Dungeon Capture Preparation II

Here I am, an unemployed, reclusive NEET. No money, no girlfriend, and on top of that, no job.

I feel sorry when I write this, but that is not the case. I am unemployed to refine and improve myself in the dungeon, and I do not retreat to my room, but to the monster-infested dungeon of harshness.

At times like this, it is tempting to distract yourself by listening to the voices of my otaku friends. But if I did that, I might get distracted and end up talking about the dungeon.

Therefore, I challenge the dungeon alone. Don’t worry, my solitude will always be my friend.

However, I can’t help but save money now that I have lost my source of income. If I continue to eat out or eat at convenience stores as I have been doing, I will soon eat up even the small amount of savings I have. Then I had to cook for myself. I immediately got on my bike and bought as much food as I could load at the grocery store. I went back to my house to stay in the dungeon, not to stay in the mountains.

……….

It is 11 o’clock. It’s a good time to cook for myself since I usually don’t eat breakfast. I sharpened the rice and set the electronic rice cooker to start cooking.

Today’s main ingredient is chicken breast. It is very healthy, low in fat, and high in protein. Now that I am macho, I need this high-protein food. First, I rub salt on the chicken breast, put it in a bowl of thin water, and then cook it. And voila! It is an incredible steamed chicken dish. It is heated by high-frequency vibration. Well, this is a very advanced technology.

When I took it out of the microwave, it was heated well, and the water in the bowl was cloudy. Oh, this must be white soup. I moved it to another bowl, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and the soup was ready to serve. Amazing.

And the steamed chicken breast wasn’t enough with just salt, so I put a tube of grated garlic on it. The aroma of garlic wafted through the air, making the dish even more delicious.

Finally, a bowl of rice, two raw eggs, and a dash of soy sauce complete the sumptuous chicken set meal.

“Let’s eat it now. Bon appétit!”

First of all, it’s topped with steamed chicken breast. Yeah, it only tastes like salt and garlic. That’s weird. I thought it would taste better. How about white soup? Yeah, this one is bland too. It’s flat and flat all the way. It doesn’t make me taste the depth of the taste at all. So I put the egg over rice in my mouth.

“Kakakaka (munching)… Yeah, delicious!”

After all, TKG is the strongest.

No matter how messy I make it, it never betrays me. Well, I guess it means that a man who usually eats out or takes a bento box will not do well if he suddenly cooks his food. Just because his ability value has increased, it doesn’t mean he can do everything. Hmmm, I should learn a little more about cooking.

The news I watched while eating lunch reported that major companies are starting to buy magic stones to study how to utilize them. I don’t know the reason. But everyone seems to be paying attention to the magic stones people brought from dungeons. On the other hand, the government has started to enact a new law to regulate dungeons.

But this, too, will be difficult.

Overseas, the land area is so large that they don’t seem to be able to keep track of dungeons. In countries like the U.S., where guns are not regulated, videos of gun-toting civilians having a blast in dungeons are featured in the news.

In Japan, no one would ever know that a refrigerator owned by an unemployed shut-in like me turned into a dungeon. That is no way to regulate it because all I have to do is keep quiet.

……….

After lunch, I sat in the cool front room of the dungeon and penned a cardboard box of oranges on the desk. Yes, I don’t have enough preparation to dive into the dungeon and hunt monsters without a second thought. I should plan everything.

Yes, today is a day to rest my body.

After a good workout, the muscles need time to recover to become thicker than before through super recovery. Therefore, training the body to the fullest every day is counterproductive because I don’t have enough recovery time.

On my rest day, I need to rest my body while working my mind. For example, it is a good use of my time to think about plans while summarizing the dungeon.

There has never been a phenomenon of full recovery when a player’s level increased in a dungeon.

Yes, it’s a common thing in games. The bonus from gaining a higher level is when we level up, we recover our depleted life force or magic power.

However, this suggests there’s a clear law of leveling up in dungeons.

If there is a thing such as an operating system for dungeons or statuses, then ability values are the main thing, and level-up is the secondary thing. The opposite is correct in RPG games, with which we are all familiar. In other words, level-up is the main thing, and ability value is the secondary thing.

In this way, the dungeon, status, or some other system reads the ability values of the target, and when the ability values meet a certain standard, we level up. However, because of the inconsistency, it seems the amount of life energy in one’s hands has a great deal to do with the level of one’s ability.

There is no fanfare when we level up, nor is there a full recovery, but our numerical level goes up.

If anything, similar specifications as in the game are more economical and increase the probability of survival, so I am grateful for that. However, since this is not the case, I have no choice but to accept that this is the way it is. It is a game created by human beings, so it is a performance, and the consciousness that tries to apply it to reality is more poisoned.

…….

At 5:00 p.m. I finish carefully working on my notebook and crawl out of the refrigerator to my apartment.

I see the communications terminal on the table flickering. I looked at the history and saw a call and an e-mail from the company. The contents were probably nothing more than complaints and grievances. If people want to take over the work I was doing, look at the data on my computer and do it on your own.

I don’t care about them either, since they went out of their way to organize a big party for me.

For dinner, I went to a cooking site to make a better dish than lunch and made a teriyaki chicken rice bowl. I learned once again that recipes are very crucial for food.

……….

At 10:00 a.m., the next day. I went shopping at a home improvement store this morning. To buy things for the dungeon, of course.

The first thing I felt I needed was a shield. When I was bludgeoning slimes to death with a baseball bat, I tried to use the lid of a polyethylene bucket as a shield. I could use it to block splash of liquids, but not to defend myself from physical attacks. When I was in close combat with a giant cockroach, there were many times when I wished I had been able to defend myself with my shield instead of just avoiding it.

Therefore, I plan to make a square shield out of thin wood.

If I attach a thin steel plate to the outside of the shield, it will be a very usable shield. So I was looking for reasonably priced wood and a thin steel plate. I found an iron grill plate for barbecues that feels just right, so I buy it. I bought it because it was about 3000 yen with the wood, so even if I made it myself, I could buy a shield cheaply for 3000 yen.

Next, I went to the tool sections where they sell screwdrivers and pliers.

What I want here is a throwing weapon of just the right size. I use [Acid] as a skill. That is an effective and powerful means of attack. But at the same time, I am at risk. I usually get a sore throat from the acidic smell.

So I can’t reach them with my main weapons, such as my steel bamboo spear and bat. But when I was too close to attack with acid, I had no way to attack unless the enemy came closer or moved away from me. A throwing weapon would solve this problem.

I could throw the knife I have now, but that would damage the knife. The knife I bought is not the type of knife I can throw. If I miss the target and chip the blade, I will be very depressed. I’m the type who cares a lot about that kind of thing.

So, in that sense, I prefer a weapon that I don’t mind if it gets damaged when I throw it.

As I looked at the tools with this in mind, a small crowbar caught my eye, a mini crowbar about 15 centimeters long, easy to grip, and moderately heavy. If it is heavy, it must be powerful. It was between a shuriken and a kenpu, and seemed like a good tool for throwing. The price is not more than 1000 yen per piece, so it is a  good deal. I’ll buy about four of these since I can put them on both sides of my hips.

I also bought a gas mask and a half helmet with a shield. That is the most expensive this time, 10000 yen for two. With the full-face helmet I have now, I couldn’t wear a gas mask while wearing it, so it can’t be helped. If I got overwhelmed by the acid I’ve created, I can’t beat the dungeon. With that feeling, I did some shopping at a home center for about 20000 yen and headed home.

Then, I made a shield and put on a new piece of equipment to see how easy it was to move around. I attached a belt inside the shield, a loop to put the arm through, and a grip. That makes it easy to hold. The gray half-helmet is light and offers good visibility, and the gas mask that goes along with it is good. The only thing is that it is a little bit hard to breathe. But if I think of it as a load to improve my physical strength, it won’t bother me.

Yes. I’m an otaku, and I can face things that I’m obsessed with an otaku earnestly and single-mindedly.

When I put on my new gear, my heart leaped.

The rider’s jacket was full of holes, and the poor quality of the partial armor made from PVC pipe was now quite conspicuous. However, I would say the equipment is sufficient for my current situation.

I take it easy today and finally embark on a full-scale dungeon attack tomorrow.