Mob
Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #4
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode
4 Excuse me, this Zashiki-warashi is a delinquent!
After
school.
After
getting ready at home, I immediately went to the labyrinth around Hachioji
Station.
The
labyrinth, which was about a ten-minute walk from Hachioji Station, used to be
an ordinary house, but now it had been transformed into a convenience store
called ‘Dungeon Mart’.
Most
of the labyrinths were now in the form of convenience stores like this.
Most of the buildings that existed when the
labyrinth first appeared have collapsed under the influence of Angolmore.
Many of the buildings that were left have become uninhabitable because their owners
wished to relinquish them.
It was a good thing that the government bought
up all the ruins in one lump sum to support the victims, but the problem was
what to do with the land.
"Wouldn't
it just be a waste of tax money to use it as an entrance to the
labyrinth?" Such voices came from the opposition parties.
The
criticism was almost accusatory, but one company was the first to raise its
hand in response.
This was Dungeon Mart, which rapidly increased
its market share by locating convenience stores in the vicinity of the
labyrinth during the labyrinth bubble. The famous founder of Dungeon Mart
suggested that they use their convenience store as an entrance and exit.
The Dungeon Mart's main selling point was its
unmanned sales system. At the time, major convenience stores were pulling out
of the labyrinth because they could not attract enough workers to operate
around the labyrinth, but Dungeon Mart was one of the first to introduce an
unmanned vending system and begin doing business with the Self-Defense Forces for
the labyrinth.
One of the concerns with unmanned vending
systems was the risk of shoplifting, but Dungeon Mart solved this problem by
focusing on military personnel, who were highly disciplined.
By having a Self-Defense Forces member in the
store at all hours of the day, even shoplifting by ordinary customers became
almost zero.
As a result, the Dungeon Mart grew rapidly, but
it was quickly driven into a corner by the damage caused by Angolmore.
A normal company would have withdrawn from
business around the labyrinth and re-started as a normal convenience store.
However, the president of Dungeon Mart was different. He went a step further
and aimed to further monopolize the market share by integrating the labyrinth
and the convenience store into one.
After some twists and turns, Dungeon Mart's
offer was accepted, but this strategy initially created a difficult situation
for Dungeon Mart.
After all, the only customers were the
Self-Defense Forces personnel who were stationed in the area. Immediately after
Angolmore, the area around the labyrinth became a ghost town. Convenience
stores could not prosper in such a situation, and even Dungeon Marts in
ordinary areas were forced to withdraw one after another due to harmful rumors.
The stock price also continued to decline, and
at one point the company was forced into a very difficult situation.
It
was a few years ago that a ray of sunlight shone through the dark clouds of
Dungeon Mart. It was after the adventurer system was introduced in Japan.
With the adventurer boom, Dungeon Mart's
business performance rebounded rapidly. Its stock price also soared. When Dungeon
Mart was listed, a businessman who had purchased only a hundred shares at the
offering price was featured many times on TV as having amassed several hundred
million yen in assets before he knew it, thanks to his persistence in holding
on to his shares through the difficult time Dungeon Mart was going through.
At
this point, other major convenience stores also tried to launch the labyrinth
business, but it was too late.
Even
on the brink of bankruptcy, the foundation of Dungeon Mart, which did not relinquish
its labyrinth concession, was solid and unshakable.
Thus,
Dungeon Mart became the dominant player in the Japanese convenience store
industry.
……………………it's always darkest before the dawn.
"Welcome.
If you are an adventurer, please put your adventurer license on the panel.”
When
I opened the automatic door, I heard such a voice from the side.
Rumor
has it that the entrance door to the labyrinth in the back will be
automatically locked if any customers do not show their license here.
The
inside of the store had more food than a normal convenience store while there
were few daily necessities, and there were many items that an adventurer would
need such as bandages and disinfectant.
However,
there are no full-fledged adventurer goods, and it can be seen that the purpose
was only to replenish small items and food items that you forgot to buy.
I picked up a few water plastic bottles,
onigiri (rice balls), and pastries, put them in a plastic bag hanging on the
shelf, and went to the back of the store.
I did not pay the bill. I don't know the details
of the system, but it seemed that an artificial intelligence embedded in the
weight scale on the shelf and the surveillance camera calculates the price of
the items and deducts the amount from the electronic money charged in advance
on my license automatically.
After going down the
stairs leading down, there was a heavy steel door. When I touched my license
there, too, it opened with a bash-whack sound.
The
authentication here was different from the one at the entrance. This one
determines whether my rank was enough to dive into this labyrinth.
……Well,
since this is an F-rank labyrinth, any adventurer can enter it.
Basically, one-star adventurers can enter up to F-rank labyrinths,
two-star adventurers can enter up to E-rank labyrinths, and three-star
adventurers can enter up to D-rank labyrinths.
For four-star adventurers who were treated as professionals, there
were no rank restrictions on labyrinths, and even A-rank labyrinths can be entered
and exited freely. Of course, no one can guarantee your safety at that time.
After you become a professional, you are
responsible for your own safety.
Beyond
the door was a small space about two tatami
mats in size, in which a black swirling sphere was
floating.
This
is the entrance to the labyrinth...
I
saw it for the first time.
What
the hell is this sphere made of? At first glance, it looks like smoke...
I fearfully inserted my finger into the sphere
and found that my finger was completely obscured. The tip of my finger was
faintly warm.
It's
like the inside of a living creature's mouth...
I
gulped down my saliva and went inside.
It's
okay, I've never heard of anyone dying through this.
For
a moment, I felt as if I had stepped off a staircase, and before I knew it, I
was standing in the middle of a deep forest. The scent of grass and trees
wafted through the air. My surroundings were bright. It should have been
evening when I entered the labyrinth, but the sun was clearly rising in the sky
here.
It
was true that inside the labyrinth is a small another world.......
If
the information I had researched beforehand was correct, this sun should have
continued to rise without moving. In other words, this world would continue to
be daytime forever.
Likewise,
the evening labyrinth is forever evening, and the night labyrinth is forever
night. A rainy labyrinth is rainy forever.
I
came to this labyrinth because I had read that beginner should avoid the poor
visibility labyrinths like night labyrinths and go to the day labyrinths, so I
did some research beforehand and came to this labyrinth, but.......
It’s
hot……
The
temperature was probably close to 30 degrees Celsius. It's autumn and it's
getting chilly, so I've been wearing heavy clothes, but...... I've made a
mistake. I didn't realize that even the season was different in each labyrinth.
I
don't have time for this. I had to summon the monsters as soon as possible.
The
guild members said there were no monsters around the entrance, but this is a
labyrinth ...... and you never know what might happen. It’s best to be careful.
I
took out three cards and carefully looked at them.
[Race]
Zashiki-warashi
[Combat
Power] 250
[Inborn
Skill]
・Good
fortune is like a rope that ends in misfortune: Good luck to misfortune,
misfortune to good luck. Can bestow
luck and misfortune on the target. The output increases or decreases depending
on how well the monster likes the master.
・Hide-and-seek:
Can hide one's appearance and presence. Invisibility and blocking of presence
are included.
・
Elementary
recovery magic: Can use simple recovery magic.
[Acquired
skills]
・Zero
existence: The existence has been reduced from its original state. The combat
power is always minus 100, and skills miss or downgraded.
· Closed mind: Has a rebellious heart against
the master. Negative response for commanded actions, positive response for free
actions.
・Elementary
attack magic: Can use simple offensive magic.
Zashiki-warashi.
A kind of fortune god. There was a legend that good luck will come to the house
with a zashiki-warashi, and bad luck will come if they leave the house.
Let
me briefly explain each item.
The
race is literally the race of the card. Combat power is the current card's
combat power. Innate skills are skills that everyone in that race possesses.
Acquired skills represent skills that the card personally possesses.
In
the case of zashiki-warashis, they are racially endowed with the ability to
hide themselves, the ability to give good luck and misfortune to enemies and
allies, and healing magic.
And
this card itself has three unique abilities: zero existence, closed mind, and elementary
attack magic.
However,
as can be seen, some acquired skills have disadvantages.
Zero
Existence is a skill possessed by cards that are significantly weakened from
their original state.
According
to the monster encyclopedia app distributed by the guild, this
zashiki-warashi's combat power is nearly 100 lower than other zashiki-warashis.
It seems that the inborn recovery magic is originally moderate
recovery magic. Probably, one or two acquired skills are also missing.
This
alone lowered this Zashiki-warashi's rating to the lowest level among C-rank
cards, but on top of that, she also possessed the Closed Mind skill.
This
is a skill acquired by a card after being used by an incompatible master, and
indicates that the card with this skill is extremely uncooperative with the
master. Even if they were forced to do what they were told, their ability would
be severely reduced due to the negative response.
Once
a card acquires such a demerit skill, it will no longer be used in the ≪normal way≫......
Like
this, there were some skills that have disadvantages, and this zashiki-warashi
was a dropout. The price of the card was also very low. Shigeno-san estimated
that the price would be less than half that of a normal Zashiki-warashi.
Well,
it wouldn't have been included in the pack otherwise, so it is kind of a
complicated situation for me...
Now,
Let’s look at the Ghoul.
[Race]
Ghoul
[Combat
Power] 100
[Inborn
Skill]
・Living
corpse: Existence closest to death and furthest from death. It doesn't
disappear unless the head is destroyed. Including abnormal status resistance
and intellectual decline.
・Firefield's
fool power: Able to wield power beyond the limits of the body. Recoil while in
use.
・
Corpse Eater: Eats flesh and blood for food. Self-healing by predation.
[Acquired
skills]
・
Absolute obedience: A pledge and curse of the soul. Will execute any command.
Extremely strong positive response for orders.
・Sexual
skill: Possesses a certain level of knowledge and skill in sexual techniques.
Positive response for specific actions.
· Pheromones: Able to recognize pheromone
substances and manipulate them at will.
Ghouls
are flesh-eating monsters of Arabian origin. Originally, ghouls were similar to
lewd demons such as succubus, but in the labyrinth, they appear as
flesh-eating, necrophagous demons. Among them, female ghouls are called
ghoulers.
Although
the combat power of the Ghouler I got is the lowest level among D-rank cards,
she is blessed with synergistic innate skills of ‘living corpse’, ‘firefield's fool
power’, and ‘corpse-eater’. Her acquired skills are full of romance: absolute
obedience, sexual skill, and pheromones.
No,
really, it is a skill set that makes me want to question why does she have to
be a ghouler. If she isn't an undead, she will be perfect!
......Cough,
let's get back on track and move on. The next one, is the Coosie.
[Race]
Coosie
[Combat
Power] 150
[Inborn
Skill]
・Fairy
Watchdog: Guardian of fairies. Status increases when there are fairies in the
party. Status decreases when attacking fairies. Has a presence blocker.
・
Group activities: The habit of living in a group. Positive response for group
activities.
[Acquired
skills]
・
Obedience: basically does not disobey the orders of the master. A weak positive
response to the commanded action.
・
Cowardice: Extremely averse to combat. Halves stat during battle.
Coosie
is a Scottish dog fairy and protector of fairies. Legend has it that they can move
without making any noise. The skills ate also derived from that anecdote, and
include the skill of blocking presence and improved status when protecting
fairies.
They
have an aptitude for group activities and are obedient to their master.
Originally, it was supposed to be a good card due to its high initial combat
power, but the ‘cowardice’ skill was a drawback that blew away all those
advantages.
I
can't judge anything until I actually use it, but it might be better to use Coosie
as a support rather than in combat.
Now
that I have finished explaining the three cards, the question is which of these
cards to use.
In
the F-rank labyrinth where I am now, only two cards can be summoned at the same
time. The summoning limit increases by two cards for each rank of the
labyrinth.
…For
now, I'm going to settle on the Zashiki-warashi and ...... the other one will
be Ghouler-chan who has absolute obedience.
It
was written on the internet that the undead are not suitable for beginners
because they are hard to use unless you give them instructions from 1 to 10 or
spend a lot of time training them, but well, there is also the Zashiki-warashi,
so it should be fine.
I
held up the Zashiki-warashi card and declared,
"Come
out! Zashiki-warashi!"
The
card glowed brightly, and before I knew it, a little girl appeared in front of
me. The scent of flowers wafted in the air.
She
was about the same age as my sister (fifth grade). The girl was as beautiful as
a three-dimensional version of the girl in the illustration on the card. At least
her face is really pretty, just like a doll's.
The
problem is her eyes. And her attitude.
The
way she sat on her haunches with her eyebrows furrowed and stared at me, she
was completely like a yankee from the countryside.
"...What
are you looking at, huh!? Want me to kill you?!"
"Ki-...
Eh!?"
I
was not a fan of that. I was not sure
what to do.
I
flinched at the sudden declaration of murder.
Even
though she may look cute like a doll at first glance, her power is incomparable
to that of a human being.
When
I was scared to death inside, the child sneered at me with a smirk.
"Heh,
you little louse. You, are you a new Master?"
The
Zashiki-warashi stood up and looked up at me.
When
you look at her like this, she’s really small... Her attitude is many times
greater than her height, though.
"Ah,
yes..."
"I'm
sorry to hear that. You're not lucky. I can't believe you got a defective card
like mine for your first card."
The
Zashiki-warashi said this while grinning, and I suddenly felt a sense of
competitiveness welling up inside me. I had a feeling that I should give back
at least one word to this little girl who had been suppressing me since a
little while ago.
"No,
not really."
"Aaah?"
“You
certainly seem difficult to use, but if it weren't for that, a newbie like me
wouldn't have been able to get a rare card like yours. The actuality is that
you can find a lot of people who are not able to get the same kind of a good
deal.”
The
Zashiki-warashi seemed to be shaken for a moment by my half-serious words.
However,
she immediately gave a nasty smile.
"Ha.
Let's see how long you can keep up that bravado."
After
saying so, she disappeared.
......Whew.
The most important thing to remember is that you can't just take a chance on a
new person. I knew it, even if she is a monster, she is
also a little girl. It's better to be a little manly.
Now
on to Ghouler.
"Come
on out, Ghouler!"
At
the same time as I said that, Ghouler appeared.
She
is a young woman around 20 years old. Her face itself was pretty, and she had a
nice, well-proportioned body. She was wearing sensual clothes such as low-rise
leather pants and breastplates, which were very revealing. It made one wonder what
sort of profession she was doing before becoming a ghouler.
She's
a 100% beautiful woman if only her features are raised. But she was helplessly
a corpse.
Her
hair was shaggy and damaged. Her skin was completely stained black and purple,
with corpse spots here and there. Her eyes were so red and bloodshot that the
whites of her eyes were nonexistent. And since her original irises were red, the
eyes looked like they were completely red.
Luckily,
there was no smell at all. The odor was said to be the biggest drawback of
undead-type monsters, so it was really fortunate.
The
conclusion: If only she is not a ghoul... If only she is not a ghoul---!!
...But
there is hope.
Monsters
have a rank-up system.
It
was a system that allows you to take over the characteristics and memories of a
lower card by synthesizing a lower card with a higher card of the same sex and
lineage.
Depending
on luck and how well the card was used, if it goes well, it may be possible to
transfer skills to a higher-level card if it works.
Ghouler's
higher card was vampire. In other words, if by some miracle I can get a female
vampire card, then the strongest monster girl card that inherits Ghouler-chan's
appearance and her charm skills may be born.
Someday,
someday, I'll let you rank up!
I
made up my mind as I looked at Ghouler who was staring into space while
drooling.
Anyway,
the preparations are OK. From now on, my full-fledged activities as an
adventurer will begin.
"Alright!
Then, let's go!"
Saying
that, I started walking in high spirits, but when I was about ten meters down
the road, I heard a child's laughter.
Zashiki-warashi.
"Kyahahaha!
Hey, is it okay? You are
leaving her there."
When
I turned around at the voice from the void, I saw Ghouler still standing in her
initial position.
"...
Ghouler, follow me!"
After
giving that order, Ghouler finally started walking.
Hey,
are you serious? If I don't even order it, she won't move?
The
labyrinth was filled with the laughter of a child who was truly amused by the
situation, while I was depressed.
[Tips]
Dungeon Mart
The
Dungeon Mart is a leading convenience store that has quickly increased its
market share along with the introduction of the labyrinth. Now, if you look at
the Dungeon Mart, you can tell at a glance that there is a labyrinth there. The
founder, President Kanou, has made many TV appearances and is famous as a celebrity
president. He has become a semi-talent man, so much so that it is said that he
is probably busier working on TV than as president. His extreme comments often
cause flames on Twitter. The first flame was when it was revealed that he has a
very beautiful French wife and a mixed-race daughter.
***
Previous chapter | Novel page | Next chapter
Help us keep our spirit up and get us
closer to buying a pc/laptop by buying us Coffee (人ゝω・）
You can visit too to check out some
cute and cool phone wallpapers!
