Chapter 28

Seiki learned about the successful stampede extermination by Chikaho and the failed cleanup of the Shinjuku Station stampede almost simultaneously.

He visited several blogs on "Narou," but it seemed that the information was indeed true.

The cleanup of the stampede that originated from the Shinjuku Station, the most difficult dungeon in Japan, had failed.

There were two main reasons for the failure of the defense:

1. Monsters stampeded from all 63 entrances and exits.

2. These monsters were from the middle layers.

To make matters worse, the high-ranking player Bacon, who participated in the monster extermination operation, went missing.

Even the high-ranking players on "Narou" couldn't handle it... What will happen to Japan from now on?

The blogs were filled with such dark articles.

Despite the bad situation, the morning always comes.

The sun shone on the fields in front of Seiki's house, bringing a sense of peace, just like any other morning, regardless of the situation in Shinjuku.

No matter how much Seiki worried about the destruction of Shinjuku, there was nothing he could do as an adventurer.

As someone who had only reached the 5th floor of a rural dungeon, Seiki would only run back if he went to the Shinjuku Station dungeon.

If he wanted to help in the recovery of Shinjuku, he needed to become much stronger.

"Good morning, Aohoshi. It seems Shinjuku is in a tough situation..."

"Yeah."

Seiki met up with Kuren and prepared while chatting.

In between their conversation, they talked about Shinjuku. She also seemed concerned about it.

"Are you not worried about Shinjuku, Aohoshi?"

"Hmm, I'm not completely unworried, but..."

"You seem pretty calm about it."

Aren't you worried?

Seiki gave a troubled smile in response to her gaze.

"Masatsugu announced on his blog that he will participate in the recovery operation for Shinjuku, so it should be fine."

Masatsugu is the unshakable top-ranked player.

While his blog points are far behind Bacon's, his request completion points are outstanding.

The gap between the 2nd and 1st place is tens of thousands of points, while the gap between the 2nd and 3rd place is only a few thousand points.

Thus, he is the pinnacle of the hardcore players, known as the unshakable top-ranked player.

Masatsugu, who has always been at the forefront of the dungeon, fighting the strongest monsters, is now moving.

There is no reason for Seiki to be worried.

Even Kuren, who had a worried expression, felt relieved when Masatsugu's name was mentioned. He is the symbol of the greatest power for adventurers.

"Even if I worry, I can't go to Shinjuku, and even if I could, I wouldn't be of any help."

"...That's true."

We are still weak.

Kuren looked down at Seiki's words.

"Unless we become stronger, we won't even have the option to help."

"That's right."

"That's why our job now isn't to think about Shinjuku. It's to become much stronger."

"...Yes!"

Kuren was motivated, and Seiki used the gate to descend to the 3rd underground floor.

Kuren had not yet reached the 4th floor, so today they planned to aim for the 5th floor from here.

They defeated the Black Raccoons and quickly took down the boss to reach the 4th floor.

As they descended the stairs and the interior color changed, Kuren let out a breath in awe.

"The emeralds are beautiful."

"Yeah. But be careful, the monsters on this floor can blend in with the wall color."

If you pay attention, you can notice them, but the potato monsters have a similar color to the walls, so you might overlook them if you let your guard down.

"Look, there's a potato monster over there."

"Huh? Where?"

"Go straight from here."

"...Oh, I see it! You have a good eye, Aohoshi. I might not have noticed it on my own."

"Is it that hard to see?"

"Yes..."

Kuren's shoulders drooped.

It seems the green walls made the monsters much harder to see than Seiki had imagined.

Seiki's ability to easily spot the camouflaged potato monsters was due to his experience in typesetting work.

"Let me show you how to fight it. Stay back and watch."

"Okay."

Seiki made Kuren step back out of range and then charged at the potato monster.

However, Seiki didn't attack at all.

He just dodged the 40 or so potatoes the monster shot.

Seiki stepped into the line of fire and dodged the potatoes one after another.

When the potatoes ran out, he slowly approached and pulled out the potato's stem.

"This is how you take it down. It's easy, right?"

"Wh-where is it easy!?"

Kuren's face turned pale as she clenched her shoulders after seeing Seiki's demonstration.

"There's no way I can do that!"

"R-really?"

Seiki thought it was the best strategy, but maybe it wasn't...

Seiki was puzzled, but it was understandable that Kuren couldn't mimic it.

Seiki was dodging potatoes shot at 150 km/h while being only 5 meters away from the monster.

The time from launch to impact was about 0.1 seconds.

It was understandable that Kuren, who usually stayed in the back and didn't move much, would be pale.

However, Seiki had a point.

"If you look at the nozzle where the potatoes are shot, you can tell which direction they will go. You just need to time it right to dodge easily."

If you observe carefully, you can predict the timing and direction of the shots.

It's impossible to hit even the fastest shots if you know the direction and timing, like a signal to shoot in a limited direction.

"I didn't expect you to be this inhuman, Aohoshi."

"That's rude."

I haven't given up being human yet.

Seiki pouted, but his expression was hidden by the mask.

"Kuren, you can't do it, huh..."

I wanted to show you the fun of dodging the fast-shooting potatoes.

"Mu-"

Kuren, thinking Seiki's words were a provocation, reacted quickly.

"I can do it too!"

"Okay, let's see what you can do."

"Mu-"

Kuren puffed out her cheeks and started searching carefully.

The next potato monster was 50 meters away.

Seiki had already noticed its presence.

When would Kuren notice it?

I'll tell her if she gets too close.

Kuren took a step, then another.

"Ah!"

Kuren finally noticed the monster just before it was in range.

It seems others can't see them until they get this close.

Seiki put his hand on his chin.

This floor is quite tricky.

"I'll show you that I can do it, Aohoshi!"

With determination, Kuren raised her staff and shouted,

"Sei!!"

The magic hit the potato monster, shattering it from the root.

"How was that? I can do this much—"

"Whoa! Kuren, what did you do?!"

"Huh? Huh?"

"If you kill it without dodging the potatoes, you won't get the potatoes!!"

"..."

Kuren looked at the disappointed Seiki with a warm gaze.

Ah, this person really is that way. Seiki could read her thoughts.

But Seiki was focused on the potatoes.

After all, the monster died without giving him the potatoes...

Ah, potatoes.

Carbohydrate energy.

My potassium, carotene, niacin!

"Well, we can always get potatoes when we come to the 4th floor, so there's no need to be upset."

"If you waste food, the ghost of waste will come out..."

"Let's move on! We planned to hunt on the 5th floor today, right? Right? ...Hey, can you cheer up a bit?"

Kuren tried to motivate the dejected Seiki.

Despite being the one who was down, Kuren looked like she was about to cry.

"Hey, you can grow potatoes in a home garden! So cheer up—"

"Th-That's it!!"

* * *

Let's give up on potatoes for today.

Once he made that decision, it was quick.

Potato monsters are hard to spot but easy to deal with once you find them.

Seiki focused on detection and left all the attacks to Kuren. She defeated the monsters one after another without letting a single potato hit her.

The 4th floor boss was silenced by Kuren's continuous magic from outside the room.

The monsters' camouflage and fast projectiles make this floor difficult for first-timers, but once you know the strategy, the difficulty drops significantly.

It's a well-balanced floor.

While Kuren was casting spells at the boss (almost like practice shots), Seiki secretly took out his skill board.

He planned to check his current skills and set future goals, but...

"Huh?"

Seiki tilted his head at the changes on the skill board.

Aohoshi Seiki (27) Gender: Male

Skill Points: 0 → 3

Evaluation: Swordsman

- Vitality

Stamina 0

Natural Recovery 0

- Strength

Strength 1

- Agility

Burst 1

Dexterity 1

- Technique

Weapon Proficiency

One-handed Sword 1

Throwing 1

Light Armor 0

Stealth 1

Imitation 1

- Intuition

Detection 0

- Special

Accelerated Growth 3

Seiki's skill points had suddenly increased by 3.

"I thought I knew the conditions for gaining skill points..."

It seems there were still some conditions left.

Before thinking about why they increased, Seiki checked Kuren's skill board.

Kuren Kuren (18) Gender: Female

Skill Points: 3

Evaluation: Mage

- Vitality

Stamina 0

Natural Recovery 0

- Strength

Strength 0

- Magic

Magic 1

Magic Aptitude 1

Magic Control 1

- Agility

Burst 0

Dexterity 0

- Technique

Weapon Proficiency

Blunt Weapon 0

Light Armor 0

- Intuition

Detection 0

- Special

Luck 1

Kuren's skill points hadn't changed.

She gained 1 point from defeating a rare monster, and that was it.

Seiki had mostly explored the dungeon with Kuren.

He went solo twice:

1. When hunting potatoes.

2. During the stampede.

In the first case, he didn't gain any unexpected skill points until the hunt was over.

In the second case, there were no changes until just before fighting the werewolf.

From this, the condition for gaining 3 skill points became clear.

"The stampede boss..."

Defeating the stampede boss is rarer and more difficult than encountering a rare monster.

That's why he gained 3 points.

It was very helpful since he had no points to allocate.

However, it felt a bit unfair to secretly gain this benefit without Kuren knowing.

But what's done is done.

Next time, he would make Kuren's favorite dish as a substitute.

Seiki made a mental note of this.

When they descended to the 5th floor, the interior color returned to the same brown as the 1st floor.

"Kuren, hide behind me and be on guard."

"Understood."

Seiki had a good idea of what monsters would appear here.

They were probably the Silver Wolves he saw during the stampede.

As expected, three Silver Wolves slowly approached from down the corridor.

Since they are modeled after wolves, they always move in packs, according to the wiki.

Their strength is also evident from experience.

As long as he doesn't let his guard down, it should be fine.

"Kuren, support me like with the Black Raccoons."

"Y-Yes!"

Seiki gave a brief instruction, pulled out two short swords, and charged at the pack of wolves.

From a distance, the stones didn't seem that fast, but up close, it was clear.

"These are pretty fast!"

Not as fast as werewolves, but the Silver Wolves were quite agile.

He could safely defeat one, but three at once was a bit challenging.

Still, Seiki calmly analyzed their movements.

Focus.

Focus!

He recalled the movements of the werewolves and overlaid them on the Silver Wolves.

Similarities quickly became apparent.

Using the smooth movements he imitated from the werewolves, he dodged the Silver Wolves' attacks with ease.

"...Yes!"

He could do it!

After dodging five attacks, Seiki was confident.

But it was still a close call.

He didn't have the time to counterattack.

If he tried to counter, even a small opening would be exploited.

So Seiki just kept dodging.

10 times, 20 times.

He just kept dodging the wolves' attacks.

Then, at one point,

"Yip!!"

One of the wolves was blown away with a scream.

Seiki took his chance.

He dodged the wolf's attack and

placed his short sword on its abdomen.

He thrust his short sword into the mouth of the wolf that tried to bite him from the opposite side.

The wolf with a slashed abdomen rolled on the ground.

The wolf with the short sword in its mouth let out a "Hin" sound.

The Silver Wolves were only in pain for about 0.1 seconds.

But Seiki never missed an opportunity.

He kicked one wolf away and

quickly buried his short sword in the neck of another.

"That's one down!"

The wolf that was blown away by Kuren's magic lunged at her, but Seiki pushed it into the wall with a body check.

Kuren followed up with a magic attack.

That's two down!

Seiki approached the kicked wolf before it could recover.

He feinted with a foot movement.

The wolf, scared by the kick, reacted by jumping to the side.

At that moment,

Seiki saw the opening and slashed the wolf's body with his short sword.

The wolf fell to the ground, spilling its guts, but still tried to stand up.

Strong vitality.

Seiki cut off the wolf's head and confirmed the deaths of all three wolves.

"...Phew."

It would have been a bit dangerous without Kuren.

Seiki had the upper hand at a distance, but the Silver Wolves were still a challenge up close.

"I need to get stronger..."

Seiki quickly skinned the Silver Wolves and collected the materials.

When he turned to put them in the magic bag, it seemed Kuren was still experiencing level-up dizziness.

She was squatting on the ground, pressing her temples.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes... I'm fine, but can we take a short break?"

"Of course."

It seems Kuren found the experience of defeating three Silver Wolves quite overwhelming.

Seiki had already defeated many monsters during the stampede and even the boss, the werewolf. A few more wouldn't cause a strong level-up dizziness.

Once Kuren's dizziness subsided, Seiki immediately resumed hunting.

When the opponents were 2 or 3, he charged in, but when there were 4 or more, he used his signature potato-throwing to reduce the pack to 3.

By maintaining a safety margin, Seiki and Kuren continued their leveling efforts for the day.

Chapter 2 begins.

In this chapter, Seiki's presence will become even more powerful!

The next update will be on Thursday.