Chapter 4

Seihiro kicked off the ground with all his might and stabbed the Gejigeji with his knife.

"Hard!!"

The tip of the knife slid off the carapace and came out.

Unexpected.

At this result, Seihiro's spine shivered.

"Uooooo!!"

Adrenaline accelerated his thoughts.

A second stretched into eternity.

In the instant the knife's tip slipped,

Seihiro forcibly changed its trajectory.

Stab, stab, stab, stab!

Each time he slashed, the carapace was cut deeper.

These cuts provided a foothold, and the tip stabilized upon contact.

With a crack, the carapace broke.

The blade slid smoothly inside.

It must have hit the brain.

The Gejigeji lost its strength.

Without letting his guard down, Seihiro kept a distance of about three meters.

The Gejigeji's legs twitched reflexively.

When the reflexes subsided, Seihiro finally relaxed his combat stance.

"Phew... If it wasn't a regular Gejigeji, this would have been dangerous."

Thanks to gradually fighting monsters in Sapporo's dungeon since obtaining his adventurer's license, he didn't fall behind against the Gejigeji.

But the carapace was different.

He never thought the combat knife wouldn't penetrate.

This was also unexpected.

Seihiro's spine was still covered in goosebumps.

If it had been a monster with lethal power...

Seihiro would have faced a fatal outcome.

There was no adventure, but there was experience.

In the future, if he encountered a monster that was immune to attacks, he would be able to handle it more calmly than a novice.

"But is this really suitable for beginners?"

If an adventurer who had never fought a monster before faced this, they would likely be overwhelmed.

Mainly, they would lose their armor...

Seihiro tilted his head, and his body suddenly felt hot.

It was as if he had a fever, but the heat quickly subsided.

"...Quite intense."

Seihiro muttered, holding his head.

The current bodily changes are known as "level-up dizziness."

It's impossible to confirm the exact level increase, and it's not clear enough to quantify the improved strength.

However, after experiencing this a few times, a bag of rice that he could barely lift before can be lifted with one hand.

This is why it's called "level-up dizziness" in "Narou."

"Level-up dizziness didn't happen often with the first-floor monsters in Chikaho."

He didn't expect it to happen with the first one.

Was it due to the accelerated growth?

...No, it's probably not that definitive.

It might be more accurate to say it's because it's "suitable for beginners."

Despite being relatively weak, it provides a lot of experience.

Additionally, it has no lethal power.

Therefore, it's suitable for beginners.

Conversely, "beginner killers" refer to monsters in the upper floors that are strong but offer little benefit, so Seihiro's guess isn't entirely wrong.

Seihiro put away his knife and took out a dissection tool.

Recalling the dissection method for crustaceans from the WIKI, he moved the knife.

He cut off the numerous limbs, flipped it over, and moved the knife's tip along the muscles.

Struggling with the Gejigeji's weight, Seihiro separated the carapace from the body.

It was about the size of two of Seihiro's torsos. One of these could probably make a set of armor.

The average buyback price was around 1000 yen.

Considering that the materials from the first and second-floor monsters in "Chikaho" are 100 yen each, 1000 yen for one monster is quite a good deal.

If he stacked them in his car, the gas money would be covered just by selling them.

He brought a backpack, but it was unlikely to fit.

This was probably the reason for the 1000 yen buyback price.

It's too large to fit in a bag, so it can't be carried back in large quantities after a single hunt.

Since it can't be mass-produced, the price is less likely to drop.

If he had a magic bag, he could hunt without worrying about quantity... but that's far too expensive for a beginner adventurer.

Seihiro placed the carapace on the ground and looked down at the separated Gejigeji meat.

Is this... edible?

An adventurer once said,

"Monsters can be divided into two types: edible and inedible."

What about this monster?

He cut out a piece of meat with the dissection knife, put it in his mouth, and was ready to spit it out at any time.

"..."

The taste was completely bland.

When he chewed, it had a unique texture.

He spat it out without swallowing and rinsed his mouth with water from his canteen.

It might be edible, but it would need a strong seasoning.

If he had vegetables, he could make a dish that utilized the texture, but since the dungeon appeared, vegetable prices have skyrocketed.

The reason is the lack of oil imports.

Dungeons appeared not only on land but also underwater.

Naturally, the monsters were left unchecked, and normal ships couldn't navigate.

As a result, gas prices exceeded 1000 yen per liter.

Even with mass production, using agricultural machinery would result in a loss just from harvesting.

Even if he hired a lot of part-timers to harvest, the transportation costs would be significant.

Trucks run on gasoline or diesel, so the rise in transportation costs is a natural consequence.

Thus, the planting area naturally decreased, and vegetable prices soared.

They have become a food for the nobility.

Seihiro's garden has a vegetable patch, but the harvest is still a ways off.

Still, his family's food situation is always tight, but it hasn't reached the limit.

If he gets hungry, he'll try the Gejigeji meat.

Seihiro carried the Gejigeji carapace out of the dungeon and went back in.

* * *

【The Path to Being Noticed】

"Beginner-Friendly Dungeon!"

Hi, I'm Kuu (^o^)

The dungeon that appeared the other day had Gejigeji on the first floor (T_T)

They look quite cute (^_^)

I love their little scuttling legs.

The Gejigeji were as delicious as the WIKI said \(^O^)/

For a monster to appear on the first floor, maybe this dungeon is a jackpot?

I skinned the Gejigeji carapaces, which sold for a good price.

104 pieces, weighing 254 kg!

I must have leveled up quite a bit.

At first, it was tough, but I could take them down easily at the end!

I might have overdone it a bit (^^;)

Fighting the monsters was easier than carrying the materials up and down the stairs.

I might have muscle pain tomorrow (T_T)

The problem is how to sell the materials afterward...

There's no material shop nearby... (T_T)

Well, it's okay since they don't spoil!

I worked really hard on leveling up today!

Maybe I'm one step closer to gaining some presence?

* * *

When an article is updated on "Narou," it appears on the front page's new article list.

It stays there for about 10 minutes.

It's said that PVs (page views) rotate easily for about an hour after updating.

...But why?

Why do the PVs only rotate three times!!

Three visitors.

Two of them stayed for only three seconds.

In other words, these two probably entered the wrong room.

Almost no one saw the article in an hour.

After an hour, the PVs don't rotate anymore.

This is the norm for Seihiro's blog.

Even though there are a million "Narou" users.

It's impressive in a bad way.

Is the PV counter broken?

"Why doesn't anyone see it..."

Even though he's writing like the top-ranked articles!

Even though the quality of his blog posts is almost the same as the top-ranked ones!

Whether they are really the same level or not, at least to Seihiro's eyes, his articles and the top-ranked articles seem to be at the same level.

Despite this, the daily PVs are worlds apart.

Why don't my articles get any PVs?

Is it because I'm so invisible...?

Despairing at the low PVs, Seihiro went to bed in tears, unaware that a topic about Gejigeji had appeared on the "Narou" general discussion board.

Dungeon Discussion Thread [532nd Floor]

315 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

I saw someone on a blog saying "Gejigeji on the first floor, lucky!"

316 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

What? Is it a joke?

317 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

No, it seems pretty serious.

318 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

Wow, a beginner, that guy is really stupid lol

319 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

Probably a beginner.

320 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

Believing the WIKI completely is crazy.

Those appear from the third floor, and he's calling it lucky on the first floor.

Is he a masochist?

321 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

It's hard to use the WIKI if you can't tell when it's lying (sternly)

322 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

But,

He said he hunted nearly 100 of them?

323 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

What? So he's not a beginner?

324 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

I don't know.

But the blog post seemed like a beginner's.

325 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

What a guy.

326 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

Invisible.

The post itself is mediocre, so don't expect much.

327 Name: An Anonymous Adventurer

OK, noted.

The next day.

Seihiro rejoiced when the blog's PVs rotated three times.

However, he had no idea that he was being mocked for believing the WIKI completely.