Mob
Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #13
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 13 Using the flute used by the strange old man
is...... kinda impossible.
Adventurers up to
three stars are generally considered to be in the amateur class.
Legally, an
adventurer is an adventurer whether he or she is a one-star or a four-star, but
the reason why the public's view of adventurers changes after four stars is
because it is said that it is relatively easy to be promoted up to three stars.
One can become a
one-star adventurer simply by accumulating gold.
You can get 2 stars
by clearing F-rank dungeons ten times and clearing an E-rank dungeon designated
by the guild.
The
same goes for three stars. They normally go through
dungeons that match their rank and then take the promotion exam. That's it.
Anyhow, all of them dictate
that you have to ‘Possess a monster card of D-rank or higher’, but since you
are required to purchase one when you become an adventurer, this is not really
a condition.
This
is probably just a requirement to weed out those who are foolish enough to lose
their cards in low-rank dungeons.
However, this is not
to say that most adventurers will be able to smoothly progress to the
three-star level.
It is said that
nearly half of all registered adventurers stumble at least once at the E rank.
Another half of them give up on reaching the two-star level. They become
‘enjoyers’ who enjoy exploring dungeons only on their days off.
The main reason for
this is the length of the dungeon, which is more than a dozen floors, and the
many traps along the way that cannot be broken in a single day.
Even in the F-rank
dungeon, where there are no obstacles other than monsters, it takes one to two
hours per floor, even with a map.
If you have to
proceed through the dungeon while being on the lookout for traps, your progress
will be slowed down even further. The traps are rearranged at regular
intervals, so it is impossible to buy information from the guild.
This continues for
more than a dozen floors. It will inevitably be an overnight stay strategy.
At this point,
working people along with middle and high school students drop out. Unless they
take the day off from work or school, they will never be able to conquer even
an E-rank dungeon.
However, college
students, part-timers, and freelancers can still make time for the dungeon.
Even so, a dungeon
exploration that took up days is completely different from the dungeon
exploration in the F-rank dungeon. It is like the difference between a picnic
and a full-scale camping trip.
The maximum you can
advance for walking all day is from five to ten floors.
The adventurers must
be on the lookout for monsters that suddenly appear, search for traps, and
carry water and food on their backs.
It is not a task that
those who become adventurers for light reasons would be able to continue.
Even the Self-Defense
Forces had many retirees when the dungeon first appeared. Well, the biggest
factor was that the effects of the cards were not known at the time.
As a result, those
university students seem divided into two groups based on their choices: either
they join a full-fledged adventurer's club, aiming to become professionals and
working hard on expeditions with their friends, or they gather together as
‘enjoyers’ and form a circle that resembles a social
gathering.
Don't make fun of the
F-rank dungeons. Just as I was able to earn 500,000 yen in one month, not even
mentioning 100,000, earning 200,000 is easy.
To be honest, there
was even a view that going through F-rank dungeons daily would be more
profitable than challenging E-rank dungeons half-heartedly.
The reason is that
the dungeon rewards are the most delicious.
In the E-rank dungeon,
it was not unusual to lose a D-rank card due to a combo of damage caused by
traps and monster attacks. That alone will result in a loss of close to one
million to ten million at the most. I can’t even
imagine how it will be if I lost a D-rank card one day.
‘Take the
risk and enjoy an E-rank dungeon in a day trip’. I often see such
headlines in magazines in convenience stores.
At first, I was also
planning to go with the enjoyable route. Since I thought the E-rank dungeons
were too hard for a student.
But not anymore.
I have a rare item,
the Flute of Hamelin, which is coveted by adventurers. With this, there was no
need for me to stay overnight to conquer the dungeon. Time, the biggest wall in
the amateur class, does not exist for me.
Therefore, I was even
able to progress through the E-rank dungeon while studying for the test.
If it were not for
this, I probably would have given up on becoming a 3-star adventurer at some
point.
As for strength, I
had one C-rank and two D-rank cards, which were excessively sufficient for the
E-rank dungeon.
The only remaining
obstacle was now the traps.
It was a holiday
after the test. I had come to the E-rank dungeon that I was in the middle of
clearing.
This dungeon,
designated by the guild, was a standard dungeon with candle flames illuminating
the stone passageways.
I had no prior
information about this dungeon. This is because adaptability to the unknown is
also a part of the test.
When I took the test,
I was required to sign a contract not to leak any information about this
dungeon to outside parties.
The passage seems
narrow, and there are frequent forks to confuse us. Thanks to the mapping app
on my phone, we never got lost, but the further we went, the more I realized
that my internal sense of direction was getting out of whack.
At the end of the
corridor, there are small rooms that look like smaller school classrooms, and
monsters only appear in these rooms.
It was nice not to
have to be on the lookout for unexpected encounters, but on the other hand, it
also meant that we were forced to fight more than a certain number of times per
floor, which was a bothersome system for those of us who have a style of
searching for enemies and avoiding battles.
Although the
existence of these small rooms is not all bad......
“Eliza, play the flute.”
After entering the
dungeon, I summoned the usual three cards - now that it is an E-rank dungeon
and the summoning limit is four cards, it is finally possible to summon
everyone at the same time --- and immediately gave instructions to Eliza.
In the F-rank
dungeon, I occasionally encountered other adventurers, but since this dungeon
was not open to the public, it was reserved for me during the test.
Therefore, I could
use Hamelin's flute with peace of mind.
"♪~♪♪~"
Eliza plays the
tunes, albeit poorly.
...... This
flute-blowing role, no one told her, but she was naturally in charge of it.
The flute left behind
by that eerie piper......, everyone somehow disliked using it, and so, the role
went to Eliza, the only one who didn't seem to have any such feelings.
I was feeling kind of
guilty about it, but she seemed to like it so much that she even started
practicing tunes on it during breaks.
Now, even though it's
clumsy, she's been able to perform a song for our transfer.
After the performance
ended, a black, swirling sphere appeared in front of us. It was exactly the
same one that existed at the entrance to the dungeon.
By passing through
this distortion of space, we could instantly transfer to the safe zone of the
floor we had already reached before.
However, the
information of the dungeon accumulated in the flute disappears from it once you have conquered
the dungeon.
In other words, it is
not possible to move to the lowest floor of a dungeon that you have conquered
once and continue to receive rewards for clearing it easily. Too bad.
Passing through the
gate, we were transferred to the safe zone of the 12th floor, the front line.
Transfer-type magic
items, not limited to Hamelin's flute, can basically only transport from safe
zone to safe zone.
If it was possible to
transfer anywhere on the floor, it would be convenient for both searching and
escaping from enemies, but that was indeed a luxury.
“All right, let's go.”
With Eliza leading
the way, Yuki, me, and
Renge advanced in a formation a little further away.
The reason why Eliza
is leading and a little further away at the front is because she is our party's
trap disarmer.
For those of us whose
knowledge of traps relies on the instructional books available at the guild,
disarming traps is a matter of learning by actually eating them.
By process of
elimination, the role had ended on Eliza, an undead with no sense of pain.
She protects her
allies in battle, acts as the unpleasant-flute player, and even disarms
dangerous traps.
I was filled with
apologetic feelings for her, but she was a brave and studious girl who was
gradually adapting to the traps of this dungeon.
Then, Eliza stopped
dead in her tracks.
She said,
"...... Master, the floor in front is a different
color. It's probably a pitfall trap."
She reported back to
me, speaking more fluently than before her ego had awakened.
I look closely from
behind her, but to be honest, I can't tell the difference at all from here. To
begin with, the passage itself is dimly lit, and I rely on the candles placed
along the walls at regular intervals, so visibility is very poor. As a mere
human, there was no way I could tell the difference.
But it seemed that Yuki and Renge were the
same way, as they were tilting their heads.
“So what should we do, Eliza?”
“The right end of the corridor is colored the same as
usual, so the pit seems to be from the left end to the center. I will go
through the right end and check it first.”
“Okay, okay."
When I nodded, Eliza
proceeded without hesitation.
"---I have confirmed that it is safe. Please
pass."
“Oh, oh.”
As I was nervously
avoiding the pitfalls, Renge spoke to me from
behind,
"Suddenly you've changed from giving orders to being
given orders. If things go on like this, won't Eliza become the command tower
someday? Oh, do we really need you?"
I snorted at Renge, who had a grinning smile on her face. Idiot....
“Since when did you think you needed me?”
“What, you dare say....... No, I'm not sure I expected
that response. Come to think of it, you're right......”
After her eyes
widened in surprise, Renge nodded repeatedly as
if strangely convinced.
No, if you are really
convinced by that......
I feel a little sad, even though I had waved the joke
myself.
Actually, as the
enemy got stronger, I had fewer and fewer chances to get involved in combat.......
There is a limit to
how much I can issue orders during battle, and defense tools will eventually
become ineffective.
It is said that
high-ranked monsters move faster than human's dynamic vision. It is impossible
to give precise instructions on such a battlefield.
I wonder how
high-ranking adventurers do it? Do
they just stand there? Come
to think of it, adventurers in MonColo manipulate cards like their own hands
and feet. ...... Is there some kind of trick? Is it simply good preparation?
As I was pondering over a random question, Yuki followed me up, probably because she thought I
was depressed,
"Renge-san, we are what we are because of our
master. It was the Master who brought Eliza-san up to that level, wasn't it?”
“Oh, as expected of a dog, don’t miss the chance to
appeal your loyalty.”
"Being a dog is fine. Bark
bark."
"Give me your hand, doggy. Or, is sitting and
begging better?”
"A good dog doesn't wag their tail to anyone other
than their master."
At first glance, it
seems like an unfriendly exchange, but the atmosphere between the two is soft.
Before I knew it, the
three had had a relationship of three sisters: the eldest, who was a little
mean but actually kind, the second sister, who was serious and caring, and the
third sister who was quiet and studious.
The interesting thing
to note is that the apparent ages of the eldest, second, and third sister are
reversed.
“Master, we are at a crossroads.”
“Oh, let's see, according to the app, the last time we
went to the right, it is a dead-end. The straight road is 70% mapped out, but
the left is untouched. ......Hmmm, okay, let's go left.”
“Roger that."
With the phone in
hand, we go left at the fork in the road, then go right at the next T-junction.
As I filled in the
map in this way little by little, Yuki said,
“That thing you have, Master, is really convenient, isn’t
it? With this, we'll never get lost.”
“Well, basically. But some of the traps in dungeons can
destroy electrical appliances, and some can absorb all light. If we rely on
this too much, we will be in for a rude slap.”
“Eh? Will it be okay?”
"Well, the guild has warned me about that, so I should
know in advance, so it's probably fine. ……There's usually a pattern in this
dungeon to get people to ...... feel that kind of pain early, though."
“If I were the guild, I will be sure to do
that.”
“Let’s hope that the guild is not as crooked as
Renge.”
“Then I guess we'll be all right, Master.”
"Oi."
While we were talking
about that, a door came into view in front of us. At first glance, it appeared to be an
ordinary wooden door.
But we had learned
from our previous mission that we couldn't be too careful even with a door like
this.
I asked,
"How is it......? Do
you think there's a trap?"
Eliza was looking at
the door from various angles for a while, and then she turned around and said,
"There is no trace on this side.”
Then there doesn't seem to be a trap....... but this is
the dungeon.
“Up until now, there have been three patterns:
a trap where the door explodes the moment it is opened, a trap where bows and
arrows fly at you, and a trap placed at the end of the door. Forgive me, I
can't discern them right now."
"Okay...... Sorry, can you do the usual
for me?"
"Yes, Master."
The usual. In other
words, it was to physically release the trap.
Eliza nodded to my
request without hesitation.
After confirming that
we had taken some distance, she opened the door with a mighty bang.
I heard the sound of
something operating.
Something was
released from the darkness at the back of the room.
It slipped past
Eliza’s side---
“...... Ah!"
I let out a hoarse
cry and looked down at my chest in dismay.
--- There was an arrow embedded deep inside.
Episode 13 (2)
I plopped down on the
ground with a thud.
"Ah...... ah......."
I reach for the arrow
with my trembling hands, but I can't pull it out because I don't have the
strength.
But finally, I
managed to pull the arrow out.
"That was close~!
I let out a deep sigh
of relief.
The tactical vest
made from new materials found in the dungeon had successfully protected me from
the crossbow arrow.
The barrier function
of the card provides complete protection for the master's body, but it does not
extend to the clothes he or she wears.
Therefore, it is
possible for an arrow to get stuck in the clothing and surprise the master.
Incidentally, some
female adventurers have been known to be stripped completely naked after being
attacked with acid.
While I was thinking
about this, Renge and the others rushed into the room and started fighting.
Even when they saw me
being hit by an arrow, they only glanced sideways at me.
It's not that they are
cold....... The fact is that the girls, who can shoulder the damage, realized
earlier than I did that I was unscathed.
Rather, they should
be praised for being able to move quickly.
Even though I really
wanted them to be a little bit worried about me.......
I shook my head to
drown out such naivety and followed the girls into the room.
Normally, it would be
safer for the master to wait outside the room, where no enemies would appear.
However, when I was
waiting for the battle to end outside before, monsters kept appearing with no
end, no matter how many they killed. In addition, there were no drops.
Perhaps the dungeon
judges the end of the battle based on whether the master is in the room or not.
I don't know what the
mechanism is, or what the intention is, but...
Since then, I've
always made sure to go inside the room.
There were four
monsters in the room. A big humanoid made of stone, a black dog that leaked
fire from its mouth, an old man with a big bag, and a black haze.......
I recognized the big
humanoid and the black dog immediately because we had fought them before. A
stone golem and a hellhound.
However, the old man
and the black haze were new to me.
After reaching the
tenth floor, when E-rank monsters appeared, the strength and diversity of the
enemies increased dramatically.
The simple combat
power is one thing, but their skills are also troublesome.
Both the stone golem
and the hellhound have high combat power, but they are not the type to use
strange tricks.
Then, in a situation
like this---
"Get rid of that old man first!"
"OK! Though,
even if we don't bother to kill him, he'll probably die sooner or later!"
Yuki jumped on the
old man, and Renge shot light bullets from behind.
Then, the stone golem
interrupted. Its stone body blocked Yuki's claws and the light bullets.
Although the golem
was sold for its toughness, it still couldn't withstand repeated attacks from
higher-ranked attacks and so it disintegrated into countless stone rubble.
A momentary shadow was created in exchange for the golem’s life.
The hellhound emerged from there and leaped at
the small zashiki-warashi.
Renge noticed this,
but she could not move. No, she doesn’t move.
A golden shadow cuts
in between the hellhound and Renge. She moves as fast as using an instantaneous
movement.
It is Eliza.
Receiving the
Hellhound's fangs with her protector-wearing left hand, she slammed the biting,
flame-spitting black dog to the ground and pressed her stun rod against it.
“Kwang!”
The hellhound, which
even showed a determination not to let go even if it dies, was however forced
to open its jaws by the force of the electric current. Then, Eliza bit it. That
was the moment when predator and prey switched places.
In the end, the old
man who was supposed to be the first to be killed and the black haze remained
on the spot. It was only a few seconds, just a few seconds, but it was enough
for the old man to set himself up.
The old man throws
the large bag on his back in the room. The contents of the bag were sand.......
Should I close my eyes?
I was taken aback for
a moment, wondering what that was all about, but soon, I became tense.
Stupid, it's not possible to be just that. The
stone golem and the hellhound risked their lives to earn the time, there is
something else.
But contrary to my
thoughts, nothing seemed to have happened to my cards.
Yuki's claws cut
through the old man, and light bullets punched through the black haze. With
that, the battle was over.
“......What was this sand after all?"
Renge answered my
mutterings,
“Hmm, it's probably sleeping powder. The moment it was
sprinkled, I felt a little sleepy. I resisted with plenty of time to spare,
though.”
“I see…”
Sleeping sand......
was dangerous.
Sleep is a dangerous status ailment that isn't funny in
combat. Luckily, all of my cards are resistant to status ailments, so we
managed somehow, but if they couldn't resist it, it's possible that we would
have been wiped out.
“So, this guy is ......."
Oh, it's a nightmare!
I picked up the card
dropped by the black haze and grunted.
Nightmare...... A
monster that is said to control nightmares. Don't say it's just a nightmare. In
dreams, it has the power to easily kill monsters of one rank or higher. On the
other hand, in the real world, it is nearly powerless.......
“Sandman and Nightmare combo... Didn't
it suddenly increase in difficulty after reaching E-rank?"
The stone golem is
the guard, the hellhound is the attacker, the sandman is the support, and the
nightmare is in charge of instant kill for the sleeping opponents......
If you are
just pushing a single D-rank card in a situation like that, it's usually a lost
cause. Won’t
one be annihilated if they did it poorly?
With this
arrangement, if you leave the room immediately, you won't die, but... it's
impossible for you to return to the surface on your own.
In that case, there
is no choice but to pay the guild a shitload of money to send in a rescue team.
Naturally, you are responsible for the cost, which is ‘only’ about a million
yen for an F-rank dungeon, but for an E-rank dungeon, the cost is close to 10
million yen.
Every year, there are
a certain number of people who have to take on huge debts. This was the biggest
bottleneck when I tried to convince my parents.
“Now then, let’s go have some fun time.”
I turned my attention
to the treasure chest that had appeared in the center of the room before I knew
it.
This, is
the biggest advantage of this type of dungeon. While you are forced to fight in
a small room, a disappointing box will appear on rare occasions. In terms of
probability, it's about 5%...
The
contents of the box are naturally more meager than the rewards from completing
an F-rank dungeon. Most of them are consumable goods worth
about 1,000 yen, and potions and the like are among the lucky hits. In
addition, there was a high probability of traps being set in the disappointing
boxes.
If the contents of
the box are not only poor, but also contained traps, it was usually recommended
to skip it. The reason why we continue to challenge the disappointing boxes,
however, is because they contain a jackpot, albeit rarely.
The name of that
jackpot is skill orb. It is a dreamlike magic item that allows cards to learn
skills just by using it.
It is an item that
cannot be taken out of the dungeon, and its contents are not known until it is
used, so it may not necessarily be a skill with merit, but since we got a skill orb by chance when we first started
exploring, I've been obsessed with the charm of the disappointing boxes.
Incidentally, the
skill orb we got was a technical skill -the color of the skill orb indicates
the general tendency of the skill- so I decided to give it to Eliza after
wondering who to give it to.
Due to the nature of
the ghoul race, Eliza's movements are inevitably lackluster. Or should I say
‘rough’ rather than ‘slow’? Since technical skill is a skill that compensates for
such things, I decided to give it to her in hope that it could improve her
movement even a little.
This turned out to be
a great decision.
The name of the skill
she got is [Precision movement]. It is a skill that improves the precision of
her movements, and it was the perfect skill for her.
First of all, her
movements during battles became smoother, and she was able to activate skills
such as [Protect] more quickly. She seems to be able to move her fingers the
way she wants, which had been frustrating her while practicing her flute
performance. It continues to improve even now.
The best thing of all
is that she is now able to disarm traps.
Until now, she was
too clumsy, and was able to disarm traps that could only be disarmed by setting
it off with her immortal body.
Of course, the
success rate is still low. However, if she continues to gain experience, the
day will come when she will awaken the skill to disarm traps.
I was sure of that.
"All right, then, Eliza, open the lid.”
“Yes, Master."
Eliza takes on the
disappointing box while we watch from a distance, just in case.
After a few minutes
of struggling with the keyhole, with a click, the lid slowly opens. Eliza turns
around.
“I'm sorry," she says. “I failed.”
An arrow was pierced
deep into her chest.
“Eliza!”
We rushed to Eliza.
The day when she
learns the disarming skill is still far away.
[Tips] Magic Items
Many magic items
appear in the dungeon. Potions that can heal wounds and illnesses are the best
examples, and there are other dream-like items, such as wands that allow you to
use magic, holy swords, magic swords, flying carpets, and bread baskets that
produce infinite bread. However, some of them have been confirmed to be magic
items that bring misfortune, such as the Monkey's Paw.
Basically, the higher
the rank of the dungeon, the better magical items will appear, but there are
also cases where extremely rare magic items appear even in low-ranked dungeons.
On the other hand, there was a case where an ‘adult toy’ appeared in a high-rank
dungeon as a reward.
***
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