Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 214

TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!

Enjoy~

TL: ALT

Chapter 214 – Haitani-san’s Turn

Haitani-san, who previously stated that she would “cut off Seiji Tozaki’s political life,” seems to have taken various steps since then.

The result of these efforts was the “Joint Urgent Condemnation Statement on Genron.net,” which was published in a major newspaper.

This statement, in which a number of prominent figures from various fields all spoke in unison to condemn the problem of Genron.net’s malicious antagonism and monetization, has become a hot topic not only in Japan but also overseas.

As you might expect, the figures who participated in the statement and stood out were intellectuals from the left, such as sociologists, political scientists, journalists, and a well-known lawyer who is also a former governor.

To be honest, it’s not that surprising that they would speak out on these issues.

Some of them had been sounding the alarm for some time.

Haitani-san thought that some people might see the panelists’ selection as biased because they were all from the left, so she also invited some big names from the conservative camp.

These included literary scholar Seiran Natsume, former chief of staff of the Joint Staff of the Self-Defense Forces Sasaki Takenori, editorial writer of the Fuso Shimbun Toshitaka Funaki, and former ambassador to the United States Kippei Nakatsugawa.

The fact that people who are considered to be unquestionably right-wing or close to the government issued a joint statement with left-wing intellectuals, who are usually at each other’s throats, made a big impression.

However, Haitani-san still seemed dissatisfied, and she also called on famous people from the online world, such as Yukimura and MyTuber KIRIN, to participate.

This was a strategy to involve famous people from the online world so that it wouldn’t be seen as “the sensible (self-proclaimed) old media slamming the new online media.”

As a result, the hashtag #DividingBusiness trended daily on social media.

The furor spread even further when television reported on the heated social media discussion.

Why were they able to issue a joint statement that transcended party and principle, even before the election?

I was also surprised at first, but when I heard the circumstances from Haitani-san, I understood.

They were more or less “victims” of Genron.net.

They were well-known media personalities, so they were easy targets for Genron.net’s distributors.

Online libel and slander are nothing to sneeze at.

They were verbally abused while live streaming lectures and talks without permission, they were suddenly surrounded and hung up on the street, and they were insulted by name all day at their workplace when a street propaganda car drove up to their workplace…

It seems that there are many cases where they are suddenly made to look bad, and then they are cut out of the video at a convenient point where they have lost the words to respond, and it is broadcast as a video of “defeating the argument.”

It seems that taking on famous figures from opposing forces and verbally attacking them face to face was a kind of test of courage or a “war story.”

Many famous figures in various fields have suffered such “real damage.”

Even if the public ignored it as the behavior of a few extremists, it must have been an incident that made those who make their living from speech seethe with anger.

On the other hand, there are also some celebrities who were taken in by the slogan “creating a public space for discourse on the Internet” when it was first launched, became distributors for Genron.net, and then became disillusioned and left.

Famous bloggers who participated in the statement published confessions based on their own experiences of “how I was incited by Genron.net”.

Of course, the distributors who were active on Genron.net were in a state of great turmoil.

There was even a broadcaster who was arrested by the police after issuing a death threat to a participant in the joint statement.

Each broadcaster’s sympathizers, such as members of the Men’s Association and the Women’s Association, were just as eager to attack their opponents as the broadcasters themselves.

However, the general public, who had no direct contact with Genron.net, generally looked at the Genron.net broadcasters with cold eyes.

Or maybe it would be better to say that they were quietly angry.

Do they think we are stupid enough to be manipulated by such absurd claims?

Probably.

Of course, this anger was directed at the person who created the vile platform, Genron.net―Seiji Tozaki.

As the criticism exploded, even from within his own party, there were calls for Seiji Tozaki’s dismissal. Although Prime Minister Orimura avoided naming names, he did say that he would give due consideration to the treatment of the Diet members involved with Genron.net and tried to put out the fire.

Well, after the events that took place, it can be said that Seiji Tozaki’s political ambitions are now over.

I’m a little worried about the Cold House, but even if he has a powerful explorer, that doesn’t mean he’ll win the election.

By the way, the trend of the election seems to be that your own party will win.

Considering the Genron.net incident, it seems that the popularity of your own party will decrease, but let’s not forget the recent incident of the dungeon collapse and the approval of the nuclear missile attack.

While the issue of Genron.net should be pursued as such, now that serious concerns about national security have arisen, there is a feeling that a change of government to an opposition party that is inexperienced in running a government is not possible.

Even among the intellectuals who participated in the joint statement, there were various positions, from “Don’t forgive your own party for allowing Seiji Tozaki to go wild” to “Even if Seiji Tozaki’s personal qualities are questioned, the party to which he belongs should not be affected.”

In the end, it seems like they’re just continuing the usual exchange of criticism and accusations, which never really leads to an agreement with the usual opponents.

…I can’t help but wonder if this usual childish bickering is really that great compared to Genron.net?

There are a few people who think that they are responsible for the increasing division in society, which is a relief.

Literary scholar Seiran Natsume said this.

“It is our uncompromising and antagonistic discourse that has exaggerated the division in society beyond what it actually is, and made it seem as if the restoration of society is hopeless. We, as members of the media, must openly acknowledge this. Genron.net is out of the question because it deliberately inflames the divide. But don’t our own “discourses” also fall into the same trap, to a greater or lesser extent? Haven’t we, as members of the media, also neglected our efforts to reach a social consensus with those with whom we disagree? Haven’t we closed our eyes to the fact that it is precisely because of the divisions in society that we are able to make a living through discourse? And have we considered that those with whom we disagree are still valuable partners who have a role to play in democracy? We need to think about ourselves, we need to think deeply about ourselves.”

Well, it’s good that they’re introspecting, but to be honest, I doubt it will last.

In the case of such people, they may say they’re reflecting on themselves, but they rarely take any concrete action based on that reflection.

I suspect they’re just trying to look tough and self-disciplined by saying they’re taking it seriously.

Speaking of things that bother me, I think there are quite a few politicians who say they “take bullying and hikikomori issues in schools seriously,” but I don’t think they’ve done enough to solve these problems.

Leaving that kind of political talk aside, though.

“Have you found out anything about Kandori’s whereabouts?”

I ask Haitani-san about something that’s been on my mind.

“No, I still haven’t found out anything.”

Haitani-san shakes her head.

That’s right. Kandori of the Women’s Association escaped from the hospital where she had been transferred.

Measures had been taken to prevent the explorer from escaping, and there was also surveillance by police and inspectors.

However, Kandori managed to escape.

It is said that the remnants of the restraints, which had been torn to shreds, were left on the hospital bed sheet.

She probably used her unique skill, Experimental Space, to wear down the restraints.

Experimental Space is a skill that allows you to rewrite any parameter of the target.

She could have accelerated the time of the restraints, or she could have manipulated the strength or density.

There are all kinds of clever scientific solutions you can think of (as Haitani-san said), like rapidly oxidizing the restraints or weakening the intermolecular bonds.

Kandori is a scientist, so she can probably do whatever she wants in that area.

I knew it would be difficult to prevent Kandori, who has a level of 220,000, from escaping.

However, I can’t always be on her tail.

As with Zatsudo, it’s very difficult to determine who is in charge of catching a high-level explorer who has broken the law.

“So you’re saying that Tozaki and Cold House are hiding her?”

“It’s hard to say. Kandori-san should be able to change her appearance using the Experimental Room. It’s even possible that her status name could be rewritten as a parameter. I think it would be very difficult to track her down.”

“So that’s how this skill works.”

It’s a rather annoying ability that makes it difficult to track her down.

“Unlike Zatsudo, she doesn’t seem to attack people for no reason, so I guess that’s a blessing in disguise.”

“She may be kidnapping people to use as test subjects to create monsters out of magic moss.”

“It must be difficult to set up a research facility while evading the police. I’d like to think that she’s keeping quiet for now, but…”

“What about the research materials and samples in this lab?”

“It seems that they were conducting research on implanting the magic moss they collected in the dungeon into fertilized mouse eggs. If it is possible to turn mice into monsters using magic moss, it would be a great discovery.”

“When you put it like that, it didn’t work, did it?”

“It seems so. Kandori-san also injected magic moss into her own body, but the experiment notes say that it didn’t turn her into a monster.”

“What about the male genital eradication virus?”

“That was a complete hoax. There was no evidence that he was doing any such research.”

“So Kandori’s research didn’t produce any good results?”

“No, not really. Kandori had developed a method to extract the moss from the dungeon and keep it in a stable form. However, she had not been able to create monsters directly from the magic moss without going through the dungeon.”

The reason I can create monsters with my Dungeon Master skills is because I’m using the functions of the dungeon.

I can’t directly turn DP into monsters with my own power.

Magic Moss is like the residue of used DP before it is collected by the dungeon and turned into DP.

Currently, the only way to recycle this residue is to use the dungeon functions.

However, Kandori can turn parts of her own body into dungeons using the Experimental Room.

Although this is a different story from the original hypothesis (the theory that Magic Moss has a micro-monster biome called the Magic Moss Biome), it could be said that they were close to the truth.

“If you find Kandori, let me know. I’m probably the only one who can catch her.”

Even if she didn’t use the same strategy as before, flooding the entire micro-dungeon with countless slime macrophages like a haze, she would still be too dangerous with her level 220,000 stats alone.

It looks like Kandori has opted out of the level rankings, but if she hadn’t, she would have been the country’s number one explorer.

Kandori doesn’t seem to be interested in exploring at all, so perhaps the fact that she doesn’t seem to be used to fighting is a blessing in disguise.

However, even an ordinary explorer – or even the best explorer in the country – is still a dangerous opponent.

“I’ll leave it up to you then.”

Since Haitani-san had prepared the joint statement, she was stuck in the guild room today.

It was a bit sad to see her working alone on a Sunday, so Serika and I stopped by after the election.

“Yuto. Aren’t you leaving soon?”

“Oops, it’s that time already?”

Serika reminded me that I had something to do.

“Are you going to the Umihotaru Dungeon now? Well, I guess Kurashiki-san would probably finish everything.”

“It’s strange to leave it unexplored.”

The last time I went into the dungeon on an emergency request, I had to bring back the Men’s Association Explorers I rescued, so I didn’t have time to finish the Umihotaru Dungeon.

But it’s a very unique dungeon.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to finish it at the end of this tour of A-rank dungeons.

“I’ll be back when the votes are counted.”

“No, I don’t think this is a dungeon that can be completed in a few hours…”

Saying this with a desperate look, Serika and I said our temporary goodbyes, and I went to Umihotaru.

If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!