arc3 · 133-ch133

Chapter 133: Confirming Battle Power!

The day after the livestream, I was eating breakfast while watching TV when the news came on about Kokushi Musou updating their highest floor reached in the Tokyo Mouse Park Dungeon.

Generally speaking, when it comes to confirming the highest point reached, even rental drones often can't keep up, so it usually ends up being self-reported footage filmed inside the dungeon. But this time, we had crystal-clear footage on record.

They'd asked if they could use some of the footage, and I gave them the okay, but they were using it in this news segment too. If anyone watched this footage closely, it'd be immediately obvious that SS filmed it. Well, I guess that's fine if it gets out.

Anyway, when I checked this morning, I had a wildly enthusiastic welcome email from President Yamamoto, so I figured I'd head out as soon as I finished breakfast. I'd woken up a little later than usual today, so Umi had already left for school.

(I haven't been able to spend much time with Umi lately. She knows I'm working, so she's stopped saying anything about me staying cooped up in my room like before... I think this weekend is parent observation day. Maybe I'll take her shopping on the way home.)

With those thoughts running through my head, I finished breakfast, said "I'm heading out" to Mom, and left the house. Of course, following Sasaki-san's advice, I wore glasses, a mask, and a hat. Or so I thought — but since I always take a taxi to Yamamoto Electronics, it was kind of pointless.

In the bustling entrance lobby as always, I exchanged greetings with the ladies who, for some reason, could tell it was me even in this getup, then got into the waiting taxi and headed to Yamamoto Electronics.

▽▽▽

"There you are! I've been waiting! The warehouse is better for today, right? I've had things ready since this morning, so come on in!"

When I got out of the taxi, President Yamamoto was right there in front of me. He couldn't wait, so he'd come out to greet me. Standing at the gate was Sasaki-san, expressionless as always. She was a little intimidating, but when I bowed, she bowed back.

I let the president practically drag me toward the warehouse. He was vibrating with excitement like a little kid — I couldn't wait to see his reaction when I showed him Shiden!

"Alright then, here we go! Come, Shiden!"

At my command, Shiden was summoned directly above Asahi. A beautiful machine gleaming in deep purple. A single machine cannon was mounted on its underside.

"Ooh!? Is this Shiden!? Beautiful!"

President Yamamoto peered closely at the summoned Shiden from point-blank range. Just as I'd imagined, his eyes were sparkling as he examined it. Oh? Sasaki-san, who had been standing behind us, was inching closer little by little. Could she be interested in Shiden?

"So, what other Attack Units are there!?"

After finishing his inspection of the drone, the president asked about Attack Units next. This was something I wanted to discuss too, so I went into a bit of detail. Meanwhile, I sent Asahi and Hayate off on patrol. For now, I decided to keep Hayate's Magic Machine Cannons hidden until they reached the dungeon.

When I brought that up, he was fascinated by Hayate's Magic Machine Cannons too, but he agreed to focus solely on testing Shiden this time.

"I see, you used up all your skill points out of necessity. But when you level up again, you'll earn more skill points. Let's start thinking now about which units to choose when that time comes!"

As expected, this kind of topic was right up President Yamamoto's alley, and he ate it up. Of course, it was right up my alley too. The two of us went back and forth, exploring all sorts of possibilities.

There was also something I'd forgotten to check yesterday. Namely, the Auxiliary Units. In Shiden's auxiliary unit options, I discovered something called "Weapon Swap." Apparently, a single drone can only be equipped with two weapons, but with this "Weapon Swap" skill, you can swap them out for other weapons.

However, this skill costs a hefty 100 skill points, so for now, my priority should be getting a second weapon unlocked first.

Now then, things got heated debating what the next weapon should be.

"Since we already have a Magic Machine Cannon, what about getting a Magic Shotgun?"

The president crossed his arms and pondered my suggestion.

"That's certainly an option, but how about getting the Wind Bullet Machine Cannon, another type of Magic Machine Cannon, first? It's effective against earth-attribute monsters that have lightning resistance. Since it's the same type, you'd already be used to handling it. You could try new things from there — what do you think?"

Hmm, as expected of President Yamamoto. He'd really thought this through. The more I listened, the more it felt like the right call. Plus, both machine cannons and shotguns are relatively close-range weapons. It costs more skill points, but maybe I should go with a Magic Guided Missile or Magic Sniper Cannon next instead.

"Oh, come to think of it, I got a new personal skill too."

I'd been so preoccupied with Shiden's skills that I'd neglected to check my own. Its name was "Parallel Thinking." Going by the name, I figured it was a skill that would split my consciousness, with each part being "me" and thinking and acting independently...

"Oh-ho, what kind of skill is it?"

"It's called Parallel Thinking. Do you mind if I try it out right now?"

"Of course! By all means, tell me what it feels like once you've tried it!"

With the president's go-ahead, I tried using it right away, but...

"Bleeeeeghhhhh"

My consciousness suddenly split into three, and I got so dizzy I threw up right then and there.

Sasaki-san immediately came over and rubbed my back. Throwing up in a place like this when I'm a university student... how embarrassing...

On top of that, I made Sasaki-san clean up the mess too. After resting a bit and recovering, I got down on the ground and apologized profusely.

This Parallel Thinking skill was going to be tough to get used to, but my consciousness split into as many parts as the number of drones I had, and each one was unmistakably "me." There were three of me thinking, but it felt like our memories were all being saved to the same place.

I can't explain it well, but I had a feeling that if I could master this, I'd be able to control multiple drones far more precisely than before. With that in mind, I asked to practice right there until I got a bit more accustomed to it.

At first I kept throwing up, but thanks to the practice, I gradually got the hang of it, and by the time the patrol was done, I was controlling all three drones effortlessly. Because of that, the patrol went much faster than usual. However, the dizziness hadn't fully gone away, so I held off on using the Magic Machine Cannons. I'll save those for leveling up this afternoon. My MP is limited too, after all.

And finally, to test the firepower of Shiden's Attack Unit, I fired the Lightning Magic Cannon at an expensive magic iron target the president had prepared — and it shattered to pieces on the very first shot. It exploded with such force that Sasaki-san jolted in surprise. My apologies.

And thus, my wonderfully fun time with the president was over in the blink of an eye.