Dungeon Gacha Life Chapter 36

 Chapter 36: An Alibi and a Suspicious Character

The JR Aihara Station sat about a kilometer away from Aihara Central Park Dungeon as the crow flies. What should have been a sleepy little station front was now wrapped in tension.

Yellow-and-black cordon line stretched across the area, cutting the station front off from the city streets beyond. The Guild sirens kept echoing in from the distance and since it was mixed with the red flash of patrol car lights, it only made the atmosphere feel heavier.

"Hey, quit pushing!"

"Wait, a Stampede? For real?"

The area was a crush of local residents fleeing in whatever they'd had on, mixed with confused commuters who had no idea what was going on.

The cold winter wind cut through the crowd, mingling with the white breath and half-panicked shouting of everyone around, swirling into a strange, feverish heat all its own.

I threaded my way through the crowd, working toward the cordon.

At the makeshift barricade blocking the road, I pulled a plastic card, my Explorer License from inside my jacket and held it up for the visibly on-edge police officer standing guard.

"I'm here from Hachioji Guild as backup. Suzukaze, solo C-Rank. I'll be handling monster thinning in the area."

I gave the lines I'd worked out in advance. The officer glanced down at the card, then immediately looked back up and said, "Huh? A fairy?"

His eyes went wide at the sight of Lapis beside me. I gave a wry smile and pushed things along.

"Yeah, she's part of my Unique Skill. Mind if I go through?"

"Apologies! Please, go right ahead."

"I'll do what I can."

We traded a short exchange and a nod.

That was one piece of my official alibi locked in. Suzukaze Touya entered the site through the proper procedures.

Behind me, a loudspeaker guided the evacuation. Ahead, the distant howls of monsters I had yet to see.

With both sounds echoing in my ears, I stepped forward into the city.

* * *

I sprinted down the now-empty asphalt road. Rounding a corner into an open street, I caught the harsh clang of metal and a monster's roar.

Ahead, I could see fellow Explorers already locked in combat.

Three Explorers, against five Lizardmen, a Middle Level monster. The Lizardmen swung their spears, driving the three into a slow encirclement.

"I'm joining in! Coming in from behind!!"

I deliberately shouted it out loud as I charged into the battle.

I didn't stop to check whether they could've handled it themselves. Not in an emergency like this.

Clearing the monsters fast was the priority above everything else. And hitting them from behind wouldn't risk throwing off the Explorers' own coordination.

"Got it, leave the front to us!!"

Of the three, the big man holding a massive shield at the front answered sharply. Judging by his heavy gear, he was the party's anchor, the tank.

At his signal, the two remaining attackers pushed forward too, adding pressure to them. The Lizardmen's attention locked entirely onto them.

Their backs were left completely undefended. A perfect opening.

I kicked off the ground and slipped into the Lizardmen's blind spot in an instant. Then, in one fluid motion, I drove a Slash into the nearest one's neck.

"—Gyiiih?!"

A grating shriek tore out as a thick spray of nearly black blood burst from the Lizardman's throat.

Inside a dungeon, that body would have dissolved into pale blue motes. Here, it slammed down onto the asphalt with all its raw, unpleasant weight and mass intact.

So corpses really do stick around out here. I'd seen footage of it before but seeing it firsthand was something else entirely and not in a good way.

Still, this wasn't the time to dwell on how gross it was. I moved on, sinking my blade into the backs and exposed flanks of the remaining Lizardmen, one after another.

By the time I'd taken down three of them, the party out front finished off the last one and the fight was over.

"Thanks for the help. We'll head to the next, a fairy?"

"Hello, I'm Lapis!"

Lapis answered brightly to what had clearly slipped out of his mouth unintentionally. Yeah, no way she doesn't stand out. Exactly as planned.

"This is what came out of my Unique Skill."

"Did you just call me a 'this'?!"

Lapis looked thunderstruck. Yeah, there she is. Wouldn't be right without that.

"R-right. Sorry, didn't mean to pry. We'll be heading off now, then."

The big man, still looking a little startled, said only that and turned on his heel. Seasoned people, evidently.

Thinning the monsters came first. Keeping conversation to the bare minimum and moving on immediately, I liked that about them.

After parting ways with them, I ended up fighting alongside one more group of Explorers too. All while keeping my strength capped at roughly C-Rank levels, of course.

Either way, that took care of the second piece of my alibi. Suzukaze Touya had been fighting alongside other Explorers, thinning out monsters.

With that done, I put Master of Scouting to full use, searching for somewhere no one else was around. No security cameras in sight, either... there's a back alley. This'll do.

I slipped into the alley, tucked myself out of sight and pulled up my Item Box.

* * *

What I pulled out were four pieces of gear. A staff, a robe, boots, a mask.

All of them SR-tier gear from the Gacha.

【Believer's Robe】(Equipment)

　A jet-black vestment favored by heretical cultists

　MND+30

First up was a pitch-black robe with a hood. No front opening at all, the kind you pull on over your head.

【Lakewater Boots】(Equipment)

　Boots that let the wearer walk on the surface of water

For my footwear disguise, I'd just grabbed whatever boots were on hand. Black, for some reason, with only the laces in blue as a nod to the whole "lake" theme.

【White Porcelain Mask】(Accessory)

　A light-absorbing mask with an unusual texture that completely hides the wearer's expression.

　INT+10　MND+10

Next was a mask to hide my face. Plain white, no ornamentation to speak of, covering the front of my face completely.

【Staff of Lamentation】(Equipment)

　An ominous staff carved with an unsettling skull motif

　INT+30

Last, I picked up the staff and the look was complete. Black hood, black boots, a white mask and a skull-carved staff.

Call it the Suspicious Person Starter Kit. Named that literally just now.

Wearing all this should buy some time before anyone could pin down who I actually was. As for Lapis, who stood out way too much, I stuffed her inside my hood, down near my chest.

"I can't see anything out here and it's really scary?!"

"No complaining. If anyone spots you, they'll know it's me in one second flat."

So, in you go.

"Mmph!"

Well, that took care of the preparations.

Going through the proper procedures to join the Stampede response. Making sure people on-site got a good look at me, fairy in tow.

That should cover appearances well enough for now.

Lately, thanks to Lapis and Yui, I'd actually started trading greetings with other Explorers. I'd at least like to hang onto that much of a social life.

All right, from here on, I'm fighting all-out as a mysterious black-robed sorcerer. Time to shut this Stampede down for good.

I activated my Unique Skill, Flight. In an instant, I shot straight up into the sky.

Flight was exactly what it said, a Skill that let me soar freely through the air. Inside a dungeon, I'd only ever given it a quick test run.

Finally, it was getting its moment in the sun.

"Yipe?!"

"Don't make noise. I'll give you a warning next time."

A muffled patting came from around my chest. Yeah, yeah, my bad.

Once I'd climbed high enough, I took a look around.

Below me, the streets of Aihara spread out. I could already make out a few large monster silhouettes down there.

I overlaid the presences I was picking up through Master of Scouting onto what I could see below.

Then I raised my staff and unleashed the spell all at once. Countless fist-sized fireballs bloomed from its tip and shot forward.

The fireballs tore through the sky and rained down on the monsters below all at once.