arc3 · 171-ch171

Chapter 171: The Gekkou Development Plan

"Shall we call it a day here?"

While I was mulling over Gekkou's units, we'd been hard at work gathering Mana Potions — but with the light fading around us, the leader Toomi-san decided it was time to wrap up.

We made our way back from floor twenty-two to floor twenty, then used the Transfer Stone to jump to floor one. After that, we gathered in the rest area outside the dungeon entrance to take stock of the results.

The four of us sat around a single table, with Hayate placed at its center. Asahi had been sent back to Yamamoto Electronics a little ahead of time.

"Mana Potions really don't come out easily, do they. Two whole days of effort, and all we've got is seven low-grade and four Mid-grade — that's way too few!"

Just as Himehana said — if a party at the top of C-rank like Hyakka Ryouran could only manage this much in two days, it's no wonder Mana Potions barely circulate on the market.

"Next time we start from floor twenty-one. We'll get more."

Yeah, what Rin-san says makes sense too. This time we started from floor one, so it took quite a while. Starting from floor twenty-one would probably net us a lot more.

"Um, SS-san, about how many were you able to gather?"

Kureha-san's question made me realize something. I never reported how many Mana Potions Hayate had collected.

"Let's see... twenty-six Mid-grade Mana Potions."

"Huh?"

Hmm? Was my voice too quiet? All four of them asked me to repeat that.

"So, twenty-six. Mid-grades, I mean."

I tried speaking with a little more volume this time.

"Doesn't something seem off!? The four of us went all out for four Mid-grades, so why on earth has SS-san, gathering all alone, managed to get twenty-six!?"

Oh — so it's not about the volume; it's that twenty-six sounds like way too many.

"Weird, weird! So... So SS-san, aren't you doing something unfair here?"

Hey, Himehana — you almost called me Sota just now. And no, I'm not cheating. Though I'll admit, the new Mana Detection Radar is so good that it practically lays bare where the mana-packed spirits are, which made things very efficient.

"Anomaly."

Rin-san, could you please stop carving pieces off my heart with a single word...?

"My, SS-san is quite the skilled Mana Potion gatherer, isn't he."

Yeah, I'm grateful Kureha-san gives me honest praise. Though something about it feels a little... off.

"Anyway — thirty Mid-grade Potions in total means we should split them all up between us. Six each, if that works for everyone? Ah, I don't need the low-grade ones, so feel free to use those."

For starters, I proposed the even split as originally planned, but...

"No, no, that's strange, isn't it? The normal way, it'd be four for us and twenty-six for SS-san, no?"

Oh my — whatever might Toomi-san be saying? What kind of leader doesn't stick to the promise made at the very start? We clearly confirmed that the Mana Potions gathered would be split evenly.

"We were supposed to split the gathered potions evenly, weren't we?"

"Yes, we did say that... but I never imagined SS-san alone could gather this much, so I feel a bit guilty, or rather..."

Well, fair enough — four among four people versus twenty-six from one is a pretty stark difference. Still, breaking a promise you made at the outset doesn't sit right either...

In the end, after everyone talked it over, we decided to split the pile in half — one half for Hyakka Ryouran, one for me. I never dreamed Toomi-san could be this stubborn.

I received fifteen Mid-grade Mana Potions and four low-grade ones, thanked everyone, and took my leave.

▽▽▽

Now then — it had gotten plenty dark outside, but it seems President Yamamoto had volunteered for night duty again today. When I sent Asahi back to him, he was waiting with his eyes absolutely sparkling.

And so, I summoned Gekkou for real and used it to talk things over with President Yamamoto.

"Ever since I got your email, I've been mulling it over, and my — whether to go recon-specialized or support-specialized is a tough call! Your Skill Points seem to be limited, so rather than half-heartedly taking both, I believe specialization is the way to go. Which one you choose is up to you, SS my boy."

"That's just it. I was thinking the same — better to specialize in one or the other. Hmm, but which one..."

The president and I agreed that picking a clear direction and building toward it beats growing it half-and-half. The problem, of course, is which direction to specialize in...

"Shall we try picturing each one's finished form first?"

President Yamamoto offered that advice to conclusion-stuck me. Following it, the two of us started imagining the final forms.

"First, the key unit would be Stealth."

"Yes, I'd been thinking the same. It's 300 points, so I can grab it anytime."

Just as the president said, this skill is indispensable for a recon-specialized build. With it, we might be able to investigate without worrying about monsters at all.

"Also, the camera situation is a touch thin. We'd want a telephoto and the 360° camera. And ideally, a thermal or infrared as well — that would make it a first-rate scout."

I took notes as I listened to the president.

"Oh, and Acceleration Boost would be great too. Even if a monster spots it, the odds of getting away go way up."

"You're quite right, SS my boy."

The president agreed with my take.

"In terms of raising survival odds, Hardening wouldn't be a bad pick either."

Oops — I'd been considering that one too, but as a priority it ranks below the others.

Taking all the units mentioned so far would run about 600 Skill Points. Though that's less than the support-specialized route would.

"Now then, as for the support-specialized form — in the end, that one comes down to equipping all the various needles. The question is priority. It changes depending on whether you make ally support the main focus, or weakening monsters the main focus."

Right — these Medical Units come with both buffs and debuffs. If I go support-specialized, I'll have to decide which direction to build in there too.

"If ally support is the priority, the first one to take should be the Healing Needle. With that, there'd be no more worrying about running out of potions. After that, the sensible order is to take the cure needles in order of how often monsters inflict their conditions."

I see. In that case, working down the list in order seems the way to go. I never used many curative potions before, so I hadn't paid it much mind — but with these, I'd have peace of mind if the worst happened.

"If you aim for weakening monsters, then Paralysis and Poison look to be high priority. Curse and Petrification are powerful, but the fact that they cost the same points as Paralysis and Poison means their success rate is likely that much lower."

Huh, so that's a way of thinking about it too. I'd just been planning to grab Petrification and Curse. That was close. The president's prediction does sound right.

"Either way, it looks like you'll need a fair amount of Skill Points, so there may be no need to rush the picks."

"You may be right. Stealth wouldn't be much use right now anyway."

Best to bank up Skill Points first, and weigh each route's merits and demerits against real combat practice.

Thanking the president, I turned my thoughts to just what direction I should raise Gekkou in.