Ordinary Person × Modern Dungeon × Summer Vacation Life = Rise to Success!? 〜A Private Dungeon Was Made at the Remains of a Secret Base From Childhood〜 - Episode 15: The Emerald Green Butterfly

Episode 15: The Emerald Green Butterfly

“Ugh…”

When I checked my smartphone after leaving the private dungeon, I found 36 LINK messages from Iyata.

Honestly, it was a huge turn-off.

A quick glance showed things like, “With high-leverage FX, you can make about 700,000 yen instantly,” and, “Bitcoin is old news. Now it’s all about Bake-Neko Coin,”—complete nonsense.

Ridiculous.

Without even properly checking the messages, I blocked Iyata.

“Bye-bye, take care… And you’re going down with him for shared responsibility…”

While I was at it, I also blocked our mutual boss, the section chief.

“…Alright.”

Ah, that felt good.

With this, my LINK was now purely for private use.

From now on, the people from my old company would no longer have any involvement in my life.

Thinking that, I felt completely refreshed.

I had cut the chains of my past completely. And my second life as an explorer had begun.

☆★☆

The next day. 

I went into the private dungeon again.

When I caught the stag beetle yesterday, I realized that my physical abilities had greatly improved. So today I used my full body—jumping, leaping, climbing trees—to search for bugs.

When I managed to jump from tree to tree, I felt excited like I had become a ninja.

It reminded me of a scene from a shonen manga. And though there was no need, I found myself hopping through the treetops.

Come to think of it, when I was a kid, I used to climb tall rocks by the river and jump off swings for no real reason.

What was that trust I used to have in my own body back then?

Rather than thinking it was dangerous, the feeling of “I can do it, I want to try” always won out.

Now that my level has risen in the dungeon and my physical abilities have improved, I can once again enjoy moving my body.

“Oh…!”

I found a new type of stag beetle high up in a tree.

Using the branch like a horizontal bar, I swung around and leapt toward where the beetle was.

*Poof!*

Encyclopedia No. 53/251

Name: Red-Jawed Stag Beetle

Rarity: 0

Capture Skill: Bug Sumo (adds fire attack to stag beetles), Speed +3 (first-time bonus)

Capture EXP: 150

Drop Item: Magic Stone (Small)

“Alright.”

Seems like the summoned stag beetles can now use fire attacks.

I’m still pretty reliant on them. But my offensive options are definitely expanding.

“I’d really like to get a rhinoceros beetle next…”

I don’t know whether they’re stronger than stag beetles or not, but I still want one with me.

That’s the eternal longing of someone with the [Child’s Heart] skill.

“Okay then…”

For now, I should go down and look for spots where sap is flowing.

Thinking that, I jumped down from the tree—when suddenly, something burst out of the bushes.

“Ah…!”

It was a butterfly.

But its wings were incredibly vivid.

Like the sea at a resort—emerald green.

The wings had a metallic sheen. They were glittering brilliantly.

It resembled a foreign butterfly I once saw at a museum—a Morpho butterfly.

There’s no doubt about it…

“It’s a rare one…!!”

I summoned my Magical Creature Capture Net and dashed toward the emerald green butterfly.

“Go!!”

Using the speed I gained from leveling up, I swung the net in one fluid motion.

“Got it!!”

I definitely caught it……… or so I thought.

“Huh…?”

The butterfly fluttered away down the path.

“Was I too slow…?”

I took off running after the butterfly.

Its speed was faster than I expected.

Even with my level-up speed, I could only just catch up by running full speed.

“No way I’m letting it get away… Take this!”

I swung the capture net again with full force.

This time, I definitely caught it. I could see the emerald green figure inside the net.

“Gotcha…! Wait, huh?”

The emerald green that was inside the net vanished without a trace. And the butterfly reappeared in the air.

“Yah!”

I quickly swung the net again. But I still couldn’t catch the butterfly.

Next thing I knew, it had moved to a slightly distant spot.

“Afterimage…?”

Still stuck in shonen manga mode from earlier tree-jumping, that’s how my brain was thinking.

I thought I’d caught it, but it disappeared.

It felt like I was up against a speed-type character.

“Hmm…”

Looking closely, the top side of the butterfly’s wings was emerald green. But the other side was black.

Maybe because of that contrast in color, or its unique flying pattern, the butterfly looked like it was flickering—blinking in and out.

……….…Is that what threw off my timing?

Maybe the net just didn’t completely catch it.

“One more try…!”

Instead of swinging down vertically, I tried to intercept its direction and sweep sideways to trap it.

That should work.

I sprinted after the dazzling butterfly at full speed.

Grabbing branches, leaping over roots—taking the shortest path.

At one point, I even did something like a triangle jump off a tree trunk.

“Hah… Hah…”

I was gasping for breath.

My stamina was reaching its limit.

But strangely, it didn’t feel hard.

It was actually fun.

I could do the things I wanted to do.

My body moved exactly as I imagined.

That joy outweighed the exhaustion.

Back when I’d climb block walls and walk on them like a balance beam, believing I’d never fall…

Just like then, I believed I could catch this butterfly.

“Yo!”

Grabbing a branch, I jumped forward. I overtook the emerald green butterfly.

Its direction—was straight ahead.

*Thud—slide*

Landing with a skid and spinning around, I pulled back the Magical Creature Capture Net.

“Take thisss!!”

I swung the net to block the butterfly’s path.

And then—

*Poof!*

—The emerald green butterfly transformed into a magic stone inside the capture net.

“I got ittttt!!”

This might be the happiest I’ve ever been.

I gave it everything I had.

I could feel that sense of fulfillment.

Next, the Magical Creature Encyclopedia appeared in the air.

Encyclopedia No. 99/251

Name: La Mer Butterfly

Rarity: ★★★★

Capture Skills: Speed +10 (first-time bonus), Butterfly Dance (auto-evasion, 3 times, activates on confirmed damage)

Capture EXP: 1500

Drop Item: Magic Stone (Large)

Description: A butterfly bearing the name of the sea. Its beautiful wings dazzle those who try to capture it. It can only be caught on the fourth capture attempt (requires Speed stat of 110 or more).

“Ooh!”

Following the golden scarab from the other day, this is my second 4-star rarity creature.

The capture skill also includes auto-evade. If it can handle traps and ambushes in the dungeon, then those “cheap deaths” might be greatly reduced.

“Maybe it’s finally time to get a license…”

It’s only been about a week since I got my [Green] license, limited to private dungeons.

I made up my mind to move on to the next step.

“Oh, right.”

When I dismissed the Magical Creature Capture Net, a magic stone created by the emerald green butterfly appeared beneath it.

“Let’s see…”

I picked up the magic stone.

It had the heft of a ping-pong ball in the palm of my hand.

“Huh…?”

But it had a different feature from the other magic stones.

—The magic stone born from the butterfly was not the usual purple—it was a transparent green.