kscans

Chapter 69 - Dungeon Exhaustion...?

After school, I went home once before walking toward the bus stop near my high school.

I could hear voices from the sports ground, likely students practicing and preparing for the upcoming sports festival, as I glanced down at the Boston bag in my hand.

During lunch, Ooyama-san had told me to come to her workshop... her house. The topic was 'about Byakuren's armor,' so I'd brought his dedicated body from home.

I pulled out my smartphone from my pocket and compared it with the bus schedule. I probably could have taken my time getting here.

Just as I thought that, the bus arrived. It seemed to be running a little early today.

I tapped my IC card as I boarded and took a window seat. Since there were no other passengers, I placed my bag on the seat next to me.

Casually scrolling through my phone, I saw that all sorts of things were happening in the world.

Political scandals and celebrity gossip were the kinds of topics you'd see even before the Day of Awakening.

Then there were topics you'd only hear about after the Day of Awakening, like lawsuits filed by Awakened rights groups and support for residents evacuated from dungeon-spawning areas.

It's only natural, but the world is always turning in places I don't see.

Among the articles, one headline caught my eye.

'Matango Dungeons Finally Facing Depletion...?'

The partial deregulation of drop item sales had led to a sharp increase in demand for dungeons. As a result, adventurers seeking 'an easy and safe way to earn money' had flocked to the various Matango dungeons, known to house the weakest monsters.

This created massive queues unseen in other dungeons, and I'd heard it often took over thirty minutes just to get into the store.

And even after that long wait, the Matangos were hunted down the instant they appeared, so you might wander the dungeon for two hours and only encounter two or three.

Apparently, people with a certain level of ambition or talent quickly moved on to other dungeons, but the number of people going to the Matango dungeons didn't decrease much.

Their reasoning was, 'Monsters other than Matango are scary.' I could understand the sentiment, but I wondered about the earnings...

At that point, it seemed like you'd make more money with a normal part-time job. Or were they after experience points? Even so, it seemed a bit much.

In any case, droves of people had been flocking to the Matango dungeons day after day.

As a result, it seems that the other day, not a single Matango was found in the dungeon for the entire day.

If you keep defeating monsters, they might eventually disappear... maybe.

It was undoubtedly good news. It was still just a possibility, and the Matangos might respawn eventually... but it offered hope for a future where we could live our daily lives without monsters.

But the sad reality of the 'adventurer' profession is that we can't just rejoice.

Monsters are our livelihood, and at the same time, they are 'necessary for leveling up.'

I've heard rumors that you can gain experience through 'meditation' or 'standing under waterfalls,' but the efficiency is said to be poor.

If the monsters disappeared, what would happen to Japan in the future?

If that happened to even the publicly accessible 'C-Rank and below' dungeons, a large number of Awakened would be out of work. Some people have quit school or their jobs to focus on being adventurers.

In that case, I could only think of about three paths left for 'former adventurers.'

First: get a normal job.

Study and get qualifications, or find a job where you can utilize your skills in some way. In any case, this would be the most proper path.

Second: find a job as a mercenary or bodyguard.

Even now, quite a few Awakened become bodyguards or security personnel. I've heard that some Awakened who go abroad become exclusive guards for the wealthy. ...Though there are also rumors of cases where they're treated like lab animals.

Third: ...I'm very hesitant to call this a 'path,' but the path of becoming a criminal.

Even as a young man who has never been out in the world, I know that there's a limit to the 'pie' you can get in life. That doesn't change for people, companies, or countries.

And I don't think a proper path will be left for every former adventurer. In that case, the end of the line is organized crime or terrorist organizations. Or shady part-time jobs and so on... In any case, nothing good would come of it.

If possible, I'd like to avoid that path at all costs. I want to go down the first or second path.

In that case... it seems what I need to do won't change. Go to school and study, while also leveling up in dungeons for now. That would be the safe bet.

Academic background is important for getting into college and finding a job, and if I were to become a bodyguard, it's better to be strong.

Of course, this is all counting my chickens before they hatch. It's not like all future dungeons will be as easily depleted as the Matango ones.

First, there's the possibility that they aren't depleted at all, but that the rate of hunting simply surpasses their reproduction rate. And I mustn't forget that other monsters aren't as weak as Matangos.

Take the Zombie Kobolds, which are the same rank as Matangos. Most people would probably flinch at fighting the one from the practical part of the adventurer exam. I myself made the mistake of hitting the ceiling with the tip of my sword because I was so nervous at first.

If you level up enough, you can probably overwhelm most monsters, but leveling up itself is likely to become a scramble for easy prey. Conversely, hard-to-defeat monsters will probably be left over in excess.

If the dungeons aren't going to be depleted anytime soon, it seems what I have to do won't change in that case either. I'll go to school and dungeons, and gain all sorts of experience.

...And yeah, saving money is important too.

Right now, my bank account has an amount of money that's unthinkable for a high school student. When I consulted my dad about taxes, he stared into space like a confused cat.

I get a large reward from the research lab, but a significant amount is taken for taxes. The Dungeon Law apparently makes it a bit better, but the amount of money coming in and going out is so large that my sense of it is getting numb.

The things I want to buy are basically game consoles, manga, and maybe some in-game purchases for social games. My dad's company hasn't gone under yet, either. For now, I have some leeway.

But you never know what the future holds. I need to be careful not to make any big purchases on a whim.

For now, I guess the best use for it is on disaster preparedness and 'anti-dungeon' measures...

*

The bus arrived at its destination, and I paid the fare with my IC card before stepping onto the sidewalk.

A familiar, energetic voice greeted me.

"Kyouta-chan! Over here, over here!"

Erina-san waved her hand like an overjoyed dog's tail. I gave her a small wave back and hurried over, bag in hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. And sorry for making you come out to meet me."

"It's fine, it's fine! You've only been to Shī-chan's place once, right?"

Even though the 'Nucleus' has increased my thought speed, my memory is still the same. I've never been particularly good at remembering directions, so I'm grateful she came to get me.

"Alright, let's go, Kyouta-chan! Shī-chan's waiting!"

"Eh, wai—"

My ears grew hot as Erina-san grabbed my hand and started pulling me along.

It wasn't through a gauntlet, but direct, skin-to-skin contact. The soft, small palm of a girl in mine made my face turn red, and I knew it.

"Hm? What's wrong? You don't like holding hands?"

"I-It's not that I don't... like it..."

"Really? Then it's fine! Let's gooo!"

"Y-Yeah..."

"...Why the formal language?"

"...Just felt like it."

It was a poor excuse, even to my own ears, but Erina-san just said, "I see!"

Her pace didn't change, nor did the warmth and softness of her hand in my right.

Are my hands sweaty? I hope she's not uncomfortable. I hope she doesn't think it's gross.

All sorts of thoughts swirled in my head, but the one option that never came up was letting go of her hand.

...N-No! It would be rude to pull away! That's all it is!

"We're here, Kyouta-chan! ...Your face is red. Are you feeling sick?"

"...Physically, I'm perfectly fine, so don't worry."

"That's what people who aren't fine say!"

"No, I'm seriously fine. Please don't worry about it, Erina-senpai."

"We're the same age and in the same grade!"

What is this feeling of defeat?

"...What are you two making a racket about?"

Was it a helping hand, or a spider's thread lowered into hell?

As the door opened to reveal Ooyama-san looking at us with an exasperated expression, I quickly straightened my posture.

"Pardon me. Sorry to have kept you waiting, Ooyama-san."

Get a grip, Yagawa Kyouta! This is work. From here on, it's all business.

If I forced myself to think that way, I could speak normally. If I let my guard down now, my emotions would be destroyed by this automatic-maiden-misunderstanding-machine, ERINA-san!!

"...Whatever, it's fine. But before you come in, my old man and the employees are here today. So don't mess around too much. It's seriously dangerous."

"Understood."

"Okay!"

Ooyama-san, leaning against the door, crossed her arms under her chest and glared at us.

She's still so small, yet so big. In terms of 'centimeters,' Erina-san is overwhelmingly larger, but the ratio to her height is just incredible.

I can't. If I start thinking about things like that, my work mode might shut down.

The more I sober up, the more my brain feels like it's short-circuiting in a space with a blonde, busty beauty and a short, busty high school girl.

Big boobs to my right, big boobs to my left. Wait, could it be that the greatest benefit of my Awakening has been the people I've met?

Even with the sounds of the factory at work, my own heart started pounding with a volume that could rival it.

Damn it, calm down, my heart! You have a skill called 'Sage's Nucleus,' so act like a sage!!

—It's impossible! It's a busty beauty plus another busty beauty! That's ten times the power! Ten times!!

...What am I even saying? First of all, ten times what?

"Hey, Yagawa. You can make all the faces you want, but if you screw around in the factory, I'll shave off every hair on your body."

"Ah, yes."

"Shaving hair... a monk... but Kyouta-chan's not a monk... which means he's a ninja!?"

"Erina. If you mess around in here, I'm spanking you."

"Okay!"

Wait, why is my treatment different from Erina-san's?

As I regained a bit of my composure, I followed Ooyama-san into the factory.