Chapter 23

While cherry blossoms petals danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

---

As he stood at the classroom door, Xiaoming took a deep breath and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

---

Amidst the sudden surge of monsters overflowing from the dungeon, Masatsugu calmly observed the surroundings while exterminating them.

The number of gathered adventurers was quite large.

Indeed, Sapporo, representing Hokkaido, was something special.

From the looks of it, the defense would be fine even without Masatsugu.

However... he had a slight bad feeling.

It was a premonition that only Masatsugu, one of the strongest adventurers, could have.

Would this end smoothly?

While continuing to slay monsters, a sound rang out from his pocket.

"Sorry, can you hold them off a bit?"

"Understood!"

"Leave it to me!"

"Got it."

Looking at the four cauldrons, the shield man he had recently captured and corrected, Lars with the greatsword, and Hary with the bow, Masatsugu took out his phone and put it to his ear.

"It's me, Bacon. Are you okay right now?"

"Yeah."

The phone Masatsugu was using was a satellite phone that could make calls even without a base station.

Currently, in Japan, it was no longer possible to make calls with regular mobile phones. However, since satellite phones used living satellites, they could be used without relying on infrastructure.

The usage fee was quite high, but the one Masatsugu had was provided by a sponsor. Of course, Bacon's was also provided by a sponsor, so no matter how long they talked, it wouldn't hurt their wallets.

"How's it going on your end, Bacon?"

Bacon should have been in Tokyo.

Fortunately, there was only one dungeon in Tokyo.

But that dungeon was the one that was hailed as the strongest in Japan.

The defense difficulty was higher than the stampede in "Chikaho."

"Trying to hold on. Where are you, Masatsugu?"

"Sorry, I'm in Hokkaido."

"...Really?"

Bacon sighed, not even trying to hide his disappointment.

It seemed the defense at Shinjuku Station was not going well.

"Is it that bad?"

"Mid-level monsters have appeared."

"...That's bad."

If mid-level monsters from the strongest dungeon appeared, half of the adventurers wouldn't be able to handle them.

Masatsugu's face twisted.

"Are there any other top-ranked adventurers?"

"Most of the ones I can contact are already participating."

"What about Itsuki?"

"He's on an expedition."

"Damn!"

Tokyo would fall.

The worst possible future flashed through Masatsugu's mind.

A chill ran down his spine.

"Have you contacted the major teams?"

"Yeah, you were the only one left."

"Got it. I'll immediately gather my team members and send them to Shinjuku Station. Hold out until the Self-Defense Forces arrive."

"Understood. Count on me!"

Bacon, who usually would be cracking jokes, was completely serious.

That alone made it impossible for Masatsugu to shake off the worst possible scenario that had flashed through his mind.

Masatsugu immediately contacted his team members via phone.

His team, "Braver," consisted of 54 members in total.

When a team becomes large, they usually set up a team house as a base of operations.

Masatsugu's team also had a team house in neighboring Saitama Prefecture.

The house was placed in the neighboring prefecture to avoid damage from a stampede, but it seemed that this precaution was in vain.

All the members were participating in the defense at the Saitama dungeon, but Masatsugu decided to disperse their forces.

If he sent all of them to Shinjuku at once, the defense might collapse.

He decided to send the 10 strongest members to Shinjuku first, and the remaining 43 would judge whether to stay and defend or head to Shinjuku based on the situation.

Hopefully, this would work out...

But the bad feeling wouldn't go away.

Just as he put his phone back in his pocket, a high-pitched scream rang out from somewhere.

Sensing the intent to kill and shock, he immediately moved.

A monster that had slipped through the defense line was attacking spectators who were watching from the outside.

Masatsugu slid in at top speed.

He lightly swept with his longsword.

Just that was enough to blow the pill bug to pieces.

Masatsugu immediately stopped and turned to the civilian woman who had screamed.

"This area is dangerous, please stay as far away as possible."

"Ah, thank you..."

"You're welcome. Protecting the lives of citizens is the job of adventurers."

Lifting the woman and carrying her to a safe area, Masatsugu returned to the front lines.

Even though he had said such bold words,

Could we really protect this Japan?

"Maybe I should take one more step."

---

【Stampede】Narou Information Building【30th Group】

512 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

There aren't enough people at Shinjuku Station, and several entrances can't be sealed off!

If nearby teams have spare capacity, please send people.

513 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

We're in Saitama, heading there now.

Please hold out until we arrive.

514 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

We're in Kanagawa.

Sorry, we can't send anyone.

515 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

We're in Chiba.

Same here, monsters are coming up from the sea.

516 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

Is the defense mobilization still not here?

517 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

It seems to be taking some time to respond.

518 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

This is critical...

How about other areas?

519 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

We're in Nagano, relatively stable.

520 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

We're in Kagawa, the situation is terrible.

Noodle factories are being destroyed one after another!!

521 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

>>520 Oh... Are you okay?

522 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

No, it's not okay, damn it!

But we have to do something!

523 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

Sorry, keep it up.

The future of udon is in your hands.

524 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

Yeah, leave it to us!

525 Name: Masatsugu★

We're in Hokkaido, the situation is stable.

Everyone, please be careful and engage in the extermination.

526 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

>>525 What?!

527 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

Masatsugu, where are you...?

528 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

Not Shinjuku?!

This is bad.

We'll push a bit and send people to Shinjuku.

529 Name: Masatsugu★

Sorry everyone,

Just a little, please lend us your strength.

530 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

>>529 Got it!

531 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

>>529 Understood!

I'm going to propose to my girlfriend after this!

532 Name: Nameless Japan Defense Team

>>531 Stop with the flags, lol.

533 Name: Masatsugu★

Thank you.

Everyone, let's save Japan!!

---

The inside of the dungeon was vibrating slightly, and strange sounds like "katsukatsu" and "sharashara" echoed.

The unpleasant atmosphere of the dungeon was different from before, making his diaphragm tighten.

It felt like he had wandered into a graveyard at midnight.

Even if nothing happened, his body tensed up just from the presence.

In such a situation, Haruki took out his skill board.

Haruki Haruki (27) Gender: Male

Skill Points: 1 → 2

Evaluation: Swordsman

- Vitality

Stamina 0

Natural Recovery 0

- Strength

Strength 1

- Agility

Burst 1

Dexterity 1

- Technique

Weapon Proficiency

One-handed Sword 1

Throwing 0

Light Armor 0

Stealth 0

Imitation 0

- Intuition

Detection 0

- Special

Accelerated Growth 3

He had gained 2 skill points after reaching the 5th floor the other day.

What to do with these points?

It was already decided.

Haruki increased one of the skills and put away the board.

The remaining 1 point was kept as insurance.

If a strong enemy appeared, Haruki planned to increase his agility and run away with all his might.

He continued to move forward without his mask to suppress his presence.

The gate was currently stopped.

It seemed that the gate would stop when a stampede occurred.

As he moved forward, the vibrations grew stronger.

He was probably approaching the monster that caused the stampede—the Monpare.

Haruki crouched down and held his breath.

He put down his bag and got ready.

"...Here they come!"

He saw the monsters.

Haruki's heart began to beat violently, pumping hot blood throughout his body.

The monsters were a raccoon, onions, centipedes, and a wolf he had never seen before.

The wolf was called a Silver Wolf.

It was the monster from which the material for Haruki's short sword was obtained.

Despite Haruki being right in front of them, the monsters didn't seem to notice him at all.

At such times, he was glad to have a presence as light as air.

If all the monsters had noticed him, even Haruki would have fled in a panic.

"Well..."

After a moment, Haruki took out a pot from his bag.

It was a magical item that dropped when he defeated the boss the other day.

Haruki tried to suppress his presence as much as possible to avoid being noticed by the monsters.

He reached into the pot and threw the contents with all his might.

"Kya!"

The raccoon's head was crushed with a squishy sound.

"I can do this!"

Haruki was confident.

He picked up a projectile with his left hand, threw it, caught it with his right hand, and threw it again with all his might.

The army of monsters in front of him fell silent one by one as Haruki threw the projectiles.

The front of the Monpare was still 30 meters away, but Haruki hit the heads of the monsters as planned.

The skill Haruki increased was "Throwing."

Even though he only increased it by one, the projectiles hit with surprising accuracy.

It felt like he had become a professional pitcher.

He didn't feel like he would miss.

But could the accuracy improve so much with just one point?

"Maybe it's the projectiles?"

The projectiles Haruki was throwing were hard stones, similar to the pot, dropped by the boss.

The potato-like surface made them perfect for throwing.

Furthermore, the magical item allowed him to replenish the projectiles, so he wouldn't run out.

It was ideal for a fixed position.

When Akane appraised the potato-like stones, she didn't rule out the possibility that they were a magical item.

The high accuracy with just one point in Throwing might be due to the Throwing +1 effect of the magical item.

In any case, it was a perfect condition.

Haruki continued to throw the potato-like projectiles one after another.

He picked them up with his left hand, transferred them to his right hand, and threw them.

He increased the accuracy and speed.

He threw four projectiles per second, crushing four heads.

The Silver Wolf couldn't be defeated with one hit.

Even when hit in the head, it would cry out and not fall.

So he threw two projectiles at the wolves.

If that didn't work, he threw three.

He kept throwing the potato-like stones.

The bodies of the monsters and potatoes piled up high 30 meters ahead.

Despite suppressing his presence, the Silver Wolves noticed Haruki.

They probably had a keen sense of smell. If they attacked, he would have to abandon his fixed position.

Haruki focused on the wolves.

The raccoons and centipedes didn't seem to notice Haruki, probably due to their weak sensory organs.

It was okay to ignore them.

Surely, such weak monsters could be handled above.

The onions didn't attack at all.

If he hit them, he would be blinded and unable to attack.

The raccoons, onions, and centipedes could be stopped at the defense line.

He kept throwing potatoes, throwing, throwing, throwing, throwing.

He picked them up from the pot, threw them, crushed heads, picked them up, threw them, crushed, crushed, crushed.

Haruki only saw the wolves that noticed his presence.

His focus was so intense that he didn't miss a single muscle movement.

He calmly determined which individuals could reach him the fastest, within a fraction of a second.

His brain accelerated.

His body overheated.

Pleasure surfaced.

He laughed, laughed, laughed.

"Haha... hahaha!"

Haruki was laughing.

The wolves were trying to get closer to Haruki, using all their intelligence.

He read their intentions, their intelligence, and their muscle movements.

This was a battle between the wolves' brains and Haruki's observational skills.

The wolves' trial and error, the speed at which he could counter them,

raised his body, his diaphragm, and his mood.

"Uaaaaaah!"

He suppressed the dizziness from leveling up and kept throwing, throwing, throwing, throwing, throwing!

Before he knew it, the bodies of the wolves were piled high 30 meters ahead.

There were no more monsters around.

Most had probably gone outside or taken a different path...

"No, there are no other paths."

In fact, the only path leading up was this one.

Even if they took other paths, they couldn't go up.

That's why Haruki chose this path for the ambush.

If he tried to intercept them outside, the monsters would scatter. Even with this attack method, he couldn't eliminate them so quickly.

In a narrow passage, he could easily target them with throwing.

He had an endless supply of potatoes (stones).

It was an ideal situation.

Moreover, the fallen monsters would serve as a barricade, slowing their progress.

This was the smallest glimmer of hope that Haruki had envisioned, leading to the best possible future.

The clash of sheer numbers and brute force ended with Haruki's victory.

He put the pot back in his bag and took a breath.

"...Phew!"

The tension eased a bit, and his stomach started to churn.

It was the result of suppressing the dizziness from leveling up and pushing himself too hard.

"Ugh, this is disgusting..."

But it felt good.

He wanted to collapse and rest for a while.

Just as he thought that, a chill ran down his spine.

He immediately stood up from his crouched position.

To be ready for anything, Haruki cautiously took out his skill board.