Live Dungeon!

One month has passed since Tsutomu had requested Garm to teach him defence and knowledge skills. Ever since that day, Tsutomu had begun to see the game’s world in a new light, all the while accepting the teachings of Garm.

It was here that Tsutomu was first introduced to the terrain information system, which could tell whether an area was secure or not, and where the high-quality shops were. The location of the stores were the same, but the in-game interface assumed a third-party standpoint, whereas Tsutomu was now fixed in first-person.

Garm also taught Tsutomu many other things ranging from general common sense to equipment. As a result, one of the high-quality gemstones was stolen in January, as well as the living expenses and the bounty, but Tsutomu did not really worry since with his newly acquired knowledge he had found an easy method of earning money.

The black staff that Tsutomu had appraised was recognized as being worth at least 20 large gemstones of the highest quality by the cat people, and after being given the appraisal form, it was proposed by the cat people to have it transported for auction at the guild.

The final value reached 32 of the highest quality gemstones. One gemstone was collected by the guild as a fee for the auction, but Tsutomu still had more than 30 of the highest quality gemstones at hand. In terms of Gs, that would be around 30 million Gs. If he were to live modestly in this world, such an amount would allow him to survive for around twenty to thirty years.

However, Tsutomu had not yet given up on returning to the real world. He had no problem with leaving behind his friends as most of their connections were sort of beneficial mutualistic ones, but he really wanted to apologize to his parents. If there was truly no hope of return then that living here would’ve been fine, however, right now he still had an idea.

Dungeon conquest. He believed that if he could pull it off, he will be able to return. Tsutomu came into this world by receiving an item called the “Invitation from God”. This means that there must be some sort of God that manages the entire dungeon. It was then easy to put together.

It was with the hope of escaping this world that Tsutomu began to think of ways in which he could use the 3 million G.

The current highest floor people have reached is 59. It seems that this number has not risen for half a year. It was suggested by Garm that the best method was to go to the higher level clans if one was aiming to reach the 100th floor.

However, Tsutomu also knew of the existence of the so-called “Back Dungeon”. Worried that the conquest of the Back Dungeon would also be necessary to return home, he decided it would be better if he made a clan himself.

It would cost 1 million G to establish a clan. Although the money wasn’t a problem, he also required 3 party members, including himself, before he could create a clan.

“Good day, lucky boy! Are you being taken by Garm on a walk again?”

“Wow, that equipment is gorgeous! Wanna give me some money?”

“How about you join my party? Oh yeah, but we have to split the loot!”

In the newly constructed guild dining hall, such was the jeering that came to Tsutomu. When Garm, who was sitting beside Tsutomu, gave the adventurers a glare, they would quickly click their tongues then turn away.

As the adventurer said, Tsutomu’s equipment was rather different from a month ago’s. He wore white trousers while wrapped in a pale white robe. A custom-made belt wrapped around the waist carried an elongated container with a green healing potion.

He carried a large backpack and an expensive magical bag with a defensive functionality. Various equipment and items were also stored in them.

Tsutomu carried out his efforts to refurbish the equipment using some of his remaining 20 gems, ignoring the advice of Garm.

The “first-floor treasure chest hunter prodigy”. It was spread like wildfire through the guild in the blink of an eye, coupled with the fact that he was identified by the cat person as the one at the auction. Now, if he were to go outside the guild, he would be singled out and jeered at for being exceptionally lucky. The news was able to spread so quickly because of various monitors that God had placed in various places in the city.

There were dozens of monitors, broadcasting various people who were in the dungeons. In this town, which was almost medieval with the exception of magic stones, the broadcasts transmitted by God were usually the most enjoyable one to watch and thus garnered plenty of attention.

There was a black mage who had a leading position in a clan, she’s named Alma. She was rather popular in the city for her looks. She was currently talking casually with some friends about how she, wielding the black staff she won at the auction, and easily defeated the 60th floor’s dragon boss.

“I’m really thankful to Lucky Boy! It’s probably thanks to him that I was able to break through the 60th floor’s barrier.”

The statement was broadcast by the highest-ranked guild in the dungeon. Tsutomu’s face was spread throughout the city, combined with newspaper outlets that spun the story in interesting and funny manners, and the useless efforts of the adventurers trying to make lots of G following Tsutomu’s story.

[This must be how people who win 1st prize at the lottery feel…]

In the guild, he was called “Lucky boy”. It was usually the same situation in the city as well. That’s how much they despised Tsutomu, and he was beginning to get tired of it.

It was indeed rather unfortunate. The guild had been watching Tsutomu for a while, and they felt bad at how even with the efforts he gave, he was given such a title. One of the only ones who stayed by Tsutomu’s side was Garm who had become his party member. Also, Amy, the catkin who kept on spreading rumours about him at the auction was also pulled in to become his party member and was loaned out by the guild for free.

“Sorry, Tsutomu.”

Tsutomu kept on expressing that he was alright to Garm, who would squeeze his black doggy ears in frustration every time someone would call Tsutomu Lucky Boy in the guild.

“If I hadn’t had exceptional luck, I would still be stuck on the 1st floor looking for party members. The fact that I was able to join a party with you and Amy is a true blessing.”

“From the bottom of the hearts, thank God he didn’t have to stress the names too much! Would’ve been embarrassing!”

Garm then became serious once again. Tsutomu joined Garm in the line at the receptionist’s desk.

“Even after all that, Amy still isn’t here, huh? We’ve already been waiting for quite a while.”

While staring at the time, Garm clicked his tongue in annoyance. Tsutomu looked around the guild with a bitter smile.

“Should’ve been here by now. It’s been a week.”

“Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to make a big deal out of this? And it’s disgusting how much they defiled your name just because God gave you a little bit of luck. If you think about it they’re basically angry at God. They’ve already stripped you of your guild positions and made your opinion worthless, and now they’re trying to turn you into some sort of criminal!”

“Let’s go!” Amy, jumping from behind, placed her hand on Garm’s back, and after doing a somersault landed in front of Garm and Tsutomu.

“How can act this foolish even if you’re so late!?”

“Unlike a freelancer, I actually had some appraisals to do. I was busy with work! Oh, hello Tsutomu! I’m sorry for being late.”

With his tongue sticking out so much, it was hard for Tsutomu to see any signs of remorse. Appalled, Tsutomu gave the usual response.

“Apologize by being early next time.”

“OK! Oh, looky. It’s clearer over there. Let’s go! Let’s go!”

As Amy bolted towards the receptionist, who appeared a young man with an interesting hairdo, Garm muttered his complaints under his breath as he and Tsutomu followed closely behind.

“Hey uncle! Faster, please!”

“Shut up idiot! Give me your saliva!”

“I’m sorry for troubling you.”

“Oh Garm, it must have been hard for you carrying Amy around everywhere today. Tsutomu as well.”

“Ahahaha…”

The man’s smile looked like something that even a dungeon monster would run from. Tsutomu reached out his hand and placed his saliva on the white paper being offered to him. Garm and Amy soon followed suit after him.

The receptionist took the small slips of paper and inserted them into the large machine equipped with a magic stone behind him. Upon doing so, 3 status cards were brought out and placed on the counter.

“Wow, spitting, huh? How rude!”

“Is it still bad for Lucky Boy to get hurt?”

The jeering was coming from Tsutomu’s side. On the other line beside them, another party was dying from laughter. Other nearby parties were mocking Tsutomu’s movements.

The people at the reception desk require that all adventurers submit body fluid in the same manner as when registering for a status card. The main reasons behind this are twofold. Manually managing a large number of status cards takes a considerable amount of time, so a magical rune is used instead, which requires as input some form of bodily fluid. The other is so that it is easier to organize parties.

And although both blood and saliva are considered as bodily fluids, there is an understanding among adventurers that those who submit saliva are cowards afraid of the needle. Tsutomu knew about this ahead of time thanks to Garm.

However, cutting himself every time he had to go into the dungeon was painful and felt like a waste. He would only use blood if he wanted to show off to attractive receptionists.

Tsutomu couldn’t imagine what it would be like to play as a healer in a party with those types of people. Not that he had no complaints about his current situation, but he still felt really lucky to be in a party with Amy and Garm.

While Amy was trying to appease the other parties, Tsutomu looked at his status card, which was shifting colors rapidly. It was being raised towards level 9, however, there was no change in his status. Seeing such a high level, Tsutomu’s posture shifted to that of a more self-confident one.

Garm and Amy’s status cards were blue. The color of one’s status card indicates the person’s highest rank. Tsutomu was yellow-green, which represented the grasslands of the first few levels. Garm and Amy’s represented the beaches of level 41.

“Those insects are really mad, huh?”

“How many times have I said it before, you don’t have to match me exactly.”

“Wouldn’t that be the exact same opinion as those insects?”

Garm placed his status card on the receptionist’s desk.

“If so, don’t complain and shut up.”

“Yes, yes, this little doggy is so obedient! He waits without complaining! He’s so well-behaved that you feel like vomiting!”

“Do I need to punch you for you to get the idea?”

The receptionist let out a heavy sigh, as the 3 submitted their saliva.

“Look, the party registration has been completed. Are the bounties also split into 3 equal parts?”

“Yes.”

“If you’re done updating your status cards, you are welcome to leave.”

“Huh? There are not many people lining up anyway. Baldy!”

Amy ran towards the dungeon entrance, with Garm and Tsutomu following right behind her.

At the dungeon entrance, there were about 5 magical circles set side by side, with around 5 people lining up at each.

As the parties stepped onto the magical circles, they disappeared accompanied with a flash of light. Tsutomu was already familiar with this scene, although at first he used to get scolded by Amy for being afraid of it.

As soon as their turn came, Tsutomu entered the magical circle immediately, with Amy clasping his hand tightly and showing a wide grin.

“Huh? Does it still work if we’re holding hands?”

“Yeah. If the evil Amy gets launched somewhere else, it’s no problem. But Garm on the other hand…”

Tsutomu reached for Garm’s hand while Amy played with her white cat ears.

“Let’s go! We can have a crash course at the grasslands today. It will be fun!”

“Destination: 1st Floor”

In an instant, the 3 adventurers were reduced to particles of light and disappeared from the guild completely.