Chapter 21: Monster House
ㅤNow, finally, the problematic monster house.
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ㅤ”Ahahah. There really are a lot of them……”
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ㅤI peek into the back from the exit of the maze zone.
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ㅤGoblins, Orcs, Trolls.
ㅤAs I had heard, humanoid monsters were crammed even into the passage.
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ㅤ”It’s like a packed train.”
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ㅤAnyway, the population density is high.
ㅤEven looking at the minimap, it’s full of red dots, making it difficult to even count the number.
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ㅤ”I think it would be difficult to live like this.”
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ㅤYou can endure a packed train because it’s only until you reach your destination, but with this density all the time, you wouldn’t even have room to breathe.
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ㅤ”……They haven’t noticed us yet.”
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ㅤI’m only three blocks away from the monster house — less than 10 meters — but the monsters show no sign of noticing me.
ㅤSince even Bearnov didn’t notice me until I was very close, it might be natural.
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ㅤ”Is it the Grandmaster’s Blessing? I’m starting to vaguely grasp how to do Shinobi-ashi.”
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ㅤIt’s a strange feeling.
ㅤIt’s very similar to what’s called déjà vu.
ㅤIt’s a feeling like past experiences are coming back to me, and intuitions and techniques that I shouldn’t know come to mind.
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ㅤ”I’m getting better at handling a sword too. If I had to compare it…… it’s like remembering what I experienced in my previous life?”
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ㅤKeeeen!
ㅤUgh, memories of my past life are coming back!
ㅤ
ㅤ……Am I being chuunibyou?
ㅤNo, there’s no “keen” sound, it’s more like a natural welling up.
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ㅤAccording to the Thief Guild Master-san, it’s about being able to access the collective accumulated experience of past adventurers.
ㅤHowever, it’s not like, “Oh, this is someone else’s memory,” but rather it comes back to me as my own.
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ㅤThere’s no fanfare or anything, so it’s rather plain and lacking in excitement.
ㅤIt’s like I’m getting stronger without realizing it.
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ㅤ”But…… ahahah. What should I do?”
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ㅤIf it’s goblins, I should be able to handle them even if there are a lot.
ㅤThe movements of the Orcs and Trolls are no match for Bearnov.
ㅤIt was like their movements looked frozen.
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ㅤBut even so, I can’t just start fighting with joy and courage.
ㅤThe truth is, I want to avoid b*oody things if possible.
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ㅤ”But I have no choice but to do it.”
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ㅤI remember the girl who was suffering from Stone Fever.
ㅤThose eyes that looked completely despairing.
ㅤI can’t stand seeing a small child with eyes like that.
ㅤEven if I can’t replace her parents, I want to at least do something about her illness.
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ㅤ–Even if I’m called a hypocrite.
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ㅤ（I’m probably projecting myself onto her.）
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ㅤBy saving that child, I’m also saving my younger self.
ㅤIt seems like I’m having that kind of illusion.
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ㅤOf course, I know that’s impossible.
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ㅤBut I still can’t bring myself to abandon her.
ㅤThere’s something like a principle that I’ve lived by, fighting and enduring misfortune and somehow surviving, that tells me not to abandon her.
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ㅤOf course, if I didn’t have the power to do so, I would have given up immediately.
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ㅤBut now I have power.
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ㅤ（If I had Difficulty Change, it wouldn’t be impossible…… I think.）
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ㅤFor that, I don’t have time to be standing still here.
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ㅤI grip the hilt of my sword again and start walking towards the monster house.
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ㅤ
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ㅤ”……96, 97, 98!”
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ㅤWhat am I counting?
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ㅤThe number of monsters I’ve defeated so far.
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ㅤI stand in the middle of the now-empty room and check the minimap.
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ㅤ”Yeah, they seem to be gone around here.”
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ㅤI sit down on the spot.
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ㅤ”Phew…… I’m tired……”
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ㅤEven though the Difficulty Change supposedly affects my stamina as well, defeating this many was tough.
ㅤIt’s not about whether they’re strong or weak. Even if the opponent was a pumpkin, it would be tough to crush a hundred of them.
ㅤThe “work” I was doing just now is like that.
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ㅤ”But they disappear when I defeat them. I guess it’s a relief that it’s not b*oody.”
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ㅤThe goblin I defeated when I helped Latifa-san before had a proper physical body.
ㅤIt would bleed if I cut it, and its flesh would be crushed if I hit it. It had bones and internal organs.
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ㅤHowever, the goblins, orcs, and trolls here vanished when their HP bar reached zero.
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ㅤInstead, something like energy flows into my body.
ㅤThey said that when you defeat a monster, you absorb its Ether and become stronger.
ㅤIt felt like the same internal energy I manipulated during Ether B*mb, so this must be Ether.
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ㅤ”They said the monsters outside are 『hybrids』 that have interbred with humans and animals.”
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ㅤThe “monsters” outside didn’t even have HP bars displayed.
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ㅤ”I guess there are complicated circumstances.”
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ㅤIt’s pointless to think about it now.
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ㅤMore importantly, there’s something that’s been bothering me.
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ㅤ”It seems like there are no drop items……”
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ㅤAccording to what I heard at the Thief Guild beforehand, the monsters in the dungeon drop items when you defeat them.
ㅤThe probability seems to vary depending on the monster, but adventurers know the drop rate of major monsters like goblins from experience.
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ㅤ”Goblins drop potions at a rate of about one in every five or six. The drops for orcs and trolls are the same.
ㅤPotions are liquids infused with Ether, and they heal your body’s wounds when you drink them. Of course, they don’t work on very serious injuries.”
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ㅤI’ve already hunted nearly a hundred goblins, orcs, and trolls.
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ㅤAnd yet, there’s nothing.
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ㅤNo potions. Not even one.
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ㅤ”It can’t be because of my misfortune constitution, can it?”
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ㅤNo matter how unlucky I am, is it possible for something that should appear by probability to not appear at all……?
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ㅤThere must be a more system-related reason.
ㅤLike a bug that’s temporarily preventing drop items from appearing.
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ㅤ（(If it’s a bug or a freeze, it might be because of my misfortune constitution? Like, I worked hard to level up, only to find my save data corrupted……
ㅤ……No, that can’t be right…… This isn’t a game.)
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ㅤThinking that far, I suddenly realize something.
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ㅤA system-related reason?
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ㅤ
ㅤ”–AAAAAH!”
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ㅤI let out a loud cry as I realize the cause.