I wake up at noon, surely because I didn’t get a wink of sleep the previous night.
Maybe my body is getting used to the jobless life, but I want to believe that’s not the case.
Once I’m up, I get ant queen honey from my Storage Magic, and drink a cup.
Kui…!?
As always, it’s so tasty that I almost fall.
I used to drink coffee in the morning, but the honey changed that.
I have a limited supply, so I’ll soon run out if I’m not careful. That’s why I limit myself to one cup a day.
At first I thought to drink it all quickly because I feared it would spoil, but I noticed that Storage Magic keeps cold things cold and hot things hot. I figured either time doesn’t pass inside it, or maybe moves more slowly.
And sure enough, what I put inside the Storage Magic doesn’t seem to spoil.
It’s so useful. This ability alone makes it worth it to be a seeker.
After a late breakfast, I leave the house.
I look at my smartphone, and see Ai called me, but honestly, I don’t want to get involved anymore, so I don’t respond.
I can’t help it considering the bad impression I have of that company.
◇ ◇ ◇
The thirteenth floor.
I’ve been thinking about something recently.
If there was a law that forced unemployed people to be thrown in the dungeon, the world economy would get better.
Sick people and people with disorders would be different, but healthy unemployed people could very well become a valuable workforce.
They can’t work in specific places without specialized knowledge, but that’s not a problem in the dungeon. You just take down monsters and bring them back. You do this sort of simple work, and get paid. No knowledge needed.
If this was law, maybe people who don’t like the dungeon would get other jobs too.
When I tell that to the old man party standing next to me, they snicker at me like I’m an idiot.
Human rights organizations would be fiercely opposed to such a law. Even if it was enforced, who knows how much those people would actually work. When people died, their families would hold a grudge for life too.
Furthermore, if these people got too strong and revolted, they might destroy the country. Who would approve of a law with nothing but risks?
I don’t have a counterargument.
I thought they wouldn’t say anything to something that extreme, but the moment I’m left silent, it’s my loss.
The old man party has twice as many members as yesterday, and one of them looks unwell.
I ask if he’s all right, but the others warn me not to get close because it’s dangerous.
I don’t know what exactly is dangerous, but when I peek through his hair, I see he’s glaring at me like he’s about to kill someone.
I heed the warning, and step away.
For some reason, I felt a strong resentment from him.
I’m pretty sure I’ve never met him, so I can’t have done something to him. Still, those eyes sent a chill down my spine.
I watch them leave, and get to work too.
I’m going to pick up where I left off yesterday, looking for the staircase to the fourteenth floor, so I run through it.
Along the way, I try not to fight monsters by jumping from wall to wall. Five rock wolves won’t stop chasing me, so I take care of them.
Eventually, I reach the spot where the rock wolves attacked me yesterday.
All the signs of yesterday’s battle are gone, and this looks like your average room in the dungeon. However, the old man party I just saw is gathered here.
I approach them, wondering if something happened, and they look at me with surprise.
They say…
So it was you?
We should’ve dealt with him yesterday.
How did he survive that?
Is this fat guy actually strong?
He looks weak.
Don’t let your guard down. Kill him with all you have.
Surround him. It’d be trouble if he got away.
Hey Minoru, is it really him?
Yes, it’s him. He’s the one who ruined my plan!
They just say what they want in front of me.
I actually have no idea what they mean, other than that they seem to know what happened with the rock wolves yesterday. I’ll just have to make them tell me.
Wait, they said kill…
“Don’t give the enemy time.”
Thorns emerge under them, piercing the feet of three of them.
I approach one who evades, and cut his foot off.
That’s when they finally get moving and grab their weapons, looking at me with hostility. But with four of them out of action, they’re already in a bad situation, so they’re wary but don’t take immediate action.
Well, those wounds could be treated with potions, but they still buy me time.
They throw a fire Ball and wind cutter at me, but I zigzag to evade and close the distance.
Mages are trouble. I can do it too, so I know they can attack from long, medium, and short range. There’s also something scary about big moves like spells. They’re targets that need to be taken down quickly.
They know that too, and cover the mages with their battleaxes and longswords.
I keep deflecting attacks with my longsword, but honestly, it’s an anticlimax. The way they handle their weapons is way worse compared to that adult goblin.
I activate Trace to see if I can learn anything, but no.
Then I go on the offensive, and blow two of them away with my greatsword.
They land on their feet, and the old guy with the battleaxe yells at the longsword guy to pull back.
Immediately after, earth thorns appear where they were standing.
I didn’t think they’d dodge. The timing was perfect. Did he use a skill?
I squint as I wonder that, when another guy comes at me. This guy’s a giant, and looks like the one among them that would give me the most trouble.
He holds up his big boorish one-hand axe, and swings down.
I block it with my greatsword, and try to cut him on the rebound, but my hands are shaking. The impact on my hands makes me look away from the giant old man, and he kicks me, sending me against a wall.
As I hit it, magic is fired at me.
Unlike before, these are multiple fire spears and wind blades.
I don’t think I can dodge, so I raise Physical Strengthening to its limit to run away from the fire spears and cut down the wind blades.
Then, some sort of black mist comes down on me.
I feel ill, and stop. It gets bad enough that I drop my greatsword.
Let’s stay cool and think about what happened. If I panic, I’ll fail.
I remember seeing that. I dealt with it before.
It’s that…
I crouch, and the giant old man stops in front of me to deal the finishing blow with his axe.
He says something, but I’m not responding.
The moment he swings down, I get up with my greatsword, and cut his hand away.
Five to go.
I walk towards the old guys that are left.
◇ ◇ ◇
Ahh, it’s over.
I didn’t think the old guys I was talking to were actually after my life.
It doesn’t feel like they were mistaken, but the fact that they didn’t know my face is strange. If they held a grudge against me, they’d know me. Also, they didn’t know I was their target until I reached that area.
I don’t get it, so please explain.
I ask one of them.
Hn? I didn’t kill them. I just hurt them enough to not move.
I cut limbs off the dangerous guys, so they won’t be moving for a while, and knocked the mages out. And the one that looked ill or something fainted on his own.
Hm. Hm hm.
Hmph.
So this is related to the Honto Corporation. I’m really starting to hate that place.
One of the old guys is the son of the president, and he talked about failing something and being damaged. They don’t know what caused damage, but they apparently know who did it.
Also, the skill of the president’s son is related to this, but they don’t know what it is.
I think it was that skill that made the rock wolves attack me yesterday, and the failure caused damage.
Hearing this makes me lose interest.
I was interested in why the rock wolves were acting like that, but if it’s related to that company, I don’t care.
It’s nice to know there are skills that can manipulate monsters. At least I got something out of parrying this assault. The rest doesn’t matter.
I strip them of all their equipment and take it as a nuisance fee. I’m leaving them alive, so they can’t complain.
Well, not that I’m brave enough to kill them.
I take everything they have except for potions, and continue looking for the staircase to the fourteenth floor.
It doesn’t take me long to find it after leaving this area.
I’m calling it here for the day, and go back the way I came from.
When I pass by the area where I fought the old guys, I realize I made a mistake. They were attacked by monsters and died.
They couldn’t use potions when they couldn’t move, to say nothing of the ones that were unconscious.
That was completely my bad.
I avenge them, and leave to deliver their mementos to their families.
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Haruto Tanaka (24)
Level: 13
Skills: Earth Magic, Trace, Healing Magic, Spatial Grasp, Toughness, Magic Energy Control, Physical Strengthening, Poison Resistance, Storage Space, See Through
Equipment: Agility bracelet, greatsword of fortitude
Status: Fat (All abilities boosted)
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Thats messed up, nice, keep going