Mob Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni
Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #133
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 133: Groping for a Way Forward
After being unable to return
to the Hachioji Guild with thirty refugees in tow, the first problem on my mind
was, ‘How do I protect Ai and the refugees while I deal with the
Gatekeeper?’
I had no idea how strong the
Gatekeeper or what the domain beyond the stairs would be like until I actually
went down there. Plus, I suspected the Gatekeeper had awakened a True Skill as
well, making it far too risky to bring Ai and the others along.
On the other hand, leaving
them on the surface and descending the stairs by myself would also be
worrisome. Why? Because the surface might have A-rank monsters or even
Irregular Encounters roaming around.
If that's the case, it seems safer to stay
right next to me, who can protect them with Athena's Aegis.
"No, wait a second?"
Is it really impossible to know the strength of
the Gatekeeper or the level of threats on the surface until we descended the
stairs?
The Maenad said that "the strongest being
is chosen as the Gatekeeper the moment the space is isolated."
If it’s like that, then the Gatekeeper would
likely be the boss of the highest-ranked dungeon in that region. Their strength
could probably be estimated based on the dungeons in the area.
Even if higher-ranked monsters from another
area had slipped in, their numbers on the surface would be limited, and once
defeated, they wouldn't respawn.
As for Irregular Encounters, if any are
present, they'll probably be chosen as the Gatekeeper, making their presence on
the surface less likely.
So, maybe leaving them on the surface would
actually be safer than taking them with me?
"...No, jumping to conclusions is
dangerous. There's no guarantee that Irregular Encounters will be chosen as
Gatekeepers."
They are the kind of monsters that can take
over dungeon bosses and move around. It wouldn't be strange for them to be able
to move unimpeded by spatial isolation. When it comes to them, I should always
consider them an exception.
...But the idea of estimating the Gatekeeper's
strength to some extent based on the dungeon ranks in the area seems like a
good one.
If I scout the surface and find only monsters
of a corresponding rank as the dungeon bosses, then the possibility of
higher-ranked monsters having entered from other areas becomes low. And by
defeating the monsters, the surface would temporarily become much safer.
If I don't find any Irregular Encounters during
that time, the risk of leaving Ai and the others behind would also be
relatively low...
If Irregular Encounters can be chosen as
Gatekeepers, bringing Ai and the others along might actually get them caught in
the crossfire. It might be safer for me to defeat the major threats on the
surface alone before heading down the stairs alone, right...?
I'll deal with the threats on the surface
first, then have Ai and the others wait here while I head to the next area.
That would be the least risky option.
"Ahh, that was a good bath. Thank you.
This place is better than our hotel. As expected from a card belonging to a
top-notch adventurer."
Just as I settled on a general
plan, Victor-san and the others came out of the bath.
"I'm glad to hear that. By the way, about
the acceptance into the ――"
When I told him about the
Hachioji Guild's refusal to take them in, Victor-san, dressed in a yukata,
slumped his shoulders.
"...I see, so it wasn't possible after all."
"And so, I'm thinking of protecting you
all until you can find another shelter――"
"Really?!"
Victor-san leaned forward,
cutting me off even before I could finish my sentence.
Calming him with both hands, I
continued,
"Yes. However, I'm also aiming to reunite
with my family and comrades, so this would only be if you're fine with
following me as I move."
If I don't protect them, these
people would have no future, so even though it seemed like I was giving them
options, in reality, they had had no other choice. But this was something I
couldn't budge on either.
"You saved our lives and now you're going
to take care of us, so we're in no position to complain. If anyone does, I'll
take responsibility and persuade them, so please leave it to me,"
Victor-san said, thumping his
thick chest.
"Thank you very much. I'll be counting on
you."
Feeling reassured by
Victor-san's promise, I then asked him a question,
"By the way, how many people here can
fight?"
"Ummm ......"
Victor-san folded his arms, a difficult
expression on his face.
"I'm probably the only one who can fight,
barely. Everyone else's cards are mostly Lost because of what happened. Even I
just have a card; I'm not an adventurer."
Hmm, as expected, there aren't any combat-ready
people. But it's a bit frightening that they don't even have cards for basic
self-defense.
Maybe I should hand out some D-rank cards as
good luck charms...
With that thought, I treated
Victor-san and the others to dinner, and soon, we all went to sleep for the
night.
The next morning, I
immediately began preparations for entering the stairs.
First, I used the dungeon
information in my Card Gear and Clairvoyance magic to investigate how many
dungeons were in this area.
Any dungeons not listed in the
Card Gear would either be secret dungeons or new ones formed in this Angolmois.
For the former, I had the secret dungeon map from the Hachioji Guild. For the
latter, I could figure out their approximate rank by checking for field effects
once I actually visited them.
So, from my room in Mayoiga, I
used the Clairvoyance magic ―――― and I frowned.
"Eight stairs...? And the area is quite
wide."
Compared to the area around
Hachioji, which had only one set of stairs for going up and down, this area had
a total of four sets of stairs, and the scope was several times larger than
Hachioji.
What does this mean? Why
is there such a difference between Hachioji and here? Is
it a difference in population? But
Hachioji's population was higher...
Just as I was thinking about
this, something suddenly clicked in my mind.
"Maybe since the population was small, it
merged with the neighboring area?"
Assuming that spatial isolation was established
at a certain population threshold, perhaps areas that did not meet the
threshold merged with an adjacent area, and this process continued until the
criteria was met?
As a result, this area, with its remarkably low
population density, ended up merging with several other areas...
This hypothesis felt right.
"If so, then Japan would be divided into
urban and rural areas..."
To be more precise, it would
be divided into large-scale shelters like the Guilds and groups of small to
medium-sized shelters.
Unlike urban areas, which had many
large stations (≈ Guild shelters) and large shelters, rural areas primarily
rely on small and medium-sized shelters.
This was because in rural
areas, where the population density was lower than in cities, it was more
efficient to build many small shelters rather than a few large ones.
During Angolmois, public
transportation stopped, and traveling by car etc. was not recommended. Having
only a few large shelters meant there was a risk that people wouldn't be able
to evacuate in time before the monsters overflowed.
Therefore, the policy in rural
areas was to create many small shelters where people could quickly evacuate.
Building home shelters was
even encouraged, with subsidies provided.
This would have been an
effective measure—if Angolmois had started from Phase 1 as before.
But with it starting directly
from Phase 3, everything was turned upside down.
"If only the government had informed us
about the possibility of the phases carrying over..."
I muttered, then I shook my
head,
"No, it probably wouldn't have changed
anything in the end."
Let's say the government had
informed people about the possibility of Phase 3. Naturally, people would have
rushed to the city to get into the Guild shelters.
However, with limited space,
the shelters couldn't accept everyone.
As a result, a huge number of
people would have been left without shelter. Even if Angolmois ended up
starting from Phase 1, many people would have been killed by monsters, causing
the phase to advance.
It was better to bet on a
Phase 1 start and have people dispersed in rural areas. That offered a better
chance of survival for the people.
So, the government's decision
to conceal the possibility of a Phase 3 start from the public was a reasonably
logical one.
"However, with things like this, the Star
Mother Association is becoming crucial..."
The Star Mother Association's
shelters were mainly built in rural areas rather than cities.
From a positive perspective,
it was to help people in rural areas that the government and Guild couldn't
cover.
From a negative perspective,
it was likely a strategy to avoid cities, where their biggest rival—Guild
shelters—were located, and exploit the anxieties of the people in rural areas.
What was certain was that, as
things stood, the Star Mother Association's shelters were the ones to rely on
in the countryside.
I didn't know how
low-contribution members were treated within the cult's shelter, but I could
only hope that they were treated decently.
――――Several hours later.
『Domains and Gatekeepers… A
gate that leads to who knows where. And monsters whose shackles are off, so
they don't turn into cards even when defeated, huh...』
I was outside of Mayoiga,
reporting my findings so far to Anna via Card Gear.
We decided to use the time
before Eliza and the others returned from scouting the surface to update on each
other.
I was intentionally having
this conversation outside because if I, the master, were inside while the cards
were fighting, Athena's pseudo-safe zone would be dispelled. (Even if cards
remain in the safe zone, it won't disappear unless they attack monsters outside
or provide healing or other support to allies.)
I decided to form a scouting
team of seven: the Trinity of Moon Goddesses (Eliza and others), the Celtic
Trinity Deities (Dress and others), and Myra for mobility. The rest would serve
as my personal guards, waiting outside Mayoiga.
I considered having Athena
stay with Ai while the rest of the party scouted, but concerns were raised
about the lack of Athena's Aegis in an emergency, so we went with this setup.
I felt like they were worrying
a little too much, especially since we also had [Deity's
Favor1] and the [Immortal Shield2].
However, they pointed out the precedent of Absolute Attack and argued that if
anything happened to me, Ai would also be in danger. I couldn't argue with
that.
It seemed that ever since I
was cut in half by the Pied Piper of Hamelin, some of my cards had become
overly protective.
Eliza and Suzuka were
particularly noticeable. While not inside the Tamatebako, they even tried to
follow me into the bath yesterday, which flustered me.
I was dumbfounded, wondering they
could be worried about when we were inside a pseudo-safe zone, but it seemed
they were wary of Victor-san and the other humans.
When I asked if they sensed
any malicious intent or hostility, they said no, so I could only conclude that
they were just being overprotective.
『It's troublesome enough with
the space isolation, but we also don't know where the gates lead...』
"Yeah, I genuinely froze when I first
thought it might have taken us to another country."
『Me too...』
With the land cut off in
chunks of several to over tens of kilometers, f the destination was random
places all over the world, reuniting with Anna, Mom, and the others would be
hopeless. We had to be prepared to say goodbye for the rest of our lives.
『But it's fortunate that we can
negotiate with the Gatekeepers and that the first Gatekeeper you met is Hermes,
the god of commerce.』
I nodded in agreement.
It was not enough for human
beings to have a place to sleep and food to eat. There were plenty of other
things that were necessary for a healthy and civilized life, such as toothbrushes,
soap, and sanitary products.
All I had was an overnight kit
for dungeon exploration in the backpack which Anna brought me.
Now that I was responsible not
just for myself but for Victor-san and thirty other people, the connection with
Hermes had become even more crucial.
When we first met, I acted
tough, thinking it was dangerous to show weakness, but next time, I might need
to be a bit more humble.
"By the way, how are things on your end?"
『Thanks to the Hesperides you
left with your mother, we're managing somehow, Senpai.』
Fortunately, there were no
A-rank or B-rank dungeons around the high school and Tachikawa Station, just
one C-rank dungeon (not the one of the school) and a few D-rank ones.
It seemed a good number of
B-rank monsters from other areas had entered, but none of them appeared to have
Cross-Space Movement skill, and only a few C- and D-rank monsters sporadically
intruded into the Hesperides, which were automatically taken care of by Ladon3.
『Currently, we're planning to
use the next Day of Rest to get rid of the B-rank monsters outside.』
Even if no B-rank monsters
possessed the skills to move between spaces, if even one C-rank or lower
monster was a Cross-Space Movement skill holder, it could become a gateway,
allowing the B-rank monsters to enter Hesperides.
The absence of B-rank
intrusions until now was merely luck, and I agreed with Anna's opinion that
they should be eliminated before a mass B-rank invasion occurred.
"How are the refugees and students
doing?"
『They're fine here. Senpai, please
just focus on reuniting with us safely.』
I tried to inquire about the
school's situation, but was forcefully brushed off somewhat.
I had a feeling that there was
some trouble, but she apparently had no intention of telling me
...Well, it's not like I could do anything
about it anyway.
"Master, mission complete."
Just as my communication with
Anna ended, the Hamelin Flute's gate opened, and Eliza and the others returned.
"Good work. How was it?"
"The only B-rank monster on the surface
was the Chiron from the other day. No A-rank or Irregular Encounters were
found, and Chiron has already been subjugated."
I let out a sigh of relief at
her report.
At least the worst-case
scenario — A-rank monsters or Irregular Encounters roaming the surface — was
avoided.
The fact that there was only
one B-rank monster was also good news.
The dungeons that originally
existed in this area were one C-rank and a few D-rank ones (E-rank and below
don't count).
The absence of any B-rank
monsters other than Chiron strongly suggested that no new C-rank or higher
dungeon had appeared in this Angolmois.
Furthermore, when an A-rank monster becomes a
Gatekeeper, multiple B-rank monsters from the same dungeon would be found in
the area, so it's highly likely that the Gatekeeper is only B-rank.
Then, I suddenly remembered something
and asked Eliza,
"...Oh right, did Chiron drop a
Disappointment Box?"
"No, there was no Disappointment Box."
"Humm..."
If Chiron didn't drop a Disappointment Box, did
that mean he wasn't a dungeon boss? Was he a stray from another area?
No, that wouldn't explain why there are no
other B-rank monsters in this area.
...Oh, wait, or maybe, the dungeon boss is
isolated in other area?
That would explain why no other B-rank monsters
appeared even if Chiron was a stray.
But the more likely possibility is that「The Disappointment Box will only appear at the
dungeon's lowest floor when the boss is defeated, even if the boss is outside
the domain」
We defeated the Urashima Taro, who should have
taken over some boss and left his dungeon, but he didn't drop a Disappointment
Box, either. I should consider that as an established rule.
A Disappointment Box disappears in about an
hour if you don't open it, so even if we defeat the boss monster and then head
for the lowest floor, we'll never make it in time.
Was it even worth the effort?
That was also a question.
Looks like I won't get my hands on any boss’s Disappointment
Box for a while.
Thinking like that, I then
checked the loot Eliza presented to me.
"Five C-rank cards and seventy D-rank
cards, huh? How many battles did you fight?"
"For C-ranks, it was about 40. D-ranks and
below were countless. We couldn't pick up all of the D-rank cards, so we only
brought back popular ones like those with equipping skills."
Hmm... fought 40 C-ranks and got 5 drops...
roughly a 10% drop rate, then.
It seems the rumor about card drop rate
increasing during Angolmois is true.
According to data released by
the Self-Defense Forces in the past, the card drop rate apparently increases as
the phase progresses.
The multiplier was supposedly
around 2x in Phase 1, 5x in Phase 2, and an astonishing 10x in Phase 3.
My drop rate is already constantly at 10x due
to Renge's blessing, so in Phase 3, the drop rate for C-rank is 10%, and D-rank
and below is a guaranteed drop.
But.......
"A 10% drop rate for C-ranks... does this
mean we’re still in Phase 3?"
No, considering the current situation, that
should be impossible.
In fact, it will be more frightening if this isn't
Phase 4.
It's more likely that the C-rank drop rate
didn't increase even in Phase 4.
B-rank drop rate was also said to stop at
double, so there's a high possibility that there's a drop rate cap depending on
the rank.
"The C-rank cards are..."
An Ippon-Datara
(Japanese dwarf)4, a Cironnup-Kamuy (Ainu fox
deity)5, and three Centaurs...
I wonder if these Centaurs belonged to the herd
that Chiron led?
The fact that they became
cards meant that he wasn’t leading subordinates but individual monsters.
I'll keep all the C-ranks, picking out the promising
D-ranks for myself, and distribute the rest to Victor-san and the others.
As for the dropped items... Chiron dropped a
necklace.
I immediately used my Card
Gear to investigate the details of Chiron's drop item.
Chiron's Arrowhead: Not a
weapon, but an arrowhead crafted into a necklace. Perhaps named after Chiron,
the centaur who mentored numerous heroes in Greek mythology, it bestows a
[Teaching] skill upon a card and increases skill acquisition rate. It also has some effect when worn by a human, improving
their memory.
"[Teaching] skill and increasing skill
acquisition rate, huh? This is a big help."
I decided to wear it myself
for now and then have one of my cards hold it when we're in the Tamatebako.
The other drops... doesn't look like much, so
I'll check them later.
After quickly sorting the
D-rank cards, I entered Mayoiga and had Audrey call Victor-san.
"You called for me?"
"Yes. As I told you yesterday, I'm
planning to head beyond the stairs soon."
"Yeah, no problem on our end. There are a
few people who are anxious, but I've already persuaded them."
"Thank you. And as we don't know what
might happen, please distribute these to everyone."
I handed him the stack of
D-rank cards, and Victor-san's eyes widened in shock.
"Eh?! W-wait, this is definitely too
much!"
"I'm not giving them away, just lending
them out. Frankly, it's a bit frightening for me too if you don't have card’s
barrier."
"Hmm, even so, D-rank cards are... E-rank
and below would be enough for us."
"In this situation, anything less than a
D-rank won't serve as a proper good luck charm. Besides, right now, the effort
to collect E-rank cards isn't much different from collecting the D-rank ones."
I told him that the card drop
rate increases during Angolmois, that it rises as the phase progresses, and
that it's currently at 10x normal.
"So, to be honest, we can't even pick up
all the cards after defeating them, and the effort of collecting them is
comparable to the E-ranks."
"I see... So, to you, even D-ranks aren't
particularly valuable,"
Victor-san nodded his head in
admiration and accepted the card apologetically.
"In that case, I'll gratefully accept
them. But wouldn't it be better if you handed them out yourself rather than me?"
He was right. It would
certainly be a good way for me to gain favor with the refugees, but...
"I'm sorry, I have a lot on my plate, so
I'd like to ask you to be the coordinator for this, Victor-san."
To be frank, it was simply too
much of a hassle for me.
If I were to hand them out,
people might become dissatisfied with the disparity in the cards, or they might
become overly dependent on me and worship me, which would be just as
troublesome.
My goal is to reunite with Mom and the others
as soon as possible, not to become a king.
As long as they didn't
interfere with my plans, that was enough.
It would be much easier to
have Victor-san as the one in charge and let him handle the details.
However, to prevent people
from doing anything too reckless, I made sure to add a warning,
"Just to be clear, these are not for
revenge or fighting. Please ensure everyone understands that they are for
self-defense only."
"I've got it. I will make sure they abide
by it."
Victor-san replied, nodding
vigorously.
I bowed my head, saying,
"Thank you," and finally decided to head towards the stairs.
I teleported Audrey's Mayoiga
to the nearest stairs, then had the refugees move into Ai's Mayoiga.
This was a precaution in case
the Gatekeeper happened to be an Irregular Encounter; I don't want everyone to
be dragged into their domain along with Audrey's Mayoiga.
Once I confirmed Ai's Mayoiga
had hidden in an alternate space, we proceeded with just my cards and me for
reconnaissance.
This time, I chose the
ascending stairs instead of the descending ones.
In Hermes's case, there was a
door behind his throne that led to the stairs toward Hokkaido.
I was curious: would we appear
behind the Gatekeeper if we took the ascending stairs?
But the result was...
"It won't open, huh?"
The door at the top of the
stairs wouldn't budge from this side, no matter what I tried.
I even had Renge and the
others attack it to see if it could be destroyed, but not even a scratch
appeared on it.
It seemed to be an
indestructible object.
Just in case, I tried
ascending the stairs which connected to Hachioji, but that door wouldn't open
either.
"Does this mean Hermes gives me the cold
shoulder?"
Hermes had offered me two
options: a one-time pass or a free pass.
I chose the one-time pass,
assuming that I could just teleport anyway. But thinking back, Hermes's
attitude towards the trade of pre-Angolmois items was notably perfunctory.
At the time, I brushed it off
as typical arrogance for a deity, but perhaps it was because he didn't expect
me to become a regular customer.
Well, I do have teleportation, so I can go
anytime... wait!
"Crap! I can teleport there,
right?!"
I'd been doing things on the
assumption that I could teleport back, but I realized I'd never actually tested
it.
If I can't teleport, it will be very bad!
Panicked, I quickly ordered
Eliza to use the Hamelin's Flute――
"... Thank goodness. It actually worked."
I let out a sigh of relief
when the teleportation was successful.
"Oh?! It's Big Bro!"
Spotting me, the Maenad
immediately came running over.
"How in the world did you get here?! That door is one-way!"
"Hey, if you knew that, you could have
told me,"
I said with a deadpan
expression. The Maenad gave a half-smile, looking a little embarrassed.
"Ahaha, yah~, that was just a test from
Hermes-sama, you know... Anyway! The fact that you found a way to come back
means you passed, right? Wanna buy anything?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Since we're here, I figured
I'd buy some clothes and daily necessities for Victor-san and the others. While
they had retrieved supplies from the hotel, many were damaged in the monster
attack.
It would be a good idea to
stock up on everything here.
When I told the Maenad what I
wanted, she hummed and nodded
"Hmm-hmm, I should have all this in my
current stock without needing to place an order with Hermes-sama. The price for
all of it would be 20 B-rank Magic Stones. How about it?"
...That's quite expensive.
But then again, they're things that can't be
easily obtained now, so it can't be helped.
Besides, for me, it’s practically free.
As before, I paid with the
energy of the Irregular Encounter Magic Stone and turned the items into cards,
storing them away.
"Thanks for your business! If there's
anything we don't have in stock, we have to place an order with Hermes-sama, so
tell me in advance the next time you want to buy a bunch of stuff~!"
I left Hermes' domain with a
teleport, the Maenad's voice echoing behind me.
Alright, I took a bit of a detour, but now it is
time to head for the stairs.
I don't know which one is a hit and which one
is a miss, so I'll just pick at random―――― no, wait a second?
I thought for a moment, then
teleported to a staircase as far away from the C-rank dungeon as possible.
The Gatekeeper title is given to the strongest
monster in the area/region at the moment of spatial isolation. So, if there
were Region A (with multiple B-rank monsters) and Region B (where C-rank was
the strongest), and these two regions merged after spatial isolation, wouldn't
the Gatekeeper of Region B remain a C-rank monster instead of being replaced by
a B-rank monster?
If that is the case, a staircase surrounded
only by low-rank dungeons might lead to a Gatekeeper that isn't particularly
strong.
Of course, it's also possible that the
Gatekeeper is automatically replaced by the strongest monster, or that a strong
monster slipped in before spatial isolation occurred.
Still, it's worth a shot.
And the result――――
***
Notes:
1 Renge’s skill. The description: This is proof of receiving favor from a high-ranking deity. It is extremely rare to receive favor from a deity of great pride, and only a few cases have been confirmed in the world. Extremely strong positive compensation to free action, extremely strong positive compensation to commands from the master. Reduces feedback of damage to the card during direct attack? (← Master's barrier strength equal to the card's defense? Details unknown. Skill owners are requested to provide information. Japan Adventurers Cooperative Association) ↩
2 Eliza’s skill. The description: The pinnacle of defensive skills. As an acquired skill, no defensive skill with higher performance has been confirmed as of yet. Able to take damage on behalf of nearby allies. While in use, defense and life force are tripled, and once per day, the user can enter the Immortal state for one minute. (Immortal: While the effect is active, they can avoid being Lost even if they take damage exceeding their maximum life force (HP). ↩
3 The snake guarding the tree, if you forgot ↩
4 A type of yokai from Japanese folklore. It is said to be a one-eyed, one-legged yokai that lives in some mountains.↩
5 Ainu itself is an ethnic group that resides in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido. In the Ainu tongue, チロンヌプ(Cironnup) translates to 'the thing that people kill'. It can be used to describe foxes in general, but also refers to a type of カムイ (Kamuy), which are divine spirits, supernatural entities, or deities of the Ainu culture. ↩
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