Lonely Attack on the Different World (WN)

Day 80 – Evening, Dungeon 80F

We came down to the 80th floor but『Ground Cloud Lv 80』didn’t respawn either. Even though quite enough time have passed. I’m not that hungry, perhaps because I held back on magic and skills and burden on the body wasn’t as great, but even if we stuck around for a bit longer, there are still a few floors ahead, so 80th floor sounds like a good round number to wrap things up for today.

「Shall we head back for dinner? Tonight’s meal is an all-red feast featuring hamburg napolitan with loads of ketchup as requested by the orphans. I’ll have to prepare triple portions, or else their share might get eaten too… I really should confiscate those trident forks, huh? At this point, it’s less about eating pasta and more like a full-on Romance of the Three Kingdoms reenactment—so chaotic that even Lü Bu would grab Red Hare and flee! I’m seriously worried about how this is affecting the orphans, not even mentioning the proper table manners… Though for the girls, it might already be too late?」

(Nod-Nod) (Nodding) (Jiggle-Jiggle)

The trio blazed through 70th to 80th floors, crushing everything in their way, so I don’t even know what monsters were there? I caught a glimpse of something that looked like a rock, but it was shattered before I had time to identify it. After all that rampage, they must be satisfied and hungry. Lately, triple portions are no longer enough for them, but is alright, calorie-wise? They definitely must be thinking that since everyone is splitting the cost of the ingredients it would be a waste not to eat. High time to revise the billing system.

The orphans are fine for now, as long as they happily eat to their heart’s content the etiquette and such don’t matter, but the girls… Is it the Idiots’ negative influence? They soon might start eating from buckets as well!

Using the Gate we return straight to the surface. It’s still bright, but it’s already evening.

Let’s make a slight detour through the Evil Forest on the way back. I’d like to check on it, and there is also a lumbering request.

「Slime-san, can you take care of translation again?」

Labor-management negotiations with『Demon Scythes』are in the process. Unlike other tamed ones, 『Demon Scythes』were forcibly brought under my command through the power of『Demon Ring:【Dominate Demon (3)】』, so I suggested setting them free, but they were against it, even so, I felt that they were unsatisfied with the current situation. Since I couldn’t tell what they actually thought, I was having some trouble, and that’s where Slime-san came in as a mediator.

These『Demon Scythes』like sweets, so until now I was asking them to take care of lumbering in exchange for sweets and such, but it seems they have some issues, so I tried negotiating with food, mithril, money, and magic stones, but nothing got their interest, including the release. Moreover, they are still eating sweets, and Slime-san is eating as well? Hey, are you really negotiating?

I’ve prepared various employment contracts for after their liberation, and while they do follow requests, there’s this subtle sense of dissatisfaction, which refuses to go away. Managing subordinates is truly a difficult task.

(Shake-Shake?) 「……」(Wobble-Wobble?) 「……!」(Bounce-Bounce) 「……」(Jiggle-Jiggle) 「……?」(Wiggle-Wiggle-Wiggle)「……!!」(Wiggle-Wiggle!)

No idea if they are discussing employment conditions or just eating snacks while chatting, but it looks like sweet potato is justice. Fried Potato-san also going strong?

That aside, but『Demon Scythes』are leveling quite well, no idea if that’s because of the difference in the type of control, but they are already level 77. Seems like a lucky number, but how does that work for demons?

Hence, they are too strong to be released with no strings attached. I’d like to avoid having to eventually fight them… Are the talks not going well, is there some issue with the conditions, or perhaps they are just eating sweets? It’s a mystery.

But until now『Demon Scythes』took care of pretty much everything that I asked, and I could tell that they were happy about receiving snacks. I was pretty sure that things are going well, but looks like they weren’t, and when I brought up that keeping them under forcible control isn’t good they were further displeased. So I’m willing to accept their conditions, if they actually state them, since I’m totally the one at fault this time.

I’m already finished kneading hamburgers, what’s left is only to grill them, so we are taking our time walking home while negotiating.

Ruminating on various whimsical thoughts while being chased by morningstar-swinging Armored Pres-san and Dancing Girl-san I head towards the inn, will I be able to reach it alive though?

But the thoughts, feelings, and even wills of highschool boys around the world are all pretty much lewd, you know?

I’m sure if highschool boys were deprived of the lewd portion of their beings, they would lose memories to the point of being unable to recall their own names. After all, the highschool boys these days keep humanizing and turning into cute girls pretty much everything! Like, by now, all of the Tokugawa shoguns throughout history must be remembered in an utterly indecent harem-like state. Now that I think of it though, anyone into cute girl Ietsugu thing must be seriously off in the head! If I ever see someone like that I’m definitely reporting them!

The drops from today should further increase the overall level of the equipment, and I can practice to adjust tomorrow. Tomorrow we will have to deal with monsters above 80 level, so I should come fully prepared. And with the possibility, as slim as it might be, of instant death attacks or anti-monster skills independent action by Armored Pres-san and others should be avoided as much as possible. I’m most likely the most fragile one, but at the same time, the hardest one to kill, the weakest one, but have means to reliably kill unique enemies.

(Jiggle Jiggle Jiggle Jiggle, Shake!)

Ah, I see, so it weren’t any specific complaints, they simply felt left out! How careless of me, I’ve been overly roundabout, convoluted, and suspiciously overthinking things, yet stupidly and clumsily failed to truly understand. How utterly foolish of me. I’m a failure of a master. They simply wanted to be dominated our of their own will, like everyone else. I didn’t even notice despite spending so much time together.

「Sorry, it was my bad. I didn’t notice at all,『Release』. You are now free, but sorry and thank you for everything until now. And… Could you stay with me after this? With everyone… I see, 『Tame』,let’s get along? I guess? 」

A grand feast of sweets! As an apology for everything so far, I’m making up for it with a massive offering of treats.

It’s probably not that they were lonely inside『Demon Ring』, they simply wanted to obey out of their own volition. After all, they went right back into『Demon Ring』after they finished eating. Wait, they can just freely come and leave like this?! Well, they seem to be used to living there? II『Demon Ring:【Dominate Demon (3)】』got freed up, can other demons be put there?

And so, we arrived at the inn. As soon as dinner was served, it wasn’t just a three-way standoff, it was an all-out war for dominance over the Napolitan! A fierce battle unfolded on the inn’s floor, a feast of truly unrivaled valor! Let’s stop using large plates after all.

I thought if each party was given one large plate everyone would get along and eat nicely, but here and there pasta roll-up fights and suction battles are sparking. I’d like to have Vongole Bianco?

Slime-san is eating from a bucket and Armored Pres-san is getting along with Dancing Girl. Maybe because she’s the senior, Armored Pres-san seems to be up on the hierarchy, and while Dancing Girl-san is quite attached to her. Getting along is a beautiful thing, it’s wonderful, it’s alluring and enchanting, and surely, tonight will be another busy one. Meanwhile, at the other tables, only the orphan kids are properly sharing their food… Take notes!

After splashing with Slime-san in the bath for a while I go back to my room. We are going to delve into the lower floors from tomorrow, so I’d like to get done with equipment today.

「Now that I think of it, having no armor or a shield I’m kind of missing critical parts if I wish to raise my ViT? Certainly, if I had a shield with 7 slots I’d be to raise ViT as much as I please, but shields are a bit of a nuisance, both for dodging and offense?」

(Jiggle-Jiggle)

Since I don’t have ViT or HP to trade blows I wouldn’t be able to use a shield even if I had one. I’d just get smashed to death along with a shield. My only two options are dodging or parrying, but in such a case a shield would get in the way. The same goes for armor, my level isn’t high enough, and it also would get in the way. Well, I can slot armor into『Plain Clothes』, but I have no business collecting shields, lets sell them.

「Eerhm~? 30% was the highest, soo…」

There were more than a hundred 『Soldier Puppet Lv 69』 on the 69th floor, so there should also be several hundred drop items. At the weapon shop and general store I stopped by on the way back, a few of the items I had ordered had arrived, so I went through and picked out the noteworthy ones before buying them. I also have around 300 items from the royal treasury, so I need to sort through those as well. Highest priority goes to ViT, InT, and mastery, while avoiding PoW and SpE…

「Hmmm? 『Brute’s Leather Armor – Pow, ViT 20% UP, Recovery (Greater), Muscle Strength Enhancement (Greater) 』, seems like the best find among these, but is this somehow different from 『Muscle Strength Increase』? 」

If Muscle Strength Increase means boost for ViT, then it’s a win, if PoW, then it will become another cause of self-destruction, if both then plus minus would give zero, but it would also buff 『Recovery』. Well, let’s leave it as a potential pick, and test it out later.

「The currently open slots are 3 for the clothing, 5 for the cloak, but since『Magic Hands』 is in it, does that make it 4? The gloves 4 slots, the boots are 3, but since『Tough Boots – ViT 10% UP』is a swap candidate, it’s effectively 4. The ring has 4 slots, and for headgear, well, the circlet still has all 5 slots open. And then the staff in question… The sword has 5 slots, the staff 4, and the spear is completely empty with 7 slots… I wonder if I can put a shield there? …I can!?」

I’ve already got a base value breaking, common-sense-shattering, self-sabotaging combination of Kusanagi, Mistilteinn, and the Seven-Branched Sword. But who knows, the Spear of Longinus, a real Trident, Excalibur, Durandal, Gram, or even Gáe Bolg [0] might show up too. Those are far too dangerous to let enemies get their hands on them, but the recoil from the usage also makes me hesitant to hand them over to allies. So, my only choices are to seal them away or use them myself. In fact, even Armored Pres-san rejected the divine sword. And not because of its holy attribute, but because she feared it might go out of control. When it comes to control skills, the truth is, I’m the only one specialized in it. I didn’t spend all that time honing my control ability with my side gig while also perfecting it in countless night battles for nothing! Sure, I made money and had fun, but if I call it training, then it’s training! Determination can break even the toughest rocks! I mean, it’s not like anyone can refute me, since I’m just talking to myself, so I’m automatically right?

(Shake-Shake)

I was consoled!

In the end, I ended up putting『Brute’s Leather Armor – Pow, ViT 20% UP, Recovery (Greater), Muscle Strength Enhancement (Greater) 』and『Shroud of Arcane Sigil – Physical/Magical Resistance (Greater), Sorcery Mastery (Greater)』and『Enchanted Leather Garb – ViT 20% UP, Monstrous Strength』into the Clothes for now, to see how the things will work, filling all of the available slots..

The Cloak got two new items,『Cloak of the Mortal Edge – Blunt/Slashing Resistance Increase (Greater), +DEF』and『Ironthread Cloak – ViT 20% UP, Slashing/Pierce Resistance (Greater), Fortify』, leaving two slots open.

Only『Assault Shell Bracers – ViT 20% UP, Physical/Magical Attack Resistance (Greater)』for the Gloves, so three more slots to go.

For the Boots『Iron Greaves – ViT 20% UP, Physical Defense Bonus (Greater)』, 『Steel Carapace Sabatons – ViT 20%, Mana Hardening』,『Metal-Tipped Boots – ViT 20% UP』,『Full Metal Greaves – ViT 30% UP, Body Protection, Physical Resistance (Greater)』, for a total of 4 additional slots filled, so『Tough Boots – ViT 10% UP』became useless. I even spent money for those, feels like a waste now.

The circlet, or rather, hairband, had all 5 slots open, but I had only『Steel Helmet – ViT 20%, +DEF』.

As for the Staff, since it turned our I can put shield into it as well, I added『Soaring Swallow Buckler – ViT PoW 20% UP, Evasion/Defense Bonus (Greater), Evasion (Greater), Recovery (Greater)』this one cost a fortune, and also『Silversteel Shield – ViT 20%, Physical Resistance (Lesser), Physical/Magic Bonus (Lesser)』.

I still have some items with 10% UP or (lesser) effects, but I can make items with better effects myself. I’ve saved them just in case I need something as a filler or a stopgap, but they are destined to be sold.

No rings at all though, be it among drops or treasures. Something like the previous『Ring of Protection』would have been nice, but nothing dropped, and it wasn’t for sale either. On top of still having 4 empty slots, I also have ten fingers. I actually lost two or three, but since they grew back I have a full set. In other words, even if I can’t put anything on thumbs, I still have 7 free fingers, so I should be able to use 11 more rings. I sort of hate it because it gives the air of a new rich, but as a magnate, I could endure it. It’s a secret that this magnate is once again ended up without a penny and is staying at the inn on tab. And with Dancing Girl-san added to the group the fee also went up, you know?

I should have received extra money for food ingredients, yet there’s nothing left. Well, there’s a mountain of stocked supplies, so there’s no need to buy more, but if they find out I misused the funds, I’ll get another sermon. They said they’d deduct the inn fee from my 50,000 Ere allowance the next time I put it on the tab. If I get caught, my actual spending money will be down to 35,000 Ere, turning me into a poor magnate. At that point, I’d be like a tragic yet oddly entertaining figure, selling matches on a cold, snowy day, hugging a Slime-san inside a church, warming myself by setting fire to both the painting of God and the church itself, taking down both the church and its old men in one swoop, like getting two rabbits with one stone? But now that I think of it, getting a Rabbit Girl into each hand sounds like a great idea!

I don’t want to sweat right after a bath, but I also want to check my condition, so let’s head to the training grounds. Instructor Slime is already waiting on top of my head.