Chapter 14
Hello, I'm Akagi Hideo, a C-rank explorer.
Wearing the high-quality emerald brooch I received yesterday and exuding an air of competence, I descended to the hotel lobby.
"Check out, please."
Being a guy, my luggage is light.
With my middle school backpack in one hand, I transferred buses and walked to the dungeon camp.
Following the map sent via the Dungeon Foundation SNS DM, I headed to Gunma Daiichi Hotel, a 5-minute walk from the camp, checked in at the front desk, quickly finished the procedures, briefly checked the room, left my luggage, and exited the hotel again.
I spun coins, did coin tosses—never neglecting my daily training.
Deepening my friendship with coins, I stuffed my smartphone, cards (no business cards inside), wireless earbuds, and battery into the pockets of the simple trench coat (now my everyday wear, already worn out) that came with the job-hunting suit I bought from Aoyama, then returned to the camp.
Passing through the lively outer area, which was as festive as ever, I greeted the familiar police officers with a "Good work today!" and entered the inner area via face recognition. Felt a bit VIP-ish—greeting cops is fun.
"Good morning, Akagi! We've been waiting for you!"
"Good morning, Shurado."
"How was the hotel? Did you check in okay? Figured out how to enter your room?"
She fussed over me with all sorts of worries.
I reassured her with an "All good" to put her at ease.
"Do your best again today!"
After enjoying a morning chat with Shurado, I headed to the shop to look for a backpack.
Yesterday, I got attacked by some mysterious saboteur and couldn't buy one, so today I'm determined to get a proper, long-lasting bag.
"Hey, Finger Man, been waitin' for ya."
"You're... Dr. Senile Old Man."
"What's with that disrespectful name?! Just 'Doctor' is fine!"
"What do you want?"
"Wanted to ask how 'Mugen High-Load' felt to use."
"It's busted."
"Whaaat?!"
"To be precise, it got destroyed."
"Sh-Shurado-chan...? No way... Again, she... my invention..."
The doctor clutched his head like a lonely old man tormented by nightmares.
"To prove 'Mugen High-Load's' performance, we'll need an improved 'Mugen High-Load ver2.0'."
"Good luck with development."
They say not to get involved with Shurado.
Time to excuse myself here.
"So, I'll be taking 'Mugen High-Load ver2.0' with me."
It's already done?!
Like before, I caught the duralumin case he threw at me.
"Don't worry, this one's a perfect edition—fixed the flaw where you couldn't retrieve the crystal."
"So, does that mean 'Mugen High-Load' is truly complete now?"
If so, isn't this a revolutionary invention of the century? (Again?)
Truly an underrated genius inventor.
Personally, I'd love to support him.
So, with 'Mugen High-Load ver2.0' in hand, I headed into the dungeon.
First, I opened the 'Secret Map' and uploaded today's hunting grounds to SNS.
Then, I took a photo of 'Mugen High-Load ver2.0' from the doctor and posted it with "New dungeon bag" as a caption.
Descended to the 6th floor.
Compared to earlier, it was quieter, and the number of monsters had decreased.
On to the 7th floor.
Made it down safely.
Spotted a monster.
A Chihuahua the size of a Border Collie.
Definitely bigger than before.
"Calibur."
With one hand occupied by the duralumin case, I snapped my fingers with just my right hand, firing 'Finger Snap Lv3'.
'Finger Snap Lv3's' conversion rate is HP:ATK 1:20.
The monster charged at me fiercely.
Fast. Unbelievably agile compared to before. Like Pikachu using Quick Attack, it zigzagged, making it hard to aim, then lunged for my throat.
I pooled HP8 and unleashed ATK160 (6th-floor Chihuahuas are one-snap-one-kill range).
Hit.
But the monster didn't retreat—it bit down with its sturdy jaw. Super armor? I backstepped to create distance and started chaining attacks.
Once, twice, thrice, four times—
Found out it takes 16 'Finger Snap Lv3' shots (ATK320 total) to defeat it.
Estimated HP is around 301–320.
Nearly twice as tough as the 6th floor.
I see.
If I treated it like before, I'd be in trouble.
For the first time, I decided to make this floor my hunting grounds—because of the monsters' strength.
Until now, I only cared about their toughness, but now there's a risk of me taking hits.
If they pull off that Quick Attack-like movement, even 'Finger Snap Lv3's' accuracy might not save me.
So, I spent the day on the 7th floor, adjusting my eyes and reflexes.
By the way, today's daily 'Daily Workout: Push-ups' was quickly done inside the dungeon.
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★ Daily Mission ★
Keep pushing forward every day!
'Daily Workout: Push-ups'
Push-ups 300/300 reps
★ Today's Daily Mission complete! ★
Reward: EXP 5,000
Consecutive days: Day 16
Steady Rank: Silver (2.5x multiplier)
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I've grown enough that EXP 5,000 × 2.5 doesn't level me up anymore. EXP is like drugs—at first, a little was enough... Heheh, I wanna level up so bad...
Driven by withdrawal, half-dazed, I cremated the Chihuahuas.
Picked up the crystal and put it in the duralumin case.
By day's end,
only hearing the level-up sound once every few hours made me start hallucinating.
I wanna level up.
Let me level up... Just a little...
Half-conscious, I messed up and tossed 'Blue Blood' into 'Mugen High-Load ver2.0' during my running hunting routine, then closed the lid.
"Ahh, no, no..."
Opened the lid.
'Blue Blood' was still there.
But... it looked a bit cleaner?
Curious, I tapped the item display to check details.
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'Blue Blood Lv2'
A medical tool used by ancient sorcerers.
MP10 to charge. Restores 200 HP when used.
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Huh...? My baby leveled up without me noticing...
"Wait, Mugen High-Load, is this your function?! ...Huh? The crystals are almost gone?!"
Upon checking, I realized.
Turns out, 'Mugen High-Load ver2.0' had a fatal flaw.
Apparently, this dungeon equipment has a strange ability—when you put anomalous substances and crystals inside, it consumes the crystals to evolve the anomalous substances to Lv2.
My formerly rusty, unsanitary syringe partner now looks brand new and shiny.
Unbelievable.
Could it be? Was that doctor actually a genius?
"Welcome back, Akagi! You must be tired after today! That's the doctor's invention, right? I'll smash it with this sledgehammer now, so put it down there!"
Stooop!
She's not bad!
She's an amazing girl, I tell you!
While protecting 'Mugen High-Load ver2.0,' I prove that it can properly spit out crystals.
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Today's Appraisal
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Small Crystal 2,096 yen
Small Crystal 2,609 yen
Small Crystal 2,000 yen
Small Crystal 2,101 yen
Small Crystal 2,093 yen
Small Crystal 2,215 yen
Small Crystal 2,609 yen
Small Crystal 2,000 yen
Small Crystal 2,101 yen
Crystal 4,869 yen
Crystal 4,963 yen
Crystal 5,200 yen
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Total 34,316 yen (probably over 200,000 yen absorbed for the evolution of 'Blue Blood')
Dungeon Bank Account Balance 215,895 yen
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"Amazing! This is the first time the doctor's invention actually worked properly!"
It seems I've gotten my hands on a once-in-a-thousand-years miracle invention.
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Akagi Hideo
Level 69
HP 1905/2,156
MP 360/449
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv3'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv2'
'Proof of the Chosen One'
'Secret Map'
'Mugen High-Load ver2.0'
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I also leveled up a little.
Since I've gotten used to the monsters' footwork, I think I'll descend to the 8th floor tomorrow.