Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 252

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TL: ALT

Chapter 252 – X-Day

Obtaining Globalization (Extreme) in the Iwo Jima Dungeon allowed me to make significant progress on my plans.

The Escape Crystal has grown to fill about one-third of the crystal room.

The original plan required the crystal to fill half of the room or, ideally, the entire room. However, after recalculating based on the use of this skill, I realized that filling one-third of the room was sufficient.

We were also able to recover more resources than expected, thanks to the magic device developed by Shaina and the Exploration Department.

X-Day is December 21.

It’s been less than a week since I cleared the Iwo Jima Dungeon.

There is a reason why we are rushing the plan.

The radicalization of public opinion caused by Tozaki’s Change of Strategy is happening faster than expected.

Tozaki isn’t just manipulating public opinion with his “strategy.”

He is also skillfully exploiting external crises, such as the shooting down of Russian military aircraft, to stir up the people’s sense of self-defense.

By making the entire population feel a sense of shared crisis, he is trying to unite public opinion into a powerful force.

However, some parts of Tozaki’s plan are difficult to understand.

The existence of a corridor to another world could certainly be this country’s trump card.

However, that is a long-term prospect, and it does not mean that the country will immediately have the power to repel invasions by other countries.

Tozaki says the country will accept several thousand immigrants from another world per month, with the goal of eventually reaching 10,000 per month.

However, if we accept 10,000 people per month, it would take approximately 83 years to double the population.

Conversely, if we want to accept 100 million people over ten years, we would need to accept 10 million people per year or 830,000 per month.

That is equivalent to the population of a small city designated by government ordinance.

It would be nearly impossible to provide basic education to that many people from another world.

The number of explorers needed to find places for them would quickly become insufficient.

This would require assigning people who are not currently explorers to become explorers.

I can’t help but wonder if Tozaki is stirring up national unrest because he wants to forcibly mobilize non-explorers.

However, even if such a large-scale, forced career change were possible, there wouldn’t be enough dungeons to support that many explorers.

Such a career change would cause unprecedented labor shortages in other industries, leading to their collapse except for exploration.

Dungeons don’t produce food or machinery. The only thing they can provide is magic power generated by mana coins. At the same time, increased exploration might boost item trade, but that alone wouldn’t sustain the nation.

If the plan is to export items and import necessities, that would contradict the current foreign policy of confrontation.

Perhaps the idea is that once enough explorers are trained, they can simply take what they need by force.

A more realistic option would be to encourage a large number of Japanese people to marry people from the other world in order to increase the population in the next generation.

Considering the pace of population growth during the postwar baby boom, doubling the population is not a pipe dream if we accept immigrants from the other world for several decades.

Tozaki himself explained it that way in his speech.

In any case, however, the population isn’t going to double right away.

Although there are stories that the “awakening” accompanying the speech has led to an increase in the number of explorers, it’s still not enough to shake the military balance between major powers.

Explorers with status certainly pose a threat to public safety.

However, they are not capable of fighting heavily armed armies.

Some high-level explorers might be able to fight an army, but only on a local scale. There is no one with the power to destroy an entire nation’s army.

If hit by missiles or subjected to airstrikes, most explorers (except me) would probably die.

Even if opening the corridor to another world increases Japan’s military power in the long term, the military balance right now is no different from before Prime Minister Tozaki took office.

…Well, except for me, that is.

Perhaps Tozaki is counting on me to take action if necessary and is not afraid of military conflict with other countries.

If Russia were to launch a nuclear strike, I would definitely shoot it down. If Russia were to land in Hokkaido, I would take some kind of countermeasure.

Even if I didn’t cause the situation, I can’t just leave it alone.

Letting Tozaki’s actions go unchecked could be the greatest risk to me.

Whether I like it or not, I may be drawn into a war with another country.

I don’t want to kill soldiers who are just following orders, even if they are illegal explorers committing evil deeds of their own free will.

However, it would be pointless to rush into a plan out of impatience and fail.

After careful consideration within the limited time available, I made the decision to move forward, confirming that it was feasible.

I awaited X-Day with tension.

“Yuto-san… Are you nervous?”

Shaina asked me in the crystal room where the Escape Crystal was located.

I wished Serika were there with me, but she was one of the “people on the surface.”

After we finished our final discussion with Friend Summon, I sent Serika back to the surface.

We haven’t had any time alone lately, so my stress has been building up.

Shaina looks at me with concern from behind her blue bangs, her amber eyes fixed on me.

She has been a great help to me.

She has taught me about magic technology and how to behave like royalty.

However, I don’t think of myself as a king.

“Hmm, yeah, I guess so,”

I nod vaguely.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could have recorded a message in advance…”

“No, it’s more than enough that you developed technology to transmit live images using magic.”

When she came to this world, the first thing that caught Shaina’s interest was television.

Since arriving in Asylum, she has become interested in computers and the Internet. However, when she was a member of the Hecatonchires, television was the only thing that could distract her.

Given the state of Erythusia, she believes that public broadcasting via television is more important than computers and the Internet.

The result of Shaina’s “independent study” is the transmission of live images using magic.

Using magic waves instead of radio waves allows for clearer transmission of images.

The most significant feature is that no special receiver is required for transmission using magic waves.

Since magic is used, it is possible to send images by using the human mind itself as a “receiver.”

Shaina says the mechanism is similar to illusion magic, though there are some differences in the details.

Illusion magic is cast in such a way that it cannot be resisted, but image transmission can be.

You can choose to see it or refuse it.

It might be annoying to suddenly have images sent to you, but at least you have the freedom to resist.

If this system ever becomes practical, we’ll have to consider implementing some regulations.

Shaina refers to this wave-based image transmission magic as “magic broadcasting.”

Then, another person speaks to me.

“It’s okay to be nervous. Considering the content, it’s only natural. It would be much stranger if you weren’t nervous and acted all cool.”

My neighbor, Yamato Sakurai, said this in a slightly cheeky tone.

Regardless of the content of his broadcast, Yamato’s technical skill was impressive.

I took him to Asylum and helped him with everything from arranging equipment to acting coaching.

“Well, that’s true.”

“The content itself is quite impactful this time. You’re wearing a mask, so as long as your voice doesn’t shake, you’ll be fine.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

“You practiced so much. It’s no different from singing karaoke. In fact, if it’s too smooth, it’ll seem unnatural, so make sure you put your heart into it. Even if it’s a story you’ve told many times before, it’s the first time for the audience. It’s just right if it feels a little slow.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“It’s okay if you mess up a little. We’re preparing a video to upload online separately from the magic broadcast. The video will be quoted later. After all, the magic broadcast can’t be recorded.”

That’s the only downside to magic broadcasts.

They can’t be recorded.

It’s also impossible to broadcast something that has been recorded in advance.

Humans tend to have vague memories, even of their own experiences.

Later, things you know you experienced in reality can feel like something that happened in a dream.

This is especially true with magic broadcasts, which are received directly by the mind.

As Yamato said, we plan to upload the video to the internet right after the broadcast. In the end, it’s the video that will remain in people’s memories.

Yamato edited the video to make it easier to watch, adding pauses between words and making other adjustments.

I had to do so many retakes and re-record it.

“There’s no need to try to give a good speech. You can’t compete with Tozaki in that area. He’s copied my streaming style completely, you know.”

“It seems so. Of course, he’s probably imitating the personalities of politicians and business leaders, both domestic and international.”

“I did think that speech was creepy. There was something about it that reminded me of myself. I thought it was just me being overly self-conscious.”

I hadn’t watched many of Yamato’s videos, so I didn’t notice, but apparently, there were traces of Yamato’s style in some parts of Tozaki’s speech.

“Kurashiki-san, you’re going to create an overwhelming miracle. It’s better to be mysterious by saying less. It makes for a better speech if you let people fill in the blanks themselves.”

“The research is impressive.”

I wish he had used that research in a socially desirable way.

Well, he seems deeply remorseful, and his sister said she would take responsibility, so I have nothing more to say.

“Yuto-san. It’s almost time.”

“Oh, right. I can’t escape reality forever.”

I enter the photo booth that I made in the Crystal Room and take my familiar mask out of the Item Box.

Of course, it’s the Crow Tengu mask.

We discussed broadcasting with my real face to gain trust but ultimately decided against it because the risk was too great.

If I were as handsome as Yamato, I might have been able to use my face as a weapon.

I use several skills I prepared for this moment:

First, Composure calms my mind and makes it harder to lose control.

I also use Preaching, which makes it easier to come up with words to persuade others.

And Flawless, which allows me to instinctively know what to do in difficult situations.

These kinds of skills are common, but thanks to recent research, I was able to acquire similar ones.

I also know how to calm my mind with either magic or martial arts.

There are also several skills that manipulate the minds of others, but I won’t use those this time.

Using a similar skill to expose Tozaki’s Change of Strategy wouldn’t make sense.

I can’t decide it’s okay just because no one will find out.

I took a deep breath and said,

“Okay. Let’s begin.”

My words sent a wave of tension through the crystal room.

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