Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer - Chapter 114

Chapter 114

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The decision to “publish a book” of this work has been officially made.

Thank you very much to all those who have supported us thus far. We will write about the details

in our activity report once we are able to discuss them, but for the latest information, we will report it on Twitter as soon as possible. Please stay tuned for further updates.

——A few months ago.

An email requesting assistance had arrived for a few explorers who belonged to the S team of Japan’s Guild [Chariot].

When it comes to Chariot’s S team, they are all strong individuals who hold the qualification of “First-grade explorer,” and are real experts who are selected every year for the “World Explorer Telegram Ranking Top 1000” issued from America.

One of them, Inagaki Flame, opened the email with his usual nonchalant expression.

Well, he just lacked expressive emotions, and few of his acquaintances knew this fact. It couldn’t be helped if he was thought of as a nonchalant guy. He always lived that way.

Sender: Illonka Monmon (Assistant Principal of Mallorca Escuela)

To: Top Explorers in Japan (Inagaki Flame, Akiju Kurou, Kiriei Kujo,.)

Subject: Request for assistance due to the outbreak of a huge black cocoon in the Mallorca Dungeon

Hello, top explorers and heroes from all over the world. My name is Illonka Monmon, a first-grade explorer working under Ursula-Limey of Mallorca Escuela.

Straight to the point, a few weeks ago, my mentor Ursula-Limey, a zero-grade explorer, discovered an unprecedented black cocoon with a diameter of over 100 meters on the 75th level of the Mallorca Dungeon.

Our investigation revealed that the black cocoon factor had already been present for three years. As you may already know, this is the first discovery of a black cocoon with a hatching period of more than three years, which is the longest in the world.

About eight months later, a zero-grade monster called the “Stone Witch Petrification: Wonder Zero” was born. At that time, there was significant damage in Croatia, and the confusion is still fresh in our memory.

Therefore, the Mallorca Island Republic has officially decided to request assistance from the excellent explorers from around the world.

We would appreciate it if you could take a look at the attached materials for more detailed information about the reward, treatment, period, and so on.

If you are interested in participating, please contact the following address.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

“…Spain…no, now it’s the Mallorca Island Republic.”

Inagaki Flame remembered fond memories and thought of the nonchalant face of Ursula-Limey, who had taken care of him.

It was no surprise to receive a request for assistance from top explorers from all over the world due to the outbreak of a black cocoon. It was a common occurrence for countries lacking in explorer talent as the location of the black cocoon’s emergence was uncertain, and it could potentially appear anywhere in the world.

Top explorers from Japan, which is known as a dungeon nation, receive many requests every month, so it was not unusual for them to be busy every day. Furthermore, Kujo, the team leader, was known for being rough with people.

In urgent cases, they were often contacted by phone directly. But this request seemed to be far from trivial.

“Is it really something that Limey herself would request?… I’m busy, but I have no choice,” Inagaki Flame thought.

He had been too busy lately and was suffering from sleep deprivation, but he couldn’t refuse a request from his mentor Limey.

As a disciple, he could not refuse his teacher’s invitation, even if it meant going to a distant island nation. This was true, even if his work was piling up like a mountain.

“Does she think that disaster will appear again?” Inagaki Flame wondered, with a shred of dread.

It was only seven years ago when a black cocoon appeared in Croatia, and it continued to grow slowly but surely for about eight months.

Unfortunately, the country could not freeze it with first-grade explorer’s freezing abilities, and it could only evaporate due to heat generated by growth. Thus, the country could do nothing but watch. Then, when signs of hatching appeared, top explorers from various countries who had already made contracts were called upon to gather and defeat the instant monster.

And then, after the start of the mission…

In just thirty minutes, the front-line explorers were wiped out without a trace.

The monster was the fifth in the world to have red-purple eyes. Appraisers determined that its official name was “Stone Witch Petrification: Wonder Zero.”

Just approaching the monster was enough to petrify the body, and the healing ability of healing roles did not work on its petrification ability. In other words, it was incurable. It also produced numerous petrified demon golems and began to slaughter children and the elderly indiscriminately in Croatia.

It was impossible to get close, impossible to look into its eyes, and it launched wave after wave of overwhelming attacks.

That day, Croatia and neighboring countries were on the brink of destruction.

So the Croatian president and neighboring country presidents made a bold decision.

“I don’t care about money. Use all of the country’s and my personal finances to gather zero-grade explorers.”

It was determined that even if they gathered 100 first-grade explorers who were entitled with heroic explorer medals, they would not be able to defeat this brutal monster.

At that time, it required an enormous amount of money that would destabilize the country’s finances to hire zero-grade explorers.

That was why they did not consult with them in advance.

And then…

“On that day, six of them gathered from all over the world. While only four of them have been officially recognized by the World Explorer Association as “Zero-Grade Explorers” with a pure combat profession, there were two other explorers that the world did not recognize. For the first time in history, they all came together to go on a monster hunt. They claimed that they didn’t need any support and with just the six of them, they engaged in intense combat in Croatia for three days and three nights, bringing an end to the disaster.

This event is detailed in history and explorer textbooks, and is known as “The Tragedy of Pula.” At the same time, the six explorers who existed in the world became known as the heroes of Pula, etched in history. Since then, some zero-grade explorers have claimed to have said to the media: “Count on me before tragedy strikes. Money is not an issue. Make a wise judgment before it’s too late.” The cost of emergency summoning of zero-grade explorers has relatively decreased after the tragedy, but it only applies to some of them, not all.

“No, could it be more chaotic than that disaster?” Flame speculated that Limey thought that there was a possibility of a greater tragedy occurring in Mallorca.

It has already been eight months since the black cocoon appeared, and the request this time is on a different scale.

“Three years have already passed, and there are still no signs of hatching. A historic conflict could also arise.”

Flame had a bad feeling about this. It is known that the time to hatch and the strength of the black cocoon are proportional to each other. To be more precise, there is a certain range, but generally speaking, it’s the case. The longer the period before hatching, the stronger the instant monster that is born. This has been formally proven by the research results of Kengo Wakagi, an association-certified researcher working at a Japanese university. It is an irrefutable fact.

“Just in case, should I make a new will?” Flame thought that the request this time requires a willingness to die. He immediately recognized the importance of the mission and decided to add a new will with a more recent date just in case. Thus, numerous top explorers from Japan were sent to Mallorca for assistance.

However, the prediction of when the hatching will start remains unknown. Thus, the Mallorca Island Republic requested each country to stay for a period of one month. The contract period required them to be in Mallorca, but they could return home afterwards. However, if it hatches, they need to respond immediately. Japan, followed by South Korea, the United States, and other countries, made the decision to always have multiple heroes and top-class explorers stationed within their borders.

To actually implement this, an enormous amount of funding that could even bankrupt a country would be necessary. The preparation was thus steady. Tenji was still unaware of these facts.

—-And now, to the present.

This is the 75th level of the Mallorca dungeon. There, a woman named Ursula Limey stood guard over the black cocoon from morning to night.

Ever since Limey discovered the black cocoon, she had stopped exploring the dungeon and had been observing its growth in between her work. Or rather, it was more like surveillance.

This was the reason why she was hardly seen at school.

Only highly skilled individuals could enter the 75th levels of the dungeon. It was a difficult line to cross, only achievable by first-grade explorers.

“It seems that the interval of the fetal movements has gotten a bit faster.”

The capillaries that were entwined around the cocoon pulsated slightly faster.

Upon seeing this, Limey’s tension heightened.

“Professor Limey.”

“Oh, Illonka. It’s rare to see you in a place like this.”

“The practical exercise test for the fifth-year students will start soon, so I have come to pick you up.”

“Is it that time already? When you’re lost in thought, time seems to pass by in a flash.”

“Shall we go, then?”

“Yes.”

Limey slowly straightened her back like an ordinary old woman. She then headed towards the nearby teleportation gate to the 55th level, where the exam venue was located.

There were only a few weeks left before the black cocoon hatched into the most significant level of catastrophe in history.