Chapter 15
As I surfaced from drowsiness, an unpleasant dryness immediately assaulted my throat.
A side effect of the room's excessive heating.
How careless of me.
Changing hotels made me overlook the lack of a humidifier function.
Truly, in Gunma, letting your guard down means no guarantee of survival.
I was lucky. By all rights, I should have died yesterday.
"Thank you, 'Proof of the Chosen One'."
Lately, whenever something good happens, I make a point to credit this.
After washing my face and turning on some music, I check my daily missions.
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★Today's Daily Mission★
Keep up the steady effort every day!
'Great Detective: Pursuit Chapter'
Stalking 0 hours/1 hour
Consecutive days: Day 16
Steady Rank: Silver 2.5x multiplier
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So it'll take an hour.
At first glance, it seems easy.
But I know better.
In most cases, Daily-kun has a trap card called Silent Regulation up his sleeve.
Anticipating unimaginable difficulties, I decided to tackle this daily mission early.
Of course, I fiddled with a coin between my fingers, ready for 'Probability Time' to start anytime.
After changing clothes, I stepped outside the hotel.
Arriving at camp, I decided to find a suitable target.
Since it just says 'stalk someone,' I can follow anyone, right?
"Hey, Finger Man! Heading into the dungeon again today? Youth sure is energetic!"
"Me? One day in there takes two weeks to recover my HP! Hahaha!"
Cornered by drunken explorers, I escaped using my family heirloom skill: the polite smile.
Damn it.
Apparently, 'Finger Man' has caught on around here.
That doesn't mean I can't stalk someone, though.
I'll casually follow someone who doesn't seem to know me.
Someone with an unfamiliar face in this area.
Ah, there—someone I rarely see.
Hmm, I think our eyes met for just a second.
Oh? Now they're running away.
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★Today's Daily Mission★
Keep up the steady effort every day!
'Great Detective: Pursuit Chapter'
Stalking 0 hours 0 minutes 2 seconds/1 hour
Consecutive days: Day 16
Steady Rank: Silver 2.5x multiplier
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The daily mission has begun.
If it's called stalking, I have to keep chasing, no matter what.
I see.
Having mastered coin tricks without looking, I followed the unfamiliar man while idly practicing coin tosses.
Before I knew it, we reached a mountain path.
After about 50 minutes, the man kept glancing back before breaking into a sprint.
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★Today's Daily Mission★
Keep up the steady effort every day!
'Great Detective: Pursuit Chapter'
Stalking 0 hours 52 minutes 08 seconds/1 hour
Consecutive days: Day 16
Steady Rank: Silver 2.5x multiplier
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Even if they notice me, it still counts as stalking, so I'll keep going.
Starting over would be a pain.
Deeper, deeper into the forest.
My target was driven into a dead end.
I stood blocking the entrance.
15 meters ahead, the trapped man looked around frantically, then turned pale upon seeing me.
Only the sound of my coin flipping echoed around us.
Seems I scared him a bit.
But well, this completes the daily mission—I won't do anything else.
"F-Finger Man... P-please spare me... I-I never meant to anger you...!"
Guess I scared him way too much.
But if he knows me as Finger Man, he must know explorers live for dailies.
"Just a stalking mission (for the daily). Sorry for the trouble."
With that, I bowed apologetically and returned to camp.
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★Today's Daily Mission★
Keep up the steady effort every day!
'Great Detective: Pursuit Chapter'
Stalking 1 hour/1 hour
★Today's Daily Mission Complete!★
Reward: Ancestral Wisdom C (10,000 EXP)
5,000 EXP
Consecutive days: Day 17
Steady Rank: Silver 2.5x multiplier
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Cleared without issue.
(New skill unlocked.)
Oh?
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Akagi Hideo
Level 69
HP 2,156/2,156
MP 449/449
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv3'
'Phobia Syndrome'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv2'
'Proof of the Chosen One'
'Secret Map'
'Mugen High-Load ver2.0'
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So skills can increase later, huh... Though the name 'Phobia Syndrome' sounds kinda ominous.
I swipe my finger over the 'Phobia Syndrome' window to open the details.
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'Phobia Syndrome'
The mark of one who delights in spreading terror.
Gains experience points from others' fear.
Unlock Condition: Inflict the terror of death upon prey while keeping them alive.
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N-no, I'm not enjoying this.
Gaining experience from others' fear is a pretty scummy skill.
I'm *definitely* not using this!
Not that I need to—I'm a model human, after all!
Watching Shurado busily handling the explorers, I felt motivated and headed into the dungeon.
Alright, time to upload today's hunting grounds using the 'Secret Map' to SNS.
Wow, within ten minutes, it spread to 20 people and got 69 likes!
Proof that Finger Man's daily hunting corner is slowly catching on!
Huh? But the post I made yesterday about the "new dungeon bag" mentioning 'Mugen High-Load ver2.0' only got 2 likes... Seems like not many people care about Finger Man himself yet.
"W-well, it's not like I care..."
I quietly deleted the post.
Yeah, yeah, it's not like I *want* attention. Sharing useful info is enough... ugh...
I descended to the dungeon's 7th floor, warmed up a bit, then went down to the 8th.
As usual, I start by firing ATK 320 (one-snap-one-kill range for 7th-floor Chihuahuas) before carving through.
Result: ATK 460 burned them up.
Cost: HP 23.
No ammo issues.
I don't feel in danger from the monsters' strength anymore.
There was a gap between the 6th and 7th floors, but I adapted to the speed.
Firing a finger snap before they get close isn't *that* hard.
So, with newfound confidence and impending floor restrictions creeping in, I descended to the 9th floor.
Found a Chihuahua. Though it's not really a Chihuahua-sized thing anymore—it's bloated from oxygen exposure. Well... Let's just call it a Chihuahua.
C'mere, c'mere, it's time for charred remains~.
"Grrrrl!"
*—Snap*
ATK 460's flames engulf the Chihuahua.
At the same time, it bursts through the black smoke, charging at me.
So fast. It headbutts me square in the gut.
My vision spins as I tumble across the dungeon's cold floor.
"Grrrl!"
"Calibur!"
I toss aside the duralumin case, unleash both hands, and barrage it with six 'Finger Snap Lv3' shots per second. Don't underestimate the rapid-fire (※finger snaps) I trained with Calibur.
A few seconds later.
Dealing ATK 610 damage, it finally burns out, dropping a Large Crystal.
"First time taking damage..."
Worried, I check my status.
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Akagi Hideo
Level 69
HP 1,596/2,156
MP 449/449
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv3'
'Phobia Syndrome'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv2'
'Proof of the Chosen One'
'Secret Map'
'Mugen High-Load ver2.0'
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Ugh, I don't even know how much I took...
Probably from HP-consuming attacks.
How many did I kill on the 7th floor? Two on the 8th...? Dunno! Can't remember!
But it didn't *feel* that painful.
If my HP had dropped below 1,000, I might've panicked—but it doesn't *look* that low. Wait, *did* it even drop? Maybe no damage at all...
But it *was* fast.
So, level-wise, I can handle the 9th floor, but my actual specs (reaction speed, real experience, adaptability) haven't caught up to my stat level yet.
Hmm, tough call.
Feels like ATK 610 could work on the next floor too, but—
'Warning! Explorer rank insufficient!'
As expected, this warning comes quick.
But whatever.
Things have been going *too* smoothly, which is why my stats are outpacing me.
Maybe I should train properly here.
That day, I ran my usual hunting routine on the 9th floor.
Alright, time to head back—let's use 'Mugen High-Load ver2.0'.
Of course, it's packed with crystals.
If I put an anomalous substance in here, I should get anomalous substance Lv2.
I try inserting the 'Secret Map'.
Open the lid.
"Did it change...? Huh? No, maybe not..."
Crystals didn't decrease either.
Ugh. Didn't work.
Was my guess wrong?
Or is this evolution function limited to one item per use?
No way to know now. I'll ask Dr. if I find him.
"Welcome back, Akagi! Good work! Why'd you delete the dungeon bag post? You weren't embarrassed, right? No way, ahaha!"
Stabbed the moment I returned! Stop! That *gets* me! Wait, so Shurado was the one who liked it? Thanks, love ya~!
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Today's Appraisal
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Small Crystal — ¥2,096
Small Crystal — ¥2,609
Small Crystal — ¥2,000
Small Crystal — ¥2,101
Small Crystal — ¥2,093
Small Crystal — ¥2,215
Small Crystal — ¥2,609
Small Crystal — ¥2,000
Small Crystal — ¥2,101
Crystal — ¥4,869
Crystal — ¥4,963
Crystal — ¥5,200
Crystal — ¥5,936
Crystal — ¥4,869
Crystal — ¥4,963
Crystal — ¥5,200
Crystal — ¥5,078
Crystal — ¥7,296
Crystal — ¥5,001
Crystal — ¥5,963
Crystal — ¥5,209
Crystal — ¥5,396
Large Crystal — ¥10,725
Large Crystal — ¥10,210
Large Crystal — ¥13,079
Large Crystal — ¥16,906
Large Crystal — ¥14,076
Large Crystal — ¥11,909
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Total — ¥166,132
Dungeon Bank Account Balance — ¥382,027
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"Six Large Crystals! You really are a beloved explorer, Akagi!"
"Beloved explorer?"
"It means you're loved by the dungeon! Large Crystals are generally recognized as drops from floors 10 and beyond, so even encountering them on floor 9 is incredibly lucky! And you got so many!"
Lucky......
I stroke the black brooch, 'Proof of the Chosen One.' Did you attract them, you damn...... (I named it.)
Pikon!
Huh?
Did I just level up?
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Akagi Hideo
Level 73
HP 1,590/2,960
MP 150/630
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv3'
'Phobia Syndrome'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv2'
'Proof of the Chosen One'
'Secret Map'
'Mugen High-Load ver2.0'
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It went up.
I wonder why.
I didn't even defeat any monsters.
"What's wrong, Akagi?"
"No, it's nothing."
No need to dwell on it.
It must just be a delayed stat update.
──Little did I know at the time that somewhere, someone had been cornered, and the chilling, dark terror surrounding 'Finger Man' had already begun to spread.