CH 16

[After passing through a single path in the dungeon, which was dimly lit but not impenetrable to sight, I soon arrived at that place.]

"I'm still a little scared of ....... But I have to do it if I'm going to survive."

[Even looking at it now, I could never get used to that sight alone.]

[I even get the feeling that they are all looking at me with wide-open eyes.]

It was impossible for Tenji, a mere high school student, not to be scared.

Even so, Tenji broke the bodies out of the pile one by one, carefully laying them down on the ground and letting them cross their arms over their chests. Then, one by one, he offered a silent prayer as he closed his eyelids.

After that, he apologized, saying "I'm sorry," and began to fish through their items.

Then Tenji decided to take some items.

A third-grade weapon, the "Cudgel of Tree Paralysis."

A third-grade weapon: "Ranre-edged knife."

The 160-centimeter-long rosewood-colored stick used in "konjutsu."

was originally owned by Eri Kusanagi, a chariot member.

The "Rare-edge Knife" is a dagger-sized blade with a single edge that has a wavy, irregular pattern. It was originally used by Yuki Oyama, a chariot member, as a sub weapon and has excellent sharpness.

Tenji had thought about getting an inner suit, but unfortunately, it was not going to be useful because of the large hole in the chest caused by wet blood. There was also the reason that he could not find anything in the right size.

After receiving some other hidden food and a lightweight military-style water bottle that looked like it would hold about 500 ml that Mr. Moiwa was carrying, Tenji decided to head back to that original location.

On the way there, he rehydrated a little and ate some food to recover his energy.

As soon as he returned, Tenji felt sorry for the young explorer to be left alone here, so he decided to carry his body to the same place as the eight others and lay it out.

Then, when there was nothing left, Tenji exhaled again and sat down.

[I don't know what to do from here. I think the food will somehow last for five days if I'm alone, and I wonder if I can use half a day to find out what I'm capable of.]

[I knew I would need to know in an hour or two, and I decided on a plan for the future.]

Tenji stood up without a moment's rest, thinking that from here on it would depend on food and his calling.

"Once that's decided, the first thing I need to do is figure out what calling skills I can use right now."

Tenji's calling had skills that he could use immediately.

Tenji, who had learned about this by exploring his memories, took a deep breath and prepared himself to confirm this ability.

"Obviously, my calling is strange," he said. "I've never heard of a special grade calling, and summoning hell beasts is probably a new kind of calling. Now, will there be demons or ...... snakes?"

All Tenji knows right now is that he has been given the calling of "special grade calling: summoning hell beasts" and that he can use one skill.

Other than that, he doesn't know anything else.

I don't even know what kind of ability that skill activates.

He takes several deep breaths and concentrates on being able to make a calm decision no matter what happens.

Still, Tenji's heart was still a little excited.

He had finally obtained the calling he had dreamed of and wanted for so long.

He had imagined that he would purchase the cheapest fifth-grade calling from the association and work as an explorer in a small way.

But for some unknown reason, he completed the "calling quest" and was given an unknown calling.

No matter what, Tenji's heart beat faster.

He said, "Phew, ...... no good. I can't stop the excitement."

Then, after making up his mind, he looked up.

"All right, let's do it."

Once he had made up his mind, his action was surprisingly quick.

At first, not knowing what to expect, I held one hand out in front of me and made a stop with the other hand.

Finally, he took a deep breath.

"The Book of Enma!"

Tenji shouted the name of the skill, and with a pop, a book appeared in the empty space.

The deep scarlet cover of the book had a pattern on it that looked like a demon's face, and it was as thick as a dictionary.

The color of the paper inside the book seemed to be an aged color, like that of a slightly old document, rather than the white color common in the modern age.

The book floated softly on the extension of one outstretched hand, and when Tenji moved his hand a little, the book moved along with it.

"As the name of the ...... skill suggests, the book appeared."

Tenji was a little disappointed, as he did not expect that it would happen as the name of the skill implies, but he quickly changed his mind and took the matter into his hand.

It was almost weightless, or rather, it seemed to have no weight at all.

Out of habit, he sniffed it and found that it smelled slightly of an old book.

Next, I observed the cover, which, by all accounts, looked like a demon.

Two horns, a vicious face, and two large fangs. Behind it, a stabbing cudgel-like weapon is faintly visible.

"Do you want to open it anyway?"

Tenji muttered to himself as if asking his heart.

He then rolled up the thick cover, and there, boldly written with a brush, were the words: ".

......' Be a king'? You mean, "Be a king. ...... maybe."

He decided to check the meaning of the page. He had no idea what it meant and turned the book to the next page.

There, Tenji found a series of letters and numbers that were very interesting to him.

Name: Tenji Amagi

Age : 16

[Level] 0/100

[Experience] 0/1000

[H P] 26 (10+16)

[M P] 16 (0+16)

[Attack] 21（5+16） [Defense] 40[24+16）] [Attack] 21（5+16）

[Defense] 40（24+16） [Velocity] 23（7+16） [Speed] 23（7+16

[Intellect] 38（22+16） [Wisdom] 45（29+16） [Fortune

Luck] 45 (29+16)

[Solid] Small floating objects] (Lv.5/10)

Experience 3/22

[Celestial] Summoning of Hell Beasts (Lv.0/100)

[Skill] Enma's Book

[Experience] 0/1000

It was very similar to the statuses we see in games of this era.

Tenji immediately recognized this and understood that this was his current status, the value of his abilities when quantified.

'You mean this is my strength, right? Hmmm ......."

Tenzi turned over and began staring at the numbers as if contemplating these values.

First of all, there are numbers written in brackets next to each parameter.

Perhaps the number on the left is the real ability number of Tenzi, and the parentheses are the calculation formula. I thought that the number "16" in parentheses was linked only to Tenzi's current age.

If so, the possibility emerges that the numbers other than 16 in the parentheses are the numerical values of the talents that Tenzi originally possessed.

Tenji thought that much and grinned involuntarily.

"I see! It is very easy to understand when your abilities are quantified. I see, I am a person who excelled in 'luck,' 'intelligence,' and 'defense.' I didn't know that."

The visualization of one's talents and abilities means that one knows where one stands with unbelievable precision.

Where am I superior, and where am I inferior? Then, let's work on these strengths and compensate for these weaknesses. This is a rare ability that is so useful because it allows you to fine-tune the direction of your efforts.

The other thing that is easy to understand is ...... my unique ability? I see that my unique ability is currently at level 5, and the highest is level 10. And the highest is level 10. Hmm, I don't know."

Tenji thought that if he had something to compare, he could analyze it in more detail.

Still, there are some things we can learn from this.

The unique abilities can gain experience by doing something. Tenji, who was guessing the "something," was immediately struck by an idea.

Ah! I guess it's like the more you use this experience, the more you get.

Interestingly, Tenji had entered dungeons many times as an explorer's luggage carrier, but he had never killed a monster with his own hands.

Based on this experience, Tenji decided that the more he used his unique abilities, the more his level would increase.

However, he did not know whether it was proportional to time or something like a bond.

[Next is the level under my age and the level in the calling column. This is ...... Oh, and the experience required and the maximum level are the same.]

And the fact that both of them are at level 0 and don't even have 1 experience in them means that they are not available in the current Tenji.

From that, Tenji deduced.

"I guess I'll have to kill monsters to get the experience, right? That's pretty much how it works in games."

Although he had not played games much since his parents died, Tenji had been a normal boy who played games a lot when he was little.

So he had as much knowledge of such things as anyone else, and he rather liked them. But now that money was tight, he didn't have much time to play games.

I said, "That's enough for this page.

Tenji muttered with a serious look on his face and turned the book to the next page.