"Then we'll call it one hundred grams of eight hundred yen.
"Did you raise the price?
Yes, unearthed items from the Mushroom King's dungeon are rare and in demand when it comes to luxury goods. So there are plenty of ways to sell them. At worst, you can consume it yourself.
"Was I a sweetheart?
To the extent that it's tolerable.
Is that about as much as you can handle?
The sight of them all lined up on the counter is not a suitable amount for the word "relaxing".
I brought a demon called Flegby, a reputedly fragrant honey.
It comes in three full bottles that hold one kilogram.
That's eight hundred yen for one kilogram, which means eight thousand yen for one bottle, or twenty-four thousand yen for three bottles.
For a day's income, that's quite an impressive amount.
The only problem is that the price fluctuates, but since we're the only ones in that dungeon for now, we shouldn't be too worried about it.
But why does the sound of the old cash registers, with their jackin', make my heart jump so much?
When I was buying the item at the store as usual, I noticed that the price was higher than the last time I brought it in, which made my heart skip a beat.
I'm not sure if the sweet love story (strawberry talk) is over? Honey only. Oh, now I'm getting to the point.
I didn't say that.
I wondered what the deal was with leaving the purchase to a senior citizen, but I'm not going to tell you because it's an opportunity for me to legally talk to my girlfriend at work.
At best, I'll swing my fist at Kaido for saying something trivial in silence.
"Aita! It's unreasonable,
"Here we go, Memoria, we'll be back.
Yes, please come again.
"Oh.
I'm not going to be able to get out of the store to receive the receipt and cash, complaining about Kaido's teary-eyed head.
What are you going to do now, senpai? If you don't have a job, let's go for a drink!
"Dumbass, report first.
It's a good thing, because this dungeon is just a light story about the placement of bugs.
It's nearing the end of the workday, and we can only talk about work or after work.
Kaido seems to want to talk about after work, but I want to go on with my work before that.
Especially if there's something on your mind.
...... Kaido, what did you think at first when you took on Mushiko's dungeon?
"I just think it's weird and I don't like it because there are so many of them. ......
Yeah, I felt the same way. Awkward, huh?
That's right.
To make that awkwardness even more awkward. That's what makes it so much fun.
I don't know if I'm a workaholic sometimes, but I don't think I've ever enjoyed my job. I never thought of work as fun.
It's only recently that I've been thinking about it, too.
So far, I've conquered three types of dungeons, the Kiroh King, the Demon King, and the Immortal King, and I've improved on them.
The KIOH's dungeon has the disadvantage that the number of wandering demons is small, which is difficult to improve due to its production cost. Therefore, I proposed new types of golems and improved traps.
In the Onion King's dungeon, the goblins were given different jobs and assigned to different roles in order to improve efficiency, and I also suggested some tactical solutions.
For the Immortal King's dungeon, I suggested new buildings that were easy to surprise, and tactics that took advantage of their wandering patterns and undead characteristics.
And all of them have produced some results.
When I think about it, I can't help but wonder what improvements I can make next.
So, what are you thinking about, senpai?
"Well, for now, considering the maintenance and dungeon characteristics, we can't use traps related to it.
"It looks easy to install, but the bugs are going to get caught.
I've heard that the Ki-Oh and Demon King are pure labyrinth-type dungeons while the Giant King and the Tree King are pure field dungeons.
And the Mushroom King's dungeon is a half-dungeon type like the Immortal King's dungeon with a field called the Sea of Trees and an ant nest-like dungeon spreading underground.
As for the Dragon King, there's no information on whether it's a half dungeon or a field or a labyrinth.
So I'm going to say that it's irrelevant now and leave it at that.
I'm more concerned with the work I'm doing now.
There should be intelligent bugs further in, but there aren't any now. Having fought the monsters in the dungeon, I can tell you that they are mainly those that are loyal to their appetites. I guess the idea is that it's better to be violent than intelligent. Then, sadly, we can only use simple tactics.
Yes, they were like, "If you find your prey, you should attack it.
"Maybe it's because it's a magic-powered soul that doesn't need food first. That's why there are no conflicts between demons in terms of food, which is supposed to happen. The production costs are good in this respect, but it's also rare to see such poor performance in terms of maintenance costs. Even if you're making up for it in numbers, you're still too reckless.
Fighting against the dungeon of the Mushroom King, I felt that it was just a manpower tactics with sheer numbers.
Perhaps it's because they're more fertile bugs than goblins that they're constantly attacked by enemies.
A strategy that relies on numbers is very simple and powerful.
But on the other hand, the forces seem too dispersed to be covered by numbers.
Quite simply, there is little breadth in tactics and strategy.
Spawn and attack.
That's what makes that dungeon work.
There are variations in individual differences, but not the word "coordination.
They simply come after their prey.
Rare is the dungeon that embodies the simple-is-best idea of violence in numbers.
The problem is that you can avoid that violence to some extent if you move as quickly as we did.
Do you think that because the number of enemies increases as you move deeper into the dungeon, it's not a problem?
This is a very different story from other dungeons, which often makes my head twitch.
It's also possible to simply prepare a land that is advantageous to that individual: ......
"Why don't you get a giant bug instead? You know, like a monster.
It's an idea, but if we're going to have the strongest one in the world, we're going to need a lot of applications. Then we'll have to think about what kind of monster we're going to create.
In a sense, this dungeon is complete, or in this case, it would be more accurate to say that it is complete.
This dungeon is so complete that it's hard to modify.
If you change one side of the dungeon, the other side will have problems.
The more I think about it, the more difficult it is to make adjustments.
That's a tough one.
Oh, I still don't have enough information in the shallow layers. We need to go a little deeper. ...... Then you'll see things differently and come up with an improvement plan. Kaido, it's going to be a pollywood prison for a while longer.
"Oh, come on!
"Patience for a while, patience. It will be easier than today when Katsu joins us tomorrow.
That's the least of your worries, haha, I'm jealous of you guys.
It's hard for a man to be in a situation like this.
"Where's the gender equality?
"Disappeared in a dream
"It's not fair - I want the Equal Employment Opportunity Act to apply.
In the end, lack of information, that's all I can say.
So today's conclusion is the same as before, and it ends with pointing out the details and maintaining the status quo.
It's almost like an itchy feeling of not being able to reach an itchy point.
Hmmm, yes! What about making insect repellent as an insect repellent? If the bugs don't come around, the dungeon search will go faster.
I think it would be quicker to set up a special forces team with insecticide and go rolling first.
And if the improvement of the dungeon is not good enough, then the conversation will flow to the next one.
I don't know how many times we've repeated this conversation, but since it's our job, it's so common that it can't be helped.
The content of this conversation ranges from serious ideas to joke ideas, but this time it's going to be a little joke.
It's one idea to keep them away like Kaido, but I'm imagining a troop with a gas tank on their backs, wearing protective gear, marching through the trees, spitting out white smoke.
It's just like in a Hollywood movie where you come across ineffective opponents, and the sight of your head bitten off in the end is not something you can put into practice.
I'm home!
Isn't there something different about it?
"Really? I say that every time I come back to this room, it feels like I'm home.
I don't know if that's the way it should be, though, as far as I'm concerned, it's just a matter of time before you take off your protective gear.
While we're having this inconclusive conversation, we're coming back to the party room.
I will unlock the door and walk in, and Kaido will come in.
You can go into the tool room first, put your armor and weapons in place, and then sit down at the table in the living room and open your computer without saying a word to each other.
You'll be able to type today's information into the form that has been assigned to you, so you only need to work silently for thirty minutes to finish.
It's not an unspoken agreement, but from our experience, it's been ingrained in our bones that accumulating work doesn't result in a disaster, so there's no point in having a conversation.
"Huh, you're done.
"Hmmm...isn't it? This time it's over! We're going out for a drink, aren't we?
I smoke a cigarette, Kaido stretches to let each other know it's over and today's work is done.
Well, once in a while.
"Whoosh! I'll be there as soon as I decide to.
"Let him take a shower, at least.
I agree to go out for a drink with Kaido, as I have no plans to meet with Suela or Memoria afterwards, which is a rare occurrence.
It's around five o'clock in the afternoon.
It's a little early, but something like this should happen from time to time.
Let's meet at the entrance of the underground shopping mall in an hour!
"Oh.
Seeing Kaido cheerfully returning to his room, I wanted to smoke some more, so I stayed in the party room.
I'm a bit out of ideas, so I open my tablet to check the status, but I notice a text message coming in before that.
Hmm? Business contact?
Check to see if it should have been before entering the dungeon.
The title is about a rare monster.
It just so happens that that's what Kaido said to you before you entered the dungeon.
I'm curious and decide to open the email.
...... That's unusual.
In the first place, information about dungeons had never been made known to the public before.
That's why you read the text sent to you silently, as if you were reading an important document.
You might as well call it a reminder.
As far as the content is concerned, it's not a big deal.
It's just that some parties are going after rare monsters too much, so be careful.
Our job is to earn money by testing dungeons and defeating monsters to earn money as a side income.
That's all we need to say.
But I was more concerned about the sentence at the end.
......
It has been reported that parties are fighting each other in dungeons for rare monsters. Please refrain from fighting between testers.
The communication from Internal Affairs had the effect of wrinkling my brow.
PK (Player Kill)
You hear about it a lot in games, but I wonder if it has ever appeared in real life.
This sentence does not say which party fought which party.
Either it wasn't that interesting or it wasn't included to avoid discord among the testers.
Either way, the fact that it's circulating may be a cautionary tale for future strategies.
Our party is basically trying to attack the other parties, so the danger is lessened.
But it's not a given.
You quietly turn off your tablet, praying that you won't end up assuming interpersonal combat.
"Do you care too much about ......?
I myself have experienced firsthand the trouble between testers in the past.
I've been provoked by many things, and I've done so indirectly.
I thought the wrinkles were coming, but seeing that we weren't harmed, it might be a different case.
Besides, even if we had been manipulated at that time, the company would have understood that it was pointless to fight directly with other testers, and that there was no point in fighting with other testers.
If the damage would increase in the future, the company would take some measures.
I can't imagine that the supervisor would not do anything about it.
Let's go back to the room and pray that nothing happens.
If we keep staring at this text, we'll make Kaido wait.
If that happens, our arrangement will be changed to my treat.
This must be avoided at all costs.
I push the cigarette into an ashtray and make sure it's completely extinguished before I leave the room.
What can I drink today?
"Kaka-kaka, I also recommend a spirit drink,
"Hahahahahaha! Men, shut up and drink demon wine!
"...... is a coincidence, isn't it, instructor?
"Kaka Kaka, do you think it's a coincidence?
"No way.
And when I turned the corner of the road, I was quickly caught in the hands of the two mighty men.
Hey Jiro, you smell like water! Why don't you invite us out for a drink?
But now that you've got a fiancée, we've come to a place of reticence. So I think it's only natural that you should invite us to join you.
That's when I realized that I was going to have a complete hangover tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'd have a complete hangover.
And no matter how much I've grown in status, I'm still no match for these two.
The only thing I can do is
"Is it okay if Kaido is with you?
"Oh!
"He's one of our trained men, we don't mind.
It's to spread the damage to yourself.
Sorry Kaido, at least this yakuza and skull gentleman will buy you a drink.
Whether it was good timing or not, you forget the uneasiness you'd been feeling earlier and instead realize the hangover future that's coming.
And after all, I didn't hate drinking with these two guys, so I narrowed down the places to drink.