Mob
Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #27
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Translator(s) note: New volume! Our MC didn’t change, but this
chapter is kinda special.
Episode 27: The End of a Certain Mob
-It was supposed to
be a small adventure.
It was last spring
when Shoko Sato became an adventurer.
There was a battle for
attracting new students among the various clubs at the university, as there is
at every university. She was excited about moving to Tokyo for the first time
and living alone for the first time with no awareness of it, so she joined the
Adventurer's Club, which she was invited to join because she thought it sounded
cool.
It was not as serious
as a club that was dedicated to pursuing becoming professional adventurers, but
it was not as loose as a club that only focuses on having fun. It was not too
strict or too loose.
For Shoko, who had no
intention of becoming a serious adventurer and had the same sense of propriety
as other people, the club seemed just right.
The fact that the
seniors rented D-rank cards to new members for 10,000 yen per month, and the
registration fee was the only initial cost to become an adventurer, lowered the
psychological hurdle to becoming an adventurer for her.
At first, like many
people, Shoko had an image of adventurers as 'cool but dangerous and
difficult', but when she actually started, she found it to be a more enjoyable
experience than she had expected.
Whenever a new
student entered a dungeon, one of the senior students always accompanied them,
and the monsters that appeared were all weaker than the cards they had rented.
It was quite
strenuous to traverse through the vast dungeon, but she had originally been a
member of the track team in high school, so it was not too difficult for her.
She even felt a little like she was on a trip to a foreign country, as she was
able to experience nature that was rarely seen in Japan.
The best part was
that she could dive into the dungeon without any trouble with her credits, and
at the same time, she could get a little thrill and enough money as a part-time
job.
She even had a
boyfriend for the first time ever.
A young man named
Seiya Aoki, who wasn't particularly handsome, but had a sense of cleanliness.
He was calm and caring, and since he was the original owner of the card she
rented, she gradually became attracted to him as she talked to him often.
Another strong point was that he had a 2-star license, a rarity in the club.
It was smooth
sailing, the ideal college life.
After a year had
passed, she finally had enough money saved up to buy a D-rank card.
She could have bought
a new card, but Shoko decided to officially buy the Cat Sith card she had been
renting from Aoki.
After using the same
card for a year, one usually became attached to it.
Later, Aoki told her that
this was the underlying purpose of the rental system.
Not only did the
senior members earn extra income every month by renting out their unused cards,
but they could also sell them at a much higher price than if they sold them to
the guild when a junior member became attached to the card and wanted to buy
it.
The juniors can
become adventurers with an economical initial investment, and they can also
acquire cards that are somewhat cheaper than the regular price, plus they can
get cards that are somewhat more experienced. It was truly a win-win
transaction.
The senior members
always accompany new members, not only for guidance, but also to monitor the
cards on loan to ensure that they are not lost or misappropriated. The cards
they loaned out were also chosen to be adorable, such as Cat Sith, so that
customers could easily become attached to them.
Hearing this story,
Shoko was impressed by the well-designed system, and then laughed at herself
for having been so successfully manipulated by it.
The club members who
had completed their rental period were officially recognized as regular members
of the club and were allowed to dive into the dungeon by themselves from that
point on.
When Shoko found out about this, she immediately decided
to dive into the dungeon by herself, persuading her worried boyfriend who said,
"Isn't it too early for you?".
While being
accompanied by a senior colleague was reassuring, it also had the disadvantage
of splitting the reward.
Shoko, who was
dissatisfied with the tiny size of her current room and the thin walls, wanted
a greater income, partly because she also wanted a number of different things.
Even though this was
her first solo expedition, the dungeon was an F-rank dungeon that she had
ventured through many times over in the past year.
There was no danger
--or so it was supposed to be.
"Hah, hah, haah......!"
A few hours after
entering the forest-type dungeon.
Shoko lost all her
cards and belongings, and she was wandering around the dungeon alone.
How long had it been
since she had started running? Her overworked lungs were at their limits and
she was starting to taste the faint taste of iron in the back of her throat.
Her legs were so strained that they felt as if they would cramp up at any
moment.
The temptation to
take a break for a minute crossed her mind, but Shoko whipped her aching knees
and kept on running.
'If
I stop even for a moment, I will die.'
This thought was the only thing that pushed her body
beyond its limits.
The pathway between
the trees was very bumpy with tree roots protruding from the ground, which made
it difficult to run, and the winding path and overgrown foliage reduced her
vision.
For Shoko, the poor
visibility was worse than the difficulty of running, as she feared that she
might run into a monster every time she turned a corner.
If she came across
one, even if it was only a goblin, it would be the end. Every step she made,
she was forced to play a game of russian roulette....... Shoko's spirit was
being whittled away.
Having lost her
reliable card, Shoko experienced the horror of a dungeon for the first time.
"Ah……!"
She felt as if she
were floating in midair for a moment. It wasn't until the pain ran through her
body that she realized she had tripped over a tree root and fell.
Because of the heavy
fall, there were abrasions on her elbows and knees, and even on her cheeks.
‘...Ah,
I should never have come here in short sleeves just because it's an F rank dungeon.
If I had worn body armor and carried a stun gun or tear spray, I wouldn't have
to be so scared right now.’
'When
did I stop carrying those equipment that I used to bring with me every time in
the beginning?'
'I
had unknowingly become proud and careless.'
'Even
if I regretted it, this situation would not change. Right now I have no choice
but to struggle on, cursing my own stupidity and bad luck.'
————Ssk.
"......!"
Shoko tried to stand up
after wiping her tears, but the sound she heard coming from the nearby bush
made her flinch.
She desperately
suppressed her rough breathing and stared at the direction of the noise.
The sound of her
pounding and racing heart was almost too loud for her to hear anything else.
A small bird flew
away from the place where Shoko was staring at.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa…”
A deep sigh of relief
leaked out of her.
Shoko adjusted her
breathing for a bit, then got up on shaky legs and started running again.
She had no time to
rest now.
There was no telling
when 'that' would change their mind and come after her.
--Even looking back
on it now, the raid was going well, and Shoko was not at fault.
It was true that she
was a bit slack in terms of equipment, but that was also because she didn't
need those equipments in the first place.
Cat Sith's combat
power, which had been raised to its limit, was unrivaled in the F-rank dungeon.
No matter if there
were four or five opponents, they would be eliminated in the blink of an eye.
It was only natural
that she did not bring body armor or tear spray, which she had not had a chance
to use even once in the entire year.
Even so, since this
was her first solo raid, she was proceeding rather more carefully than usual.
The number of floors
was only four, making it possible to return home on a day trip.
She was making good
progress, but it wasn't until she reached the bottom floor that everything
started to go haywire.
At the bottom floor, a
monster was waiting for her. It was a Gremlin.
Gremlins were E-rank
monsters that all adventurers, regardless of rank, from 1 star to 6 stars,
loathed.
The reason for this
was the gremlin's special ability.
[Mechanical
destruction]. Gremlins possessed the ability to make all kinds of machinery
break down and go out of order.
This ability to
destroy machines was fatally incompatible with modern adventurers.
For all adventurers,
smartphones and cameras were essential necessities of their lifeline.
For adventurers in
the modern world who rely on smartphone apps for mapping, having their phones
destroyed during an adventure means the possibility of getting lost.
A camera was also an
important item needed to prove one's innocence in case of any trouble in the
dungeon.
Even without such a
situation, today, the destruction of a smartphone hurts people more
psychologically than financially.
In addition, there
was another important item that Gremlins can destroy.
That was: the
adventurer's license.
This artificial magic
item, developed by the guild, was embedded with some kind of machine, such as a
microchip.
This was how the
adventurer's license can be used to make purchases. But it also had the
disadvantage of being included in the scope of the gremlin's [Mechanical
destruction].
If the adventurer's
license is broken, of course, no distress signal can be sent.
Putting aside the
shallow dungeons, it would be fatal to be unable to use a map or send a
distress signal in a deep dungeon.
Although there were
quite a few accidents in the labyrinth caused by the [Mechanical destruction]
every year, and they were regarded as a problem, no effective solution had yet
to be found, except for an extremely analogue method.
And the most
troublesome thing about gremlins was that they could appear anywhere,
regardless of the type of field, and they always had the skill to hide their
presence.
In other words—— most
adventurers would only become aware of the presence of gremlins after being
attacked by them.
——A preemptive attack from
such a gremlin greeted Shoko, who had descended to the lowest floor.
Shoko discovered the
existence of the gremlin and immediately eliminated it, but of course, the data
on her smartphone was not returned.
Considering the cost
of the broken phone together with the cost of purchasing a new phone, and other
expenses, this dungeon raid was completely unprofitable.
"Ahh! This
sucks!"
She slammed her phone
to the ground while swearing.
"——Ki!"
"............ Eh?"
Suddenly, Cat Sith
was blown away.
It rolled on the
ground, bouncing like a soccer ball or something, and finally stopped when it
smashed into a large tree with a terrible noise.
The Cat Sith's gray
fur was dyed red and its limbs were bent in a twisted shape, and it did not
move at all, as if it had been knocked out.
"Ah, eh? Wha, t?"
Shoko, who had been
stunned by this, suddenly came to her senses at the lukewarm breeze on her
face, and her eyes met with those of an animal.
It was a white wolf
bigger than an African elephant. Its blood-red eyes looked down at Shoko with
cruelty.
The giant wolf spoke
to Shoko,
『—— Return that cat to the card』
"Huh?"
『Quickly. Or I'll bite
you to death!』
"Eek! Ye-
yes!"
Shoko did as she was
ordered and put the Cat Sith back on the card. She couldn't afford to think
that it would make her lose her barrier.
『If you have any other
cards in your possession, put them all on the ground and discard your
ownership.』
"Ye- yes......."
Shoko placed all her
cards on the ground, including the F-rank cards she had acquired during the
exploration here and the few E-rank cards she had just in case.
For a moment, Shoko
was thinking about keeping at least one in her pocket, but when she gazed at the
crimson eyes, her thoughts were blown away like dust.
The giant wolf saw
this and nodded in satisfaction.
『Then, leave.』
It said so.
"Eh?"
Shoko, who had been
expecting to be eaten alive, was stunned by the sudden and unexpected words.
『Didn't you hear me? Or do you want to be eaten here?』
"N, no!"
Shoko, not wanting to
be killed by saying anything more than she had to, rushed to run in the
direction of the gate.
『Not over there.
You're coming home that way.』
The first thing to do is to make sure that you are not
going to be killed by any more unnecessary talk. You are going back that way.
The gigantic wolf
that blocked Shoko's path pointed with its nose at the stairs from which she
had came down.
It meant that she had
to return the way she came here practically naked.
"N, no way....... It is impossible! P, please at least give me back one card!"
The giant wolf
snickered at her pleading.
『Who cares? You should
try to challenge the dungeon on your own, without our help, once in a while.』
"W- why are you doing this? Who, who are you?"
The question that
came out of the cornered girl was a rather plain one.
This monster was
obviously not a monster belonging to the level that appeared in an F-rank
dungeon. That said, it was not an irregular encounter either. This white fur
and huge body were familiar to her: it was a C-rank monster, Garm.
'But
why would a Garm appear in a dungeon such as this? And why did it demand cards? Robbery? Was
it being controlled by another adventurer? Then
why take the trouble to make me return the way I came? To let the monsters along the way take
care of me? Why
not let the Garm take care of me right here and now?'
Countless questions well
up in her mind. But there were no answers. The questions that had nowhere else
to go spilled out of her mouth unconsciously.
『You won't understand
this noble ambition even if I tell you. You humans who wield the power of the
card as if it were your own power! Now,
go! Otherwise—— I'll chew you up!』
"Hiccup!"
Shoko instinctively
started running at the roar that made her skin tremble.
The card that was her
weapon and shield was no more. All she was wearing was an unreliable T-shirt
and jeans. Her smartphone and adventurer's license, which had been her
lifeline, were broken, and she did not know where to go.
With only her body to
rely on, Shoko disappeared into the maze.
--Two days later, her
boyfriend, Seiya Aoki, reported Shoko Sato missing and filed a search request.
[Tips] Mechanical Destruction
Among the monsters
and traps that appear in the dungeons, there are some that have an anti-matter
nature. Gremlins are one of them, and their nature is to 'negate machinery'.
Gremlins' [Mechanical destruction] covers a wide range of objects, including
smartphones, cameras, guns, and other tools of a certain level of complexity.
Any kind of magic tool, be it dungeon-produced or man-made, is not subject to
[Mechanical destruction], but if it incorporates an IC chip, such as an
adventurer's license, it will be subject to [Mechanical destruction].
When the use of the
cards was still unknown, this [Mechanical destruction] was notorious as one of
the obstacles that prevented the military from capturing the dungeons.
***
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