.
"Heh heh heh... Sofia will be so frustrated when she sees no results from her work..."
Murmuring his first disciple's name, the Mage took his staff and stood.
The Phantoms in this Treasure Hall already had elevated levels.
If he reinforced them further, even a couple of levels higher would make twenty hunters nothing to worry about.