Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 182

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TL: ALT

Chapter 182 – Armed With Status

“Are they recruiting explorers? The Men’s Association and the Women’s Association?”

Serika answers my question.

“That’s right. It started with the Women’s Association, didn’t it?”

“Yes. The Women’s Association says that women should become explorers for self-defense.”

The official name of the Women’s Association is “The Women’s Association for Self-Defense Against Male Violence,” I think.

Since they are talking about self-defense, they have to learn how to protect themselves from (some of) the men.

In this crazy modern age where things like dungeons have appeared, the quickest way is to become an explorer.

“If you become a dungeon explorer, you can ignore physical gender differences.”

Simply learning self-defense techniques is not enough to protect yourself from men who are stronger than you.

But if you become a dungeon explorer, it’s a different story.

“Strictly speaking, it’s still said that men have an advantage.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It is generally accepted that there is no difference between the abilities of male and female explorers, but there are differences in individual stats. Data shows that the average HP of a male level 1 is 1.1 higher than that of a female level 1. However, the average MP of a female level 1 is 0.9 higher than that of a male level 1, and Magic Power and Mental Strength also tend to be higher. Therefore, if you take the average of all stats, you can say that there is no significant difference between males and females. However…”

“Ah, having high HP is a slightly advantageous factor.”

“That is true. HP is the most important stat for explorers. If you were to judge whether someone would become an explorer based on their base HP, the ratio of male to female explorers would be heavily skewed toward males.”

“I see.”

Well, there are guys like me with low HP but high MP and Magic Power.

However, the low average means that, compared to men, many women don’t have the minimum HP required to be explorers.

As someone who is an example of someone who “doesn’t have the minimum HP,” I can’t help but think that it might be possible to hide that, depending on the skill composition.

“Also, the dungeon is a lawless zone where self-defense is the rule. Even if you have high HP, it is much more dangerous for a woman to become an explorer than it is for a man.”

“The kind of men who become explorers are often rough, desperate, or even have criminal records.”

These kinds of men fight monsters in caves where their lives are in danger.

There’s no doubt that it’s a dangerous environment for women.

“So the Women’s Association is also arguing that men with criminal records should be banned from becoming explorers. Ultimately, they’re arguing that all men should be fitted with GPS devices with discharge functions.”

“Well, it’s a good idea to ban people with criminal records from becoming explorers. Whether or not it can be put into practice is another matter.”

It seems that there are 30,000 dungeons in Japan alone.

It would be impossible to restrict access to all of them.

“What about the Men’s Association? Why do they gather explorers?”

“There are two main reasons. One is that the former explorers of ‘Rakan’ and the Men’s Association have a high degree of affinity with each other.”

“Ah… those guys from ‘Rakan’ also like to say things like ‘Show me your manhood’ and so on.”

“I think it’s also because the people who were accepted as supporting members of the Men’s Association happened to be former Rakans. But you need capital to do this kind of work, so from an economic point of view, it makes sense to bring explorers into the association.”

“What is the other reason?”

“It’s to counter the Women’s Association. The Men’s Association seems to be afraid that women will become explorers and gain power, threatening the men.”

“Well, there are some fine Japanese men out there.”

In a way, I can’t help but be amazed at their unwavering principles.

“By the way, the Men’s Association argues that the dangerous job of the explorer is forced on men, while the Women’s Association argues that the privileged job of the explorer is monopolized by men.”

“Aren’t they saying the exact opposite?”

Most women would say that they have never forced men to be explorers.

Likewise, most men would say that they have never monopolized the job of explorers and excluded women.

However, when you make the argument that it is being forced on men/monopolized by men, there is a part of you that feels that way.

“If it’s just political rambling, then it’s one thing, but if everyone has their own explorer, then the association can’t just sit back and do nothing, can it…”

“Yes. Increasing the number of explorers under the organization’s control also means having ‘military strength.’ The Women’s Association criticizes men’s violence, but when they realize that they themselves have effective military strength, I wonder what they will do… They have long argued that public authority is the plaything of men, the embodiment of institutionalized male violence.”

“There’s a possibility that they think that their arguments are not accepted by the world and that words won’t get them anywhere.”

“There is a risk that they may choose to engage in guerrilla-style armed struggle.”

“Guerrilla warfare in Japan today?”

“It’s unrealistic on the surface, but it’s easy in a dungeon. All you have to do is ambush male explorers in the dungeon.”

“Hey, hey…”

“Of course, the same goes for the Men’s Association. The dungeon is already almost a lawless zone. If there are casualties on both sides, it’s not impossible for it to escalate into an all-out war.”

It is well known that if you commit murder in a dungeon, your name will turn red in the status bar.

However, if you use methods such as having a monster do the killing, you can avoid getting a red name.

If you use what is known as a monster PK (originally a term used in MMOs but now used in exploration) to have a monster attack another explorer, you can claim that it was an accident, even if it is discovered.

“The Women’s Association is conducting counter-activities against the Men’s Association, which continues to conduct street propaganda activities both on the ground and in the dungeons. So far, it has been an exchange of accusations and insults that can hardly be called discourse, but if there are people with explorer status on both sides, it could lead to accidental fighting.”

“If that happens, it’ll be a riot that will require the use of riot police. If even the riot police can’t control it, I think the Association’s Inspection Bureau will have to get involved. Explorers suppress a riot caused by explorers… from a non-explorer’s point of view, that’s a situation that threatens the rule of law, isn’t it?”

Serika says, letting out a long sigh.

“Besides, the remnants of the ‘Rakan’ are involved on both sides…”

I had no idea.

“Still, it seems a bit far-fetched. Aren’t they the kind of people who only express extreme opinions that make no sense? No matter how much power they gain, it’s meaningless if they don’t gain supporters. Neither organization is big enough to stage a coup, right?”

“Yes. If I’m being completely honest, both organizations are just a function of men and women who have built up frustrations in their daily lives and found an easy target to vent their anger.”

Haitani-san cuts both groups down to size.

She really is very straightforward.

“But the economy isn’t so bad that people like that are thriving. In fact, I hear the economy is doing well thanks to the dungeons…”

The economy is maintaining a reasonable inflation rate thanks to the mana coins generated by the dungeons, and the GDP growth rate is on the rise.

Unemployment is also at an all-time low due to the massive “employment” of explorers.

An economist I often see on TV said that the Bank of Japan is not the Japanese central bank, but a dungeon, and that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry are not the ones who run Japan’s fiscal policy, but a dungeon.

But Haitani-san shook her head at my question.

“No, if you look at the big picture, it’s a boom, but there’s a big income gap. The Gini coefficient, which measures economic inequality, is getting worse every year…”

“I don’t understand much about economics.”

“…Even though those who are making money are making money, those who are not involved are not only not benefiting but are becoming relatively poorer because of the gap between the rich and the poor. Even though they want to become explorers, which is their last hope, many people have to give up at the first stage of their status. In the past, the ‘Rakans’ would take these people in…”

“…And now that support is gone.”

As someone who was involved in that incident, I can’t help but feel that this is someone else’s problem.

“…Kurashiki-san is not to blame. You can’t call a guild that overworked people and sent them to their deaths a ‘support system.'”

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