Monster Company Tycoon Chapter 37

Chapter 37

 

After that, Ragner and Dullahan clashed.

Dullahan was the first to move.

Whooosh—!

A gigantic greatsword cleaved through the air with terrifying force.

With the long blade combined with Dullahan’s enormous physique, a single swing was enough to bring a wide area entirely within its attack range.

On the other hand, all Ragner held was an utterly ordinary longsword.

Rather than dodge the greatsword rushing toward him, he raised his own sword and met it head-on.

“So this is what real combat looks like.”

It felt like I was watching a genuine battle on an entirely different level, something our low-ranking employees could never hope to imitate.

The tension was so gripping that my palms were sweating, just like when watching an action movie.

“Ah! I should collect combat data!”

This was a heaven-sent opportunity.

Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d ever seen Ragner fight seriously.

‘It was the perfect chance to witness with my own eyes just how strong a former Hero really was!’

On top of that, I could also assess the combat abilities of Dullahan, who would soon become one of our new employees.

I quickly placed my finger on the combat information section of the résumé and studied Dullahan’s fighting style, comparing it with the information displayed on the screens.

‘I need to understand her abilities properly. It’ll help me manage the dungeon. She’s going to be our first-floor boss, after all. Managing employees is the foundation of running a business.’

The primary combat skill Dullahan used was [Greatswordsmanship (A)].

This was the first time I’d ever seen a monster with an A-rank skill.

For reference, the skills possessed by our goblins and skeletons were, at best, D-rank.

The highest among them was Small Slime’s Digestive Acid Spray, which was C-rank.

“Ah! Just now!”

When Ragner pressed her fiercely, Dullahan drove her greatsword deep into the ground, then swung it roughly as though scooping up the earth itself.

KWAANG!

A mound of earth surged upward, instantly forming a wall between the two.

“Ah, right. Dullahan has the Earth attribute, doesn’t she? I never paid attention to that since the other monsters don’t have any attributes.”

The defensive skill she’d just used was probably [Earth Reversal (C)].

But then I suddenly became curious about how the ranks attached to skills were determined.

Did they simply represent the user’s proficiency with the skill, or did they indicate how rare the skill itself was?

I felt like Brownie would know the answer if I asked her, but the dirt potato who was always following me around had suddenly disappeared.

What on earth was she doing, and where had she gone? I brought up a few more screens to look around, and…

“Hurry up, hurry up! Dullahan’s odds are higher right now! Bet all the money you’ve got and turn your life around!”

“Ueeeng, Director. We don’t have any money.”

“Gambling is bad. Clatter.”

That evil little dirt potato… She was organizing a betting pool among the employees, wagering on which of the two would win.

I was so dumbfounded that I tapped the screen with my finger, right where the dirt potato, whose eyes were practically gleaming with greed, appeared.

“What on earth are you doing at a sacred workplace?”

At that, Brownie suddenly turned her head, and our eyes met directly through the screen.

“Huh? Were you watching me? Did you call me?”

“Huh? This thing has two-way communication? You can hear me? If you can, get over to my office right now!”

A moment later, the door flew open, and Brownie appeared with a sulky expression.

“I was just about to have fun. Why’d you call me?”

I’d thought I could only watch through the screens, but apparently I could actually talk to employees, too.

I’d only used the Holy Relic once, so I hadn’t even known it had such a useful function.

With this, I could summon employees as conveniently as I wanted while sitting right in my office.

“Gambling at the workplace is prohibited. You can’t do things like that.”

“What? Who made that rule?!”

“Me.”

“……Tch. Well, I guess I have no choice.”

After giving up without much resistance, Brownie sat down on my shoulder as though it were a chair.

“Ah, I used it again. I can’t use it too often. Does it have a cooldown?”

I picked up my pen and jotted down notes on a fresh sheet of paper whenever I had the chance. Earth Reversal, a skill with a cooldown.

“Brownie, what’s the criterion for the rank next to a skill?”

“It’s based on the skill’s rarity and proficiency.”

“So it’s both.”

“Even the most pathetic skill can become a good one if you hone it enough! Of course, being born with a good skill from the start is the easiest and fastest way!”

“Sure, sure.”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone were born with a silver spoon in their mouths?

Perhaps Greatswordsmanship had such a high rank because Dullahan’s proficiency was so high. It looked like a pretty basic skill to me.

“Those inferior creatures need to hurry up and grow stronger like that!”

Brownie pointed at the employees who had almost become victims of her betting pool and shouted angrily.

“Look at that! That intense battle! That’s what you can call a monster! They’re on an entirely different level! Their very foundations are different!”

“Don’t be too hard on the employees. They’re all training hard, you know.”

The employees had been receiving hellish training from Ruadis every day, and their skills were gradually improving.

They had also shed much of the disorganized appearance they’d had at the beginning.

Even though they usually acted so carefree, once combat training began, they’d learned how to put a little murderous determination in their eyes.

“Hmph! They’re still nowhere near good enough. Dullahan, crush her! Take out that irritating dead-fish-eyed bastard!”

Having completely entered spectator mode, Brownie stared at the screen and roared at the top of her lungs like a drunkard who’d had one too many drinks.

‘Ah… Was calling her over a mistake?’

“Oh! Did you see that skill just now?”

Dullahan’s greatsword glowed red for an instant. When she slammed it into the ground, the earth shook violently.

Rrrrrumble.

The impact even reached the floor below, causing a faint vibration to travel through the ceiling.

Ragner, caught within the skill’s range, lost his balance and staggered for a moment.

‘Is that some kind of CC skill (crowd control)?’

[Earth Vein Pulverization (B)] was a skill that interfered with an enemy’s movements and restricted their actions rather than inflicting direct damage.

“She has so many good skills, doesn’t she? We really should’ve recruited her sooner. She said she didn’t care what salary she got, right? Let’s make her work for free!”

“I don’t want to turn this dungeon into a black company. The better the talent, the better we should treat them.”

“No! We should work them to the bone!”

“What if she decides to leave for another dungeon?”

“Then we’ll threaten her with her head. Chihuahua, you’re too naive. From now on, make sure to find at least one weakness for every monster. That way, they won’t be able to run off to another dungeon without fear…”

“I don’t want to do that! I really want to build a good dungeon.”

“Tch, how simple-minded.”

Although she grumbled, perhaps she hadn’t disliked what I’d said earlier, because Brownie’s attitude softened considerably.

Fortunately, Brownie kept her mouth shut after that, allowing me to watch the battle in peace.

‘But isn’t there something a little… strange about this fight?’

At first, the real battle had seemed nothing but thrilling and impressive.

But at some point, I’d begun to sense a strange discrepancy.

“Brownie, doesn’t it seem like Ragner is… holding back a little?”

“What?”

“And the two of them are moving as if they’ve rehearsed this fight together. Everything is falling into place so perfectly.”

The ferocious momentum from the beginning had already softened considerably.

Their swords clashed, separated, then intertwined again.

When Dullahan swung her greatsword, Ragner caught it naturally, as though he already knew its trajectory. And when Ragner aimed for an opening, Dullahan deftly twisted her body and deflected the attack as if she were accustomed to it.

Their movements no longer resembled those of people trying to fight to the death.

It was more like two people who had crossed swords with each other countless times before.

A sparring match in which their movements naturally fell into sync because they had spent an incredibly long time using each other as practice partners.

I could also see that the tension in Ruadis’s expression had eased considerably.

“Ah… They’ve made up.”

That realization came to me naturally.

The sounds of their swords clashing drowned out their voices, so I couldn’t properly hear what they were saying to each other.

But I didn’t think I needed to hear it, either.

Every time they exchanged blows, the two of them were gradually letting out the feelings they’d kept bottled up inside, just as Ruadis had intended.

Thanks to that, I also discovered for the first time that Ragner, who always wore such an impassive expression, was capable of showing so many different emotions.

Once this battle ended, there seemed to be only one possible outcome awaiting them.

Even though life and death had separated them, they were still friends.

The fact that they had once been closer to each other than anyone else hadn’t changed.

‘It’s a way of making up that only those two could use.’

“Hey, Chihuahua! Look at that! Dead-Fish Eyes is crying! Ehehe! A grown man crying like a little kid!”

Brownie, who had been staring intently at the screen, suddenly pointed at it and burst into laughter.

“What? Ragner is crying?”