novelraw Chapter 149
Chapter 149
Chapter 149
The Dark Mist had left many explorers with lasting side effects.
There was no way to stay sane after encountering cosmic nightmare-level madness.
Many lost the will to challenge the dungeon again.
That day, a celebrity arrived at a Class 1 dungeon somewhere in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Shining silver hair, long white legs extending from a daringly short skirt, and skintight thigh-high socks that framed the absolute territory. Perfection.
Her name was "Trigger Happy."
She was famous as a dangerous Russian woman who would fire a gun at the drop of a hat.
Few people knew she was actually half Japanese.
"Ah, hey, I know you! You're the famous A-rank explorer, yeah, Happy-chan! You're super cute. I'm heading out for drinks—wanna come? It's on me. Order whatever you want."
"If you're looking to get castrated, you should find a specialist. But if you're serious, I won't say no."
"Huh?"
With the same ease as pulling out her phone, Happy drew her Tokarev and fired two shots—one to the head, one to the crotch—at the college student who had spoken to her.
The bullets were real, but their power was suppressed by Happy's skill, so he wouldn't die. At most, he might get a bruise or a cracked bone.
The surrounding explorers offered a moment of silence for the pitiful college boy, drunk on the spring air.
"сука"
Happy stood up and headed toward the dungeon's inner perimeter.
These past few days, she had been haunted by nightmares.
At the bottom of the darkness, she had been utterly powerless.
Happy had always had confidence in her talent and ability.
She had been in the spotlight as the youngest explorer in history and had continued to live up to expectations.
That pride remained. The Foundation also recognized her abilities and achievements.
But Happy couldn't help but feel doubt.
Would she still be able to hold her own? Could she face those terrifying monsters again?
Even she had heard the rumors that the seal on the Archon Dungeon would soon be lifted.
It was whispered information, quietly passed around.
It wasn't public yet, but the seal's release was inevitable.
Happy was convinced. Something was happening in the political and social landscape surrounding the dungeon. A transformation was coming.
"Happy-chan, aren't you going?"
At the center of the camp, inside the Countermeasures HQ tent, Shurado asked Happy.
"Someone like me isn't useful anymore......"
"Teiyaa!!"
With a shout, Shurado delivered a powerful palm strike to Happy's chest.
A direct attack on her overly bountiful twin peaks, despite being a high school girl.
Blushing, Happy looked confused at Shurado's incomprehensible actions.
"W-What are you doing......?"
"I went easy on your face since you're a girl. Happy-chan, you can't keep moping like this. You'll never become great that way!"
"It's not like you're my mom or anything, Shurado-san. Just leave me alone!"
"Teiyaa!"
"S-Stop! Don't hit me there!"
Shurado's assault continued, pushing Happy's embarrassment to its limit.
Watching the playful scuffle between the beautiful girls from a short distance away was him.
A long coat in a scorched brown color.
Jet-black sunglasses.
A duralumin case issued to him by the Doctor earlier that morning.
Needless to say, it was the "Finger Man," Akagi Hideo.
"Ah, Finger Man."
"It's been a while, Happy-san. Glad to see you looking well."
As soon as she realized it was Finger Man, her ears flushed bright red.
"("Finger Man... the lone wolf only I can understand... I have to be the one who holds it together...!")"
Standing before him, she remembered her role as both his only confidant and his girlfriend.
She crossed her arms, put on a smug smile, and cleared her throat.
"Finger Man, I heard you made it to 10th place."
"Thanks to you. Things are going smoothly."
"Must be nice. Geniuses like you have it easy."
"Hmm. It seems like Happy-san doesn't quite get it."
"Tch, are you gonna lecture me too?"
"Putting in steady effort every day. Completing your Daily Missions. That's the greatest strength of a rational human being, greater than any talent. Happy-san, are you doing your Daily Missions properly?"
"Ugh── (Daily Missions... it doesn't mean just the literal tasks. He's trying to say it's about steady daily effort, growing one step at a time. You're saying I've stopped moving forward... is that it, Finger Man?)"
Happy fell silent, deep in thought.
Shurado stood with arms crossed, nodding smugly and repeatedly with a "mm-hmm."
"By the way, Akagi-san, since you came to this dungeon, that means..."
"I came to observe the memorable first deployment."
A black-clad group began to emerge one after another from behind Finger Man.
The sight made Happy recoil in shock.
The unit's name: "Black Fingertips."
Their numbers and appearance were bizarre, but technically, they were a registered guild under the Dungeon Foundation as semi-explorers.
For explorer groups, there were various ranks based on size.
'Party'
2 to 9 members.
The basic explorer team for dungeon conquests.
Commonly seen from small to large-scale dungeons.
'Guild'
10 to 100 members.
A large-scale explorer team for dungeon conquests.
Used when tackling massive dungeons in an organized, structured manner.
Not often found in Japan.
Mostly used overseas in field-type dungeons.
"Are those your familiar monsters, Finger Man...? Are you planning to have them conquer the dungeon alone?"
"For Akagi-san to challenge the Archon Dungeon, he needs to build a flawless resume that other Foundation HQs can't criticize."
"So he made his own guild to boost his dungeon conquest count?"
The strength held by Finger Man was immense, and once that information reached Jigokudo, the Foundation's alertness only intensified.
However, at the same time, if used properly, Finger Man could become a powerful weapon for humanity, so Jigokudo granted the deployment as a step toward building trust.
And thus, the historical guild composed entirely of familiar monsters, "Black Fingertips," was deployed to the Class 1 dungeon.
"Finger Man, you're not allowed to do anything, okay... and of course, don't let Gii-san give any commands either..."
A petite woman popped her head out from the black crowd.
Wearing a black shirt and a lab coat, the lethargic-looking scientist was none other than the Outer Sea Six Paths' inventor, Jigokudo.
Jigokudo and Finger Man followed slightly behind the "Black Fingertips" to observe their performance on-site.
"Can I come along too?"
"Happy-san? I don't mind. Do you, Jigokudo-san?"
"I don't mind......"
Naturally, Happy clung to Finger Man's side and followed the "Black Fingertips" ahead.
A monster appeared.
It was a small Maltese-type monster.
It looked cute and barked in high-pitched yelps, but one tackle could easily send a grown man flying—it was a very dangerous creature.
The captain of the Breakdancers, the Dragon Knight Saint Breakdancers of the Black Spear (Blessing Level 6), vanished.
"Huh?"
Happy hadn't looked away.
It was clearly the strongest-looking monster among the "Black Fingertips," so she had been watching it the entire time.
Yet she lost sight of it.
A moment later, a gust of wind blew past.
The Maltese let out a lingering scream before turning into particles of light.
"......It seems the Breakdancers still don't know how to control their power...... There's no need for that kind of forceful kick to defeat a monster on the first floor......"
"Gii (Translation: You're absolutely right. They're newborn warriors. They won't level up, but with experience, they'll grow and improve their skills.)"
"Hmm...... I can't take your words at face value, Gii-san...... If they can't control their strength and accidentally attack explorers inside the dungeon, it could be disastrous...... We should keep a close watch."
"Gii..."
Since the future of humanity is at stake, Jigokudo has no choice but to proceed with caution.
Calamity Mollusk wants to deploy as many as possible, as quickly as possible.
Jigokudo and Calamity Mollusk were quietly checking each other's moves.
Meanwhile, unaware of the internal politics, Happy was simply trembling in fear.
At the unimaginable combat power of Finger Man's familiar monsters.
"Finger Man...... is he stronger than me......?"
"Huh? Ah...... he is the Dragon Knight Saint Breakdancers of the Black Spear, and his Blessing Level is 6."
"I don't really get what you're saying, but I get that he's incredible. You're commanding multiple monsters like that?"
"There are quite a few of them. Though that level of specimen only increases by about six or seven a day. The spear's pretty high-cost."
"Why do familiar monsters of that caliber increase daily......?"
Happy was exhausted.
Only she could understand Finger Man.
That's why she had been doing her best—to be worthy of standing beside him. And yet, far from catching up, she couldn't even match one of the mass-produced familiar monsters.
At this rate, how could she ever be useful to Finger Man?
Happy felt like she was about to cry.
Even after that, the "Black Fingertips" continued their overwhelming conquest, and finally discovered the boss room. That said, the captain obliterated the boss with a single spear swing, so aside from the captain, the Breakdancers, Finger Man, Jigokudo, and Trigger Happy ended up just taking a stroll through the dungeon.
After killing the boss, the captain opened his Zippo lighter and collected the experience points.
They collected the dropped anomalous substance and boss crystal, and the group returned outside.
"In summary, we still can't approve a full-scale deployment...... It's true there's great potential, but with the current quality, the higher-ups won't be convinced......"
"Gii"
"So, for now, we will only permit deployment of the one guild of 'Black Fingertips' that was active today......"
"Gii!"
And so, the deployment of the "Black Fingertips" was approved.
This was a compromise.
Dispatching thousands of unknown monsters across the country all at once would not be accepted by public opinion. The "Black Fingertips" have to build trust and a track record.
"Finger Man...... you'll be conquering 98 more dungeons...... if that's the case, then let the 'Black Fingertips' gain experience...... I still have some concerns about their current state......"
"Understood. Leave it to me, Jigokudo-san."
"Yes...... I'll leave it to you then......"
And with that, Jigokudo departed.
────
——Akagi Hideo's Perspective
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Today's Appraisal
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Salvation boss crystal: 8,450,033 yen
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Total: 8,450,033 yen
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Dungeon Bank Account Balance: 28,687,079 yen
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Shurado Investment: 52,349,415 yen
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Total Assets: 101,273,540 yen
(101 million and 27,000 yen)
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"Great job, Akagi-san! You cleared another dungeon today! Only 98 more to go!"
Shurado-san has become such a strict person...... She's poison—no, a total sadist.
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Dragon Knight Saint Breakdancers of the Black Spear with Machine Gun
Blessing Level 6
HP 150,000/150,000
ATK 1–10,000,000 (10 million)
DEF 20,000
Equipment
'Salvation's Machine Gun'
'Twisted Black Spear'
'Salvation's Scale Armor'
'Salvation's Swift Wings'
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Then we gave the abnormal item called 'Salvation's Machine Gun,' a boss drop, to the captain, and he evolved even further.
Apparently, he holds the spear in his left hand and uses the machine gun with just his right. He really can use anything. I mean, seriously, he looks so cool. I wanna get all decked out too...... But ultimately, most fights end with just a single finger snap...... It's kinda empty.
With today's tasks complete, I said goodbye to Shurado-san and left the camp.
I should say goodbye to Happy-san too.
Plus, I've got something to talk about.
"Happy-san, thanks for your hard work."
"Yeah...... good job. Not that I did anything though."
She's slumped in a corner of the camp.
She seems down and has turned into Unhappy-san.
"What's wrong?"
"Don't 'what's wrong' me...... After seeing all that, I don't see the point in continuing as an explorer anymore."
She's definitely feeling dejected.
She was already down before entering the dungeon...... but this is serious.
"There are people who need you, Happy-san."
"Who? If you send out those familiar monsters, everything's solved, isn't it?"
"They have a growth ceiling. They don't level up or learn skills—Gii-san said so. But you, Happy-san, can still get much stronger."
"You don't know that......"
"And that's exactly why it's valuable, I think."
"That's just idealistic. I'll never be as strong as those monsters."
"Happy-san used to be full of confidence, but you've changed."
"......"
"I'm headed to the Archon Dungeon. Far south, beyond the cold sea, in Antarctica—it's the magical Archon Dungeon."
"Archon Dungeon...... that nightmare again......"
"According to Jiu-san, it's on a whole different scale. Like comparing the Tokyo Dome to the Eurasian continent."
"......Yeah, that makes sense. The Archon Dungeon is called the 'Stranded Zone of Another World.' That's why the foundation gave up on dealing with it and chose to seal it off—they just kicked the can down the road."
"You sure know your stuff, Happy-san. I don't really get it myself, but apparently, it's so vast that we'll need an organized exploration. That's why I decided to start a guild."
"Huh? Finger Man's guild?"
"You're not a stranger, Happy-san, and I trust you. You've got more experience than me...... so, um...... yeah, what do you think about joining the guild?"
That came out as a super awkward recruitment pitch. I wanna die.
"......Yeah, I'll join. I'm totally in."
Oh, sweet.
That went smoother than expected. Thanks, Happy-san.
And with that, Happy-san is officially reserved.
That makes one member. Jiu-san told me to gather a lot, but...... I don't really have many candidates.
Well, whatever. I've got time. I'll just gather members steadily.