Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 88

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TL: ALT

Chapter 88 – Tracking

“Over there, Yuto-san.”

Honoka-chan pointed out of the windshield.

Honoka-chan’s slender white finger pointed slightly to the right in the direction of travel, towards the back of the mountain.

The sun had already set.

The lights of people’s houses and cars on the mountain road appeared and disappeared from time to time between the mountains, which looked like nothing more than a dense black mass.

Honoka-chan sits on my lap in a princess-like position.

I stare at the screen of my phone, trying to escape the soft body heat in my arms.

Huh? Why am I suddenly in this situation?

To understand, we have to go back in time.

But it was only 20 minutes ago.

The Karakuri Doctor I had summoned, named Gennai, had successfully created a Karakuri UFO using the Summon Secret Monster function.

In addition to the Karakuri UFO blueprints that I had stolen from Gennai himself, a considerable amount of other materials were required to create the UFO.

One Conductivity Furnace, eight Universal Gears, 120 Small Gears, 24 Armor Plates, four Karakuri Weapons of choice, two Karakuri Armors of choice, and one Fluid Mithril.

The Conductivity Furnace was obtained from his own drop items, the Universal Gears from treasure chests on every floor of the Kururi Castle dungeon, the Small Gears from drops from Karakuri Soldiers and others, and the Armor Plates from drops from Karakuri Tanks.

For the four optional Karakuri weapons, I used the Karakuri Lance, and for the armor, I chose the Discharge Shield stolen from the Karakuri Soldiers.

Fluid Mithril was the only one not obtained in the Karakuri Castle dungeon. It was dropped by Huge Slime in the now-defunct (but still existing) thicket dungeon.

In short, I barely had enough materials on hand.

The question that remains is, does Gennai’s Karakuri Creation require any production time? If he has the Karakuri Creation skill, he should be able to make it in a short time.

If the Karakuri Creation skill had been implemented in a more realistic way, there was a possibility that they would have said, “It will take 1,200 hours to complete the Karakuri UFO.”

But fortunately, the Karakuri Creation skill was implemented in a game-oriented way. Once the materials were given to Gennai, the UFO was created quickly.

Honoka-chan, the mountain priest, and Minazawa-san, who were present at the scene, all had their mouths agape.

Not only was the UFO completed in an instant, but most of the raw materials were clearly missing compared to the finished product.

The effect is like a game craft, not real manufacturing.

Still, I am pleased with the result.

The whole Karakuri thing itself is a mystery from the perspective of modern science.

Even though we live in a world that seems to have gone crazy, science and technology have advanced in a way that I see no reason to worry about.

Artificial intelligence is said to be developing rapidly, but it has not yet reached the point where robots can work in place of humans.

From the point of view of such common sense of modern science, it is strange when a Karakuri Soldier acts autonomously.

Karakuri Soldiers seem to move only with gears and a spring…

Even if they tried to bring the Karakuri Creation skill into “reality,” there was no “reality” to bring it into.

Well, as usual, it is not clear who is bringing the skill into reality or into the game.

Anyway, Gennai completed the Karakuri UFO in an instant, but there was a small problem.

The Karakuri UFO was a two-seater.

There were only two seats in the Karakuri UFO: the pilot’s seat and the back seat.

It was designed more like a two-seater fighter plane than a car since it seemed to be able to control fire from the back seat.

In order to detect Haruka-san’s presence, Honoka-chan’s Divine Response is absolutely necessary.

But at the same time, we also need someone to pilot the Karakuri UFO.

I don’t even have a driver’s license, so there’s no way I can fly an aircraft.

The pilot would have to be Gennai, who has Maneuvering skill.

However, if that is the case, there will be a shortage of seats…

So I had no choice but to sit in the back seat, holding Honoka-chan in my arms.

Because of the space, I had to hold her sideways instead of on my lap, but that way, I was very close to Honoka-chan’s face.

Fortunately (?) Honoka-chan is a slim girl, so I managed to block the physical contact from my mind.

If it had been Haruka-san, it would have been very bad.

Before I left Tengumine Shrine, I contacted Haitani-san via the Paladin Knights guild chat.

I really wanted Serika to be there, but she was in a dungeon in Flood.

I connected with Haitani-san and explained what was going on,

“You seem to like jumping into unprecedented situations as usual.”

She said with a hint of surprise.

By the way, I did not tell her that Haruka-san was an elf.

As for Clovis, I told her that he was from another world, but not that he was an elf.

“It’s not like I’m in this because I like it.”

I told her that I had rescued Minazawa-san and asked her to confirm the name of the other explorer held captive by Clovis.

“They are all explorers who have gone missing in the last few days.”

“Is that all of them?”

“No, there are a dozen or so that Kurashiki-san didn’t mention.”

“Shit, I knew it…”

Maybe they were ‘used’ to cause the Flood in the dungeons in and around Tokyo.

“Shouldn’t I call Serika-san back and have her join you there?”

“We’re running out of time.”

I have the Dungeon Travel skill.

If I have Serika come to the dungeon area of Hikarigaoka Park near the Association and I pick her up with my Dungeon Travel, we can meet in the shortest amount of time.

However, it would take some time for Serika, who is in a dungeon under Flood, to return to the surface.

And even though Clovis is not there, that dungeon cannot be left unattended either.

The fact that even Serika, the guild master, is on the front lines suggests that the Association’s manpower is stretched very thin.

Even if Serika were to join me, there would still be the problem of the Karakuri UFO’s capacity.

Would the Association send a helicopter? That would take time.

“Please be careful. If something happens to you, the Paladin Knights will collapse.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“I am not exaggerating. I don’t even want to imagine what would happen to Serika-san… if she lost you.”

“I’ll be careful.”

――And so it went until the present.

“It’s that lake!”

Honoka-chan shouted.

“A lake? Is that it?”

I checked my current location in the map application on my phone.

Maybe it was because we were up in the sky, or maybe it was because of the speed we were moving, but the signal was pretty unstable.

Maybe it’s the Stealth I put on the Karakuri UFO.

I wonder what would happen if an unidentified flying object (literally) were detected in this Japan with its well-developed radar network.

If we were jammed by the Self-Defense Forces planes, there would be no way for us to communicate with them.

Worst of all, there is even the possibility that machine guns and missiles will be aimed at us without question.

Apparently, there was an incident… where wyverns overflowing from the dungeon flood in other countries got caught in the jet stream and wandered into Japanese airspace.

That’s when I remembered the skill I just got.

Skill Grant.

It’s a skill that allows you to add skills to your possessions.

The Karakuri UFO was in my possession, and the Skill Grant was activated without a problem.

The skill I granted was Stealth.

Skill──────────────────

Stealth

Apply optical and acoustic camouflage to yourself, making it difficult for others to detect your presence. Consumes MP while in use.

────────────────────

The Karakuri UFO consumes magic power as its power source.

Specifically, it uses the mana coins I have.

I want to scream “More money” after Dungeon Journey, but the fact that it is powered by mana coins actually makes sense.

When mana coins are redeemed, they are transferred to a mint, and the transferred mana coins are turned into electricity at magical power plants around the country.

Mana coins are also a new source of energy in this crazy modern world.

However, modern science has not been able to extract energy (magic) directly from mana coins.

It is said that the mana coins are made to explode using technology that has not been revealed to the general public, and the energy generated from the mana coins is used to turn a turbine and power a generator.

But it seems that the guiding force reactor, which is the engine of this Karakuri UFO, is extracting energy directly from the mana coins…

If this information were to leak out, the government and corporations would be out for blood trying to get their hands on this UFO.

It would be to the point that they would want to take it even if they had to kill me.

The Japanese government would not hesitate to kill the owner if he were a spy for another country.

It could become a super-important military technology that even COCOM would not hesitate to use.

Anyway, the Karakuri UFO is powered by mana coins.

Stealth granted by Skill Grant is the same in that it consumes magic power (MP) to activate.

In this sense, the two are compatible, and by increasing the mana cost, Karakuri UFO automatically activates Stealth.

By the way, how much does it cost to fly the Karakuri UFO, especially when Stealth is activated? Yeah, it’s bad.

I can almost hear the sound of the blood pumping through my veins as my earnings from the Kururi Castle dungeon boss battles melt away.

By the way, Kudave’s summoning has been canceled, and he is now waiting in the middle of nowhere.

Although he complained that he was not raging enough.

Let’s hope there’s enough room at the destination.

The jumpy signal wasn’t stable, but I was able to get a general idea of our current location on my phone’s map.

I was in guild chat with Haitani-san,

“Is there a lake in the mountains west of the city center with a large dungeon?”

I asked.

The answer came back in two seconds.

“The Okutama Lake dungeon is A-rank.”

“Okutama Lake, huh?”

I mumbled,

“That must be it! The elf named Clovis uses Spirit Magic, doesn’t he? If he wants to perform a big ritual, he will need a lot of spirits. Besides, the more unbalanced their attributes are, the better they are for rituals… That’s what my mother told me before.”

“I see.”

I nodded at Honoka-chan’s explanation.

“I analyzed the location of the dungeon where the Flood occurred, and the Flood occurs over a straight line that crosses the center of the city and heads towards Lake Okutama. If Lake Okutama is the final destination, then there is parity. I think he is trying to make the cascade converge there.”

Haitani-san texted me.

When Honoka-chan saw that,

“Isn’t that the Dragon Vein?”

“Dragon Vein?”

“Yes. It is a wave of energy that flows deep within the earth. It is said to be a tremendous flow of power that is connected to the planet itself, whether it is magic, spiritual energy, or something else.”

“Is he planning to use something like that?”

He’s going to blow a hole in the world.

In fact, it’s only natural to be prepared for that.

“Honoka-chan, where is Haruka-san?”

“It’s fuzzy, but… she’s in that area. The reason it’s fuzzy is because she’s in a dungeon, I think.”

“Gennai, approach slowly.”

If Haruka-san is in the Okutama Lake Dungeon, then Clovis must be with her.

It is hard to imagine that Clovis is the only one waiting outside the dungeon.

It is unlikely that he would leave the Thunder Gryphon, which was helpless against Kudave, outside.

But he does have the ability to summon magical beasts.

And his skill level is 5.

It is possible that he has summoned other magical beasts besides the Thunder Gryphon to be on guard.

I let the UFO slowly approach the lake in preparation for the ambush.

The location of the entrance to the dungeon was sent to me by Haitani-san via chat.

From the air, I scan the area with Presence Detection and Enemy Search.

The Karakuri UFO also has some kind of radar, but I don’t know how accurate it is.

If someone with Stealth skill is lurking around, Presence Detection is a better way to detect their presence than radar.

“I can’t find them.”

Well, putting a half-assed unit out there won’t even slow me down when I call Kudave.

It’s probably a more rational decision to have a force on hand.

Or maybe he didn’t expect me to find this place so quickly.

I order Gennai to lower the UFO over the lake.

There was a small floating bridge on the lake.

This floating bridge was made of a floating drum-like structure with wooden planks.

Apparently, this floating bridge where you could walk across the lake was one of the tourist attractions of Lake Okutama.

However, such places tend to be the entrances to dungeons.

Although it is difficult to see in the darkness of the night, there is a black water mirror floating in the middle of the floating bridge.

I opened the hatch of the UFO, and the damp night air of the lake hit me in the face.

“I’m going. Gennai, stay in the sky with Honoka-chan on board―no, right, stay in the shadow of the mountains, a little further away. Even if there is a place where you can land, stay in the air. If you can stay close to the ground, save the Stealth.”

With that, I spit all the mana coins I had in the DGP into the backseat.

The backseat was filled with mana coins.

Even with so many mana coins, it would take several hours to run out of mana coins when flying with Stealth.

There are too many money eaters this time, like the Dungeon Travel.

Now, when I enter the dungeon and use Escape, I drop 30±20% every time.

It’s actually a good thing that the timing with the money is after the boss fight.

“W-wait a minute! I’ll also…”

“Honoka-chan, wait here.”

I told her without hesitation,

“…Ugh. Yes, sorry, I understand.”

Honoka-chan bites her lower lip in frustration and backs away.

…No, there is a lack of ability, but it’s just because I’m in trouble for the convenience of Escape.

I’m going to use the Level Sealing Bracelet because I don’t have time, but if there’s a Flood in this Okutama Lake Dungeon and the monsters are level-raised, there might be a situation where it’s faster to escape than to fight.

I think you already know this, but defeating Clovis is not difficult.

Rescuing Haruka-san and the other objectified explorers would also not be too difficult.

The difficult part is whether I can catch up with Clovis before he completes the ritual.

I patted Honoka-chan gently on the head and sat her down in the back seat.

“Don’t worry. I’ll bring Haruka-san back, I promise.”

I jumped over the floating bridge and into the nearby black portal.