Earth Dungeon 4.2

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Chapter 4.2. Hobgoblin

[I'll go to the kitchen, Shizuku-san, or it's time to go, so the surveillance doesn't find us. You surprisingly took some damage from the hobgoblin rush, didn't you?]

Shizuku's arm was a little red and swollen. She took damage because her status was not that different from the hobgoblins. To fight a short battle and limit the damage, Shizuku used all her martial arts to end the battle, her mana already empty. There was no time to spare. It was a victory of strategy.

"Mmm, we have no choice. All right, the next time you go to the outer city, please buy something sweet, okay?"

[If I had the money. [Remaining machine exchange. Sakimori main]]

"I want you to listen to the wishes of the lovely girl there. [Remaining Machine Exchange Shizuku Standby]"

As she says those words, the girl's figure changes into a weird shape. What kind of shape? It was in the form of an old man. I don't think there is any other word than deformed to change from a girl to an old man.

The old man, easily convinced that it was a disparity from a beautiful girl, even if it was called deformed, looked down at the monster's corpse. In the ashes of the burnt-out goblins and from the hobgoblin's body disintegrated by the shadow sword, he could see a round stone about 5 centimeters in diameter. Upon closer inspection, it was a black, cloudy crystal ball.

"When this crystal ball came out of the monster, there was a lot of noise about it being a magic stone, a universal energy, but ...... it was just a crystal."

In the palm of his hand, Sakimori rolls the crystal. There used to be a lot of fuss about when people have the crystal, energy would be the answer. People didn't even know how to use it.

But no matter how much people investigated, it was just a crystal. They hoped if someone with a crafting skill could process it, it would become an amazing magic tool, but nothing happened. People don't know if their crafting skill level is low or if it's just a crystal. That is the crystal. The monster's core is the monster's heart.

Monsters do not reproduce. They may metamorphose into a cocoon, or evolve into a higher being. But do not reproduce. The dungeon creates this core as the basis for everything. From the egg to the full-grown adult.

So it has been studied for decades to see if people could use it. Maybe people have already stopped researching. If they could use it, they would be hunting monsters. If they did, they would be a little better off, and I might have changed my mind.

It's dark here, and no one can see him. Sakimori is known to take it easy in battle, so he doesn't stick around.

But just to be safe, I'll make a [Shadow Room]. It's a small room of four and a half tatami mats, but it prevents penetration by skill.

I snap my fingers and use the remaining mana.

[Shadow Room]

Sakimori creates a room with dark walls, so he sneaks in. He hunches over and creeps around. I'm an old man who is acting suspiciously, to the point that someone might call the police.

Once inside, the room is small, but I don't care. I use all the mana I have left. That's zero for today.

[Equivalent Exchange Store]

A thin, translucent greenish monolith-like board about two meters high appears in front of him, and he jingles out a monster core.

The board shows many item names. But most items are still grayed out.

When he selects one of them, the text becomes larger.

[Chain Store: Remaining number of required items E rank monster core 2/10000]

As he placed the hobgoblin monster core into the board, it created a slight ripple on the surface as it went into the water, and disappeared.

[COMPLETE! The Equivalent Exchange Store now has a chain store feature; it takes 10 mana to install one unit. The amount of mana maintained is deducted at the time of use and used as fuel].

Then the letters, which had been gray, turned red, indicating that he unlocked it.

As if tracing them, the old man's touching the inverted letters, the old man voiced his emotion.

"It's been a long time ....... Ten years to make myself strong. Ten years to release the chain store function....... In the meantime, the world changed, and I was afraid that a magic school or an adventurer's guild would get established, and I would get cut off as an old race. ...... It's a much worse world now."

[Let's let the cream pans go next. Absolutely, right? You promised a beautiful girl, remember?]

I hear Shizuku's appetite-coated voice.

"You know, I'm shedding tears of emotion as I remember the last 20 years. Wouldn't it be nice if you cared a little more?"

The old man sends a thought that's supposed to be a scene of tears and rejoices that he did it.

[So I've been waiting. I stopped to ask for chocolate coronets and cream buns. I'm so sweet, aren't I?]

"Yes, yes. You're gentle, gentle."

Shizuku sighs that she's always like this but quickly regains her composure and grins.

"Rejoice, Shizuku. It's time for me to be the savior of the world."

[On that note, can I have some extra melon bread.]

"No."

Sakimori chuckles as he looks at the Equivalent Exchange Store because he calls the savior of the world such a thing.