Chapter 22 – Battleboy Meets Lonely Girl
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T/N:
I don’t think I’m telling you much of a secret, but interest in this novel is almost non-existent. Unfortunately so, since I believe it to be a fairly decent novel with good story elements and writing.
If you like this story, it’d be a huge help if you could spread the word by writing reviews or posting about it on other platforms. I could do it myself, but I simply don’t have the time to translate over 10 novels, run a blog, and then set up accounts on forums etc. telling people how great the novels are, which I translate.
Please do understand that I won’t translate a novel for a few dozen readers on a global scale indefinitely. It feels a bit empty to do so.
One’s voice doesn’t seem to come out properly when they get surprised too much, was something I suddenly thought as I sat here, completely flabbergasted. But, she didn’t seem like she had been lying to me.
I placed my smartphone on the table with Dungeon Seekers booted up. While fixedly staring at it, I fell into deep thought about the things she had told me.
“I have many things I wish to ask, but…why has the Inner World or whatever set up something like dungeons as military bases in the first place?”
“That’s a good question,” nodded Satoha and started to explain, “This part is also related to the reason for having made this tool… Hiro, you probably have already noticed that I’m no player of Dungeon Seekers, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Sitting on her chair, she caused golden-blue mana to manifest. It was faint and somehow cast a dazzling light, causing me to narrow my eyes.
“…Since ancient times, my family has been referred to as Occult Slayers. It has been our duty to protect this island from the invasion by the Inner World. I told you that I’m with the management, but that was a lie. My family has to do with the management, yes, but it’s not like I’m someone belonging to the management. Forgive me.”
She apologized with a short bob of her head.
Okay, but does that mean she’s some bigshot called Occult Slayer then?
“Us Occult Slayers have long existed in the shadows of history. Together with other families, likewise Occult Slayers, we have been killing the occult beings arriving here from the Inner World. By the way, almost all the creatures treated as monsters or apparitions in our world originate from living beings in the Inner World,” she said.
Most of the magic-like skills…the techniques obtainable through DS…were similar to Occult Slayer techniques, and the power called mana, which gushes out of your body like a spring and can be used by cladding your body with it, appears to be the energy source for using those techniques. The levels in DS seem to be influenced by the quantity of your mana. The mana released by your soul keeps growing bigger by devouring other souls. This is apparently reflected in one’s leveling.
“But, in the last few years, the number of occult beings arriving in the Fold from the Inner World and then breaking into our world has increased explosively.
According to one theory, it’s triggered by the mana streaming into the Inner World from the Fold having diminished. We do not require mana to survive, but…the inhabitants of the Inner World seem to be dependent on it for some reason. Accordingly, they open holes to our world with vortexes…dungeons from the Fold, and try to drain the mana over here for their own benefit.”
“…I see.”
After taking another breath, she brushed her hair behind her ear once again.
“There are a lot of other things that need explanation, but the objectives of Dungeon Seekers are twofold. First, the rearing of personnel which is capable of dealing with the invasion of the Inner World which has become uncontrollable for us Occult Slayers. Second, the retrieval of Inner World items that have entered the Fold.”
“All of the Occult Slayers are experts at their job, but we are too few in number,” she added.
“As for the second objective, items that can be obtained in the Fold like your Dragon Eater possess a tremendous value. We cannot fathom the possibilities hidden in the items created by the unknown technologies of the Inner World. Dungeon Seekers has been developed in order to collect such items efficiently.”
Changing my line of thinking, I compared my experience with her story.
…At first I felt dumbfounded and bewildered by all of this, but the more I think about it, the more I find parts I can agree with. The godown that wasn’t a treasure room or the mysterious mask shop were probably facilities in the Inner World.
I asked her about my assumption.
“It is as you say. It seems even the Inner World’s side has to exert a tremendous amount of effort to transfer a dungeon, their military base, into the Fold. I believe those random facilities got swallowed up in the transfer and have been stored in the deepest part of the dungeon as Reward Room.
This is an example from Tokyo, but a dungeon diver ran into a facility storing books in the reward room of the dungeon he entered. He succeeded in collecting the books, which possess huge value when it comes to researching the Inner World, and thus became a very rich man. On the other hand, some people also ran into trash heaps. Or rather, the majority of the reward rooms consist of useless junk.”
She joined her hands on top of the table, her eyes pinned on me.
At that point, her atmosphere changed as she continued to indifferently explain things.
“…This is the rough explanation of this world and Dungeon Seekers. All the players participating in this beta version of DS have wished to join the game, signed a contract, and embarked on this dangerous endeavor. People related to Occult Slayer families, people working for the state, and normal citizens who decided to give up on their current life and challenge the unknown; all of them can’t escape the clutches of DS anymore. But, you and the other participants, who were dragged into this through a QR code, have the right to stop doing this.”
She stared at me while swallowing her spit.
“I have been granted permission to use the “Memory Wipe” skill on this occasion. It’s a technique to erase specific memories of a person. If I use this, you will literally forget everything, allowing you to go back to your previous life. We will give you some time to think it over, too. So, if you wish to stop, tell me an──”
“It’s okay, Satoha. I won’t stop. I feel thankful towards Dungeon Seekers.”
Sure, the experiences I went through thanks to Dungeon Seekers were quite shocking. I had the raw bloodlust of occult beings directed at me. And I had to steal their lives after being suddenly attacked. But, even so…
For some reason it actually took me some time to find the right words.
“…My last year was a lot more stagnant, shallow and boring than the last few days since installing the app. It doesn’t…really matter either way.”
When I voiced out those last words, I noticed that I had instinctively turned my face away from Satoha. I wonder why.
I immediately fixed that and told her my thoughts.
I’ll try to put my wish into words.
“Satoha. Right now…I want to clear all the dungeons in Sendai. I’m serious about that. I believe that to be the thing I want to do and accomplish the most at the moment. There are still many things I don’t understand, so it might be impossible right away, but…”
After a short pause, Satoha revealed a faint smile after having held her breath in anticipation while I was speaking.
“…I…see. I understand. As you wish to continue, I shall approve of it in the name of the management.
There are plenty of other things we need to talk about, but…for the moment, I think we can make a stop at this point. Well, even if we did go on with our conversation, it’d likely just result in your brain melting.”
Seeing my state, she grinned lightly. But although she had dropped such a joking comment, her expression barely moved in any way. Then again, you could claim it possessed a beauty that made it hard to approach her.
“Anyway, are you going to approve of me accompanying you?”
“…Well, I still haven’t fully accepted all you told me, but sure, why not. But, why do you want to accompany me? Or what is the plan?”
“…I’m certain the management expects me to train you. For this reason, I will enter the dungeons you plan to clear together with you, although I won’t accompany you every time.”
She made her golden-blue mana surge forth. As if to demonstrate her determination.
“And I will eliminate anyone targeting your life, which also includes murderers.”
She looked very proud at that moment. I instinctively registered her as a warrior before being a damn cute and pretty girl.
I guess this is why she’s called an Occult Slayer. I can feel conviction and nobility, which had been groomed and accumulated for generations, from her mana. All I could do was to be struck by admiration.
Honestly speaking, this is the best outcome I could ask for. She’s doubtlessly a powerful, veteran fighter. If I clear dungeons together with her, I might steal her techniques and movements.
The fraction of mana she caused to manifest earlier immediately told me that she hadn’t used her real strength during our previous battle.
“Got it, Satoha. Rather, I should request it from my side.”
“Really?”
Her face flew up, full of joy. And I also felt like she whispered that she wouldn’t need to go back home anymore.
“…That’s great. As for the period of time, I think it will be limited until the release day of Dungeon Seekers. I’m looking forward to working with you from now on.”
She held out a hand to shake mine. Before taking it, I asked, “…But, Satoha, I think you’ve been way too formal with me. We’re going to entrust our backs to each other, so I’d like you to ease up and be casual with me. It startled me a bit, but…we are of the same age, you know?”
“────”
Silence.
Maybe she’s one of those people who do all their simple communication in keigo (honorific speech). I might have gone a tad too far there.
But just when I tried to correct it after having reached that conclusion, she grabbed my hand, which had pulled back slightly.
“Okay, got it, Hiro.”
The plain, honest expression she showed me for an instant made my heart jump powerfully for some reason. Even though there was nothing strange about what she said. Her hand, however, was warm.
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Translation Notes: