ch61-ch80 · 072-ch72
Chapter 72: 101 Little Ogres
Hello, everyone.
The ninja Harukage here.
Today, I'm at the Chiba Dungeon.
That's right—I'm about to attempt the Chiba Dungeon RTA.
Now then. Ready, set...
"Hey, you're not supposed to touch that side of the gate. That side is for people coming out, you know."
I got scolded.
It's Shiraishi-san, with the newbie receptionist trailing along behind her.
Looking down at my feet, the floor really does read "Dungeon Entrance Only."
【Gate】s have an orientation to them.
Front and back.
I don't know which is which, but the side you enter from and the side you come out on are connected, and the two opposite sides are connected to each other as well.
Using that property, Dungeon Gates are split into a dedicated entrance for going in and a dedicated exit for coming out.
Since you can't see through to the other side of a 【Gate】, if they didn't split them up, people would collide on the way through.
"The second I thought you'd gone out and come back, what on earth are you doing..."
No, see, this side works better as an entrance to the building, so it cuts down my time.
"That's not it, ssu. This is that thing, ssu—playing ninja, ssu. You know, that RTA thing Red Shadow did when he came here before, ssu."
"Ninja? 'Young Baldy'?? 'Artie'??? I don't really get it, but is that some new trend?"
It's just coming up on 5 PM.
Newbie-chan being here must be for the shift handover.
Over at the counter, I can hear Sato-san and Hiramatsu-san talking.
It's Sunday and there were a lot of adventurers today, so there seems to be a fair amount to hand over.
"【Status】"
Name: Kasugano Haruki
Job: 【Charge Spearman】【Scout】
Lv: 29
HP: 870/870
MP: 435/435
Strength: 72
Endurance: 72
Agility: 58
Magic: 43
Skill: 【Gate】【Charge・Spear】【Charge・Spear・Weapon Enhancement・Spear】【Charge・Spear・Strength Up】【Charge・Spear・Endurance Up】【Charge・Spear・Agility Up】【Charge・Spear・Aiming】【Presence Concealment】【Scouting】【Night Vision】
Skill Points: 10
Alright, MP is fully restored.
I leveled up twice in the morning, reaching 29, and took my lunch break there.
I came back at noon and kept hunting Forest Ogres, but my level didn't budge.
I don't know whether the required experience has gone up, or whether leveling was simply easier before because I'd been fighting opponents above my level.
Either way, the result was over 4 hours of fighting and no Level 30.
I want to challenge Floor 30 before it gets dark, so I came back up to the surface to rest and let my MP recover.
And when I came back and saw the 'Dungeon Gate,' I couldn't help thinking I might as well time myself.
"Eh? Status? What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"I bet he's explaining his status to the viewers in his head, ssu. Pretty hardcore about it, ssu."
"'In his head'? What's that? I really don't get it. It's almost time for me to head home, you know. You should stop goofing around and head home before dark too. Or what, were you waiting because you wanted to walk home with me?"
"I'm in a hurry. Thanks for all your hard work!"
"Nin-nin, I shall be offf, ssu!"
Nin-nin.
I touch the gate again and take off.
The count starts.
I raise a hand toward the counter, just to be polite.
Hiramatsu-san waves back.
Sato-san gives me nothing but a glance.
Stepping out of the Association building, the main boulevard leading to the 'Gate to Floor 2' was fairly crowded.
It's Sunday, prime hours.
Besides the adventurers coming back, there seem to be people who only got their license and are here for a monster meat dinner.
I can't get much speed here.
I cut down a side street and dash from there.
And—arrive at the warehouse.
I beep my license and head in through the side door.
I pick up the rental spear sitting in the center of the warehouse with my left hand.
"【Gate】."
The 'Right Gate.'
I slip inside, and there I am on the 29th floor, right in front of the 'Gate to Floor 30.'
I touch the 'Gate to Floor 30.'
"One minute, thirty-three seconds."
The very moment an eternal, unbreakable record was set.
No ninja alive will ever top this one.
(Alright, let's do this.)
Time to stop playing around.
From here on, it's the real deal.
The Floor 30 boss is the Ogre King.
Not a Forest Ogre—the king of the ordinary ogre breed.
Apparently it attacks with bare fists and kicks rather than claws.
The boss is just this one monster.
Just the one, but it has an entourage.
Forest Ogres—one hundred of them.
These 100 Forest Ogres are what keep ordinary-job Triple-Ranks from advancing to high-rank jobs.
Since the only boss is the Ogre King, beating it lets you take a high-rank job, and the 'Gate to Floor 31' opens so you can escape.
But the 100 Forest Ogres don't vanish, so you have to fight your way toward the 'Gate to Floor 31' while cutting them down.
Surrounded by 100 of them, moving while escorting ordinary-job holders is simply not doable.
Layout-wise, there's the 'Gate to Floor 29' at the far south, which is where you enter.
And the 'Gate to Floor 31' for escaping at the far north.
The boss, the Ogre King, spawns dead center between them.
The Forest Ogres are arranged in a circle around the Ogre King.
(Let's go with an assassination plan.)
For one minute after you enter a boss area, no monsters spawn.
In that window, I take up position behind the Ogre King and hide with 【Gate】.
Charge 【Charge・Spear】 up nice and full, take down the Ogre King in a single strike, and get out.
But the Ogre King is a monster that five lower-rank combat job holders can barely take down together.
Even several high-rank combat job holders would need time to bring it down.
Anyway—I'll pour in as much MP as I can.
Around 400, maybe?
(With 30 seconds left I can still escape just fine, and if it gets dicey, there's always 【Gate】.)
I pass through the 'Gate to Floor 30' and enter the boss area.
Terrain-wise, it's not forest but open flatland.
I can see forests and mountains all around, but those are probably on the far side of the dungeon walls.
"【Status】【Charge・Spear】【Charge・Spear・Agility Up】【Charge・Spear・Endurance Up】【Charge・Spear・Strength Up】【Charge・Spear・Weapon Enhancement・Spear】."
MP: 434→433
I run.
To the spot where the Ogre King will pop.
"Around here? 【Gate】."
All the Floor 30 boss area videos I've watched were from the headquarters dungeon.
Only the terrain differs slightly.
To be able to take its rear, I advance a little farther north than I need to and put out the 'Left Gate.'
MP: 433→418→417
Fifteen seconds, right before I put out the 【Gate】.
If the distance is similar, I can reach the exit 'Gate to Floor 31' in 15 seconds.
Of course, the Forest Ogres are in the way, so sweeping them aside will take time, but if it's only enemies straight ahead, 10 seconds should do.
"【Gate】, vanish."
Monsters have never invaded through the 'Left Gate' before, but they do seem aware of its existence, so I'll dismiss it, just in case.
Monsters don't move between floors.
If anything, they dislike 'Floor Gates' so much they won't even approach them.
The fact that they dislike them means they can tell they're there.
"I've got more than six minutes."
MP: 417→415
My high-rank job, at last.
Wait, "at last," huh? It's only been 12 days since I registered my license.
But a lot has happened, hasn't it.
On day one, I'd just killed a goblin and was looking green about it when Watanabe-san called out to me.
She told me to do my best.
And then I did too much and got scolded for it.
After that, I got scolded again and again for overdoing it.
"Huh? Am I gonna get scolded this time too?"
No, no—she's the one who said I could keep going ahead.
Besides, she said she wants to get a high-rank job on Floor 30 and help Mia-san and the others.
Even if she gets mad at me, she wouldn't hate me... right?
What if she says she's done with me?
It's fine.
I told her properly that I like her.
And Watanabe-san said she'd protect me too.
"...And yet here I am, having come this far alone."
Let this be the last time I push ahead on my own.
From now on, I'm going to be with Watanabe-san, always.
MP: 400→34
It's time.
Let's go.
(【Presence Concealment】【Gate】【Scouting】.)
MP: 34→32
I came out a little too far, huh.
There's some distance to the Ogre King.
But I've got its rear.
It'll be over in an instant anyway.
This is an attack with 400 MP poured into it.
I can't even imagine what's about to happen.
I pass through the 'Right Gate' onto Floor 30.
(Better close the 【Gate】, just in case. Now—full power.)
One step. Two steps.
And there, my feet stop.
"Ugh."
MP: 32→31
A nosebleed.
And I was fine just a second ago.
(No—don't stop. Ah—)
The Ogre King turned around.
And a roundhouse kick, riding the full momentum of that turn.
Fast.
You're kidding, right?
I'm IN super mode.
It's just plain fast.
But my guard came up in time.
HP: 868→848
MP: 31→30
It's fine. It didn't do anything.
Then again, maybe that's the weight difference at work.
I got sent flying clean into the Forest Ogres forming the circle.
Even skidding across the ground, I land firmly on both feet.
I haven't let go of the spear either.
Super mode is still active.
MP: 30→29
I was aware of it.
Super mode—or rather, 【Charge・Spear】 is probably the cause.
It makes time itself feel like it's flowing slowly, so it must be putting a serious strain on my body.
But sometimes the nosebleed comes, and sometimes it doesn't.
During super mode, I activated three more skills on top of everything—【Presence Concealment】, 【Gate】, and 【Scouting】.
Was that what did it?
"Out of my way."
The Forest Ogres I landed among come attacking.
Three of them.
Their movements are slow.
Like I thought—only the Ogre King is abnormally fast.
One, two, three—I clear them out with three slashes.
The rental spear's cutting power is as impressive as ever.
MP: 29→24
There's something else I can think of, too.
In reality—or rather, back on the surface—that so-called rebound from rapid level-ups has my strength control all out of whack.
Even today, my bike was going unreasonably fast on the way to the Chiba Branch.
That can't be good for my body either.
MP: 24→23
It's fine.
I still have more than 20 seconds.
In perceived time, that's over 30 seconds.
And then...
Thump.
I feel my heart lurch.
My nosebleed erupts hard enough to dye the ground red.
"Goh—goh—"
MP: 23/435→22/450
It goes down the wrong pipe and I start coughing.
I knew right away what had happened.
Those three just now leveled me up.
Of all the timings.
My stats went up, which must have put even more strain on my body.
This is bad.
I drop to a knee.
MP: 22→21
(This is bad. Run—)
A red-and-black shadow, right in front of me.
The Ogre King.
Its fist is raised.
(Kasumi-san... Ah, I've never once been able to call her that...)