Chapter 9
So I've become a D-Rank explorer, huh?
This makes me wanna dive into the dungeon right away.
But I'm pretty tired, so I'll head back for now.
Returning to the hotel, I ordered an LL-sized pizza cap for delivery, indulged with Coke while scrolling through videos and SNS, got happy seeing my posts getting a bit more traction, and then suddenly fell asleep.
I jolted awake—it was already 10 PM.
Huh? Wait, didn't I forget today's daily?
I realized I'd completely blanked on it thanks to pulling two all-nighters.
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★Today's Daily Mission★
Keep up the steady effort every day!
'The Promised Victory at Your Fingertips Part 2'
Snap your fingers while shouting "Excalibur"
0/2,000
Consecutive days: Day 8
Steady Rank: Silver (2.5x multiplier)
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Damn, they got me again!
"Wait, what? Part 2? What's that about?"
Unbelievable. I can't believe they took this humiliation play even further.
But clearing dailies is a must for an explorer.
I've got no choice.
Not wanting to bother people on the same floor, I headed to the riverside at night and grinded out 2,000 Caliburs there.
I got questioned by the cops, but when I told them I was an explorer, they said, "Keep it reasonable," and let me go.
What was that about? That gentle tone, like handling something fragile...
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★Today's Daily Mission★
Keep up the steady effort every day!
'The Promised Victory at Your Fingertips Part 2'
Snap your fingers while shouting "Excalibur"
2,000/2,000
★Today's Daily Mission Complete!★
Reward: Ancestral Wisdom C ×2 (10,000 EXP)
5,000 EXP
Consecutive days: Day 9
Steady Rank: Silver (2.5x multiplier)
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Hell is over.
The rewards are tasty.
Pikon pikon!
The next morning, I fully prepped myself and headed back to the dungeon.
By the way, today's daily was 'Imitation Soup.'
So I think I'll invite Shurado for lunch.
Upon entering the dungeon, the first thing to do is check the 'Secret Map' and share the hunting grounds on the timeline.
"Today's hunting grounds... Got it."
I breezed through the cleared-out floors, smoothly descending to the third floor—no monster encounters—then went down to the fourth-floor stairs.
A new frontier awaits.
Unfolding the 'Secret Map.'
The great thing about this anomalous substance isn't just knowing the hunting grounds—it lets me grasp the dungeon's full layout. So even without the Dungeon Foundation's app, I can see the entire map of any floor I step onto from the start.
Straight to the hunting grounds.
Found a monster.
A Chihuahua the size of a shiba inu.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah~"
Clapped my hands to lure the Chihuahua.
Mmm, so cuuuute~
Makes me wanna burn this adorable little thing to a crisp~
Snapped my fingers.
"Calibur."
HP 10 consumed, ATK 50 'Finger Snap Lv2'
The Chihuahua gets engulfed in flames—but shakes it off and charges.
This guy's got guts.
Time to chip away at it bit by bit.
Once, twice, thrice, four times—
Result: roughly equivalent to 20 weakest finger snaps—figured ATK 100 would one-shot it.
"Status."
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Akagi Hideo
Level 54
HP 1,003/1,101
MP 245/280
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv2'
Equipment
'Blue Blood'
'Proof of the Chosen One'
'Secret Map'
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HP 20 per kill.
Hmm, judging by my stamina, I don't think this floor's for me.
I bet I can handle stronger monsters deeper down with my finger snaps.
So, I found the stairs to the fifth floor that Mister had shared in advance and descended.
Carefully advancing, I spotted a monster—plump, about the size of a shiba inu.
First, I greeted it with an ATK 100 finger snap at the cost of HP 20.
But it didn't go down. Knew it. Back to chipping away.
Result: figured ATK 130 (HP 26 cost) would one-shot it.
"Huh, I've got more leeway than I thought..."
Calculating my HP and 'Blue Blood's' recovery, I started thinking maybe I'd gotten stronger than I realized.
So, onward to the sixth floor.
No rank restriction stopped me—I made it down safely.
Found a Chihuahua pushing the limits of what I'd call "shiba-sized."
Immediately slammed it with ATK 130.
Then, as usual, slowly whittled it down.
Result: ATK 160 (HP 32 cost) for a one-shot.
"Huh..."
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Akagi Hideo
Level 54
HP 945/1,101
MP 245/280
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv2'
Equipment
'Blue Blood'
'Proof of the Chosen One'
'Secret Map'
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Staring hard at the status screen, I tilted my head.
Let me be clear—this is weak. I could fight way harsher and harder.
Because think about it, with my HP 1,000 + 2,400 (24 shots of 'Blue Blood'), I effectively have 3,400 HP.
'Finger Snap Lv2' is a long-range attack with high accuracy.
Since there's no risk of taking damage, you could say my HP is basically ammunition.
Even leaving some margin, I can take down over 90 monsters on this floor.
"Hmm, just one more floor..."
I felt the urge to go down.
Fortunately, Mister, that reliable pioneer, had already shared a few staircases, so I knew where the next one was right away.
But,
'Warning! Explorer rank insufficient!'
The situation I feared had arrived.
Ugh, so fast. Way too fast for restrictions to kick in.
Guess I gotta level up again.
But first, I need achievements to make that happen.
Last time, showing a bag stuffed with crystals got me an instant pass, so I'll try the same method this time.
In short, overwhelm them with sheer quantity.
So, with the 6th floor as my base, I started hunting.
Heading to the hunting grounds, I bundled up HP 32 and burned monsters away with ATK 160.
——Snap
Charred remains.
——Snap
More charred remains.
Let's just keep turning 'em all to ashes~!
Several hours passed since I entered the dungeon.
Glancing at my phone, I realized it was already past noon!
Crap!! My 'Imitation Soup'!!
I rushed up the stairs to hurry back to camp.
Along the way, a monster appeared, and I reflexively snapped, "Ugh! My soooup!!" and incinerated it.
That's when it happened.
(Skill level increased)
Ah.
I checked my status while running.
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Akagi Hideo
Level 55
HP 701/1,196
MP 225/287
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv3'
Equipment
'Blue Blood'
'Proof of the Chosen One'
'Secret Map'
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Evolved!! My fingers! No, my finger snap!!
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'Finger Snap Lv3'
Snaps fingers to incinerate enemies.
Converts life energy into attack power.
Conversion rate ATK20 : HP1
Unlock condition: Achieve 100,000 one-snap-one-kill kills using 'Finger Snap' or 'Finger Snap Lv2' (or achieve 1,000 kills under the same conditions within a short period).
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Wait, this is busted.
Is this conversion ratio for real? 1 HP for 20 ATK?
Whoever made this, did you mess up the settings?
Hmm, but the unlock condition is kinda brutal...
Hard to say how long 'a short period' is, but maybe around 10 days?
Honestly, only hardcore pro explorers would dungeon-crawl nonstop for 10 days, and even fewer would bother killing monsters with 'Finger Snap', given its pitiful damage.
So maybe it's a rare skill after all?
"Gotta tell Shurado about this."
I sprinted back to camp at full speed.
——I never noticed the man watching me from behind.