Minced. Harsh. It stinks.
The one source of income one can get from kobolds, the magic stones that are their core, are in pieces. There is nothing to gain from killing them then. And considering I lost the contents of my stomach, this was a net negative.
My lunch has turned into an acidic mess that is now food for the dungeon.
No mincing. No mincing. Next time, I will have to try to kill them cleanly.
On my way back, I’m attacked by a pair of kobolds, and then a group of three, but rather than use the rock shotgun, I fire rock bullets (I named them) using medium-sized rocks to open holes in their bodies. The first ones were too gruesome, but I think I can manage it once I build up some resistance.
Also, My level is now four, meaning I can create four Storage spaces. Will the number keep increasing as I level up?
Upon leaving, I see the employee that scolded me.
He tells me again not to do anything dangerous. Worst case scenario, the gatling guns might confuse it for a stampede or a terrorist attack and fire. I see, so I could have been minced myself. Scary.
Ah, but I probably wouldn’t die, because I can use Storage Gates as shields. Not that I want to try it. And I would be arrested if I did. Not to mention that seekers receive harsher sentences than people without the awakening surgery. Seekers are pretty much cyborgs, meaning people such as myself are practically human weapons.
Then it’s time to cash out.
After crossing the gate, and as I’m about to head to the exit, I’m taken to a somewhat large private room.
Here I see the device called assessment platform, where people can put what they got in the dungeon to have a machine scan them. The AI evaluates the materials, and outputs money.
It’s like a self-checkout machine. The advances of technology are amazing.
Information is uploaded from the seeker device at the same time. The AI quickly assesses all information like footage to confirm its assessment of materials and check for any wrongdoing. This is one of the reasons why crime is so low in dungeons. The AI acts as judge over any arguments too, and the output text will be used as evidence in court.
Today, I left with twenty ether crystals, and five kobold magic stones.
Magic stones are all you can take from kobolds. I wish they dropped cobalt like their name implies… But monsters were actually named by the ones who discovered them, and apparently have no connection to folklore or anything.
‘Assessment complete. Mister Oonuki presented ether crystals worth 187000 yen. Each magic stone is worth 1500 yen, bringing the total to 26200 yen. Do you accept?’
Considering this is the result of three hours of work, it’s not bad at all.
“No problem. Please transfer it to my bank account.”
Fufufu, my first adventure yielded twenty-five thousand.
I’ll have some yakiniku on the way back… No, let’s not. Let’s eat meat once the memories of today have faded.
In any case, I feel like I have proof that I can make a living as a seeker. It’s just that fighting magic beasts drains my spirit. Killing living beings and having to deal with them after that is tougher than I thought.
But the fact of the matter is, I won’t be able to continue working as a seeker if I don’t get over it, so I will.
I will become the greatest seeker. I can’t let this stop me.
———————————
【Next time】
After returning from hell, the man will overcome his trial, and have meat.
He vows never to let a tragedy happen again, and has a secret plan.
If what separates man from beast is intelligence, Zenjurou Oonuki is undoubtedly a man. No, he is Asura wearing human skin. The opening curtain to a new hell.
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