Published: January 22, 2026
The space once filled with laughter fell into silence.
My mind went blank at the unexpected turn of events, but my body, seasoned from overcoming countless battles, began to move on its own.
(I can only see its back, but those glossy black scales, and this overwhelming pressure—no doubt about it. The floor boss of the 92nd floor, the black dragon. Why is it appearing here? And suddenly, no less. —Wait, this isn’t the time to be thinking about that!)
My thoughts caught up with my actions.
In the black dragon’s line of sight were everyone from the silver rabbits of the night sky.
The black dragon was already preparing to attack them.
Evidence of this was the flames leaking from its mouth.
I dashed around the black dragon toward everyone—but I realized the dragon’s attack was faster.
Changing plans, I instantly formed a magical technique.
“Guides! Protect the newbies with your lives!!”
Shouting, I cast vitality up and resistance up on Mr. Anthem and Mr. Barnard, and durability up along with weight increase on their armor and shields.
All the guides responded to my voice.
Mr. Anthem and Mr. Barnard stepped forward, lowered their center of gravity, and raised their shields.
Ms. Selma and Ms. Cathy deployed magical barriers in front of the defenders.
They must still be in the midst of confusion.
Still, their bodies moved instinctively.
They were advanced explorers chosen for teaching and training.
The black dragon opened its massive jaws wide and fired a huge fireball.
I cast an instantaneous power boost (impact) on the magical barrier just before the fireball struck, raising its hardness to the extreme.
The fireball exploded against the magical barrier, shrouding the silver rabbits of the night sky in smoke.
◇
After a while, the smoke cleared.
Fortunately, there were no casualties. Somehow, the newbies had been protected.
But the two defenders were battered and bruised.
Ms. Cathy needed to immediately tend to their wounds, but her body trembled as she couldn’t move.
Not only the newbies, but even Ms. Selma had turned pale.
That’s when I finally realized.
The size of the boss area had more than doubled compared to before.
(Is this because of the black dragon? It should be irregular for the dragon to be here, so why such a setup?)
I might still be confused myself, overthinking unnecessary things.
No one in the current silver rabbits of the night sky is useful.
I have two options.
The first is to abandon them and swiftly head to the 51st floor.
Since the crab has already been defeated, the path to the 51st floor is open.
The black dragon probably notices me, but demonic beasts tend to go where there are more people.
If I’m alone, I could probably move to the 51st floor.
The second option is to fight the black dragon.
But in their current state, they’re useless.
Many are scared stiff and immobile.
If I fight, I have to abandon the soft idea of just buying time for everyone to escape to the 51st floor.
To save everyone, I have to win.
(Damn it! Why do I have to remember that moment in this situation!)
◆ ◆ ◆
I was born and raised in a remote, cold village not even marked on maps.
Oliver and I were the village’s popular kids.
From birth, both of us had excellent memory and physical ability. We learned swordsmanship from our grandfather and by age eight, our skills were comparable to B-rank explorers.
To improve each other and succeed as explorers in the future, it became our daily routine to train deep in the mountains near the village.
One day, disaster struck.
The village was attacked by bandits.
By the time we returned, it was too late.
Houses were burned down, and the people who had been lively that morning now lay dead everywhere.
Understanding this, we screamed and cried until our voices were hoarse.
By the time we stopped, the sun had already risen.
“Oliver, it’s too sad to leave them like this. We have to bury them properly.”
“You’re right.”
Whether fortunate or not, we were clever enough to immediately find what we had to do and act.
Without speaking, we silently dug holes and carefully laid the bodies inside.