Chapter 87

Here begins Chapter 4.

Why, why, why...

'They' were in anguish.

Why, they wondered, did he not seek even greater power, despite possessing such formidable strength?

'Their' goal was singular.

They had exhausted every means to achieve this goal, over thousands, even tens of thousands of years.

The first time, their intervention was too heavy-handed, and humanity was crushed.

The second time, they intervened too little, and humanity was abandoned.

This is the third time.

Finally, the path is becoming clear.

This was the first opportunity that had come their way.

There is a hero.

A hero capable of breaking through the impasse for humanity.

However, the Yukara they played was progressing at a snail's pace.

Why?

Because the actors on the stage they created were only moving as individuals.

(What's the cause?)

(Don't know)

(Did we observe too much?)

(Maybe)

The peak of Babel, which extends underground, is eagerly awaiting the hero's arrival.

The hero is still moving back and forth at the entrance.

So 'they' took action.

This was their second intervention in the world.

(What is needed?)

(Trials)

(To make them seek even greater power)

But overdoing it would be bad.

Overdoing it might crush everything again.

Therefore, they carefully chose the seed.

A seed that would be perfect for the current hero.

To ensure the hero on stage reaches the peak of Babel as soon as possible.

They are eagerly awaiting that moment.

While listening to the melody of the Yukara...

* * *

The day after receiving the package from Masatsugu.

Seiki met up with Kuren at the garage dungeon entrance as usual and headed to the gate.

"I'm thinking about challenging the boss soon."

Inside the gate leading to the 15th floor, Seiki brought up the topic.

Seiki survived the battle against the rare deer and countless werewolves without sustaining major injuries (though with Kagemitsu's help).

When he defeated the rare deer, Seiki experienced a level-up dizziness so intense it felt like his consciousness was being harvested.

After such intense level-up dizziness, his physical abilities always improved dramatically.

Challenging the werewolf boss on the 15th floor, which is quite strong, should not be reckless.

"Is the boss a strong type of werewolf?"

"Probably."

After about a week of leveling up, both Seiki and Kuren had a thorough understanding of the werewolves' strength.

They were aggressive, challenging, and provocative, with a combat sense so sharp that a slight lapse in attention could completely turn the tide of battle.

Werewolves were the most dangerous monsters they had encountered in the dungeon.

Kuren's expression darkened, perhaps feeling anxious about the upcoming battle with the boss.

"I think we'll be fine since we leveled up from the last battle, but we can also gauge whether to challenge the boss or not during the journey."

"That's true."

Losing their lives would be meaningless.

Life, no matter how certain, is never guaranteed.

Prioritizing their lives is more important than rushing ahead.

Upon reaching the 15th floor, Seiki checked his equipment and took out his skill board.

He expected to have gained skill points from the last battle.

Seiki took out the board to check for added points and any new skills.

"---Huh?"

He stopped moving when he saw unfamiliar text on the board.

Previously, the skill tree for each individual was densely displayed from top to bottom.

But now, the skill tree was cut off two-thirds of the way down.

Below that, unfamiliar text appeared.

≪By meeting the conditions, the rank of the Demo Graph can be upgraded.≫

≪Rank upgrade in progress---Upgrade complete.≫

≪Some functions have been unlocked.≫

≪From now on, the log function can be used.≫

"Wow! Hidden features unlocked!!"

Seiki had never thought the skill board he had been using had hidden features.

His eyes sparkled with joy.

First, the official name of the skill board is 'Demo Graph.'

The Demo Graph has a 'rank' that can be upgraded by meeting certain conditions.

When the 'rank' is upgraded, new functions are unlocked.

This time, the 'log function' was unlocked.

"Interesting..."

Seiki muttered after reading the content of the log.

The mysterious magical device, the skill board, was now partially revealed by the log.

However, only a little.

The trigger for unlocking the log function was probably the defeat of the rare species.

Seiki had not taken any other special actions that would have changed the skill board.

(Defeating rare species doesn't automatically unlock the board's functions...)

If that were the case, it would have been unlocked during the second stampede or when he fought with Kagemitsu in 'Chikaho.'

So, the condition in the log must be defeating several rare species?

Or perhaps it's not related to rare species at all, but rather reaching a certain level of physical strength?

"...I don't know."

Seiki shook his head.

There was a lack of information.

It had been over a day since the defeat of the rare species.

Yet, the log had not changed since it was unlocked.

The absence of logs for actions like eating soup curry or opening the package from Masatsugu suggested that the log did not react to daily activities.

Only actions that affected the skill board were recorded in the log.

"Mr. Sora, what's wrong?"

Kuren, who had finished preparing for the battle, frowned, noticing Seiki's frozen state while looking at the skill board.

"No, there's been a change in the board."

"Change?"

"Yes. A new log function has been unlocked, but I'm not quite sure what it means."

To understand the log function, verification was necessary.

Verification.

The excitement he felt when he first got the skill board surged in Seiki's chest.

It was unclear how useful the log function would be.

It might just display logs without much practical use.

Was the trigger for rank upgrades only the defeat of rare species, or were there other conditions?

Were there other locked functions, or just the log function?

There were still many unknowns about the skill board.

However, the unknown was intriguing.

It stimulated his intellectual curiosity and excited him.

Seiki was the first to discover something no one else knew, and the thrill of this situation made his heart race.

Seiki put away the skill board and reached for his dagger.

"Let's get used to my body after the level-up while fighting the werewolves."

"Okay!"

Seiki expanded his detection range and searched for werewolves.

He quickly detected one.

He silently gave Rare an order.

Rare fired a warning shot at the werewolf.

The potato stone flew with a thud and hit the ground.

It missed the werewolf.

But that was fine.

Seiki quickly drew his dagger and moved forward.

The werewolf, noticing Rare's warning shot, wrinkled its nose in a laugh-like manner.

The werewolf ran towards Seiki and Kuren.

Swift movement.

As the werewolf approached,

Seiki thrust his dagger forward.

In an instant, Seiki was within the werewolf's reach.

The werewolf raised its arm and swung down.

Seiki's entire body was—

--Clang!!

Struck by a lightning bolt.

The lightning bolt ravaged the werewolf's body with a crackling sound, causing all its fur to stand on end.

The werewolf was paralyzed by the lightning bolt.

It stopped in its tracks and fell forward, still in the momentum of its charge.

Seiki followed up—

--Huh?!

Seiki moved in.

Using the werewolf's approach speed and weight,

he maximized his attack power.

Seiki's dagger easily cut through the werewolf's body, which was impervious to ordinary weapons.

However, the cut was shallow.

--Huh?!

The attack angle, which he had intended to be precise, was not as he had planned.

It was far from the movements he had imitated from videos and battles with Shizuki.

The werewolf, cut in the side by Seiki's dagger, recovered from the stun before hitting the ground and rolled away from the dead zone.

--Thud, thud, thud, thud!!

Rare pursued the fleeing werewolf with more shots.

The werewolf's movement slowed as it was hit in the back by the potato stones.

Another lightning bolt flew.

From there, Rare and Kuren continued to pummel the werewolf.

The poor werewolf died without being able to stand up from the ground.

"Level-up is amazing..."

Kuren's eyes widened as she compared her staff to the dead werewolf.

She had never experienced a level-up so intense that it felt like her consciousness was being harvested.

Even during the battle with the rare deer, she did not lose consciousness.

Despite this, she could clearly feel the difference this time.

The rare deer had provided a high amount of base experience points.

Rare had also leveled up significantly. The improvement was evident in the sound of her throws.

The difference was not just in the sound.

Rare's throws were now powerful enough to penetrate the defenses of the strongest werewolves on the 15th floor of the garage dungeon, dealing significant damage.

Her power had increased dramatically.

Of course, these changes were not just due to the increase in physical strength but also the rise in skill levels.

Seiki, like them, had seen a significant improvement in his physical abilities.

His skill levels were also higher than before.

Higher, but...

"..."

What was that?

Seiki looked down at his hands, frowning.

When he attacked the werewolf, a sharp pain, like his nerves were being ripped out, shot through his body.

The pain disrupted his concentration and turned a sure attack into a failure.

After the attack, the pain disappeared as if it had been a hallucination.

He clenched and unclenched his hands, and lightly moved his body.

But the pain he had felt earlier was nowhere to be found.

The pain was similar to the sciatica he had experienced when he had a desk job and injured his back.

The pain, caused by muscle tension in the lower back compressing the sciatic nerve, felt like an electric shock from the lower back to the thigh.

Seiki's sciatica had been cured.

This was not a nerve-related pain.

Did he accidentally touch Kuren's lightning bolt?

Seiki shook his head.

If he had touched the lightning bolt, there would be some damage to his body.

But there was no damage. It was not pain from the lightning bolt.

Was his mind not keeping up with his body's changes after the level-up?

He must have pushed himself too hard.

Convincing himself of this, Seiki dissected the werewolf and searched for the next target.

Rare's throw lured another werewolf, and the battle began again.

This time, he was more cautious.

Seiki paid attention to his entire body, conserving his strength to avoid overexertion.

He deflected the werewolf's attack and lightly slashed its arm.

Due to the restraint, he only inflicted a minor wound on the werewolf.

(No pain in my body...)

Being cautious, Seiki was able to attack with his usual movements.

After confirming his body was fine, Seiki approached the werewolf, putting strength into his limbs.

This time, he would go all out—

Just as he thought that,

--Ouch!!

A sharp pain shot through Seiki's body again.

Paralyzed by the pain, Seiki's neck was exposed to the werewolf's claws.

--Ugh

He tried to dodge, but the pain prevented him from moving.

The werewolf's claws drew closer.

The claws sank into Seiki's neck.

Before that happened,

Etsu flew in.

Etsu, spinning rapidly, deflected the werewolf's claws.

Using the momentum of the contact, Etsu returned to Seiki's abdomen.

Seiki took a step back.

--Clang!!

--Thud, thud, thud, thud!!

In sync with Seiki's movement, Kuren and Rare attacked the werewolf simultaneously.

The werewolf, battered by their combined attacks, let out a sad cry and died.

"Mr. Sora, what's wrong?"

Kuren, who had noticed the abnormality from behind, hurriedly approached Seiki after the battle ended.

Feeling frustrated that he couldn't move properly, Seiki shook his head while looking down.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Your movements were strange. Are you not feeling well?"

"...I don't know."

Thinking Seiki might be injured,

Kuren held her staff to her chest, looking worried.

Behind her, Rare lightly patted Seiki's shoulder.

It was a gentle pat, as if telling him not to overexert himself.

"I'm fine when I move lightly, but when I try to go all out, I get a sharp pain."

"Are you sick? We need to find a doctor!"

Kuren, pale, jumped about five centimeters.

Peng, peng, peng, peng!

The force of Rare's shoulder pat suddenly increased.

"No, I'm fine when I move normally. A doctor wouldn't be able to explain it."

In modern times, even visiting a doctor is a hassle.

For a cold, a local clinic might suffice, but for anything else, one would need to go to a big city.

Even in a big city, the facilities would not be the same as before the stampede.

In Tokyo, one might be able to get the same level of examination as before, but it would be a close call.

Sapporo, being a provincial city, would not have the necessary facilities for a proper examination.

Moreover, Seiki's symptoms were too vague.

He couldn't pinpoint the source of the pain, and it only occurred when he moved all out.

The only things he knew were that the pain appeared when he moved all out and that it felt like an electric shock.

He couldn't detect any other abnormalities in his body.

Medical science is not perfect; a vague complaint like "I feel a bit of pain" would not be enough to diagnose a condition.

Seiki could easily imagine a future where, after making an appointment, undergoing examinations, and receiving a diagnosis, he would still have no answers.

In that case, it would be faster and more effective to rely on the specialized medicines for adventurers, which could improve or alleviate his symptoms.

However, there was also the risk of side effects...

After fighting two werewolves, Seiki, at the insistence of Kuren and Rare, decided to play it safe and left the dungeon.

Akane, who had seen many adventurers, might have some idea about Seiki's symptoms.

With this hope, Seiki visited Akane's shop.

He told Akane, who was melting in the heat, about his symptoms.

"Is there a medicine to alleviate these symptoms? Ideally, I'd like something to improve them, but a painkiller would also work."

Akane, who had been leaning lazily on the counter, straightened up, her expression changing.

Contrary to the temperature of the prefab, Akane's face was cold and serious.

"...Do you have any plans to retire from adventuring?"

○New Information○

'Become an Adventurer! ~Dungeon Strategy with the Skill Board~' to be released in July (tentative).

Surprisingly, a reservation page has already appeared on Rakuten Books.

(Rakuten is so quick... I was surprised.)