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Over the Infinite Chapter 19 Part 4

 

「What do you want? If it’s about the Rookie Match, you can’t count on me anymore. 」

「I know. I had a bid on you the moment you registered, but Arshe snatched you away. 」

Do they know each other?

「It’s fine. In fact, I pity you guys. The reason I came is different. 」

「Ah, I had something to give to you, old man. 」

Yuki takes something out of his bag.

「Don’t interrupt me, what the– This is me!!」

A memorial photo? Now’s not the time for that. Why suddenly he handed a memorial photo?

「What, why do you have this…? No, never mind. The matter at hand is more important. 」

The old man got his priorities right.

「The Dungeon Master made a direct request. Train you guys thoroughly before the Rookie Match. 」

「The Dungeon Master? 」

Oh, I see. The Dungeon Master isn’t trying to obstruct us. He’s just setting up massive hurdles for us to overcome, while also lending a hand. How gracious.

「If you have the time, sparring among peers of the same rank could be meaningful. But given the circumstances, the members of (War Arms) will train you personally. How many more times can you guys enter the dungeon before the Rookie Match? Surely, you’ve broken through the tenth floor? 」

「Um, two… well, actually three times, but we can’t enter during the Rookie Match period. And as for the tenth floor… yes. 」

「Then, for those two times, we will accompany you. It’s training to the limit, secluded within the dungeon. 」

Talk about full-service.

 

-4-

We were stuck watching videos with Kuro.

Normally, having a girl in my dorm room would be a big event, but that’s not the case now.

「This is really bad, huh? 」

「Yeah, what should we do? 」

The videos we were shown followed a timeline, depicting the journey of Arshelia Growentina.

Since Kuro had edited only the crucial parts, the individual videos weren’t that long.

At first, it was good. Really good.

Arshe during her trial challenges was younger than us, very cute and heartwarming.

You could tell she was preparing and giving it her all for her first attempt, it felt like watching a child grow from a parent’s perspective.

The scene where she got utterly crushed by an enhanced Minotaur was frankly a bit gruesome, but that was fine.

Even the week of intense training after her failure was recorded, like some sort of home video.

A girl I’ve never seen before, and a younger Kuro also appeared.

In her rematch, Arshe, who had oddly become more gallant, faced off against the Minotaur with a massive spear.

The first challenge involved three people, but the rematch was solo. Something must have happened.

Her massive spear pierced through the Minotaur’s body, and after an intense battle, its massive form fell.

Next was the boss battle on the tenth floor. Arshe playing with a panda was heartwarming and somewhat comforting.

During the Rookie Match, Arshe, who had acquired the skill ((Meteor Strike)), and her two teammates dominated their opponents and emerged victorious.

By this point, she was already a cut above the average intermediate adventurer.

And the opponent was none other than the lizard old man, Gwuar. She’s kicking his ass at this point.

As she climbed through the twentieth, thirtieth, and fortieth floors, her strength became increasingly prominent, and it was evident that her teammates were rapidly becoming stronger as well.

I also saw a broadcast about the formation of the (Meteor Knights). I had wondered if (Azure Knight) would be there given the name (Crimson Knight), and indeed he was.

A man named Roland seemed to be a commander who supported the front line with a bow skill called ((Meteor Rain)).

The clan’s name (Meteor Knights) apparently came from these two skills, ((Meteor Strike)) and ((Meteor Rain)).

This Roland was incredibly handsome and popular, both among the general populace and adventurers, seems to be an idol figure.

I thought he was probably just a front and would be like one of those guys who take off their hero costumes backstage, but it turns out he’s genuinely a good guy.

He even outranked Arshe with an A-rank. As the leader of the (Meteor Knights), I can’t help but think he should just explode. Damn, how envious I am.

The (Meteor Knights) continued to grow stronger as they progressed through the fiftieth, fifty-fifth, and sixtieth floors.

The video ended with a boss battle on the seventieth floor.

What struck me after watching all this wasn’t the strength of the (Meteor Knights), but rather the strength of their enemies.

It wasn’t just the floors above the 30th that were said to be tough; it was especially the floors above the fiftieth where the enemies were just ridiculously strong.

The strength of the tenth-floor panda boss was at a level way beyond what I could have imagined. The strength that I could feel just by watching the video was a little more than I expected.

Am I really supposed to go up against that?

Even when facing such monsters, the (Meteor Knights) have fought through.

They’ve been wiped out more than ten or twenty times. If counted in terms of individual lives, the number would be staggering. But still, they’re winning and advancing.

In a sense, these people are living heroes. They are true powerhouses, still standing at the front lines and continuing the conquest.

When I met her at the dinner party, I couldn’t see the limits of her strength. It’s not an exaggeration; I’m simply not on a level where I can feel that depth.

Is this someone I can barely beat if I give it my all?

What kind of judgment is that? No matter how much talent one has, that gap can’t be bridged in just a few years.

Can I really trust this automatic quest generation system?

「Actually, I’ve cut out parts that I really can’t show. They’re probably even stronger than what you can see in the video. There are plenty of unpublicized skills. Even I haven’t heard of some of them, 」

Hearing Kuro’s clarification only makes me feel more hopeless.

「Will she be using the griffon she rode in the later stages of the conquest? 」

What Yuki is referring to is Arshe’s mount that appeared in the upper-level conquest videos. In those videos, she was freely roaming the battlefield atop this griffon.

「No, she won’t. Mounts are prohibited unless there are special arena rules. The Rookie Matches have a ‘no mount’ rule, so it won’t appear. So, she’s not at full power either. In fact, there are skills she can’t use unless she’s mounted, so that could be a good sign. 」

「A good sign, huh… 」

If she came riding that thing, it’d be game over.

I can already see myself being annihilated just by the griffon, which was spitting fire and whatnot.

「Anyway, that ((Meteor Strike)) is insane. What even is that? 」

「I told you this morning. It’s unavoidable. 」

The ((Meteor Strike)) used in the video. This skill, a bonus from the Dungeon Master, was just as crazy as the name of the clan itself.

Initially, it wasn’t bad. During the Rookie Match, its capabilities were not fully unleashed; it was “only a few spears” and the “speed wasn’t that great.”

But as they advanced—and more precisely, as she became stronger—the number and speed of those spears increased.

Avoiding all those rapidly-fired light spears isn’t humanly possible. You’re bound to get hit. If even one hits you, it’s a fatal blow, no different from being impaled by a giant spear.

So, the only option is to endure it, but how? Even a massive metal shield would be easily penetrated by it. It even pierced through the shield held by a boss’s giant mechanical machine.

Most likely, you’re doomed the moment it’s used. Yuki’s words were neither an exaggeration nor a lie.

The hurdle is so high that it’s not even in sight anymore.

「There’s something else I need to mention. 」

What, there’s more?

「I also watched your video, you know. The two of you… well, mainly you, Tsuna. In the video, you seemed to have lost all your HP multiple times and fought mostly with your natural abilities, right? 」

「Yeah, that’s correct. Given the opponent, I had no choice but to fight with pure grit. 」

「I don’t know what kind of mindset allows you to do that, but it’s incredible. In reality, being able to conquer the enhanced Minotaur and secret stages was largely due to this strength. 」

So, if the game ended when I ran out of HP, we probably would’ve been done for during the Minotaur battle.

A mere flying shard could have ended it all. Against the cat girl, we’d be totally helpless.

「But you see, the arena has different rules from the dungeon. Did you read the Rookie Match Rules, Yuki-chan? 」

「Uh, yeah, I skimmed through them… Wait. 」

Yuki seemed to remember something, and his eyes fixed intently on me. It’s making me a little embarrassed.

「You’d realize it if you know them. Not all battles in the arena follow the same rules, but the Rookie Match Rules specify ‘Zero Break.’ The match is over as soon as your HP is depleted. So, your monstrous resilience won’t be an advantage here. This raises the difficulty level even further. 」

…Should I just throw in the towel now?