Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni
Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #108
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Translator(s) note:
Hello, Nyx and Ririi here. Sorry for the
interruption. We were pointed out some major translation error that we will correct
going forward:
1. [Jushichiya]
name
After checking again, the name
is written as 十七夜月 (Jushichiya)
in kanji but at times also followed by かのう (Kanou) in kana. The kanji appear more
often and we translated it as it appeared before, but Anna’s last name and the
name of the group should be ‘KANOU’.
2. [Angolmore]
term
should be translated as
'Angolmois', not 'Angolmore'. The term 'Angolmois' itself may have connections
to the prophecies of Nostradamus.
The quatrain that is most
often associated with 'Angolmois' is:
"The year 1999, seventh
month,
From the sky will come a great
King of terror:
To bring back to life the
great King of Angolmois,
Before and after Mars to reign
by good luck." (Century X, Quatrain 72)
Nostradamus's prophecies
itself are often associated with catastrophic events, bringing with it a
feeling of impending doom and of a great terror.
Thus, in the future, we will change
the translation from ‘Angolmore’ to ‘Angolmois’.
3. [Coosie]
race
Coosie (Yuki’s race when she
first appeared) should be ‘Cù-sìth’ (Scotland) or ‘Cú sídhe’ (Ireland). We will
use ‘Cù-sìth’ if it appears again in the future.
4. [Ghouler]
race
‘Ghouler’ should have been ‘Ghoulah’
(the feminine form Ghoul in English).
Episode 108: Surprise Attack (1)
"Somehow, it feels like Halloween."
After
school.
As
Ichijo-san and I were walking through the streets of Hachioji, she mumbled when
she saw the city's scenery.
I
followed her gaze and saw an orange pumpkin head there.
I see... tomorrow, is Halloween.
That
meant it had been a year since I became an adventurer.
Suddenly,
the day I became an adventurer came back to my mind.
If I hadn't drawn Renge and the others then,
what would I have been doing now...?
I wonder if I would have spent the time with
the East-West duo, unaware that Angolmois is just around the corner.
......When
I imagined what it would be like to face Angolmois without any preparation, I
felt a cold chill run down my spine.
Once
again, I deeply believe it was the luckiest thing of my life to have drawn
Renge and the others.
My
life changed 180 degrees at that moment.
"I, kinda feel bad. I made you go along
with my selfishness."
As
I was lost in thought, Ichijo-san said, looking unusually apologetic.
I
shook my head and replied,
"No, don't worry about it. It's a
refreshing change of pace for me too."
Recently,
I have been spending my days off from the Adventurers' Club diving into a
D-rank dungeon with Ichijo-san.
It
was to celebrate her promotion to two stars, which she had asked me to do
before.
Initially,
we had talked about doing it only once, but I was curious to know how she was
doing, so I decided to go along with her until she had completed the entire
dungeon.
At
first, I thought it would be better to stay home and rest my body and mind for
a few days, but I felt this nervousness building up inside me, and I just
couldn't calm down.
It
was not a lie when I said that it would be a change of pace; When you're used
to the harsh environment of a C-rank dungeon, the overly easy difficulty of a
D-rank dungeon feels comfortable.
Then,
it seemed better for my mental health to dive into the dungeon without feeling
burdened.
"Hmm... but you are also busy with the school
dungeon, right? Will
you be alright?"
“Oh, it's fine. Things have calmed down a
lot."
After
two months of working on the strategy, the measures against Angolmois were
pretty much in place.
The
following was the result from the last period:
■Card
Drops
・25
D-rank cards in total (8 of which are popular cards): all kept by the
Adventurer's Club.
・7
C-rank cards in total
Persephone
(with Zero Existence skill): Queen of the Underworld in Greek mythology. She
has the highest level of subordinate summoning skill in C rank, which allows
her to summon an infinite number of Sirens of the same rank. ...However, she
lost her summoning skill due to her [Zero Existence] skill. Purchased by Oribe
for 240 million.
Lady
Vampire: Purchased by me for 45 million yen as insurance in case of Eliza's
Lost.
Dwarf
(2): A representative of fantasy, along with Elf. Excellent blacksmithing and
crafting skills. Kept by the Adventurers' Club.
Yuki-onna1: A representative of the
female yokai, known to all Japanese. She is unrivaled in snow and ice fields.
Sold for 40 million yen, considering the future decline in the price of girl
monster cards.
Magus:
Male version of witch. Sold for 20 million yen.
Centaur:
Half man, half horse. Sold for 15 million yen.
・1
B-rank card in total
Ares:
God of war in Greek mythology. Perhaps because he was disliked by the Greeks,
there are no good anecdotes about him, but his performance is worthy of a god
of war. Kept by the Adventurers' Club. Administered to Teacher.
■A
total of 547 items dropped
・Rare
drops (29)
Purple Gold Red Gourd2: Dropped by Jin Jiao3, last time's Boss. A gourd that
can suck in and trap opponents by name without question. The inside is filled
with a poisonous liquid that gradually dissolves the opponent. The time it
lasts depends on the opponent's combat power, and a D-rank monster can be
dissolved before it can come out on its own.
Cold
iron (10 kg x 2): A metal with the power to ward off evil. When mixed into
walls, it has the effect of blocking spirit monsters from passing through. It
is traded at the same price as gold. Already sold for 70 million yen per 10kg.
Meng Po Soup4: A medicinal hot water that
causes the drinker to completely lose their memory. Possession of this item is
prohibited. The purchase price is 10 million yen.
Bundle of Blank Cards5 (3): Sold for 30
million yen.
Living
Blood of Dragon (2): Giving it to a card temporarily gives it a body as hard as
steel and resistance to high heat. Kept by the Adventurers' Club.
Concentration
Headband: A headband that can be wrapped around the head before a task,
allowing the wearer to focus on one thing at a time. It lasts for one hour and
requires a sufficient interval to be reused. Ideal for studying for exams. Kept
by the Adventurers' Club.
Card
Holder (2): Kept by the Adventurers' Club.
Magic
stone bag (3): Kept by the Adventurers' Club.
Distress
Magic card (8): Kept by the Adventurers' Club. Three of the cards have been
used in the strategy.
Transfer
Magic Card (3): Kept by the Adventurers' Club.
Level
Up Magic Card (2): Kept by the Adventurers' Club.
・Normal
drops (518): All kept by the Adventurers' Club.
Adderstone
(11): A stone with a hole in the middle. It has the power to see through
illusions and hidden presences, and by looking through the hole, one can see
invisibility and cross-space skills. Disposable.
Potions
(333)
Various
magic cards of intermediate class or lower (174)
■Carbuncle
Drops
・Garnets
(104 in total). 6 remaining uncollected (6 for C-rank floors with skill seals)
・Gold
disappointment box
Bansho
Fan: A wind-generating fan that appears in the Journey to the West. Fanning it
once summons wind, fanning it twice summons clouds, and fanning it three times
summons rain. Purchased by Teacher for 40 million yen.
Rejuvenating
Water: Water that rejuvenates. Each one rejuvenates you by one year. Amrita
with no healing effect. Sold for 80 million yen.
Ring
of Gyges: A ring that allows one to disappear at will. Since it can be used
outside the dungeon, it is a prohibited magic item. The purchase price is 50
million yen.
Arthur's
Cloak: Alternatively known as King Arthur's Mantle. Also known as the Cloak of
Invisibility. A magic item that makes the wearer unseen. A magic item of the
prohibited category. The purchase price is 50 million yen.
Love
Potion: This potion amplifies the favorability of the
person who consumes it. It has limited effect on those who initially dislike
you, and repeated use quickly builds resistance, making it, in essence, a
cursed item that ensures an eventual breakup. Even so, it is a prohibited item
because it can be abused in any number of ways. The purchase price is 10
million yen.
Lottery
cards (2): This time, I bought them all behind the scenes instead of splitting
them among everyone.
※The
following were kept by the Adventurers' Club:
Ariadne's Thread6: A magic item that can be
used in the safe zone to transfer/teleport to the dungeon entrance. Since the
destination is limited to the entrance, it is cheap as an all-you-can-use
transfer-type magic item, but it still sells for more than 100 million yen.
Notebook
of Guideposts: When you write down your goals, the steps to achieve them are
provided in the form of a schedule. Most goals can be achieved by following the
instructions, but since it demands the very limits of one's ability, a strong
will is necessary to carry out the plan.
Name
Monocle: A monocle that displays the name of the person you are talking to
above their head. It is useful when you forget the other person's name, but
wearing it may conversely make them think, “Oh, this guy doesn't remember
people's names......"
Scroll
of Doppelganger: If you use this, it will create a copy of yourself for 24
hours. You can have it perform tasks on your behalf, and its experiences and
memories will be integrated into your own after it disappears. However, it
cannot talk, so it is not suitable for work that involves meeting people.
One-time use only, set of three rolls.
Complete
Digestion Pills: These pills significantly increase the body's digestive
efficiency, enabling the complete absorption of nutrients from ingested food. Harmful
substances are broken down and eliminated. Popular among soldiers and
adventurers, they eliminate the need for bathroom breaks. However, overuse can
lead to easy weight gain.
Fat
Conversion Drug: A drug that converts fat in the body into muscle. Since the
fat is converted from parts of the body that are not necessary for life, women
may end up with smaller breasts.......
Substitute
Sleep Dwarf: A dwarf who sleeps for you. They relieve drowsiness and clear your
head, but do not restore physical fatigue, so beware of overwork due to
overuse.
Ignition
Glove: Fingerless glove that can produce a small fire at the fingertips by
snapping your fingers. It is just that, a cool item. Popular with boys in the
eighth grade or so.
Emergency
Evacuation Magic Card
Transfer
Magic Card (4)
Middle
potion (29)
High
potion (6)
Disappointment
(49)
The
earnings from monster drops and sales from the hits from the disappointment
boxes alone amounted to over 400 million. Plus 200 million yen worth of
Carbuncle Garnets and another 200 million yen for Vouivre Diamonds, making the
total a whopping 800 million yen.
Of
this amount, the Garnets and the dropped cards that were sold (or bought) will
be divided among the members, and with the profits from the sale of the
remaining dropped items, the school will have the minimum amount of supplies
needed to become a base.
The
rest depends on how many supplies we can gather before the time limit once we
somehow acquire an otherworld cross-space card... but in truth, Anna and I have
secretly secured a cross-space card.
The
name of that card was Hesperides7.
This
card can conjure up the garden of the Hesperides, ---- an orchard in Greek
mythology that was said to contain golden apples that would make the person who
ate them immortal.
Hesperides
referred to not an individual name, but the plural form of the three nymphs
born to Nyx, the goddess of the night.
Therefore,
Hesperides was an unusual kind of card in that multiple bodies can appear from
a single card.
Another
well-known card with multiple bodies was Kama itachi8,
the Japanese yokai.
Kama
itachi involved the appearance of three weasels, each with a different role... one to trip the opponent, one to slash them, and another
to apply a medicine to the wound9.
Since
there were three of them on one card, you might think they are three times
stronger than normal, but in fact, on the contrary, each one was very weak
because their fighting power was divided amongst one another. Is it easier to
understand if I say it's the opposite of the Trinity Deity?
The
only advantage of this card was that it would not be Lost unless all three of
them were dead.
For
this reason, cards with multiple bodies were often called rank frauds, ......
but there was no problem with the Hesperides.
That
was because they were cross-space cards. The bodies were more of a bonus, and
their true value lay in their skills.
The
Garden of the Hesperides was an orchard owned by Hera, the wife of Zeus, where
there existed a single tree that bore golden apples that made those who ate
them immortal. The Hesperides were merely the nymphs who tended the golden
apple tree.
The
golden apple tree had an additional protector, Ladon10,
who was famous for having a hundred heads.
Ladon,
possessing combat power equivalent to a B-rank, was stationed at all times to
safeguard the golden apple tree.
Even
if it is defeated, it will revive in a day, and even if Ladon is eliminated,
the Garden of the Hesperides will not be Lost. The golden apple tree is the
main body of the Hesperides.
The
golden apple had the effect of attracting intruders, including monsters and
even cards with masters.
The
Hesperides hide somewhere while Ladon deals with the intruders attracted by the
golden apples.
The
Garden of the Hesperides can also be expected to be a food source since it was
abundant with fruit trees that bore a variety of fruits besides the golden
apple tree.
In
other words, the Garden of the Hesperides was the card we wanted for both
defense and food supply.
By
the way, as for the golden apple, it unfortunately was not as effective as the
anecdotes suggest. At best, it only suppresses aging for about ten years.
However,
this was true for the Golden Apple dropped as a magic item, while the golden
apple taken from the Garden of the Hesperides does not have anti-aging effects.
The
same can be said for Rain of Amrita of Kisshouten, items and skills with the
same name, such as those promising rejuvenation or immortality, usually don't
actually grant those effects.
I say 'usually' because I know there are
exceptions like Renge, but normally that's not the case.
The
golden apple of the Garden of the Hesperides also had the effect of granting
the [Knowledge of Survival11] skill to those
who eat it once for 24 hours.
However,
the beauty of this apple was that it was an item created by the card, not a
skill.
Items
created by cards that produce food and other items do not disappear when the
card is returned or when the card leaves the dungeon.
In
other words, the (fake) golden apples produced by the Garden of the Hesperides
can be stocked as items that grant the [Knowledge of Survival] skill.
The
drawback was that they only bear fruit at the rate of one per week, and after
being harvested they rot like ordinary apples, ...there were plenty of magic items
that keep anything put in them from rotting.
As
a result, the (fake) golden apple was actually out there in the marketplace as
an item that can grant the [Knowledge of Survival] skill.
The
price was one million yen each. It may seem a bit expensive, but considering
that the basic buyers were the professional class and that only about 50 apples
could be harvested per year from a single Garden of the Hesperides, it was a
reasonable price.
Combined
with the rising price of cross-space type cards and the reasonable sale price
of the (fake) golden apples, the Hesperides card itself was also very
expensive, at 3 billion yen.
How
did we manage to get that much money? Of course, we had to pay for it with the
new B-rank cards that we got from the new Lottery cards.
This
past month, I obtained two more new B-rank cards from the Lottery.
The
first was Hydra, which I got two weeks after Ares was dropped.
It
was a representative of dragons, famous for being the immortal monster that
fought Hercules. As the anecdote goes, it was a powerful card with everlasting
life force and a poison that penetrated all kinds of resistance. The sale price
was 2 billion yen.
The
second card was Sleipnir, which I pulled after defeating Kinkaku and Ginkaku12 the other day.
Sleipnir was the steed of Odin, the
chief god of Norse mythology, and a true divine beast with the blood of the
evil god Loki in its veins.
Its
eight legs allowed it to freely traverse the air, and there was an anecdote of
it traveling to and from Helheim, the underworld. It boasted being the best
cavalry beast in the world, and it was an excellent card with the ability to
move through different spaces. However, despite these qualities, it was still a
low-rank B card, and its selling price was 600 million yen.
The
total of 2.6 billion was a little short for buying Hesperides, but the
remaining amount came from the sale of Dionysus, which was given to Anna as
payment for the Garnet and the Diamond.
The
sale price of Dionysus was originally still more than enough to cover keeping
half a year's worth of Garnet and Diamond money, and of course, I have a share
of the payment for the Garnet and the cards that the club members bought.
So,
with a certain amount of food and other supplies in stock and the cross-space
card secured, I felt like I was at least ready even if Angolmois arrived at
this very moment, and... I felt a sense of relief like I could finally relax.
Thus,
accompanying Ichijo-san on the Adventurers’ Club's days off wasn't a big
strain.
"Fine then... I'll pay you back
someday."
“You don't have to worry about it. It's not like
it's free or anything... Rather, I get too much."
Even
though we are going to dive together, I would basically just watch from behind.
She
said she wanted to experience the D-ranked dungeon safely, so we agreed that I
would only intervene if Ichijo-san looked like she was in danger.
Therefore,
the drops and such basically belonged to Ichijo-san. If I helped her even a
little, I got to keep them.
As
for the reward for clearing the dungeon, Ichijo-san said I would receive it as
a coaching fee, but since she was making good progress without relying on me, I
felt a little bad about it.
"I think it's too cheap for me. The reason
I can conquer the D-rank dungeon while attending school like this is thanks to
Kitagawa's flute."
"And...,"
Ichijo-san looked into my face.
“The thing that Kitagawa taught me is also
...... not really something that I can learn by just paying money, right?”
"Well, yeah..."
I
had been giving her some light guidance on Link while we explored this dungeon.
One
reason was that I felt bad that I was getting a reward for simply following
her, but the main reason was that I noticed that she was beginning to awaken to
the power of telepathy.
Ichijo-san......
sometimes she could feel the emotion of the card, and sometimes the card would
do what she wanted without her saying anything, so that was definitely a sign
of her developing telepathy.
Regarding
the Link, I had verbally taught Ono about the concept and how to learn it, but
he had yet to acquire it.
Ono
became an adventurer at about the same time as I did, but that does not mean he
does not have a talent for Linking. This was a normal adventurer.
Despite
this, Ichijo-san almost mastered telepathy on her own in a short period of less
than three months.
I
also mastered telepathy in a little over two months, but this was largely due
to my experience of overcoming the critical situation of the encounter with the
Pied Piper of Hamelin and my knowledge of the existence of the Link during the
tournament.
The
fact that she was able to awaken the Link on her own, without having gone
through a life-threatening crisis, and having simply been diving into the
dungeon, showed a formidable talent.
It
is possible that Ichijo-san could have mastered telepathy in a short time
without any specific guidance from me.
If
that is the case, it would be in my best interest to teach her and earn her
appreciation.
“Kitagawa, aren't you going to be a pro? You're already in the
pro class in terms of ability, right?”
"Hmm..."
It
was true that I had been working hard to become a professional.
However,
it was also true that now, there was little point in aiming to become a
professional.
The
benefits of being a professional were mainly taxation and the ability to enter
the dungeon above the C-rank, but those advantages will disappear after Angolmois.
If
civilization collapses, it will no longer be possible to collect taxes. As for
the door in front of the gate, it will be smashed from the inside, allowing
free entry.
On
the other hand, various obligations will increase for the four stars.
The
benefits will disappear and only the obligations will remain......
Well,
one could simply ignore those obligations, but the point was that the four-star
or adventurer rank system itself will likely be rendered meaningless.
Ah, but if I become a four-star, will I be able
to refuse to donate cards or magic items even if I go to a Guild shelter?
Because,
if they took the cards and magic items away from the pros, who else would get
to use them?
They'd just pass around the cards from the
evacuees.
And the rest is simply name value.
The four-star title will give people a great
sense of security, and just brandishing the title of a four-star adventurer
will most likely make people follow in obedience.
......Well, but there's no merit in that, is
there?
The donations would be irrelevant as long as I
don't go to the Guild shelter, and my name value is already comparable to that
of a professional.
After
thinking that far, I answered,
“Maybe someday, but I don't think I need to
force it while I'm still a student.”
“Hummm...... well, you already have a C-rank
dungeon under your belt.”
"That's right. Anyway, today is finally
the boss battle, are you ready?"
I
asked her as we got closer to the dungeon.
The
original plan was for me to be in charge of the Boss, but after seeing how
Ichijo-san had been fighting so far, I decided to let her try it out on her own
first.
Her
current deck consisted of three D-rank cards I had lent her and four D-rank
cards she had obtained through this attack.
Although
she had already met the requirement of six D-rank cards, which was said to be
the barrier to three stars, she had no C-rank cards. Furthermore, relying
solely on dropped cards, besides those I had provided, meant that no card
synergy could be expected.
While
it’s undeniable that she's a bit underpowered for the main challenge, I decided
to let her try it alone first, since I can help her out if she gets into
trouble, and it'll be a good learning experience.
"Well, I'll do my best."
...I wonder if it'll be okay.
Well, I can step in to help if the need arises,
surely there's no problem.
In fact, failure is also a valuable experience
...... it's part of the gift of celebrating your promotion.
With
such thoughts in mind, we entered the dungeon.
***
Notes:
2 紫金紅葫蘆 (Zǐjīn hóng húlu), literally translated as ‘Purple Gold Red Gourd,’ is a legendary artifact in Chinese mythology, most notably featured in the classic novel Journey to the West. It is one of the most powerful treasures possessed by the Taoist deity, the Jade Emperor. ↩
3 In Journey to the West, the gourd was stolen by two demon brothers (Jin Jiao and his brother Yin Jiao), who used it to capture the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. However, Sun Wukong eventually managed to retrieve the gourd and return it to its rightful owner. ↩
4 'Five-Flavoured Tea of Forgetfulness' concocted by Meng Po (the goddess of oblivion Chinese mythology). She serves Meng Po Soup on the Bridge of Forgetfulness. This soup wipes the memory of the person so they can reincarnate into the next life without the burdens of the previous life.↩
5 A carding magic item. It contains ten cards and can store the target into cards. A magic item of the prohibited kind. ↩
6 From a Greek story. Ariadne (King Minos of Crete's daughter), fell in love with Theseus (a Greek hero who came to Crete to slay the Minotaur who lived in a labyrinth). Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of yarn which he unfurled as he entered the labyrinth. After slaying the Minotaur, Theseus followed the thread back to the entrance of the labyrinth, rejoined Ariadne, and successfully escaped Crete. ↩
7 In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets. The name originates from 'Hesperos' (evening). They tend Hera(the goddess of marriage, women, and family)'s orchard where either a single apple tree or a grove grows, producing golden apples. ↩
8 Kama itachi = sickle weasel. These itachi (weasels) that develop into yōkai when they reach a certain age have learned to ride the swirling whirlwinds of the cold region. Mountainous regions of Yamanashi, Nagano, and Niigata are known for as their habitat. They are said to have claws as strong as steel and as sharp as razors. Their fur is spiny like a hedgehog, and they bark like a dog. They move so quickly that they are invisible to the naked eye. They come and go with the wind. ↩
9 It is said that the Kama itachi strikes with such precision that chunks of flesh can be carved out from their victim without spilling even a single drop of blood. The attack and the healing happen so fast that the victim cannot perceive them (as if they merely trips and then gets up with only a bit of pain and a few scratches here and there). ↩
10 Not trusting the Hesperides, Hera also placed an immortal, never-sleeping, hundred-headed dragon named Ladon in the garden.↩
11 Description: Allows you to escape Lost with a small amount of life force left after sustaining near-death damage. Mea possess this skill (acquired one) ↩
12 Kinkaku literally means 'golden horn' while Ginkaku means 'silver horn'. In Journey to the West, Kinkaku and Ginkaku are two demon king brothers, known as the Great King Kinkaku (Kinkaku-daiō) and the Great King Ginkaku (Ginkaku-daiō). There are also temples of Kinkaku and Ginkaku in Kyōto, Japan. ↩
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