Chapter 14: The Legend Continues

---

…The boss of the 64th floor was an Undead.
Physical attacks were out of the question, but it would even dodge magic attacks most of the time. It was the same with debuffs. That’s what Yorha and Ornest told me as we sat around the table where the Core had been placed.

And then…

“I think that this Tank Killer 64th floor will be similar to the 68th floor for us.”

As Ornest was in such a state of excitement, Yorha must have decided that his explanation would be full of holes, and so she added some details about the dungeon as well.
The 68th floor was the record the four of us made during our time at the academy. Ornest seemed to be referring to that time.

“While I had no intention of becoming baggage, due the nature of the floor boss, we will definitely be relying on Alec.”

Yorha specialized in support magic.
Clashia in recovery magic.
Ornest close quarters combat.
And I magic combat.

And so due to this floor boss, it made sense that they would rely on me.

“Because of this, in spite of anything that Ornest says, you must decide for yourself, Alec. Whether you want to head to the 64th floor or not. Because the burden will be especially heavy for you.”

…Even this conversation filled me with nostalgia.

It had always been this way. Whether or not we advanced to the next floor was decided by the person who would have the heaviest burden.
…This will be a battle of endurance, so Clashia will decide.
Or if close quarters combat was more effective then it would be Ornest. If debuffs were a necessity than Yorha. Something like that.

“Aside from a little anxiety about being rusty, I have no problem with it.”
“You have some nerve…”

I had been completely honest about how I felt, but Ornest rejected it.

‘The old man was fighting you so seriously. He would cry if he heard you now.’
He added.

“Well, since we got that out of the way, let’s hurry up and go before the old men beat us there.”

Ornest stood up enthusiastically.

While he had said this without any deep meaning, Clashia seemed surprised.

“…You don’t mean… The Guild Master is going to the 64th floor too?”
“Yes. Two parties are heading there this time. Their party includes the Guild Master, Vice Guild Master, Clista, and an attacker from an A-Rank party. And then there is us.”

Yorha added the last part as if our party was just extras, but it was actually true. We were extras.

We weren’t even supposed to be going. Yorha explained with a chuckle that the Guild Master had agreed to it under certain conditions.

“I would never have agreed to it without Alec. But considering your achievements at the magic academy, I can’t say that it would be reckless if it was all four of you.”

I suppose he did say that.
Ornest did his best imitation of the Guild Master as he told me this.

“And so I applied for our party, knowing that you would definitely agree to go. Now, ‘Lasting Period’ is fully returned!”

He laughed heartily.
He seemed so amused and happy.
As if he had been waiting for this day for so long.

“Now, let us continue the legend.”

He said the words that were familiar to all of us.

“…Ah, what nostalgic words.”

Yorha was the first to react to them.

Back at the magic academy.
Someone had said that about our party, during our first year, when we had broken the historic record for students in the royal dungeon.

‘…You lot have gone and built up your own legend.’

That was the beginning.
Before we knew it, the other students and even teachers were calling our party a ‘legend.’

Ultimately, the legend ended with us reaching the 68th floor, so it wasn’t exactly wrong.

And Ornest revived it as if he had been clinging to that memory.
‘Continue the legend…’

I could not help but smile at this.

“Of course. The legend has not ended yet. The dungeon in the royal capital was just the prologue. In fact, the three of us have been working hard in order to continue from where we left off.”
“Huh? I was not aware of that.”
“I didn’t know that either.”
“EHHH!?”

Reflexively.
That’s what it seemed like in terms of timing, when Yorha interrupted Ornest’s declaration. Clashia soon followed.

You have got to be kidding me! Ornest shouted, and I felt a little sorry for him.

“One day, if the four of us could go dungeon crawling again. That’s all I was thinking about.”

Yorha insisted that she did not think like Ornest, who was just a mass of ambition and pride. Clashia also agreed.

This notion of letting the world know our names, and build upon the legend we started as students. This grand plan that Ornest had been dreaming of…was his alone.

“Heh. Hehehe.”
“Hey! How dare you laugh!!”

I could not help but laugh at the difference in opinion here, which caused Ornest to glare at me angrily.

“…Well, regardless. I’m sorry to have kept you all waiting.”

In spite of our differences, deep down, the three were the same. I never would have thought that for four years, they would have continued to fight through dungeons while they waited for me. And so I apologized to them.

“…We were only waiting because we wanted to. You can’t start apologizing about such things every time.”

Before coming to Fezel.
And even after.

Should I really have accepted Yorha’s hand when she stretched out and offered it?
I would occasionally wonder about that… But now, I would push such thoughts aside.

…If I continued to think like that, then there was no doubt that Ornest would punch me in the face.

And so I would shake them off.

“Besides, you’re the only one who wouldn’t feel like they were holding us back. There was no other choice for a fourth member for this party. So don’t worry about it.”

‘Stop it with those tedious expressions.’
…Did he know what I was feeling? I didn’t know the true meaning behind his words, but it felt like he was saying that.

But he was always sharp at the strangest of times.
You could not underestimate him.

“And so! Let’s go and do it. The 64th floor. The Tank Killer! It is not a bad place to start this new adventure!”

He raised his voice.
‘As if we cared about that.’ The others seemed to say, but they were smiling as well.

“We are no longer in such a small place as the magic academy. This is the world. And the world will know our names!”

This would be the beginning.
Even if it was a deeper level, it was just a stepping stone. That sounded quite ridiculous. Still, regardless of it being the 64th floor or a place where an S-Rank party was dying, he said we had no reason to fear.

That was like Ornest, ceaselessly overbearing, confident and arrogant.

“We’ll strike fear into them. The fear of ‘Lasting Period.’”

Next Chapter

A Court Magician A Court Magician Who Was Focused On Supportive Magic Because His Allies Were Too Weak Aims To Become The Strongest After Being Banished Aims To Become The Strongest After Being Banished Who Was Focused On Supportive Magic Because His Allies Were Too Weak