Water Magician

“Ni-Nina-san …”

“Oh, Niles-san and party, welcome back. You are early today.”

“Yo-you have worked harbuh.”

Etho silenced him by lightly chopping the back of his head since he was stumbling on his words and utterly failing at keeping his composure.

“We came back early because a Goblin Archer came out on the fifth floor.”

After saying that, Etho showed Nina the magic stone he had taken from the Goblin Archer.

There was only a slight difference in size between the magic stones of Goblins and Goblin Archers.

However, Nina, as the receptionist, could tell at a glance that the magic stone that Etho took out was not a normal Goblin drop, but one from a Goblin Archer.

“This is certainly a Goblin Archer’s magic stone … I believe there haven’t been any reports of them appearing on the fifth floor in the last few years. I will report this to the Guild Master at once. I will also write a notice on the bulletin board. Thank you for reporting this.”

Nina thanked them and left the reception, headed off to report to the Guild Master.

“Ah, Nina-san …”

Niles was still in a daze.

“Haa … Niles, let’s go. We still have to sell the magic stone.”

Etho and Amon worked together to pull Niles to the magic stone sales window.

A knocking sound was heard at the door of the Guild Master’s office.

“Come in.”

“Please excuse me.”

Rune’s guild master, Hugh McGrath, was wrestling with paperwork as usual.

Hugh, a fierce-looking giant, looked like a person who would have nothing to do with paperwork but that was a big misconception.

In the first place, there was no reason why the Adventurer’s Guild Guild Master in Rune, the largest frontier city, would not be capable of paperwork.

If he didn’t have above-average processing power, an organization as large as his wouldn’t function.

“Master, I have a report. Just now, the party of F-rank adventurers Niles, Etho, and Amon reported to the reception that they encountered a Goblin Archer on the fifth floor of the dungeon.”

Nina began reporting, even though Hugh was still looking through documents and did not give any particular signal.

But all the Adventurer’s Guild staff in the City of Rune did that.

After all, Hugh instructed them to do so.

“Goblin Archer and the fifth floor? That usually comes out on the 10th floor or lower.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

He naturally stopped looking at the documents and looked up at Nina who was reporting while standing.

“It might be a sign that something is wrong. Who’s the B-rank party in town right now?”

“Crimson Sword and White Brigade.”

“Is the core unit of the brigade, Phelps and his party, around?”

“Yes, they came back from an expedition the day before yesterday so they are probably still here.”

Nina responded without hesitation.

“Okay, ask both Crimson and White to come. I’ll have a request for them an hour later here in this office.”

“Brigade will be there too, right? I’m not good with them …”

“What are you talking about after coming here? You’ve known each other since you were little, right?”

“Well, Abel is forever complaining about something. Why don’t you emulate Warren a little?”

“…”

They were in the corridor in front of the Guild Master’s Office.

Abel, Rihya, Rin, and Warren were heading to the office under the nomination of the Guild Master.

“Haa …”

Abel sighed and knocked on the door of the office.

“Come in.”

“Please excuse us.”

Abel entered the office.

As expected, Guild Master Hugh, White Brigade Leader Phelps, and Deputy Leader Sheena were there.

“Hey, Abel.”

Phelps called out in a friendly tone.

His height was 190 cm, which was almost the same as Abel, but thinner.

Twenty-four years old, blonde, blue eyes, and handsome.

His popularity was enormous.

Abel was very popular with both men and women, but Phelps was unusually popular with women.

Of course, he wasn’t hated by men … just the target of jealousy of men.

Due to his appearance and popularity of the opposite sex, despite being a target of jealousy from the same sex, he was always respected as an adventurer.

That was because of what he has achieved so far.

“Hello, Phelps.”

Abel greeted with a bitter face.

“You always stick to that same greeting, Abel.”

Phelps said with a smile.

Hugh spoke as soon as the Crimson Sword sat down.

“Thank you for coming, Crimson Sword and White Brigade. I think you have received a brief explanation from the messengers. A Goblin Archer was confirmed on the fifth floor of the dungeon.”

“Master, how accurate is that information?”

“100%. Three F-rank adventurers defeated a group of three, including an archer, and brought back the magic stone. The reception confirmed that it was an archer’s magic stone.”

Hugh affirmed with a 100% to Phelps’ question.

“F-ranks could hunt a group including an archer, I look forward to the future.”

Abel said happily. The existence of excellent juniors was promising for seniors.

“The leader Niles has good judgment. He will survive long as an adventurer.”

Hugh gave his seal of approval.

“Niles? Are those three Ryo’s roommates?”

“Yes, Niles, Etho, and Amon are Ryo’s roommates. How do you know that, Abel?”

“Well, I only spoke to them a little the other day …”

(After all, survival is paramount for adventurers, especially in dungeons.)

Abel smiled softly and nodded lightly, remembering what he had said when he met them in the cafeteria.

“Okay. The information is confirmed. So what exactly is your request to us?”

Phelps urged Hugh to continue.

“I want Crimson Sword and White Brigade to dive into the dungeon and check for the occurrence of a 『Great Tidal Bore』.”

When the phrase 『Great Tidal Bore』was heard, everyone present felt nervous.

A 『Great Tidal Bore』 was an explosive increase of monsters that occurred once every few years in the dungeon of Rune.

The precursor to its occurrence was that monsters that would otherwise be on the deeper floors could be seen multiple times on the upper floors.

However, in reality, ant-type monsters could also appear on the upper floors by digging vertical holes in the dungeon, such as the Soldier Ants seen on the first floor.

Therefore, even though there have been reports of Soldier Ants appearing on the first floor for half a year, it was not tied to a Great Tidal Bore.

But this time it was a Goblin Archer.

What should only appear below the tenth floor was found on the fifth floor.

There was sufficient evidence to suspect it may be a precursor to a Great Tidal Bore.

Moreover, ten years had already passed since the last Great Tidal Bore.

At present, it was not strange that a Great Tidal Bore could occur at any time.

“The reward is 100 gold coins in advance and 200 after returning.”

“Guilmas, I’ll confirm again, we only have to check if it is occurring?”

Abel verified the contents of the request.

“Yes, only check if it is happening.”

“What if it has started?”

This time, Phelps confirmed the subsequent response they should take.

“Once you have confirmed that it is happening, immediately return to the surface and report. I will also frequent the branch office. We will abandon the dungeon entrance and utilize the double wall on the surface to intercept them with the guild and the Margrave’s Knights. I have already reported this confirmation request and the subsequent interception plan to the Margrave.”

Everyone was even more nervous when they heard that.

The fact that the interception plan had already been reported to the Margrave meant that Hugh was already convinced that the Great Tidal Bore was happening.

“I’ll have to request that you enter the dungeon tomorrow morning. Probably the day after tomorrow, I’ll have all the adventurers in the City of Rune standby in the guild. There is a notice on the guild notice board stating that exploration of the dungeon is prohibited from tomorrow. Of course, even the branch office beside the dungeon will stop entering the dungeon after tomorrow.”

Hugh was making use of everything he could.

Even Hugh, a fierce-looking giant who seemed to even have muscle for brains, was the guildmaster in the City of Rune and a former A-rank adventurer.

That position would be impossible unless his mind was also first class.

“Crimson Sword, White Brigade, will you accept this request?”

“Yes, the Crimson Sword accepts this request.”

“White Brigade accepts the request.”