arc3 · 149-ch149

Chapter 149: Ghost Forest Dungeon ②

Hayate and Shiden's minimal fleet pressed on smoothly. However, the deeper the floors, the stronger the monsters became, so MP consumption kept increasing, and honestly it didn't look like it would last until floor thirty.

(Can't help it. Let's go as far as I can today.)

When I entered floor twenty-five, my MP had already become quite unreliable. At this rate, floor twenty-six might be impossible. Just as I predicted, in the middle of floor twenty-five, my MP was nearly exhausted. The next battle might be the last.

While thinking that, a monster appeared before my eyes. What Hayate and Shiden's cameras showed was a rugged form embodying a man's romance, a shining exoskeleton, a sharp single horn. Yes, it was the beetle-type monster, Strong Beetle.

This guy's strength is B-minus rank. Same strength as a Fierce Centipede. The Magic Machine Cannon might not work against this powerful exoskeleton. If that's the case, the Thunder Bullet Machine Cannon is my lifeline.

"Gyorurururu..."

I never heard beetles could roar, but this sound is clearly coming from the Strong Beetle right before my eyes. It seems this monster is equipped with that kind of function. Apart from the size, the shape is almost identical to a normal beetle, so I think the weak point is on the belly, but I can't aim for it in a normal fight. In that case...

BZZT-BZZT-BZZT!

I let the Thunder Bullet Machine Cannon loose on it right from the start. No matter how hard the Strong Beetle's exoskeleton is, it doesn't matter to my Thunder Bullet Machine Cannon. Attribute attacks for the win!

Moreover, the Strong Beetle, paralyzed by the lightning, fell from the tree it had been stopped on. There I circled Hayate around and tried to aim for its belly with the Magic Machine Cannon — but...

Whoosh!

(Danger!?)

Shiden's camera showed a wind blade attacking Hayate. Thanks to that, I barely avoided the wind blade. If it had been Hayate alone, I definitely would have taken the hit.

(Where is it? Where did that come from?)

That magic just now definitely wasn't from the Strong Beetle. Which means another monster is here. However, even searching with both Hayate and Shiden, I can't find the monster in question. It's probably mimicking the trees or leaves in this forest.

Don!

A sound — the Strong Beetle falling to the ground.

(Alright, let's deal with this one first.)

While the Strong Beetle was paralyzed by lightning, I fired the Magic Machine Cannon while keeping watch on the surroundings, aiming to defeat the Strong Beetle. Thanks to the Strong Beetle having flipped over, I was able to take it down without trouble.

【You defeated the Strong Beetle】

【You have leveled up】

【You obtained 20 Skill Points】

Alright! I leveled up right at the end here! And moreover, I obtained 20 Skill Points, just like last time. With this, Hayate's Skill Points become 40. I'll use these 40 points to obtain an additional unit.

I quickly opened Hayate's status and opened the additional units section. There, I found the unit I was looking for and exchanged it for Skill Points.

Name Hayate Lv21

Durability 250/250

Max Speed 280

Acceleration 70

Hardness 250

Standard Equipment Telephoto Camera

　　　　　 Communication Microphone

　　　　　 Data Transfer Function

Additional Units (Unlocked)

　　　　　 Flashlight

　　　　　 Thermal Camera

Skill Points 0

What I chose was the Thermal Camera. With this, I shouldn't miss insect-type monsters that are mimicking. Now that I got an Attack Unit, I was thinking of raising Hayate's detection abilities.

(Hmm, the camera can be switched as I like. Then, right away... Thermal Camera, ON!)

When I turned on the Thermal Camera, the image became black and white, with hot places shown in red and cold places in blue. Switching cameras doesn't consume MP, which is good.

(Ohh! I can tell, I can tell!)

Looking toward the forest with the Thermal Camera, I could see an insect-type monster mimicking a branch glowing red. It has an elongated shape — a so-called stick-insect-type monster. This guy must be the one who used wind magic.

Since it's mimicking, it's probably not confident in its defense. Predicting that, I deliberately pretended not to have noticed and moved Hayate, and when that stick-insect-type monster came alongside, I had Hayate spin around sharply and fired the Magic Machine Cannon into it.

"Gigi-gi-gi-gi!"

As I predicted, this guy's durability was low, and I was able to deal enough damage with Magic Machine Cannon.

【You defeated the Mimic Branch】

I see, so it's one that mimics branches. It really was just like a tree branch. Without the Thermal Camera, I wouldn't have been able to find it.

Now, this battle has finally nearly exhausted my MP. Let's end today's exploration here. I dismissed Hayate and Shiden, transferred Asahi to floor one, and left the dungeon.

▽▽▽

Having finished exploring, I ate lunch while returning Asahi to the Dungeon Agency. Then I called a taxi and headed to the detached house under construction. In that taxi, I was thinking about why the Skill Points I got on leveling up had suddenly become 20.

There, I noticed. Hayate and Shiden's levels are in the 20s. In other words, I hypothesized that when the level is in the teens, the Skill Points obtained are 10, and when the level is in the 20s, they're 20.

If Hayate or Shiden's levels reach the 30s, this hypothesis will be proven. Until then, I'll assume 20 points come in each time.

While I was musing on that, I had arrived at the detached house at the foot of Mount Takao without realizing it. This area is close to where I used to live. It feels kind of nostalgic.

(Huh? The progress is faster than I thought?)

I was told it would take half a year to complete, but no matter how I look at it, the exterior seems finished to my eyes. Worried about the speed, I contacted Mita-san, who guided me here, and asked about it.

In response, I was told that because I didn't take out a loan and the design was decided smoothly, they could start construction right away, and above all, the construction went surprisingly fast because the architect had a Job.

If that was the case, you could have told me. But thinking about it, I told them I didn't need to be kept updated on progress. At this rate, it seems it will be completed in about one more month.

At this unexpected turn of events, I grinned and gazed at my almost-finished secret base for a while.