Overloaded With Attributes Chapter 50

My First Battle in This World Begins...! 

After all that chaos right at the start, I can't help but feel like I'm already behind. ...Not that it matters. The other students are so busy just trying to get used to the mana that they aren't heading deep into the dungeon anyway. I "beeped" my license at the turnstile and walked through the gate with Kazura-san.

...What's with this? There are way more people in the 'entrance hall' than yesterday. Ah, found my group! I gave a little wave, but... for some reason... everyone except Akiyoshi is glaring at me. Wait, their eyes aren't on me... are they looking at Kazura-san?

She's not my new party member, guys. If anything, she's more like a "demon hire." Yeah, she's just... "a one-time partner" I happened to run into. ...Actually, that sounds bad in a different way.

This is awkward. I just gave them a smile and got out of there.

"Huh," Kazura said, "Kazura had thought you were just putting on a brave face... You really do have mana resistance, don't you?"

"Come on. We're in a dungeon. You never know what's going to happen. I'm not that stupid. I wouldn't bluff about something like this." ...What does she take me for?

"Anyway, we were getting a lot of stares back there. And I think everyone was saying 'Kakakaka' or something. What was that about?" Were they all dislocating their jaws at the same time? ...That's terrifying.

"'Kakakaka'? No, 'KaKaKazu.' ...Wait. Don't tell me... you don't know who Kazura is?"

"Of course I know... well, not that well. You're Shouko-san's cousin, Kazura-san. From the Takatsukasa main family, right?"

"Yeah, that's not wrong, but... Wait. Weren't you the 'kid who loved dungeons,' who saw me in middle school and got the 'delusion' that 'he could do it too,' and became an Explorer even though you're a boy?"

"What is this 'shocking backstory' I've never heard of?! None of that is true. It was more of a "I have no family, and this is the only way I can make money" kind of... "grim, desperate" decision, actually."

"Huh? That's... totally different from what I imagined... ...Okay, fine. Who's the Explorer you respect the most?"

"I literally didn't know any Explorers. I had zero knowledge and zero interest."

"No way! You're a kid who has no idea who Kazura is?!"

"Like I said, you're Shouko-san's cous—"

"We're done with that joke!"

It's not a joke, it's the truth. Apparently, Kazura-san is a pretty big deal in this country.

"Listen up! Kazura has been number one on the 'Explorer I Want to Marry' ranking for five years straight! Even if you don't follow Explorers, you've heard of 'Ranman Douga,' right?"

"The 'Explorer I Want to Marry' ranking... what a tiny dating pool... sorry."

"...Why did you look at Kazura chest and then immediately apologize?"

"Just a reflex."

"...Whatever. The person who holds the undisputed number-one spot on that video site is Kazura! You must have at least heard the name 'KaKaKazu,' right?"

"Nope, never heard of it. Though... a 'friend' (Tiara-chan) of mine did mention she got the number-one spot on 'Ranman Douga' a little while ago."

"Kuh! How do you not know Kazura, but you do know about that obscure topic?! Y-Yeah, so? Kazura was so pissed Kazura didn't even look at the details... What was it? Some video of a... 'doll singing'? That's what went viral?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't a doll... it was a person. ...Me, actually."

"You were the culprit?!" "Hey! A 'one-hit wonder' like that won't stay popular forever, got it?! Just you wait! Kazura is going to crush that video so hard you won't know what hit you!"

"Why am I the 'culprit'... well, I guess I was involved. By the way, I'm dropping a new song next week."

"Guu..."

Okay, I don't really care about Kazura-san's personal life. After passing the main gate, we walked through the cave for about twenty minutes and found a smaller portal, just like the one at the entrance.

"If that's here, this must be 'A-Block'... the Mochi habitat. Right?"

"Yep. And look, it was fine today because Kazura was with you, but you should at least memorize the map of the floor you're on. That's basic."

"...You're right. I'll have it memorized by next time."

"By the way, if you're a paid member of 'Clan: Ouka Ranman,' you can get access to detailed 3D-scanned maps of the first three floors of all six dungeons! And! If you're a premium member... ...you can even 'walk around' 'inside' 'the 3D map'!"

"Wow, that's amazing! ...But it's expensive, right?"

"It's a steal! Just 100,000 yen a year! And the premium fee is only 100,000 yen a month! It's a bargain!"

"That's way more expensive than I imagined!"

"Fufu. Information is a lifeline. ...Anyway, why are you suddenly touching the 'Black Rock'?"

Of course, I couldn't exactly tell her, "To register it as a fast-travel point."

"Because... it glows when you touch it. It's cool. Here, Kazura-san, you touch it too!"

"Are you a kid?" Even as she said it, she touched it. ...In that instant, I secretly tried the 'Form Party' function. She didn't seem to notice.

A few minutes past the portal... a cloudy-white slime appeared. ...Yep. That is... 100%, without a doubt, Mochi. If an ancient Japanese person saw this, they wouldn't have any other name for it. It is the 'King of Mochi'.

"What's the plan? Want to watch Kazura take it out first?"

"No, actually... I'd rather you watch me. I want to show you I can handle this with just this 'rapier'."

"Fufu... Roger that."

—And so, my first battle... in this world... begins—

...Stab.

"Oh! You're... actually moving pretty well! And your stance... you perfectly calculated the Mochi's pouncing angle, didn't you? That was not the move of a rookie!"

...Hey, I only killed one slime. You're praising me that much? It's embarrassing. Well, I did kill a lot of these things while traveling as a merchant in the other world. Slimes, Horned Rabbits, Red Wolves. If you count humanoids, Goblins and Kobolds, too. As long as it's one-on-one, I'm not going to lose to trash mobs like these! (※One-on-one only.)

<<PREV | TOC | NEXT>>