Chapter 4
I kept shouting.
And I kept snapping my fingers.
I kept shouting with enough force to drown out even a wall slam, and even drove my neighbors away with my yelling.
"Calibur! Calibur! Calibur!"
Around the 500th time, I realized that putting emphasis on "Calibur" seemed to trigger the success condition.
Thanks to leveling up, I somehow endured, but a normal human body would've lost a finger after 1,000 snaps.
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★Daily Mission★
Keep working hard every day!
'The Promised Victory at Your Fingertips'
Snap your fingers while shouting "Excalibur"
1,000/1,000
★Today's Daily Mission Complete!★
Reward: Ancestral Wisdom C (10,000 EXP)
1,000 EXP
Consecutive days: Day 3
Steady Rank: Bronze 1.0x multiplier
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Pikon
The small EXP reward wasn't given as an item but directly added to me.
For now, I decided to use this "Ancestral Wisdom C" anomalous substance too.
Pikopikonpikon
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Akagi Hideo
Level 18
HP 140/140
MP 48/48
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv2'
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Yeah, going smoothly.
Unlike yesterday's hellish mission, it's still only noon. Since I have time, I figured I'd check out the dungeon.
From the hotel, it was a two-hour trip by bus and on foot.
Using info from social media and the Dungeon Foundation, I arrived at a disaster-zone-like area lined with tents, just like before.
To enter the Dungeon Countermeasures HQ, I showed my explorer's brooch to the armed police officers.
The Countermeasures HQ, where explorers shared all kinds of intel, was already bustling with activity.
I could hear veteran explorers talking.
"This one's huge. A search confirmed it goes down to the 20th floor."
"20 floors... It's been a while since we got a Class 3 dungeon..."
Apparently, this dungeon was a massive mountain compared to my first attempt.
"Hey, you... Akagi, right?"
"Uh, yeah, Mister."
A muscular, gray-haired man.
It was Mister.
He had a massive two-handed axe on his hip, but given his size, it looked more like a hand axe. He actually wielded it one-handed.
"So, you decided to keep being an explorer?"
"Yeah. Gotta keep at it, little by little."
"Right. Well, only you can choose your path. As your senior, I respect your decision."
I emphasized the "little by little" part.
Mister probably responded with, "Yeah, steadily doing Daily Missions is key." Makes sense. Gotta clear those dailies.
"What's the situation with this dungeon? Has the boss room assault team been formed yet?"
"Not yet. The Dungeon Foundation prioritizes thoroughness. We're still in the preliminary stages."
There are three main stages to dungeon conquest.
Stage 1
Dungeon Foundation Investigation
Explorers under the Foundation conduct preliminary surveys to determine the dungeon's nature. Based on scale, monsters, and floors, it's classified, and civilian explorers are invited.
Stage 2
Dungeon Conquest
The actual conquest begins, extracting crystals and anomalous substances.
Stage 3
Boss Subjugation
After discovering the boss room and harvesting most resources, an assault team is formed to eliminate the boss with overwhelming force.
"The dungeon class is being announced!"
Someone among the explorers shouted.
I checked the Dungeon Foundation's official app, searched for the dungeon I was in, and read the freshly updated info.
Class 3 Dungeon.
A large-scale dungeon classification.
For reference, my first dungeon was Class 2.
Explorers packed their gear, armed themselves, and steadily advanced into the dungeon.
"Akagi, let's go together."
"Please take care of me."
Mister and I ventured into the first floor together.
A monster appeared.
"Akagi, you're unarmed..."
"Just watch."
I snapped my fingers.
HP to ATK.
The conversion rate for 'Finger Snap Lv2' was 1:5. Well, let's try using 10 HP first.
─Snap
A small explosion erupted, engulfing the monster in flames.
It turned to charcoal and vanished without a trace.
Only particles of light remained.
ATK 0.1 was just a spark, so with 500 times that power (ATK 50), this made sense.
"Wha—Akagi, what was that?"
"A finger snap. See? I can fight just fine."
"'Finger Snap' shouldn't have that kind of firepower... Show me your status."
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Akagi Hideo
Level 18
HP 130/140
MP 48/48
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv2'
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"'Finger Snap'... Lv2?! That skill exists for the weakest move?!"
Mister was seriously shocked.
Wait, did he just casually call it the "weakest skill"? Or was I imagining things?
"More importantly, Akagi, your level—what did you do? How'd you level up so fast?"
"Daily Missions."
"Daily Missions? (Some kind of code word?)"
"You've been clearing your dailies too, right, Mister?"
"Clearing dailies... (That's code, huh). Yeah, of course I have (I drink a spoonful of olive oil daily as part of my routine)."
"If you keep at it bit by bit every day, you'll grow as a person. Well, in my case, I leveled up a lot by pushing through some tough ones daily."
"I see... You really went all out... (So he trained in other dungeons. He's got serious guts)."
I showed Mister the details of 'Finger Snap Lv2'.
"Compared to skills that consume MP, the numbers are set pretty high since it trades HP."
"That took 10 HP."
"This is the first floor. You probably don't need that much firepower here, right?"
Taking Mister's advice, I decided to prioritize saving resources and settled on using 'finger snap'—costing 1 HP for 5 ATK—to take down monsters.
"You're probably the first person in the world to level up 'Finger Snap' to Lv2."
"That's probably true."
I snapped my fingers twice.
The monster toppled over.
It turned into particles of light and entered my body.
It felt like I was gaining experience.
First-floor monsters go down in two finger snaps. They're surprisingly fragile.
"Huh, what's this?"
"That's a crystal. Lucky you. It's a decent size."
A glowing stone about the size of a Tic Tac.
Clear and beautiful.
Apparently, this one could fetch a few thousand yen.
Perfect.
Since we were short on time, I did a little more exploring, picked up about three Tic Tac-sized crystals, and then called it a day.
Mister, acting as a guide, said, "Since there's no point in me defeating floor 1 monsters," and let me take all the spoils.
At his level, I guess small EXP gains and tiny crystals aren't worth his time.
Well, I'll hoard them. Every last one, greedily, shamelessly. Yeah.
After leaving the dungeon, I headed to the appraisal office to turn in the crystals.
Basically, you can't take crystals out of the dungeon.
The Dungeon Foundation buys them all.
"Oh, Shurado."
"Who are you again?!"
She doesn't remember me... Well, dealing with so many people daily, it makes sense...
"Ahaha, just kidding! Welcome back, Akagi! You made it back alive again today! Good job!"
Thank goodness it was a joke.
Though I still sense poison laced in her words—or is that just me?
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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
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Total: 8,806 yen
Dungeon Bank Balance: 8,806 yen
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"This is a huge improvement from a few days ago! Amazing, Akagi!"
"Hmph, well, this is nothing."
According to Shurado, today was really lucky. I'll need to stabilize at this level... No, my dream goes beyond this. I'll become a millionaire here.
By the way, rewards are deposited directly, and withdrawals are only possible via Dungeon Bank.