Chapter 14, Congratulations. You’ve Obtained Your First SR Item

Translator: Lizz

 

The next day, I go to tons of interviews.

 

I don’t know the results yet, but judging from how the interviewers’ tilt their heads and hmm, it’s not great.

 

Actually, it seems like I’ve already been rejected quite a few times. I remember some companies say they’ll contact me within three days whether I pass or fail, but I haven’t heard from them.

 

You know how it is. When you get rejected over and over again in interviews, it starts to feel like you’re being completely negated as a person.

 

“Am I aiming too high?”

 

Still, if the company is way too black, I feel like I won’t be able to stick with it, and reality is harsh.

 

As soon as I get home, I let out a huge sigh. My luck keeps slipping away.

 

…Oh yeah, I still haven’t claimed today’s login bonus.

 

Whoa, the goggles shine like crazy!

 

Were they always this flashy?

 

<Good evening. Here is today’s login bonus.>

 

“Alrighty… Whoa!? Hey, hey hey!”

 

That seriously scared me!

 

A mountain of items – tickets and who knows what else – suddenly falls from near the ceiling!

 

I thought I was gonna get buried for a second.

 

<…Also included are the rewards from your recent mission completion.>

 

“Right, I forgot to claim those. Isn’t this a bit much?”

 

<You completed many missions last time, so this is the correct amount.>

 

“Huh, some of these I’ve never even seen before.”

 

There’s just so much stuff, my room’s turned into total chaos.

 

<You’ve got four skip tickets, three elixirs, an iron spear, iron armor, iron shield, a healing water, ten gacha tickets, one blue ore, one mirror stone, a magic card ‘Alter Ego’, and a battle axe.>

 

“What, what did you say?”

 

Skip tickets, elixirs, iron spears, that stuff makes sense, but everything from the blue ore onward is completely confusing.

 

<Then, let me explain each item.>

 

“Ah, no! I’ll ask when I need to. More importantly, did my level go up a lot?”

 

<Then, I will display Kagetora-sama’s current status.>

 

I’ve taken down red monster-looking things and all sorts of enemies, so I hope I’ve gotten a lot stronger. But the higher the level, the more EXP is needed, which makes it harder to level up.

 

With half excitement and half nerves, I put on the goggles. I think I was level 13 last time.

 

＝＝＝＝＝＝

 

Name: Ryuga Kagetora

Explorer Rank: R

Level: 35

Health: 667/667

Magic: 253/253

Strength: 811

Speed: 479

Resilience: 630

Dexterity: 302

Luck: 298

Usable Magic: Fireball (Card Effect)

 

＝＝＝＝＝＝

 

“…Huh? Wait, is this… my status?”

 

<Yes. This is Kagetora-sama’s status.>

 

Th-that’s strange. Just the other day, a girl I met in town said it took her half a year to raise her level by ten.

 

Even if she’s a bit off, this level-up speed is wild.

 

“I-is this really legit!? Isn’t this weird?”

 

<No. This is a normal speed. Explorers typically level up at this kind of pace. Lately, explorers have been too laid-back.>

 

It’s like that old-timer vibe – ‘kids these days’ – the way she dismisses it. But when it’s said so confidently, I start to think maybe it’s true.

 

“But it doesn’t really feel real… It’s kinda scary actually.”

 

<You’re fine. Everyone walks the same path as Kagetora-sama. Also, today’s login bonus includes a ten-pull gacha ticket and a special dungeon key. The special dungeon has been unlocked.>

 

More and more new info keeps coming in.

 

“Special dungeon? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

 

<A special dungeon is a unique dungeon where you can earn limited items or fight monsters that give especially high EXP.>

 

“Limited, huh…”

 

I’m a sucker for words like ‘limited-time offer’. Whenever there’s that kind of lead-in, I end up wanting to buy it.

 

<Kagetora-sama’s current explorer rank is R, so you’re about to reach the level cap. Next, using the special dungeon key to challenge the dungeon where you can obtain the limit-breaking item would be best.>

 

“…Huh!? Explorer rank can go up?”

 

Explorer rank is the thing written under your name on the status screen. The ranks go from N at the lowest, then R, S, and SR.

 

Ranks are supposed to be set from birth, so I didn’t think they could increase… or am I just remembering wrong?

 

<Explorer rank can be raised with special items. Starting tomorrow->

 

“Ah, sorry. I’ve got a lot of stuff going on. Tomorrow won’t work. I also want to check out the Guild, so it’ll have to wait a bit.”

 

<…Understood.>

 

Wait, did she just get kind of down?

 

She feels strangely full of emotion for an AI.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

<Nothing at all.>

 

“Nah, sorry, I guess. Oh, right! Maybe I’ll do the login bonus gacha.”

 

<Then I’ll initiate a ten-pull gacha.>

 

After hearing Miria’s voice back in normal mode somehow, the usual rundown apartment floats in outer space again… huh?

 

“What the- What’s going on!?”

 

The stars in space sparkle in rainbow colors. Even the sun-like thing far away is glowing rainbow.

 

Then the ten-pull starts, and around the fifth one, a massive rainbow lightning bolt crashes down.

 

“Gyaaahhh!?”

 

I seriously think my apartment just got obliterated. That was intense!

 

Before I know it, the ten-pull ends and reality suddenly snaps back, but I’m still in shock.

 

“Congratulations. You’ve obtained your first SR item.”

 

“Wait, SR… seriously?”

 

＝＝＝＝＝＝

 

R: Slime

R: Goblin (Staff)

S: Pixie

R: Giant Rat

SR: Child Dragon

R: Healbird

R: Goblin (Club)

R: Giant Army Ant

S: Ogre

S: Demon Tree

 

＝＝＝＝＝＝

 

It’s true. I’m starting to see monsters I don’t even recognize. The number of summoning cards is definitely growing.

 

“This is awesome! I can’t believe I actually got an SR card. And it’s a dragon?”

 

<Yes. It can learn multiple breath attacks and is highly capable as both an attacker and a tank. It also stays around for a long time.>

 

“This is bad. Now I really want to explore a dungeon.”

 

<Then, tomorrow,>

 

“Well, tomorrow I’ve got a drinking party with my college friends.”

 

<…Understood.>

 

“Are you feeling down or something? You okay?”

 

<…Yes.>

 

“You’re definitely not okay, are you? Fine, I’ll go dungeon exploring! I will! …Next time.”

 

<When exactly is ‘next time’?>

 

“Soon!”

 

<That answer is too vague.>

 

“Hold on! I’ve got a lot going on right now!”

 

As we kept chatting like that, my anxiety over job hunting quietly faded away.

 

It was one of those nights where I thought, maybe this kind of daily routine isn’t so bad after all.