Chapter 112.2

642　Name: Anonymous who waits for salmon at the river banks

>> 641

Well then, aren’t we a fan of Mr. Masked Man?

It’s true the Masked Man tends to do that kind of thing

But I don’t know what to think lol

643　Name: Anonymous who waits for salmon at the river banks

If that Masked Man is the one behind this, then I’m curious as to why did he defeat the Dungeon Lord

The Dungeon Lord has a ridiculous amount of health

There’s little profit in defeating it for anything other than its materials

644　Name: Anonymous who waits for salmon at the river banks

Maybe he just wanted to defeat the dungeon?

645　Name: Anonymous who waits for salmon at the river banks

I can see the combo of “Become my followers” → *we refuse* → *we get slaughtered*

646　Name: Anonymous who waits for salmon at the river banks

And then that Masked Man will finally become a Demon Lord…

647　Name: Anonymous who waits for salmon at the river banks

Maybe that Masked Man did defeat the Dungeon Lord?

He did come by the store yesterday to sell wood

648　Name: Anonymous who waits for salmon at the river banks

Oh, as expected from our Masked Man

These are just the first steps towards world domination

So you’ve chosen to capture Kamuikotan as soon as possible?

649　Name: Anonymous who waits for salmon at the river banks

This is just the beginning of the reign of terror of Mr. Masked Man, the Demon Lord

650　Name: Anonymous who waits for salmon at the river banks

Come on guys, stop messing around with Mr. Masked Man lol

Everyone loves Mr. Masked Man lol

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After they recovered, Haruki and the others returned from Kamui Rock feeling exhausted.

They weren’t exhausted because of their battle with the knight. They were exhausted from listening to Chep.

Haruki didn’t know why she was so motivated.

He couldn’t understand what was going on with the revived Chep.

“Well, Lady Rhea! You may be tired, but you’ll end up with a hunched back if you keep being slouched like that!”

Rhea’s stalk was all curled because of the shrill voice that hadn’t stopped talking inside the dungeon.

“This thing is yours, right Karen? So you should be the one who takes care of her, too, right?”

“Uhh…”

“Are you calling me a thing!?”

Haruki glanced at Chep, who had raised her voice from Karen’s pocket.

“Waaah!?”

Immediately, she started to shiver and squirmed back into the pocket.

Still, after a short while, she would glance back from her hideout.

“(glancing) — Eeek!?”

Whenever their eyes met, she would scurry back into the pocket.

It’s as if she couldn’t catch Haruki’s drift.

Karen looked at Haruki with eyes that screamed “Help me!”

However, the bracelet that contained Chep’s soul belonged to Karen.

— I suggested throwing it from Kamui Rock, but you didn’t, so please deal with it and take care of it until the end.

Haruki stared at Karen and Rhea, who seemed even more exhausted than himself, with warm eyes.

There was a chance that Chep might have changed in some ways other than just her size and the fact that now she lived in Karen’s bracelet.

Haruki took out the Skill Board, and…

Chep (0)　Gender: Female

Skill Points: 3 → 26

“…”

Haruki was so shocked that he froze.

— This useless thing got all of the points from the battle even though she never did any of the fighting!

— What a freeloader!

Having nearly died during the fight with that black knight, Haruki didn’t find it amusing at all that Chep had gotten all of the points.

— Should I just allocate them all on useless skills without her knowledge?

Haruki maliciously stared at Chep.

“Huh…”

However, Chep now lived inside Karen’s bracelet.

Just like Esta and Rhea for Haruki, Chep’s skill was directly linked to Karen’s fighting and survival abilities… perhaps.

Maybe.

Haruki, who had never seen her actually fighting, was not that sure about that.

For the time being, Haruki decided to put points into her Shamanism skill.

Shamanism was a rare skill that no one else had at the moment.

— Though it feels even less of a rare skill simply because Chep has it…

He decided to pass up on her rarest skill, “Princess”, for now.

[Princess: Grants the ability to squirm away from certain death.]

Haruki believed that it is thanks to this “Princess” skill that Chep survived this time.

In the scenario where Chep should have died, she ended up “possessing” Karen’s bracelet.

As she took refuge in the bracelet, a light-blue jewel was created that filled a hole in it.

From this, Haruki theorized that the bracelet was a type of magic tool that had the ability to contain spirits.

“By chance”, Karen had obtained that bracelet from a gacha ball.

Karen, who was wearing the bracelet “by chance”, was near Chep, who was “by chance” about to disappear.

This could be the result of the ability to “squirm away from certain death”.

There might have been some kind of synergy with Karen’s “Luck” skill as well.

Still, if this effect could be achieved with a Princess skill at level 1…

Who knows what would happen if that skill were MAXed?

If it’s what it takes to save Chep’s life, could it even bring about the Earth’s destruction?

The mere thought sent a shiver down Haruki’s spine.

Retreating to Karen’s bracelet should be enough if it’s just to save Chep’s life.

Haruki had no intention of touching the “Princess” skill.

Skill Points: 26 → 2

－Shamanism ＜－＞ → ＜＋2＞

├ Shamanism 1 → 7

├ Shamanism Compatibility 1 → 7

└ Shamanism Manipulation 1 → 7

Although he could have put points into her Vitality, Strength, Agility, or Technology trees, Haruki couldn’t imagine Chep on hand-to-hand combat.

He wasn’t sure what Shamanism did exactly, but if it could be used from Karen’s pocket…

There would be no companion more reassuring than her.

— But for now, you’re just a freeloader.

— Please make yourself useful during our next dungeon exploration.

Before putting the Skill Board away, Haruki checked the log.

<< Successfully subdued the Lesser God “αρχη” (Arche) >>

<< Special quest cleared >>

<< Quest reward: 10 Skill Points >>

According to the log, that knight was actually “Lesser god αρχη”, but he had no way to be sure of that.

But the knight certainly had enough combat power (aside from Technology) to remind him of Shigure.

Even if the knight hadn’t been this “Lesser god αρχη”, its true strength had been a force to be reckoned with.

Haruki had already indirectly noticed when he checked on Chep’s skill tree, but he had been awarded 10 skill points for clearing the quest.

Though there were many places he still wanted to allocate those points, he was grateful for having received so many this time.

Haruki squinted at the last line shown on the log.

<< Obtained Skill: Divine Energy>>

“Divine Energy…?”

Was that a skill that would allow him to attack by releasing his energy?

Haruki opened the skill tree to see if it was an offensive skill.

Skill Points: 0 → 10

－Special

├ Growth Acceleration MAX

├ Taming 2

├ Divine Protection MAX

└ Divine Energy NEW

Just as the log stated, there was a skill called “Divine Energy” on his skill tree.

But it was under the Special section.

If it had been under the Technology tree instead, it could have been an offensive skill, like Masatsugu’s “Holy Sword”.

A bit discouraged, Haruki tapped on the skill.

The details of “Divine Energy” appeared on the screen.

[Divine Energy 0: Grants a strong presence　MAX:5]

“A… At long laaaaaaast-!?”

Trembling with joy, Haruki’s voice echoed through the dungeon.

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[The beginning] The contents of the gacha balls　231 [Of the end]

992　Name: Anonymous who doesn’t get any rare items

Hey hey hey!

Now a huge fight between adventurers has started!

What are we going to do about it!?

993　Name: Anonymous who doesn’t get any rare items

What’s the cause of it?

994　Name: Anonymous who doesn’t get any rare items

That adventurer who was proud of his SSR item

The guy who complained about spending millions and only getting normal-rarity items got the jump on him

995　Name: Anonymous who doesn’t get any rare items

What’s that guy thinking about? Was it a real-life fight?

That’s… not like it’s going to change anything, will it? Lol

996　Name: Anonymous who doesn’t get any rare items

That normal-rarity guy…

I guess I can sympathize with him though lol

It seems like it’s a pretty big deal, isn’t it?

Speaking of other adventurers

Bacon and Masatsugu have started to move

997　Name: Anonymous who doesn’t get any rare items

Huh?

Then something big’s coming, right?

Does it have anything to do with punishing an evil lord or something?

Or even worse… are they going to ban the gacha balls?

998　Name: Anonymous who doesn’t get any rare items

Ah

999　Name: Anonymous who doesn’t get any rare items

Hm, what’s wrong?

1000　Name: Anonymous who doesn’t get any rare items

The last gacha ball that normal-rarity guy opened

A monster came out of it!!

1001　Name: Anonymous who doesn’t get any rare items

I don’t think I’ll be able to post here anymore