Chapter 8
A New Dungeon's
Privilege?
I snapped awake to the strange cooing of a pigeon. It was still early
morning, just after dawn. If I were on a futon, it would be nice to dive right
back to sleep, but unfortunately, this is a public place. I don't feel good
about being stared at by passersby. I should finish getting ready while I still
can.
I moved to the drinking fountain, carefully washed my face with a splash
splash as if polishing it, and then drank water until my stomach was full.
I want at least a towel, but it can't be helped. My prized 290 yen is my life
insurance right now. I can't just use it easily.
That's right. I'll endure just a little longer, earn some money, and
then go to a bathhouse. I will definitely go. I want a change of clothes, too.
As a sixteen-year-old girl, this is pretty bad, isn't it. But believing that I
smell nice, I will live cheerfully again today. I will survive!
「Hello in
there.」
Cheerfully tackling the Dungeon again today! You pill bugs, drop
those magic stones like crazy! Time to make a killing!
「Good
morning.」
Come to think of it, even the good quality magic stones they drop if I'm
lucky only sell for 10 yen, right. There were 100-yen ones too, huh. But most
of them were 10 yen, so I wonder if a lot of 10-yen ones will drop today too?
Or rather, thinking about it normally, doing a Dungeon attack for the
sake of 10 yen is truly awful, isn't it. I want to become able to go to the Second
Floor soon.
「So Onee-san
from yesterday isn't here. I'm Nagakura Aoi. Nice to meet ya.」
I decided to stand in front of the counter where the nice middle-aged
man who greeted me was. The nice middle-aged ossan has a tired look on
his face first thing in the morning. I hate that, so gloomy. Besides, even
though there was no one but that Onee-san at night, there are a lot of
people today even though it's still early morning. Is the atmosphere usually
like this?
「Tachibana is often in charge at night. My name is Kikukawa.
I have heard about you from Tachibana.」
He seems like a good person, but he's a rather stiff ossan.
「There are a
lot of people first thing in the morning, but is it always like this?」
「There was an
anomaly in the Dungeon last night, so there are many people here since
morning to investigate it.」
「Is that so?
Is it okay? Or rather, what do you mean by anomaly?」
I don't know what happened, but it'll be a problem if I can't enter the Dungeon.
A shabbily dressed sixteen-year-old girl with no address or contact information
can't even get a proper job, you know. The Dungeon is my only hope,
seriously!
「It is still
under investigation, so I cannot say anything for certain.」
「Oh, right. I
want to earn money in the Dungeon, though. It's going to be a problem if
I can't go in.」
「Your
destination is the First Floor, correct, Nagakura-san? In that
case, it is fine for you to enter.」
「Ooh, then
it's okay. Well then, I'll go make a killing right away.」
「Then, before
you enter the Dungeon, we will register your ID card. Please come this
way.」
It seems they manage entry and exit to the Dungeon using ID
cards. If I don't come back, I wonder if they'd even worry about me.
「By the way,
does it feel like I can go to the Second Floor even at my level?」
「It seems you
do not even have beginner's equipment, Nagakura-san, so I recommend
challenging it only after reaching at least Level 3. Once you hit Level 3,
please procure a weapon first, anything will do. Then, raise your level again
near the exit from the Second Floor, and gather equipment even little by
little. If you are not going to make companions, overdoing it is strictly
prohibited.」
For now, it's leveling up, huh.
「Also, I
believe you have heard this from Tachibana, but all the soul stones you
brought in were of high quality, making it a very special case. I presume it is
the effect of a skill, but I think it is best not to make it too public.
Regarding the settlement for your soul stones, either myself, Kikukawa,
or Tachibana will handle it, so please try to do it when one of us is
present if possible. This is not mandatory, merely a suggestion, though...」
That makes sense. If random guys around here think they can earn money
by being with me, it'll end with me being used for their convenience. I
definitely need to keep this a secret!
「Also, since
we are investigating last night's anomaly, a situation may arise where you
might urgently need to evacuate as well, Nagakura-san. Please be
extremely careful and absolutely do not move beyond the First Floor.」
Value your life. I know, I know.
「Okaaay. Well
then, I'm off~」
I want to eat a proper meal, I want to take a bath soon, and I want a
towel and a change of clothes. I can't even think about money for equipment
yet, but I hate staying like this forever. I have to earn a lot quickly. In
high spirits, I ran past a lot of people; now, time for the Dungeon
attack!
「Alright,
alright, here comes 『Solo Dungeon』.」
When I tried activating the skill quite a bit before going down the long
staircase, the moment I entered the Dungeon's territory, everyone
vanished. Hoh, so this is the effect of 『Solo Dungeon』. It might be casually amazing.
This newly learned skill is truly convenient. If I'm seen popping out
high-quality magic stones left and right, I'll definitely get tangled up in
trouble, after all. I'll sneakily earn money solo. Anyway, an entirely solitary
space is mysterious, and eerie. But being able to do things without a care is
nice. Running down the stairs while maintaining this strangely rising tension,
I suddenly realized something.
「I'm
empty-handed.」
I don't have a weapon. Crap. Since there are a lot of people today, even
if I go back to the entrance, it might be hard to pilfer the hammer. I'll
return it properly later, so I wonder if it's okay to rummage through the
toolbox. Because I can't defeat the pill bugs without a hammer.
「Wait, wait,
hold on a sec. Hmmm?」
Suddenly, my little gray cells went bzzt with an idea. I took out
the map I received from Onee-san yesterday. Everything about the First
Floor is detailed meticulously on the map. All the passages and walls, the
entrance to the Second Floor, and... the locations of the hidden rooms,
too.
As for what's inside a hidden room, it's treasure. That's practically a
given. Just maybe, but if a solo Dungeon is a Dungeon exclusively
for me, doesn't that mean it hasn't been ransacked by anyone? Judging by the
feel of it yesterday, the monsters I had completely wiped out revived, and the
trash someone threw away disappeared too, after all.
Couldn't you consider a solo Dungeon to be a brand new, untouched
Dungeon that no one has pillaged? If that's the case, eh, holy crap. Am
I already in the winning faction? I can't help but go verify this.
Completely ignoring the pill bugs, I dashed towards a hidden room. Even
if it's the First Floor, it's quite spacious. Roughly speaking, it has
an area about the size of a baseball stadium, stands included. And above all,
there are multiple hidden rooms on the First Floor here. If there were
treasures in them?
Gahaha, I've won!
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
-
[Gold]
B random
Nepheos
[Silver]
Corey Hicks
Creris
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Jake Seagraves
Matthew Fraser
Tbaum56
Baelee
Christopher Feliciano
Ctdela
Curious Panda
nick nasca
SD Fox
Taylor King
Z
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----