kscans

Chapter 42 - Dungeon Demand

"Avenge Stoze▢!"

"Could you please stop being a monster that obsessively flings cow dung?"

"Wow, this game has that much cow dung in it!!"

It seemed I had successfully dragged Aira-san down with me, and she was in quite a state.

After a game session that was, in a way, just business as usual, she finally seemed to have calmed down.

"Phew... I feel refreshed."

"You let out a lot of poop!"

"Erina-san."

"Yup!"

"Let’s be careful, okay?"

"Yup!!"

I would have preferred a ‘yes’ instead of a ‘yup.’ It conjures up unpleasant images.

Anyway.

"Where are we going for our next dungeon exploration?"

"That’s sudden. But let’s see. There are so many options that the professor is apparently having trouble deciding where to send you."

"Ah, well, if it’s not decided yet, I wanted to ask for some advice."

"What is it, Kyo-chan-kun? Could it be... advice on love?"

"Love talk! Leave it to me! As the representative of cool and beautiful young ladies, I’ll give you a straight answer, Kyo-chan!!"

"It’s not that. And Erina-san, please never call yourself a cool and beautiful young lady ever again."

"What!"

"That’s right. Because... the true representative of cool and beautiful young ladies is me!"

"Not a chance."

"Grr, then it’s a competition, Paisen! We’ll see who the true cool and beautiful young lady is!!"

"I accept your challenge! Do you think you can surpass me?!"

"Ah, just do whatever you want."

"Hey now, don’t sulk, Kyo-chan-kuun."

"Were you lonely, Kyo-chaan?"

"Sooo annoying."

I wish they wouldn’t create their own little battle dimension sometimes. It’s seriously awkward.

"So, what did you want to discuss?"

"It’s about Byakuren. Lately, I feel like she’s not keeping up with the rank of the dungeons..."

"Hmm..."

"Byak-chan? But she’s been a huge help, you know?"

"Well, yeah, she’s useful, but... I feel like her performance, especially her ‘durability,’ is lacking."

Byakuren’s golem body is made from the materials of the dungeon floor itself.

If the ground is dirt, she’s made of dirt; if the floor is stone, her body is made of stone.

But lately, we’ve been facing enemies strong enough to break even her stone body.

"I think the mana isn’t settling properly. I’ve been browsing the Alchemy Enthusiasts Club website recently, and it said that for impromptu golem bodies, the mana flowing from the core serves as both the skeleton and the nerves."

The core, meaning the ‘mock-Homunculus’ part.

As she said, because it’s not a true Homunculus, Byakuren’s mana control is clumsy. It’s highly likely that this is affecting the maintenance of her golem body.

If Byakuren’s mana control improved, her performance should increase accordingly.

However.

"...Going into a dungeon with a female classmate, a true Homunculus is, well, a bit..."

What kind of weird fetish is that? A true Homunculus requires the user’s semen as a material.

"I don’t mind at all!!"

"Well, I do. Also, I want to avoid the possibility of the golem developing a will of its own..."

A Homunculus... I don’t know how much cognitive ability it has. But if it’s in the form of a little person, I might hesitate to sacrifice it in a pinch.

I made a bad call with the Cocadrille, but Byakuren was designed to be cheap and simple, to be used as a diversion in situations like that.

But no matter how cheap I want to keep it, if it’s too weak to even serve as a diversion, it’s useless as ‘insurance.’

"In that case, the only solution left is to create a powerful golem body in advance. Just like ‘Renge.’"

"Yeah, I figured."

My stomach hurts just thinking about having to discard it.

Even ‘Renge’ was made with expensive materials. Aira-san paid for it that time, so I didn’t worry, but it’s a different story when it’s coming out of my own pocket.

I’ve been earning well lately, but I don’t want to spend too much if I’m trying to save for the future.

But if I don’t survive, there is no future, so I can’t cut corners either. It’s a dilemma...

Plus, it’s bulky, so carrying it around is a pain. I might have to ask Erina-san to carry it.

"Um... if it’s not too much trouble, would it be possible to go to a dungeon where I could procure materials for a golem body? Of course, I know you both have your own things going on, so if you want, I can just go by my..."

"Don’t be a stranger, Kyo-chan! Ninjas help each other, you know?"

"Thanks. But I’m not a ninja."

"Do you want to abandon your past as a ninja that much...?"

"I can’t abandon what I never had in the first place."

"I see. The past is something you can’t leave behind."

"I think it’s more like something you said in your sleep."

"Very well. In response to that sentiment, I too shall cooperate!"

"Thank you. Even though that sentiment is a delusion."

And so, as a result of that conversation...

In late May, the quest for Byakuren’s parts began.

＊　　　　　＊　　　　　＊

Under a sky that looked like it could rain at any moment, I was rocked by the motion of the bus.

Our destination was an ‘E-Rank Dungeon.’

"...Still, if we’re just collecting drop item coins, couldn’t we have gone to an F-Rank dungeon?"

It was a bit late to ask, having already requested their help, but I posed the question to Aira-san through the earring.

When I told her what drop item I wanted to collect, she had told me to head here first.

"Oh, no. The ‘F-Rank’ dungeons are packed with people right now. There’s no telling how long it would take to collect the number you need."

"I-Is it that bad?"

"It is. As you know, the benefits of the deregulation of drop item sales are huge, right?"

"Yeah, well."

After all, when I checked the market rates, the store was buying those stones dropped by the Cockatrice for a mere ‘2,000 yen.’

For that to turn into ‘50,000 yen’... I was truly grateful to the Dungeon Agency for revising the Dungeon Law.

"How much do you think the coins dropped by Matango are trading for right now?"

"Eh? Uh, maybe 500 yen?"

"Sorry, but they’re going for around 1,000 yen each."

"What?"

"Stop."

Just as I was about to shout in astonishment, Erina-san’s index finger was placed on my lips.

The pad of her finger pressed against them. The surprise, even greater than before, made my thoughts freeze.

"Hey now, Kyo-chan. There are other people on the bus, so you can’t be loud."

"...R-Right."

You’re one to talk, I thought, but more than that, the sensation of her finger on my lips left my mind in a jumble.

Her long, white, and slightly cool finger was already gone. But my heart was pounding loudly, and my ears were hot.

"S-So, um... what were we talking about?"

"I can pretty much guess what happened. Let me see... Kyo-chan-kun, you were about to shout, and Erina-kun stopped you, right? With her finger."

"Ah, the Matango coins. Right, that’s expensive. I can’t believe it."

"Hahaha. I’ll refrain from touching on those tender adolescent spots. It’s bad manners to be rowdy on the bus, you know, Kyo-chan-kuun."

"Paisen. Kyo-chan’s lips were really soft!"

"What? In that case, maybe I’ll have a feel later too~?"

"Let’s get back to the topic."

My face was getting hot with embarrassment, all the way to the corners of my eyes. This must be what it feels like to have your face burn.

...It’d probably be a bad idea to lick my lips right now, wouldn’t it?

"Well, anyway, the beginner dungeons are completely full. It’s incredible. The Matango dungeons have lines stretching outside the store."

"...It’s that bad?"

"It’s that bad. The Dungeon Agency leaked information from various sources beforehand, so anyone with a keen ear got their adventurer license before the deregulation and was lying in wait. In fact, the training centers are apparently packed with students too."

"But if you can earn that much from Matango drops... I guess that’s what would happen."

Even Matango give a subjugation reward. Including that, you could probably earn about 30,000 yen in two hours.

Well, depending on how crowded it is, that might decrease a bit.

If Matango coins are worth that much, then the drop items from ‘E-Rank’ dungeons must have skyrocketed in price too. I came here thinking that dungeon items contain a bit of mana, making them perfect for alchemy materials, but... it looks like I’ll be making a higher-end golem than I thought.

Still, the rising price of drop items was good news.

Not only would my income as an adventurer increase, but it might also help alleviate the worsening Japanese economy that’s been all over the news lately.

The appearance of dungeons had accelerated the yen’s depreciation, but many of the buyers for drop items must be from overseas. Money would be flowing into the country all at once.

Perhaps we’d even start hearing about a ‘Dungeon Boom’ soon. If the dungeons stick around, drop items might even become Japan’s main export... no, that’s a bit insensitive.

During the Orc overflow, I saw more than enough corpses of the dead. My parents, Erina-san, and I could have ended up just like them. It’s one thing to be a little excited, but I should restrain myself from getting too carried away with joy.

"So, that’s why it’s better not to go to the beginner dungeons."

"I see."

...But if dungeons are that popular, it makes me feel lucky that we got a head start.

I looked up the training centers, and it seems a lot of people are on long waiting lists because they’re over capacity.

Adventurer licenses can only be issued by the government, and the training centers have to be government-approved. And since SDF officers accompany the practical exams, it’s only natural that supply and demand would eventually get out of sync.

At this rate, even just leveling up would be a struggle. Could it be that people are actually fighting over kills in the lower-rank dungeons?

No, they’re probably managing that by limiting the number of people who can enter per hour. In turn, the wait times get longer, and long lines form in front of the stores.

It’s a hundred times better than friendly fire or fights with weapons drawn, but I can’t imagine wanting to go to a dungeon if I have to wait 30 minutes or an hour.

Yeah, it’s definitely better to avoid the beginner dungeons.

"But,"

...I stopped myself before saying, ‘Isn’t E-Rank also for beginners?’

Come to think of it, that rank used to be the most common. If I can’t update my perspective on things like that, I might come off as an ‘arrogant kid acting like a veteran.’

Society is changing. Maybe I have to change with it...