Chapter 96.1

96 Part 1

Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~ 96

Let’s Exterminate The Monsters In Kamuikotan! – 5

In the woods of Kamuikotan…

Holding the corpse of a defeated monster, the man smirked.

After the Monster Hunting Contest started, the man had run towards the woods with all his might, and defeated three monsters in total.

There were said to be about 30 monsters in the woods.

The number of adventurers who participated in the contest was also about 30, so those who hunted three monsters would most definitely be among the top ten.

Depending on the number of monsters other adventurers had defeated, it wasn’t farfetched to think that he could break into the top of the ranking.

If everything went well and he was publicly acknowledged on Kagemitsu’s blog, it would catch the eyes of many.

With that in mind, the man couldn’t stop smiling.

Was he finally going to be able to become a “Narou” Ranker…?

That chance was worth the efforts he had made so far.

Stuffing the monster into his bag, the man looked up into the sky.

The sun was dyed in a hue of red.

The contest was coming to a close.

It was about time he returned.

The man turned towards the starting point, but at that time…

The woods became noisy all of a sudden.

“…?”

A crow shrieked in the distance.

The sound of many birds flapping their wings all at once created a moment of silence.

It was a strange silence, as if  all the creatures living in the woods had escaped.

— What’s going on?

The man tilted his head to the side, completely puzzled.

At that moment, an eerie creature appeared from the woods.

“–!?”

The creature flew over the man’s head and disappeared into the forest in an instant.

“…”

The man stood there frozen in shock with his mouth wide open.

The creature that appeared looked like a mask.

He was that mysterious masked man that had been mentioned so many times in the forums.

A mask that floated in the air, which was said to lay a curse upon anyone who touched it.

Just as rumored, the masked man had feathers growing out of his neck and had scales all over his body.

He was carrying both halves of a black Fishman’s corpse on each hand.

Perhaps the Fishman had offended the masked man, and he tore it apart with his both hands.

There was a salmon stuffed in the masked man’s backpack.

That must have been the sacrifice that the masked man will use for an upcoming ritual.

What an outrageous thing to see.

The man looked beyond the forest where the masked man had disappeared and looked down at his own hands.

After seeing that masked man, the three monsters he had seemed to be so insignificant.

Even though up until that point, they had seemed like a valuable treasure…

“Me, become a Ranker? Get sponsored? … Ha, hahaha!”

He felt so stupid, dreaming of things such as being a Ranker and getting sponsored by a company.

Aiming for the top meant that he had to compete with the masked man.

— With that man?

— Don’t be ridiculous.

— I can’t beat such a fiendish man!!

— I’m better off staying anonymous as long as I don’t have to fight against him!!

“… I’ll go home.”

The man dropped his shoulders and started walking, throwing away his dream of becoming a Ranker on the banks of the river in Kamuikotan…

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【Asahikawa】Monster Hunting Contest【Sponsored by Team Aerial】

127　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

Today’s tournament was fun

Especially since the adventureres who participated were hardly known, instead of celebrities

128　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

That’s right

Those who are strong but whose names are not selling are being put in a top-three list

It was an unbearable battle for me who loves to be underground

I wonder if they will be noticed by companies and become famous in the future.

I dunno if I should be happy or sad…

129　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

I’m happy when a minor adventurer becomes famous, but it also makes me feel a bit lonely, you know?

So I really understand how you must feel…

130　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

Are any of the competitors here?

I couldn’t sleep since I’ve seen some strange things…

131　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

Like a ghost?

I mean, that place seems to be haunted after all

132　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

I don’t think so

A mask floating in mid-air

Feathers growing out of its neck

And scales all over its body

133　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

Ah, you mean Mr. Masked Man?

So that guy did participate in the contest, huh?

134　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

So it must have been him, right?

He was flying through the air with a salmon stuffed in his backpack

135　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

Wait a second

俺の知ってる仮面さんと微妙に違うｗｗｗ

That’s a bit different from the Mr. Masked Man I know lol

１３６　名前：神居古潭を駆けずり回る名無し

136　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

Well, it was Mr. Masked Man after all

It seems I had jumped to conclusions…

137　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

I’ve also seen that Mr. Masked Man guy

He was searching for monsters while moving on several tiny legs

And he was firing potatoes from his eyes

138　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

Wait, what?

That doesn’t sound human at all

139　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

>> 138

Have you seen Mr. Masked Man before?

If you had, you wouldn’t be that surprised

140　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

That’s right

That’s just how Mr. Masked Man is after all

141　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

You bet I’d be surprised!

You’re just accepting those facts as if they were so normal!

142　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

Anything goes with Mr. Masked Man

If you’re suprised with this form he has taken

You’ll never be able to meet him in person!

143　Name: Anonymous who ran around Kamuikotan

No way…

Ah, I’m not going to look for him or anything

I don’t want to meet someone like him in person, you know?

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Haruki soared through the trees with all his strength.

Occasionally, he would inadvertently break the trunk of a tree with the sole of his foot, or he would move in the opposite direction of what he had intended to, but eventually he managed to get back to the starting point.

However…

“W… What!?”

They had already started to pack things up at the old Kamuikotan Station Building.

The shocked Haruki fell flat on the floor.

Haruki had come all the way back from Kamui Rock leaping from tree to tree.

He was moving at the fastest speed, but unfortunately he couldn’t advance in a straight line.

And to make things worse, he even got himself lost a few times because he wasn’t familiar with those woods.