arc03 · 057-ep51
Episode 51: Stronger Now?
The meetings with all three wrapped up, and I'd safely obtained 【Plunder】 from every last one of them.
Mask and sunglasses off, I let out a breath.
"So? How'd it go? Did anything change?"
"Yeah. When I plundered number three's 【Plunder】, an announcement rang out in my head—【Plunder】 got enhanced."
"Ooh! Then I'd say the verification was a success. So what's it like now?"
"Well, about that—strength-wise, not much has changed. But now I can plunder skills even without an open slot."
"What! Isn't that insanely strong?"
"Strong's strong, sure, but I don't get the skill itself. If there's no open slot or same-named skill, everything converts into 【Plunder】 proficiency, apparently."
"Hmmm? So the enemy's skill disappears, but mine don't go up—that it?"
"That's about the size of it. My own strength is unchanged for now, but I can weaken enemies now. Rest depends on what happens the next time 【Plunder】 gets enhanced."
Incidentally, the entry on my status had changed to 【Plunder+】, so it's apparently a slightly different beast from the level system after all. If it's accumulating as proficiency, 【Plunder】 itself should have plenty more enhancement ahead of it. Watching how it changes from here just became one more thing to look forward to.
"Gotcha. So glad it didn't all end as wasted effort~ Another step closer to the strongest."
"Yeah. Saying it again, but you've helped me out in a lot of ways. Thanks, Mio."
"Same here! Just having you around, Takeru, is what keeps me going."
"Ah…… well, look. If we're going out somewhere—the when, the where, all of that—just figure it out on your end."
"! You mean it!? Yaaay!"
"Well, it is a promise."
"Hehehe."
That reaction. Don't tell me she never thought I'd actually go out with her?
No clue when it'll be, but when the time comes, I'll play my absolute hardest.
◇
With all our business done, we left the rental space behind and decided to grab an early-ish dinner.
Anywhere would've done, but it somehow felt like a wrap party, so we went with yakiniku.
I told Mio she could drink if she wanted, but she said she'd pass. Apparently she doesn't drink much to begin with. Well, given that spectacle of hers, no doubt she's not used to it.
And so we raised a casual toast with oolong tea, and today, too, I ate myself silly.
Maybe I have been eating a bit much lately. I do move a ton in the dungeon, so it's fine, probably.
The dungeon.
Man, the dungeon.
I want to go. I want to try 【Plunder】's new power already.
That settles it—once this is over tonight, I'm going. Even if it runs late, tomorrow's a day off anyway.
Time to rampage to my heart's content.
"Hehe, you're fidgeting like crazy. You want to get to the dungeon already, don't you?"
"……Am I really that easy to read?"
"Crystal clear. It's all over your face, and you can't sit still to save your life."
"Well, come on—it's a brand-new ability. I know it's nothing huge, but you still want to test it, y'know?"
"THAT part of you looks exactly your age, at least~"
"Shaddap."
After that we headed home chattering about nothing in particular, and then I set out for the dungeon once more.
◇
Now then—some time having passed, and me being alone, I'd settled down a fair bit.
I got carried away back there, but I can't spend all day floating on air.
With 【Plunder】 becoming 【Plunder+】 this time, the reach of my skill-plundering has widened.
For me it's an extremely useful enhancement, one with a future worth anticipating—but for everyone else, I've just become a threat like never before. After all, there's now a chance I can erase skills without argument from anyone except higher-leveled targets.
This ability absolutely cannot leak. With plenty of people still stronger than me out there, if this got out, the ones above me could very plausibly see it as dangerous and come do something about it. Not that senior adventurers tend to be that type, I figure. Word is they even check things like character at the B-rank promotion test.
Well, whatever the case—I have to move even more carefully than before.
Thinking all that, I arrived at the guild, and……
"Man, it's packed in here……"
Maybe because it was the first night of Golden Week, it was busier than I'd expected.
Plenty of high-schooler-looking types around, too.
"The shallow floors are probably overflowing with people, then. Even for testing things out, somewhere around Floor 6 or 7 looks best, huh?"
Floor 1 will be wall-to-wall beginners, and the people here to earn will cluster around Floors 4–5 and 9–10. Which means Floors 6–7 really are the sweet spot.
Well—first things first, off to Sakurai-san to get reception over with.
Reception was busy too, and for once I actually had to wait in line.
"Good work today, Sakurai-san. Could I get my entry reception?"
"Ah, good work today, Takeru-san. You mentioned you had business today, so I thought you'd be taking the day off……"
"Well, I was planning to, if it dragged on. It wrapped up quicker than expected and I got the itch to dive, so here I am."
"Hehe, you really do love the dungeon, don't you, Takeru-san."
"Ahaha, so it IS strange, huh?"
"Not at all—I think it's a good thing. The guild's grateful, too, for all the magic stones and materials you bring back. Do keep at it—just so long as you don't overdo it."
"Will do~ I'll keep at it."
"Then, you're all checked in—do take care out there. If anything comes up, please contact me on the 【Comm Stone】."
"Roger. See you then—heading in!"
I wave to Sakurai-san and make for the dungeon.
"Alriiight. Now then, first up—the usual marathon. Which is closer, from Floor 1 or from Floor 10? Eh, whatever. I'll run from Floor 1."
Usual talismans up, presence erased, I blaze on through.
Lots of people today, so I decided to run the ceiling and spare us all the collisions.
Ughh, everyone upside down like this makes for a bizarre view. Gotta get used to this too, huh.
There we go. Thanks to 【Movement Arts】, I made it to Floor 6 without eating up much time at all.
Oh—as expected, fewer people around here even with Golden Week on. Still more than usual, though, so I'd better stay sharp.
What were Floor 6's monsters again? Um, right. Spiders, turtles, wolves, and bats.
For everything up through Floor 10, we know exactly what skills every monster holds.
Strength varies a little by level, but they all carry the same skills. No individual variation, in other words.
From Floor 11 onward, though, that changes. There are broad tendencies to what they hold, but every individual carries its own different skills. That's trouble in the ordinary sense—and for me, it's trouble in another way as well. Skill-plundering won't activate unless I properly know what skills the target monster is holding. That hasn't changed even with the enhancement. So my only options are watching the monster use the skill with my own eyes, or using 【Status Appraisal】.
"Really do want 【Status Appraisal】, huh."
Spending a skill slot on it is a hard sell—but a magic item of that sort I'd love to have. Trouble is, they're not in circulation at all. I know they supposedly exist, but still.
The 【appraisal orb】—level and nothing else—I could probably get my hands on, but it'd be pointless.
And—here comes my prey.
First up is a spider, then. This one's holding 【Venom Fang】 and 【Thread Manipulation】.
It's a fellow wall-and-ceiling walker, same as me, but it hasn't noticed me in the slightest.
I sneak in close and touch a leg.
(Plunder)
Hm?
A miss, huh.
Things have been going too well lately—figured I'd nail it in one.
And with the level gap on my side, I really thought it'd be easy.
I've been made, so instant disengage.
Maybe it can't keep up with my speed—it seems to have lost sight of me again right away.
Okay—round two!
(Plunder)
The instant—something comes flooding in.
Oh! Looks like it worked this time.
『Successfully plundered the target's skill』
『No open slot or same-named skill available—converting into 【Plunder】 proficiency』
Here it comes, here it comes, here it cooomes!
It really does work now!
Still, it's nothing like the rush of plundering 【Plunder】 itself, huh. The proficiency is definitely being added, but it's honestly a sliver. Same-named skills must just convert at a different rate. And you know, unlike 【Martial Arts】 or 【Movement Arts】, I can sort of feel this one's proficiency in my body—interesting. Maybe that's a 【Plunder】-only quirk. Eh, whatever.
Well then—today I'll strip the skills off every monster in this area and grind that proficiency right up, shall I!