Since I received the honor of being the top of the Low Fantasy category for the month,
today, there are three episodes (1/3)
‘Beep, beep’
“...Hmm”
She moved her hand slightly and turned off the alarm.
Looking at the time, it read ‘20:10’.
I must have slept for about three hours.
I haven’t slept at this hour recently, but I feel surprisingly refreshed.
However, the moment I turned on the room light, my heart almost stopped.
“!?”
On the narrow bed, a girl was sleeping next to me.
It was Maki.
I slowly turned around, but no one was there. It seemed Aki wasn’t in the room.
But why... I didn’t even drink alcohol...
Anyway, I slowly got up without waking her, and got ready.
When I looked at her again, she was really sound asleep. I gently readjusted the blanket over her.
I heard from Aki that, despite being a receptionist, she often goes to the dungeon for fun whenever she has free time. Apparently, there’s also a role called ‘Investigator’ that uses the ‘Appraisal’ ability.
However, Maki mostly does office work and rarely leaves the guild. So, I think she must have been quite tired from running around the dungeon all day today, helping me collect items.
After taking one last look at her sleeping face, I turned off the light and left the room. Aki was waiting for me.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
“...Thanks to the best pillow ever.”
“Yes... If you wish, I’m sure she’d be happy to do it every day.”
“...That’s not something I should say here.”
“I know.”
“Sorry...”
“It’s fine as long as you’re aware. I was just a bit worried.”
Aki, looking so serious. I’ve been seeing a lot of different sides of her lately.
“Aki... I’ll tell you properly, but give me some time.”
“Okay, I’ll wait. ...Let’s get ready. It’s time for the strategy meeting.”
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Me, Aki, and Ms. Yoko. Then, five receptionists and investigators with the ‘Appraisal’ ability, and fifteen experienced adventurers to protect them.
In total, 23 people gathered at the entrance of the first floor of the dungeon, with Ms. Yoko leading the charge.
“Thank you all for gathering. A new, unconfirmed rare monster has been discovered in this dungeon today. I believe you’ve seen the video. The discoverer and the key to this operation is Amachi-kun. The content and events of this operation must not be disclosed to the outside world. Also, the items dropped by the rare monster will belong to him. I trust all of you, so I’m not worried about you betraying my trust.”
I can’t believe so many people are on board with my plan. Thinking about it, I’m a bit nervous.
“First, we’ll form five teams of four, with one investigator and three adventurers each. Teams A to D will wait in the squares near the map edges. Team E will wait in the small elevated square in the center of the map. Each team’s investigator should carry this dedicated transceiver and be ready to respond at any time. Amachi-kun, according to the plan, try to summon the rare monster near the marked locations on the map. I know everyone is anxious about this operation, but it has been approved by the ‘First Headquarters Director.’ I’m sorry, but please stay with us until morning.”
“Yes!!”
“Good response. Let’s get started, everyone!”
After confirming that each team was moving into position, I started stretching when Aki told me to sit down.
“What?”
“Here, Shota-kun’s dinner.”
“Oh... I forgot.”
“Really, be more careful. You can’t do anything if you’re hungry. Maki made this, so enjoy it!”
“Really? Can I eat it now?”
“Fufu, why not? No one will bother you.”
“The operation will start in 10 minutes, so take your time.”
“Thanks, here I go.”
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Maki’s cooking really gives me energy. Even though it wasn’t all homemade and included some store-bought items, the way the dishes were arranged made a big difference in taste and mood.
Holding the transceiver, I headed to the first checkpoint.
“Team A, starting the operation. Is there any problem at the target location?”
“This is Team A. No issues.”
“Understood. I’m not entirely confident that I can summon it, so it might take some time. Please be patient.”
“Understood. We’re waiting for the signal.”
I spread out the map, and the shadows of monsters lined up around it. At the point where I fought the ‘Golden Bug’ earlier today, there were four white dots.
I already know that these points will spawn, so there’s no need to test them. However, the rule that it appears at the nearest location is based on my experience, and I can’t just take it for granted. Therefore, I need to make sure that the rare monster actually appears when I give the signal.
I hinted at this to Ms. Yoko, but I asked her to keep the fact that ‘defeating a certain number of monsters’ is a condition a secret. No matter how much the higher-ups command or instruct, you can’t control what people say. So, the flow is that the rare monster will spawn by using some special method to defeat it.
Ms. Yoko said she trusts me, but that’s different from whether I trust her. After all, I haven’t even told the two most important people about the 100 kills.
Now, I’ll start hunting 100 at a time...
“Finally, it’s a time when no one is around.”
It’s finally time for the gacha!
Just to be safe, I used my skill behind a giant tree at the edge of the forest.
Then I pressed the “10 gacha” button.
‘Jara, jara, jara!’
The results were: 1 green, 4 red, and 5 blue.
‘R Strength +8’
‘R Dexterity +8’
‘R Toughness +8’
‘R Agility +8’
‘R Intelligence +8’
‘SR Magic Power +18’
‘SR Intelligence +18’
‘SR Intelligence +20’
‘SR Skill: Body Reinforcement Lv1’
‘UR Skill: Eagle Eye’
＊＊＊＊＊
Name: Amachi Shota
Age: 21
Level: 20
Strength: 223 (+200)
Dexterity: 230 (+207)
Toughness: 238 (+215)
Agility: 249 (+226)
Magic Power: 214 (+193)
Intelligence: 214 (+193)
Luck: 518
Skills: Level Gacha, Appraisal Lv3, Appraisal Interference Lv5, Automatic Mapping, Eagle Eye, Adamantine Armor, Body Reinforcement Lv8, Herculean Strength II, Adamantine Strength, Swift II, Adamantine Wall, Precognition, Swordsmanship Lv1, Throwing Lv2, Fire Magic Lv1, Water Magic Lv1, Magic Recovery Lv1, Magic Transfer
＊＊＊＊＊
“UR!? Why suddenly... Oh, it’s because my ‘Luck’ exceeded 500! It’s really all about ‘Luck’... Without ‘Luck,’ nothing starts... Wait, ‘Without ‘Luck,’ nothing starts...’?”
Could it be...
But, there’s no other explanation, right?
I remember the smoke from the rare monster.
The difference between me and Aki or Maki. The difference between me and regular adventurers...
There’s no other explanation, right?
“To see the smoke clearly, you need to meet the required ‘Luck’...? In some cases, you might not even be able to summon the rare monster if you don’t meet the required ‘Luck’?”