Chapter 24 - Chapter 24: Urban Warfare
This time, I tried diving down to the 5th floor.
The enemies we encountered were Treants, monsters that looked exactly like trees.
As expected, the deeper you go, the stronger the enemies become.
From a certain point on, the railway disappears, and it's not very profitable financially either.
I wondered why there were people diving into the depths anyway — but apparently, they are targeting drop items.
Speaking of which, I saw on the net that the bikini armor held by top rankers is also a rare item.
It's not strange for rare things or useful abilities to command exorbitant prices.
Those high-level individuals are trying to bring back such rare items from the dungeon's depths.
Anyway — after finishing my daily routine and returning to town, a sudden emergency occurred.
A shrill sound echoed through the town, and monsters crawled out of a manifested black hole.
It seems to be a phenomenon called "swelling" or "spawning."
Suddenly appearing in the town were Trolls, monsters from the 5th floor.
If they are monsters from the 5th floor, the recommended adventurer level is around 30.
They are quite formidable foes.
The appearing monsters began destroying the surroundings.
As I was hesitating whether to take out a weapon from my Item Box, I noticed a man lying upside down near the Troll.
When I saw his familiar face, it was Daisuke Mochizuki, a young man I had met when I came to the Special District.
"Uwaaa!"
He shouldn't have leveled up that much yet.
This is bad.
I took weapons out of my Item Box and handed them to everyone.
"Ren! Immediately, a spell to increase defense!"
"U-um! Mmm — Defense Up! 《Ability Up》"
Blue light danced and soaked into everyone's bodies, but there was no changed impression.
Before confirming that, I had to deal with the enemy right in front of my eyes.
"Waaa!" "Call for high-level adventurers!" "Run away!"
Many adventurers are fleeing, but there are also those bravely engaging in combat.
"Light Bullet! Strike my enemy! 《Magic Missile》"
Magic is being fired one after another from all sides.
"Graaaaa"
A black shadow shook its giant body, and a roar was harshly spat out from its throat.
That roar echoed through the town with a power that overwhelmed everything, rising as if from the deep abyss of darkness.
The monster's roar tore through the sky, and its terrible sound pierced the ears of the townspeople, causing trembling fear.
Expressions of terror spread across people's faces.
Some crouched by the roadside, some hid in shadows, and others just stood frozen.
Is this a special ability of the monster?
Since I was not affected, I ran over to Mochizuki-kun.
"Mochizuki-kun!"
"...Eh?! I-i-is it Niwa-san?!"
His body was also trembling violently.
It seems his limbs aren't moving properly either.
"Over here!"
It seems he is injured, not just affected by the monster's roar.
I lifted his body up.
He probably wouldn't like being held by an old man, but this is an emergency.
Please give up on resisting.
The mage's magical attacks, which had regained their sanity from the monster's roar, started again, but they seemed to have little effect.
Outside the dungeon, magical power attenuates.
Also, that black fur might have resistance to magic.
The Treants, which were also on the 5th floor, didn't accept Sana-chan's Light Bullets either.
— If so, it means physical attacks.
It seems there are no high-level adventurers nearby who can do that.
— Which means, it's me after all.
I put Mochizuki-kun down in a slightly distant spot, and decided to join the battle myself.
If I leave it like this, the damage will increase, and there might be casualties.
I might have to expose my Item Box, but it's unavoidable.
"If magic doesn't work, then I really have no choice but to do it myself."
I wasn't very enthusiastic, but if I'm going to fight, it's a chance for filming.
I set up the camera in my Item Box.
If you look closely, the camera is floating in mid-air, so it's unnatural, but no one will notice in this commotion.
Since I don't have the skill for close combat, long-range attack — then.
"As expected, this is it."
I took out the missile again from my Item Box.
It pierced the hard-bark-like Treant.
It should work on the Troll too.
I set the missile in the throwing spear device, but...
"Damn! There are too many people behind me!"
If I misjudge the force, the missile will pierce through the monster's body and hurt the townspeople.
If my throw hits directly, instant death is possible.
In fact, I pierced through the body of the Brown Bear I encountered in the Testing Northern Land.
"That's it!"
I had a sudden idea.
How about attacking from above?
Even if it pierces through, it will stick into the ground.
Once I decided, I had to take action.
The monster was continuing to rampage, and the damage was expanding.
"Uooo!"
"Daisuke-san!"
I could hear Sana's voice.
I dashed while holding the missile.
Stepping on stall goods and rubble, I jumped.
My high-level body had turned into a Superman.
My body soared high into the sky.
Below me was the black, hairy monster — I just had to drive this missile into that dome-like head.
"Oooo!"
I threw the sharp-tipped weapon with all my might.
The released arrow bit into the black fur, pierced through, stuck into the ground, and stopped.
"Gwooooo!"
My body, which had jumped up, traced a parabola and could not be stopped.
I fell directly onto the Troll.
As if to meet me, a black arm's lariat attacked me.
"Ugh!"
I curled my body tightly into a complete defense posture, but I was bounced away like a home run ball.
My body traced a parabola again, danced in the air, and fell onto a stall, scattering debris everywhere.
"It hurts..."
Opening my eyes while lying flat on my back, I saw many people around.
I tried to sit up — I can move.
I checked my hands and feet — no problems.
I am dozens of meters away from where the Troll was.
Normally, flying such a distance and falling — if I were slammed into the ground, it wouldn't end well.
Is this because of my high level?
No, probably — thanks to Ren's Defense Up spell.
This might be something that parties and guilds would find useful, right?
There are also spells to increase attack power in the streets.
If you use that, you can boost combat power significantly.
"Wait, wait, it's not the time for that..."
The Troll was still moving.
I was about to get into a combat stance again, but suddenly the enemy stopped moving.
It was the same when I faced the Brown Bear back in my hometown.
Even with fatal injuries, they move for dozens of seconds.
As the people around held their breath and watched — the black, hairy mass collapsed right there.
"Uooooo!"
Everyone cheered at once.
The spectators became one block, raising ecstatic cheers.
That excitement and energy enveloped the whole town, filling the space with a unified joy.
I felt a strong sense of unity.
This is the Special District.
I stored the camera in my Item Box.
"You're amazing!"
A short, fat man with a beard spoke to me.
It seems he was the owner of the stall I had destroyed.
"Oh, no — sorry. I broke the stall..."
"No, no, it's fine! If that monster had been rampaging, it wouldn't have ended with just this."
Other people joined in there.
"It's good to have a high-level adventurer here."
"They dive into the dungeon and don't come out for a while."
"It would be nice if the Emblem Squad came, but they wouldn't come to a place like this."
"Their job is to protect the city."
The Emblem Squad mentioned here seems to be a special unit that cracks down on people who cause trouble outside the Special District.
I had heard there was something like that, but I didn't know it had that name.
They also seem to handle monsters spawning in the city.
It seems no one is trying to stuff themselves into my Item Box here.
There's no point in chatting.
I'll go back to them — I'm worried.
I pushed through the crowd to find them.
Some seem injured, but mages who can use Healing are treating them.
If it's serious, they might need to be carried into the dungeon.
"Hey! Sana! Ren!"
My voice got a reaction.
"Daisuke-san! Over here!"
Since I have a high level, my hearing is good too.
When I concentrate, the resolution of my hearing is amazing.
Going towards the direction of the voice, I found them.
"Is everyone okay?"
"We're fine." "Yeah."
"Actually, I thought we were done for for a moment."
"I'm glad you took him out in one shot — oh, right. What happened to Mochizuki-kun?"
"Eh? Oh, is the person Daisuke-san brought? Are you acquaintances?"
"Yes, that's right. We met here. We're fellow beginner adventurers."
"An adventurer who takes out a Troll in one shot can't be a beginner, right?!"
Kirara interjected, but since it's the truth, there's nothing to be done.
"He's behind that building."
"Understood."
Guided by them, I headed towards Mochizuki-kun.
When we all went there, he was sitting with his back against the building wall.
His complexion didn't look good.
"Mochizuki-kun, are you okay?"
"Um — what about the monster?"
"It's fine, it went silent."
"That's good..."
"Daisuke, I cast my Healing spell on him!"
Ren was puffing out her chest.
"Oh, thank you."
Ah, speaking of which, there should have been a recovery potion in my Item Box too.
I turned my back to him and took out the medicine from storage.
"Here, drink a recovery potion just in case."
"Eh? I-I can't accept such an expensive thing..."
"No, no, it's troublesome if something happens. It might not work well here."
"Thank you..."
After he finished drinking the medicine, his complexion seemed to improve.
"If you feel unwell, go to a hospital and get checked."
"I think I'm fine."
I don't think he hit his head or anything...
"I see — well then, I'll go check on the loot."
I pushed through the crowd again and headed towards the black monster's corpse.
"Hey, let me through."
Dealers had already arrived in front of the hairy beast.
I wanted to retrieve the missile stuck in the ground — but it's impossible now.
The people around were pointing their smartphones to take photos.
They'll probably upload them to video sites and SNS.
"Oh~" "Amazing" "Isn't it bigger than the ones inside the dungeon?"
"Excuse me~! I took him out, so..."
"Oh!" "Sell it to us!" "We'll buy it!"
Three men raised their hands.
"Anyone is fine, I'll sell to whoever pays the highest price, but since I drove a weapon in, the inside is torn apart."
"It's not just the meat, but this fur is valuable, so it's fine."
"Heh~"
"Normally, fire-type magic would burn them to a crisp, or they'd be chopped to pieces."
The men with crossed arms nodded with understanding.
Inside the dungeon, that's how it is, but here magic attenuates, so the fur has no damage.
Still, what on earth are they going to use this fur for?
Will they knit with it?
I asked the people around, and it seems it has value as cloth for magic defense since it repels magic.
Speaking of which, it repelled the mages' magic during the battle just now.
Maybe they didn't use fire-type magic because they were afraid of spreading fire to the stalls.
Well, if a fire broke out in such a crowded place, it would be a disaster.
According to the talk, there are monsters that use magic, but I haven't encountered any yet.
"Yosh!"
I thought they were starting to shout bids, but the men formed a circle and were whispering something.
It seems it will take time, so I decided to retrieve the missile stuck in the ground without using my Item Box.
"Gnnnu!"
It was buried quite deep in the ground, and if I pulled it with force, it looked like it would tear off.
I could just store it in my Item Box — but there are people watching...
At this rate, it might break or get lost eventually.
Should I buy a new single-pipe missile and make more?
It seems only new ones are available around here, so it might be expensive...
The purchase price for the monster reached about 1.5 million yen easily.
Does this black fur have that much value?
Indeed, even if you kill this thing in the depths of the dungeon, bringing it back is difficult.
Once the dismantling dealers were decided, many workers contacted and arrived.
Everyone was wearing rubber coveralls that covered up to their chests.
Even though there are cleaning spells, they probably don't want to get dirty actively.
With wild animals, there are worries about infectious diseases and parasites, but monsters don't have that.
It doesn't smell, and you could call it clean.
— But even so, I think it's better not to eat it raw.
It seems there are people who do weird food, and they are doing it.
I filmed the dismantling process with my smartphone.
I can't use the Item Box camera, but filming with a smartphone is fine.
Of course, I put a mosaic on the workers.
While filming the dismantling, a strange man spoke to me.
He was wearing modern armor, so he must be an adventurer.
"You."
"What?"
"Didn't you take something out of nowhere just now?"
So someone noticed my Item Box after all.
I'll have to play dumb here.
"Well? It's probably your imagination."
The man looked annoyed at my words.
"I was filming a video."
He showed me the video he took with his smartphone.
Damn, when did he start filming?
I barely managed to hide my agitation.
"You can make as many videos like that with AI, right? It's weak as evidence..."
I have no choice but to play dumb.
Well, if I get reported somewhere and summoned by the authorities, there's nothing to be done.
I'll just have to obey silently.
The man pressed on, but this doesn't prove that I have an Item Box.
If there were more eyewitnesses, the story would be different.
I ignored the man and headed towards the monster.
"Did you drive something like this in?"
The worker was looking closely at the single-pipe missile and handed it to me.
It's covered in blood and I don't want to touch it — but I took it.
The missile was battered, and the tip was broken off.
Maybe I should just leave it in the dungeon and get a new one.
"Yeah, it moved for about 30 seconds."
"It would be easy if you could take them out in one shot like in anime or manga."
"That's right. Even when I took out the bear, it was running around with all its might."
"You've dealt with a Fang Bear too?"
Fang Bear?
"No, a Brown Bear."
"Eh?! Are you talking about a real bear?"
"Nowadays, the Testing Northern Land is a paradise for Brown Bears, haha."
I retrieved the weapon and returned to everyone.
People spoke to me along the way, but I just gave casual nods like "Thank you" or "It was tough."
"Made you wait. Oh? Where's Mochizuki-kun?"
"That man returned to his own guild. He was thanking us."
Looking at my smartphone, I received a message from him too.
"Well, as long as he's okay."
"He seemed a bit down..."
"That — might not last long."
Kirara said something strange.
"He's thinking of quitting as an adventurer?"
"Well, yeah. If you think this isn't for you, you should wash your hands quickly — it involves your life."
"I see."
Maybe I felt strongly about "involving your life" because of what happened today.
"I forgot. Sana, can you cast a Cleaning spell on this?"
"Yes."
Sana's magic cleaned the missile.
"Ha~ Cleaning magic is convenient after all. I want to learn it too."
"I almost forgot to say it earlier, but you were too reckless!"
Kirara cornered me.
"Even if you say that, it seems I was the only high-level adventurer around. It's bad if the damage expands, right?"
"That's true, but..."
"Someone might go berserk and fire a fire-type spell."
"That's right! I was on edge thinking someone might mess up. Using fire-type magic in such a crowded place would definitely be a disaster."
"Well, I'm glad there were many rational mages, haha."
Anyway, I'll give everyone their share.
"Eh?! We don't need it." "I can't take it either."
"But I'll take what I'm owed, right?"
Kirara isn't holding back at all.
"Ren's Defense Up spell was very helpful. That was amazing."
"Ehehe, I'm praised."
"Wouldn't you be invincible with a higher-level Defense Up?"
"That's about it, so many adventurers seek magic armor."
What Kirara said is right.
Equip magic armor, then layer buffs on top?
Then you're invincible, right?
I see — if you say it like that, I can understand why high-level adventurers go crazy for drop items.
Magic items boost your stats regardless of level.
Since today's adventure was over, we all returned to the inn.
We were in the same guild, but Kirara's room was separate.
Five people in that room would be impossible, after all.
When I returned to the room, Mio was already back.
"I'm home~"
"Welcome back~"
Mio ran over and hugged me.
It seems I've been spoiled by her.
"Me too, me too~!"
Ren hugged me too.
"Why is Ren-chan hugging Daisuke-san too?"
"It's fine. Sana-chan can hug too, right?"
Sana doesn't seem to be that type.
"Okay, okay, get off, get off. We have work to do. Mio-chan has homework, right?"
"Ha~i"
I took out the camera and a notebook PC from my Item Box.
I connected it to the HDD taken out of the camera.
Today's highlights were the Treant battle and the Troll battle just now.
I think the views will increase again, but once the monster types change, it will be a repetition of the same thing.
If that happens, the views will surely drop.
Viewers are always seeking new stimulation.
Well, by that time, I'll have earned enough to retire.
"Oh, both are recorded properly."
"Amazing!"
Sana and Ren were peeking at the PC screen over my shoulder.
"Show it to Mio too!"
"Here."
"Amazing!"
While the girls were giggling, Kirara came over.
She had completely removed her makeup, the eyebrow-less version.
"It's tough every day, applying and removing it."
"Yes, being a woman is tough."
It seems she didn't take it as sarcasm.
"Tomorrow, let's go buy another PC. Sana will learn video editing first, then teach Ren."
"Yes."
"I'll buy one too."
"Are you buying it with your own money? Well, I think it's better to have one —"
Currently, if you don't handle a huge amount of video, a smartphone is enough.
"I've wanted one for a long time! Money is coming in too."
"Save some money too. You never know what will happen in this world. Also — once video revenue comes in, you have to worry about taxes."
"Ee~ Sounds troublesome."
"Actually, it is troublesome. How much revenue each month, how much expenses — you have to declare everything."
"Yes~"
Kirara looked relaxed.
"Kirara said she has her own site, does she have an accountant too?"
"Yes, the revenue is quite substantial~"
"In that case, you're seniors to us. Both of you, if you don't understand anything about taxes, ask that lady over there."
"Ha~i"
For some reason, Mio answered too.
"I'm not a lady!"
Ignoring Kirara, I cut up everyone's videos.
"Where should I send Kirara's part?"
"There's a sharing site, send it there."
"Understood."
I did a simple edit and uploaded it to the video site.
"It's not that difficult, right?"
"...P-probably, I think it's okay."
"You'll learn it quickly since you're young. Old men forget everything by the next day."
"That's why old men tell the same story over and over again."
Kirara spoke in an exasperated tone, but...
"You'll end up like that sooner or later."
"Too bad. I'm different."
It's not too bad or anything.
Aging comes to everyone equally, regardless of gender, and cannot be avoided.
She will understand that someday too.
I uploaded my videos with Sana's, but Ren's videos are still few.
It's because her magic is support-type.
"Uu!"
Ren looked regretful, but even if support magic doesn't look good in videos, it has demand among adventurers.
There's a way to compete in that field too.
It became evening, so it was dinner time.
Today I bought meat, and we're having yakiniku on the rooftop.
You can't do this inside the room.
"Delicious!"
Mio is eating it deliciously too.
Sana and Ren look delicious too.
Seeing young girls eat makes me want to feed them even more.
"It's delicious, but it smells."
As always, Kirara says one word too many.
We enjoyed yakiniku on the inn's rooftop.
"Smells good, you bastards!"
— Such incomprehensible complaints came from the surrounding buildings — but I don't care.
Smells drift from the surroundings, and in such a crowded place, it's mutual.
— The day after fighting the Troll on the ground.
I woke up in the morning, and before preparing breakfast, I tried to check the video views.
But I received an important message from the government office.
This is a notification from the app that adventurers must install.
『Niwa Daisuke — Ordered to appear at the designated location』
"Oh, this..."
Could it be that I was reported about the Item Box?
I can't ignore this.
Well, I can't run away by saying "I was always in the dungeon," but there's a possibility my adventurer license will be revoked.
Damn, I have no choice but to go...