Chapter 21

The next day, and the day after, Haruki and Karen hunted raccoons with enthusiasm.

Raccoons on the 3rd floor seem nearly extinct.

Haruki who was worried about it violently hunted the raccoons.

I’m about to level up.

But I didn’t get too much EXP for using this blunt magic knife.

Well, it doesn’t matter, because the goal is Karen’s leveling.

It’s just that, it seems the sharpness of this magic sword has increased a little since it was purchased.

At first, the blade couldn’t cut off the monster’s outer skin even though it was used with all his might, but now it could cut the monster’s skin with only a little pressure.

Has my One-Hand Sword skill level increase?

With that in mind, he checked the skill level, but it was still level 1.

“Does this mean the magic knife is developing?”

That possibility exists.

But, Akane said that it had never happened until now…

Does the Growth Acceleration skill also affect this magic sword?

……It’s good if it’s like that.

The hunt that day finished when they defeated the repopped 3rd-floor BOSS.

“I want to cook a raccoon soup; do you want it too?”

“Yes, please!”

Because the meat of the raccoons from his first hunt seemed likely to expire soon, Haruki decided to process all the meat at once.

One of his ways was to make raccoon soup.

The ingredients were raccoon meat, onions, and potatoes.

Just like the raccoon version of the pork miso soup.

But it couldn’t be helped because he didn’t have carrots, konnyakus, or even ginger.

One by one the ingredients were put into boiling hotpot; he also put in plenty of valuable miso.

Will the soybean and malt monsters appear in the dungeon?

If there are, I will be able to stock some miso….

Ah, besides that I also want kelp and bonito.

Even though he acted like all he wanted was to harvest vegetables, he still understood that a dungeon was still a dungeon.

It wasn’t a supermarket or plantation.

It was uncertain the monster that Haruki wanted would come out.

The cooked raccoon soup was then enjoyed by Haruki and Karen.

“Hmm… This is wonderful.”

“…….”

Haruki drank the broth and ate the ingredients.

A little soup stock was not enough, but even though it was like that, the umami from dissolved ingredients gave it a good taste.

At first, a raccoon was barely classified as food among game cooking.

But, the raccoons from the dungeon had very little odor.

Meat from omnivorous animals had a pungent smell, it’s different from other common meat.

Well, I don’t know what kind of food is eaten by raccoons in the dungeon…….

The meat and potatoes taste finally dissolved.

When bitten, strong umami was spread in the mouth.

In addition, the sweetness of onions was well infused.

My stomach and brain strongly ask for another second helping.

Karen must be like that too.

She was slurping the raccoon’s soup with tears of happiness in her eyes.

……Did she not eat good food at the hotel?

As he became worried, the girl became desperate.

She became dejected when the bowl emptied.

Looking at the empty bowl her face showed a lonely expression like a spoiled retriever dog.

Haruki who saw her expression let out a bitter smile while giving her a second helping.

A long time ago, when Haruki was still a child.

When eating in a restaurant, he remembers his father constantly recommending one food after another and asking him, “Do you want more?”

At that time, I wondered why he wanted to feed me food.

But, I guess I now understand the reason, seeing Karen.

People can feel happy just by looking at other people who eat heartily.

Especially if it’s their own child.

In the end, Haruki  ate 10 bowls of soup.

While Karen ate 7.

It’s so delicious, I think I can still eat even though my stomach hurts.

The pot was still half-full of raccoon soup.

Let’s take the rest to Kitora-san.

Even alone, Karen’s current level allows her to hunt on the 3rd floor.

Therefore, tomorrow we can challenge the 5th floor.

A strong monster probably will come out.

However, with two of us now, we’ll able to deal with it.

*********

It was something that suddenly happened.

He didn’t predict, assume, imagine, or even prepare himself to face it.

On the day Haruki decided to go to the 5th floor.

Stampedes occurred simultaneously in all of Japan’s dungeons.

Haruki noticed it at five in the morning.

His growing perception detected a very small vibration.

He suddenly woke up because of the unpleasant aura floating in the surrounding air.

It was so bad that he found his body drenched with sweat.

Even though he was in his own room, he felt like he was surrounded by monsters.

He wasn’t certain what had happened.

But he had a bad premonition.

Haruki immediately put on his equipment and left the house.

There’s no change at the dungeon entrance

……No, it hasn’t changed.

The weak vibration still continues even now.

He heard a sound came from the dungeon hole in front of him.

It was an unpleasant weak vibrating sound.

It was very similar to the sound he heard when facing a Monsters Rampage.

“……This is bad.”

He hallucinated that monsters would rush out if he paid less attention to the entrance.

But what can I do alone?

In the dungeon, a barricade was installed.

It definitely won’t take serious damage when monsters rush out.

Haruki returned to the house and lifted his phone.

He tried to call the town hall, but it was not connected.

Well, of course.

It was still 5 o’clock in the morning, so there was still no one working.

Then he tried to call 110 (Police Emergency Call), 119 (Ambulance Emergency Call), and so on, but had no luck with either of them.

He could only listen to the *toot toot* sound that came from the speaker.

“……Am I being subjected to transmission regulations?”

However, has that happened before?

My bad feeling is growing.

I don’t have room to think.

Haruki looked for a local police telephone number on the internet.

While calling the number, he heard the usual connecting tone from the phone.

Even though no one had answered, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hello, this’s Police Station of K Town.”

“The dungeon that appeared at my house a few days ago experienced an oddity. Please send help immediately.”

He heard gulping sound from the police at the other end of the phone.

“I understand, the Self-Defense Group will leave soon. By the way, you are—”

“I’m Karaboshi Haruki, an adventurer.”

“…I see. To be sure, please help us according to the state of emergency articles.”

“I understand.”

After hanging up, he took a deep breath.

He thought it would happen, and soon.

But, he didn’t think it would happen today.

The state of emergency articles.

In situations where Monsters Stampedes from dungeons occurred, according to the articles in the box, qualified adventurers must participate in the defensive battle.

Haruki once again picked up the phone and called the hotel in the town.

“Hello, this’s the Hot Spring Inn of K Town, the Grand Paradise Hills Hotel.”

A clear voice of the receptionist could be heard from the phone.

Haruki, whose previous only thought about goals, could think a little more clearly.

No matter how many times I hear it, it’s still an interesting name.

For it to be named using words like “Grand Paradise” even though it is a small hot spring…….

The addition of “Hills” even though it’s on flat ground.

Late-arriving tourists who believe that name would definitely feel disappointed when they saw the building in the morning.

It’s like a scam.

His sharp feeling feels a little healed.

“Please connect me to Kurosaki Karen who is in room no. OOO.”

Of course, it was not a seduction like, “Come to my room, I stay in Paradise Hills room no. OOO.”

Haruki told Karen that he was “watching over the dungeon.”

So, she told him her room number to let him contact her if something happens.

“Hahoo …… This’s Faren ……”

Karen’s voice he heard on the phone was strange.

It seemed like she still hadn’t woken up completely.

“This’s Haruki. It seems like the Monsters Stampede will happen, please get ready immediately and come here.”

“…… Hmm! I, I understand!”

“This’s Haruki. It seems like the Monsters Stampede will happen, please get ready immediately and come here.”

“…… Hmm! I, I understand!”

She could speak fluently despite the tension colouring her voice.

After the call was finished, Haruki quickly started down.

He turned on the computer and brought his tablet that had not been used for a long time out of the house.

He opened “Let’s Be” on the tablet while watching the entrance of the dungeon.

It was connected via WI-FI tethering to the computer, but the homepage opened quite slowly.

That might be a result of heavy web traffic from adventurers in various places.

For the “Let’s Be” server which can withstand 1,000,000 users…

Looks like the situation is really bad.

As Haruki predicted, the BBS was flooded by many people.

Because various kinds of information were posted in an instant, he had difficulty capturing information.

But when the pieces of information were collected, he was finally able to see the complete picture.

Strange phenomena were occurring in all of Japan’s dungeons.

Until now only some of the dungeons flooded with monsters.

But, the subject of a strange phenomenon was the same.

In other dungeons which still had not flooded also had a high chance of stampede occurrence.

After closing the BBS, Haruki opened WIKI to find a page about Monsters Stampede.

It was quite time-consuming for the page to open completely as it seemed like many were trying to access it.

“……Yup, as expected.”

Haruki had confirmed that this was the situation before the stampede occurred.

The Monsters Stampede that would occur was similar to the Monsters Rampage.

The difference was, every monster that participated in the Monsters Rampage must be subdued.

It didn’t matter whether it was 1,000 or 10,000 monsters.

However, based on the previous occurrence, the Stampede would end as long as 90% of monsters were defeated.

Another of the requirement was to defeat the BOSS which came out with the Stampede.

Although the number of events that happened was still small, those vital points had been “verified”.

Those were the only conditions.

No more records could be found.

After confirming those conditions, he saw a woman walking towards the dungeon.

“……Is it Akane?”

“Yeah, yeah, this is Akane-san. What’s the matter? Do you want to hunt this early?”

“You too, right? Akane-san want to prepare the shop?”

“Of course, I’m a clerk with legendary class abilities?”

*Glance*

How can she say such shameless things.

“I come to the store in the early morning and learn various things.”

“So, there are also things that you need to learn?”

“I learned how to care for the medicines I ordered as they’ve come today.”

“Really. It’s nice timing!”

So, it arrived today.

It’s really nice timing.

“What kind of medicines came?”

“Okay, okay, there are…”

The girl opened the delivery box at the shop entrance with the key, from inside the girl took cardboard.

“Immediately sell all the medicines to me.”

“Okay… what’s wrong? Has anyone been hurt?”

“That might happen soon.”

Haruki said while looking at the dungeon.

“A Monsters Stampede may happen today.”

“…………Well, then I’m going home now.”

“Wait.”

Haruki quickly caught the escaping nape of Akane’s neck.

“Ahaahahaaan! Let me go. I don’t know anything so please let me go!”

“Don’t run and cry, calm down……”

For her, who is able to beat up thug adventurers, to fear a Monsters Stampede…

Is she traumatized by it?

“Let! Me! Go! I don’t want to be involved with a troublesome thing!”

It seems like she’s running away because it’s troublesome.

Then, I won’t be gentle with her. Haruki suddenly pulled her and brought his mouth closer to her ear.

“Isn’t it a problem if your store is destroyed?”

“What? Yo, yo, yo, you! What do you want to do with my shop!?”

“Nothing. It’s just that, soon there will be a Monsters Stampede from the dungeon in front of the shop……. You are smart so you can understand what it means right?”

“I, I, items in this shop are almost non-existent, so even if it was destroyed—”

“Rebuilding the shop, merchandise cost, and repairing require a large amount of money.”

“Ugh!”

She murmured in a loud voice.

Prehab prices and money spent on repairs.

Of course, the budget for reconstruction and repair costs came from sales revenue.

Of course, it wasn’t enough, and it wasn’t possible for the business to continue in a destroyed shop.

It didn’t matter if it was in summer.

But she would die in the winter.

Facing Haruki’s threat, Akane’s body lost its energy as if giving up.

“……How should I put it, you are an adventurer, right? They will definitely call you even if you escape.”

“It’s fine if I don’t respond to the call because I didn’t change my address when I moved.”

“…….”

She really has a bad personality.

Someday she will definitely get unimaginable retributions, right?

………Ah, right. This must be one of the retributions.

“Anyway, give me the items first. The salves will definitely become necessary when the Stampede occurs.”

“I understand. You will pay for it, right?”

It was not because she was greedy.

Even in any crisis conditions, businesses didn’t have the right and obligation to provide sponsors for free.

After the terminal was on, he held the IC-card to complete the payment.

10 cases of 10 ointment medicines cost 3,000 yen per item. The total payment is 300,000 yen.

He didn’t think it would hurt him.

Because he felt he might be hurt even more if he didn’t pay

And while he finished the payment, the fully equipped Karen arrived.

It seemed like she frantically went out of the hotel after listening to Haruki’s words. The problem was her bed hair was still prominent.

“I think you said there is a Stampede, but why are there still no monsters coming out?”

“The Stampedes happen in various places, but it seems like the time of occurrence varies, too. ”

Karen listened to Haruki’s explanation about the information he read on the BBS of “Let’s Be.”

At that moment, sirens sounded.

Finally, it’s time for the Self-Defense Group to appear.

Haruki started his move before they arrived.

“Karen, get ready for a defensive battle here while I go to explain the situation to the Self-Defense Group.”

“Will Karaboshi-san join us to face the wave?”

“I will rather find the BOSS.”

“You, you can’t!” It’s too dangerous!”

Karen caught and held Haruki’s hand to hold him in place.

“That’s okay. I can definitely deal with Monsters Rampage if it’s just monsters like Black Raccoons. If they are stronger than Black Raccoons, I will escape.”

“But, isn’t it safer to participate in the defensive battle here!?”

“Well, of course…”

Haruki considered that while holding his chin.

He would definitely meet with Monsters Rampage if he enters a dungeon.

But Haruki still wanted to enter the dungeon.

I will enter the dungeon when the Stampede occurs.

Opportunities like this might not come a second time!

It will definitely be an interesting experience; I won’t let it go when it’s in front of my eyes.

—But if I say that, Karen will definitely go mad.

“We can prepare countermeasures as long as we know what monsters are coming out. Plus, from the information on the “Let’s Be” WIKI , it is possible that Stampede will stop if the BOSS is defeated. By scouting, if you target and defeat the BOSS. I think that way is better for protecting the city than continuously defeating endless monsters.”

“…… Then, I will follow you!”

“No. Karen must participate in the defensive battle.”

“Why!?”

“Because you’re a burden.”

“……Hmm!”

Karen gasped as her face turned pale.

Before she said something, Haruki took off his mask.

Haruki deliberately erased his presence.

“I have a thin presence, so I can act without being found by monsters. Instead, I will be found if I am with Karen.…… You understand what I mean, right?”

Only by moving lightly, Karen couldn’t find Haruki anymore.

Usually, I will feel frustrated, but now I feel very grateful.

“………Well, I understand.”

She was still not really convinced.

However, Karen who had experienced Haruki’s aura could only nod.

“But, please don’t act carelessly.”

“Of course.”

After handing over most of the ointment he had bought before, Haruki hefted his bag and headed to the dungeon.

He gave no sign to Karen who could not say anything.

Though Stampede would happen, he felt excited.

I must be crazy.

But no matter what, I’m going to enjoy this.

Well, that’s because I see a future where cities are not trampled by monsters and no one dies.

But Haruki couldn’t tell whether the success rate is 1% or 0.1%.

To be sure, Haruki extended his hand to the road to realizing the vision.

To suppress the damage made by Stampede to zero.

How great would it be if he managed to get that future?

He couldn’t stop his thought.

It couldn’t be helped if he enjoyed it.

He couldn’t contain himself.

Not adventuring is something he doesn’t want.

“Wo-ho!”

Haruki immediately ran into the dungeon while laughing loudly.

Chapter end

Proofread for Asian Hobbyist by Fenring