The first floor of the Heart dungeon.
We’ve been walking while appreciating the scenery for about half an hour, zig-zagging to avoid forests, until the map is finally full.
Much like the second floor of the beginner dungeon, this one is surrounded on all four sides by what looks like cliffs. There are also dense forests all over, and from what I can see, there are red marks of monsters crowded together in them.
This area is occupied more by forests than flowers, so it’s not very popular with couples. I see almost no white spots, that symbolize people.
“The only monsters around here are in forests, right?”
“Apparently. Sometimes one pops out into the fields of flowers, but still…”
“And they are also harmless unless you touch them, so even the escorts rarely take them down, unless they show up in front of the couples.”
And as we talk, one appears from the forest in front of us. It’s called a fluff bug. These are about fifty centimeters long, and thirty centimeters tall.
I thought from the name that they would be like hairy caterpillars, but it’s like a green hornworm covered in fluff.
Is this what they call creepy cute?
I feel like I’ve actually seen stuffed animals based off these things in the association’s store.
＊＊＊＊＊
Name: Fluff bug
Level: 6
Equipment: None
Skills: None
Drops: Fluff bug dupion silk
Magic stone: Minuscule
＊＊＊＊＊
Now that my Appraisal is at level three, I can see drop items.
So fluff bug dupion silk… I’m curious to see how fluffy it gets in item form.
“Oh, it’s all fluffy.”
“Wah, it’s cute!”
“This is a monster that appears on the first floor. It looks cute, so apparently some couples take pictures with them. That costs extra though, because the moment you touch them, it turns into a fight.”
“That sounds tough.”
Apparently, only couples that pay for it beforehand get permission to take photos. They won’t get permission even if they change their minds while in the dungeon.
That’s because few adventurers can handle it, and people have to sign an agreement beforehand that states they understand that they might lose their lives.
Adventurers here really have it rough…
“And since they look cute, couples will boo you if you try to take one down if it’s not in a harmful position.”
“Very tough…”
Is all I can think at this point.
Telling adventurers they can’t hunt is rough.
But unless these items are good, there’s really no reason to go out of your way to fight them… These two might know.
“What’s fluff bug dopion silk like?”
“Well… Uh? Wasn’t your Appraisal at level two…”
Aki, who also has Appraisal, sounds confused.
That’s right, it was level two when I told her about it.
“It’s three now.”
“Eeh…?
“I will answer, Shouta! Firstly, fluff bug dopion silk only drops rarely. I think the market price for one is thirty thousand.”
“Eh!? That’s expensive! If it’s a weak monster, I figured adventurers would hunt them like crazy… Is it because people get mad?”
But if it has a set market place… That means it does show up on the market from time to time.
Wouldn’t hunting them where people can’t see it be a good solution? Like in a corner?
“That too, but it’s a rare drop to begin with. You could hunt dozens every day, and only get one every week. But since that silk is a natural product that carries the properties of the dungeon, it fetches a high price. Also, apparently the price goes up if sold in bulk instead of separately.”
“Hm…”
What would happen if I hunted them with my four hundred fifty-four Luck?
Most adventurers are between five and ten Luck, if they don’t spend SP on it. If they can only get one for every hundred monsters, I should get one for every couple of monsters.
My experience so far tells me that drop rates are calculated by multiplying the base value by the person’s Luck. I think.
So, if the base value was ten, Luck being at one would make it a 10% drop rate, and Luck being at ten would make it a 100% drop rate.
From there, I think the base value of minuscule magic stones is one. And since most adventurers’ Luck is only between five and ten, that means they’re getting one from between ten to twenty monsters. Well, those are expected values, so they’re not going to be certain.
That means that the moment you pass a hundred Luck, a drop is guaranteed.
Right now, if a rare monster appears, I’m guaranteed to get a skill orb, but I don’t know if these values will stay the same going forward. Or maybe it’s not actually a 100%, and I just happen to get the drops every time. Maybe rare monsters have different base values too.
There’s the example of the rainbow slime, so I have to keep increasing my Luck anyway.
“Shouta, can you hunt it like you always do?”
“Are you sure, Maki? You said it was cute.”
“That’s not a pet or a small animal, it’s a monster.”
That’s Maki for you. Unlike most people, she doesn’t care if it gets cut down, just because it’s a monster.
Well, I actually want to hunt it too.
“Well then, off I go.”
So I unsheathe the sword hanging from my waist. It was covered, because I’m obviously not going to ride the train or walk around the city with the sword exposed.
This scabbard bag has been especially made, so it’s not going to be easily pierced even by something as sharp as my ‘ghost’
Well, I could do it with the help of Super Strength, but this high performance bag was one of the reasons for that high cost.
I put the bag in my backpack, and approach the fluff bug with my sword in hand.
It’s three meters away, and it’s still showing no intention to fight. It’s not even looking this way. If I did this with a goblin or killer rabbit, they’d cut at me right away.
I cut it in two very quickly, and it turns into smoke and disappears, leaving a minuscule magic stone and fluff bug dupion silk.
“It dropped it.”
“That was really fine!”
“Shouta, you get stronger every day. You’re past the point of going to a beginner dungeon.”
“But Aki, that monster didn’t fight back at all. Anyone can do that.”
It’s not bad hearing them praising me, but I don’t feel like I’m great for taking down a dummy.
They look amused when I show them the drop items. Actually, being with other people in a dungeon feels fresh to me.
I don’t think I can form a team, but hunting and moving slowly like this doesn’t feel bad.
But in the end, I’m only human.
They invited me to a date and everything, and my thoughts are going in the way of wanting to hunt the remaining ninety-nine monsters. I’m just the worst.
“Shouta.”
“Maki?”
“You can go. You want to hunt those fluff bugs, right?”
“But…”
“Don’t mind us, we actually invited you here because we want to see you fight up close.”
“Aki is right. We will watch over you, so by all means.”
“…All right, thanks. Then I’m going to eliminate them here, here, and here. Sorry Aki, but I’ll hand you the backpack, so can you collect the drops?”
“Okay, leave that to me.”
“I will stand-by, but come rest when you’re tired.”
They really are nice, going along with me like this. They brought me here to take a break, just for my sake too. With the Swift orb from yesterday, my debt to them will be paid, so this time, I need to make sure to actually thank them.
No, what I really should do is confess properly… Although the mood is definitely not right now. Not that I have anyone to blame but myself.
Let’s just focus on the field in front of me, and think about confessing later.
“So the next field is a forest.”
The trees are a lot more thickly concentrated than the other ones. And there are weeds beneath the trees, along with roots from huge trees. If my feet got caught in them, that’d create a huge opening.
First, I’ll dash through the first forest as I conquer it to get used to them. Then I’ll use Swift, not too quickly, on the second one, and gradually go faster.
It’s hunting time!
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What the hell? A Japanese novel where the romance actually shows signs of progressing??? Did I accidentally slip into an alternate universe??????