Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 65

“ーーLove.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Did you have the unique specimen that appeared on the fourth floor this time?”

“Probably.”

“…Whose is it?”

“At the moment, it is unknown. We have confirmed that it does not belong to Takeo Samejima, but considering that it appeared before him, it is likely to have belonged to a relative or a very close friend or acquaintance, someone close to him. Would you like to investigate the owner?”

“No… I just wanted to confirm whether the individual that was generated irregularly had any fragments. There’s no need to go that far.”

“However, there is a possibility that we may regain a powerful Seed Skill. Given Master’s plans, isn’t it necessary to have as many powerful people as possible?”

“It’s not often that someone with a powerful Seed Skill like Obito appears. I know that very well . “

“…That’s right.”

“Besides… if the owner of this fragment possesses great powers, they will likely stand out on their own even if left alone. On the other hand, if their powers are nothing special, there’s no point in searching for them. Therefore, there’s no need to go out of your way to investigate.”

“Understood, Master.”

　●◯●

　–I’m dreaming.

　Hinata Mashiro noticed immediately.

　It’s a dream I’ve had over and over again, so many times that it’s annoying.

　It was always a different place. It was always a different landscape. It was always a different time. It was always a different situation.

　And yet, it’s always the same.

　It’s like the ending of a zombie panic movie, like a post-apocalyptic world, a world where human civilization has been completely defeated. The memory of a brief period of resistance before the complete annihilation of humanity – no, it’s a dream.

　The nation of Japan was destroyed and its cities turned into piles of rubble.

　People huddle together and flee in an attempt to survive as long as possible.

They are targeting humans. They relentlessly pursue humans in order to obtain the “grown seeds” within their bodies and to devour them.

　As a result, the numbers of the fleeing groups rapidly dwindled.

　In most dreams, Hinata found herself in the position of leading one of these groups.

　This time, when she was having that dream, Hinata was in the same position.

　The ruins of supermarkets, department stores, and convenience stores – Hinata’s group was trying to salvage supplies from those places where precious food still remained, and escape from the extremely dangerous city.

Just then, as if they had been lying in wait, several of them jumped down 　from the roof of a ruined building and stood before Hinata and the others.

　People were frightened, confused, panicked, and in a state of disarray, they tried to flee.

“– Calm down!!”

　Together with a dignified voice that split the sky, a pure white light showered down on them .

　It was a slash. A magical slash with the power to exorcise demons.

　The overwhelming slash of light engulfs them and annihilates them easily.

　People turned their attention to the person who had done it.

　The being standing there was clad in silver-white armor, carrying a silver-white shield and a silver-white long sword; he looked just like a holy knight from a story.

　However, it was a woman, with long hair tied up in a single braid and hanging down, and a firm, dignified face that was still beautiful, even though it was covered in dust.

　People kneel before her, or put their hands together in prayer, and all offer words of gratitude.

“Mashiro-sama…!!”

“Oh, thank you so much, Mashiro-sama!!”

“Holy Knight…!!”

“Holy Knight Maiden…!!”

“Please protect us…!!”

“Please guide me…!!”

　Such an anachronistic word.

　But the people who uttered these words were wishing for something from the bottom of their hearts. They were clinging to it.

　Hinata was the strong one, and they were the weak. Hinata was the protector, and they were the ones who needed to be protected.

　It’s always like that.

　Hinata was a strong person, so she always fought to protect every dream.

　And the outcome is always the same.

　The world is destroyed. Humanity has been defeated. Therefore, there is no way that Hinata and the others can be saved in this dream.

　Hinata was always killed by the overwhelming numbers of them , or by an individual with great power among them .

　Always, always, they die in the battle they are fighting to protect.

　In order to ease people’s anxiety even a little, he continues to play the role of strong, never having the opportunity to take off that mask.

　But deep down, every Hinata was thinking this. They were hoping for this.

　I don’t want to fight anymore. Fighting is scary, and the possibility of dying is even scarier.

　Hinata was once the daughter of a wealthy family, a timid and sheltered girl.

　It is not in the nature of a human being to swing a sword and fight to protect someone.

　Whether for better or worse, her life was turned upside down as she awakened to a powerful power.

　Swinging her sword to protect in an extreme situation is something she doesn’t want to do. Very, very much.

　–But, because then… who will protect me?

　She wanted to be protected. She wanted to be saved. Always, always wishing that, Hinata in her dreams ended her life. Pierced through the heart, decapitated, devoured alive – there were many variations, but none of them were peaceful endings.

　In most cases, Hinata is brutally murdered―― and then wakes up.

　When you wake up, you will no longer remember this dream, for it is just a dream that will be forgotten the moment you wake up.

　Dreams that she couldn’t even remember had no meaning or value. They couldn’t have even the slightest impact on Hinata’s life – that’s how they should have been.

　But even so, ever since she began having these dreams, a certain desire had arisen in Hinata’s heart, the origin of which she herself did not understand. The dreams had a strong influence on her subconscious.

　–I want you to protect me.

　I want someone to protect me.

　–A knight who puts me first and will protect me even at the risk of his own life;

　That’s probably why.

　When she became an explorer, and for the first time saw her status and the 『List of Acquirable Skills』 that could be displayed from there, Hinata had a strong feeling, almost an obsession. “I must not get stronger.”

　Because there was an incredible array of skills there.

{Basic healing magic} {Increased damage when equipped with swords} {Fighting spirit} {Sword spirit} {Magic sword} {Damage reduction when equipped with armor} {Damage reduction when equipped with a shield} {Iron wall} {Light magic} {Holy magic} {Holy wall}

　Extremely rare magic skills, weapon and armor equipment skills that existed for some reason even though he had never even held a wooden sword, and even a group of skills such as 《Fighting Spirit》, 《Sword Spirit》, 《Magic Sword》, and 《Iron Wall》 that were displayed even though the prerequisites were not met.

　It was immediately clear that something was clearly abnormal.

　Hinata even felt fear.

　–You must never let anyone know about this.

　I thought this vaguely, but strongly and clearly.

　Therefore, in order to create a skill build that would not allow him to fight in the front line, he acquired Healing Magic and did not acquire any skills necessary for the front line.

　She could have chosen to quit being an explorer, but Hinata was more afraid of being powerless. For some reason, she had a premonition that it would lead to a bad future. So she couldn’t quit being an explorer.

　However, Hinata never realized the reason behind this choice.

　The moment you wake up, you forget your dreams.

　–That was supposed to be the case.

　Anyway, today Hinata woke up from her sleep again.

　But that day was different.

“Huh…? Did you have a strange dream…?”

　That day, Hinata hadn’t forgotten her dreams even after waking up. In fact, she remembered not only the dream from today, but the many dreams she had had up until that point.

　Although he found this strange, he didn’t think of it as anything more than a dream, so he got up as usual and began getting ready to go out.

　Today is the day I go shopping with my party member Takeo.

　…Unfortunately, it’s not for a date or any other sweet reason.

“Hmmm hmmm ♪”

　Still, whenever Hinata thought of Takeo, her mood unconsciously rose.

　And then, on that day, I suddenly remembered the dream and vaguely realized the reason why I felt that way.

　remember.

　The various conversations they had before entering the monster room in the dungeon. And then, when Matsuda and Aoyama, and the others attacked him, he had literally risked his life to save him.

“…Ah, I see.”

　I understand.

　The reason I was so excited before meeting Takeo was because Samejima Takeo was someone who might become my very own knight.

　We already know that Samejima Takeo is the kind of person who would risk his life to protect others if the need arose.

　Then, the only thing left is…

“… I have to make sure that Takeo-kun thinks of me as the most important person, even more than his family or anyone else .”

　Hinata was excited. Her heart was racing with excitement.

　Because you might finally get what you’ve always wanted and craved.

　And Hinata would not hesitate to use any means to get it.

“Hmmm hmmm ♪”

　It was a one-room apartment in Tokyo that I rented to live alone when I went to university.

　On the table, a tablet set up on a stand was playing a cut-up and edited video on repeat, like background music.

“I will always protect you, Hinata-san.”

“Please believe me!! I’m serious!!”

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

『I absolutely won’t let Hinata-san get even a scratch!! I’ll risk my life to protect you!!』

　It was a video that Hinata had edited herself by cutting out clips from her own DanTube videos. Of course, she hadn’t made it public, but she’d been streaming it all the time recently.

“Okay. Um… you haven’t forgotten anything, right?”

　And then――after getting dressed, Hinata left the room to go to the meeting location.

　Just before leaving the room, she turned around and said goodbye.

“I’m off――Takeo-kun.”

　Inside the room, on the walls and ceiling, there were countless photos of Samejima Takeo that had been extracted and printed from various videos, watching over Hinata’s back as she left.

　–Unintentionally, Takeo’s words and actions had landed a critical hit on Hinata ‘s heart …