There's too many of them!

　It was time to go out to the Wraith's tame.
　When I saw the ten servants gathered in front of the door, I couldn't help but shout out.

　This morning, I had asked Yukari to help me with the tame, "Gather all the servants high up in the hierarchy who are likely to be unavailable today," I had asked her to help me. But I didn't expect ten people to come.

　No, I'm grateful, though, right?　I just wonder if business as usual will be okay.

Don't worry, sir. My men are growing up.

　Perhaps sensing my concern, Cubero says something encouraging. I see, well, it looks like this guy needs a special allowance.


...... hmm?

　Suddenly, I find an unfamiliar face among the ten people. It's a boy with short hair, about middle school age at a glance.

I've brought you here to fill in for your brother Sobra, my man. Hey! Greetings!
Puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-muh!

　Just, the horse clown head, introduced me to him. He's called Plum the Horse Clerk, apparently. It was obvious that he was very nervous.

'Are you okay?　Purrrrrrrrrrr...
Yes, sir. I may not be a very useful kid yet, but I'll take care of him on my own.

　That's not what I'm talking about, but ...... oh well.

Then you'll be exploring in pairs. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the first attack with the least amount of damage to the demons you come across. If it's a Wraith altered demon, the change should unravel. When you find the wraiths, track them and contact me via team-only communication. Okay?

　Everyone nodded with a good response when I gave them instructions.

　Since the ten servants were guest-joined to the team-first test on this occasion, the communication could be used without any problems.

　Therefore, this time, we have a total of eleven people plus one team of one animal to explore. Silvia and Eco also offered to help, but I wanted them to prioritize training for the summer title game, so I declined to participate for today.


'Ah ...... ......'
'Master, may we be a pair?　I do, sir.

　While the servants were moving one by one to the mountain where the wraiths lurked due to Anko's transfer summoning, a pair of maids spoke to them. They were Eve, an albino girl with pure white hair and skin, and her interpreter, Luna.

　I don't think there's anything wrong with us being a pair, but what do you mean by that?

　From what I saw, the servant pairs were Cubero and Lily, Just and Plum, Elle and Es, Cosmos and Champagne, and Eve and Luna.

　...... Oh, I see, I understand. The balance of power leaves me worried about the pair of Just and Plum, so I guess I'm asking if this is the right way to go.

　In the mountain where the Wraiths lurk, demons of a level as high as the upper C grade to the lower B grade (...) will appear as a single entity. This single one is the point.

''It's okay. Since the demons only appear by themselves, they won't be turned into fuchsia and die helplessly. There's plenty of time to send a message for help. And then I'll transfer over to you, so don't worry. So, you guys are fine as a pair.
"...... and ......
"Thank you, master," she said.

　When I told them to reassure me, they thanked me with a vaguely happy sounding voice and left.

　Indeed, if those two were separated, they'd each have a hard time with the pair. Eve's partner wouldn't be able to hear what Eve is saying, and Luna is also Luna and seems to be quite a comic relief. ......

　I've talked to Luna one-on-one once in the past, but she just talked about her pet spider nonchalantly, without changing her expression at all. It's called Consade, apparently. I had trouble reacting when she said something like, "It's an anagram of your master's name. I remember saying 'thank you' at the time, anyway.


' "We received a transmission from the other side saying that we'll have everyone in four minutes to complete the transition.

　After that, when I was waiting for the transition for a while, Cubero, who was beside me, told me so.
　When I returned with an understanding, Cubero continued to speak with an impressed look on his face.

''But this communication is a wonderful thing. How many people can you use it at the same time?'
'Three hundred, I think.　I think we're up to about 1,500 people if we meet the requirements.

　I didn't do much team warfare in my Mevion days, so I don't know the details.

'Let's see, 1,500 men is a hell of a lot ...... If the army uses it, it will revolutionize the war.

............ hmm?

　Huh?　No way. .......


"Hey. Don't they know how to form a team?

At least I don't know about it. Probably most people in the country don't know about it. If it's a state secret, or .......


　...... Really?


'Three or more people must completely clear a C grade dungeon within two hours (・・・・・). That's the requirement.

!

　When I tell him, Cubero looks at me with wide eyes.

''Are you sure?!''
Good or bad, you should know. Especially if it's one of my people.
...... What a neat move. I'm very impressed with this cubero. As the butler of the House of Furstest, I will take it to heart. Now, may I ask you one question?
Yeah.
What do you mean by "completely clear"?
'You have to defeat all the demons that have already appeared when you step into the dungeon before you take out the boss. The only hassle is that you have to go to some of the more secluded places that you usually miss.

　In dungeons, demons basically spring up as time passes. However, there are two limits to the number of them. "Number of saturated unoccupied" and "Number of saturated manned". The former is the upper limit that can be reached when the player is not in the dungeon. The latter is the upper limit of the number of monsters that will reappear when a player defeats a monster in a dungeon. Since the latter is set higher than the former, the system is designed so that the more demons you defeat, the more demons will spring up.

　To completely clear the dungeon, you must defeat all the demons that have already sprung up in the unmanned saturation state when you invade the dungeon. The next demon that springs up will not be included in that number.

''I agree. That's quite a challenge if you don't understand every detail of the dungeon's structure and mechanics.''
'I don't think so. It's just something you can sense.
No, it's going to be difficult. And the requirement to complete a grade C dungeon within two hours makes it even more difficult.
'That's about as good as it gets with three guys who would go to grade B.'

　Well, I'll admit that the conditions are a bit more complicated. It was rumored among players that this was an "adjustment by Mevion management to prevent novice teams from getting into disarray". There was some controversy on both sides, but the fact is that that adjustment, with the bar set a little higher, was working.

　Novice players who started Mevion with a group of friends would work hard to form a team, and those who couldn't work hard wouldn't form a team. Beginners who started alone would drift towards joining a team rather than forming a team. Thus, the absolute amount of teams decreased and the value of teams increased.

　Most of the full immersion VR MMORPGs that were popular at the time, other than Mevion, had a system that made it easy for a single person to create a team or guild, so there was a mess of crappy organizations that only had one member, but Mevion was a relatively clean and nice environment! I remember.

"Prime Minister Val Moreau probably put together a team. I'm sure there are several people in the Marvel Empire who know how to form a team. It's not so hard to find a guy like that vomit who knows what he's talking about.
Okay, master of ceremonies?

　As Cubero says, though, it might be at least a state secret.

'Look, we're about to make the transition.

　With our chit-chat out of the way, we made our way to the mountain where Wraith was hiding.
　It took us about 10 minutes to get there. Oh, man, I'm so sorry.


"All right, let's get to work.

　As soon as we moved on, I gave the order.

　The five pairs of servants ran bravely into the mountain.
　Anko and I followed suit and entered the mountain.

　...... The long, deadly battle with the Wraith has now begun.



　　* * * *



Do you see the one o'clock clock clock?
I can see you. That's Monkey (・・・・), right?
Yeah, I see.

　The pair of Cubero and Lily were advancing through the forest near the base of the mountain, carefully searching for enemies.

　Suddenly, a muscular ape demon with the appearance of a karate fighter appeared in front of the pair. Its name was a giant karate monkey. It was closer to a gorilla than a monkey, but the two judged it to be a monkey because its face was the monkey itself.

I'm going to take care of it. Cube-chan, take care of the backup, okay?
Yes, sir.

　Lily swiftly approached the Ookaratezal with a speed that wasn't commensurate with its muscular hulking body, and when it stopped on the verge, she chanted 《Water Attribute, Type Iino》.

　Since Second begged Mine to hand over the grimoire of all the attributes, Type I-no-types to Type IV-no-types, the servants were able to learn 【Magic Arts】 at any time. Lily is no exception, and has learned several 【Magic Arts】.

''Eat up!''

　With a single call, Lily released 《Water Attribute, Ichino Type》 like a throwing kiss.

　With a flop--a direct hit to the face of the giant karate monkey. The rank is 9th grade, and since it's probably the least powerful attack Lily has, no damage was done at all.

''Oh~...... apparently it's real, isn't it?''
Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

　It was painful, and an enraged Orcaate monkey attacked Lily.

'I won't let you.

　A moment later, there was support by Cubero.
　A jumping kick by the 5th Dan's 《Katsura Horse Body Technique》 stabbed into Ookaratezaru's chest.

　Ookaratezaru said, "Ugyaa! He squealed, lost his balance and went down, backing away.

'Take care of the rest, Lily,'
I'm sorry!

　Lily approached the Orca Tezaru, who was trying to get up, while jerking his neck.

　Then, about one meter in front of him, he activated the six-dan 【King General Body Technique】.
　The "Golden General Body Technique" is a short range forward attack and defense skill. It was a tackle, so to speak.


''Hmph!


　A heroic voice leaked out of Lily's mouth, and immediately afterwards, "Zsin! And a big impact. Then, with a squeaking sound of something, the Orca Raptor was flung away as if it had been hit by a car and crashed into a tree five meters back and died.

　If you don't include the lookout by the Ichino type, it was only two attacks. Most of the demons here are at the level of sinking at this level.


''It's a quintessential power, isn't it?''
You're the one with nice powers, Cuvier.

　The two of them finished defeating the demon without difficulty and praised each other's power.

　Since they were opponents who often went against each other in the ranks, and in addition, both of them were users of [Body Technique], the two of them were very close and good rivals at the same time.

''Let's keep going like this.''
All right, let's go. We're the ones who get the master's praise.





Oh, Plum. You attack.
Hey, bro!

　Meanwhile, at that time. The pair of Just and Plum had found the giant karate monkeys, as had Cubero and the others.

　As far as tactics go, it seemed that the low-status Plum would take the first attack, while Just would take the rest of the battle.

''Ura!''

　The 5th level [Infantry Archery] by Plum hit Ookaratezal's arm.

　Plum has raised 【Artsmanship】 as his main focus. It goes without saying, but it's because he admires Just, who mainly uses [Archery] as his main focus.

''Okay, it's fake. No, it's real?　Well, okay, let me take care of the rest!

　The giant karate monkey was not a wraith. The fact that he rushed at the two of them in a rage is the best proof of that.

　Just draws his bow and unleashes a fifth-level 《Silver General Bow Art》.


''Ugooh!''

　A direct hit to the head. It was a critical hit, and the Orca Raptor was killed by a single blow.


''Heeeee!　Awesome!　That's my brother, man!
Well, that's about it.

　Plum was happy to clap his hands, and Just was in a good mood to show his brotherhood the good side of things.

　Even for this duo with the least amount of strength, it could be said that the search for the Wraith was generally good.




　Thus, Cubero and Lily were powerful, Just and Plum were nimble, Elle and S. were a-un, Cosmos and Champagne were fighting, Eve and Luna were silent, and Second and Anko were super speedy, and they continued their search for the Wraith until nightfall.


　The first day ended without any results.

　The second day and the third day passed in a flash.

　On the fourth day, we had a pair of Silvia and Eco to help us, but still no results.


　...... Two days left.

　We have to time it at all costs.


　The second team is in pursuit of the Wraiths with the very backwater of .......