Chapter 59
——Jigokudo's perspective
——Two days ago
Finger Man—Akagi Hideo chatted cheerfully with Shurado as they returned to the hotel.
Tailing them was Jigokudo, disguised in a mask and sunglasses.
"Tch, that's..."
At the hotel entrance, Finger Man was talking with Gakidou.
Jigokudo watched from the shadows.
(That's Gakidou? ...I see... so the underground rumor in the Foundation that 'Agent G is assigned to Finger Man' was actually true...)
Gakidou exchanged a few words with Finger Man and began walking toward Jigokudo.
She had also noticed Jigokudo.
"Hm. Hell."
"Gakidou... did you find out anything about Finger Man?"
"(Heh heh heh, speci)ally, (I'll show you this, Jigokudo)"
——Specially
Gakidou took out a photo and proudly held it out to Jigokudo.
Normally, one might interpret that as being coldly brushed off, but Jigokudo knew Gakidou's words often lacked clarity, so she filled in the blanks.
('Specially'... as in, she's showing me something special, I guess...)
"This... shows Finger Man's back perfectly clearly..."
"(Nods)"
"Same sharp skills as ever. Impressive, Gakidou... I'm relieved to see you haven't been infected by the meme."
"(Meme? What are you) talking (about?)"
——About?
"I'll be off, then..."
Jigokudo tried to tail Finger Man up to his room.
Gakidou eagerly exited the hotel, full of motivation to find the man in the photo. She didn't even realize she had just passed by Finger Man. Where are her eyes?
"Aah! I found you, Gakidou-chan!"
A familiar voice rang out.
Both Gakidou and Jigokudo jumped in surprise.
She had arrived.
"Ugh... (Shurado, why are you here!?)"
"Knew you were at the hotel, Gakidou-chan! And Jigokudo-chan too! I'm so happy both my big sisters found their little sister!"
"I'm older than you, though..."
"That's a minor issue, Jigokudo-chan! Now c'mon, both of you! A player on the Foundation's basketball team in the USA suddenly can't compete! They just put out a call on social media asking for three subs! Sounds fun, so let's go!"
The Outer Sea Six Paths Girls were usually full of unhinged individuals, but even then, when it came to Shurado's chaos, neither Gakidou nor Jigokudo could hope to match her—that, at least, they agreed on.
((This woman is way too much.))
And so, twenty seconds later, the three of them "jumped" to the United States to aid the Dungeon Foundation's women's basketball team, the Dungeon Valkyries.
After leading the team to victory, the three returned to Japan. Gakidou slipped back into her investigation, Jigokudo simply ran away, and Shurado got Lucky Perverted while changing clothes by Finger Man.
——Time returns to the present
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Akagi Hideo
Level 156
HP 31,522/32,523
MP 4,125/5,743
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
────────────────────
"See this 'Blue Pulsation Lv2' here? I think that's probably the cause."
"...Th-this status is...——"
Jigokudo furrowed her brows.
She didn't even know where to start.
Should she point out that he personally owns a 'Metal Trap Room'?
Or investigate that skill called 'Phobia Syndrome Lv8'—whatever that is, it's definitely not something good.
No, the Lv8 part is shocking, sure, but there are even Lv6 skills scattered in there. It's clearly abnormal for a freshly promoted A-rank explorer to have all this.
Once you start pointing things out, there's no end to it.
But if there's one thing that absolutely must be addressed——
(Level 156? That surpasses A-rank factors... in other words, Finger Man is highly likely to be a natural S-rank factor owner... and look at that HP value... it's way too high for his level...)
Jigokudo had seen S-rank statuses before.
Even with that experience, Finger Man's status was far beyond the norm.
That only proved how immense his potential truly was.
Jigokudo poured a reagent into the collected blood sample.
"So if you add a reagent to the blood, you can tell the factor's rank?"
"Yes... C-rank turns green, B-rank turns blue, A-rank turns red, and S-rank turns white—or at least close to those colors..."
"Whoa, I hope it turns white! That'd mean he might be as amazing an explorer as Mister!"
"That's right... It'll take a bit for the result... Finger Man, there's something I'd like to check in the meantime... is that okay?"
"What is it?"
"Please show me the remaining seven status entries... I'd like to verify those as well..."
"Remaining seven? How do I see them?"
"It's okay, I'll just use a skill myself... Activating skill—Appraisal."
────────────────────
Akagi Hideo
Level 156
HP 31,539/32,523
MP 4,125/5,743
Modifiers
Defense 200
Strength 38,753
Dexterity 30,523
Endurance 30,852
Hematic 30,752
Mystery 87,536
Spirit 160,234
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
────────────────────
"Wow, that's amazing. I've never seen anything like it before."
(That can't be real... An unbelievable explorer has appeared...)
Jigokudo opened the memo app on her smartphone and began taking notes.
(Finger Man's status is rising evenly across the board... It's rare not to see a single-focus specialization... It's like he has a personal trainer who selects and gives him a custom regimen every day... And above all, those numbers are absurd. No ordinary explorer could ever reach such a realm...)
"Jigokudo?"
"Finger Man, it seems you're an 'aberrant'..."
"Wait, are you seriously making fun of me right now?"
"No, of course not... And you're not just any aberrant."
"Oh?"
"You're a uniquely deranged aberrant..."
"So you really are making fun of me, huh?"
"Haha..."
Jigokudo was now convinced that Finger Man was the hero foretold in the 'World's End Scenario' prophecy, destined to battle the Calamity.
Aberrant.
That was a word used for those who had immersed themselves too deeply in the depths of Mystery, stepping beyond the bounds of humanity—those whose screws had come especially loose.
Going beyond that label is virtually unheard of. In fact, it doesn't happen.
"Finger Man, how many months ago did you debut?"
"A little over three months ago, I think? It was last fall."
"Three months...?"
(So, a god resides within your body...)
"Ah, Jigokudo, my blood's color is starting to change! Does that mean we'll finally know the factor?!"
The sample that had been left to sit until the reagent reacted finally showed a response.
Green for C-rank factors. Blue for B-rank. Red for A-rank.
And when it comes to the 'Aberrant Conglomerate'—the collection of exceptions with S-rank factors—it turns white.
However, the test tube showed none of those colors.
The blood sample that had been dosed with reagent was stained in pure darkness.