Chapter 31 – An Unexpected Obstacle Appears

Magiс Toоls thаt droр in Gаtеs аnd Dungеons сan bе valued аt оvеr а hundred million, dеpеnding on the item.

Тhе Ring of Wind Wall that droррed this time is a masterрiеce that any Сlоse-Cоmbat Нuntеr wоuld dеsperatelу want.

If put uр fоr Аuction, it wоuld undоubtеdly fetсh an astrоnomical priсе.

(If I sell it, I cоuld gеt a full sеt of goоd Equipment…)

Еven just соunting my chickens befоre thеу hаtch is dizzуing.

For the рrеviоus Asuto, this wоuld be mоnеу hе сouldn’t еаrn in а lifetimе.

Нowever, the chance to acquire such a good Item again wouldn’t come easily.

(For now, no Monsters that shoot arrows have appeared, but I might fight them eventually)

There’s no guarantee I’ll form a Party in the future.

In that case, I should focus on improving my Solo combat ability.

I took the ring out of my Inventory and put it on.

I felt a slight sensation of power being drawn into the ring.

“I see, so this is Magic Power.”

Asuto, who couldn’t use Magic, experienced the sensation of using Magic Power for the first time.

If your Magic Power Status is 1 or higher, even Close-Combat Hunters can use Magic Tools.

Calculating backwards from the Magic Power currently being drawn, I figured that activating Wind Wall would be limited to about 5 times.

“I should probably be able to use it a bit more.”

Magic Power isn’t necessary for an Assassin.

That’s why I hadn’t allocated any points to it until now.

But if I’m going to use Magic Tools from now on, I should probably allocate some points to it.

“Well, I’ll think about it later. —Now then, shall I head back?”

I’m worried about Kanzaki’s mother’s life.

To deliver the Morning Dew of the Divine Tree I’d obtained, Asuto began walking toward the exit.

○Name: Yuki Asuto (23)

Level: 40→43 Aptitude: Assassin

Rank: D→C SP: 0→15

Held G: 15→578

○Physical Ability

Strength: 60→65 Stamina: 45→50 Magic Power: 4→9

Spirit: 4→9 Agility: 100→105 Perception: 50→55

○Skills

・Intermediate Dagger Arts Lv3 (1%→6%)

・Critical Strike Lv2 (21%→64%)

・Evasion Lv5 (9% to 13%)

・Leap Lv4 (86%→94%)

・Memory Playback Lv3 (63%→70%)

・Mortal Eye Lv2 (50%→78%)

・Return Lv2 (0%)

○

As I approached the Gate’s exit, I sensed someone’s presence from the entrance and crouched down.

“What?”

I’d defeated most of the Orcs, and unlike Dungeons, Monsters don’t Respawn here.

So what could it be…

While Asuto remained on guard, multiple humans appeared from the other side.

“What’s going on…”

Currently, only Asuto holds the rights to this Gate.

Only the Rights Holder or those permitted by the Rights Holder are allowed to enter a Gate.

That’s what the law stipulates.

Despite this, the fact that people had invaded the Gate left Asuto’s mind completely blank.

“Wh-you are!!”

A group that appeared to be Hunters emerged one after another in front of Asuto.

Leading them was the Hound Dog man he’d encountered at the Shinjuku Gyoen Dungeon.

Beside him were two Hunters whose faces were so swollen they were unrecognizable.

(Are those the guys who picked a fight with me?)

They were the Hunters who had picked a fight with Asuto right after the E-Rank Gate ended and got punched away.

“Mr. Shinjo, that’s him!”

“That guy attacked us!!”

“…Yuki Asuto. So it was you.”

The man called Shinjo glared at Asuto.

It seemed Shinjo had come here after receiving a request for retaliation from the two Asuto had punched.

(Retaliation, huh. They moved pretty fast.)

Do they have a skilled Information Broker or something as their pawn?

As I was thinking, a man emerged from the group behind them.

“Yo, so you’re the one who took out our underlings?”

While most of the group wore Arms, this man alone was dressed in a suit.

The man’s hair was short and dyed light green, with lightning-bolt-like patterns shaved into the sides.

He had quite distinctive hair, but I didn’t recognize his face.

“Who are you? This is my Gate. Why did you enter?”

“Hey now, answer people’s questions.”

The man glared at him.

Just that alone made it feel like the surrounding temperature had dropped slightly.

(…He’s strong.)

Asuto sensed the man’s strength from his presence.

“Mr. Kanemitsu, that guy is the intruder from Shinjuku Gyoen D.”

“Heh, same person? What a rare coincidence…”

The man narrowed his eyes as if sizing up Asuto.

The next moment.

Suddenly, killing intent swelled up.

“—This disgrace to Hound Dog!!”

—Thump!!

An explosive sound, ground tremor, and rising dust cloud.

The Party Leader was slammed into the Gate wall.

The man in the suit—Kanemitsu—had punched him away in an instant.

Both the speed and power exceeded that of an Orc.

Small groans of fear could be heard from the companions he led.

“He’s someone you let slip away. I thought he’d be quite the strong opponent, but to think you’d cower before such a weakling—just how pathetic have you become!!”

“I’m… sorry…”

“Shinjo, when you get back, I’m gonna retrain you.”

“P-please, anything but that—”

“Or should I kill you right now?”

“—!!”

The man embedded in the wall—Shinjo’s—face turned pale and he began trembling violently.

His cowering suggested he’d been retrained by Kanemitsu several times before.

Shinjo is a strong Hunter who conquers D-Rank Dungeons.

(To make him cower like this…)

There must be a hopeless difference in power between them.

Kanemitsu, who makes Shinjo cower, couldn’t possibly be just a regular member. He’s undoubtedly Executive Class in Hound Dog.

“Now then, Yuki Asuto. You beat up our underlings and even invaded our Territory. How should we settle this score…”