Chapter 44

Today is Chapter 2 (2/2)

"Aki, I'll help."

"Sorry, I'm late."

"No, I got carried away using 'Rapid II' for high-speed combat and lost track of when to stop."

I handed over the items I had collected to Aki, who was picking up the drops. We ended up clearing one more forest than planned, and as a result, four forests were littered with items. Fortunately, we were at the edge of the map, and only the three of us were nearby, so there was no worry about theft. We had killed 93 cotton fluff worms. They seemed to inhabit each forest in groups of about 20, and we were close to reaching our goal of 100.

However, two unexpected things happened. First, it seems these cotton fluff worms give less experience than slimes. Despite killing so many, my level didn't increase. I'm only level 8.

Second, the 'Cotton Fluff Worm Silk' didn't drop every time. I had considered this possibility based on general drop rates, but it was still a big shock. So far, the drop rate is about 80%.

With this much 'Luck' and still not 100%...

The base drop rate for this item might be around 0.1 to 0.2. This is indeed very low.

"Is this all?"

"Yeah. We got exactly 93 'Tiny Magic Stones' and 75 'Cotton Fluff Worm Silks.' Great haul."

"Hey, the first forest is starting to respawn. Aki, can you call Maki over?"

"Sure. What are you going to do?"

"Just a rare monster spawn experiment."

"Ha, you really love this stuff. Sure, we'll watch from a little distance."

After hunting six respawned cotton fluff worms and handing the drops to Aki, I gave the signal. With a hand sign from the two of them, I killed the 100th cotton fluff worm.

"Come on, show yourself!"

But my wish went unanswered, and the cotton fluff worm's smoke dissipated without forming a rare monster.

"!?"

I was bewildered by the first failed rare monster spawn.

First, I suspected a counting error. But we counted the kills and the 'Tiny Magic Stones' together, so it should be accurate.

Could there be 'Tiny Magic Stones' left in the forest that someone else killed and forgot to pick up...?

No, that's unlikely. According to the two of them, dropped items disappear after about 30 minutes, being absorbed by the dungeon. The same goes for rare monsters, which vanish after an hour if no enemies are around. Human corpses, however, remain. This likely explains the mysterious dead bodies and the inability to determine their cause of death.

In other words, the rare monster spawn failed.

When I returned to the two of them, they must have noticed my lack of energy. They silently came to my side.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

"Feeling better?"

"...Yeah, thanks."

"Good. Your color's back. Let's cheer you up."

"?"

"Shouta, don't tell me you forgot. It's lunch time!"

"Already? I am getting hungry."

"Let's spread the sheet."

"Shouta, sit there."

Before I knew it, they had prepared the meal. I must have been more down than I thought. But their concern helped me think positively.

While being taken care of by the two of them, I reconsidered why the rare monster didn't appear.

1: 'Luck' was insufficient, and it wasn't a guaranteed spawn.

This is plausible, considering the slime situation. Even regular drops have such a low rate. The rare monster spawn rate could be similarly low.

2: There are no rare monsters here.

This is also possible. I only know three dungeons, including this one, while there are about 1,000 confirmed dungeons in the world. It's hard to assert that the rare monster spawn rules from two dungeons apply to others. This is a rare floor where no monsters are hostile to humans, so this assumption can't be ruled out.

3: There are other conditions for rare monster spawns besides killing 100 in a row.

This is also possible. But to pursue this, I need all the information about the first floor. Testing it will take time. So, I should re-evaluate 1 first, and if it fails, I can test 3 later.

"I still love the look on Shouta's face when he's thinking about the dungeon."

"Hehe, me too."

"We're like sisters, aren't we?"

"We've always been like that. When we like the same things, right?"

"We share them, right?"

"Yes."

Unaware of their heated conversation and intense gazes, I quietly ate while pondering the next steps.

Ten minutes later, after finishing my lunch, I drank some tea.

"Phew."

"Shouta, what's next? I can help if you need it, or I can go back to the guild if I'm in the way."

"I'll do anything. Just say the word."

"Hmm... I think I'll hunt another 200 to 300. The respawn rate seems manageable, and I can ask you two to collect the drops, right?"

"Leave it to us."

"Sure thing."

They seem ready to accompany me thoroughly today.

If so, I'll leave the back to them and hunt, hunt, and hunt!

To all readers,

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