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TL: ALT
Chapter 40 – Earnings on the Way and Bad Omen
Hikarigaoka Park Dungeon, second floor.
The level of the enemies has increased a bit since the first floor.
It was not a problem.
I’m glad there are more 5-person teams than 4-person teams.
The efficiency per escape is higher.
‘You have successfully escaped.’
‘No experience gained.’
‘Gained 408 SP.’
‘Earned 65340 yen.’
‘You have obtained a Mage Staff!’
‘Lost 58806 yen!’
The one I just defeated (and escaped) was an unusual formation of 1 Shielder, 2 Mages, and 2 Treasure Hobbits.
The mage has 15 SP, and the trehobi (level 59) has 19 SP.
Except for the trehobi, the mage has more SP than any other Hobbit subspecies.
In other words, it was the best formation for me.
“This is where the earning potential is.”
I had just entered a fork in the dungeon’s path and would not be caught by the Rakan explorers.
Well, even if they caught up with me, I would know from the Enemy Search.
With the same formation, two mages, two trehobi, and a shielder, I always escape after leaving the shielder.
It is not a front run but a back run with confidence and success.
After 40 sets, I had accumulated over 15,000 SP.
“Acquire Skills: MP Enhancement and Magic Power Enhancement to level 4!”
‘Consume 14800 SP to acquire MP Enhancement 2, MP Enhancement 3, and Magic Power Enhancement 4. Are you sure?’
“Yes!”
‘The skills MP Enhancement 2, MP Enhancement 3, MP Enhancement 4, and Magic Power Enhancement 4 are now acquired.’
“This is a good place to make an earning, but… I think it’s time to move on.”
My only complaint about this hunting ground is that the Treasure Hobbit is at level 59.
If it were level 61, the level difference correction would have increased the SP gained by a factor of 7.
“But I guess that’s an exaggeration of luxury.”
If I go to the third floor, there might be some level 61 monsters.
I want to finish the boss by the end of the day, so let’s finish earning here and quickly go through the second floor.
While looking at the status, I followed the Mini Map and returned to the main part of the second floor.
Status ──────────────────
Kurashiki Yuto
Level 1
HP 35919/35919
MP 11414/11414
Attack Power 1014
Defense 18145
Magic Power 20475
Mental Strength 15556
Agility 10784
Luck 28115
・Unique Skill
Escape S.Lv1
・Acquired Skills
Fire Magic 2, Wind Magic 1, Water Magic 1, Ice Magic 1, Lightning Magic 1
Special Ability: Ninjutsu 1, Assassination 1, Poison Spray 1, Earth Crack 1
Combat Support: MP Recovery Speed 2, Strong Strike Magic 2, Ancient Chant 2, Fast Chant 1, Magic Crit 1, Magic Barrage 1, MP Save 1, Attribute Amplification 1, Thought Acceleration 1, Fatal Crit 1, Backstab 1, Evasion Up 1, Knock Out, All Out Strike 1, Berserk 1, Self Regeneration 1, Divide 1, Survival, Surprise Attack 1, Preemptive Strike 1, First Move 1, Vanguard Knowledge 1, Drive Away, Heaven’s Punishment 1, Absolute Defense
Ability Value Enhancement: HP Enhancement 5, Defense Enhancement 5, MP Enhancement 4, Magic Power Enhancement 4, Mental Strength Enhancement 4, Agility Enhancement 1, Luck Enhancement 1, Physical Ability Enhancement 1
Resistance: Paralysis 1, Petrification 1, Sleep 1, Instant Death 1, Confusion 1, Silence 1
Exploration Support: Appraisal, Simple Appraisal, Disguise, Covert, Item Box 1, Enemy Search 1, Mini Map, Spying 1, Stealth 1, Trap Detection 1, Trap Removal 1
・Equipment
Anti-Poison Earrings
Cloak of Thunderstorm
Ring of Protection
SP 73221
────────────────────
I think only the Attack Power might be off by an order of magnitude. But unfortunately, it is an accurate value.
My HP and Luck have already surpassed Junko Tozaki’s, and my Defense, which was a concern, is now visible with Defense Enhancement 5.
On the other hand, my Agility, which used to be my strong point, is lower than the others, but if I strengthen my other skills from now on, it will soon overtake the other ability values.
The Agility correction of Escape is +200%.
Two of my equipment slots are filled with gifts from Serika.
I feel grateful, but at the same time, I feel miserable.
The cloak Serika gave me has a “Lightning attribute halved” on it… Is this in anticipation of Junko Tozaki’s special magic (or rather, her only magic)?
I think it’s indeed a coincidence.
Now, when I returned from the side path to the main path on the second floor, there was a sign of other explorers quite far behind me.
“A Rakan party, huh?”
There were six six-man parties… No, there were seven parties, including the one that came late.
One of them seems to have caught up with the others,
“…I only see five light spots on Enemy Search.”
I’d like to think that only one of them is lagging.
But I’m sure that’s unlikely.
As a result of the competition among the seven groups, there were casualties.
“If I had escaped, the monsters I defeated would have resurrected.”
If I had killed the monsters normally, there might not have been any casualties.
“No, that’s not right. They don’t know I’m here.”
Even if they did know, it was wrong to dive into a dungeon, hoping that other explorers would thin out the numbers.
I should have anticipated that the Rakan would do this kind of exploration and wipe them out… That’s too much to ask.
The casualties are their problem.
Even knowing that, it’s still disturbing to think that people could still be dying in the rear.
I swallowed my bitterness and continued through the dungeon, jumping safely into the portal to the third floor.
Chapter 41 – Blissful Hunting
The third floor is the same as the second.
The overall level has just increased, and the enemy composition has changed to five or six.
There’s no room to struggle, and that’s quite nice for me.
The key factor was the level of Trehobi… 60.
I wonder if it could be raised by one more, maybe one more!
However, there is one thing that bothers me.
In the monster composition, there is an unbalanced composition of three Trehobi.
There is even a composition of three Mages and three Trehobis, which is as tasty as if it were arranged.
What is strange, however, is that the deeper you go into the dungeon, the weaker (in the sense of unbalanced) the enemy compositions become.
I proceeded to fill the Mini Map with a large area while paying attention to the movements and composition of the enemies in the dungeon with Enemy Search.
Thanks to this, I noticed.
“What is this?”
Further down the side path, in a corner that looks almost like a hidden passageway, there is a strange group of six Trehobis and an unknown monster.
I approach them cautiously with Covert and Stealth.
“That guy…”
A fat Hobbit sits surrounded by six level 63 Treasure Hobbits.
At that size, it could no longer be called a small guy.
It looks like Daikoku-sama, one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, but with a more evil face.
Appraisal.
Status──────────────────
Golden Treasure Hobbit (Secret)
Level 72
HP 7200/7200
MP 7200/7200
Attack Power 5784
Defense 1584
Magic Power 1224
Mental Strength 1440
Agility 11744
Luck 59544
・Unique Skill
Random Summoning
・Acquired Skills
Plunder 3, Steal 2, Treasure Hunt 2
7777 experience gained from defeating it.
777 SP gained by defeating it.
Mana coin (converted to yen) 777777 when defeated
Drop Item: Orichalcum Lump, Black Jack of Orichalcum Coin, Brooch of the Great Thief
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
Random Summoning
Summons a random summonable monster; does not consume MP; can be used to summon a random monster.
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
Plunder 3
Steal is automatically triggered when you attack. The S.Lv. of Steal is the higher of Plunder or Steal. It can be activated even if you do not have the Steal skill.
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
Treasure Hunt 2
Increases the quality of drop items and items available with the Steal skill.
────────────────────
“Oh, wow.”
It has a lot of the skills I wanted.
I wish I could get this Plunder or Treasure Hunt with the special condition of killing 400 Hobbits…
I mean, I wonder what the selection requirements are for the three skills you get with that special condition?
Slimes and Oni don’t have a lot of skills, but Hobbit types have a pretty wide variety of skills.
If the three skills are randomly selected, there is a chance that I might not get the skills I want.
It wouldn’t be possible to re-create special conditions.
…No, let’s leave that for now.
Skills aside, it’s one hell of a monster.
The SP gained from defeating it is an incredible 777.
When you consider that even Daidara, the dungeon boss of Tengumine Shrine, was 210, you can see how extraordinary it is.
The 770,000+ money is also great…in my case, I lose it every time I escape.
Even if I get 770,000, I lose more than half of it every time I escape from the small fry.
By the time I leave the dungeon, there won’t be much left.
But it is a strong enough enemy to be worth that much of a reward.
I’m curious about the (secret) behind the name.
Based on the trend of the past, I think it means a special monster that appears when certain conditions are met.
Whether I can handle it or not, I think I can.
There are many special attacks, such as Preemptive Strike, First Move, Vanguard Knowledge, Surprise Attack, Ancient Chant, Strong Strike Magic, Magic Crit, Assassination, Fatal Crit, Heaven’s Punishment, and Attribute Amplification.
In addition, my current Magic Power is 20,475 after acquiring Magic Enhancement 4.
“Flame Lance!”
The flaming spear I fired pierced the Golden Treasure Hobbit――
It did not.
It suddenly rolled to the ground, and my magic sliced through the air.
All the Treasure Hobbits turned on me at once.
“Lucky dodge, huh?”
The Golden (abbreviated) has almost 60,000 Luck.
Such things happen.
But,
“Flame Lance!”
Then I just have to keep shooting until I hit it.
The Golden, who was trying to get up in a hurry, fell down again, and the Flame Lance grazed its head and passed by.
Two lucky dodges in a row.
But,
“Flame Lance!”
The luck did not last a third time.
The Flame Lance struck the Golden’s neck, and its head was torn off by the explosion.
It was not the first blow, and I did not cast the Ancient Chant, but it was very powerful,
Skill──────────────────
Magic Barrage 1
Using the magic of the same attribute in succession reduces the casting time of the chant by (S.Lv x 10)% and increases the power of the magic by (S.Lv x 10)%. The effect is duplicated up to (S.Lv+1) times.
────────────────────
I guess that’s the effect of this one.
I hunt down 5 of the six remaining Treehobis and escape to the back.
‘You have successfully escaped.’
‘No experience gained.’
‘Gained 6384 SP.’
‘Earned 832901.’
‘You have obtained the “Black Jack of Orichalcum Coin”!’
‘Lost 470932 yen!’
I lost 470,000 yen!
Let’s ignore such soul-stirring announcements.
“T-That’s outrageous, huh?”
6384 SP in one battle!
It’s so efficient that it makes everything I’ve earned so far seem like a blur.
I look back to where I escaped from.
The Golden Treasure Hobbit had been properly restored to its original position.
I thought it might disappear since it was called “secret,” but it seems that even though it counts as a defeat, it is not necessarily treated as a defeat when I escape.
However, the conditions for its appearance remain unknown, so there is a possibility that once I leave the dungeon, I may never see it again.
“Then I’ll have to earn it while I can…!”
If the first shot hits, the Preemptive Attack effect (S.Lv x 20% more damage to those unaware of you) can kill the Golden.
However, if the first hit is avoided, the second hit may not be enough to kill the Golden.
This is because the Preemptive Strike has no effect, and the Magic Barrage still has only one stack of effects.
The third shot after the first and second shots miss has a higher chance of killing the enemy than the second shot.
This is because the effect of Magic Barrage is stacked twice.
Magic Barrage is designed to “stack up to (S.Lv+1) times.”
On the other hand, I wonder if the idea of leaving Golden behind is possible?
First, I kill 5 of the 6 Treasure Hobbits surrounding it.
In the meantime, Golden can summon a Hobbit-type monster with… Random Summoning.
By continuing to kill these additional Hobbits, I could keep earning without having to escape. That was the idea.
But it was a subtle idea.
Instead of trying to make an infinite earning from Random Summoning, it would be much more efficient to quickly defeat the Golden and escape.
It was only natural if you think about it.
The Golden Treasure Hobbit has 777 SP when defeated.
Instead of waiting for more Hobbits to be added by Random Summoning, it was more efficient to repeatedly hunt the Golden itself.
I earned it.
I earned it intensely.
I could feel myself getting a rush of brain drugs.
It was a blissful moment.
What else could feel so good?
I am endlessly hunting secret monsters in a way that only I can do and that only I know.
I fear that this is the high point of my life.
I don’t know if I’ll ever see the Golden Treasure Hobbit again.
It is possible that I will encounter other secret monsters, but until I know the conditions, it’s difficult to reproduce them.
‘Confirmation of the fulfillment of the special condition. You have obtained the Archive skill.’
Special conditions? Don’t interrupt the fun!
For a moment, after almost ignoring the “Voice of Heaven” and attacking Golden Trehobi,
“No, no, no. It’s a special condition! It’s important!”
I stepped back and opened Dungeons Go Pro.
Congratulations !!!! ────────────
Special Condition Achieved: “Defeat 10 Secret Monsters” (First Time Only)
Reward: Skill Archive.
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
Archive
You can recall the status of monsters you have previously defeated. It can also display the results of previous Appraisal.
────────────────────
“It’s very convenient! That’s all!”
I’m back on the hunt again.
How long had I been doing this?
Thirty or forty times would not be enough.
I was so engrossed in the super-efficient hunting that I forgot the passage of time.
What cooled my head was the sudden sound of the “Voice of Heaven.���
‘Warning: A dungeon flood has occurred in the Shinjuku Station Underground Dungeon, an S-rank dungeon.’