Bonus chapter
Bonus chapter for all dear readers.
Enjoy~
Chapter 4 – Party
I suddenly realized that I could see a dark red carpet, a stylish painting and a well-backed bookcase. I turned around with a start to see a white-haired girl sitting cross-legged on an expensive looking sofa.
“Yo, it’s been a while”
“This is not the dream, is it?”
“Nope. Tell me why you named yourself “Yohei Konno”. That’s not a very witty name.”
“Leave me alone. What do you want today?”
“I told you before that you’d be reporting back to me. Can you give us a brief description of that world?”
I was asked by that brat about the brief history of my life as a monster hunter, about the world, and about the events that made me curious. Then I lightly explained about the hotspots and other events that I was curious about.
”Hmm, so this world is still being invaded by more monsters than I expected…”
“Yes. Do you even have an idea how hard it was to be thrown out without money or weapons!”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Didn’t you search the first base you moved to, though?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“That place was the hideout of a criminal gang that had escaped the prisons. If you would have looked around, I’m sure there were one or two treasures to be found.”
“”Bah! Tell me about these things first!”
“Haha, well, I guess you didn’t notice. Well, even if you went now, I’m sure the guards would have secured it by now, so it’s too late.”
“Are you serious~… I’m penniless, selling clothes, sleeping outside the city walls… I really think I’m going to die…”
“Well, for all your hard work, I’ll give you a reward this time.”
“Reward?”
“Yeah, come on, take it.”
The girl made a gesture of throwing something, and when I received it, it was a mysterious object with a metal tube and handle.
”Is this…judging from its shape, is it similar to a gun?”
“That’s right. To be precise, it’s called a magic gun made in that world.”
“A magic gun… is there such a thing as a magic gun?”
“That’s right, there are a few pure guns in production as well. It seems to be a disappointment in terms of performance, but…”
“Huh. So, this thing, from the name, can be considered a magic gun?”
”That’s right. If you press the magic crystal stone there in place of a trigger, it will extract the user’s magic power on its own and release a magic bullet, apparently.”
“I see.”
“I got it from a separate investigation, and now that the tests are done, I’ll give it to you. The analysis was kind of interesting, but the ideas are so mundane that they’re not very important.”
“Are you sure I can have this?”
“Well, to tell you the truth, my assumption was naive. I’ve sent a few other people to work before you, but you’re the only one who’s made a decent living so far.”
“…Eh…?”
”There are a lot of strange monsters and the rest of the world is a bit unnatural as well… So, I thought I’d offer some assistance to you, a valuable source of information at the moment.”
“Then there’s more money, armor, and whatever else you can give right…?”
“Unfortunately, that’s the limit. Basically, I can’t interfere with your world. That’s why I purposely summoned you here this time and gave you only one thing made in your world. That’s my limit, sorry about that.”
“Yeah, well, that’s better than nothing.”
“And yet the hotspot, was it? This might be unexpected, too. It’s obviously not normal, right?”
“Really? In a world close to my original world, it’s normal for monsters to be rampant, right? Oh, I wondered if it was because of all those things that generate monsters.”
“Hmmm, that’s true, but there’s usually a factor that causes monsters to occur in that world, and monsters overwhelm the world. That’s why the hotspot is… hmm…”
“What?”
“Oops, let’s leave it at that. Oh, I won’t bother to call you for the next report. I’ll give you a little something for you to send your report. Do you still have that virtual space terminal you took with you?
“Oh, there it is. Come to think of it, I couldn’t deploy it on this side of the world when I activated it.”
“Oh, yeah? All right, let me have a look at it.”
The girl took the device and seemed to do something with it, fiddling with it, but I couldn’t tell what she was doing.
“Uwaaah, now, let’s see if I can make this work. I’ve made your terminal the starting point to activate a tunnel to another space.”
“What did you say!?”
“You will submit your report to the alternate space on the first of each month from now on. Oh, and you can also use it for other storage.”
“Is that different space something that’s safe to use?”
“It’s alright. It’s okay, it’s okay…probably.”
“You can’t be serious right now!”
“Well, rest assured, my creation cannot go out of control that easily.”
“Is that so…how much of that storage is possible?”
“It’s not very spacious, unfortunately. At best, yes, it’s a spacious locker. Just right for storing valuables, I suppose.”
“If I were put it in… it won’t go away, right?”
“I don’t think so. I’m the only one who has access to the site besides you. But since I’m old enough, I’d appreciate it if you’d refrain from dumping any sexually explicit books, the kind of which you read online in your world”
“There’s no way I’m letting you in!”
“Really? I can’t think of a better place to hide it. Oh well, if you put it in there, I’ll pretend I didn’t see it, so don’t worry…”
“Well, it seems convenient as a substitute for a safe. I’ll be grateful for it.””
When I thanked her for her honesty, the girl looked at me a little suspiciously.
”What’s going on, how do you say… isn’t your expression honest?”
“I’m surprised you’re so interested in other people.”
“Well, yeah…”
“I’ve found a bit of a goal in another world, and living a life of life and death has not unnerved me. I’m aware that all my fears are gone.”
“Well, I did a good job of rehabilitating NEETs… I can go to heaven now.”
“You weren’t a God yourself, were you?”
“I think I already denied that. Well, depending on how you look at it, I could be a God, that’s all.”
“All right. So, do I have to walk out the back door again this time?”
“Right. Well, I’ll wait for your next report. Hopefully, you won’t be dead for a few more years.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll survive until I annoy you with my presence.”
“Ha-ha, I’m expecting it.”
I opened the door and walked through the white wall, with the girl at my side who had started working on something on the desk. I found myself returning to the bed at the cheap inn that I was staying at.
I held a magic gun and a virtual space terminal (modified) in my hand, proving that it wasn’t just a dream.
When I tried to manipulate the terminal, it behaved strangely, so I deployed it without going against it and saw a black thing above the terminal. Something like a warp hole appeared.
I put my hand in and I saw that it seemed to be connected to some space, and then the tip of my hand disappeared and I pulled my hand back. It showed up again.
“Oh, I forgot to ask some basic questions like whether time passes if you keep the items in a different space…”
Sighing, I put away about half of my possessions and the magic gun for now. I deployed it again and also made sure I could get it out of there quickly.
The sun was already high in the sky, so I slept some more.
When I headed to the south gate to hunt Blood Slime to test the magic gun as well, I said “I’ve already stopped camping in the field.”
I spoke to the gatekeeper, whom I knew, and reported that I had been issued a certificate of settlement.
The gatekeeper withdrew to the back of the room with the certificate of settlement and returned in less than a minute to announce the completion of the procedure. I’ve heard that the same procedure is used to get in, but it’s not too much of a burden for this level of procedure.
I heard that you have to go through the same procedure when you enter the country, but it’s still not such a big burden for this kind of procedure. It’s a certificate of settlement that I’m glad I took.
==========
When I moved to the wilderness where there was no one, I immediately took out the magic gun from the different space and tried shooting at a large rock.
I felt something escape from my body, and a mass of light shot out of the tip of the tube. There was a high-pitched sound, and coupled with the light being shot out, I thought it sounded like a beam weapon, but the speed of the bullet was slow.
If you are shot from 10 meters away, you can avoid it if you watch carefully. Yeah.
“Well, is it like this?”
Then, the status is displayed in the status view:
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊Personal Data＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
Yohei Konno (Human)
Job:
Interferer (5↑)
Survivalist (4↑)
MP: 11/13
Parameters:
Attack: G
Defense: G
Agility: G
Endurance: G
Magic: G
Magic Resistance: G
Skills:
View Status II
Manipulate Status
Add Job II
Display Status
Strong Stomach
Additional Information:
None
==============
As I expected, MP is being removed.
There’s no doubt that magic power = MP.
I feel that the MP value has increased before I knew it, but this must have also increased when the level of “Interferer” or “Survivalist” was raised.
If all jobs have some sort of MP bonus, a person who can set up multiple jobs would have an advantage in MP.
(Maybe I should think about taking magical jobs or something…?)
I’ve tried firing the magic gun a few times and can confirm that it consumes 2 MP per shot.
At the moment, I don’t have any other plans to consume MP so I can use it for about 5 times more.
============
After walking a bit and finding a Blood Slime, I try to fire the magic gun from more than 10 meters away.. While still emitting a high-pitched sound like a beam weapon, a mass of light came out and a magic bullet went flying towards the blood slime.
The Blood slime doesn’t notice or if its feet were too slow, but the magic bullet hit without avoiding the blood slime at all.
Then it spewed out a red liquid and immediately lost its power. It was a death blow.
“A single blow… This can be used! It’s a huge asset to not have to worry about monsters fighting back.”
After that, I switched to a wooden spear and experimented with poking at it and, after confirming that it could be defeated with a wooden spear, I returned to the city.
The wooden spear is easier than the knife because it has a longer range, but I am worried about its durability because it is made of wood. Well, it’s a cheap one, so if it breaks you can just buy a new one..
For the time being, it is my policy to use the wooden spear as my primary weapon, the knife as my secondary weapon, and the magic gun as my trump card.
===========
Today’s income is a little over 50 copper coins for 6 Blood Slime magic; less than 10 copper coins for each. The price is said to be falling due to the expected large supply of the mass outbreak, as the signs of a mass outbreak have been informed.
When there is a mass outbreak, the rewards for defeating it issued from the administrative budget will increase, but even more so, the market value will decrease. Therefore, the price will continue to drop slightly. Maybe it’s time for me to graduate from Blood Slime hunting. Then, that goblin would be next…
Goblins tend to form cliques. There is something risky about hunting them solo.
“Oh, then why don’t you just recruit a party?”
It was the long blonde girl at the Monster Hunting Center, who has begun to speak in a slightly casual tone with me nowadays, said that.
”Where do I recruit a party?”
“The Guild of Mercenaries. The Mercenary Guild in this city accepts applications for individual mercenary registration and temporary parties.”
“I see. I’ll be there as soon as I can!”
===========
There was no adventurer’s guild in this world , but I wonder if the mercenary guild was taking its place.
Or maybe the Adventurer’s Guild will be established when the “Personal Mercenary” department becomes independent and starts being used to counter monsters.
Maybe it’s in the preliminary stages of that.
The mercenary guild was located near the north gate, which I had never used before. It was a short distance away from the entrance to the slum.
Once inside, it seemed that the individual mercenary section and the mercenary group section had completely different departments, and there were several strongmen hanging out near the individual mercenary section’s window.
”I would like to be briefed on the registration of individual mercenaries and the party’s recruitment or application.”
This time, without losing momentum, I found a window for proper consultation and spoke to the macho person inside the counter.
“To register, please fill out this form and register at counter number 2 later.”
“Alright.”
“The party is in the form of a service of our union, and is open to those who have registered as individual mercenaries. We only exchange information with them. Please understand that you are responsible for any problems that may arise as a result of this.”
“I see.”
“After you register as a personal mercenary, please ask one of the people inside at the counter at the back if you wish to join us. We’ll be able to see if there are any party applications that match your requirements.”
“Are you being recruited?”
“If you fill out the form and leave it at the counter in the back of the room, we will leave that information with the guild and let you know at a later date if you have any questions.”
“I see.”
The registration of personal mercenaries was easy. I left “Targeted Projects” as “Defeating Demons” and “Pending” as “Acceptance or Rejection of Designated Request”.
I don’t plan to get involved in wars and the like.
I’ve found some information on parties that are looking for members. In addition to the temporary parties, many of those who are recruiting for ongoing parties have the goal of “defeating goblins”. I was surprised to see that because it was unexpected.
I had imagined that an ongoing party would be more like a “monster hunting” or some other vague setting, and would receive various requests, but that’s not all they were doing.
In other words, they are forming a party whose sole purpose is to hunt goblins.
That may be how profitable goblin hunting is.
However, many of those parties were active every three days or every six days There are many. I guess it’s not a full-time job, but rather a real job elsewhere.
In the meantime, I’m looking for a temporary goblin hunt…
(Two openings by tomorrow, huh? One of them is supposed to have an interview today. What does that mean?)
“What do you mean by this interview?”
I asked the unwilling-looking woman behind the counter who was looking through the materials.
“You know, they want to meet you and make a decision after they’ve assessed your personality.”
“Then, please do that then.”
It’s safer to see the person on the other end of the line and then make a decision.
I hope it’s not like they’re looking for a duck or something….
I’ll leave the union for now, as they were going to contact the party leader and plan to meet up with the party representative in the evening.
The union was pretty packed with people, and there seemed to be a bit of heat caged inside. It felt refreshing to be outside. I should prepare for tomorrow.
===========
I have a little more money to spare so I buy some extra clothes, a new cloth bag and some dried meat.
When I was getting tired from walking around, the sun was beginning to set, so I headed back to the union.
“I want to meet up for a party…”
“Oh, you’re the one? Follow me.”
I was about to call out to the counter when a man standing behind me came giggling in.
“You’re Elliot from The Flowers of Breamti?”
“Yeah. Anyway, how about we have dinner tonight?”
“Is that what you want? I thought it was called a job interview…”
“Haha, you were the only one who applied for the job after all! Let’s not do anything too formal.”
Elliott is a handsome looking graceful man with a warrior-like height, long hair that reaches to his shoulders and a stern face.
By “wind”, I mean he’s not a handsome man when you look at him closely, but he looks vaguely handsome with his atmosphere. This is a trait of some people. It is called “appearing handsome”.
The place where Elliott brought me was unexpectedly a restaurant with a bit of an upscale, restaurant-like atmosphere.
“I don’t have a lot of money, but…”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll pay for you today.”
“Hmm… is that okay?”
“What? You know, we’ll be friends for a long time to come. Go ahead.”
“Hmm? Wait, it wasn’t a temporary party to begin with.”
“You’re right, but I believe the request was for us to work together on a regular basis in the future if we passed the interview, right? Didn’t the lady at reception tell you?”
“No, not at all.”
“That demoralized woman… She completely forgot about it.”
He made a scowling face but turned it into a smile again.
“Well, we’re not exactly a family. We like to partner with people we trust, you know. It’s hard to find a person you want to work with on a regular basis. No?”
“No, I’d appreciate that too. I just signed up, and I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“All right, all right. The seat we reserved is over there. Come on, let’s go.”
Elliott took me into a private room where three women were sitting around a large table.
“Eli, is that a potential companion?”
A large woman sitting on the left side of the room as I entered gave me a prying look.
She has short, frizzy red hair and no makeup on. She has a few freckles. Is she a bit of a warrior woman?
“I thought you were going to bring some new girl with you, but…”
“Haha, that’s great, but he was the only one who applied for the job!”
“Well, who wants to interview for a job at a goblin-hunting, makeshift party… you. How dare you come to this place?”
They stare at me with scary eyes. Do they normally do this kind of thing? That woman at the reception desk could have at least explained or followed up on that.
“I was just about to start a goblin hunt. I thought it would be fun to interview for a job as a goblin hunter, so I applied.”
“…You’re insane.”
I let out a foolish laugh as well as a huff, but I didn’t feel bad about it, as those words fit the mood of the female warrior.
”Let me introduce you first, from the left, the one I was just talking about is Marie, the [Swordsman], and then the [Healer] Patches, and… Trisiera.”
“Hmm? What’s with Trisiera being the only one without a job description?”
The slit bob cut beauty called Trisiera looks away, as if embarrassed. Then a handsome looking man beckons us over and speaks in a whisper.
“Trisiera is a [Sexologist]. I’m being selfish, so please don’t tease her too much.”
“What?”
I cringed and flew away, but Elliot followed up with a refreshing smile.
“Oh, you don’t know the job of a ‘sexologist’? You’re not as tough as you look, are you?”
“No, I didn’t study for the job and I’m sorry you’re going to make fun of Trisiera, too. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine, but…”
Trisiera turns bright red and looks down.
Is she a sorcerer related to sex or someone who has mastered the art of sex…
Either way, it must be erotic-related. Even from this shy reaction.
“But then again, is a job something you can say when you first meet someone?”
“To each his own, isn’t it? I don’t particularly care for it, though!”
“Okay well let’s just say that I’m a [Survivalist].”
“[Survivalist]! You use an odd job, huh?”
“Is it rare?”
“Hmmm, it seems to be in the job choices a lot. But, hardly people chose that job.”
“Really.”
”But I’m told that the stats modifications due to it aren’t so bad, and the skills that come with it are handy for hunting monsters. I heard there’s a lot going on nowadays. So your job is a bit promising.”
“Don’t expect much because the level isn’t high.”
The three women don’t interject much, just listening intently to us. Maybe it’s because it’s an interview, or maybe it’s because Elliott is the leader.
“I’m late to introduce myself, I’m Yohei. I went penniless for a reason, and I’ve been living off of hunting monsters ever since.”
“That’s a tough one! How long have you been doing this?”
“Lately. Just the other day, I was hunting green caterpillars and blood slimes, and I was the one who put the information on the blood slime. I was the one who got the information on the Blood Slime.”
“Green Caterpillar stinks…. So, is this your first time with a goblin then?”
“Yeah. Can you let a newbie in?”
“I don’t care. You got a weapon?”
“The spear. The rest I’ll just explain to you as I go along.”
Can I get the magic gun out? Let’s use the wooden spear for now.
“I’m grateful for the vanguard. Marie and I will use the sword and Trisiera will use the bow.”
“Speaking of which… What’s Elliott’s job?”
“Me? I’m [Flower Warrior].”
“[Flower warrior], huh…”
”An unusual job, right? The job information is a secret!”
“Is this a job for the vanguard?”
“Yeah, well, just think of it as a cool version of the usual [Warrior]!”
“It’s cool…”
Maybe the condition to unlock it is to become a narcissist.
“So do I pass? or Rejected?”
“What do you guys think?”
Elliot spoke to the ladies.
“I think it’s a good idea to recruit him. You don’t look weaker than us, so you won’t get attacked.”
This is the Patch in the middle that hadn’t spoken before. She is [Healer], I think? A recovery system job. It’s a bit eye-catching because it’s short and light blue in color, a color that’s impossible to find on Earth. If you look at her alongside Swordsman Marie, you can clearly see that she’s small, and she looks like a small animal. Her answers seem to be serious.
”Well it’s fine, but…”
Trisiera, who is [Sexologist], just stay quiet, or rather cold.
Job is a thing, but she doesn’t look like a bitch at all.
Her brown hair in a side-tail is visible behind her because she’s turned over all the time.
She’s beautiful, and judging by Job, she’s Elliot’s girlfriend?
“Is Trisiera dating Elliot?”
“Haha, they’re all my slaves.”
“……eh”
“… Elliott-sama.”
Patch makes a sound of blame. Apparently he was going to divulge it much later.
“Oh well, come on, he’s passed, let’s just talk about it now,”
“Haa”
“We’re a party of me and my slaves. But against goblins, we need a few more of them, especially the vanguard.”
“I see”
“It’s just that having attractive female slaves like them with you is somewhat troublesome so I decided to use the interview method to see if you could get along with these girls and not cause them to feel crazy. I wanted to see if you could do that.”
“Well, if that’s the case, I wouldn’t touch the topic. I didn’t expect three slaves in the party… Does that happen often?”
“Not many people use combat slaves. Personal mercenaries are the hardest thing to get a trusted companion. In that respect, I can say that there is no party that is more secure than a slave who has been properly applied a slavery spell.”
“Oh, I see. Slave magic…”
I expected that. But are they magically enforced to not be able to attack their masters or follow orders at all cost? I guess that’s the point. You don’t have to be strict so that you won’t be betrayed.
“It’s just that mostly males and older slaves are to be used as combat slaves. It must be quite unusual to have a young girl like them as a combat slave….”
“So, that’s why you were so worried.”
This doesn’t seem like a trap or anything.
If it’s a trap, I don’t feel the need to go to the trouble of setting it up in such a weird way. Well, at the very least, you should continue to be vigilant.
More importantly, this might be an opportunity.
“Actually, I’m trying to create a slave harem, too. I’d love to hear your stories.”
“What? You’re an idiot….”
Marie was taken aback by this, but Elliot nodded to me with a twinkle in his eye.
“Oh, you were comrades! Do you still have any slaves?”
“Yeah, when I was broke, I decided to get up and build a slave harem. So I’m still short of money.”
“Okay. As far as I’m concerned, one of them should be the [Sexologist] and… oh, it’s got nothing to do with Trisiera staring at me.”
“Is it normal for slaves to interact in a slave market on a back street?”
“Hmmm, I’d go to the stores. They say there are bargains to be had at the market, but it’s hard to find them because they’re basically poor quality or wacky. So, you know.”
“Is it so”
“Even if it’s a little more expensive, it’s better to do business with a decent store, where the slaves are well educated and not sick.”
“For reference… What’s the price? For example…”
I glanced at the three girls and wondered if the topic was a bit rude.
“A few gold coins aren’t enough for those girls, you know. It’s just that I took Patches and Trisiera in and raised them when they were little, so they weren’t so much then. But…”
“Is it cheaper to purchase a kid?”
“It’s cheaper than older people.”
“I still need the money…”
“Well, there’s a lot more to my party than just goblins, so you’re welcome to join us.”
“Oh, thank you.”
They say that if you follow certain procedures, you can leave messages for each other through the mercenary guild. I’ll talk to them to keep talking to them in the future.
Nega Translations 