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Over the Infinite Chapter 26 Part 2

 

「So, we won’t force you, but if you’re interested, come to our clan house or contact us using the business card. 」

「Just don’t, absolutely don’t join the (Muscle Brothers) offshoot guild (Muscle Muscle) or our rivals, the (Healers), okay?! 」

 

What’s with that healer-sounding clan? Oh, it’s a play on ‘heel’ in wrestling.

 

The two from (Wrestlers) left after giving me their business card. It was a rugged card with photos of them posing.

Ultimately, they didn’t take off their masks, but these guys from (Wrestlers) were far more gentlemanly and less persistent than the (Muscle Brothers), who would suddenly start glowing. It’s incredibly annoying.

Well, I probably won’t contact them, but I don’t hate watching wrestling, so I might check it out if it’s broadcasted on TV.

 

It’s interesting to get invitations from guilds outside of the Labyrinth Guild.

I wonder what other kinds of guilds are out there and what they’re like.

 

「So, what were we talking about? 」

「We haven’t made much progress, have we? 」

 

-2-

 

「It was ‘Miyumi’, right? Do we need her last name? 」

「I don’t know. ‘Okamoto’ is also from the previous life. Let’s just stick with Miyumi for now. 」

「Just knowing she’s the leader’s junior makes me excited about what kind of fetishes she might have. 」

「She was just annoying, not particularly weird in terms of fetishes. She had a bit of a fujoshi streak, but she herself was normal. 」

 

We were in the adventurer-oriented reference room and library on the fourth floor of the Guild Hall, above the third floor where lectures and seminars are held.

You can’t access this floor unless you’ve registered and made your debut, but we’ve cleared that requirement, so we can enter.

Here, you can access various materials, dungeon information, monsters, adventurers, skills, and class data through terminals.

They look like computers but are specialized terminals, apparently disconnected from the network accessible from the dorms.

 

Adventurers can research various information here, and though it costs, you can download it onto your status card.

However, we can’t yet download information or view it on the card because those features require GP to unlock. Being able to access the information here and prioritizing other functions seem more important.

You can’t take out books or other paper materials; attempting to do so triggers an alarm.

You’re allowed to freely take photos and videos, and printing and copying are available at a low cost, so lower-ranked adventurers who lack GP typically use these services.

 

Search permissions are also tiered, unlocking more as you advance in class.

Some information can be unlocked with GP.

 

We had previously used this place to look up skill information. Essentially, this is the primary source for information, so there’s hardly anything you can’t find out here.

Many adventurers are also using the terminals nearby to do their research.

 

「Ah, found her. She’s probably the one. The Dungeon Master mentioned she was a half-elf. 」

「Let me see… 」

 

We were looking up information on the adventurer likely to be Tomato.

I didn’t really want to delve into it, but to prepare for her arrival, we reluctantly followed Yuki’s suggestion to gather information. It’s also necessary to know her build if we’re going to deal with her.

 

「She looks nothing like her old self. 」

 

The screen displayed Miyumi’s personal data, including her name, and her card’s photo.

It’s like a driver’s license photo where most people have a neutral expression. Some try to make funny faces or look cool with cat ears, but they are the minority.

Miyumi’s photo is a neutral expression. Her face, hair, eyes, even her race is completely different, leaving no trace of her former self.

The only thing that remains the same is her ponytail. Well, that was her self-proclaimed identity, so it’s probably natural.

 

「Does she resemble the previous Miyumi at all? 」

「Only the hairstyle seems similar. Actually, she looks surprisingly small. The card’s photo is updated yearly, right? 」

「Yes. The update frequency increases as you go up in rank, but her update is recent according to this. 」

「She doesn’t look like she has any unusual fetishes. 」

「That’s because she’s not your kind. 」

 

Unless she’s developed strange fetishes here.

But man, she looks young. Like a primary school student. She was small and childlike in her previous life, but not to this extent.

 

「Her rank is C-. That’s impressive, just one step away from advanced. Her main class is (Marksman). That’s a tree class, right? There’s no information on her sub-classes. 」

「Not much info, huh? What about her skills? 」

「They’re not public. Maybe at this level, they often keep it private.

…No career information either. Is this an HP address? The notes say, ‘Tomato Club.’ 」

「That settles it. 」

 

Her name is Miyumi, and given that naming, it’s almost certain.

From the Salad Club, only Tomato has branched out.

 

「Let’s check her homepage back in our room. 」

「Can’t we see it here? 」

「Seems not. This library has its own network, and external access functions like phone calls aren’t available. Maybe this place is like a dungeon or training ground, existing in its own separate space. Just connected to the fourth floor of the hall. The second basement storage is similar. 」

「Sounds about right.」

 

The second basement storage allows access to personal spaces using cards, though the entrance is common.

No matter which of the multiple entrances you use, you end up in your own space. It’s a shared space, but others are also present, probably a similar setup.

 

「Oh, are you guys also researching something? 」

 

We turned at the voice and saw a familiar blonde, Philos.

He’s also a post-debut adventurer, so it’s not strange to see him here.

 

「Yeah, we’re looking up another adventurer’s data. How about you? 」

「I’m gathering information on the lower levels of the Infinite Corridor. Last time we had to give up at the 15th floor, so next time we want to reach the 20th.

…You two cleared up to the 30th floor, right? Oh, and Sarges too. 」

「Yeah, but that was more of a special training challenge. We plan to properly clear it next time, without Sarges. 」

「Eh, why am I excluded? 」

「You’ve already experienced a proper clear, right? 」

 

Only Yuki and I haven’t properly cleared it.

Sarges has already conquered it with another team before joining us.

It’d be a bit embarrassing to admit being carried by the old guys.

Also, we still need to accumulate enough GP to advance to E+ rank. We need to dive in anyway.

 

「Hmm, well, if you put it that way. Apart from the boss battles, it was like walking on a road paved by Gwuar and the others.

Then, since it seems we have some time before our next challenge, maybe I’ll visit the recently opened ‘Blood Castle’. I hear it’s full of torture-like traps. 」

 

He spoke with an air as if he were going on a resort vacation, but just hearing about it, the dungeon sounds painfully challenging.

I wonder if he’s going to gather a team, or is he planning to go alone?

 

「During that training period, Sarges, how different was the difficulty of the journey? 」

「Well, it was significantly different. The route was shortened to the quickest path, the distance was a fraction of what it usually is, and most importantly, there were no traps.

The presence of simple cottages also made a big difference. Just having them there significantly reduces fatigue. 」

 

Those things were so expensive, I thought there was a mistake in the pricing.

 

「The real problem is the traps, huh… With just the three of us, not having a (Scout) or (Trapmaster) is tough. We’ll have to invite someone. 」

 

Right after debut, party members are usually fixed to those with whom you’ve completed trials.

Philos probably teams up with Gowen or Gaul, but both are frontliners, and bringing in just a (Scout) from outside is a high hurdle.

Moreover, for new adventurers right after debut, there’s hardly any time for leisure. With a six-day interval, the aim is to challenge at the earliest opportunity. There’s no room to switch parties week by week.

 

「Yuki, do you know much about party recruitment information? 」

「I’ve been looking into it. Right after debut or when attacking lower floors, the most sought-after roles are overwhelmingly (Scout) and (Healing Magician).

Next are (Healer) and (Surveyor). As you get more experienced, (Cargo) roles also become in high demand. 」

 

So it’s mostly support roles. Combat roles seem to be in surplus.

It’s common to gravitate towards classes that can fight directly. Even if you can change later, weakening is inevitable, and there’s a psychological barrier to it.

 

「I’ve been looking at bulletin boards too, but it seems everyone has the same idea.

It’s tough even to get accepted by others. Recruitment usually specifies the class. 」

 

Philos’ concerns are probably what we’ll face soon.

To increase income inside the dungeon, relying solely on drops has its limits. Items in treasure chests are often much more valuable than dropped items.

You could use a Magic Key, but they are expensive, and there’s a risk of it not paying off.

While we could use Sarges as a happy meat shield against traps, we can’t open chests without a key, and we need to deal with the traps along the way.

A (Scout) seems almost essential.

Threatening the cat-eared girl is an option, but that makes no sense if we’re excluding Sarges. She’s in an even higher intermediate rank and would only join for layers 31 and up.

 

「Many (Scout) know their worth, offering their services for a fee, or demanding a large share of the loot. 」

「The world can be harsh. It all comes down to money, huh? 」

 

The yen is mighty.

Never thought I’d be worrying about yen in another world.

 

「Among our peers, Cloche is the only (Scout) I can think of. 」

「Kuro was a (Scout)? I always thought of her as more of a frontliner, like Arsha. 」

「Philos, why not try asking Cloche? Even if she can’t, she’s well-connected and might introduce someone else. 」

「Yeah, I’ll give it a shot. 」

 

Leaving with that, Philos returned to his research.

He looked a bit downcast, probably weighed down by the current challenges.