Chapter 53
The usual methods are no longer sufficient to meet Team Finger Man's EXP demands.
That's mostly because of the white demon and black demon who endlessly absorb EXP, but also because my own level has gotten pretty high, too.
What we need now are anomalies like the 'EXP Production Facility ver2.0' and 'Metal Trap Room'.
Daily production is an astounding 12.4 million.
Technically, that's 24 units of 'Golden EXP', each worth 100,000 EXP, plus one metal dachshund.
When combined with the power of Platinum members, it skyrockets to 124 million.
If someone were to embezzle that... it'd be a disaster.
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Current Production
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'Metal Trap Room'
10 million / 24h
'EXP Production Facility ver2.0'
2.4 million / 24h
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Total: 12.4 million EXP
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Platinum Member Bonus
12.4 million × 10.0 = 124 million
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Total Production: 124 million
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"So, from now on, I'll be cracking down hard on any cheating."
"Chii-chii!"
"Gii"
"Now that EXP is visualized and easier to manage, I'm going to be really strict about this."
"Chii chii chii!"
"Gii"
I wonder if these little ones really understand...
"Anyway, since unpaid labor is cruel, Shimaenaga-san will get one 'Golden EXP' per day for the next two months."
"Chii?!"
"That face won't work on me. And I'm revising the allocation. From now on, it'll be split evenly, 1:1:1. Gii-san, if Shimaenaga-san tries to oppress you, let me know immediately. I'll issue penalties. No objections allowed."
"Gii"
"Chii!!"
I feel like Shimaenaga-san is genuinely frustrated.
But if I go too far, the Daily Mission system will start pandering, so I'll keep it reasonable.
"Now then, I'll divide the 51 units we produced during today's 20 hours of exploring, plus what was stored in the 'EXP Production Facility ver2.0' from the start. Here you go, Shimaenaga-san. One unit."
"Chii..."
Shimaenaga-san reluctantly takes the 'Golden EXP' with their beak.
In the next instant, they puff up to the size of a balance ball and gulp it down in one bite. So cute, fluffy. So soft.
They immediately revert to bean pastry mode.
"Alright, Gii-san, here's your 25 units."
"Gii"
Gii-san and I will split the rest evenly.
Knowing how much we produce per day should make reckless behavior less likely.
"Now then, about that metal monster..."
I turn back to the metal dachshund I had left alone.
And right then, it lunges at me.
"Calibur"
HP 40 ATK 20,000
That should be enough to reduce the metal monster to charred remains.
Its metal body decays and turns into particles of light.
Shimaenaga-san twitches. Wrapping around the flying bean pastry is a black tentacle.
"Chii?! (Translation: M-my junior betrayed me, chii?!)"
"Gii (Translation: Senpai, don't you think you've gone too far?)"
Bathed in light, I feel amazing and level up with a Pikon.
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Akagi Hideo
Level 152
HP 16,593 / 28,521
MP 3,021 / 4,923
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv5'
'Phobia Syndrome Lv8'
'Single Strike Lv6'
'Steel Spirit'
'Probability Time: Coin Lv2'
'Super Metal Assault Lv6'
'Blue Pulsation Lv2'
'Black Swamp's Severer'
'Super Catcher Lv3'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv3' G4
'Proof of the Chosen One' G3
'Labyrinth Conqueror' G4
'Adolphene's Holy Shroud' G3
'Mugen High-Load ver5.0' G4
'Bloodstained Comrade' G4
'Metal Trap Room' G4
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"Since it's hard to evenly divide a metal monster into three, we decided to build a routine: me, Shimaenaga-san, and Gii-san will rotate in a three-day set. Oh, but for the next two months, it's just me and Gii-san."
"Chii, chii!!"
"Tch—nope, that face still won't work. Today, I'm putting an end to all misconduct."
And thus, today's distribution is complete.
"10 a.m., huh."
I guess I've been in the dungeon for about 29 hours now.
Still totally fine. This much is basic for a full-time explorer.
Since I've been up all day, Daily should've reset by now.
"Daily Mission"
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★Daily Mission★
Let's keep at it little by little every day!
'Dungeon Life'
Spend 24 hours in the dungeon 5h 23m / 24h 00m
Consecutive days: Day 100
Steady Rank: Platinum Multiplier: 10.0x
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Hah, hahahahaha!
You're cracking me up, Daily-kun!
Just 24 hours of continuous work?
This is a piece of cake! (※Finger Man has undergone special training)
Well, it's just right.
I wasn't planning to leave the dungeon anyway, and I intended to go deeper.
Now then, let's get fired up and start the day.
First, I'll return to the first floor and update my daily "Today's Hunting Grounds."
Shares: 625 Likes: 3256
Whoa, amazing. It's going viral!
"Eh, I'm so happy......"
I was about to head back to the deeper layers, but my feet just stopped on their own.
Red Tree-san and Agent G also left comments.
Ah, I'm so happy. Just that might be enough to make my whole day.
"No, no, if I'm satisfied with this, I can't call myself a full-time explorer. Can explorers fight for 24 hours? That's not enough. We need to go for 48 hours—no, 72 hours! (※Finger Man has undergone special training)"
I slash the nearby wall and move to the "Metal Trap Room"—no, to the base. Come to think of it, this base is super convenient. You can enter it from anywhere.
"There are currently two ways to increase productivity."
"Gii?"
"Ah, Gii-san, I suppose you wouldn't know. You see, when I used 'Blasphemous Gaze' to look at the base back when it was still 'Trap Room Lake,' and also when I looked at the 'EXP Production Facility ver2.0,' I gathered all sorts of information——"
I flip over the Mugen High-Load ver5.0 and take out the crystal inside.
Inside are the fruits of twenty hours of dungeon hunting routine through the 10th to 13th floors.
Here and there, treasure chests are mixed in among the crystals.
By the way, I didn't find any new anomalies.
"This is roughly 400,000 to 600,000 yen worth of crystals, I think. I can't say for sure though."
I pick up a few large ones and enter the EXP Production Facility ver2.0.
Inside this black interdimensional machine are engines powered by latent energy in the air, and a device that materializes and extracts the experiences of someone from another dimension—or a parallel world—and converts them into 'Golden EXP.'
Latent energy refers to the crystals excavated by defeating monsters in the dungeon.
"Rather than extracting from the air, feeding it solid fuel makes the engine run more smoothly... that's right, isn't it, Shimaenaga-san?"
"Chii chii chii."
'Blasphemous Gaze' is a shared wisdom between Shimaenaga-san and me.
What I understand, of course, is also understood by Shimaenaga-san.
Actually, Shimaenaga-san probably understands it more deeply than I do, given that their intelligence is higher. Sad.
The EXP Production Facility ver2.0 improves its manufacturing function by directly supplying it with crystals, which are the source of latent energy.
With 200,000 crystals, the production speed doubles. It lasts about a week.
Any more than that, and it won't make a difference.
Thanks to 'Blasphemous Gaze,' everything is running smoothly.
Shimaenaga-san is actually doing their job properly. Good, good.
"Let's load 200,000 worth of crystals into this."
Alright. With this, I'll be producing 48 'Golden EXP' per day.
Isn't that wonderful?
It's the result of steadily completing dailies and making it to the 100-day milestone.
I really worked hard... I was embarrassed a lot and suffered too. Well, mostly embarrassed—like 80% of it.
"I've got about 300,000 yen worth left... I'd like to use it for enhancements, but with just Mugen High-Load ver5.0, it's probably too much to upgrade the EXP Production Facility ver2.0."
It's too massive—no way.
Only things that fit inside the Mugen High-Load ver5.0 can be enhanced.
Here's the lineup of enhancable anomalies.
'Blue Blood Lv3' G4
'Proof of the Chosen One' G3
'Labyrinth Conqueror' G4
'Adolphene's Holy Shroud' G3
'Bloodstained Comrade' G4
'Metal Trap Room' G4
Dr.'s theory was that it "raises the grade by one," but actually, there's a different suspicion.
When Former Chiba-kun's equipment was enhanced by Shimaenaga-san and Gii-san, the grade didn't go up.
In other words, when it comes to the evolution function, it's not that "raising the grade" determines the cost, but that "raising the level" does.
Well, I'm not good at thinking, so I'll stop here.
Stuff like that should be left to the specialists.
For now, maybe I'll try enhancing the promising-looking 'Metal Trap Room.'
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Akagi Hideo
Level 152
HP 16,593/28,521
MP 3,021/4,923
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv5'
'Phobia Syndrome Lv8'
'Single Strike Lv6'
'Steel Spirit'
'Probability Time: Coin Lv2'
'Super Metal Assault Lv6'
'Blue Pulsation Lv2'
'Black Swamp's Severer'
'Super Catcher Lv3'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv3' G4
'Proof of the Chosen One' G3
'Labyrinth Conqueror' G4
'Adolphene's Holy Shroud' G3
'Mugen High-Load ver5.0' G4
'Bloodstained Comrade' G4
'Metal Trap Room Lv2' G4
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'Metal Trap Room Lv2'
A creation by the interdimensional artisan Morton
Two stored monsters are metallized per day
Storage capacity: 10,000 monsters
Remaining: 2,448/10,000 monsters
Metallized: 0/400 monsters
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Yes, god.
God of Gods.
Just this alone increased daily EXP production by 100 million.
It's already a factory at this point. More an EXP factory than a base.