Chapter 21

Congratulations on ranking 5th in the daily fantasy otherworld reincarnation/transfer rankings!

Thank you so much!

I hope it continues to grow at this rate. (⌒∇⌒)

This story is a work of fiction.

The characters, organizations, and names that appear are fictional and have no connection to any real entities.

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021 - Item Box Ho-Ho

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We progress smoothly through the third floor. Thread Spiders appear in groups of one or two, but they are not enemies. If they coordinated like the boss on the second floor, they might be troublesome, but since they don't, it's much easier.

Even with a 5-point reduction in AGI, it's not a problem at all.

"Ah!?"

"What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking, can we use the Item Box to block those thread attacks?"

"Eh?"

The Item Box can't store living things, but it can store anything else. Since it works within a meter of me, even without touching it, I thought we could store the flying threads in the Item Box to avoid the AGI reduction.

I had a feeling something was off during yesterday's test, and this was it.

"Hmm... I've never heard of such a use, but it might be worth a try."

"Then let's give it a shot!"

So, I decided to execute the Item Box storage strategy to counter the thread attacks.

We found two Thread Spiders. Without hesitation, I executed the Item Box storage strategy.

I instantly killed the first one with a swing of my mithril greatsword before it could spit a thread. Seeing this, the second one spat a thread.

"Item Box!"

The net-like thread that flew at me disappeared.

"Wow, it worked!"

I rejoiced at the success of the experiment, while the Thread Spider was confused by what had happened.

Even in my joy, I didn't let my guard down and sliced the Thread Spider apart.

"Anneliese, the thread went into the Item Box."

"Yes, I saw it. Congratulations, Master. As expected of you."

I felt Anneliese's softness as she hugged me. This is the best reward.

"Also, I want to check if Anneliese's magic can go into the Item Box."

"Do you think magic can be stored?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a feeling it can. Even if it can't, it's good to know."

"Understood. How should we proceed?"

I asked her to cast a spell as it passed by my side. Direct hits would be too scary.

"I'll cast it!"

"Alright, thanks!"

"───Fire"

A burst of flames shot out from the tip of her staff. It was incredibly hot. This is the magic of a Level 21 mage.

The flames stretched past me like a flamethrower. I activated the Item Box in this state.

"Wow!"

The flames from the flamethrower disappeared next to me.

"Even magic..."

I had her cast it for about 10 seconds, and all of it was stored in the Item Box.

Looking at the Item Box, I saw a flame mark next to the net-like thread.

"What happens if we take it out?"

"I can't imagine..."

"I'm scared to try it in the hallway, so I think I'll test it in the boss room."

"That sounds like a good idea."

I'm getting excited.

The magic was scary, but I tried taking out the thread.

I focused on making it appear in the opposite direction, and it flew about 4 meters before disappearing. It seems the inertia remains.

"The next thing to check is if the AGI value drops when the thread touches a monster before it disappears."

"Master, you're doing something incredible."

"Is that so? Has no one with an Item Box thought of this before?"

"I've never heard of such a case, so I don't think anyone has done this before."

"Or they kept it a secret."

It's possible they kept it a secret. I don't plan to publicize it either.

"Alright. I'll use the Item Box Ho-Ho a lot to get used to it."

"Item Box Ho-Ho?"

"I'm capturing flying threads and magic, so I call it Item Box Ho-Ho. Is that weird?"

"I'm not sure what 'Ho-Ho' means, but it sounds great. Master, you're a naming genius."

"O-oh, really?"

Don't be shy. You can praise me more. It's a bit of a rip-off, though.

The next Thread Spider appeared and spat a thread, so I used the Item Box Ho-Ho to capture it and returned it.

As a result, the Thread Spider's AGI value dropped by 5 points.

"Amazing discovery, Master."

"Yeah, it was a fun experiment."

It's very exciting and enjoyable when things go well.

Using the Item Box Ho-Ho a lot, I overwhelmed the Thread Spiders and reached the boss room.

The battles with the Thread Spiders were not difficult. I just had too much fun using the Item Box Ho-Ho.

The Item Box proficiency level also increased from (Low) to (Medium). This increased the Item Box slots to 60, which is a relief.

Additionally, the hero of the greatsword reached Level 6. It seems the level increases regardless of the fighting style.

In front of the boss room, two parties were waiting their turn.

Thanks to Anneliese's magic perception, we avoided other explorers on the way here, but we couldn't avoid the boss room.

Anneliese and I were carrying dummy backpacks. We pretended to take out food from them, but we actually took out grilled pond squids and tentacles from the Item Box.

Anneliese seems to prefer the tentacles, but I like the bodies. Both are delicious, though.

"Since it might take a while, let's have a snack."

"Thank you."

The smell of the grilled pond squids seemed to tickle the noses of the waiting explorers, who stared at them. Hey, don't drool.

Most explorers bring their own food and water, consuming them while making room for drops. They prioritize carrying things that fill their stomachs, so they don't bring things like grilled pond squids. They must be envious.

"Hey... If you give us some money, can we have some of those grilled squids?"

This explorer is relatively normal for not demanding them outright.

"Will one be enough?"

"Actually, how many do you need?"

"Two grilled bodies and two tentacles, maybe."

"Then I'll give you four."

I took four from the bag we had eaten from. The bag is now empty.

The explorer offered two silver coins as payment. Grilled pond squids cost three copper coins each, and tentacles cost two copper coins each, so four would cost one silver coin (100 grils), but he offered double. Considering the effort to transport them here, that's reasonable.

They shared the grilled pond squids among the five of them, saying how delicious they were.

The explorer seemed to be the leader, distributing the food to his team.

The members of the party waiting in front of us looked at us with bloodshot eyes. There's nothing left.

"Master, please avoid doing this in the future."

Anneliese whispered to me.

"Huh, why?"

"Those pond squids were still warm. People will know you have an Item Box."

"Oh... You're right. Sorry."

I forgot. I'll be more careful in the future.

We waited for a while and then entered the boss room. There were no remains, so it seems those explorers defeated the boss safely. A party of five with a swordsman and a spearman would be more stable than a villager party.

The boss of the third floor is a Giant Spider, a large spider about twice the size of a Thread Spider with red and black stripes.

"Gross."

The yellow and black stripes were gross, but the red and black ones are even more toxic and gross.

Despite its size, its AGI value is higher than a Thread Spider. It's faster, but the real concern is its poison. This thing uses both threads and poison, making it a troublesome opponent.

"Hehehe. I have a trump card. I won't lose to you."

I stomped the ground and got ready. The distance between the spider and me is less than 10 meters. Let's do this!

───Item Box!

Gooooo.

I released the magic stored in the Item Box.

Flames shot out like a flamethrower, engulfing the Giant Spider.

The Giant Spider, engulfed in flames, writhed in agony and couldn't even attack me.

"......"

The Giant Spider stopped moving and disappeared. Anneliese's magic was powerful enough to instantly kill the third-floor boss.

"The Thread Spiders and the Giant Spider are both weak to fire, so they were instantly killed."

"The Item Box is just too good, Master."

Thanks to the Item Box, I can store magic for emergencies. I'll store a few just in case.

I went to the guild to exchange the drop items, but there were thieves inside the guild. Where are the guards? Is the guild in league with the thieves?

But they're in the way. I want to take them down, but how?

- Normal drop from Thread Spiders: 25 threads, 2000 grils.

- Normal drop from Thread Spiders: 19 G-rank magic stones, 4750 grils.

- Rare drop from Thread Spiders: 2 cotton cloths, 3200 grils.

- Normal drop from Giant Spider: 1 poison sac, 1800 grils.

* Total: 11,500 grils (approximately 101,500 yen).

【Job】Hero of the Greatsword Lv6

【Skills】Command (Slight) Full Party HP Auto Recovery (Slight) Body Strengthening (Low) Buster Slash (Slight)

【Unique Skills】Detailed Appraisal (Low) Item Box (Medium)

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