Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 34

 

“So, Hinata-san, it’s about tomorrow.”

 

　As the two of them headed towards the plaza in front of the stairs on the fourth floor, where the teleportation circle was located, they changed the topic from discussing the distribution of the magic stone sales to something else.

 

“Is it okay if we meet at the association around 9 o’clock tomorrow as well?”

 

“–picture?”

 

　For some reason, Hinata turned towards me with a surprised look on her face.

 

“Um… are you planning to explore again tomorrow?”

 

“Eh? Yes.”

 

“…Aren’t you going to rest? You’ve fought so much today.”

 

“No, I want to level up.”

 

“…………”

 

“…………”

 

　What is it?

 

『Ah, Junky-niki, I should tell you just in case, explorers don’t usually stay in the dungeon for days on end. Besides, don’t they usually take breaks?』

 

　The viewers were told,

 

“I haven’t had a rest yet.”

 

　I’m thinking of taking a rest if I get tired, but I’m not that tired yet, and more than anything, I want to level up.

 

“That’s right…!! Now that I think about it, Junkie-Niki is a dangerous guy who has been diving into dungeons without a single day off since he became an explorer…!!”

 

“Well, maybe it’s about time you took a rest.”

 

“Unlike you, junkie-niki, Hinata-chan is a university student. I’m sure you have lots of plans.”

 

“Hmm, now that you mention it…”

 

　Now that I think about it, that’s true. Hinata is a university student, so she can’t explore dungeons every day. I knew that, but she might have plans even during spring break.

 

　Let me ask.

 

“Hinata-san, how long does spring break last?”

 

“Well, college starts on April 8th, so I’ll be off until April 7th.”

 

“Do you have any plans in the meantime?”

 

“…Nothing in particular.”

 

“Oh, I see. Then I’ll enter the dungeon every day until April 7th.”

 

“…………”

 

　What is this? It’s like the light has suddenly disappeared from Hinata’s eyes…

 

“It’s so dark that I thought it was funny, but no, I can’t laugh at this…”

 

“Junkie-niki, don’t drag Hinata into your crazy schedule.”

 

“Give Hinata a proper rest!”

 

『Well, normally, you can’t keep up with killing monsters in a dungeon every day, right!?』

 

　Hmm, well… I see.

 

　Hinata is also a college student. She needs time to hang out with her friends. It might have been terrible to spend the rest of her vacation in the dungeon.

 

“I understand. Then, let’s dive tomorrow and take the next day off. Then let’s discuss the schedule after that.”

 

“I’ll dive again tomorrow…”

 

“Well, I just wanted to see how efficiently I could do it tomorrow… I’ve gotten used to it now, so maybe I can do about ten laps per hour.”

 

“I’ll do it again tomorrow…”

 

“Sorry, I just can’t stand it.”

 

　If I were to go around the dungeon at maximum efficiency with Hinata-san by my side, I’d like to find out how much EXP I could earn while I still have the time.

 

　Because today my level reached 18. I’ll reach 19 tomorrow.

 

　However, since I need 300,000 experience points to reach level 20, I have to decide whether to go around the monster room on the 4th floor or think about another way to level up. So I’d better do it as soon as possible!

 

　Well, if by some miracle a 《Life Magic》 skill orb were to drop tomorrow, then moving my hunting grounds to the 5th floor would be a realistic option.

 

　I decided to form a party and enter the dungeon again tomorrow.

 

“Now that I think about it, Hinata-san. How many days a week did you explore when you were at university?”

 

“Hmm… about once a week, I guess.”

 

“What?! You only explore one day a week?! Why?!”

 

“No… I’ll be diving on either Saturday or Sunday… If I push myself, I could dive for two days, but… I don’t want to do that. Ah, of course, since I’m forming a party with Takeo-kun, I want to dive as much as possible to accommodate him. But I don’t think I can do it every day. Two or three days a week might be the limit… Sorry.”

 

“Oh, no, that’s not it. On the days when Hinata can’t dive, I’ll level up solo, so don’t worry about it.”

 

“You’ll dive even when I’m not around…”

 

“Doesn’t this guy have the option to rest?”

 

“No, for me, leveling up is the greatest form of entertainment… (trembling voice)”

 

“Even if that’s the case, what kind of stamina does he have?”

 

“If I keep going to the dungeon at this rate, my mind will break…!!”

 

“Why is it assumed that you will dive every day as a matter of course…?”

 

“But I have a simple question. What about on weekdays? Aren’t university students free every day?”

 

“Um… I think it depends on the university and the person… why do you think so?”

 

“In the manga I read, university students go to drinking clubs every day from their first year onwards and get naked and drunk, so I guess that’s what it’s like… I’ve also heard that university students are all about having fun.”

 

“That’s because… It’s a manga, isn’t it? In the first place, you can’t drink alcohol until you’re twenty years old.”

 

“–Huh?! That reminds me! So that means that those main characters, even though they were first-year students, were first-year students who had retaken classes for about two years?!”

 

“I somehow understand what manga Junkie Nikki read, but I can’t go any further than that.”

 

“That’s a fantasy manga where the water is burning.”

 

“Well, many people indeed think they have more free time than in high school, but it depends on the person. It depends on the department, and some people are busy.”

 

　Seriously?!

 

　University students aren’t all just bored people who play around every day…!!

 

　There are some busy college students out there…!!

 

　I didn’t know that…!!

 

　Although secretly shocked, I kept walking without stopping and finally reached the plaza in front of the stairs.

 

　All that’s left now is to use the teleportation circle to teleport to the first floor and return home.

 

　It’ll probably take about two hours just to travel tomorrow anyway, so there’s probably no need to recover HP or MP on the first floor today.

 

“Then Hinata-san, use the teleportation circle–“

 

　And when I tried to urge Hinata towards the teleportation circle,

 

 

　–Katsun

 

 

　Then, there was a sound.

 

　Clang, clang, clang, clang — it approached with a steady rhythm.

 

　footsteps.

 

　The source of the sound was coming from the stairs leading to the third floor. Someone was coming down.

 

　But that was all–

 

“Ah…”

 

　Hinata’s legs gave way and she sat down on the spot. Her face was painted with fear and she was trembling as she stared towards the stairs.

 

　Although my legs hadn’t given way, I was just as petrified with fear.

 

　My body trembled in fear against my will. It was difficult to even move a single finger. I was worried and scared that if I made any extra noise, if I attracted the attention of the person whose footsteps I was hearing, I would be killed in the next moment.

 

“Hinata-chan? Junkie-niki?”

 

“Hmm? What happened to you two all of a sudden?”

 

“Huh? Seriously, what’s wrong? Is there some kind of emergency?”

 

　Comments from viewers were being broadcast from a drone floating in the air. I didn’t even want to hear the Voiceroid’s voice, which wasn’t particularly loud. I begged it to stay quiet.

 

　However, this overwhelming fear could not be conveyed to the viewers watching through the screen, and so the comments continued unabated.

 

　But for better or worse, contrary to our fears, we weren’t killed.

 

　Eventually, the owner of the footsteps appeared.

 

“…………”

 

“-fault?”

 

　It was a duo.

 

　One of them was a man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties.

 

　He was tall, over 180cm. He was wearing a high-end suit that looked like it was custom-made and fit him perfectly. He had shiny leather shoes on, his black hair was combed back in a two-block style, and he wore thin, silver-rimmed glasses.

 

　No matter how you look at it, he doesn’t look like someone who would be exploring a dungeon. But even though he’s wearing a suit, he doesn’t look like an office worker at all. And it’s not the kind of suit an office worker would wear in the first place.

 

　In one word, a cold-hearted intellectual yakuza… was the most accurate way to describe the man.

 

　The source of this sudden fear must be this man. Just looking at him makes my body tremble even more violently.

 

　Meanwhile, the other person coming down the stairs isn’t scary, but he’s abnormal.

 

　She was probably a woman around 20 years old, with shiny silver hair tied in a bun. Her eyes were a vivid sky blue. At this point, it was clear that she was not Japanese, but her facial features were somehow un-Japanese – or rather, one could even say that she was un-human, with perfect beauty and a doll-like appearance.

 

　But what’s unusual is his outfit.

 

　She was wearing a classic maid outfit with a long skirt that covered her legs. She didn’t appear to be carrying any weapons. It was hard to imagine her in a dungeon.

 

　The beautiful woman in the maid outfit looked at me and Hinata-san and tilted her head gently. She seemed surprised that there was someone here.

 

　In contrast, the man in the suit gave me an emotionless look, as if he were staring at a pebble on the side of the road.

 

　Look at that.

 

　I – no, I and the other viewers screamed together.

 

 

“Headshot Yakuza brooooooooooo!!”

 

“Headshot Yakuza brooiiiiiiiiiiii!!!”