Dungeon Gacha Life Chapter 5

 Chapter 5: An Explorer with a Full Three Day Rest Week

The day after my first day exploring.

I was back in the Hachioji Dungeon once again. Right now I'd pushed into Floor 2, beating down Large Rats.

"Hup... there!"

I used a Skill I'd picked up yesterday after getting home: "Slash." It was an Active Skill that let me deliver a powerful sword strike.

My sword slammed into the rat, wide open as it stared up at the sky, and in an instant it turned into pale blue particles.

A rat that normally took three regular hits to bring down went down in one with this Skill. Guess that's what you get for a Skill that costs a full 5 MP. Handy for saving time.

After fighting for a while since arriving on Floor 2, my Status had changed to the following.

――――――――――――――――――

[Lv] 6

[HP] 52/52

[MP] 12/45

――――――――――――――――――

[SP] 0

[Skills Possessed]

　・Appraisal　・Detection Lv2　・Slash Lv1

[Unique Skill]

　・Gacha

――――――――――――――――――

My Level had climbed to 6. My stats had risen accordingly too, but I'll skip over the details.

I'd also spent SP to acquire and upgrade a few Skills.

First, "Appraisal." This was a Skill that told me the name of a monster, and the name and details of any drop items.

I couldn't use it on other people to see their Level or anything like that. Same went for items that weren't dungeon-sourced. Still, it was handy enough to be worth picking up.

Next, "Detection." A Skill that told me the location and number of nearby monsters.

I'd spent 2 SP to raise this one from Lv1 to Lv2. Right now, finding enemies quickly mattered more than anything, so that's what I went with.

Last, "Slash." It was the most affordable way to put my spare MP to use, so I picked it up.

There were tons of other Skills I wanted, but these were the ones I went with for now. For the time being, I didn't have to worry about taking any monster attacks, so saving time was the priority.

"Touya-saaan! There's still one left, you know!?"

I looked up at Lapis, shouting from overhead. Down at my feet, a Large Rat was bouncing around, desperately trying to land some kind of hit on her.

"...Huh!? Why did you stop moving!? Hurry up and kill it! Even knowing it can't reach me, scary is still scary, you know!? This rat's eyes are all bloodshot or something!!"

"Nah, it's just fun to watch."

"Don't tell me you're some kind of sadist!?"

Get used to it already. Depending on how things go, we might be doing this for months.

* * *

Now then, as for my Unique Skill "Gacha" — I'd uncovered an interesting quirk in how it worked.

Pulling gacha required Levels, and doing a ten-pull dropped my Level by 10. Along with that, any stats I'd gained up to that point would drop back down too, right back to where they'd started.

But the SP I gained with each Level up stayed put, and so did any Skills I'd acquired with that SP. I'd also confirmed that leveling up again afterward still granted 1 SP as normal.

Even Lapis apparently had no idea why it worked that way, though.

Well, if I couldn't figure it out, there wasn't much point worrying about it. What mattered was that this meant I could get nearly unlimited SP.

Normally, Explorers placed a heavy priority on raising their Level. That's because it was necessary for both raising stats and earning SP.

But the higher your Level climbed, the more the experience required for the next one ballooned. At high Levels, it wasn't unusual to spend days on end fighting for your life, all just to earn a single point of SP. Past a certain point, the cost of getting stronger shot up dramatically.

But what about my case?

I'd raise my Level to 11, pull the gacha, and drop back to Lv1. That reset the experience requirement, dropping me right back into a "rapid-growth phase" where beating a handful of slimes was enough to level up again.

In other words, I could just repeat this efficient little "chore" on the safe low floors, over and over. And that alone would let me get my hands on more SP than a high-Level Explorer might earn in a lifetime — and get it about as easily as water from a tap.

What did that mean?

That I could win out not through the sheer size of my stats — my "vessel" — but through sheer force in the "quality and quantity" of my Skills.

Physical enhancement, detection, all kinds of resistances. Powerful Skills that other Explorers would normally have to pick and choose between, I could just stack on top of each other, the whole lot.

Just from routine work in complete safety, I could gain enough power to surpass high-ranking Explorers.

On top of that, the "prizes" I got from pulling gacha would boost my strength even further.

Honestly, I couldn't stop laughing.

"He's laughing!! This guy's actually laughing!? Officeeer! There's a sadist over heeere!!"

The cops aren't that free, you know.

* * *

After that, I kept up the safe hunting, using Lapis as bait. Before I knew it, I'd reached Lv 7.

"Alright, Lapis. Let's head home soon."

"Huh, isn't that early?"

It was 3 p.m. A little early, sure, but factoring in the trip back, it worked out about right.

"I want to get the selling done before it gets crowded."

For what it's worth, I'd been starting later than the counter's busy morning hours too. So actual working hours ran from about 10 to 4. A little over five hours inside the dungeon.

"Are you seriously okay with that? Yesterday's earnings were, what, something like 2,000 yen?"

Just as a worried-looking Lapis said, yesterday's haul from slime hunting had come to 1,900 yen. I'd spent about five hours hunting, so that worked out to under 400 yen an hour.

In practice, even if a beginner busted their back on Floor 1, that was about all they'd take home. And for what it's worth, Floor 2 or 3 didn't change things all that dramatically either.

This low income kept up all the way until Floor 6, where it is considered to be the end of the beginner zone.

"I told you last night, didn't I? I'm still living off my allowance from home, so I'm not expecting much from the income side right now. What matters more is whether I can level up safely."

"I get that, but... then why are your working hours so short?"

"I became an Explorer because I didn't want to work at a black company, remember? If I ended up working myself to the bone anyway, that'd defeat the whole point."

Even if I had gotten my hands on some cheat-like Skill.

If I had the financial room to spare, I'd take a comfortable life over grinding.

It was May right now. Until my allowance ran dry in March, I still had plenty of breathing room.

"...So that's why you're taking tomorrow off?"

Lapis gave me a slightly exasperated look. A bit cheeky of her.

For what it's worth, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday were my working days. Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday were my days off.

Three full rest day per single week. Nice.

"As for income, pulling the gacha should sort that out eventually anyway."

What mattered was my peace of mind. And for that, I'd put in the effort to live a comfortable life as an Explorer.

"You really don't waver at all, do you. It's almost refreshing."

Aw, stop it. You're making me blush.