Chapter 49

"Throw it!"

I grabbed a Haniwa soldier and threw it at another Haniwa soldier.

The two shattered, leaving behind D Coins and magatama.

This makes it 1000 magatama!

I hope the next ones will be monsters with higher experience points.

If that happens, my level will go up.

So, this is where the fun begins.

"Kuro, let's go."

"Wau."

We headed to the tenth floor of White Beach D, which is based on the tenth floor we only scouted last time without defeating any monsters.

On the way, we found a treasure chest on the ninth floor.

Inside was a refrigerator powered by magic stones. It's quite expensive to buy.

The contents were empty.

I'll set it up on the first floor of PD.

If home appliances (which don't run on electricity) keep increasing, it might really be possible to live inside PD.

But, what do regular explorers do when they find such things in a dungeon?

Do they carry them out to the outside?

Interrupt their dungeon exploration?

What if they get attacked by monsters on the way?

Wow, that sounds tough.

I'm glad we have an inventory.

And then, the tenth floor.

Here, a slightly different kind of monster appears.

A Thunder Snake, which emits lightning.

It's not a creature like an electric eel, where muscle cells have evolved to generate electricity, but rather a magical creature.

In games, the calculation of damage from magic often depends on a dedicated magic defense value, but in the dungeons created by Danpon and Danpul, there is no such thing as a magic defense stat.

There are skills and equipment to reduce magic damage, but without them, a certain amount of HP is reduced.

And the reduced HP doesn't recover immediately like magic points.

If HP reaches zero, it doesn't necessarily mean death.

Instead, it results in a state called "near death" or "combat inability," where potions have no effect.

This was the state in which Gyuzou was transported to the hospital.

While it can sometimes be treated with surgical methods, it often leads to death.

The only sure way to treat it is with a hero's elixir, but I don't have any left.

If I become near death, I won't be able to move, and since I'm exploring the dungeon solo, I'll definitely die.

"Wau."

"Yeah, I'm not solo. Kuro is with me."

I can't see Kuro's HP, so I have to be careful about it too.

This is an important part of party strategy.

A Thunder Snake immediately appeared.

It's covered in black scales, but has a yellow pattern on its face.

It's a pattern that clearly says "I use lightning," but I've also heard that yellow and black are colors that indicate danger, like bees and tigers.

I see, it's a dangerous monster.

I pulled out my sword, Kusanagi, and tried to defeat it before it could cast magic, but the magic was faster.

"Ugh."

Pain shot through my body, and I dropped my sword.

Lightning magic, along with light magic, is said to be one of the fastest types of magic.

Without a dedicated skill, it's almost impossible to avoid—especially for a tank who claims to be a tank, it's the worst type of magic.

Still, I picked up my sword and cut off the Thunder Snake's head.

My head still hurts.

This is the power of magic.

Checking my stats, my HP was down by exactly 15.

I remember that my HP at level 1 was 15, so if I had received this magic back then, I would have been near death in one hit.

I drank a recovery potion to restore my HP.

I can't move with reduced HP.

I have four types of recovery potions in my inventory: potions made from mushrooms, low-quality potions from Cube treasure boxes, high-quality potions from Treasure Box T, and Hi-Potions, totaling over 300.

These 300 potions are my lifeline.

I need to keep track of the number of potions, not just my HP.

D Coins are automatically stored, and the only thing left is a yellow stone?

It's called a Thunder Stone, apparently.

It's probably in the same category as the Fire Stone that came out of a D Can before.

"If only three of them came out at once, I could recover once and it would be more efficient."

I said this to Kuro, and sure enough, three of them appeared at once.

I thought I was going to die.

One thing I learned is that lightning magic doesn't always hit.

Sure, a regular person can't avoid a gun, but if the shooter is inexperienced, they might miss from a distance.

In movies, the magic rarely hits the protagonist. It's called the protagonist bonus.

So, the Thunder Snake's magic can miss.

Three spells were cast at once, and one missed.

So, two spells hit at once... I thought I was going to die.

In reality, my HP only decreased by 30, which is less than one-tenth of the damage, but it was the most painful experience so far. I won't be able to laugh at entertainers who receive electric shock punishments anymore.

Thinking about it, the damage from the rabbit's horn thrown by the Evil Ogre or the damage from the battle with Kuro, the Darkness Wolf, might not have been that bad. It might have just been the adrenaline that numbed the pain.

The experience points are good, but mentally, it's tough to keep fighting.

I went back to the first floor.

I want a skill or equipment that increases magic resistance or a skill that raises my HP cap.

I set up the refrigerator on the first floor.

I put a black magic stone in the magic stone slot.

It's supposed to run for a year.

If it's a white magic stone, it would run for ten years.

"It's a refrigerator! Now I can get lots of snacks from Taira and store them."

Danpon, who has become a gourmet thanks to Kagerou and donuts, said.

If you bring something back as a gift, don't eat mine without asking.

So, the D Can.

What I'm concerned about in terms of HP and magic resistance are these:

[Seal Condition: The owner must be hit by lightning magic 10 times (6 remaining)]

It was counting even when I wasn't carrying it. It seems like it will open eventually.

Given the conditions, it feels like it will increase magic resistance or lightning resistance.

[Seal Condition: The owner must stay awake for over 24 hours with 500 or more HP (8:51 remaining)]

I meet the stat requirement, but staying awake for 24 hours is tough.

To be honest, I was getting sleepy.

But with less than 9 hours left, it feels like a waste to sleep now.

Okay, I'll open it today.

In the meantime—

[Seal Condition: Make 100 experience potions (15 remaining)]

This one is almost ready to open.

I'll focus on making experience potions during this time.

Speaking of D Cans, I wonder if the one I gave to Ayame has opened yet.

Since she hasn't told me what's inside, it might be a pretty weak item.

I went out with Kuro and bought energy drinks, snacks, ice cream, cola, coffee, and books from a convenience store to stay awake.

Then I returned to PD.

"Here, Danpon. I got some cream puffs. I'll put them in the refrigerator, so you can eat them whenever you want—hey!"

"Thank you!"

Danpon used telekinesis to take the cream puffs I was about to put in the refrigerator, broke the bag, and started eating them.

"Mmm, they're delicious. The sweetness of the choux pastry is suppressed to highlight the sweetness of the cream and custard inside."

Well, I did buy them for him, so it's fine.

I drank black coffee and started working immediately.

It's a simple task, really, as long as you have the skill to hold mushrooms.

Is this what blacksmiths do?

I recently learned from the internet that simple synthesis is affected by the skill value, which can shorten the time or allow for more complex synthesis. What used to take an hour now takes about 30 minutes.

While synthesizing, I tried a crossword puzzle I bought from the convenience store.

But it's quite challenging.

When I can't think of a word, I can't look it up on my phone.

How did people in the past look up words?

Maybe, with the advent of smartphones that can instantly search for anything, we've lost the important ability to remember things.

Or maybe I just have a low level of education.

After eight hours of work.

The effect of the energy drink I drank earlier was starting to wear off, and I finished synthesizing 100 experience potions.

I wonder what's inside the can?

"Ribbon."

Not the kind of ribbon with the pattern of the Re〇 Ribbon Army, but a long, silver ribbon.

A Growth Ribbon?

An item that increases experience points by 1.2 times. I got two of them.

They seem to be in the same category as the Growth Ring, but this is a bit of a problem.

It's a bit, no, very embarrassing for a guy to wear.

I thought I could tie it around my wrist instead of my hair, but—

"The ribbon is a hair accessory. It won't work if you tie it anywhere other than your hair."

Danpon pointed out.

Then, what about bald people?

"Danpon, if I wear both the Growth Ring and the Growth Ribbon, will my experience points increase by 1.4 times, 1.44 times, or not at all?"

"I can't answer personal questions. I'm just a manager, not a handyman. I told you about the cream puffs as a special favor."

"I have an eclaire in the refrigerator—"

"1.4 times! But it won't work if you wear two ribbons."

I gave Danpon the eclaire.

Okay, I'll give one to Milk.

She should be home by now.

I tried to go with Kuro, but—

He had moved to the garden on his own because he was bored with PD and was playing with a white dog named Shiro (a placeholder name).

They get along well.

The scene was so heartwarming that I almost fell asleep.

I went to her room and called Milk on my phone, but she didn't answer.

It's late, and she probably hasn't returned home yet.

I decided to go to her house to wake myself up.

When I rang the doorbell, an old lady came out.

Ah, she mentioned that she hired a housekeeper.

"Hello, I'm a friend of Milk. Is she at home?"

"Milk is staying late after school to prepare for the sports festival."

"I see. Thank you."

Milk's school doesn't allow smartphones, so it makes sense that she didn't answer.

I went home.

And finally, it's time to open the D Can.

24 hours—what a long time.

I once stayed up for 24 hours at a karaoke marathon with Aoki, but this was several times harder.

I worked so hard.

What's inside?

I peeked inside the can.

There was a brown medicine bottle.

About the size of the energy drink I just drank.

Could it be a powerful potion?

I identified it.

[Nutrition Drink: Yellow and black are the marks of courage. A drink for men who fight for 24 hours. Over-the-counter medicine]

...Okay, time to sleep.

In the era of Reiwa, it's more important to have the courage to rest properly than to fight for 24 hours.

Overworking is toxic to the body.

I curled up in a sleeping bag inside PD and closed my eyes.

Taira doesn't know the original reference.

But educated readers might have realized it was Re〇in from the three hints:

- The "yellow and black" of the Thunder Snake

- The "24 hours" seal condition

- The "energy drink" to stay awake

It would be fun to include such references sometimes.