Chapter 7: Suspicious Atmosphere
Today, as always, I’m heading to the Dungeon to level up.
The town has a slightly tense atmosphere because of yesterday's events, but it’s still relatively peaceful.
There are some intimidating-looking people walking around, but they’re wearing sashes that say ‘On Patrol’, so they must be commissioned explorers or something.
Also, since high school students were the target, high schools are temporarily closed. Middle schools and elementary schools are also closed as a precaution.
I have a childhood friend, a high school girl, in my neighborhood... Is she really a childhood friend? That girl. Well, I guess she is.
Anyway, I have a childhood friend who must be enjoying the sudden holiday.
I wish I could take it easy sometimes, too.
“Alright. I’ll do my best today, too.”
I head toward the Lamplight Dungeon as usual.
“...Huh, they’re not here today!”
I arrived at the Lamplight Dungeon as usual, but there was no one there except for the security guards and passersby.
That included the members of the religious group who were campaigning against explorers; I couldn't find a single one.
That’s convenient, I suppose, but... I don't know... I feel a sense of unease.
Well, there’s no point in worrying about it.
Thinking that, I entered the Lamplight Dungeon.
“Now then, let’s get started!”
Then, I dove into the Lamplight Dungeon to level up, unilaterally defeating the Seven Demon Flame from outside the boss room.
I had been busy with the briefing session and other things, so today was my first proper boss farming for leveling up in a while, but it’s definitely easier to level up this way.
Thinking that, I started heading home.
It was already quite dark outside, and the sun looked like it would set completely any minute now.
“Whoops~ I overdid it a little since it’s been a while. I need to get home fast.”
I started walking quickly toward my house.
After walking for a while, I saw some suspicious people.
I couldn’t see their faces because the sun had already set, but there were three of them.
...They’re more than just suspicious.
My suspicion was correct; the shadows were staring intently at a single house, as if investigating it.
“That’s beyond just ‘suspicious’...”
Coming right after yesterday's incident, this is way too suspicious.
“Hey, you guys...!”
I tried to call out to the three suspicious people, but the moment they noticed me, they started running.
“E-Eh...!”
I was surprised because the three of them were incredibly fast.
They didn’t seem very strong, but I don’t think that’s a speed a normal person can achieve...
And then, the trio just disappeared somewhere.
But the mark I saw briefly on their clothes... Could that be it?
“That’s the Labyrinthian Faith, right...?”
The Labyrinthian Faith—formally known as the Labyrinth Church.
The Labyrinthian Faith is a religion that has been running a negative campaign against explorers in this area for a while now.
I looked into them once, wondering why they were doing something like this.
Well, the result of that research was that their original activities were completely inconsistent with their current actions.
Their original activities were just gathering people whose families had been victims in a Dungeon and offering prayers.
In Dungeons, people who are attacked and killed by monsters often leave no remains or even a shape of a body.
Because of this, the bereaved families can’t accept the death and harbor a desire for revenge against the Dungeons.
I understand that feeling.
Even when my own parents died, I was unbearably sad and heartbroken.
Of course, my parents weren't explorers who died in a Dungeon, though.
Well, that’s fine. The problem is the prayer.
The prayer itself was originally meant to calm that desire for revenge.
Their activities were supposed to be about listening to people to calm their desire for revenge.
It was never supposed to be an activity where they claimed Dungeons were a ‘Gift from God’, like they are doing recently.
And people wearing clothes with the Labyrinthian Faith's mark, which proves they are believers, were here just now.
Moreover, they were investigating a house... Could they have been targeting someone inside?
“...For now, I’ll just report it. It’ll probably be useless, though.”
I took out my smartphone from my pocket, immediately dialed 110, and called the police to the scene.
...Should I have taken a video as evidence...?
Well, even if I call the police, they probably won’t believe me since I have no evidence, so they’ll just take my statement for now.
But I guess I can't help that.
I have no evidence, and I don't have absolute certainty; I just felt they were suspicious.
It might just be a misunderstanding.
By the time I arrived home, the sun had completely set. Well, that can't be helped.
For now, I’ll allocate my BP and use SP to acquire new skills.
The results are...
Kaede Amamiya
Level 3003
HP: 30050/30050 MP: 17035/17035
Attack: 3075 (+52)
Defense: 3025 (+12)
Agility: 10510 (+7492)
Dexterity: 3180 (+152)
Mental Strength: 10310 (+7307)
Luck: 50
BP: 0
SP: 5
Skills: 【Magic Arrow Lv.20】, 【Archery Lv.20】, 【Hawk Eye Lv.10】, 【Item Box Lv.20】, 【Lock-On Lv.18】, 【Appraisal Lv.10】, 【MP Boost Lv.20】, 【MP Recovery Speed Boost Lv.20】, 【Dagger Arts Lv.20】, 【Enemy Detection Lv.20】, 【Stealth Lv.20】, 【Status Ailment Resistance Lv.20】, 【Prediction Lv.20】, 【Evasion Lv.20】, 【Indestructible Body Lv.20】, 【Divine Wind Lv.20】
I raised the skill levels of ‘Dagger Arts’, ‘Enemy Detection’, and ‘Stealth’, which I had been slowly leveling up while diving into Dungeons, to 20. And I raised ‘Lock-On’ to 18, which was the highest I could go due to my SP limitation.
I also acquired new skills: ‘Indestructible Body’ and ‘Divine Wind’.
To briefly explain the effects: ‘Indestructible Body’ is a skill that raises Defense, and ‘Divine Wind’ is a skill for raising Agility.
These two skills only take effect when I use them myself, but their effects are enormous.
At this skill level, ‘Indestructible Body’ adds 5,000 to the Defense stat for ten minutes.
‘Divine Wind’ is the same, adding 5,000 to the Agility stat for ten minutes.
As the skill levels of these two increase, the duration and the amount of the increase also grow.
If I combine these two... Heh heh heh.
“Alright, the stats are good to go.”
Then, what’s left is...
“...What to do next!”
I could continue leveling up, but...
But the Dragon’s Eye is a bit of a concern...
Honestly, since the Dragon’s Eye, which was involved in human trafficking, might still be out there, I can't feel completely safe. It’s a greater threat than Tagaya and his cronies, whom I fought before.
Also, the trio I saw today.
If they were Labyrinthian Faith believers, was their presence purely coincidental or not?
However, I suspect that the Dragon’s Eye and the Labyrinthian Faith have some kind of connection.
Well, I don’t have any solid proof, though.
The Dragon’s Eye was targeting students over eighteen with stats, and the Labyrinthian Faith was looking for the ‘Child of the Oracle’, claiming to have received a divine oracle.
And the conditions for that child are that she must be a girl and possess a power that ordinary people do not.
I don’t know what the age limit is for the ‘girl’ part, but ‘a power that ordinary people do not’...
What if that's a Unique Skill?
In that case, it makes sense why the Dragon’s Eye was checking the high school students’ statuses.
However, that still leaves the question of why they went in and checked the boys, too.
In any case, even if I’m wrong, they ran away the moment I tried to talk to them.
I might need to be cautious of the Labyrinthian Faith from now on, too.
“...But what the heck am I supposed to do about this?”
The Labyrinthian Faith and the Dragon’s Eye. Both are now targets of caution.
And both are related to Dungeons.
Is it safe to dive into Dungeons in a situation like this? ...Probably not.
...Yeah. I guess I’ll take a break until something happens.
Thinking that, I stopped planning for tomorrow and moved to my bed to sleep.
...Well, well, I wonder what’s gonna happen next.
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