Chapter 46

【The Path to Becoming a Noticeable Presence】

'Exploring the Dungeon in the Garage!?'

Hi, it's Kūkī (^o^)

Today, I explored the dungeon in the garage for the first time in a while (^_^)

I had reached the 8th floor in 'Chikaho,' so I rushed from the 5th floor to the 8th!

On the way, I actually found an eggplant!

It's been a really long time since I saw an eggplant (>_)

I grilled it over charcoal and ate it.

It was incredibly sweet and juicy, and it was delicious (^_^)♪

Then I reached the 8th floor!

The monster on the 8th floor was actually... a melon!!

I was thinking about leaving, but I ended up hunting them like crazy (>_)

There were both red and blue melons.

I crushed the red ones and put them in the freezer.

They're supposed to turn into sherbet.

I made jam with the blue flesh!

I plan to eat it with bread. (>_<) I'm looking forward to it!

Tomorrow, I'm heading to the 9th floor of the garage dungeon.

And then, I'll finally aim for the middle floors!!

For that, I need to get even stronger! (>_)

I worked really hard on leveling up today!

With this, I feel like I've taken another step closer to a future where I can have a presence. Maybe? Maybe?

* * *

【Crab Roe】 A Thread About Chikaho 74 [I Want to Eat]

234 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

I saw Aerial come out of Chikaho, and they were pretty beat up.

235 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

Aerial? Did they go to fight the Monster Parade?

236 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

Probably.

Did they try to stop it?

Or was it beyond their control?

237 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

Both, I guess.

The Monster Parade is extremely difficult with popular weapons.

Even Aerial would find it tough.

238 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

Maybe only Masatsugu can handle it with popular weapons?

And maybe Togame?

239 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

Probably.

Among those with popular weapons.

240 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

Your comment seems to imply something.

Is there anyone else who could handle it... like Bacon?

241 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

Yeah, Bacon could probably do it too.

There's also that one guy who cleared the Monster Parade and Stampede.

242 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

Oh,

The masked guy?

He was equipped with daggers, right?

The Monster Parade is advantageous with daggers, but...

I can't imagine how he defeated the monsters with daggers.

243 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

>>Masked guy

No, it's not him.

It's the guy with a mask, carrying potatoes, and with tentacle hands.

244 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

He's overpowered!

Is he a monster? I'm hungry! Haha!

245 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

He's not a monster.

He can talk!

246 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

Some monsters can talk too...

247 Name: Kagemitsu★

Hey

248 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

>>247 Hey

Did you fail to defeat the Monster Parade today?

249 Name: Kagemitsu★

>>248

We were defeated badly.

Fortunately, no one died.

251 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

You really went for it...

By the way, the Monster Parade...

Wouldn't it just disperse if left alone?

Why did you go to hunt it?

252 Name: Kagemitsu★

There was a boss.

It was gathering minions.

I don't think it would disperse.

253 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

Really...

Could it be a precursor to a Stampede?

254 Name: Kagemitsu★

If left alone, a Stampede might occur.

255 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

That's dangerous.

Besides, aren't the Monster Parade and Stampede happening too often?

256 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

There are periods when they become more active, like a volcano.

I've seen the Monster Parade happen frequently in other local boards too.

257 Name: Anonymous searching for crabs in Chikaho

>>256 Really?

I didn't know that.

What are you going to do now?

The strong ones are heading to Shinjuku, right?

258 Name: Kagemitsu★

I'll keep chipping away at it.

By the way, tell me more about that tentacle-masked guy carrying potatoes.

* * *

The next day, Haruki spotted three men heading to the dungeon early in the morning.

They didn't seem to be planning anything suspicious.

Their eyes were naturally focused, but there was a sense of tension in their gaze as they looked at the dungeon.

There was no hint of them making any mistakes.

They were comrades who had fought together to protect the town.

Haruki didn't want to doubt them.

Relaxing his guard, Haruki observed them from a distance, without his mask.

They checked their equipment in a friendly atmosphere, and then entered the dungeon.

They seemed to be struggling with the Gegege on the 1st floor.

Haruki was curious about their fighting style.

He had encountered many adventurers in the dungeon before.

However, he and others consciously avoided contact.

Even if there was no hostility, they were wary of being attacked by monsters or having their materials stolen.

Leaving when there was no danger was a tacit understanding among adventurers.

Of course, this applied outside the 1st and 2nd floors of 'Chikaho.'

So Haruki had almost no experience observing other adventurers' fighting styles.

That's why he was a bit interested.

How were they fighting?

Haruki followed them.

Of course, without his mask.

He had to hide his presence to avoid being noticed.

Naturally, he kept his stealth skill at a low level to prevent it from leveling up.

After a while, the men encountered Gegege and immediately assumed a battle stance.

Their reaction was quite quick.

As Haruki watched them, he was impressed by their reaction speed.

It was excellent.

Haruki sincerely admired them.

However, once they started attacking, their low skill level became apparent.

The greatsword and bow only scratched the carapace.

The greatsword was large and unwieldy.

The bow had a slow firing rate.

Their training was not low.

They were evenly matched with the Gegege.

But compared to Haruki, who had reached the 8th floor, their flaws were obvious.

This was the difference between adventurers operating on the 1st and 8th floors.

Haruki was surprised by the significant gap in skill, which he had never seen before.

He imagined that he probably looked just as flawed to adventurers operating in the middle floors.

The difference between the 1st and 8th floors was this significant.

The gap between the 8th floor and the top-ranked adventurers would be even greater.

I still have a long way to go...

Haruki didn't belittle himself or boast about his own strength.

He simply felt the gap between his current state and the top-ranked adventurers, and felt a sense of frustration.

The three men's fighting style was as Haruki had imagined.

One man with a greatsword lured the Gegege, while the other two with bows shot arrows from behind.

If executed properly, this formation was quite stable.

The formation and strategy were standard, but they were making an effort to adapt it to their own style.

Their efforts were evident.

However, their skill was not enough to overwhelm the Gegege.

The man with the greatsword couldn't keep the Gegege's attention.

The two with bows ended up taking the target.

As a result, the Gegege moved around freely, peeling the men's clothes off bit by bit.

"Ah-!"

"..."

Haruki turned away from the men's battle.

He had no interest in watching men gradually expose their skin.

If they continued fighting, they would gradually improve.

So don't cry if the Gegege peels your clothes off for a while...

Haruki sent them a warm cheer and left the scene.

* * *

When Kuren visited, Haruki first started preparing breakfast.

He baked the dough he had let rise and prepared the jam he had made the night before.

He placed the jam and bread on the table.

"Itadakimasu!"

They joined their hands and thanked the lives they were about to consume.

Haruki loaded the bread with plenty of jam and took a bite.

The crispy sound and the delicate aroma of the blue-fleshed melon filled his nose.

A strong sweetness spread throughout his mouth.

"Delicious!!"

The jam was excellent.

Kuren seemed to like the jam too.

She shed tears and sobbed, but kept eating the bread one after another.

The bread and jam disappeared from the plates in no time.

Once the jam was gone, Haruki brought out the sherbet he had taken out of the freezer before the meal.

The sherbet was also excellent.

The frozen fruit juice had a unique texture, and the sweetness that had already started to melt spread instantly in his mouth.

The rich aroma of the red flesh filled his nose.

"~!"

Kuren, who had been eating the sherbet quickly, groaned and held her head.

She had a brain freeze from eating the cold sherbet too quickly.

Haruki wanted to tell her to eat more slowly, but he couldn't stop moving his spoon either.

The two of them finished the sherbet quickly, occasionally getting brain freezes.

"Ah, you really ate a lot."

"Yes..."

Haruki rubbed his stomach and let out a contented sigh.

Kuren looked somewhat sad as she gazed at the melon rind, which had been peeled to the limit.

I'll make more for you.

So stop licking the spoon.

"Today, we'll hunt melons all day!"

"No..."

Kuren seemed more enthusiastic than expected.

Did she want more jam and sherbet?

Or had she eaten all the melons they had hunted yesterday before going to bed?

"..."

When Haruki stared at her, Kuren looked away awkwardly.

It seemed to be the latter.

After cleaning up from breakfast, Haruki and the others headed to the prefab.

They asked Shion to sell the materials they had obtained and appraise the items.

"First, the fang from the 5th floor boss. It's just a larger version of the Silver Wolf's fang. And this stone, congratulations, it's a magic item."

"Wow!"

Since it looked like a regular stone, Haruki hadn't expected much.

The surprise was even greater.

"So, what kind of magic item is it?"

"It's a heat stone. It generates heat when struck. The intensity of the heat varies depending on how you hit it. One of this size can provide enough fire for a household for about a year."

A stone that can be used as a cooking fire.

It's quite convenient, but it only lasts for a year...

"It's not that impressive."

"It's not that bad. If one stone can provide fire for a year, it's a great item. You can cook as much as you want."

Now that he thought about it, that was true.

Haruki hummed in agreement.

"Still, it's not that rare. There are dungeons where you can dig up smaller versions of this. The closest one is the Nakasatsunai Dungeon.

By the way, the most common use for heat stones is in weapon and armor workshops. They use a lot of them to make and repair weapons and armor. The selling price is 10,000 yen per kilogram. Do you want to sell it?"

"No, I'll use it myself."

Since it's not rare, there's no need to consider the weapon and armor workshops.

Haruki will use it for cooking, so it's better not to sell it.

He'll ask for instructions on how to use it later.

"The vine from the 6th floor is 10,000 yen per meter."

"Huh? Really?"

It looked like a regular vine.

At 10,000 yen per meter, a roll would cost about 200,000 to 300,000 yen.

"What is it used for?"

"It's used for bowstrings. It's durable, so it can be used for strong weapons too."

"I see."

Bows are one of the popular weapons.

If it can be used in the mid-level range, it's not surprising that it's worth that much.

"For the 7th floor, the large comb is the same as a regular Cocco's comb."

"Figures."

"And finally, the feather necklace... First, I'm surprised you equipped it so quickly."

"Is there a problem with it?"

"It's fine since it wasn't cursed, but what would you have done if it was?"

"...Well, it doesn't look cursed, does it?"

"Think before you act."

Shion sighed in exasperation.

Are you an idiot?

It sounded like someone was saying that.

"It wasn't cursed. So what?"

"Ah, yes, yes, that's true. As for the effect, it probably slightly increases agility."

"Oh, a good drop."

"But I'm not sure by how much. If you're curious, you can get a detailed appraisal."

"No, that's fine. I'll feel the difference in battle."

They sold the monster materials in bulk.

After the IC card was credited, Shion, who had been quiet, broke into an ominous smile.

"Now, it's my turn!"

"---Kuren, let's go hunting."

"Wait! Hey, wait a minute! Listen to me!!"

Just the sight of Haruki trying to leave the prefab made Shion tear up.

Even as an enemy, she's pitiful...

The phrase "you really ate a lot" is a Hokkaido dialect that's hard to translate into standard Japanese.

It carries a nuance of "It's not my fault I ate so much. The food was just too good..."

Thank you for reading this work.