ch41-ch60 · 055-ch55

Chapter 55: Between Tokyo HQ and Chiba Dungeon

The child-like shopkeeper returned looking crestfallen.

Seems she got argued down.

Meanwhile, Watanabe-san remained completely composed.

Well, that's because there wasn't anything happening like what the kid shopkeeper was imagining.

"Come to think of it, what's your relationship with each other?"

They didn't seem like just a work relationship.

Watanabe-san had gone out of her way to take her to the back room to talk earlier.

They weren't at the point of reporting each other to the authorities or anything.

I could tell they were fairly good friends, but...

"I should've explained that too, right? Even if I talk about my Special Skill?"

"I ain't hidin' nothin'. It's practically public knowledge at this point."

Oh? Mia-san's Special Skill?

Now I'm interested.

"Mia-san and I both have the same Special Skill, which is how we started talking more often. The skill is called [Weight Reduction]. As the name suggests, it's a skill that makes you unable to feel the weight of equipment up to a certain limit. In dungeons where equipment weight isn't an issue due to stat corrections, it's not a particularly useful skill."

"Well, even so, it means your movement ain't restricted. We wear heavy armor and clang around together on weekends."

Hmm? "Together"—so they're in a party?

Watanabe-san was in a party...?

Lemme borrow that nagamaki.

I'm gonna go slice up some orcs real quick.

"These days, there are few women who try to join freelance parties, so while I have several parties, all the female participants are familiar faces."

Ah, that's what she meant.

Freelance parties.

Since there's camping involved, women form parties with other women.

"We team up with people we're close with among that group. Everyone gets along well now, but at first, I was avoided. Kasumi-san was the only one who took in someone like me."

"Someone like you?"

You mean because she looks like a child?

"You know what kind of person a [Blacksmith] who can't make it big is?"

Now that's a question.

Nah, I have no idea.

"Umm, someone who holes up in their workshop and never comes out? Ah, someone who doesn't level up."

"Half right. Not someone who doesn't level up—someone who can't level up."

Ah, I get it.

So that means Mia-san...

"Someone who chose a production job like [Blacksmith] as their main job..."

Production job stats are low.

Floor 10 and beyond should be tough.

To change your main job, you need to reach Floor 30.

But Floor 30 is something even combat jobs struggle to clear.

A [Blacksmith] with low stats clearing it would be difficult.

In other words, she can't become an advanced job.

"So you can't make it big because you can't become an advanced job? But wouldn't four advanced combat job holders be able to defeat the Floor 30 boss?"

She could just commission adventurers who have already cleared Floor 30 and obtained advanced jobs.

"Ah, that's the thing. I'm savin' up money for that too, y'know. Ever since those guys cleared Floor 40 last year, they're callin' it the Second Dungeon Boom, ain't they? Big corporations are gettin' serious now, and parties that can defeat the Floor 30 boss with four people are bein' fought over. The commission fees are skyrocketin'—was 5 million yen before, last month it was 10 million. This month it's 20 million."

Seriously? Wait, isn't my skill insane?

No, isn't the Chiba side where crickets are chirping during the Second Dungeon Boom even more insane?

"Even so, there are no parties willing to accept."

Watanabe-san is at a level where clearing Floor 30 wouldn't be strange.

Wait, she's willing to pay 20 million?

"Well, that's how it is. There ain't many parties, even freelance ones, that'll let in an adventurer with [Blacksmith] as their main. Thanks to [Weight Reduction], I was tryin' to level up by carryin' luggage and stuff. But I couldn't get any combat opportunities. That's when Kasumi-san called out to me."

"Someone was shouting that they had the Special Skill [Weight Reduction], so I felt like calling out to them. Those were good times."

And that's how the two of them became close friends.

"She still accompanies me for leveling up even now, so I really look up to Kasumi-san. Now then, back to work. Have you decided what kind of spear you want?"

Hmm.

In the end, the one I'm using now seems the safest bet.

But I also want a cross spear.

Ah, I should test that one thing too.

"Excuse me, could I borrow this cross spear and step outside for a moment?"

"Hm? Yeah, it'd be a problem if you swung that around inside the shop. It doesn't have a sheath, so be careful."

"Also, is there a restroom?"

"Go the opposite direction from the Gate, and there's a park at the end. There's a restroom there."

"Then I'll be back in a moment."

"I'll accompany you. I might be able to offer some advice."

It'd be a problem if Watanabe-san followed me, but since the destination is the restroom, well, I guess it's fine.

No, maybe it'd be better to have her watch at this point...

But then we'd both end up going into the restroom together... that's impossible.

Should I have the child shopkeeper go alone to the restroom?

Is that okay?

"Kasumi-san can't. We're not done talking yet."

Apparently Watanabe-san is a no-go.

She seemed defeated in the argument but hadn't accepted it.

"I'll go alone."

I want to at least test it.

It's better to go alone.

It might be dangerous.

"Understood. Be careful."

"I ain't a kid, y'know... Am I a kid?"

No, you're the one who looks like a child.

As instructed, I headed in the opposite direction from where I came and entered the park restroom.

Going out of my way to enter a park restroom armed with a weapon... I have a proper reason, okay.

No one's here.

I'll go into a stall.

Ah, good.

The depth is quite spacious.

The height might stick out above the partition, but well, it should be fine.

"[Gate]."

I raised my right hand toward the side wall and produced the 'Right Gate.'

It comes out normally.

I touch it with my right hand as is.

...It passes through.

I steel myself and step inside.

"...Looks like the 19th floor."

On the hill above, a watchman orc holding a horn.

An orc knight wearing armor... yeah, they're there.

No people either, so this is definitely the Chiba Dungeon's 19th floor.

This means I've successfully moved between dungeons.

"...Guess it worked."

Oops, one's coming this way.

Since it'd be bad to slash at it with a shop sample cross spear, I'll head back quickly.

Once back in the restroom, I put away the 'Right Gate' and step outside.

Then I sit on a park bench.

I need to calm down.

"...It's meaningless for now."

Currently, I can only produce two [Gates]: the 'Left Gate' and the 'Right Gate.'

The 'Left Gate' I placed deeper inside can't be moved.

Rather than walking back from the 19th floor, the HQ-Chiba route is just one train ride, so that's faster.

'Dungeon Gate' entry and exit is managed by licenses, so it's better not to enter or exit.

Plus, Floor 1 of this Tokyo Dungeon has cameras everywhere.

The reason I went out of my way to enter the restroom was for that.

By the way, if it's just moving objects, the [Merchant] job has the [Storage] skill that can transport items between dungeons.

[Storage] is a skill where your max MP decreases while items are stored.

It can't store infinite items—apparently about 1 cubic meter per 100 max MP.

[Merchant] has the lowest stats of all jobs, with only 100 MP at Level 10 and 200 MP at Level 20.

The proper way to use it is probably to main a magic job with abundant MP and operate the [Merchant] skill.

However, [Merchant] is a rare job on par with [Healer], so there aren't many.

The female mage from that Quadruple party... the one who got mad about being fed orc meat, I think she had [Merchant] as her sub-job.

Entering other countries' dungeons is prohibited to prevent smuggling using [Storage].

This isn't an adventurer regulation but international law, so it's not just license revocation.

So I should assume inter-country travel is impossible.

But this definitely raised my skill's ridiculousness level.

I absolutely can't let this be discovered.

"Hmm."

...How should I explain this to Watanabe-san.

If I'm going to talk about timing, it has to be today.

If I miss today, I think the win/lose conversation will be left ambiguous.

Watanabe-san even told me about her Special Skill.

But while she talked about various things today, they were all about the past—she didn't talk about the future.

She probably wants me to say something once more...