“Haa... this won't do. This far.”
Already more than six had escaped.
They had squeezed themselves dry to get this far and still could not break the wall of floor thirteen.
Hoshana Rinu, who had led Belladen, bit her lip.
'I wanted to beat Lionel Rondoa.'
She had worked hard at the Baptism Rite and still the gap was wide.
'I came to Belladen to prove myself.'
She had been certain they would end up competing in the same hall.
And yet Lionel went to Zerotil.
'This is better, if anything.'
Zerotil was nothing but dead weight anyway.
First, second and third from the Baptism Rite are there, but isn't the place crawling with bottom-rank students, last place included?
She hadn't set a new record by passing floor thirteen, but floor twelve was easily enough to contend for first.
Heart pounding, she came out through the exit and met an unexpected situation.
'A live broadcast...?'
There had definitely been no broadcast up until they entered the labyrinth.
A commentator must have been attached the moment they went in.
And on the aerial panel screen that slid up.
'Wh-what! What is that!!'
An unbelievable sight was unfolding.
***
Around the time we reached the end of floor nineteen.
“Isn't this far too easy?”
“Should Class 4 monstrosities be this easy?”
“My hands don't shake anymore!”
“That's because it isn't a Three-Horn Stag.”
“Ah.”
“Ohhh! Reaching floor nineteen is a first in itself! Insane!”
With my Spartan instruction and repeated training, the children's eyes were full of confidence and life.
“Wow, we really came this far without a single person dropping out.”
Lumiel mutters as though dumbfounded.
“We know exactly how to handle them.”
For a year before entering the academy we rolled around merrily with Silver-Mane Wolves.
'If anything they were easier to face than One-Horn Rabbits or Three-Horn Stags.'
Even so, I hadn't expected to reach floor nineteen with nobody escaping.
With only me it would probably have been brutal, but Lionel and Viera attached themselves as appropriate strength, which made it feasible.
'Is it all right to coast this much.'
It genuinely feels like pure gravy.
Ah, hold on. Surely not.
'Did she train me on Silver-Mane Wolves deliberately?'
Foreseeing this exact situation?
Shiver—
Goosebumps rose briefly at Mother's design.
'Mm. Let's not think too deeply.'
Just then a blue head taps me on the side.
“Are you going down?”
“We're going down.”
“If we wipe on floor twenty we get zero points.”
It's Lionel.
This fellow?
'With eyes that have no intention of giving up whatsoever.'
“Do you know the Elite Silver-Mane Wolf well too?”
“Mm. These ones use a technique.”
“A technique?”
“Claw Slash. They wrap demonic energy around the claws and fire a sharp shockwave forward.”
Good grief. What is this, sword aura?
“How do I handle it?”
“Wrap yourself in Enhancement and block it. When you're taking an attack, wrapping in Enhancement is better than Condemnation for you too.”
Okay. Received.
“Anything else?”
“That it's absurdly hard and strong, roughly? In exchange its speed is actually lower than an ordinary wolf's.”
Thank you, Lionel Wagon!
Putting the cautions the Lionel Wiki had given me into my head, I finally went down to floor twenty.
But.
“Oh, damn.”
There isn't just one of them?
Sweat trickles down the side of my head.
Floor twenty... we'll manage, right?
***
“Whaaat?? Dean Marel? Is that the correct composition for floor twenty?!!!”
Today's MC, Bishop Daniel's eyes went wide enough to pop out.
What the children who had just descended to floor twenty faced was three Elite Silver-Mane Wolves.
One alone is hard, and there are a full three!
“Ahem, the twentieth floor of the Infinite Descent Match is originally a special stage.”
Marel cleared his throat, composed his expression and continued his explanation.
“It is not a floor built on the assumption that anyone would come down this far in the first place.”
“Which means?!!!”
“It means it is a floor that absolutely cannot be cleared.”
Naturally.
'Because floor twenty is a floor that must not be cleared!!'
“But! Is that acceptable?!!”
“As I said, it is a special stage. Which is to say a bonus floor.”
“Meaning...?”
“A team that descends to floor twenty is not given a zero even if every one of them drops out partway. Their showing on floor twenty will be converted into individual scores and paid out as coins.”
“Wow! So it really is a bonus floor! Why did we not know this rule until now?”
“Because there has never been a team that descended to floor twenty.”
Thirty years since Osten Academy was founded and the inter-dormitory match came into being.
The best record in an entrance ceremony subjugation match is floor thirteen! An unprecedented situation indeed!
“If they subjugate even one, the children will earn a tremendous number of coins.”
“Ooh! I am truly excited! Zerotil, this is a jackpot chance! Please do not be intimidated and throw yourselves in!!”
***
Meanwhile. Facing three Silver-Mane Wolves.
'Is this difficulty right?'
I was dumbfounded.
A wolf swollen to more than double the bulk is absurd enough.
And having just taken a Claw Slash, it was more absurd still.
KAAANG—!
“I don't think this was made to be cleared.”
Tch, Lionel clicked his tongue.
He barely deflected a Claw Slash and shook out his arm, face thoroughly screwed up.
I agree with you, man.
Because of these things, the Zerotil troops who had filled up with confidence are shrinking in real time.
Do you know what I went through raising the kids' spirits!
You lot won't do.
“Let's take the initiative.”
I put my hand into an inner pocket and gripped the holy stones.
Normally the very end of a floor has a stronger individual or greater numbers, so I had planned to use them at the end.
'Since it's come to this, I shouldn't hoard them.'
I drew out several Explosion Talismans.
'Explosion Talisman usage, the first. Stack Explosion Talismans and the damage is added.'
Throw several Explosion Talismans overlapping and the power increases to nearly double.
The power of throwing one and the power of throwing two differ by nearly fourfold!
That was the power even when they were paper talismans.
'And when I strengthened the holy stone Explosion Talisman earlier it was about three times the original power, wasn't it?'
So throwing two would be nearly twelvefold?
Wow, tremendous.
But with paper talismans I couldn't often stack them.
Because the divine power required increased beyond description.
I had no way of knowing how much holy power a holy stone Explosion Talisman would eat either. Nor its exact power.
This is something you only know by trying.
Throw first!
“Herd them as much as you can. To one side!”
The three of them need to be in one place for efficiency.
I pushed the children who could barely hold on to the rear.
And put the sturdy Adrian, Lionel and Viera out front.
“Grrrwaaargh—!”
KAAANG—! Kang!
“Urk! This really is too much!”
“My shield's getting shreddeeed!!”
“Hoo—”
The trio pushing forward, some skilfully and some brainlessly!
Thanks to them the distance between the wolves narrowed considerably.
I gripped two Explosion Talismans tight in my hand.
'Explosion Talisman usage, the second. Land it on a weak point and critical damage increases!'
This is something I learned while training with Silver-Mane Wolves.
Strike these things properly on a weak point and the feedback feels noticeably better.
'Which means hitting a weak point with an Explosion Talisman can raise the damage even further!'
The Silver-Mane Wolf has several weak points.
Naturally, the head is one of them.
With an ordinary Silver-Mane Wolf I would have had to think about landing a throw.
But this is an Elite Silver-Mane Wolf. Which is to say? The target has become absurdly large!
So if I stack Explosion Talismans and hit the weak point?
'A brutal kill!'
Probably?
The truth is I have never yet stacked holy stone Explosion Talismans.
I'm merely guessing it will be so, since it was tremendous even with paper talismans.
'Paper was convenient because you could stack several sheets and fling them.'
These are pebbles now, so they have to be aimed and thrown more precisely.
So that the stones don't go flying off somewhere wrong!
The saving grace is that I did learn a throwing technique.
'Is making the Demonbane Bottle having this kind of butterfly effect?'
At any rate.
The risk of missing has dropped a great deal, which is good news.
I'll devise an effective way to use Explosion Talismans later.
For now!
“Hraaaap—!”
Throw as hard and as far as I possibly can!
Shwoooo—
The target is between the eyebrows of the wolf in the middle.
Two holy stone Explosion Talismans, bunched together, are loosed and fly, tracing a red arc.
POP! Fwu-fwu-fwu-fwoom—! KA-BOOOOM!!
The two Explosion Talismans hit perfectly between the middle wolf's eyes.
KA-BLAM—!
The Explosion Talisman that touched the brow burst first, and that blast reached the Explosion Talisman following right behind it, setting off a chain explosion.
The other two wolves, caught in the blast and slammed into the wall!
Sluuurp— SPLAT!
Because of the explosion holding the power of Condemnation, they poured out black water and melted.
“......”
“......”
'The efficiency has gone completely out of its mind, hasn't it?'
Ohhh—
Explosion Talismans really are the greatest!
Unlike me, thrilled.
“Hyuuurk...”
“Th-they all melted. They melted!”
“Wh-whowhoaaa...”
The children frozen like ice!
Ahem, the power was certainly tremendous. Whether it was exactly twelvefold I couldn't say.
'It's because I have spirit-sight that I even caught the moment the Explosion Talismans burst.'
To the other children it probably looked as though the wolves simply blew apart the instant I threw.
'The power is plenty, but the number of Explosion Talismans is short.'
Exactly five left.
For a clear, it's time to place a bet.
“Let's herd them and take them.”
“What?”
“Hnngh?”
“Every wolf on this floor. Let's herd them all at once and take them.”
“...”
Silence returned once again.
“I think sweeping them all at once with these would work.”
When I held out the Explosion Talismans in my hand, they shuffled backward.
Children. I carried you, and this is a bit much, isn't it.
“There aren't many. This is all of them.”
Five holy stones held in my hand.
Just enough that throwing them all at once should produce a meaningful large explosion.
And still the children hesitate!
What is with you all. This is a sharp wipe risk, I know.
Nothing for it.
“Go! Adrianmon!”
“O-ooh!!”
I shoved Adrian, who by now reacts at nearly spinal-reflex level.
Lionel and Viera following with a sigh in the end!
“Corin, Lumiel! When we herd them over, hit them just enough to wind them up!”
I kicked off and joined in.
“How are we herding them?”
“Straight ahead for now!”
This is a straight corridor.
First we have to go all the way to the end and drag the final monstrosity back.
Aggro keeps pulling as we go, so all we need to do is bolt back quickly.
The Elite Silver-Mane Wolf is slower than an ordinary individual, which makes it easier to herd.
A saving grace, if you like.
“Waagh!”
“Adrian! Don't hug that side! To the middle!”
Vwooom— WHUMP!
Perilous situations kept coming, but the herding proceeded reasonably (?) smoothly.
“Damn, put them all together and it looks like about twenty.”
Three of them a moment ago was already absurdly brutal, and now twenty?
'This really wasn't put here to be caught.'
But?
'We're catching it, aren't we?'
We've herded them this far. We can't not catch them, can we?
Going back to where Lumiel was. The children who can use holy magic are all holding casting staves and preparing.
“Just pin their feet for a second!”
“Mm!!”
At my words holy magic pours all at once onto the wolves' front rank.
And the three of us who had been herding the mob slipped out quickly.
“Hup—!”
There was no time to delay.
I take exactly one deep breath and throw five Explosion Talismans!
And.
KA-BOOOOOM—!!
BOOM!
The labyrinth burst.
***
“Th-that... what is that.”
A child with brown hair and brown eyes, dazed as he watched the broadcast screen.
The child from Delucel who had mocked Zerotil a while ago.
The broadcast screen was currently blocked by the dust and smoke thrown up in the explosion's wake, so nothing could be seen.
A little later, when the smoke cleared.
“Huk!”
The child could not help swallowing a breath.
The corridor had been utterly destroyed, exposing the labyrinth beyond the arena!
“D-damn it...”
Zerotil, whom he had thought the very bottom, had not only easily caught the Three-Horn Stag he had struggled with and abandoned.
Right now they were setting a new record: the first floor twenty in an entrance ceremony inter-dormitory match.