Chapter 39: Ponder

Makoto POV

“Hm…” I pondered my stats throughout the morning. As far as shards were concerned, I no longer needed to fear maintenance costs or even body swapping with monsters. However, I would need months of effort with Sakura if I ever hoped to buy things from the shop.

At this moment, I am vulnerable. All slots are occupied by Nijima and Sakura. I need to buy more slots. But to buy more slots, I need at least 1,100 shards. Without my Body swap skill, dungeon diving would be dangerous. We were planning to visit another dungeon with a higher difficulty soon. If I couldn’t get another slot by then, we are fucked.

[Shop Tier 1:

Tentacle Appendix (dreamscape upgrade): 200 Essence Shards (locked)

Body Modification (dreamscape upgrade): 200 Essence Shards (locked)

Mana Eyes (power): 100 Essence Shards

Controllable NPC (dreamscape upgrade): 100 Essence Shards (locked)

Mana Ears (power): 500 Essence Shards]

I have 510 shards remaining. What should I buy? Mana Eyes and Mana Ears are the best options if I am to continue adventuring. With them, I can sense mana attacks. In fact, there are adventurers who focus on this sort of ability. They are either called scouts or sensors.

Now, how should I approach Nijima? She was this close to becoming my slave. I knew her weak point. Once we go to bed, she is mine.

“Makoto. What’s wrong? You look stressed.” Sakura asked me in the classroom. I didn’t realize I had been holding a piece of bread and staring out at the sky like some dense protagonist.

“Ah. Um… It’s actually this. We have already cleared the dungeon in this city. So, we are planning to go on an excursion to a higher-difficulty dungeon. It is still a C-rank dungeon, of course. But since it is harder, with ranged enemies and even underwater monsters, I wonder whether I am up to the task,” I muttered.

Yuuno, our leader and advisor, had already investigated our next dungeon, which we would visit in a month or two after we were finished here. It was either a dungeon on Mount Rakko or a dungeon in Odaiba. Yuuno really wanted to visit Odaiba’s dungeon as it had the most varied monsters.

This dungeon consisted of twenty floors with a floor boss every five floors, which spawned either after a few days or after a week. Unlike our dungeon, which only had orcs and goblins in a cavern-type environment, the one in Odaiba was mixed with water monsters and grassland monsters. There were rivers and grasslands there.

Rakko’s dungeon consisted of ten floors with one floor boss, which spawned about once a month. It had monsters ranging from golems to undead, and the setting was similar to our dungeon, with cavern types, with the exception of the tenth floor, which had open mountainous terrain.

When I learned what monsters were in Rakko’s dungeon, I voted for Odaiba. We don’t have hammers or blunt weapons for Rakko’s dungeon. But I can’t swim! At least not in open water. If one of those squids or giant octopuses grabbed me and pulled me under, I would be dead.

“Ah. I see. Um… can’t you just stay here? There is nothing wrong with just farming here, right? The monsters are familiar and the money is quite good, right?” Sakura turned around.

I considered that as well, but we couldn’t improve if we just stayed in the same dungeon. I could afford to slack off, but Yuuno and Noelle couldn’t. Noelle would be an embarrassment to Arcanciel Guild if she stayed, and Yuuno needed money and loot to pay her debt.

I wanted to help them. I also wanted to see more of the dungeon. I didn’t want to treat my job like a regular 996 grind like a normal salary worker. Moreover, raiding dungeons solo had its demerits. I could die from an ambush by orcs, or in a worst-case scenario, I could die to red bandits. We had been attacked by red bandits before, and they were opportunistic predators. The safest option was to go together as a team.

“Um… sorry.” I turned away.

“Ah. My apologies. I didn’t mean to stunt your growth. I just wanted you to be safe. Adventurers need to get stronger, right? You have teammates to worry about too.” Sakura sighed.

“Yeah.” I nodded. We were in a classroom, so all we could do was hold hands.

“Hm? What is it? You wanted to leave? Good! If you become a strong adventurer, we could live easier as well!” Nijima slipped in. This bitch ruined everything.

“If I die, you will be homeless, Nijima. You want that?” I smirked.

“Eh? No way! You can’t go then! You need to feed me and Sakura.”

“Sakura is one thing. But you? Why should I feed a parasite like you?” I ground my fist against her head. Then I pinched her cheeks.

“Come on. I am your lovely wife number two, right?” Nijima smiled.

“Hah?” I was about to retort, but a thought came over me. “Wait, are you serious? Sakura, you agree?”

I asked. I knew the answer; it was just to make it clear to Nijima. But the way she answered was really suspicious.

“Hah… Um… I think it is fine. Nijima is our friend. Um... we should help each other, right...” Sakura gasped as her cheeks flushed. Her breathing was ragged as she held a hand to her chest. This masochist was long gone.

“Eh? You agree?” It was Nijima’s turn to be surprised. Then her cheeks also blushed as she turned the other way. “Well, if Sakura wants it, I guess I have to put up with you, Makoto…”

I blinked for a moment at the absurd situation. The way Nijima turned around was suspicious. Wait, Nijima hated men. Was she thinking that Sakura had given a green light when she said she could live with Makoto? Was she actually aiming for Sakura?

Shit! I can’t stand NTR!

But wait. Both of them are girls. Lesbian relationships are fine in my book. Yeah, I have double standards. I know. If she actually agreed to become my girlfriend like Sakura, shouldn’t it be easier to catch her off guard in my house? We lived in the same house anyway.

Now…. how should I test the water? How should I lure Niijima to bed with me? Should I have a threesome with Sakura? Yeah, that sounds wonderful. That would make things easier. When Sakura was doing it with Nijima, I shall slip in. Then, we can have a threesome together.

No, that doesn’t sound right. Nijima might react inappropriately. Hm… what about this? I have Sakura and Nijima has some alone time. But I interrupted her, preventing her from reaching climax.

No, that would be too hard to do. Is there anything else. A way for me to have sex with nijima?

“Makoto is pondering again.” Nijima poked my cheek. “Are you afraid?”

“No. I was just…” I clamped my mouth shut. I almost blurted out my plan to have sex with Nijima. This is bad. I was getting distracted.

“It’s fine to be afraid. Makoto is risking his life after all.” Sakura said. 

“Thank you, Sakura. You are the best girl in the world. Unlike Nijima.” I smirked at Nijima, who only pouted. 

“Hmph! Well.. Sakura is certainly better than me. But I am cute too you know. Girls hate boys who are picky!” Nijima said.

“I need to be in a dungeon today. Don’t cause trouble, Nijima.” i ruffled her hair.

“That’s impolite!” Nijima growled at me, but I ignored her.

I went out for some fresh air. Today is the last week we are going to explore the goblin dungeon. Next time, we will have an excursion.

I turned my head, seeing many booths and stalls in the courtyard advertising colleges. 

“Yeah. That’s not for me,” i sighed. I thought I would be the same as them, but apparently, I am blessed. There is no need for me to chase college and education anymore. I can drown myself inside a dungeon, raiding gems and treasures.

I wonder about Sakura’s choice of university. She is going to have her entrance exam next week.

The image of college advertisements haunted me all the way to the dungeon, where Yuuno and Noelle were waiting.

“Yo! You took your sweet time.”

“Sorry. I just realized that I had unconsciously made a decision,” I muttered.

“Hm? What decision?”

“It’s about college,” I answered.

“Ah. I guess it was that time of the year, huh?” Yuuno nodded.

“Yes. I just realized that I think I am going down this path.”

“I kinda envy you for having a choice. I missed the entirety of my senior high school life.” Yuuno sighed as we traveled to the dungeon.

Yuuno was a middle school dropout. Raiding dungeons since then to pay for her father’s debt.

“What about you, Noelle?”

“Eh? Um… I will also stopped after high school. I am blessed after all. So… naturally, all of my relatives asked whether I was going to become an adventurer,” Noelle said.

I explored the dungeon. It had become so familiar to me now that I no longer needed to rely on maps. We reached the fifth floor in record time and returned by evening, netting us 10 orc stones and 20 goblin stones for money.

I sighed as I looked at the setting sun.

Everyone has their own troubles. Nijima was abused. Yuuno has debt. Noelle has family pressure. And Sakura has her house. I too have problems. But after this, after the end of high school, it was time for us to march toward our decisions.

I will become an adventurer.