Earth Dungeon 21

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Chapter 21. Stampede Ends

Shingen's community wasn't busy as clear skies cast light on the ground and illuminated puddles. They dismantled the corpses of goblins and giant rats lying prone under the barricade, extracted their cores, and threw them into the flames.

The battle continues on a small scale, but the goblins that both eyes crushed, don't stand a chance. And the big rats gathered around the monster incense, and they didn't move.

The old man Sakimori, who has returned, looks at them and wonders if he should help. The goblins are the only ones who can enter the fire. Why do they take the big rats elsewhere? I'll throw them in the flames for you.

Oh man, I hate smoked meat more and more.

The old man walks to the community, dragging his tired body behind him. His mana is only 3. A sense of weariness washes over my body, and I want to sleep now. Shizuku is sleeping peacefully in another dimension without even becoming an astral body. I'm amazed that she's not writhing in pain after having one arm cut off.

If I were in Shizuku's shoes. I would have done the same thing. Goblin king was a formidable opponent. That momentary attack and defense looked like an easy victory, but it wasn't. It was because Shizuku decided she couldn't win without sacrificing one of her arms.

Even with a significant increase in status, Shizuku couldn't make a hole in the concrete floor just by stepping on it. Goblin king was overwhelmingly superior in both attack power and instantaneous force. Perhaps if we use the rare D core and the Status Up Potion D, the restricted status should be displayed. People can judge there. People will see how strong the D-ranked demons are.

The working people would notice me when we arrived, as I could get all sorts of information from the exchange of rare D cores.

"Hey, the heroes are back!"

"Oh, I don't see a single injury!"

"Wow!"

With a "wow" and a cheer, I exhale a weary breath, raise my hand and wave it appropriately. The waling old man doesn't let his joy show on his face. It's more hard-boiled that way.

"Hey, by the looks of it, you beat the king?"

"Yes, I'll retrieve the king's armor later. No, you'll retrieve it for me. No, you'll retrieve the shaman's staff as well."

Shingen, who was wielding a spear and knocking down goblins, smiles and speaks to me. He's an old man who is exactly like a warlord.

"Oh, you can use it?"

"I'll train just in case. I've never had a king's sword in my hands. It's probably enchanted."

Magic weapons. Yes, they exist, but they're unusable. It's said that mana and magic power, or rather muscle power and physical strength, or, in the game, the lack of status of the human race, isn't enough to use it.

It's also a weapon that's rarely available, yet it loses to handguns. It's a meaningless weapon, but Shizuku might use it. It's just a matter of carrying it around, though.

"That's a big deal. You've stopped being human, haven't you?"

"Maybe if I could survive taking bullets."

"Hahaha! That's not true. Let's have a party to celebrate, shall we?"

Shingen taps me on the shoulder, and I tell him he's hurting me. A banquet, huh? I think for a moment and nod.

"That's fine. See you tomorrow, then? I'm running low on mana right now. I don't want to go out without a plan."

"I see. We have dead people here, too, and we need to clean up the mess. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

He shrugs at the bodies being carried away, perhaps by Archer. Looks like some of them were unlucky.

It doesn't seem like the heroes who suffer in old movies and such, like if I had arrived a little earlier, which I often do. I can't think about it. I wonder if I'm a cold guy for looking at them so indifferently, but Shingen and the others seem unconcerned. That's how it looks.

For better or worse, the people in the abandoned town are all too accustomed to the death that lies next to them.

Those who grieve must be acquaintances or relatives. I feel sorry for them, but it can't be helped.

With that, I headed home, leaving the busy people working behind me. Help? That's not a reward.

I had no mana, so I was going home quickly. I have no power now. A magician without mana is like a shark washed up on land.

Besides, I will need to practice using my level 3 power.

The next day. A party was held at the Izakaya Fuurin Kazan. Unusually, they lined up bottles of sake and placed a large amount of food on the table.

"Well then, in celebration of Stampede's victory, you guys can eat and drink today! Cheers!"

Shingen raises his glass and shouts, and the people in the tavern raise their glasses and start guzzling in unison with the cheers and kachin-kachin.

"Cheers ......."

Sakimori sits on the top seat like Shingen, raises his glass, and pushes the plate with the smoked meat on it with his other hand. I don't want this.

"I'm surprised you could get rid of all those monsters in just a few minutes. I thought they were strong, but I didn't think they were that strong. No, I'm impressed, Sakimori."

"If it hadn't been raining, we might have been in trouble."

The waitress winks at me with a wink and brings me a bowl, and I make her some ice with a jittery look.

I thank her and turn to Shingen with a kiss on the cheek and a perfunctory wave to the waitress as she moves away.

Thank goodness Shizuku is asleep. She doesn't seem to wake up dead until she's fully recovered, and all I can hear in my head is her sound asleep.

"The rain was lucky, too. We were having trouble seeing the enemy."

Shingen chuckles as he slurps down his whiskey. Surely that would be normal. But a magician who fights in the terrain of his attribute can be more powerful than his level. Shadow magic is good at darkness. Because shadows have no boundaries. But its effective range depends on what my magic power allows.

"Well, now Shingen's community will be okay for a while. We've killed that many goblins. There should no longer be any enemies around the nearest dungeon."

"I guess. Well, for a while, I guess. They'll be flooding out of the dungeon again."

I slurp the whiskey from my glass. The bitter taste of alcohol spreads through my mouth.

"No, this is an opportunity. I'd try my hand at a goblin dungeon."

"Oh? The goblin's dungeon? I see. If I can defeat the king, I might be able to do it, right?"

Goblin dungeon. The king that awaits you is a piece of cake if you have a gun, but the dungeon is quite large. Low-level dungeons are far more common than dungeons where high-level enemies appear, and they spring up in droves.

And the threat level is much lower than the demons in the high-level dungeons. For those in the inner city. They use a lot of ammunition to attack. And the most annoying thing for the army in the inner city is that it consumes ammunition.

So it has been left alone and has become a threat to the people of the abandoned town. Until now, we couldn't go deeper because we couldn't defeat goblin king, but if we can defeat the king, we can get the dungeon core. That's our chance. There are already no goblins around the dungeon. I can save my mana consumption.

"There's a rumor that there's nothing in the dungeon, even if we conquer it. There might be treasure chests, but we'll probably only get one or two, and from the rumors so far, they'll be garbage."

"I'd like to try one. What does it mean for the dungeon core? Besides, it's a good opportunity to test my newfound power."

Just the thing to test how much power I've got. Besides, dungeon crawling is exciting.

"Level 3. Hey, how much power do you have?"

"Well, the difference between level 3 and level 2 is that my attack power has increased significantly. With this attack power, goblins are no match for me."

"Hmm. Well, then, this is a good opportunity. Here's your reward this time."

Shingen puts a bundle of papers on the table. What is this?

"Is it some land title? Ah~ Hmm? A resume?"

I looked at it and saw that it was a resume. It's the resume I've missed. I haven't seen one in over a decade. There are dozens of them, but what's this?

"That's all I could get together, so give me a break."

"What do you mean?"

"You want us to join Amatsugahara Corporation. This whole community."

...... Huh? What did the old man say? Did I mishear?

"Shingen, are you finally blabbering? Should I keep it a secret that you've been an idiot for 3 years?"

"Thanks for the turn of phrase, Sakimori. I'm not stupid yet."

With a bang on the table, Shingen turns serious.

"When you defeated a horde of goblins with a single swing, I thought, 'This is the kind of person who guards a the abandoned town. Not just me, but all the people here.'"

"What .........?"

"And I thought, 'Well, who knows? Who do we follow to survive from here on out?' I'm sure we all thought that, in that battle. So I wrote my résumé. We're available. At least protect the women and children while you're in the dungeon?"

I noticed that the people around me were also paying attention. Huh, I see.

That's unexpected, but. They have the fields and the manpower I need. I'll expand our store lineup, and it will be just fine.

Unexpected, but not troubling. The Shingen community is about 1,000 people. I think as a company and as a market. The company is good. If we use people well, we can feed them. Better yet, build a market in an abandoned town, and people will be surprised.

Takeda Shingen will kneel. Not if you're playing a strategy simulation game. Shingen's 'cavalry' skill is also useful.

"It would be good. Eh~ Takeda Shingen? There doesn't seem to be a photo attached. I think you underestimate the interview, don't you?"

I cough coherently and give him a warning. I'm such a gentle interviewer.

"Don't be silly! You can't get a photo in this day and age!"

"I'll call you later to let you know if I'm hiring. By the way, do you know the kanji for prayer?"

I cough and smirk at him.

"You're trying to pick a fight, aren't you?"

As I parry Shingen's fists, Sakimori ponders what to do now.

First of all, yes, let's teach him how to hunt big rats.

"Umm, mansion? I want to eat too."

Ooki-kun was lying on the ground with a rope wrapped around him, but everyone left him alone since it was his punishment for being reckless.