arc3 · 138-ch138

Chapter 138: Isn't This a Game-Breaking Skill!?

The spear-skill male student swayed and crumpled. Me, dumbfounded. The surrounding students, shocked. The instructor, with his hand over his face.

"Ah... he was the strongest one in this group, too..."

After that, I got challenged to sparring by all sorts of students, and I came out on top in every single one. Maybe I'm stronger than I thought. That said, this is just the level of a lecture for students who haven't become explorers yet, so I can't afford to get cocky.

The practical portion of the Explorer Exam is this weekend. I might end up actually fighting monsters there, so I want to level up more before then. Alright, once I eat lunch, I'll head back into the dungeon for some more leveling.

With that decided, I hurried through lunch and holed up in my room.

▽▽▽

(Now then, which dungeon should I hit today?)

Last time I went to the Mount Fuji Dungeon, doubling as a scouting run for the practical exam. This time I kind of feel like fighting something a little tougher. In that case, there's the Tokyo Mouse Park Dungeon where magic attacks work well — or actually, maybe I should properly test whether it holds up in other dungeons too.

If I remember right, I've registered the Yatsugatake Dungeon all the way down to the thirtieth floor. I got taken out by a Spiral Bird last time, but with my level up, Parallel Thinking under my belt, and Shiden with me now, I might just be able to win. Thinking that, the idea popped into my head right as I booted up Asahi on the Dungeon Agency rooftop.

(Wait... can I use my Storage skill through Shiden too?)

The moment the thought hit me, my heart skipped a beat. My Storage skill is attached to me, not to a drone. If I could use my Storage skill through Shiden too, something incredible might be possible.

I summoned Hayate and Shiden, sent Hayate heading back my way, and immediately called Arihara-san.

"Hello, Arihara here. Did something come up?"

That's Arihara-san for you — picks up right away even for a sudden call.

"Um, there's something I want to confirm. Could you come up to the rooftop?"

"Understood. I'll head over right away."

Maybe my urgency came across, because I could hear him running over the line. Ah, I'm sorry. I was just a little excited — it wasn't actually a race against time.

When Arihara-san reached the rooftop, he looked relieved at the sight of Asahi and Shiden. Right, I'd made it sound like something had happened to Asahi. I really am sorry. I told him the rest would come through Shiden and ended the call.

"So, what is it you wanted to confirm?"

"Um, I've got Hayate heading back here now, so could you give me a few minutes until it arrives? I'll explain in the meantime."

"Understood. Let's hear that explanation first."

Arihara-san sat down on the bench next to Asahi's charging station. I moved Shiden out in front of him and decided to explain what I'd just thought of.

"My Storage skill is attached to me, not to a drone."

"I see. I'd assumed it was Hayate's skill."

Looks like Arihara-san still hasn't caught on.

"So I'm thinking of testing, right here, whether Storage works through Shiden too. Do you happen to have anything on you?"

"I see. Then how about this?"

With that, Arihara-san took a ballpoint pen out of his suit's inner pocket and set it down in front of Shiden. Oh man, the nerves are kicking in. If this works, something incredible is about to happen.

"Thank you. If you'll excuse me, then... Store!"

It vanished. The ballpoint pen that had been sitting right in front of Shiden vanished. Storage was a success.

"Ohh, so Storage works through Shiden too!"

Arihara-san, cheerfully delighted. Has he still not realized it!? This possibility!? And right on cue, Hayate arrived at the condo. After scanning the surroundings with the camera, I landed it in front of me on the rooftop.

"Arihara-san, Hayate just arrived."

At those words, the color drained from Arihara-san's face. Heh heh heh, looks like he finally caught on.

"S-SS-san, don't tell me what you wanted to confirm is..."

That's right. What I'd wanted to confirm was whether Hayate's and Shiden's Storage were connected to each other. And from the Hayate right in front of me, I pulled out Arihara-san's ballpoint pen.

(Holy crap! It actually worked! With Hayate and Shiden, I can move things from one place to another instantly, even over long distances!)

I stuck a sticky note with Arihara-san's name on the pen, had Hayate store it, and then pulled it out in front of Arihara-san through Shiden.

"Whoa!? This is huge!? This turns the entire logic of logistics on its head!? Give me a moment — let me calm down!"

Looks like Arihara-san had caught on to the possibility too. He's hugely excited. Honestly, I can't contain my excitement either. What could I do with this? A part-time job at a moving company? No, no, I could do something way bigger!

That's right — even from the surface, I could send supplies into a dungeon. Potions, weapons, armor — even food could be sent through. And the reverse, too. Picked-up Magic Stones and drop items could be sent right back to the surface. Not just a luggage carrier — I could basically run a cargo transport service.

This is absolutely a dangerous function. The kind you definitely can't reveal carelessly.

"Forgive me. Sorry you had to see me like that. But given how absurd this Storage skill is, I think losing my composure a little is understandable. Even just off the top of my head, there are several ways to use it. But I can say this much for certain: please keep it a secret for now. I'm begging you."

Yeah, I figured as much. As long as I don't use it the way I just did, I can pass it off as having been in Storage all along, so I just need to be careful about how I use it.

"Yes, I'd been thinking the same thing. When it comes to how to actually put this to use, I'd like to decide that in consultation with you, so I'm counting on you."

"Understood. I'll give it some thought on my end too. Depending on things, we might end up asking you to help with disaster relief and the like. Would that be possible?"

I see. Being able to confirm the situation on-site before deciding what relief supplies to send is efficient and cuts out waste. It's still helping people either way, so if I've got the room for it, I wouldn't mind taking that on.

"Yes, if I've got the leeway, that's fine. If you let me know in advance, I can probably keep my schedule open too."

"Thank you, that helps. But if you do it too much, you'll start getting called every single time, so I want to make sure this is set up so SS-san doesn't end up drawing any criticism."

Yeah. Feeling that he had my best interests at heart more than anyone made me genuinely happy. Arihara-san really is someone I can trust. I've got to do what I can to cooperate too.

"Thank you. Then I'm off to do some more leveling to get ready for the Explorer Exam."

"Hahah, you're about the only person who can level up before taking the Explorer Exam, SS-san. Just don't overdo it, alright!"

Right, now that he mentions it. Normally you can't enter a dungeon until you pass the Explorer Exam, so everyone takes it at Level 1. I only leveled up because I don't have a combat job, so it might come off like I'm cheating a little.

Well, too late to worry about that now. I want to get stronger and help a lot of people, so I'll keep on leveling.

I thanked Arihara-san once more and piloted the three drones toward the Yatsugatake Dungeon.