Chapter 30: CH 29

Chapter 29 – Hostages

“Phew, onto the next room I guess.”

I expelled a breath, suddenly wondering to myself why I had to go through the trouble of using fantasy items to do this. There would be almost no benefit to me in saving the people who were stranded here. If anything, the disadvantages were greater.

At the very least, they would become aware that there was a person out there with a level of power that no other human being had. And honestly, it would only look like a foolish act on my part.

So why was I even here…?

Thinking about it made me feel really stupid, so I shook my head and dismissed the thought. I was already here anyway. I might as well finish it and reflect on it later. I breathed a sigh and was about to explore the next room, when…

“Master! Can you hear me?” (Sol)

“Sol! What’s the matter?” (Bouchi)

“I finished cleaning up the monsters on the 2nd floor.” (Sol)

Amazing strength as always. She was really reliable. But she hadn’t found any humans. Apparently, she’d only seen a lot of corpses.

“I got it. Then go on ahead to the third floor.” (Bouchi)

“As you wish, Master!” (Sol)

As a boss, having quick subordinates was a huge help. But still, there was no one hiding on the 2nd floor? I couldn’t find anyone on the 1st floor either.

Where in the world were Totoki’s little sister and the other people hiding…? Or have they already been killed by monsters…?

Thinking to myself as I searched, I eventually finished scouting out most of the 1st floor.

Almost all of the monsters I had encountered had been captured in the [Monster Cube]. In fact, capturing them like this had more merits to it than defeating them. Although I couldn’t get any materials, new monsters wouldn’t respawn because they were still technically alive in the [Monster Cube]. That made it extremely useful for recon.

However, all of the monsters on the 2nd and 3rd floor had been wiped out by Sol, so it wouldn’t be surprising if some still ended up spawning on the 1st floor.

“All that’s left is the basement, I guess…”

I was standing in front of the stairs. Then, Sol got in contact again.

“Master, I found survivors on the 3rd floor!” (Sol)

“What? Where were they?” (Bouchi)

“There were three people holed up in the staff room of the library.” (Sol)

“Three people? Was there a kid among them?” (Bouchi)

“Nope!” (Sol)

“I see… Then leave them there for now and search for the Core.” (Bouchi)

“Are you sure you don’t want to rescue them?” (Sol)

“They can all be saved by destroying the Core anyway. It’s not efficient to immediately escort every single one that we find out of there.” (Bouchi)

Besides, except for the person I was looking for, I didn’t care what happened to them.

“Understood! Then I will do as you said!” (Sol)

After that, I went down to the basement. There was a store, a gym, and a storage room.

The store was already devoid of any notable merchandise, and the entire area had been decimated, probably by monsters running amok. I checked each of the rooms one by one, making sure there were no traps.

The fairly spacious gym was teeming with monsters. It seemed to be for light sports and recreation, since it was equipped with a ping-pong table and gym mats. There was also a line of mirrors on the wall for dance practice.

As there didn’t seem to be any room for people to hide in here, I quietly closed the door and moved on to the next spot.

There were monsters in the corridor, but I used the [Monster Cube] to make short work of them as I continued down towards the end of the corridor, where the door to the storage room stood. I tried to open it, but it was locked from the inside. I didn’t think that monsters would be able to lock something. I wondered if perhaps this could be it as I knocked on the door.

If there was a monster on the other side, I would be able to sense some kind of presence or response to the sound, but it was unnaturally quiet.

“….Is there anyone hiding in there?” (Bouchi)

Shortly after I resolved myself to call out to them―

“H-Has help arrived?! Hey, e-everybody! Someone has come to save us!” (Survivor)

Multiple voices came from the other side. It seemed that those who were left behind in the community center were hiding here in this room. I heard a clunk as the door unlocked, and the door slowly swung open.

Seeing my face, the people behind the door seemed relieved.

“W-What about the monsters?” (Survivor)

“I defeated them, more or less.” (Bouchi)

“W-We’re saved!” (Survivor)

“Please calm down. I know you’re happy, but please don’t make too much noise. There are still monsters around, and it would be a nuisance if they were to notice us.” (Bouchi)

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Those who were about to rejoice held their mouths in unison.

One, two, three… six people in total. The warehouse was cramped and full of stuff, so the people inside were packed like sardines. How could they manage to endure here for dozens of hours?

Unfortunately, the person I was looking for wasn’t here as well.

“Um, did you come here to save us by yourself?” a man in a suit who was in his sixties asked.

“Yes. I heard that someone I knew was stuck in here, so I couldn’t bring myself to stay put. Let me ask you, have you seen a little girl, who’s around 5 years old?” (Bouchi)

I told them as much as I could remember about Mahina’s characteristics.

“Hmmm, do you know anyone like that?” the man asked the others.

Then, one of them answered.

“Ah, that girl… she was held hostage.” (Male Survivor)

At the word ‘hostage’, my face tensed up.

“By who…?” (Bouchi)

“Before the monsters appeared, a group of young people attacked this place, demanding food and water.” (Male Survivor)

“I’ve heard about that.” (Bouchi)

“And then of course the people at the community center refused, but then this guy who was the leader of the young people… He took that child hostage.” (Male Survivor)

When the young people first attacked, it seemed that Totoki and her little sister were still taking refuge inside this community center. But these young people, let’s just call them bandits already… The bandits invaded the building and chased Totoki and the other people into a corner.

Apparently, after pursuing Totoki and the others to the third floor, the bandits had taken the children hostage and locked them in a storage shed on the rooftop.

“The rooftop…” (Bouchi)

So there was that place too…

In the end, the staff members of the community center decided to give the bandits food and supplies, since they couldn’t just abandon the children.

But immediately afterwards, the dungeonization occurred and the situation became what it is now.

“Then if I go to the rooftop, the children will be there?” (Bouchi)

“Probably… But I think that leader guy and his comrades are hiding in that storage shed with them…” (Male Survivor)

The expression on the man’s face was grim. It was possible that they had already killed the children because they had found them annoying. Or, it was also possible for them to have been used as bait.

“Sol, head to the roof immediately. Check the storage shed there.” (Bouchi)

“Got it!” (Sol)

“All of you, get out of here as soon as possible. I’m going to go rescue those kids.” (Bouchi)

“A-All by yourself?” (Survivor)

“It’s more efficient that way.” (Bouchi)

I didn’t need any help. I turned on my heel and went up the stairs. Then, I received contact from Sol.

“Master! I checked it!” (Sol)

“Go ahead.” (Bouchi)

“There are 6 monsters on the rooftop. One of them is a C-Rank monster called a Red Armor.” (Sol)

“C-Rank… Is it strong?” (Bouchi)

“Its entire body is clad in red armor, and it’s a monster with a reputation for its defense. Regrettably, Sol’s fire won’t work either.” (Sol)

I see. The fact that there was a different monster there meant that the Core was probably somewhere near there.

“Did you confirm that the Core was there?” (Bouchi)

“No, at least it’s not in sight. Perhaps it’s in the storage shed or something.” (Sol)

As I thought it might be…

“Can you see inside the shed?” (Bouchi)

“No, the windows are blocked from the inside so I can’t see.” (Sol)

It was probably the work of the people inside to keep the monsters from noticing their presence. The door was obviously locked as well.

Moreover, that Red Armor monster was nearby, so they couldn’t easily make a getaway. If I could confirm that the children had already been killed and that there were only bandits left in there, I would have stopped right there and gone home. But I couldn’t stop clearing the dungeon until I had at least confirmed it.

“I don’t have much choice then. <Shop>.”

I used my skill and opened the <Shop>. After purchasing an item, I held it in my hand and ran towards the rooftop.

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