I ended up tagging along with Nachtlibelle on their dungeon dive without much thought.
And the destination was the 97th floor. The very same floor that Dragon's Wings had just recently broken through.
Right now the area is in that intense phase where parties race to explore the unknown sections that were blocked off by the boss. Competition is fierce.
This is bad. No matter how I look at it, this is really bad.
I'm definitely going to drag everyone down.
"…My role is scouting, but I don't have proper equipment… I'll set up an elliptical search pattern with Camilla-san in front and Heidemarie in the back as anchors, watch for collapse traps and buried ones… no, should I treat it exactly like last time? Wait, no, this is the first time we've got more than fifty people, so I should just do everything I can without overthinking… but since I'll be noise anyway, I have to make up for it somehow."
"Heidemarie, what's he muttering about?"
"He's probably nervous since it's all new to him. He's a cautious type."
"It's good to be cautious, I suppose."
Camilla is looking at me strangely. What if she decides I'm not worth it?
"But if you hesitate too much, it won't be safe, boy!"
"Huh!?"
A strong slap landed on my back.
"You infiltrated this floor with a B-rank party, right? And you beat the boss before we did. Don't be so intimidated."
"…Yes."
"Today's main goal is to map what we can and get back safely. Just do what you're able to do."
Camilla is so kind. I could almost cry.
The tension in my shoulders eased a little. My gaze lifted, and it felt like my field of vision opened up.
This is a layer I've dived before.
The materials are the same as always. The air buzzes with life, faint blue light glowing from the walls. The surrounding rock looks like a cave today.
『તમે વારંવાર આવો છો』
"…Huh!?"
I just heard something. Right next to my ear.
"What's wrong, Wim?"
"No, I just… heard something?"
Was it a voice? The search didn't pick up anything. No one else seemed to hear it. It wasn't like an arrow or anything.
"Maybe a sign of a trap? I should report it."
"It doesn't seem like one. I'm really hearing things… But still." I muttered all this as the party walked ahead.
You never know what will happen in the dungeon.
Even if it was a mishearing, better to stay alert. I decided to expand my search range.
Camilla's POV.
Wim Strauss, the enchanter from Dragon's Wings, was already fairly well known.
Dragon's Wings itself is an unprecedented party that climbed to B-rank with just four people in only a few years.
On top of that, they defeated a floor boss, so just being a member would make anyone famous in Fielbron. People were curious about his abilities too.
And then, right after that honorable victory, he got fired over internal disputes. That alone would stir up plenty of gossip.
It was a strange coincidence that this same person turned out to be a friend of Heidemarie, our party's candidate for next leadership.
And I was surprised.
I'd heard from Heidemarie, but this boy Wim was far more useful than I expected.
First, the precision of his enemy detection. It doesn't match the range of Nachtlibelle's dedicated scouts, but he spreads his net both underground and in the air, covering every gap.
"Um… is that alright, Camilla?"
A private message came through transmission magic.
"What is it, young Wim?"
"A little ahead, about four or five meters up on the upper left, there's a suspected rockfall trap. It's only a hunch from my immediate scan, but based on the ghost dogs Simon detected earlier, I think it's highly likely."
"Are you sure?"
"Nine times out of ten, yes. Or 90% sure."
What stands out most is his sharp observation, knowledge, and insight.
He might be at the forefront of research in some dungeon field.
I'd never heard of him predicting traps before, but his calls have been spot-on for a while now.
"No, but if it turns out wrong, it'll slow us down."
"…If that happens, feel free to tell everyone. You've already avoided five other rockfall traps. Honestly, it's almost scary how many you're catching. Everyone will feel safer if we dodge them."
"Yes, sorry, sorry."
His only real flaw is being too reserved.
No, it's probably tied to his nature.
He's unusually unassertive.
He watches everyone around him carefully, tries to fill any gaps, or raise the level of what's already there.
And his judgments are often surprisingly accurate.
On top of that, he read through and memorized years of our accumulated knowledge from the party manual in one go.
He even seemed impressed. It's impossible to grasp the full picture unless you're at commander level. What position did he hold in Dragon's Wings?
"There's a possibility of a rockfall trap 43 meters left. Estimated mass around 150, pillar-shaped. I think Abel's shield can block it without issue. 90% sure."
"This is Abel. Understood. I'll handle it."
Sure enough, there was a rockfall trap.
A pile of solid facts backed up the assessment.
He has deep industry knowledge and practical skill far beyond his years. His safety awareness is clear too.
The information he shares is limited, but he must be picking up, analyzing, and inferring from dozens of times more data.
The reason he seems a bit suspicious might be because he's overly aware of everything around him.
…What would happen if he really let loose?
"Camilla-san, this is Wim."
"What?"
"I'm sorry, again and again."
"That's fine. Did you find something?"
"The walls on both sides are starting to slope. And for a while now, we haven't seen any winged insects."
"? What does that mean?"
"…Yes, I believe we've entered a large territory. It's likely a wyvern since they have wings, or something similar. Class A or D, at least twenty members. Ah, well, it's quite likely. Ninety percent chance they're there. Maybe a chimera mix."
I think our research manager would be thrilled to meet you.
"Please relay this to the whole group. Also, if it's high probability, feel free to announce it right away without checking with me."
"Got it. Sorry."
A small idea formed.
From what I've heard, young Wim specializes in advanced enchantment techniques.
In fact, that's his original role.
"Wim-kun."
"Yes."
"I said you're just a guest, but could I ask a favor? I don't mind leaving enemy scouting to Simon. I'd like you to move forward."
"Yes, well, um."
"I want to request your combat support."