I wake up at noon, even though I went to sleep pretty much as soon as I got home yesterday.
It’s almost time for lunch. For some reason, when I wake up this late, I feel like I’ve wasted the whole day.
I have a late breakfast, along with a cup of my tonic.
Kuiiii!!
My stomach swells too.
But just as I’m about to head to the seeker association, the doorbell rings.
I open the door, not thinking about who it might be, and see a man I don’t know.
He looks to be in his fifties, and as I tilt my head wondering who he is, he greets me and hands me his business card.
I look at it, and see he’s from the Honto corporation.
I silently close the door.
It rings again.
He’s saying something, but I don’t want to deal with him.
I’m going to the seeker association, commonly known as the guild, to buy information.
I get ready, but when I leave, it’s Ai who’s standing there, not the man.
Ah, hum, it’s been a while.
Yes, I have stuff to do, so I don’t have time…
I’m going to the guild.
Eh? You’ll take me there?
No no, sorry, I’m sure you’re busy too.
I should listen to what you have to say…
…Just for today.
◇ ◇ ◇
I get in the president of Honto’s car, and we head to the seeker association. What I hear once inside it sounds insane to me.
The return of their chairman has become a pretty hot topic. Like why a terminally ill man who was just waiting to die made an excellent recovery.
I guess that would become a talking point.
The seriousness of the chairman’s condition was known among industrialists, so they want to know how he was treated.
Suffice to say, the chairman didn’t say it, but Ai also told no one that they owe a debt to me. But she says that somehow, it was leaked that I was involved, and that I might be contacted soon.
Some of those people are very influential, so they might take drastic measures.
She says they leaked false information, so it should be okay for now, but I can’t rest easy just yet.
Lastly, she tells me to stop rejecting her calls, and lets me off the car. And that she’ll contact me right away if anything happens.
I see them drive away, grab my smartphone, and remove her contact from the blocked list.
◇ ◇ ◇
I’m told the merits of registering here in the seeker guild.
Hm… Should I? It does sound good.
Those students weren’t entirely correct. I have to pay to get information or take part in auctions.
There’s a big plus for new seekers, in that they get assigned an instructor, but I’m on the nineteenth floor, so I don’t need it. Equipment’s cheaper, but only up to two hundred thousand yen. The discount isn’t applicable beyond that.
What I use is more expensive, so that won’t do.
After considering it, I decide not to register.
I can do it any time I want, so I just buy the maps for the nineteenth and twentieth floors for ten thousand yen a piece.
Then I sell the stuff I got yesterday, and head to the weapon’s store.
There’s a bit of a dispute, and they don’t buy the larger giant spider.
◇ ◇ ◇
After buying new equipment, I go to the eleventh floor.
I still have plenty of ant queen honey, but I’m thinking about restocking.
I start wandering around. I also visit the place where I was chased by big ants and took down the ant queen, but I only find big ants.
Sometimes I see seekers mining, but I pass right by them.
That reminds me of those people being chased by big ants. They said they were mining, and when they opened a hole, they encountered a large colony of big ants.
I put my hand on a wall and look into it with Trace.
I’m looking for hollow spots or rare ore, but all I find is iron and a small amount of magic ore.
I find one hollow spot, but when I open it with magic, I see a big pupa.
I close the hole without disturbing it, and use Earth Magic several times to make the earth solid.
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Haruto Tanaka (24)
Level: 15
Skills: Earth Magic, Trace, Healing Magic, Spatial Grasp, Toughness, Magic Energy Control, Physical Strengthening, Poison Resistance, Storage Space, See Through, Parallel Thinking, Sewing
Equipment: Agility bracelet, greatsword of fortitude, divine bird boots
Status: Fat (All abilities boosted)
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real tired of him being a fattass, also i get the feeling he just doomed that poor bug with the extra tough earth.
Thanks for the treat.