Chapter 34
Yeah, feeling good. I just leveled up a ton.
(A new skill has been unlocked)
I'm getting so many skills today.
It makes me really happy to get so many new ones.
───────────────────
'Super Metal Assault'
A sturdy shield is a troublesome weapon.
But there is no such thing as an impenetrable defense.
For 15 seconds, reduce the target's defense by 50%.
Usable once every 168 hours.
Unlock condition: Kill 10 or more enemies with over 10,000 defense using an area attack simultaneously.
───────────────────
Powerful (confirmed)
But hey. But, you know?
A 168-hour cooldown means it's one of those ultra-heavy skills like 'One Hit' or 'Probability Time: Coin Lv2,' right?
I would've been even happier if it were something a bit more usable.
'Super Metal Assault' is too much, 'Slight Metal Assault' would've been just right.
With a new skill in hand, I cheerfully continued through the dungeon.
Using 'Labyrinth Conqueror,' I advanced without getting lost and finally reached the deepest part.
It was a long journey. I kept inching forward while doing Daily Missions, so I'm totally exhausted.
If one of those non-self-contained Daily Missions had shown up, I'd have been completely screwed.
'Proof of the Chosen One' really saved me.
Thanks to it, I probably avoided the worst kind of daily.
You saved me big time, Buchi. I'll give you a gentle polish with a dry cloth later.
Still, this dungeon is truly a strange place.
Time flows slower than in the outside world, and metallic shiba inu keep showing up.
There doesn't even seem to be the concept of floors.
It just keeps expanding horizontally.
Just before the final dome, there was a room about the size of a school gymnasium.
Wooden scaffolding was built over a swamp.
They probably cut down some of the dungeon's weird naturally growing curved trees to build it.
The scaffolding had been turned into a livable space.
On the multi-level scaffolding, there were several cottages lined up.
There were signs of repeated expansions upward and upward.
But what caught the eye the most wasn't the upper cottages—it was the orderly rows of filthy beds on the ground.
It's pointless to count, but even at a glance, there had to be at least a hundred beds.
Next to the beds were workbenches with rusted medical tools on them.
Against the walls stood wooden shelves lined with biological specimens in murky liquid.
That spacious area had no one in it.
I walked forward and approached one of the beds.
All that remained on the bed were dark stains.
Some beds had reddish or silvery stains instead.
I tried opening the door of one of the ground-level cottages.
Inside, a metallic skeleton was preserved in a giant tank of formalin (probably).
It was some kind of skeletal specimen. Definitely not human.
It stood nearly 3 meters tall. Muscular and looked absurdly strong.
Was this one also a metal monster?
Some documents had been left open, so I glanced down at them.
"Metal monster original specimen. Species number 114-51, name: 'Wander Boss: Metal Sentinel'... So this is a boss too. Huh. So it sometimes wanders around inside the dungeon. I guess it's different from a Resource Boss or a Dungeon Boss. I bet it gives lots of experience if you take it down."
"Chii-chii-chii"
"Hm? Is someone coming?"
"Chii-chii"
I quickly hid behind the tank containing the metal monster original specimen.
A suspicious-looking man entered.
He was wrapped in a black robe.
He looked like some ancient fallen Buddhist monk-style villain (not even a real Japanese phrase).
He operated a device next to the original specimen's tank and extracted silver liquid from it.
When he left the cottage, I followed him.
As he approached one of the filthy beds, he injected the silver liquid into a vicious-looking "shiba inu" that appeared to be a dungeon monster.
The shiba inu transformed into a "metal shiba inu."
I had suspected something was off when Hagane appeared, but as I thought, the metal shiba inu were modified monsters created by the villains lurking in this dungeon.
Metal monster research, in short, was the study of using naturally occurring metal monsters (like that metal original specimen) as the base to create artificial metal monsters.
"Hmm, but if they keep making lots of metal monsters, wouldn't that mean tons of experience points for me...?"
"Chii-chii!!"
"Ow, ow ow! S-Sorry, Shimaenaga-san, I-I was wrong!"
"Chii! Chii-chii-chii!"
"I haven't forgotten, you're Grandpa, right?! Grandpaaaa!! Grandpaaaa!! Where aaaaare you!!"
"Tch, an intruder?!"
Crap. I've been spotted.
"Who are you?!"
"Hagane should've gone out to intercept you!!"
"Did Hagane lose...? What did you do to our comrade?!"
One after another, the villains came pouring out from the back.
No need to panic—handle it with confidence.
I adjusted my sunglasses, flipped my coat, and placed the plump Shimaenaga-san on my fingertip as I spoke.
"I'm Finger Man. Hagane is dead (probably). Do you all want to join him?"
"Tch, you little...! Come forth, our pride and anti-Dungeon Foundation ultimate monster—Metal Shiba Inu! Show this intruder your majesty!"
It came stepping lightly from the back of the chamber.
This time, a metal shiba inu about the height of my stomach appeared. It was far bigger than the ones before.
"Heh, this one's a special metal shiba inu called 'Metal Shiba Inu High-End,' made by modifying a dungeon shiba inu from the 14th floor! It's on a whole different level from the rest!"
"Oh? Looks tasty (experience-wise)."
"D-Did he just look at us and say we looked tasty...? Don't tell me he's... that way?!"
"Now that I look, he's pretty buff... He's totally gay! (※That's a stereotype.)"
"Tch! Take him down before he takes us down! Go, Metal Shiba Inu High-End!"
It flipped over the neatly lined beds in the hall and charged at me with incredible speed.
I snapped my fingers with 50,000 ATK.
The boom echoed loudly through the high-ceilinged space.
But Metal Shiba Inu High-End didn't stop.
Fast.
Just like with Metal Hagane, I feel like their speed is more troublesome than their toughness.
Metal Shiba Inu High-End's tackle.
I countered with a yakuza-style kick to its nose and pushed it back.
"Kyain!"
"""Uwaaa!! It's bouncing back toward us?!"""
"If 50k doesn't cut it, then 100... no, let's go with 150k."
I snapped my fingers.
A massive explosion and scorching wind blasted through the dimensional space.
The violent tremor began to collapse the upper-level cottages.
Pikon pikon!!
I heard the voice of leveling up.
Proof that it's been defeated.
"Chii~♪"
I hear Shimaenaga-san's joyful chirp.
Proof that it stole my experience points.
"A monster..."
"Impossible... That kind of destructive skill shouldn't exist..."
"So this is the true power of the one they call Finger Man..."
"Haha, hahaha... That's even more powerful than the rumors on the message boards... Guh (faints)"
Alright, are there any enemies left?
After combat ends, it's injection time.
Let's inject 'Blue Blood Lv3' now.
"That Finger Man... injecting such a shady liquid into his body..."
"No doubt, that's some kind of illegal doping. Even the Dungeon Foundation has strict regulations on narcotic-type anomalies..."
"Look at that ecstatic face. He's addicted. That guy's a total doping addict..."
Who are you calling an addict?
(A new skill has been unlocked)
Huh?
Again?
This one's really amazing. That's the third one now.
──────────────────
'Blue Pulsation'
Proof of having accepted the blood of something inhuman.
A new life flows within you.
Recovers 1 HP every 10 seconds
Unlock condition: Infected by 'Blue Blood'
──────────────────
......
Sorry.
I might actually be a doping addict.
"Chii-chii-chii"
"Shimaenaga-san, you've gotten pretty plump too."
"Chii~chii~♪"
"You won't fit in the chest pocket anymore."
"Chii..."
Thanks to the Metal Shiba Inus, we both experienced significant growth.
Grinding those dailies helped a lot too.
Well, I haven't used any energy drinks—'skill nutrients', though.
That's because you can't use them without drinking them, so even if I get a bunch, they just pile up.
So I've been saving them for later. I think I've got around 30 bottles now. My coat's inner pocket is stuffed.
By the way, I used the old books right away.
────────────────────
Akagi Hideo
Level 130
HP 9,152/15,529
MP 1,253/2,623
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv4'
'Phobia Syndrome Lv3'
'One-Hit'
'Steel Spirit'
'Probability Time: Coin Lv2'
'Super Metal Assault'
'Blue Pulsation'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv3' G4
'Proof of the Chosen One' G3
'Labyrinth Conqueror' G4
'Adolphene's Holy Shroud' G3
────────────────────
That's how I'm doing.
────────────────────
Shimaenaga-san
Level 19
HP 10/5,520
MP 10/4,523
Skills
'Blasphemous Morning Star'
'Blasphemous Pact'
────────────────────
That's how Shimaenaga-san is doing.
Yeah. That growth rate is insane.
These aren't the stats of a level 19.
"Chii-chii-chii♪"
"Good for you, huh? (dead-eyed stare)"
I really wonder if I can take care of them till the end.
"A monster... A monster..."
"Why did our Metal Shiba Inu High-End..."
"Our noble ideal to free the world from the Dungeon Foundation's evil grasp..."
"Even though we spent years preparing according to Araragi's script..."
"A tragedy... If this isn't a tragedy, then what is..."
"Alright, let's tie them up."
""""T-Tie us up?! (Wait, do they mean like a turtle?!)""""
I tied up the suspicious men with rope.
They struggled a lot while I was tying them, so I ended up binding them turtle-style, but hey, as long as they can't move, it's fine, right? (completely unaware)
I mean, these guys are definitely from an enemy faction of the Foundation.
"Noble ideals" and all that—it reeks of a cult.
Probably cultists?
They're definitely bad guys.
I need to hand them over to Shurado!
"Hideo... Hideo, are you there?"
A voice came from one of the collapsed cottages.
It was Grandpa's voice.
Crap. Grandpa was locked inside the cottage?
I dropped it from a solid 20 meters without thinking.
"Grandpa! Grandpa, where are you?!"
"Over here, Hideo."
He seems surprisingly okay.
Man, that's a relief.
"I'm so glad you're safe, Grandpa—"
I was about to run to him, but then I stopped in my tracks.
"Hideo, are you alright?"
"......"
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Uh, well... Grandpa, what about you? What's going on with that?"
"Ah, this? They shot me with a strange gun... and then I ended up like this."
My grandfather had transformed into something unrecognizable.
He had turned metallic, of all things.
His whole body was glossy, with a metallic sheen, and it echoed when tapped.
What in the world...
Isn't this basically Metal Grandpa now?
────────────────────────────────────
Yeah, looking good. I leveled up a bunch.
(A new skill has been unlocked)
I'm getting a lot of new skills today.
I'm really happy to get so many.
───────────────────
'Super Metal Assault'
A sturdy shield is a troublesome weapon.
But there's no such thing as an impenetrable defense.
For 15 seconds, reduces the opponent's defense by 50%.
Can be used once every 168 hours.
Unlock condition: Use an area attack to kill 10 or more enemies with defense over 10,000 at the same time.
───────────────────
Strong (confirmed)
But you know. Even so?
A cooldown of 168 hours puts it in the same ultra-heavy category as 'One-Shot' and 'Probability Time: Coin Lv2'.
It would've been even better if it were a bit easier to use.
'Slight Metal Assault' would've been good enough instead of 'Super Metal Assault'.
I acquired a new skill and cheerfully continued through the dungeon.
Using 'Labyrinth Conqueror', I advanced without getting lost and finally made it to the deepest part.
That took forever. I kept moving a bit, doing daily missions, and it wore me out like crazy.
If a non-self-contained daily mission had shown up, I'd have been screwed.
Thank goodness I had the 'Proof of the Chosen One'.
Thanks to that, I probably avoided the worst daily.
You really saved me, Buchi. I'll gently polish you with a dry cloth later.
Still, this dungeon is truly a strange place.
Time moves slower than the outside world, and tons of metallic shiba inus appear.
On top of that, it seems the concept of floors doesn't exist here.
It just keeps expanding horizontally.
Just before the final dome, there was a room as big as a school gymnasium.
Wooden scaffolding had been built over a swamp.
Probably assembled using the twisted wood that grows naturally in the dungeon.
The space above the scaffolding had been made livable.
Several cottages were lined up on the multi-layered platforms.
There were signs of repeated upward expansions.
But what caught the eye the most wasn't the upper cottages—it was the orderly rows of dirty beds on the ground level.
Counting would be pointless, but at a glance, there were no fewer than a hundred beds.
Next to each bed stood a workbench with rusty medical tools placed on top.
Along the wall were shelves of biological specimens in murky liquid.
In that vast space, there wasn't a single person.
I stepped forward and approached the beds.
All that remained on them were dark stains.
Some beds had reddish or silver-colored stains.
I opened the door to one of the ground-level cottages.
Inside a giant tank, a metallic skeleton was preserved in formalin (probably).
It was some kind of skeletal specimen. Not human.
It stood nearly 3 meters tall. Muscular and freakishly strong-looking.
Was this thing also a metal monster?
A document had been left open, so I glanced down at it.
"Metal Monster Original Body. Species No. 114-51, name: 'Wander Boss: Metal Sentinel'... So this is a boss too. Huh. So it sometimes wanders the dungeon. I wonder if it's different from a Resource Boss or a Dungeon Boss. I bet it gives loads of experience when defeated."
"Chii chii chii"
"Hmm? Is someone coming?"
"Chii chii"
I quickly hid behind the tank holding the metal monster original body.
A suspicious-looking man entered.
He was wrapped in black cloth.
He looked like some ancient, fallen Buddhist-villain hybrid (not an actual Japanese phrase).
He operated a device near the tank and extracted a silver liquid from the original body.
He left the cottage, and I followed.
He approached one of the dirty beds and injected the silver liquid into a vicious-looking "shiba inu" that seemed like a dungeon monster.
The shiba inu transformed into a "metal shiba inu".
I had suspected something was off with Hagane's appearance, and as I thought, the metal shiba inus were modified monsters created by villains lurking in this dungeon.
So metal monster research was essentially about creating artificial metal monsters based on natural ones—like that original metal body.
"Hmm, but if they make a bunch of metal monsters, doesn't that mean I get tons of experience...?"
"Chii chii!!"
"Ouch, ow ow! S-Sorry, Shimaenaga-san, I-I was wrong!"
"Chii! Chii chii chii!"
"I haven't forgotten, you're Grandpa, right?! Grandpaaa!! Grandpaaa!! Where are youuu!!"
"Tch, an intruder!"
Crap. I've been spotted.
"You! Who are you?!"
"Hagane should've gone out to intercept you!"
"Hagane lost...? What did you do to our comrade?!"
Villains began pouring in from the back.
Stay calm and face them with confidence.
I adjusted my sunglasses, flipped my coat, and perched the fluffy Shimaenaga-san on my finger as I declared:
"I'm Finger Man. If you mean Hagane, he's dead (probably). Want to join him in the afterlife?"
"Tch, insolent brat! Come forth, our proud anti-Dungeon Foundation ultimate monster—Metal Shiba Inu! Show this intruder your might!"
It came prancing in from the back.
This time, a metal shiba inu the height of my stomach appeared. Way bigger than the ones before.
"Ha ha! This is a special metal shiba inu called 'Metal Shiba Inu High-End', modified from a dungeon shiba inu on the 14th floor! It's on a whole different level from the others!"
"Oh ho, looks tasty (in terms of experience)."
"H-He just looked at us and said we looked tasty... Wait, is he that way?!"
"Now that I look closely, he's pretty beefy... He's gotta be gay! (※That's a biased view)"
"Tch! Take him out before he takes us! Go, Metal Shiba Inu High-End!"
It flipped over the neatly lined beds and charged at incredible speed.
I snapped my fingers with 50,000 ATK.
The boom echoed through the high-ceilinged space.
But the Metal Shiba Inu High-End didn't stop.
It's fast.
I thought the same thing with Metal Hagane, but maybe their speed is more troublesome than their toughness.
A tackle from the Metal Shiba Inu High-End.
I blocked with a yakuza-style kick to its snout and pushed back.
"Kyain!"
"""Waaah!! It's bouncing back this way?!"""
"If 50,000 didn't work, then 100... no, let's go 150,000 for now."
I snapped my fingers.
A massive explosion and scorching wind blasted through the vertical space.
The violent tremor began collapsing the upper-level cottages.
Pikon pikon!!
I heard the voice of leveling up.
Proof that I defeated it.
"Chii~♪"
I heard Shimaenaga-san's joyful voice.
Proof that it stole my experience points.
"A monster..."
"Impossible... That destruction skill shouldn't exist... What the hell is that...?"
"So this is the rumored true power of the Finger Man..."
"Haha, hahaha, it's way more powerful than what the forums said... *Thunk* (faints)"
Now then, are there any enemies left?
Once the fight's over, I need to give myself an injection.
Let's stab in 'Blue Blood Lv3' nowww.
"That damn Finger Man, injecting such a shady liquid into his body..."
"No doubt about it, that's illegal doping. Even the Dungeon Foundation regulates drug-type anomalies..."
"Look at that blissful expression—he's an addict. That guy's doping addicted..."
Who you calling an addict?
(A new skill has been unlocked)
Huh?
Again?
This one's seriously amazing. That makes three now.
──────────────────
'Blue Pulsation'
Proof that you've accepted the blood of something inhuman.
A new life now circulates within you.
Recovers 1 HP every 10 seconds.
Unlock condition: Be afflicted by 'Blue Blood'
──────────────────
......
Sorry.
I might actually be a doping addict.
"Chii chii chii"
"Shimaenaga-san, you've gotten quite plump too."
"Chii chii~♪"
"You don't fit in my chest pocket anymore."
"Chii..."
Thanks to the Metal Shiba Inus, we both managed to grow a ton.
And I guess spamming dailies helped too.
Well, I haven't used any energy drinks—'skill nutrients'—though.
I mean, you can't use them unless you drink them, so even if I have a bunch, they just sit there.
So I'm saving them for later. I've got like 30 bottles already. My coat's inner pocket is stuffed full.
By the way, I use the old books right away.
────────────────────
Akagi Hideo
Level 130
HP 9,152/15,529
MP 1,253/2,623
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv4'
'Phobia Syndrome Lv3'
'One Shot'
'Steel Spirit'
'Probability Time: Coin Lv2'
'Super Metal Assault'
'Blue Pulsation'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv3' G4
'Proof of the Chosen One' G3
'Labyrinth Conqueror' G4
'Adolphene's Holy Shroud' G3
────────────────────
That's what I look like right now.
────────────────────
Shimaenaga-san
Level 19
HP 10/5,520
MP 10/4,523
Skills
'Blasphemous Morning Star'
'Blasphemous Pact'
────────────────────
That's Shimaenaga-san's status.
Yeah. Her growth rate is insane.
These aren't stats for level 19.
"Chii chii chii♪"
"Good for you... (monotone stare)"
I seriously wonder if I can take care of her to the end.
"It's a monster... It's a monster..."
"How could our Metal Shiba Inu High-End be defeated...?"
"Our noble mission to liberate the world from the Foundation's evil grip..."
"Even though we spent years preparing according to Araragi's script..."
"This is a tragedy... If this isn't tragedy, then what is..."
"All right, let's tie them up."
""""T-Tie us up?! (Don't tell me... like a turtle?!)""""
I tied up the suspicious men with rope.
They struggled so much while I tied them, I ended up wrapping them up like turtles, but hey, as long as they can't move, it's fine, right? (Totally unaware)
I mean, these guys are definitely enemies of the Foundation.
"Noble mission" and all that sounds super culty.
Are they cultists?
They're definitely bad guys.
I gotta hand them over to Shurado!
"Hideo, Hideo, are you there?"
I heard a voice coming from one of the collapsed cottages.
It was Grandpa's voice.
Oh crap. Was Grandpa locked up in the cottage?
I just dropped it from like 20 meters without thinking.
"Grandpa! Grandpa, where are you?!"
"Over here, Hideo."
He actually seems pretty okay.
Man, thank goodness.
"Thank goodness you're safe, Grandpa—"
I started to run to him but stopped in my tracks.
"Hideo, are you okay?"
"......"
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Uh, well... Grandpa, what about you—what's that?"
"Oh, this? They shot me with some strange gun... and next thing I knew, I was like this."
My grandfather had completely transformed.
To be specific, he had turned metallic.
His whole body was shiny, with a metal sheen, and it echoed when you tapped it.
What in the world.
Isn't this basically Metal Grandpa now?
────────────────────────────────────
Hello
Fantastic, isn't it?
I tried drawing 'Finger Man—Akagi Hideo'!
I think it'll give you a clearer image of Finger Man!
You can view it via the update note, so please take a look!
https://kakuyomu.jp/users/ytki0920/news/16816927859578279654