Chapter 33 Exceptional Reward
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I placed a hand on the lid of the treasure chest and the small box respectively.
As a precaution, I stood behind them while opening the pearl-colored small box for the first time, staying alert for any potential traps.
I opened both containers at the same time, feeling a wave of relief when no traps went off as I looked inside.
”A bracelet and a pouch?” I asked.
Inside the silver treasure chest, sitting in contrast to the chest’s large size, was a single silver bracelet. The pearl-colored box, meanwhile, was filled with a leather pouch that took up all the space.
”A red stone… could this be a Bracelet of Power¹?”
Seeing the small red gem set in the silver band, I remembered an item I had seen in the Shop before. It was something I planned to buy eventually, but at 100,000 DP, I thought it would be a long time before I could afford it.
”If I remember correctly, it increases strength by 1.5 times,” the protagonist said.
It looked a bit large, but I tried slipping it onto my left arm. To my surprise, the loose bracelet immediately shrank to fit my wrist perfectly.
”Oh… that’s amazing,” he muttered.
So this is a magic item. While impressed by this automatic size-adjustment skill, I drew the Machete from my belt.
”It’s light. My strength has definitely gone up. I’ve found something really good.”
I couldn’t help but smile after getting such a useful tool for fighting. I picked up the pouch from the small box and looked at it closely.
”It looks like a normal pouch, but…”
There was no way a pouch inside such a fancy box was just a regular bag.
”In that case, the most likely thing is…”
I pulled the knife from my waist along with its sheath and tried putting it into the pouch. It went inside as if it were being sucked in.
I looked into the pouch.
The knife was gone.
I reached my hand inside, but I didn’t feel anything. But the moment I thought about where the knife went, it was suddenly in my hand. When I pulled it out, it was the same knife I had just put in.
”It really is a Magic Pouch²!”
I was so happy I almost jumped. After all, it can hold twenty times what it looks like—a space about the size of a tatami mat opens up inside. It isn’t an overstatement to say it was the item I wanted most while exploring.
”To give me a Magic Pouch that also costs 100,000 DP… isn’t this too much?” I wondered.
If you combined this with the bracelet, the total cost was the same as a Rank 5 Slave. Well, the silver chest was a reward for beating a Guardian, so it makes sense for it to have a 100,000 DP Bracelet of Power. Even the copper chests had gear worth about 30,000 DP.
”Is this another reward for being the first tester to beat it?”
When I beat the Floor 1 Guardian, the message from the Magic Crystal only gave a DP reward. Could it be that the Floor 5 Guardian was special? That was possible.
Only the 5th floor was just a Guardian room, and most importantly, you couldn’t leave unless you won. Since the wooden door I used to enter wasn’t locked, I could probably run away, but the result was the same—you couldn’t go home without a win. There is no Teleportation Magic Circle³ on this floor. If no one else came, you would just starve to death.
”A special Guardian… since it’s the boss of the floor guardians, it’s an Area Boss⁴. No, Field Guardian sounds better,” he said.
So the pearl-colored box was given as a reward for being the first to beat a Field Guardian. That made sense.
”Well, whatever the case, I’ve made a lot of money. I’m really getting rich… hm? What’s this?”
I stood up feeling good to tie the Magic Pouch to my waist when I noticed a golden paper, about the size of a 10,000 yen bill, left in the pearl-colored box. Taking it in my hand, I saw a drawing that looked like a woman’s uterus. It looked a lot like the crotch tattoos you often see in adult manga.
I flipped it over to see if anything was written on the back. My eyes went wide at what I saw.
”A Rank 1 Slave Exchange Ticket⁵!?” I shouted.
Does this mean I can trade it for a Rank 1 Slave? A slave that costs 2,000,000 DP? “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
I never thought I would get Tsukigase this way. But I’m only on the 5th floor. I don’t know how many floors this Test Dungeon has, but based on the monsters, these are still the early floors. Would they usually give a reward worth 2,000,000 DP on a floor like this? And with a 100,000 DP Magic Pouch too.
I worked hard, but that was just because I was alone. Even so, this reward was clearly too much. No… wait?
If I think about it, the slaves were originally female students and teachers who were kidnapped just like us. From the dungeon’s side, there is no cost, right? To be honest, they are just things they got for free. In that case, the Succubus Queen doesn’t lose anything no matter how much she gives.
”I see… so this is the reward to keep the testers moving,” he muttered.
If testers knew that beating the Floor 5 Guardian gets you a high-rank slave for free, they would all rush to explore and try to beat the Field Guardian here. As a Succubus Queen who wants to see the skills of humans and the power of her dungeon, that’s exactly what she wants.
”The carrot and the stick,” I said.
For those who won’t fight, she makes life hard by raising food prices; for those who do, she gives them wall-holes and slave tickets. The harder you work, the more sex you get. For the testers whose sex drive has gone up along with their Mana Capacity⁶, there is no better reward. It’s very typical for a succubus.
”Well, it’s a way of doing things that I like.”
For me, since I wanted a Rank 1 Slave from the start, this was a great reward. Also, I might not need to save money for slaves anymore. I don’t think this kind of reward is only for one time. The Succubus Queen wants the dungeon finished fast. So, I should expect rewards like this often. Yes, maybe every five floors, just like now.
If so, I might get another Rank 1 Slave when I beat the Field Guardian on the 10th floor. This really makes me want to work. I’m doing exactly what the Succubus Queen wants, but I can’t help it because I want to make a slave harem of schoolgirls and teachers. The Succubus Queen’s goals and mine just happen to be the same. Let’s go with that.
”Anyway, that was a huge reward,” I whispered as I put the ticket into my Magic Pouch and put on my backpack.
A Bracelet of Power, a Magic Pouch, and finally a Rank 1 Slave Ticket.
”Well, it’s already 7:00 PM. I’ll do a quick check of the 6th floor, then go back early to finish my business and buy that Rank 1 Slave.”
I smiled thinking about how I could do whatever I wanted tonight with the girl I thought was the prettiest in school. With a hard feeling in my pants, I reached for the black gate.
* * *
My eyes opened wide at what I saw past the open gate.
”Is this… a labyrinth?”
Brick walls and stone paths. Torches on the walls at set distances. It looked just like the mazes you see in manga and games.
”A maze this time? There will probably be traps too,” the protagonist said.
Things wouldn’t be as easy as before. I got ready and put my head through the gate to check. “Phew, it was there.”
To the right of the gate, five meters away, I felt safe seeing the Teleportation Circle. Keeping my guard up, I walked through the gate.
”It’s dark,” I said.
The ceiling of the maze wasn’t made of the glowing rock from before, but flat stone that didn’t give off any light. Instead, torches on the walls lit up the area. But that wasn’t enough to light the whole path, so any place away from a torch was very dark. It was a big change from the caves, where light reached everywhere even if it was dim.
”Because my body skills are higher, I can see a bit even in the dark… but finding enemies is going to be hard.”
The difficulty had gone up a lot. As I thought, the 5th floor was a big step. That meant new monsters would probably show up from the 6th floor. Just then, something came screaming from the back.
’Gyah, Gyah!’
’Gyagya!’
”…Goblins?” I asked.
Lit by a torch about twenty meters away, the figures were human-like with green skin, about 140 to 150 centimeters tall, with small horns on their heads and wearing only loincloths. Their faces looked a bit human, but their noses were flat and they were bald—really ugly. They were exactly like the goblins from manga and anime.
There were two of them, running at me with clubs.
”So monsters with weapons are normal from this floor on,” he muttered.
I guess that means they are smarter. I let the goblins get close enough and then shot a Fireball⁷ between them. Even though the goblins were slow to react, they managed to jump away. However, the Fireball, filled with two charges of Mana Capacity, blew up in a big area when it hit. Caught in the fire from the blast, the goblins were burned over half their bodies and fell down, crying in pain.
I moved in and finished them by stabbing the Machete into their chests.
”They react okay… but they’re weak,” I said.
Even if they have weapons, they are just clubs. They seem to have some strength, but they are slower than Kobolds. They really are just weak monsters like in other stories.
No, I shouldn’t be careless. People say goblins are weak, but there is also the idea of them hunting in groups with swords, bows, and even magic. Since this is the first floor they show up on, there are only a few, but the numbers will grow as I go down. They might use blades or arrows too.
In fact, even though this is the first floor for goblins, I found two right away. Both Horn Rabbits and Kobolds started with just one. It’s better to think that groups of five or six will show up from now on. What if those groups had members with swords, bows, and magic, and they worked together? I shouldn’t look down on them. Goblins, like humans, are only a real threat when they have numbers and equipment.
I fixed my mind and picked up the Magic Stone⁸ left where the goblins had turned into black dust.
”This size and color… it’s an E-rank Magic Stone, just like a Kobold’s,” he said.
That meant they were 200 DP each. Depending on how many goblins show up, I might make twice as much money—50,000 DP a day isn’t just a dream. While there are only a few at a time now, they are good prey.
”Hmm, this is enough for a check. Time to go back.”
I’d confirmed the 6th floor was a maze and the monsters were goblins. I’ll take it slow after my break. More importantly, I had to get back, count my points, and buy that Rank 1 Slave.
After putting the Magic Stone in my Magic Pouch, I calmed my excited heart and my hard groin as I walked to the Teleportation Circle.
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Summary:
The protagonist beats the Floor 5 Guardian and finds a Bracelet of Power and a Magic Pouch. He also gets a Rank 1 Slave Ticket, which lets him get the school’s top beauty, Tsukigase. He thinks the Succubus Queen is giving these rewards to make testers work faster. Before leaving, he checks the 6th floor, which is a dark maze with goblins.
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Character Insight:
The protagonist is both smart and driven by his desires. He understands that the rewards are tools to control him, but he accepts it because it fits his goal of making a harem. He is careful enough to scout the next floor even though he is excited to go back and get his slave.
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Behind the Scene:
The author planned the reveal of the schoolgirl heroine a long time ago. The change to a labyrinth layout is a common trope to show the dungeon is getting harder and more structured.
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T/L:
Notes:
• Succubus Queen – The sovereign of the Succubus race and servant to the Demon God Zazard. She possesses a voice described as蛊惑的 (alluring/bewitching) and maintains a stance of absolute superiority over humanity.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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