Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 41

“—, Master.”

“What’s up?”

“Just now, someone has appeared who has awakened to the title of ‘Pleasure Killer’.”

“…Where is it?”

“Japan. Shinjuku Dungeon, 4th floor, Monster Room. The subject is the individual reported in regards to obtaining the title, and currently holds two titles at the same time: 《Battle Maniac》 and 《Pleasure Killer》.”Previouslymadman

“That’s the worst combination… Have you evolved the 《Madness Enhancement》 skill?”

“No. As usual, it seems he hasn’t put any points into the 《Madness Enhancement》 skill.”

“…Then why did it happen? When he went from Madman to Battle Maniac, I thought the possibility of him being a Pleasure Killer was ruled out…”

“It seems that collective recognition was a strong driving force. The only condition was to leave a legacy.”

“But the achievement requirement was that he got pleasure from murder. Was he really that crazy?”

“No, his personality is more or less that of a normal young man. However, it seems he has a special constitution that causes him to feel great pleasure when leveling up…”

“What’s that?”

“He was attacked by a group of semi-criminals and had no choice but to enter into combat, but when he gained experience points from the first person he killed, he ended up leveling up at the wrong time, which resulted in him unlocking an achievement.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Master, how do you plan to deal with this?”

「It’s unfortunate, but we can’t let someone who has awakened to the title of 《Pleasure Killer》 live. –We will euthanize them before they get out of hand.」

“Understood. Who do you want to entrust with carrying out this task?”

“Who’s closest to it?”

“Currently, No. 30 and his accomplice are on the 25th floor of the Shinjuku Dungeon. They have already finished retrieving the item in question and are on their way back now.”

“Number 30… so that means Obito is there. If so, contact Number 30 and ask Obito for his cooperation.”

“Understood. ……………Reply from No. 30. They said they will be on their way right away.”

“I see.”

　●◯●

　The two conflicting emotions he has towards Hinata.

　My head ached from the contradictions in my mind. Shaking off my jumbled, confused thoughts, I took a step towards Hinata, who was trembling in fear.

　As the object rapidly approached her field of vision, Hinata was unable to react.

　I continued running with the same momentum, trying to accelerate even further to thrust the tip of my sword into himーー,

“—!?”

　It was just before that.

　Without any context or warning, two people suddenly appeared between me and Hinata-san.

　It was someone I had just met yesterday.

　It was a yakuza guy in a suit and Mito in a maid outfit.

　Yakuza-niki and Mito-san, standing with their backs to Hinata-san, didn’t even bat an eyebrow when they noticed me approaching.

　On the other hand, I didn’t stop in my tracks at the sudden turn of events, but rather quickened my pace.

　Strangely, it is unaffected by the passive intimidation skill that Yakuza Nikki unleashes.

Activate “Madness”, “Fighting Spirit”, and “Sword Spirit”.

　He grabbed his sword and charged towards the Yakuza, who showed no reaction, as if he was going to charge at him with his whole body.

“-Ahha, as expected of the Yakuza.”

“…”

　However, his full-power thrust was easily stopped by the Yakuza.

　The Yakuzaniki grabbed the tip of the thrusting sword with his right hand, stopping it.

　His hand was enveloped in a pale blue aura. It was likely the 《Fist Spirit》 skill. In other words, the hand guarded by the aura was grabbing the metal blade.

　Moreover, even now, I was putting all my strength into planting my feet and thrusting my sword into it, but it wasn’t budging at all, as if I were facing a giant boulder.

　What a strong value. Even I can’t guess how high it is. Yakuza-niki hasn’t even used the 《Fighting Spirit》 skill.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuu! Yakuza, bro! Please, let me kill you!”

“…”

　He braced himself with all his might and tried to thrust his sword forward, but the Yakuza’s right hand did not retreat even an inch.

　The yakuza just looked down at me with eyes that seemed to be coldly considering how much money he could make by selling the organs of a hopeless, heavily indebted person.

「Gah――――!?」

　Immediately afterwards, I felt a tremendous impact on my side.

　The pain was so intense that my vision went blank in an instant, my body was lifted into the air, and I was blown away like a bullet. In an instant, my hand left the hilt of the sword that I had been determined not to let go of, and I experienced an instant of flight.

　And before I knew what was happening, I was slammed into the wall of the monster room with such incredible force that the whole room shook.

　For a moment, I was pinned to the wall, and then my body slid down to the floor.

　Then, like a thrown doll, he came to a halt with his back leaning against the wall, and a huge amount of bl00d gurgled from his mouth.

　It was no longer painful or difficult. Far from being painful, I had no sensation in my body.

　And yet— his thinking had returned clearly.

　There was no need to check, as HP had dropped to zero and all status functions had stopped.

　Looking at the Yakuza through my blurry vision, I saw him slowly lower his raised leg.

　I guess this was the result of being kicked in the side by the Yakuza’s spin kick.

　If he continued like this, he would surely die within the next few minutes.

　But still, I felt relieved.

　I don’t know how or why those Yakuza guys ended up here, but I’m really glad they came before they killed Hinata.

　So, even though I’m not sure if he can hear me, I muster the last of my strength and express my gratitude to the Yakuza.

“Thank you for stopping me, Zaniki.”

　And then I lost consciousness.