Mapping: The Trash-Tier Skill That Got Me Into a Top-Tier Party: Volume 8 Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Another Terrible Combination

  Magic Bullet Barrage

  Marksman of the Holy Gun

  Guide of the Holy Sword and Saint’s Authority

  Holy Intruders

  Clues of the Kidnappers

  A Brief Reunion

  The Retrieval of Neme Pargin

  Aifan and the Thieves Guild

  Deepening Mystery

  Neme Pargin, Saint Candidate

  Blitz Tactics

  The Strongest Thief

  Top Dog vs. Underdog

  Crusher Strikes

  Someday in the Distant Future

  Afterward

  Afterword

  Color Illustrations

  Bonus Short Stories

  About J-Novel Club

  Copyright

  Another Terrible Combination

  Fame, fortune, magic, wisdom... Endless treasure and bounty lay within the otherworldly depths of the land—depths yet to be conquered that beckon people with the intangible power of curiosity. Be it in the name of hopes and dreams or greed and self-interest, adventurers from all walks of life risked everything to challenge the dungeons.

  One of many daring parties was the Arrivers. We’d disbanded for a time after losing one of our own, but we’d since come together again, bolstered our ranks, and resumed dungeon diving. We’d now made it through floor 21, the fateful floor that had stolen Jin from us, and we were finally ready to press further into the dungeon. Normally this would be where things went wrong, but...

  “All right! Just a little more to go!”

  Surprisingly, we were making smooth progress without any complications.

  At present, we’d made it to the end of floor 22. The floor 21 boss was a demon with a magic sword that sealed the holy arts used by priests and paladins, but floor 22 was guarded by a ghost wielding a magic spear with an annoying hit-and-run fighting style. It spent most of its time incorporeal, meaning our physical attacks had no effect on it, and it would only materialize to strike back at us. Its magic spear would multiply for a ranged area attack, raining down countless copies of itself from overhead or stabbing up through the ground below.

  While we could use holy arts freely on this floor, this particular attack put our rearline fighters at risk. Yet in spite of that, the MVP of this battle was proving to be our mage, Erin. She was blocking the magic spear’s assault with protective area-wide spells while simultaneously whittling away at the boss with attack spells. She was basically our first line of defense and offense. We’d gathered intel on floor 22 from other dungeon parties who’d cleared it before us, but even so, having a mage with us that could prepare any magic she needed on short notice guaranteed we’d be prepared. That said, the person helping her maximize her potential was the newest of the Arrivers, Sofie.

  “Erin! Another rain of spears is coming!”

  “On it!”

  Erin conjured a magic circle in the air above her, forming a barrier. Spears clad in a bluish-white aura plunged down into it, but couldn’t breach it.

  Sofie had a skill called High Appraisal that allowed her to perceive the powers of items, people, and monsters just by looking at them. Thanks to her, we were always able to stay abreast of our enemies’ strategies. It was especially helpful against particularly dangerous gimmicks, like the sealing of holy arts or these super wide-range magic spear attacks. Even though we always scouted what information we could beforehand, there was no way to tell what surprises might lie on any given floor. Being able to analyze our enemies in the heat of battle and react accordingly was a huge boon. Once we hit unknown territory in the dungeon, there wouldn’t be anyone to gather intel from; we’d be completely reliant on Sofie then. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck that we’d gotten her from Leyfa.

  “Protection!” Roslia called, using a defensive art on herself.

  “An attack like that’ll never hit me!” Force shouted at the same time, using his Mind’s Eye skill to sidestep the falling spears.

  The two of them, our paladin and swordsman, were naturally in the fray. Roslia’s Holy Sword Fractus was still effective against the boss in its ghost form—something we’d learned thanks to Sofie’s skill. She really was amazing.

  While the rest of us held out against the rain of spears, our two sword-wielders pressed their offensive. The boss was clearly on its last legs. When Erin struck it with her next spell, powered by Neme’s buff, it did the ghost in for good. Its large, looming figure glowed faintly before fading away entirely.

  Since the boss wasn’t a melee opponent and had simply relied on the same wide-range attack over and over again, we hadn’t needed a decoy this time. Basically, I’d done nothing this entire boss fight. I figured I could at least use my Enemy Search to let everyone know when the boss was gone for sure, but...

  “The boss is no more. It’s safe to relax now.”

  Even that job was stolen from me by Sofie. Did the Arrivers really need me...?

  *

  After clearing floor 22, returning to HQ, and cleaning up, the six of us gathered in the living room like always. Since we’d handled the boss fight without issue, our post-expedition evaluation was more like a casual chat.

  “Well, things went smoothly this time,” said Erin. She’d done the most damage to the boss by far yet didn’t seem to realize it. She was completely nonchalant, although she’d apparently been thinking the same thing I was. “I have to say...Sofie’s skill is really useful. Knowing everything about the enemy is great.”

  “You think so?” Sofie cocked her head. “I believe you’re the amazing one, Erin. You can use any type of magic, and you never run out of mana.”

  “Maybe, but you should take a compliment when you get one.”

  “I wish I could’ve gotten flashy skills like yours...”

  Too bad the two of them weren’t on the same page at all. Sofie was naturally negative, and Erin wasn’t familiar with the concept of humility.

  “Next up is floor 23!” Neme practically cheered. This enthusiastic dwarf girl looked young, but she was actually the oldest one here. Her demeanor belied her real age, so she came across every bit as childish as she looked.

  “Best get to reconnaissance, then,” Force said, folding his arms. He’d nearly been seduced away by a certain partywrecker once, but he’d since come into his own as the leader of the Arrivers.

  Said certain partywrecker piped up to ask, “We got our floor 22 intel from the Labyrinth Knights, but they’re still in the middle of clearing floor 23, right?”

  “According to word on the street, yeah.”

  “That means they don’t have information about the boss yet, I guess...”

  “True. The only party that’s cleared floor 23 is Liberation.”

  There were currently four leading parties in the Puriff dungeon scene. Liberation was said to be the most knowledgeable and experienced of the lot. They’d even been in dungeons abroad before. Meanwhile, the Labyrinth Knights were the biggest party in town. I assisted their second-string team as a Mapping navigator in exchange for information from time to time. Aside from the two of them, there was also the Princess’s Legion, which was headed by the Tyrant Princess herself—Sofie’s former master, Leyfa Southerndall. And then there was us, the Arrivers.

  “But we don’t have any connections with Liberation. What’ll we do?” Roslia asked.

  “I can get general information about the floor from the Labyrinth Knights, but we’ll still need intel on the boss...” I bemoaned.

&nbsp
; “Liberation’s kind of a mystery, though. They’ve been set up in town for years, but I rarely see ’em. Jin was acquainted with them, but...” Force sighed.

  “They’re barely ever at their base. It’s like they’re always in the dungeon,” Erin added.

  “In that case, shall we give up on getting information from them and try the floor with whatever we can learn from the Labyrinth Knights? The further we go into the dungeon, the less intel there’s going to be anyway,” our party leader suggested.

  “Sounds good to me,” I agreed.

  There was no guarantee that Liberation would tell us what we wanted to know in the first place, and we now had Sofie and High Appraisal on our side. It was unlikely we’d find ourselves in another deadly situation like our introduction to floor 21, so this was as good an opportunity as any to test ourselves against the unknown.

  “We’ll be counting on you for the Labyrinth Knights’ intel, Note,” Force said.

  “Got it.”

  “Then I shall report to Princess Leyfa about floor 22,” Sofie declared.

  “Oh yeah, I’d almost forgotten that was a thing.”

  At present, the Arrivers had developed something of an alliance with the Princess’s Legion. We’d been at odds before, butting heads to the point of kidnapping party members and hiring assassins, but we’d since settled into a friendly relationship after our joint battle on floor 21. It was all thanks to Sofie’s years of service to Leyfa...and the Tyrant Princess mellowing out some.

  “Thanks for doing that, Sofie,” I said.

  I thought it’d be for the best if we stayed on Leyfa’s good side. She was one dangerous person to cross. But just as I was thinking how nice it was to finally be on friendly terms with her...

  “So you’re going to see the princess?” Erin asked.

  “Yes, that’s the plan,” Sofie informed her.

  “Then I’ll go with you,” Erin declared.

  “What for?!” I yelled in spite of myself.

  The one person who could jeopardize everything we’d worked toward with the princess wanted to go see her. I didn’t know what Erin thought she was doing, but I sure wished she wouldn’t...

  “Oh, I just wanted to have a little chat,” she insisted.

  “Can you refrain from random acts of violence?”

  “What are you talking about?! Is it really so unbelievable that I just want to go talk to someone?!”

  “Well, sort of...”

  Talk about an absolute lack of self-awareness. Erin would pick a fight with just about anyone.

  “What exactly do you plan on saying to Princess Leyfa?” I asked.

  “Leyfa? I don’t have anything to say to her.”

  “Then why are you going?!”

  “It’s not for her... I want to talk to your childhood friend.”

  “Huh...?”

  “I want to know what kind of person your first love was, and I might as well give her a piece of my mind while I’m at it.”

  I was dumbstruck. I was convinced that Erin and Miya should never be allowed to meet, so I’d specifically avoided letting that happen to the best of my ability—and now here Erin was, throwing all that work out the window. Her bullheadedness was greater than I ever imagined. I almost would’ve preferred her going to see Leyfa.

  “Don’t worry, Note!” she pronounced. “I’ll avenge you by beating her to a pulp!”

  “That’s not what I want! If you’re really doing this for me, then don’t do it at all!”

  “I get it. No matter how much you hate her, it’s hard to exact payback on people you used to have feelings for. But don’t you worry. I’m taking the initiative all on my own.”

  “Could you please listen to me for once?” I nearly clutched my head, wishing someone would stop Erin for me. “Come on, Sofie, you say something too. Surely you don’t want to take this loose cannon with you either, right?”

  “I hate Miya Line, so I support Erin’s decision.”

  “I forgot you were anti-Miya too...”

  Sofie had been expelled from Leyfa’s party after being defeated by Miya—but that didn’t mean she had to abet Erin here! I let out a heavy sigh, lamenting the tragedy that was about to take place.

  *

  The day after, I—Erin Fortlord—informed Note that I was going to see Miya Line. I set out for the hotel with Sofie in tow. We entered the lobby and were allowed up using Sofie’s name. Once we arrived on the floor the Princess’s Legion had rented out, Sofie stopped and knocked on a particular door. Apparently this was the room the princess was staying in.

  “Hey, you’re Sofie, right? And you’re...”

  A half-elf girl with refined features appeared in the doorway. Her blonde hair gleamed. Her eyes were clear and her skin was smooth. She had a svelte but shapely figure. This was Note’s childhood friend...and first love. To put it simply, she was beautiful. Much more than me. It was no wonder Note had fallen for her.

  Wait, this isn’t good... I can’t let myself get weak-kneed! She’s the treacherous wench who betrayed Note! I have to give her her comeuppance on his behalf, since he’s too nice to do it himself!

  “I’m the Arrivers’ mage, E—”

  “Eri, right?”

  “No!” She immediately took the wind out of my sails, nearly knocking me onto the floor. “You left off the N! It’s Erin! Erin Fortlord!”

  “Oh, right, right. My bad, ha ha...”

  “Urgh...”

  I clenched my fists in rage. Was I that unimportant to her?

  It’s not like we’ve never met before! I saved you on floor 21, didn’t I?! Even if we never spoke directly, you could at least remember my name! I remembered yours!

  “So, you’re Mila, right?”

  “That’s not her name, Erin,” interjected Sofie. “It’s Miya. You knew that earlier, so why are you forgetting it now?”

  “That was intentional! Why would you tell her that I knew her name?!”

  I’d said the wrong name purposefully out of spite, yet Sofie had to go and expose me. Why was it so hard for me to get through to this girl?

  “Oh, Erin, you’re hilarious!”

  What are you laughing for, Miya? I’m not joking around here!

  “Let’s be friends,” the half-elf said, approaching me and shaking my hand.

  The suddenness of it all and her intense gaze made me shrink back. “Y-Yeah... Let’s be friends...”

  Wait, what am I saying?! Why am I shaking hands with my archenemy?!

  I could only imagine that this was how she’d gotten her claws in Note too. Sidling up to him and then putting her hands on him... How wily. For the time being, I decided to squeeze her hand—hard—to show her how I really felt. But...

  Huh?

  I couldn’t squeeze her at all! I mean, sure, I didn’t have much grip strength to begin with, but Miya’s hand was like a rock. In fact, she was the one squeezing me right now as she violently shook my arm up and down.

  Stop already! You’re gonna dislocate my shoulder!

  I somehow managed to disengage from her death roll of a handshake and rub my shoulder. “That’s not what I’m here for!” I said. “I came to talk to you!”

  “Really? I’ve been dying to talk to you too!”

  “Don’t lie to me! You didn’t even know my name!”

  “Aw, you really are funny, Erin!”

  I wasn’t trying to be a comedian here, but Miya was cracking up. What was with this girl? She was so airheaded. It was like she wasn’t hearing a word I said.

  “Sofie, you’ve got something to say to Miya too, right? Let her have it,” I whispered into Sofie’s ear.

  But as soon as I did that, a voice called from the other side of the door, “Is that you, Sofie? Come in already.”

  “Yes, Your Highness!”

  “Wait, Sofie!” I shouted after her. “What about Miya? Weren’t you going to help me?”

  “I don’t care. Princess Leyfa is more important.”

  “Don’t
abandon me!”

  Sofie made a beeline for Leyfa, leaving me alone with Miya.

  What am I supposed to do? Can I just go home? No, I can’t let things end like this...

  I wasn’t about to leave with my tail between my legs. Situations like this called for confidence, even if it was just a bluff.

  “Fine,” I huffed. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  I didn’t care if she was Note’s childhood friend or first love; I wasn’t about to lose to this puny half-elf. I’d beat her down so bad that she’d never try to approach him again. I had my hands full with Roslia as it was. I didn’t want to deal with any more rivals.

  “Are Note and Roslia actually dating?” she asked.

  “...Wuh?”

  Seriously, what? Why would you ask me that? Why would you assume Roslia was his girlfriend and not me? I mean, not that I’m really his girlfriend...

  “Note and Roslia were together in the capital, and they always seemed like they were close. They deny it though, so I’ve been wondering what the real story is.”

  “No. They’re not dating.”

  “I see.”

  “What do you care?”

  “Oh, I’m just concerned as his childhood friend. It’s not like I’m interested in him myself or anything. He’s unreliable and lame. I wouldn’t even consider him boyfriend material, although I guess he was kinda cool when he came to save me... But I mean that as a friend!”

  “I see.”

  That was a relief. I’d been worried Miya had feelings for Note, but if she only saw him as a friend, then it wasn’t a problem. She’d point-blank said he wasn’t boyfriend material, meaning I could safely count her off my list of rivals.

  Phew...

  I suddenly recalled my little sister Marin telling me not to take everything people said at face value, but I couldn’t help feeling that was irrelevant right now.

  “So, what gives?” I asked. “You sound like you’re opposed to Note and Roslia getting together.”

  “I’m not one to talk, but Roslia has an awful personality. She’s always picking on me, yet she acts all cute and innocent in front of Note.”

  “I know. I wish she’d learn to keep her hands to herself too.”

  “Right?!”

  “Well, I have spent a lot of time with them.”