ch421-ch440 · 424-ch424
Chapter 424: Training What Stats Can't Touch
"Good work, everyone. Then let's set the watch order."
Floor 31 cleared, we've come as far as the 'Gate to Floor 32,' and today is called—
"Watch? For what?"
"No, I mean—it's a survey, right? We have to film the night too."
......Not called.
"Eh? Nights in the desert get insanely cold, you know?"
According to the surveys of adventurers who went in ahead, days push forty degrees and nights drop to five.
That temperature swing is an obstacle in its own right.
Kasumi-san packed cold-weather gear in the luggage she hauled up to Floor 30, so we're covered.
"Right. People resting can sleep in the living room over there, maybe? Best to pitch a tent and leave a 'Gate' open inside it. Luckily the snakes quiet down at night—if we used that earlier group, though, I'd have to pair Natsuki-san and Soushi-kun with me for the midnight-to-three slot, and......"
Sand Cobras roam less during the night, spending more of it hidden underground.
Only the ones that happen to spawn close by come up out of the ground to attack, so raids should be rare.
Kasumi-san looks at me and sends a glance; I nod back.
"That slot, Natsuki-san and I will take. We've barely fought at all, and tomorrow will likely be the same. So—leave it to us."
I'm the camera operator, and Kasumi-san's the luggage carrier, after all.
Night watch: everyone together after dinner until nine; then the first watch until midnight; next, midnight to three; last, three to six.
Midnight-to-three gets you two wake-ups, so it's the officially hardest slot.
"Sorry about that. Then my group—me and Soushi-kun, or rather 'Summer Shadow'—taking the morning is the natural fit. Everyone good with that?"
The morning watch has breakfast duty too, after all.
The viewers will accept it more easily this way, too.
"But the camera's running the whole time, right? Once it's just the two of you, Haruki can't talk. That okay with you?"
Ah. Right.
Probably just the first night, but we do have to leave the Association's cameras running all night......
'Summer Shadow' doesn't talk either, though.
With Ao-san there it's three of us, so it should be fine?
"We don't mind. We have no need of words."
So she says.
Midnight: Chiharu-san and Yukiya-san.
Then until three, me and Kasumi-san; three to six, Soushi, Aikawa, and Ao-san's group.
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'You know, I had a big sister......'
An afternoon, once......
I'm pretty sure this was during culture festival prep.
Soushi and Aikawa had gone on the shopping run, leaving the two of us alone......
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"Haruki, Haruki, morning."
I open my eyes and there's Chiharu-san.
Eh? Morning?
I scramble for the clock: it's just ticked over from 11:59 to midnight.
It is NOT morning!
It's shift change!
"We're up."
Chiharu-san keeps shaking me even though my eyes are open, so I stop her.
"Kasumi, Kasumi, morning."
For the last time, it is not morning!
Kasumi-san bolts upright, checks the clock, and lets out a long breath.
"Shift change. Going."
"It's cold—layer up before you go."
Chiharu-san says that while starting to strip herself.
She must have gotten chilled; she's off to the bath.
Seeing her off, we step into the 'Right Hand Gate' that's been left open.
"We're late."
Kasumi-san calls out to Yukiya-san, who's still there.
"Yeah, you're up. Sitting still, this cold is unbearable."
With that, Yukiya-san turns his boots upside down in front of the tent to dump the sand out, then goes in.
So there WAS combat.
Stay sharp.
I sit down in the camera's blind spot where Yukiya-san had been; Kasumi-san, who was checking the camera, comes over and sits beside me.
"......"
The camera's rolling, after all.
We're both silent.
But she rests her head on my shoulder and pokes at my foot with her finger.
A little cold, but this isn't bad at all.
We stay like that for a while—and then, out of nowhere, Kasumi-san plants a kiss on my cheek......
"Ah—!!"
A sound escapes before I can stop it, and I slap a hand over my mouth.
【Presence Detection】's reactions are going wild......
Snakes are coming up out of the ground everywhere.
The Flirting Strategy, activated......
Word has it that day's video captured Kasumi-san single-handedly holding the line in front of the camera.
I was fighting properly, thank you—just outside the camera's field of view!
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"......"
This one—quit posturing and say something already.
No wonder Eko called her out on it.
Just silently listening. That's all she ever did.
It was always like this, huh.
Back in second year, whenever we split into groups, Aikawa and Mizuki were always together.
After I got on good terms with Aikawa, whenever we made mixed groups, Soushi and I usually ended up joining them.
And still, she stayed silent, start to finish.
This is no good, is it......
No—why am I dreaming THIS, now of all things......
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"No, when something like that happens, you have to wake us! That's what teammates are for!"
Come morning, over breakfast in the new place, Ao-san lays into us.
"We're very sorry. We'll be careful from now on."
Kasumi-san, fully prostrate.
Given the cause, I suppose "we couldn't wake you" isn't an excuse she could make......
"But that's a serious pile of magic stones. Did the noise of battle draw them all in?"
"Fighting quietly is part of the craft. Still calling yourself a ninja?"
My sincerest apologies.
Three people astonished at the stone count, two people dead-eyed.
Soushi and Aikawa seem to have figured out what happened.
Well—the Flirting Strategy works in the new dungeon too. Good to know.
Yes. I'm sorry.
"So, today: the camera won't run at full, but we still have to climb some dune or other and record the positions of the 'Gates to the Next Floor' for the map. The camera has a clock on it, so if Haruki-kun uses his skill, the timestamps contradict. So—we'll borrow your skill, but we advance floor by floor while watching the time. Until then, rest here and conserve your strength."
Sun angle matters too, after all.
We don't know what would give us away, so slowing the march is only natural.
A field this open with this visibility is a huge advantage for my 【Gate】—if I wanted, I could reach the next floor in a minute.
But the twin walls of filming and surveying stand in the way.
Becoming 'Spring Shadow' succeeded; the can't-ever-stream body remains.
"We can't leave the house grounds, right? Then we'll train in the dune's shadow. Natsuki's sword has been on my mind—I want to watch her for a bit."
"Really?! Yay!"
She's thrilled, but this IS going to be yesterday's critique, you know?
"Man, if only the heat would let up. Well, sleeping around here is pointless anyway—I'll go watch too."
"I'll be editing the video over here. Watch out for monsters."
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"HOT. We're really doing this here?"
Come afternoon, Mia-san brings the new equipment, so I'm invited to the desert.
We decided to advance one floor every two hours, so there's downtime.
For the record, we're on Floor 35 right now.
"It's shady, so this is the better spot? Step into the sun and it's far worse."
We're in a dune's shadow, so it's somewhat cooler.
"Just the glare will sunburn you at this point. I'm heading baaack. Take care, everyone~"
Shiraishi-san, who had lunch with us, heads home here—not home, back to work.
"True. Metal armor out here and you wouldn't just sunburn, you'd roast. Hm? What are those two up to?"
Mia-san looks toward Aikawa and the others.
"Owowowow! Soushi, too strong! You're pushing too hard!"
"Stretching. Something about training the parts stats can't touch—flexibility practice, apparently."
Chiharu-san and Aikawa have laid sheets on the sand and are doing gymnastics.
Aikawa is apparently pretty stiff; Soushi's pushing on her, but she doesn't give an inch.
Chiharu-san, meanwhile, casually holds a Y-balance on the unstable sand. As expected.
Still—flexibility, huh.
In the sense of what stats can't reach, the 'Mountain Kata' using weight is the same idea.
Maybe training those parts is what it means to gain real strength.
"Huh. Oh, right—the things you ordered. A silver throwing spear. It's the only one I've 【Named】 with the undead-slayer effect, so treat it well, you hear? And this one's the iron throwing spear for Kasumi-san. The armor's still going to take a while. You're surveying this dungeon's Floor 41 too, right? I'm counting on the base material, so find me something good."
Mia-san made me a silver jumonji spear, but it's no good for throwing.
And once thrown, the silver weapon's gone for good—so I'd asked for a dedicated throwing spear that I could afford to lose.
As for the armor, I ordered Japanese armor, but made from scratch she can't make something that satisfies her.
Modifying something picked up in the 40s floors is the way to go, apparently.
"Looks fun. Let me in on it."
While Kasumi-san and I are throwing spears at the dune, Yukiya-san joins in.
Thought I'd be bored, but we're using the time pretty well, actually.