April 12.
Since we'd spent the previous day exploring the dungeon overnight, today was our designated day off.
Score! My first real break in ages!!
Since I finally had some free time, I headed to the Shinjuku Dungeon first thing in the morning just for kicks.
I descended to Floor 1 and started my jog. It took me about two hours to reach the Floor 5 Monster Room.
Once there, I kept up a steady pace of ten laps an hour.
Man, having to pick up all those Magic Stones really eats up time. If I could just ignore them, my efficiency would skyrocket... but based on our last phone call, Mito-san would probably go ballistic, so I'd better not risk it.
For the record, the base experience points earned in the Floor 5 Monster Room is 18,840. Since I was solo, the "Goblin Genocider" title doubled that, bringing the experience points gained per lap to 37,680.
The efficiency is a major step down compared to Floor 7... but hey, it’s not bad.
I kept at it until 7:00 p.m. that day.
Here are the results for April 12:
Laps completed—70. Goblins defeated—1,750. Potions obtained—28 (I used 8 of them to recover from fatigue). Skill Orbs obtained—1 (a Life Magic Skill Orb). Total experience points earned—2,637,600.
Incidentally, my income for the day surpassed 32.2 million yen, excluding tax. As for the twenty leftover Beginner Heal Potions, I tried selling them to the Japan Explorer Association for the first time. Just as I thought, they went for 30,000 yen a pop.
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April 13.
Now that the holiday was over, I naturally headed back to the dungeon.
It was time for another overnight exploration with Hinata-san.
Reflecting on our last trip, we ditched unnecessary gear like the tent, so my pack felt a bit lighter this time.
After stopping for a lunch break with Hinata-san, we made it to the front of the Floor 7 Monster Room around 4:00 p.m.
I got the feeling that there were slightly more people than usual today—though it might have just been my imagination.
However, it was definitely not my imagination that we ran into monsters way more often on the way there.
When we're moving, we usually prioritize speed and run from monsters, but the encounter rate felt unusually high. Well, it was only about a twenty percent increase based on my gut feeling, so it might have just been a fluke, or maybe the monster spawns had just happened to cluster.
Even if it wasn't my imagination, the Monster Room was still far superior in terms of efficiency, so we didn't change our plans.
After reaching the Monster Room, we fought one round to secure the safety zone and then rested for about an hour.
We spent the rest of the day running laps until 9:00 p.m.
The following day, we started at 8:00 a.m. and continued our rotations until 7:00 p.m., taking breaks as needed.
Results for April 13–14:
Laps completed—140. Goblins defeated—6,860. Potions obtained—63 Beginner Mana Potions (Hinata-san used 5 of them). Skill Orbs obtained—2 (Fire Magic Skill Orbs. Hinata-san used these along with the Life Magic orb I found yesterday). Total experience points earned—Me: 12,959,800. Hinata-san: 6,479,900.
I brought the extra Mana Potions home instead of selling them, but even so, our income from this trip exceeded 209 million yen (excluding tax) from Magic Stones alone. That's over 100 million yen each. Well, once taxes are taken out, it'll drop below that 100 million mark.
The sheer absurdity of these sums still made my head spin... but there’s something I want right now.
It’s a pretty expensive item, so I’m genuinely grateful for the cash.
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April 15.
Today is a day off!
So, naturally, I headed to the Shinjuku Dungeon to play!
I jogged down to the Floor 5 Monster Room and ran laps until 7:00 p.m.
The results were almost identical to the last time.
I picked up another Life Magic Skill Orb, so I'll give that to Hinata-san later.
That should bring her Skill Level to 4. One more and she'll be at the max level. I won't need any more after that, so I'll just start selling them to the Japan Explorer Association.
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April 16.
Normally, today would have been another overnight trip, but Hinata-san and I had some business to take care of, so we took a break from the dungeon.
Specifically, both of us had purchased new equipment.
We didn't get them from a standard weapon shop, but through the online auction run by the Japan Explorer Association.
I’d been bidding for a few days now, and I finally managed to secure the items I was after.
I won two items, but they cost me a staggering 160 million yen in total. That’s 80 million yen each.
High-end gear is just too valuable to trust to standard delivery services. Besides, weapons are inherently dangerous, and even non-weapon Magic Equipment carries its own risks.
Because of that, you have to choose between picking them up at the nearest Association branch—which takes time—or going directly to the Association Headquarters.
Since Hinata-san and I wanted them immediately, we went to the Association Headquarters to finalize the paperwork and take delivery of the gear in person. (By the way, the headquarters is in Shinjuku!)
I have a feeling these are going to be a huge help tomorrow...!!
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April 17.
As planned, Hinata-san and I returned to the Shinjuku Dungeon.
Just like before, the encounter rate seemed strangely high as we moved through the floors, but we reached our destination around 2:30 p.m.
It wasn't the Floor 7 Monster Room.
We were standing in front of the Floor 6 Monster Room.
When I started the livestream, the comment section immediately filled with confusion...
"Wha!!? Hinata-chan's gear changed!!" "So cute!! It looks so good on you, Hinata-chan!!!" "She looks so pure and holy, but those two curves pushing up the fabric are actually kinda lewd!!"
Wow, everyone’s so fixated on Hinata-san's new look that they haven't even noticed we're in the wrong place.
"Um... yes, actually, I bought some new equipment at the Association's auction," Hinata-san explained.
She definitely looked different than before.
Today, she was wearing vestments made of white cloth embroidered with gold thread. The "Priestess's Vestments." It was a piece of Magic Equipment that boosted Magic Defense and increased the effectiveness of Healing Magic and Holy Magic by 1.2 times.
Well, in Hinata-san's case, the Healing Magic boost was redundant since she’d already hit the recovery cap, but the buff to Holy Magic was a great addition.
She hadn't just upgraded her clothes, either; she had a brand-new staff.
Until now, she’d been using a "Goblin Archmage's Longstaff." It’s a drop from the Goblin Archmage that slightly reduces casting time and adds a bonus to accuracy and speed when firing magic.
She hadn't found it herself; she’d bought it before we met.
At around 150,000 yen, it's a very affordable weapon and a popular choice for Mage-type Explorers just starting out.
But what Hinata-san was carrying now was the "Guardian's Holy Staff."
It was a short staff covered in gaudy decorations that made it useless for actually hitting anything, but it shared the casting speed and accuracy bonuses of the longstaff while also providing a 1.2-times boost to Healing Magic and Holy Magic.
With the vestments and the staff combined, Hinata-san's Holy Magic was now 1.44 times stronger.
Incredible!!
—Or so I thought, but it seemed I was the only one having a sensible reaction.
The viewers seeing her new gear were saying things like...
"Yeah, yeah! Incredible! So cute! So lewd!!" "Nice, nice!! She's so puuuuure!!" "Damn...!! Even with those loose clothes, you can totally see the shape of her chest...!!" "The fabric looks so soft and thin that the way it clings to her is actually erotic...!!" "She’s literally a Saint...!! Hinata-chan is the real Saint...!!"
It looked like my audience was suffering from a major IQ debuff.
It was true that Hinata-san’s current outfit gave her a divine, Saint-like aura... but I was actually a little worried.
(I just hope things don't get messy if people actually start calling Hinata-san a Saint...)
When people thought of a Saint, the famous "Saint Bellwood" usually came to mind. She was also notorious for her massive ego and desperate need for approval.
If she found out someone else was being called a Saint, there was no telling what kind of harassment she might dish out...
Besides, if that rumor I heard from the Headshot Yakuza was true, then based on her Level, Saint Bellwood could probably use her Status and Skills even on the surface...!!
If she ever attacked us, the current us wouldn't stand a chance.
I’d better stay on my guard.