Enjoy~
TL: ALT
Chapter 37 – Hikarigaoka Park Dungeon
As I was shuddering at Junko Tozaki’s status,
“…Ara?”
“!”
Junko suddenly turned towards me.
Our eyes met―or not.
I’m using Stealth to optically eliminate my presence and using Spying to appraise my target; they can’t detect my presence.
So they can never find me…
“…Am I imagining things?”
“What’s the matter, Ojou-sama?”
“I felt like someone was frightened… but I guess that’s just an illusion.”
“I’ve been keeping an eye out, but I don’t see any particular presence.”
“Is that so…? Then, it’s fine.”
Junko lost interest and returned her attention to the Level Drain.
“It’s over.”
“O-oohhh…”
The former supervisor slumps in place with a sense of loss and the lingering effects of pleasure.
Hey, what’s the matter? You should be thanking Ojou-sama first!”
“I-I thank you very much for accepting my level!”
“That’s great. I’m glad you feel that way.”
“It’s… It’s an honor!”
“If you want to feel good again, you’ll have to start all over again.”
“I-I’ll start all over again from level 1!”
“Just now, someone was making a lot of noise about diving into the dungeon. Just in time. Join that group.”
“Huh? But, the Hikarigaoka Park dungeon is ranked B, and it’s…”
“Come in.”
“Y-yes!”
“Hey, Tajima! This would be your chance to prove to everyone that you’ve been reborn!”
One of the men in a suit brings a package of clothes wrapped in plastic.
Inside was, of course, a sweatshirt.
“Change into this, Tajima!”
He calls out to the person who was supposed to be his boss just a moment ago.
There is a sense of joy at this and relief that he is not the target of the attack.
There must be a calculation that he can go up now that his “superior” is gone.
…But then again, Junko Tozaki just now.
I used Covert to hide my presence, Stealth to camouflage myself, and Spying and Appraisal, yet she almost noticed my presence.
She said she thought someone was scared… or something, but that’s a lie, right?
But I can’t help but think that this woman could have done something like that.
Indeed, I was shaken up when I saw her status.
I was frightened by her ability to roll the Black Guild in the palm of her hand and her ruthlessness in not hesitating to do so.
Does that mean they sensed such a swing in my feelings?
Not by any special skill, but by pure “feeling”?
God said, “See with your own eyes, not with the sleight of hands of the other world.”
Maybe that’s exactly what Junko Tozaki did.
…If that’s the case, it’s not safe for me to stay here any longer.
With my Covert and Stealth on, I went around behind the Rakan guys.
Fortunately, with the Level Drain going on, they’re all gathered in one place.
Once I pass behind them, the portal is just around the corner.
With Covert and Stealth on, they shouldn’t notice me even if I crossed in front of them, but just in case, I proceeded through the shadows of the others and jumped into the portal so that Junko Tozaki would not be able to see me.
I entered the dungeon.
To be honest, I’m still shaken up.
But let’s make it a priority to go deeper first.
If I dawdle, the Rakan might catch up with me.
The first four groups I encountered were the Hobbit Swordsman Lv52, Hobbit Seer Lv53, Hobbit Archer Lv52, and Hobbit Mage Lv54.
Let’s take the Hobbit Swordsman, whose status is average, as an example.
Status──────────────────
Hobbit Swordsman
Level 52
HP 520/520
MP 364/364
Attack Power 1072
Defense 720
Magic Power 364
Mental Strength 564
Agility 1024
Luck 972
・Acquired Skills
Swordsmanship 2, Parrying 1, False Intention 1, Coordinated Attack 1
Experience gained from defeating 416
Gained 14 SP when defeating the enemy
Mana Coin (converted to yen) gained upon defeat: 11440
Drop Item: Potion, Broadsword, Ring of Power
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
False Intention 1
Increases attack power by (S.Lv x 10)% against opponents larger than you (more than twice your weight).
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
Coordinated Attack1
If a party member attacks the same target immediately after the attack, the damage dealt is increased by (S.Lv x 10)%.
────────────────────
In terms of attack power, it is not as good as the Red Oni from the Tengumine Shrine dungeon, but the overall balance is good.
While the Red Oni was a fearsome opponent with an unexpected one-hit attack, the Hobbit Swordsman is a safe and well-organized vanguard.
However, compared to explorers of the same level who play the vanguard, its ability values are slightly inferior overall.
Hobbits are only about 120 centimeters tall, so it is easy to see why they are less powerful than humans.
This is also true for the other Hobbit subspecies.
Each is well-balanced, but their ability values are inferior to those of explorers in the same level range.
This is the reason why Hobbits are called “weak monsters.”
However, even Hobbits, whose abilities are inferior to humans, show their unique strength when they work together with other subspecies.
Most Hobbits have the Coordinated Attack skill (except for the Treasure Hobbits).
Even apart from their skills, they are said to sometimes show a high degree of coordination that is almost like heart-to-heart communication.
So, how am I supposed to deal with that solo?
It’s obvious.
“Flame Lance!”
With a single blow, I reduce the Hobbit swordsman to ashes.
No matter how well coordinated they are, there is nothing they can do if each of their comrades is destroyed with a solid blow.
From the Hobbit side, they would like to set up a pattern of the Swordsman attacking from the flank and the Archer and Mage attacking from a distance…while the Shielder holds out, but with allies unable to hold out and getting hit with a single blow, there is no way to coordinate.
Even so, while their allies are getting hit, they still attack me in high spirits, and with my agility, I easily dodge them all.
I say “high spirits” because the Hobbits don’t have the fancy faces you might expect from their name, and they look rather evil, with big ears, crooked noses, and upturned red eyes.
After dropping Archer and Mage, leaving only Shielder, I made a wild dash for the front.
Of course, I had to escape.
For a moment, the Shielder seemed surprised, but it quickly regained its composure and closed in behind me.
However, as I wobbled and slid from side to side, moving diagonally through the escape area, the Shielder’s low agility made it impossible for it to attack me.
Soon after, I managed to escape.
‘You successfully escaped.’
‘No experience gained.’
‘Gained 294 SP.’ *** Recalculated.
‘Earned 18164 yen.’
‘You have obtained “Broadsword”!’
‘Lost 10022 yen!’
“Oh, it dropped the sword.”
From what I’ve found on Appraisal, each Hobbit type drops a weapon according to its type.
It’s the second of the drop slots, so it’s a bit rare there, but when I fight it, it drops quite well.
Well, I’m not sure I’ll ever use the sword with my low attack power, but it’s nice to have it for cash.
I see… Exchange it for cash.
“…Maybe this is one of the reasons why the Rakan guys are hiding in this dungeon?”
If they can get weapons from drops, it saves them the cost of acquiring equipment.
This is one way to reduce the cost of exploration.
For those who are forced to dive, it’s like being told to get weapons on the spot.
Unlike me, with my high Luck, the probability of dropping the second slot is probably low.
“They also said that you can get more SP by lowering your level.”
With Junko Tozaki’s unique skill, she can lower the level of anyone who agrees with her.
The fact that the lower the level, the more SP you get from the compensation is enough to make your ears ring, right?
Also, Hobbit-type monsters have slightly higher SP than other monsters.
“…In other words, they’re looking at the same place I am.”
That makes me sick to my stomach.
It’s not like I’m doing an unreasonable dungeon raid here.
“With this kind of approach, it’s no wonder the mortality rate is so high.”
I can’t help but think that they have already factored in the possibility of a certain number of deaths.
“Even if there are deaths, the idea is that as long as the level is completed before the deaths occur, that’s all that matters.”
Junko Tozaki was obsessed with level ranking.
In fact, according to Serika, Junko Tozaki’s ranking should be “27th.
However, according to the status I just saw in the Appraisal, it was “24th”.
I don’t know how often the published level rankings are updated, but this means that between the last ranking and today, she has moved up three places.
Previously, she had also taken the level of the man who was in a supervisory position.
Common sense dictates that since he rose to such a high position, he must have been high-level and competent in his work (although the definition of “competent” is that of a black company).
Maybe that’s why she dared to do something that would bring him down because she was in such a hurry to raise her level.
…Well, there’s another possibility that she just did it to satisfy her own lust or to show her power and bind her subordinates with fear.
I continue to move deeper into the dungeon and defeat the Hobbit groups.
Thanks to the Mini Map skill, I don’t have to make my own map anymore.
With Enemy Search, I know where the monsters are and how they are organized.
Traps are easy to deal with with the Trap Detection skill.
Even fights are easy.
When that happens, the only thing that comes to mind is that woman―Junko Tozaki.
“…Ah, shit.”
It brings back memories of my high school days that I don’t even want to remember.