arc3 · 159-ch159

Chapter 159: Scouting the Inubosaki Tower Dungeon ①

The day after my disaster relief efforts, I woke up and walked into the living room to find the TV on. The morning news was explaining, with footage, that the SDF had entered the disaster zone. Just as I was thinking they'd gotten in faster than expected, the screen cut to the evacuation shelters.

"Just when I thought it was all over, SS's drone came, and it saved me!"

There on screen was the woman I'd rescued yesterday. She was one I could save with Storage because she was still conscious. I'm glad she looked well.

"Wait — did you save her, Onii-chan?"

My little sister asked innocently, holding what looked like today's breakfast — a delicious-looking salad.

"Yeah, that was me. I just couldn't leave it alone."

Not a conversation I could have anywhere else, but here there's no need to watch my words. I can talk freely at home.

"That's amazing, Onii-chan! You really are the brother I'm proud of!"

Heheh. Is she worried I might be feeling down again? No worries — I won't overestimate what I can do anymore.

The landslide coverage continued on TV. SDF members were pulling buried residents out one after another. Some may not have made it, of course, but the announcer was excitedly reporting that survivors were being rescued at an unprecedented pace.

Maybe the potions I fired in and the map I gave Arihara-san made the difference. If so, all that effort paid off.

Some university professor who specializes in disaster relief was saying the same — that the SDF was rescuing people so fast it was as if they'd known where everyone needing help was beforehand. So I must be right.

Well — I've done what I can. The rest of the disaster response I'll leave to the SDF. Today: leveling. Tomorrow: Kachofūgetsu's shoot.

After seeing Umi off, I went into my room and powered Asahi up. Tomorrow's shoot was at the Inubosaki Tower Dungeon, if I remembered right. Might as well level up at Inubosaki while building the map.

I launched Asahi from the Dungeon Agency and sent it to the Inubosaki Tower Dungeon. A Dungeon Modification hit that place just recently, so it should be safe for a while.

Ironically, in that sense, the Inubosaki Tower Dungeon is apparently pretty popular right now. I'll have to make sure I don't get in people's way.

Once Asahi reached the Inubosaki Tower Dungeon, I summoned Hayate and Shiden. Asahi started from floor one, Hayate transferred to floor ten, and Shiden to floor twenty — all heading for the deeper floors while they built up the map.

This time each drone is making for the boss room, so I'll keep MP consumption down. Using Parallel Thinking, I piloted all three drones onward. This dungeon is an open grassland type, with a staircase somewhere on each nearly circular floor.

Oh — Shiden's side has barely any explorers around, so it's already running into monsters. That's a Bark Wolf. It'll try to hamper my movement with its roar skill, but that won't work on my Shiden. Actually, it hasn't noticed me at all, so I'll just cruise right past it.

Silent Hayate and Shiden can, with a bit of skillful maneuvering, push forward without monsters ever noticing them. A handy trait for making maps while taking detours. Asahi makes flight noise, but the shallower floors have so many explorers that there are hardly any monsters. And the monsters there are so low-level they can't come close to matching Asahi's speed, so movement is no problem at all.

With barely any fighting, my three drones filled in the map floor by floor. They completed each map at roughly the same pace and moved on to the next. The floors are wide, so it took some time, but travel through this wolf-heavy dungeon was pretty easy.

(Well — pretty soon I won't be able to advance without fighting.)

By the time I sat down at the table for lunch, Asahi had made steady progress and was already on floor eight. Hayate, though, was on sixteen, and Shiden only halfway there, at twenty-five. Asahi should reach floor ten without issue at this rate, but Hayate and Shiden were finding it hard to advance unnoticed — flying-type monsters had started appearing, after all.

Anyway, thanks to Parallel Thinking, I can fight with Hayate and Shiden at the same time. What's more, I can move Asahi and eat my own lunch while I'm at it. I threw up the first time I used it, but I've got the hang of it now. Sorry about that time, Sasaki-san.

Me, eating lunch while leaving the fighting to other versions of myself. Storage, Auto-Mapping, and now Parallel Thinking — these skills are genuinely cheat-tier. I thought Drone Pilot was the weakest job, but now it's the best job there is!

Hayate had run into a flock of E-rank Cutter Swallows — swallow-type monsters whose feathers are sharp blades that shred anything they pass. But charging straight into Hayate without a thought? Not their smartest move.

Doshu-doshu-doshu

The soundless magic bullets punched through the Cutter Swallows one after another. Oh — a low-grade potion dropped. Might as well grab it.

Shiden, meanwhile, had engaged three Shadow Crows. D-rank monsters that fling their sharp black feathers like knives — dangerous opponents. For explorers of D-rank or below, anyway.

BZZT-BZZT-BZZT!

Ten thunder bullets, fired in a single second, tore into the Shadow Crows.

"Gyeeeeh!"

The thunder bullets, fired at high speed, landed on the Shadow Crows without missing a shot. No need to even bring out the lightning attribute — the Shadow Crows dropped with holes all over their bodies. Oh, this one dropped a mid-grade potion. Plenty of potion drops today.

My drones, having finished off the swallows and crows, pressed onward. Asahi reached its boss room early, so I left it standing by there. We've conserved MP nicely so far — time to start sweeping monsters aside.

Psyching myself up anew, I brushed my teeth and headed back to my room.