Chapter 49.1

Let’s Accept a Support Request!

What they got after defeating the boss, was a large, old spear.

And also five smaller ones.

The large spear rejected both Haruki and Karen, which meant it was too heavy for them to carry. Even though it was in terrible condition, it was apparently still a weapon.

Haruki managed to drag it and push it into the magic bag.

Next were the small spears.

Each was about 20 cm long.

They were closer to throwing knives if anything.

Haruki reached for one hesitantly, but the small spears did not reject him.

“So, this boss likes to make miniatures too?”

“I doubt it.”

They had fought so hard to defeat it.

He wanted to think that meant it was a rare item.

Haruki looked at it carefully.

But no matter what he thought, it just looked like a miniature spear.

The head was sharp, and it looked like it would pierce you if you just touched it.

As for the other side, there was a hole in it like a straw.

“Really. What the hell is this…”

“Do you mind if I look at it?”

Haruki handed one of them to her.

“Aaah!”

Karen dropped the miniature spear.

He had seen this happen before.

“You couldn’t carry it?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

In that case…

Haruki touched his chin.

There were two possibilities that he could think of.

The mini spear was a dagger or some kind of throwing weapon.

Still, it was too small for a dagger.

Haruki couldn’t imagine using them to fight a monster.

So, they were almost certainly used for throwing.

As for why it looked like a straw, was it to draw out blood from an enemy after piercing them?

It seemed pretty deadly.

“Do you mind if I used this?”

“Of course, not.”

“(Shaking).”

Behind him, Rhea was shaking her leaves as if she wanted it.

Did you want to use this as a weapon?

It’ll probably poke out of you before you can shoot it.

“(Wiggle-wiggle)”

Huh? You want it to commemorate our victory?

Oh, okay then.

He handed one of them to Rhea.

After they had finished inspecting the items, Haruki and Karen headed to the central layer—that is, the stairs that led to the 10th floor.

When they had finished climbing down the stairs, they saw that a vast field of grass spread out before them.

The sky was blue and there were clouds floating up above.

They could even see trees growing in the distance.

They seemed quite big too.

It was messing with his depth perception.

“Woaah….!”

“Wow…!”

They stood on the 10th layer and exhaled.

“It’s amazing.”

“It really is.”

Information about the central layer could be read on the WIKI, but there was not much there.

And so Haruki and Karen knew that the interior would change drastically once they reached it.

However, the reality of the dungeon far exceeded what Haruki had been imagining.

“There really is a sky inside of the dungeon.”

Haruki had thought it would be a ceiling painting.

Surely it would just be a very realistic depiction of the sky. That’s what he had been thinking.

However, no matter how he looked at it, it was real.

Haruki had worked at a printing company, and yet his eyes could not tell the difference between this and the sky you could see from the surface.

The 10th layer was just a single floor.

There was a grassy field that stretched out very far. But they could also see the dungeon walls near the horizon.

It was like a garden surrounded by dungeon walls. Or maybe it should be called a paradise.

(How is this connected to the floor below?)

Were there stairs near the dungeon walls?

Or maybe they were hidden somewhere in the grass.

Haruki touched his chin and thought about it.

However, he could not think of the answer.

It had not been written in the WIKI either.

After all, they were the first humans to reach this place.

There was a big gap in combat ability between beginner and mid-range Adventurers.

It was said that this was because something changed when you reached the center layers.

But what was it? More skills—or some kind of awakening?

Haruki had speculated about it.

And so he had to check.

He tried to suppress his excitement as he took out the skill board.

Karaboshi Haruki(27) Gender: male

Skill Point: 3 → 5

Class: Hidden Sword Master

Divine Protection: Cloth One<????>NEW

-Vitality

Stamina 3

Natural Recovery 2

-Strength

Strength 3

-Agility

Quickness 3

Dexterity 3

-Technique

Weapon mastery

One-handed sword 3

Throwing 2

Light Armor 3

Kick 1

Conceal 2

Imitate 2

-Intuition

Detection 2

-Special

Growth Acceleration MAX

Tame 1

Divine Protection: 1 NEW

“DIVINE PROOOOOTECTION!!!”

Haruki was so excited.

It was the same special skill that Masatsugu had!

He had acquired it!!

Haruki allowed himself to calm down before opening up the explanation for the skill.

Divine Protection: 1(Receive protection from various gods.) MAX 3

Ohh. Haruki exhaled the hot air that had built up inside him.

Divine Protection…this was big.

That being said, maybe it wasn’t all that effective as the description suggested?

‘Receive protection from various gods.’

It didn’t say what types or how much protection.

It was possible that it was little more than those lucky charms that students get when preparing for an exam.

Maybe it would be better for him to keep his expectations in check?

That was the only difference in the skill board for now.

So there was a good possibility that the difference between being a beginner and a mid-rank Adventurer was whether or not you had Divine Protection.

Though, it seemed like a good idea to not depend on its effect too much…

Even after reading the explanation, he didn’t know what abilities were affected by the skill. Because of this, Haruki was not brave enough to put points into Divine Protection.

It would be fine if the skill simply made him stronger.

However, it would be dangerous if it strengthened the ‘disappearance of his presence.’

If that happened, Haruki himself might just disappear altogether

He should wait until he had a better understanding of the skill before he started putting points into it.

Furthermore, unlike other skills, this one didn’t start at 0.

It was at 1 as soon as it appeared.

Was it because it was impossible to have 0 Divine Protection?

Or maybe it was 0 until it appeared.

In any case, he was happy that it would take 1 point less to max it out.

“What happened?”

Karen looked at the skill board from the side.

“A new skill appeared after we came out into the central layer. Apparently, it gives you Divine Protection.”

“Th-that’s amazing! And, uh…what. Cloth?”

“…”

Yes, that had bothered him too.

It had, but he didn’t want to admit it.

“Was there a god of cloth?”

“…”

“Even if there was, it must be…very minor?”

“Don’t say that. Don’t pry into it.”

It would just make him sad.

Karen’s words were forcing him back to reality.

The heat was leaving his body rapidly.

“Karaboshi. What about me?”

“Uhh…”

He swiped the display.

Kurosaki Karen(18) Gender: female

Skill points: 2 → 4

Class: Spirit User/Hammer User

Divine Protection: Human One(?????)NEW

-Vitality

Stamina 1

Natural Recovery 1

-Strength

Strength 1

-Magic Power

Magic Power 3

Magic Compatibility 2

Magic Manipulation 3

-Agility

Quickness 0

Dexterity 1

-Technique

Weapon Mastery

Blunt Weapon 1

Light Armor 1

-Intuition

Detection 1

-Special

Luck 1

Divine Protection 1 NEW

“Human One.”

Did that mean someone who was close to a human?

Or maybe it was a human god?

There was no way to tell for sure.

Was it possible that it changed when you leveled up?

…He hoped so.

That was Haruki’s hope, as someone who had received the protection of the cloth.

“You really can’t tell much based on this alone.”

“Yes. Ah… no. Nevermind.”

She suddenly started to mutter, but unfortunately, Haruki knew what she was going to say.

‘That sounds a lot better than a cloth god.’

Yes, my god is called cloth!

Damn it.

Why did I have to get something that was this special!!

Haruki couldn’t help but be sulky.