Chapter 20

This is a work of fiction.

The characters, organizations, and names are all fictitious and have no relation to any real entities.

■■■■■■■■■■

020＿This was the decisive moment

■■■■■■■■■■

On the 10th day of my reincarnation, it was the day to explore the dungeon. There were no thieves around the inn, and no suspicious shadows.

Anneleise and I left the inn with our hoods pulled deep over our faces. We didn't want to be recognized by the innkeepers. We didn't want to be disturbed during our sleep.

While heading to the dungeon with caution (detailed appraisal), I noticed a suspicious figure lurking in the shadows of a building, watching the passersby. It was a Thief Level 12. He hadn't noticed me yet.

But he was so suspicious that I immediately knew he was a thief. Level 12, so he must be quite experienced. At the very least, he should be at a proficient level as a thief.

Was he doing that on purpose? If not, he's a pretty bad thief. If it was on purpose, what was his goal? Me? Did he want me to notice him?

What are the guards doing? They shouldn't just ignore such a suspicious person. They should question him.

I wanted to circle around and slit his throat with a dagger, but I didn't. Doing that in such a crowded place would draw too much attention. If I were to do it, I'd do it quietly, from the shadows to the shadows. A corpse can fit into an item box. If I dispose of it in the dungeon, it would be evidence destruction.

I'll think about it if I find the thief on my way back from the dungeon. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

"That guy lurking in the shadows of that building is a thief. Let's take a detour."

"Okay."

We moved quickly to avoid entering the thief's line of sight.

I know this can't go on forever. But I don't know how large the thief organization is or how strong they are. For now, I need to focus on training myself.

I've been thinking about how they knew I killed a thief yesterday.

Did someone see me kill the thief, or did they find out I turned in the record card to the town hall, or did they find out through something else? Even the detailed appraisal didn't tell me that much.

There were many thieves in front of the dungeon. It's hard to tell adventurers from thieves by their appearance, so they act boldly.

The thieves in town looked suspicious with their bad attire and suspicious behavior. In contrast, these ones seemed more natural.

With our hoods pulled deep over our faces, we entered the dungeon. They shouldn't be able to identify me even if they found me suspicious, since they didn't see my face.

"Is anyone nearby?"

"No, there's no one."

We used Dungeon Move to reach the third floor. This way, even if the thieves followed us into the dungeon, they wouldn't be able to track us.

In terms of movement within the dungeon, I have an advantage as an adventurer with the Dungeon Move skill.

None of the thieves I've seen so far had the Dungeon Move skill. Thieves have a few unique characteristics that other jobs don't have.

The first characteristic is that they can naturally change jobs without going to a temple. The conditions for changing to a thief are to commit theft five times or commit a crime worse than robbery.

The second characteristic is that they can inherit half of the abilities from their previous job. For example, if their STR was 10, they would inherit 5.

If their previous job was a Swordsman Level 10, even a Thief Level 1 would be quite strong. Moreover, they inherit all their skills, which is troublesome.

However, as their thief level increases, their ability growth is low, so pure combat jobs that have grown are apparently stronger.

The third characteristic is that they can naturally change to a higher job derived from thief. By committing more crimes, they can naturally change to a higher job than thief.

While other jobs can also naturally change to higher jobs, it seems that thieves are more likely to do so. It's a troublesome system. I'd rather not change to a more heinous job.

Now, the monsters on the third floor are thread spiders. Unlike the monsters we've seen so far, they have a mid-range attack that spits out threads.

"The threads from the thread spider can reach about five people."

The range of the threads is about 10 meters.

If you get hit by the thread attack, your AGI value will decrease for about 5 minutes. It's not a binding effect, which is a relief, but Anneleise says it's dangerous because the thread spider moves quickly.

Sure enough, a thread spider appeared. It was about a meter in size with black and yellow stripes. The color is like a golden orb weaver, but the body is round and the legs are short. Either way, it's creepy.

I raised my mithril greatsword and closed the distance with the thread spider.

It opened its fangs. Is it going to bite?

"!? "

It spat out a thread from its mouth. A web-like structure spread out and flew towards me.

"Isn't it supposed to come from the butt? And a web is just weird!"

I thought it would shoot a straight thread from its butt, but the thread from its mouth stuck to my body. Strangely, the thread disappeared.

The thread spider pounced on me, whose AGI value had clearly decreased.

"Is that all?"

The AGI value dropped by 5 points. For a villager, it would be a fatal decrease, but my AGI value is boosted by 10 points from body enhancement. A 50% decrease isn't fatal.

"Ha!"

I swung my mithril greatsword and sliced the thread spider, which vanished with a "ping."

"I didn't expect it to spit out threads from its mouth."

"It also shoots threads from its butt."

"Really?"

Spiders in this world can shoot threads from both their mouths and butts. They're not to be underestimated.

"A cotton thread dropped."

The fact that a spider drops a cotton thread makes me want to complain to the gods of this world.

"By the way, that's a web, not a thread. Why does it suddenly appear? It's ignoring the laws of physics!"

I really want to complain. Complaints keep coming one after another. Get a grip, world!

I complained to the wall for about 10 minutes. It was a bit embarrassing.

"...I did something bad to Anneleise."

"No, I understand how you feel, Master. Please vent your feelings to your heart's content."

That makes me even more embarrassed.

"But we'll use this cotton thread to weave fabric and make clothes for us."

Changing the subject is the best thing to do in such situations. I changed the subject while looking away.

Actually, from the third floor onwards, there are two types of normal drops.

In the case of the thread spider, the normal drops are either this cotton thread or a G-rank magic stone. I've seen magic stones at Gorteo's shop; they serve as the energy source for magic items.

The water in the washbasin in the inn room also requires a magic stone.

Anneleise told me that an inn with such a washbasin is not necessarily a luxury, but it's a good inn. I doubt you can stay for less than 1,500 gril (about 15,000 yen) per night.

"Isn't cotton cultivated?"

"Cotton is cultivated, but not in large quantities. The cultivation is limited to accommodate the explorers who gather cotton threads from the dungeon."

"Why accommodate the explorers?"

"If the value of cotton threads decreases, the explorers lose motivation. If that happens, fewer explorers will enter the dungeon, leading to an increase in the number of monsters inside. If the number of monsters increases, they will overflow from the dungeon. Therefore, policies are in place to ensure that the number of explorers who thin out the monsters doesn't decrease."

Explorers are necessary to prevent monsters from overflowing from the dungeon. I didn't know about this behind-the-scenes story.

The policies are determined by which side the rulers prioritize and how much the consumers can tolerate.

High clothing prices are bad for consumers, but as an explorer, I don't want the guild's exchange rate to decrease. Especially on the third floor, where the special attack decreases AGI, it's already troublesome enough. If the value of items decreases, it's hell.

On the other hand, if the drop is a magic stone, the decrease in the value of threads might not be as damaging.

"But you know what?"

"What is it?"

Tilting her head cutely is so adorable!

"Without a treasure-hunting skill, we won't know if there are hidden passages."

"I see... How about recruiting more party members?"

"Getting the adventurer job has strict requirements, so it's not easy."

The requirements for the hero of the greatsword are even stricter.

"Could we buy a slave who hasn't entered the dungeon and lend them the mithril greatsword to meet the requirements?"

"I see..."

With a slave, there's no risk of them stealing the sword, and I can form the party I want. It might be a good idea.

The problem is the slave system. I don't like it much. It might be better than the death penalty for criminals, but I have a strong aversion to voluntary slaves (debt slaves).

"Buying a slave is for the slave's benefit. If they aren't bought, they will work in harsh conditions. Even voluntary slaves often don't live long in such conditions."

I bought Anneleise, who was left unsold, because I heard she would be sent to a mine. At the time, I didn't think she was so cute, so I bought her out of pity and compassion, not desire.

"Helping people... huh?"

Anneleise says to think of buying as helping, but I can't easily switch my feelings. I guess I just don't like the word 'slave.'

Putting the slave issue aside, let's move forward. It's not a problem I can resolve immediately.

Thank you for reading.

I hope you continue to enjoy this work.

Please also bookmark and like it.

If you enjoyed it, please rate it.

You can rate it from ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★. The minimum is ★1 and the maximum is ★5.

★★★★★ would make me very happy (＾◇＾)