Soul Devourer Chapter 7 Episode 35 — The Backs of Those Who Came Before
After stepping onto the return magic circle and returning to the surface, I personally showed the Guildmaster and each Clanmaster the corpses of the monsters I had defeated while giving them a general overview of their strength.
Afterward, we moved to a temporary meeting room that had been set up nearby.
I picked up a blank sheet of paper from the table and wrote down the statuses of Echidna and Typhon.
Thanks to【Flash Recall】, I was able to reproduce every stat and skill they possessed without a single mistake.
When I handed the completed paper to the Guildmaster, the Clanmasters leaned forward to look over it as well.
I then explained how the battle had unfolded in detail.
Once I had finished, the first to speak was Suzuki Tensei, the Clanmaster of〈King of Sword〉.
“...With this much difference in stats, our attacks would hardly have any effect. On top of that, they possess【Inviolable】,【Spellbane】, and【Immutable】. Without either a Unique Skill or a Divine Artifact, we wouldn't even qualify to challenge that dungeon.”
“In that case, the only way for us to stand a chance is to steadily level up in S-Rank dungeons and obtain Divine Artifacts as dungeon rewards.”
“Yes. At the very least, we'd need to reach Level 140. On top of that, we'd have to strengthen our existing skills with the skill points we've accumulated and obtain Divine Artifacts that suit us…
…
We're talking years, perhaps even decades. It's not something that can be solved easily.”
“And even then, that would only let us fight Echidna. Against Typhon, his Unique Skill【Anti-theosis】renders Divine Artifacts useless. His【Deadlock】also seals stat boosting skills. In other words, defeating Typhon would be impossible for us.”
“Well, that can't be helped. If we can at least reach the point where we can defeat Echidna, that'll be enough to suppress Stampedes. Our goal should be to acquire that level of strength by continuing to clear dungeons.”
“I agree. All we can do is keep doing what we can.”
The Guildmaster and I silently watched as the three of them discussed the matter.
The conclusion they reached was simple.
They would devote themselves to dungeon exploration more than ever before.
As ordinary hunters without Unique Skills or Divine Artifacts, the only path open to them was to keep building themselves up, one step at a time.
Even with an unimaginably distant goal before them, they still chose to look forward.
That alone seemed dazzling to me.
If I hadn't possessed a Unique Skill... would I have been able to keep moving forward like they were?
...Honestly, I wasn't confident.
Well, there was no point dwelling on what-ifs.
I had simply been fortunate enough to be one of the chosen.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Still, as someone who possessed power, and as a fellow Japanese, I wanted to do something for them.
These three had become hunters before I did and had continued protecting this country and its people from the threat of monsters.
They had turned down offers from foreign nations and chosen to remain here.
With the appearance of SS-Rank dungeons and America's domination of the world, Japan would need more than just me if it wanted the strength to defend itself.
Just as China had〈Kowloon〉, Russia had the〈Semi-Tsar〉, and America had the〈Thirteen Warriors〉, perhaps the time had come for Japan to establish its own foremost force to protect the nation.
I would help them.
That was probably the best thing I could do right now.
Once I had made up my mind, I interrupted their discussion.
“Would you mind listening to what I have to say for a moment?”
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E/N:
Any guesses what Yuito will propose?
Stay tuned!
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