The city was abuzz with tension over the upcoming battle. At Guild HQ, adventurers completed their final checks. Their minds were focused solely on the task at hand, and on nothing that lay beyond. The adventurers took stock of their trusty weapons, their armor that had been serviced by city craftsmen, and their ration of all-important items. There would be no room for error.
Veteran adventurers sparred with their fists or arm-wrestled each other. It was a common prebattle ritual for them. Younger recruits did their best to calm their nerves, while older warriors imparted a few encouraging words.
When we get back, the first round’s on me, kids.
Thus a promise was forged.
“Finn’s dressed to the nines, too, just like Ottar and Astrea’s crew… Can’t have our captain bein’ upstaged, now can we?”
Amid all the bustle, Loki sat in the Guild’s lobby, watching her captain with a grin.
The crimson robe Finn wore over his top-class equipment looked like a signature written in blood. The cloth ran over his right shoulder and was fastened in place at the waist, while the remainder flowed from his shoulders like a cape. His other arm was protected with a steel vambrace that extended past the elbow. To a prum, he must have looked like an incarnation of their goddess, Fianna.
Finn flexed his joints, testing the armor for flaws right as a scouting party returned and handed him a rolled-up scroll. Finn exchanged a few words with them, and then the scouts headed out once more. As they left, Finn unfurled the parchment—a map of the enemy’s locations—and studied its contents in silence. As he did so, Royman came over, spraying spittle at him.
“I’m begging you, Finn! We’ve invested every last drop of our city’s resources in ensuring you adventurers have the best equipment money can buy! You cannot fail us now!!”
Royman’s nerves were every bit as frayed as those of the warriors fighting on the front lines. His flab jiggled as he nagged Finn like a nosy mother-in-law.
Finn didn’t even spare the man a glance. He just replied, “We’ll do everything we can,” as another tremor rocked the building. At the same time, a flustered Guild woman ran in.
“We’ve just received news that the monster has reached the twentieth floor! The scouting party has suffered heavy casualties!”
In more peaceful times, the woman worked as a receptionist, but her lovely face was twisted with fear.
“They cannot continue the mission! They’re requesting permission to evacuate! I’m sending the retreat order right now!”
The Guild woman shouted her report, causing almost every adventurer within earshot to turn and stare in horror. Royman went pale. Only Loki and the first-tier adventurers were able to stay calm.
“Accounting for the time it took this report to arrive,” said Gareth, stroking his beard, “the beast should have reached the nineteenth floor by now. A little faster than we expected.”
“Yes,” replied Riveria, “but that’s fine. Astrea Familia and I are done with our preparations.” She eyed the staff in her hands. “We are ready to go anyti— Finn?”
The prum commander had still not said a word, and his eyes were fixed firmly on the contents of the parchment. There was a brief silence as everyone turned to him.
Possibilities raced through his head. After five excruciating seconds, Finn licked his thumb.
“…We need to alter the Dungeon team,” he said. “Gareth, Aiz. You two go with Riveria and Astrea Familia as well.”
“What?”
Riveria was taken aback at this last-minute change of plan.
“Hold on, Finn,” said Gareth. “The plan was for the girls to keep the beast busy with their swift movements while Riveria hit hard enough with magic to take it out in one blow. What’s changed? Zald and Alfia will be coming. We can’t spare anyone on the surface.”
Gareth was right. The threat of those two Level 7s far exceeded that of the Dungeon monster. Orario needed to meet them with everything they could muster, even if that meant dividing their forces unequally. It was none other than Finn who had come up with that plan in the first place.
“I thought so too, at first,” Finn replied. “But I’ve just read this report on the enemy dispositions…and something’s not right.”
Finn walked over to the reception counter and spread the map on top of it, placing black-and-white chess pieces to mark allied and enemy formations.
“I worked out seventeen different ways the enemy could deploy their forces, and what we’re seeing doesn’t match any of them. The battle even hasn’t started yet, and already I can’t shake the feeling we’re missing something.”
Finn moved the black pieces one by one, reflecting the deviation in their predicted and actual locations. As he laid out the discrepancy for them, the other adventurers began to murmur in discomfort.
The last piece to move was the enemy queen, which ended up on the eastern side of the city. Finn narrowed his azure eyes and glared at it.
“…So, ya think the Evils are gonna show up down in the Dungeon as well?” asked Loki.
“That’s one possibility,” Finn replied. “But that’s not the worst thing they could do…”
He opened his mouth to elaborate, then closed it and shook his head.
“…No, that doesn’t matter. What matters is, my thumb is aching, just like it did on the night of the Great Conflict. We could be walking right into a trap again. I don’t want to take that chance.”
“Well, that’s a good enough reason for me,” said Loki. “Finn’s thumb’s cannier than the gods themselves sometimes.”
“N-n-now wait just a moment! Surely you cannot be serious about making such important decisions based on some…random pain in your fingers?!”
While Loki seemed convinced, Royman loudly refused to accept Finn’s patchy reasoning. But it was someone else who walked up behind him with soft footsteps and an answer at the ready.
“It’s fine. Once we defeat the monster, we can come back. It won’t take long.”
It was Aiz, carrying a sword that seemed much too large for her strapped to her back. All eyes were drawn toward the girl who was so small, most in the room had to look down to see her. The first one to break the silence was the old dwarf warrior.
“Ha-ha-ha!” Gareth laughed. “Right you are, girl! Beat the monster quick enough, and it doesn’t matter if Finn’s prediction is off the mark!”
“We owe our lives to your hunches, Captain,” added Riveria. “I’m perfectly happy to place my trust in you once more.”
Royman couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “H-have you all lost it?!” he shrieked. But Finn only smiled.
“Thank you, both of you. And you too, Aiz. I’m counting on you.”
The golden-haired girl gave a single nod in response.