Chapter 131

The area around the gate was momentarily chaotic.

A father screaming for his child, hunters in dire straits. It was a situation that could easily attract attention. As the surrounding crowd whispered and murmured, the incident soon reached its climax.

“I will return the deposit. I’m sorry.”

“Wait, I’ll give you more. Stop! Please…”

After a prolonged back-and-forth, the hunters left.

“No, Alex…”

“Oh dear…!”

A man slumped down helplessly. Those with him were anxiously pacing back and forth.

“What are we going to do?”

“It looks interesting. Should we try talking to them?”

The small commotion piqued our curiosity. What could be going on?

-BANG!

The car owner waiting right behind us honked loudly. The driver’s side window rolled down, and the person inside waved their arm threateningly.

“Hey! Are you coming in or not? Hurry up and move your car!”

“Alright! I’ll be out soon!”

I replied casually and turned the car towards the parking lot. As the car moved, the wheels wrapped in chains squeaked against the ground. The vehicle behind us disappeared beyond the gate.

When we didn’t enter immediately as planned, Irene, who had been quietly sitting in the passenger seat, asked.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m curious about those people!”

The moment I laid eyes on them, I felt a strange intuition. Maybe there was something profitable going on.

The earlier man sat there, staring blankly beyond the gate. Some men and women nearby comforted him. A few wore serious expressions and were making calls somewhere.

“Oh dear… that stupid kid… how did this happen…”

“Hey, boss! I told you not to trust them. We should look for other options or something nearby…”

“Don’t worry. There must be a way!”

Violet 220 calmly walked over with Irene. I opened my mouth.

“Hey, I saw you earlier. What’s going on?”

The man in a suit, who had been comforting the slumped man, turned his head. The slick-haired man in a suit frowned when he saw me.

“What? A student? Kids should just move along.”

The man snapped irritably. I shot back gruffly.

“I’m a hunter. It looks like your contract got canceled; can we help you?”

“What?”

The eyes of the crowd turned toward me. Those who had just been approached by Violet 220 looked at me incredulously. Now was the time to bring Irene into the spotlight.

“…Please help!”

“Okay.”

Before anyone could ask further, Irene stepped in.

“Instead of talking, wouldn’t it be faster to just show them?”

She pulled out the clan ID card from her pocket and handed it over. The crowd’s eyes widened.

“Oh, Helios? Are these just kids?”

“Is this real?”

In that brief moment, I caught the glimmer of light in the man’s eyes. It seemed that the murmurs among his group drifted to the ears of the man who had been staring blankly at the gate.

The man staggered to his feet and received the card his group was looking at, reading it carefully.

“Hmm… for now, it seems real…”

“Then, can we ask what your issue is?”

The middle-aged man stared at us with trembling eyes, then sighed deeply. Finally, as if he made a decision, he closed his eyes tightly and opened them again.

“Well, since it’s come to this, I guess I have nothing to lose… You said you’re hunters. Are just the two of you?”

“No, there are four more!”

I gestured behind me. The other team members, wearing the masks I provided, were waiting by the car.

“Alright, let’s sit down and talk.”

When the man’s group looked uncertain, he raised an arm to silence them. Violet 220 and our five team members headed to the waiting room near the gate.

Inside the waiting room, there was a small cafeteria, vending machines, and an information desk. Long tables and chairs stretched out within.

“Wow, there are a lot of people for the morning?”

Inside, people adorned with various weapons were either eating or chatting. There are many such facilities around large dungeons. A place similar to an adventurer’s guild cafeteria in a fantasy game.

On one wall, several large TV monitors were mounted. The décor reminded me of a food court.

[Request #13: Please find the lost equipment in Zone A-1. A blue longsword!]

[Request #26: Please capture one Ice Skullcat.]

[Request #31: Is anyone willing to deliver ammunition to Zone B-3?]

Of course, this was a waiting spot for hunters. The difference was that instead of waiting ticket numbers on the screen, requests were displayed. Most were simple requests or errands among hunters.

When the middle-aged man in a suit sat down, the hunters momentarily turned to him. Was it because of the earlier commotion? A few began to approach slowly.

“Time is urgent, so let’s get to the point. My son and his friends are missing. Please help.”

*

What the middle-aged man and his group desired was simple.

“Go rescue the foolish academy students.”

Through several questions, I learned the detailed situation.

The man in front of me, Waverly Kessler, was the head of a company specializing in the trade of relics from dungeons. He had one son who was a non-awakened.

“Alex has dreamed of exploring dungeons and adventures since he was a child. Since my business was related to that, he was often exposed to it and became familiar.”

As he became a teenager, Mr. Kessler’s son Alex awakened one day. His son, who longed to become a hunter and explore dungeons, was overjoyed. His dream of becoming a hunter came closer to reality.

Aspiring hunter Alex finally enrolled in the Awakener Academy after much effort.

“Right, he’s a student at Aegis Academy, that prestigious institution!”

“Ah… Alex! If I had known it would come to this, I would have never sent him…”

While the father reflected on the past with a sad expression, Alex’s mother wiped her tears beside him.

“The problem is… one day, my son started behaving strangely.”

Unfortunately, the naive boy who entered the Aegis Academy saw his already fragile self-esteem inflate recklessly.

From one day onward, fueled by aggressive energy and the powers of an awakened one, he caused trouble and worried his parents.

Finally, Alex left four days ago, leaving only a note on his desk.

“This is that note.”

The first-year student at Aegis with swollen eyes had written:

[Dad, I’m going to find the Holy Grail!]

“The Holy Grail?”

“There’s a rumor in the dungeon relic trade. There’s a relic that grants invincibility when used, and it’s said to be buried deep within high-difficulty dungeons.”

Waverly himself seemed to find his own words absurd and let out a sardonic chuckle.

“But that’s just an urban legend that circulates among us. If such a thing existed, clans would have already gone to explore it.”

I was somewhat sympathetic to Waverly’s feelings. There’s no such relic with that effect in Pastera Snowfield. Those kids were just wasting their time.

Yeah, if he had disappeared alone, it might have been better; however, there was an even bigger problem, as four friends he made at the academy went along with him.

“Our Yuri is in there too!”

“Lucy is in there! Why did they follow him…?”

It seemed that the people around Waverly, swept up in emotion, began to speak without being asked.

Indeed, the group’s identity was a gathering of parents with naive academy students.

“Aegis Academy? Is there someone named Alex among those we know?”

“Not at all! He’s definitely not a playable character.”

“We contacted the police and hired people to search. The last place my son and his friends were seen was here. We’ve confirmed this with the checkpoint’s CCTV and the guards on duty at that time.”

The man handed over a photo. A boy with green hair was smiling brightly.

“We made a contract with a professional search clan, but they came to the gate and refused, claiming it was too risky.”

Waverly looked at me for a moment, then began scanning the surroundings. Other hunters, besides our team, were also gathered to listen.

“It’s only been three days. I’m not a hunter, but I’ve seen and heard some things. My child is likely alive in there! Please help us. I’ll give you anything!”

“What’s important is the contract price. How much will you offer?”

When one hunter asked, Waverly suddenly stood up and loudly announced his number.

Everyone present was taken aback. The number of zeros was different. According to the explanation, it was money gathered by the parents. They all must be affluent.

With a sum exceeding tens of millions of credits inciting pent-up enthusiasm, the surrounding hunters’ eyes lit up as they pressed the man.

“Okay, let’s do it right away. Do you have any specific information?”

“…Fortunately, one of the hunters found similar boys and girls who were last seen within the dungeon.” He paused. “That place is…”

One of the group quickly pulled out a tablet from their handbag and activated the screen. A finger hovered over a spot in the center of the dungeon map.

“…Stigma Mountain.”

The faces of the male and female hunters listening nearby changed entirely. One by one, they shook their heads.

“Oh no, that’s too dangerous.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate. That’s a hazardous area in this dungeon. Especially in this current climate.”

Seemingly sensing the change in atmosphere, Waverly pleaded anxiously with the people.

“I’ll give you more if necessary! If we can gather people, it might be possible!”

One bearded hunter shook his head.

“Even just focusing on a search would take a long time, and based on the area, we’d need more than two companies worth of armed personnel. But right now, the magical energy inside the dungeon is acting more erratically than usual. The monsters inside are more aggressive than normal. The weather will become unpredictable, and hundreds to thousands of monsters are waiting for you. There will certainly be mid or high-level monsters as well. There’s really nothing more to say.”

Hunters who had approached with dreams of a quick fortune soon scattered. All that remained before the despairing parents were our team.

“Hey, you’re going to give us all that money, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll give more if needed.”

I cleared my throat. It was time to get to the main point.

“Um, sir. I hesitate to say this, but there’s a chance they might not be alive. Are you okay with that?”

“What? What did you say! Shut up! No, that’s impossible…”

A woman who appeared to be a friend’s mother shouted vehemently, and the surrounding group tried to calm her down.

“Sorry. They’re all a bit flustered right now. Could you be a bit more understanding, young friends…?”

Mr. Waverly showed a hesitant look, as if he didn’t want to imagine the worst. After a long pause, he finally opened his mouth to respond.

“…Yeah, I’m prepared for that. At the very least, help my children return to their families!”

“Sure, understood!”

I pulled out a contract. Since they were offering money, there was no reason not to do it.

Coincidentally, the Ether Emitter was located near the place where the children were last seen.

“How many can we summon at maximum right now?”

“If we use extra magical power, we can manage about a little over two companies.”

I recalled what one hunter had said. They had mentioned needing two companies, right? Then we could gather that many people.

“Oh, and sir. It’s not just about the money; we’ll need extra funds for operations. I’ll need some equipment — can you help with that?”

“If it’s a reasonable reason, I can pay, but what do you need equipment for?”

I pointed outside the waiting room. The various snowmobiles, large and small, marked with the clan’s insignia were lined up in the parking lot. I had been wanting to try one, and now would be a great chance to rent one.

Thirty minutes later, another truck approached the checkpoint. Since I had made prior arrangements, we passed through smoothly. The Violets who had been waiting in the truck started getting off and climbing onto the snowmobiles.

“Where in the world did all those people come from…?”

“I told you I’d find them. Don’t forget to pay!”

Leaving the stunned parents behind, the Violet squad crossed over the gate.

*

As soon as we crossed the gate, the first thing that hit us was the cold — an extreme cold.

Once we got a little further from the entrance, we no longer needed to consider the gazes of others. The Violets multiplied as needed.

“Everyone, change! Don’t you have the winter combat uniforms or thermal wear I bought yesterday? Hurry and put them on!”

The biting cold sweeping in through the cracks of the door made my friends fumble around. It was a cold that surpassed imagination.

While the Violets prepared for departure around the gate, they set up a company command center instead of the usual temporary command center and began planning the operation.

“This operation absolutely requires air support!”

The weather inside the dungeon was still calm. It was cold, but there wasn’t a hint of wind. The Violets quickly began assembling equipment from their inventory.

It wasn’t challenging, as they had already matched pieces multiple times before.

“Units one through six, launch simultaneously!”

“Guys! Pull!”

As soon as the assembly was finished, they started the engines, and multiple Violets collectively pulled the cords connected to the powered hang gliders.

Six hang gliders soared into the sky.

“What on earth are those?!”

“That’s the air force!”

I proudly boasted to my astonished friends about our air force as they beheld the Violet flight squad. Proudly defending the skies — our power!

With this as our spearhead, we planned to search for traces of the missing persons.

Of course, being at a higher altitude also made it great for obliterating enemies.

After the hang gliders took off, shortly after, several snowmobiles raced vigorously across the wide snowfield.

Currently, we had rented twelve vehicles. Ten of them were motorcycle-type snowmobiles, one was a medium-sized snowmobile, and lastly, a large armored snowmobile.

“Forward, forward!”

The Violet mobile team kicked off the operation.