Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 30

“–Okay! As expected, we’ve now been able to target the monster.”

“……yes”

“Junkie-niki, did you acquire the 《Provoke》 skill?”

『I guess it was a skill I could acquire.』

『Is that surprising? He’s usually a good-looking guy, but he’s also a real lunatic, so it seems like he often unconsciously provokes others lol.』

“But this is a good choice. Hinata-chan’s safety will be further improved now.”

　After lunch, we started exploring again.

　That first battle has just ended.

　I used it against the group of four goblins I encountered. This earned me hate, and the goblins’ hate was no longer directed towards Hinata-san. First move Taunt

　This allowed me to fight in the same way I did when exploring solo, and combat times were shorter than in the morning.

　By the way, here are the details of the 《Provoke》 skill.

————————————————–

<<Provoke Level 1>>—Provoke the enemy and draw their attention to yourself.

————————————————–

　Unlike the skills I had acquired up until now, there were no numerical values ​​in the skill description. So does that mean the effect will be the same even if I increase the level? Of course not.

　By increasing the level, the amount of hate that can be earned with one Provoke increases. When the skill level is low, if a party member attacks once or twice, the target can be easily taken away – in other words, the monster’s attack destination can change – but as long as Hinata doesn’t attack and doesn’t use heals during battle, even a level 1 Provoke is effective enough.

　However――

“There’s nothing we can do about the encounter rate…”

　The fact that battle times have been shortened does not necessarily mean that experience points can be earned more efficiently.

　The dungeon is large, and monsters spawn far apart, meaning the number of times you can encounter them per hour is limited to a certain number.

　If he ran around at full speed, he would encounter more people, but Hinata wouldn’t be able to keep up… and more importantly, there were more efficient ways to get around on this floor.

“Hinata, let’s go ahead.”

“Yes”

　I walked ahead of Hinata, leading the way while checking the map with my smartphone in one hand.

　And then for a while…

　It was about a 30-minute walk from the stairs.

　It’s a heavy-looking double door made of stone. Looking at the map on the Modern Dungeon Wiki, this location is marked with a skull symbol.

“Come on, let’s go.”

　I put my hand on the door as if nothing had happened– and then,

“-Wait a moment!”

“Wait, Junky-niki!!”

“That’s a monster room!?”

　Since I was stopped, I had no choice but to turn around.

“Yes”

“Yes… Yes?”

“Of course, I know this is the monster room.”

“Is that so…? Well then, let’s just ignore this and move on.”

“No, no, I’m going in here. I want to fight here.”

　There are many traps in dungeons designed as ruins, and the monster room is one example.

　When you enter the room, the door disappears, and a large number of monsters appear. The door will not reappear until all the monsters have been defeated or all the explorers inside have died. In other words, if you cannot defeat the monsters, you will die without being able to escape – this is that kind of trap room.

“No way!? That’s impossible!? There are only two of us, so Takeo is essentially the only one fighting!? Do you understand that!?”

　Ah, the nickname is back to normal.

“Of course I know. It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay! Do you know how many monsters will appear!?”

“Sixteen, I see.”

“That’s true, but it’s not true! You can’t defeat that many by yourself!”

“It’s okay, I can beat it.”

“~~~~~~~~!!?”

　This isn’t just a boast. It should be possible to defeat him. I think I have the ability and skill to do so.

　Well, if you get surrounded, you’ll die.

　It’s strange to me, but for some reason I’m convinced that it’ll be okay.

『No way! Surely that’s impossible!?』

“Junkie-niki, think again!!”

“Going into a monster room with just two people is like going to your death, you know!?”

　Hinata and the viewers seem to disagree.

　But I still want to go in there, because there’s no other place that’s as efficient at leveling up as the Monster Room.

　I decided to persuade him a little more forcefully.

“Well, well, let’s just try it once, okay?”

“No, well, that’s impossible!”

“It’s not impossible, I’m serious, just once! Just try it! If you try it once and it doesn’t work, then give up then!!”

“Once you go in here, you can’t get out no matter what! There’s no way you can try it out!”

「No, seriously! I am confident that I can make you feel good (by leveling up), Hinata-san!! Just think of it as me tricking you, but just this once! Okay!?」

“No!! I don’t want to die!!”

“It’s okay! It’s okay!! You won’t regret it!! I will protect you, Hinata-san, and I will make you feel good!!”

“Ugh~~~!!”

“Please! Please believe in me! I’m serious!”

“…………Will you protect me?”

“Yes, I will protect you! I’ll risk my life!”

“Well, then, if it’s just once, it’s okay…?”

“Thank you so much!!”

　I bowed my head vigorously.

　For a moment, I wondered what would happen, but…Hinata-san, you’re too easy to fool!! This person can only resist pressure so easily, you know?

　I was a little worried about Hinata’s life, wondering if she’d get tricked by a bad guy one day, but now we can go inside as originally planned.

『Ugh?! My brain is being destroyed…!!』

『Our Hinata-chan has been cuckolded……!?』

　I ignored the comment and put my hand on the door leading to the monster room.

　Then, the heavy stone door opened by itself without a sound.

　Hinata-san and I stepped through the open door.

“This is…”

　Hinata muttered anxiously while looking around the room.

　The place was still a stone-built, dreary space. However, it was quite spacious, about the size of a school gymnasium. The ceiling wasn’t that high, though.

　As we were looking around the room, we heard a loud thud behind us.

“Hya?! Wh, what?!”

　When I turned around, together with Hinat, who screamed, just as the information on the Strategy Wiki had predicted, the door behind us closed and disappeared, transforming into part of the wall.

　Now there’s no escaping this.

“Hinata-san, I’m coming. Please take shelter by the wall.”

　I tossed the backpack I was carrying against the wall, then turned my gaze back to the center of the room and spoke to Hinata-san.

　A magic circle appeared on the floor in front of my eyes and started to glow.