arc2 · 085-ch85

Chapter 85: Patrol Start

So, today's a weekday again. Umi has school, and Mom says she's going to check if there are any other job openings available she might be able to take.

As for me, I don't have any university lectures today, so I'm thinking of going out patrolling from morning.

I set out from Yamamoto Electronics with Asahi, heading first for Ghost Forest Dungeon. I put up a notice on the homepage about potion sales. If we happen to meet someone, there might be people who want to buy.

On the way, I summon Hayate and send it toward Yatsugatake Dungeon. It's really unfortunate that Asahi can't use Communication or Storage, but I guess I can only do what's within my ability.

Asahi arrives at the dungeon first, so I greet the reception with light and then head inside.

Here I realize something. Dungeon Modification starts from the deep floors and gradually moves to shallower floors. The floors where modification begins spawn monsters in large numbers, and their strength increases by one rank. It's a dangerous disaster with a very high fatality rate among explorers.

To get word of Dungeon Modification out as quickly as possible, I'd want to be on as deep a floor as possible, but hold on a second. This place, Ghost Forest Dungeon, is a forest-type dungeon with lots of insect-type monsters.

Among insect-type monsters, there are bee-type and dragonfly-type monsters too. The higher-ranked versions would be tough—if Asahi got attacked by them, it might not be able to escape. Hayate would be fine even if defeated, so I could send it as deep as I wanted, but if it gets destroyed, resummoning happens near Asahi.

Performance-wise, Asahi is better suited for patrol, but skill-wise, Hayate has higher adaptability. I considered having both patrol the same place, but that would take too much time.

Hmm, I didn't notice this at all during the planning stage. I need to rethink this completely. Anyway, for today I'll patrol as planned...

Anyway, to prioritize checking if Dungeon Modification has occurred, I use a Transfer Stone to jump to the twentieth floor. There, I realize something else.

(Wait, I can't go back to the nineteenth floor like this)

That's right. Transfer Stones are located beyond the boss room. Plus, I can't open the boss room door from this side.

In other words, even if I confirm Dungeon Modification on the twenty-first floor, I can't warn the nineteenth floor. I have to transfer to the tenth floor, then go down through the eleventh, twelfth floors, and so on to inform lower floors.

No matter how I think about it, Dungeon Modification's spread speed is probably faster than the time it would take me to reach the nineteenth floor.

(Somehow, nothing's going right. So, what should I do?)

I don't think I'll come up with a good plan even if I keep thinking, so I'll head down to the lower floors and see how things look. I went down the stairs and entered the twenty-first floor.

Here, almost all monsters that appear are D-rank or above. There are flying types like the Shooting Hornet that fires needles from its rear, and the Crash Dragonfly with exceptional flight performance and powerful jaws that crush enemies. Both are D-rank monsters.

Now, if a D-rank monster seriously gave chase, could my Asahi actually make an escape? Asahi's top speed is 250 km/h, with acceleration of 50 km/s. It can reach top speed in just 5 seconds. I think it should be fine, but there's always that "what if" to consider. What should I do?

After thinking for a bit, I decided to look for monsters acting alone.

(Wonder if there's one somewhere... There it is! A Shooting Hornet)

I spotted a Shooting Hornet acting alone, so I approached from behind.

BUZZZZZZZZ!

The Shooting Hornet noticed Asahi's operating sound, spun around, and came charging with wings vibrating. I instantly reversed direction and accelerated to escape.

And thus began the chase between a giant bee and my Asahi.

Thirty minutes into the chase, as I evaded around, more and more Shooting Hornets gathered, and before I knew it, I was being chased by five bees.

But Asahi's performance was superior, and I was toying with the five bees. The fact that my level increased and raised my reflexes and insight is also a big factor. I can completely see through the bees' movements. I can follow Nishikyo-san's movements now, so this is easy!

I was a little worried before starting, but with how things are going, I should be fine going even deeper. I slipped between the trees, shook off the Shooting Hornets' pursuit, and headed deeper in.

Oh, looks like Hayate has arrived at Yatsugatake Dungeon now. But here's another problem that comes up. Escaping from five Shooting Hornets wasn't an issue, but that was only because Hayate was in transit with relatively little movement.

Even for me, it's difficult to confront monsters with two drones simultaneously. Right now, Asahi is patrolling the twenty-first floor of Ghost Forest Dungeon, so I can't send Hayate into the deep floors of Yatsugatake Dungeon. This is another problem I need to solve.

For now, I decided to have Hayate patrol the first floor of Yatsugatake Dungeon.

Flying at high altitude to avoid interfering with exploration or combat, a party waving their hands appeared on screen. Wondering if they're calling me, I approached.

"Excuse me. Are you SS-san's drone?"

A man who seems to be the leader of a four-person mixed-gender party speaks to me.

"Yes, this is SS's drone, named Hayate."

At my response, I could hear the members behind saying things like "Yes!" and "Lucky!"

"Actually, one of our party members got hurt earlier and used a potion. Now we're out of reserves, so we'd like to buy some if possible..."

I see, they brought potions but ran out of spares.

I take out a table first, then place Umi's menu on top of it.

"Whoa!? Where'd the table come from just now!?"

"Whoa!? What's that!?"

"Eek!?"

"Amazing..."

They were surprised that I produced a table out of nowhere. After consulting with President Yamamoto and Arihara-san, we decided it would be difficult to hide this skill, so we'd just use it openly. So, I gave this party a brief explanation about Storage too. Though I made sure to emphasize that the capacity isn't all that great.

Once the four of them got over their surprise, they noticed the menu placed on the table.

"Great, I was wondering if we should head back since our potions ran out. Could you give us two Low-grade Potions?"

"Thank you very much. One is eleven thousand yen, so the total will be twenty-two thousand yen."

I added a ten percent premium as the dungeon price.

"Good thing I brought cash with me."

The leader placed twenty-two thousand yen on the table, and I retrieved it—table included.

"Thank you for your patronage."

I got off to a good start selling two potions, but such opportunities don't come up that often, and afterward I didn't meet any other parties hoping for potions.