Overloaded With Attributes Chapter 41

Shell-Matching (A Princess's Game) 

It's already been four days since I received the license with the absurdly long name that no one will ever use: "Labyrinth Entry and Labyrinth/Exterior Monster Hunting Permit."

'Shouldn't we have stormed the dungeon the very next day?!' ...Yeah, I hear you. But this is, technically, a 'school.'

'You can't just throw a bunch of new students into that kind of danger!' ...is apparently the logic. So, first-year dungeon practicals are only twice a week. My class, 1-A, goes on Mondays and Thursdays. Our last trip was a Thursday, so after the weekend, here we are on Monday.

"...So, what are we doing today?"

"Heh. You never change."

I tossed out the dopey question from my vantage point in the back of the bus, my head resting comfortably on Shizuka-san's lap. I mean, lying down while chatting with my friends... I'm basically a Shogun over here. (And a pretty dumb one at that.)

"I believe I explained this last time," Shizuka said. "Today is for 'choosing' our equipment. Renting, not buying, of course."

"And after that, we're actually going into the dungeon to hunt 'Mochi,'" Atena added. "So, the gear we're using today is pretty much already decided."

"Whether or not we can even reach the Mochi is another story... You, especially, Yuugiri-kun, might not be able to move at all once you're inside."

"(People who enter a dungeon for the first time... almost always get 'Mana Sickness'.)"

All three of them (Shizuka, Atena, Tiara) turned to look at me with worried expressions.

"Seriously? What the hell is 'Mana Sickness'?"

"You... you don't even know that?!" Eris barked. "Mana Sickness is... when... you... get sick... from mana!"

"(...Eris, you're just as clueless as he is.)"

Tiara's silent jab set off a "Yeah, well, I'm still smarter than her!" staring contest between me and Akiyoshi. Anyway, ignoring the idiot's idiot-answer... what is 'mana' in the first place? Apparently, it's the "mysterious energy" that fills the dungeon.

"What? I figured 'mana' meant, you know... 'Magic Points'. The stuff you use for magic."

"That's not entirely wrong, I guess," Atena said. "But it's more like... 'an atmosphere that monsters prefer.' Or 'an energy source they need to exist.' Something like that."

"Exactly," Shizuka agreed. "It's just a name for 'some power that didn't exist on Earth.' Don't read too much into it. The dungeon is full of mana, which creates monsters, items, and resources like 'Mana Crystals.' And when we defeat monsters, we absorb that mana, and our physical abilities improve."

I see. So in this world, 'mana' is basically... 'experience points.'

"...Wait, isn't that... really bad? 'Absorbing' the 'power of monsters'...? Why isn't anyone freaking out about this?"

"In the early days of dungeon exploration, that was a debate," Atena said. "But... after two hundred years... people just... got used to it, I guess?"

...Wow. That is... such a "Japanese" way of handling a problem. (Though apparently, it's the same in every country.)

"Also... I know it's super late to ask, but... what... is a 'Mochi'?"

"What?! Surely you know what a 'Mochi' is! You know, that... soft, squishy thing... about 20 or 30 centimeters wide..."

"No, I know what it is! I even 'prepared' by watching videos!" I'm not that clueless.

"My question is... ...How is that... not... a 'Slime'?"

I mean, I hunted 'Slimes' constantly in the isekai. They were the only things I could kill without getting hurt. And these 'Mochi'... these weird, lumpy, orb-things... their only attack is tackling you. They're the literal definition of 'trash mob.'

"I should be asking you... what on earth is a 'Slime'?" Shizuka countered. "I mean, I get that you're referring to a Mochi... but why 'Slime'? My memory says 'slime' is English for 'a slippery, gooey liquid.'"

"Yeah, and some of them are that type, but—" ...Wait. ...Oh my god. This world... doesn't have Dragon Quest, does it? No... forget the game, this world might not have Akira Toriyama! If that's true... then there's no cultural basis for them to see that shape and call it a "Slime." ...And the first dungeon was discovered in the Edo period. It was... kinda inevitable... that people back then would see it and name it "Mochi."

"But... that still doesn't make sense! You could just 'Appraise' it and get the official name, right? So why are you still calling them Mochi?"

"You're... really... obsessed with 'Appraisal,' aren't you?" Atena said, exasperated. "Like I told you, you can't Appraise monsters. Only items."

Ah. Right. She did say that...

Three faces stared at me with "I can't believe this guy..." ...And Akiyoshi glared at me with "Are you trying to get caught, you idiot?!"

"Tch, stop looking down on me, you hentai (Akiyoshi)!"

"Don't you put weird 'furigana' (text) on my name, you pervert! You're the bigger pervert here!"

"I may be a 'pervert,' but I'm not the one who ordered nothing but 'clams' at the sushi place, with all its... implications!"

"I-It's not like... 'clams'... had any 'hidden meaning'! Like 'shell-matching' with Tiara! And... and even if it did, that's just an 'elegant 'Heian-era' 'pastime'!"

...Nope. She's a lost cause. Certified psycho. ...But... if she is going to play "that"... I wonder if I can... 'observe'?

"Fufu... it's true what they say," Atena mused. "Conflicts only arise between those of the same level."

"Hey! Don't you act all 'I'm just a normal girl' over there! You're just as bad! In fact, the freest (sexually speaking) one here... is Shizuka-san!"

"Eh? I am perfectly normal."

"(Not true. The only 'normal' one here... is Tiara.)"

...Is... is no one here self-aware?

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