CH 4

“Brother, dinner is ready.” (Kei)

I woke up and lifted up my body when I heard a voice above me. It seems she made it while I was sleeping.

When I went upstairs to the living room, Haru was already sitting and there were stir-fried pork and bean sprouts on the table. It’s okay if it’s cheap.

“Itadakimasu.” (Kei)

We are deciding on our plan for tomorrow while we’re eating.

“So, Haru. Will we be in the dungeon tomorrow? It’s already 10:00 PM, so it’s no good today.” (Kei)

“Well, I’m tired and sleepy today, so I don’t want to enter today. Tomorrow, let’s just wait and see.” (Haru)

“Okay. I’m sure we’ll be wearing work clothes and a protector on top of it. Haru’s weapons can be both a crowbar and machete.” (Kei)

“Brother will use a hoe and a machete. Both of us can use the machetes as subs. What about the light source” (Haru)

“We won’t need it because it seems that the inside of the dungeon is bright. Also, you can’t use electricity in the dungeon in the first place. What about our water?” (Kei)

“Oh yeah. I’ll have the water bottle ready. I’ll have the weapons and armor for brother ready too.” (Haru)

“So we’re prepared and ready. Thank you for the meal. I’m going to jog outside. When you’re done eating, go to sleep.” (Kei)

“Okay, I will.” (Haru)

Haru sent me off and I went outside. It was completely cold and dark outside. Also, it’s already winter, so it’s cold all day long. I feel like I’ve become more resistant to the cold since we sold the apartment and came here.

There is no convenient air conditioner, there is no stove or even a kotatsu. If it’s cold, just wear heavy clothes. In addition to that, I’ve been running like this every day since I came here. If you run in such cold weather, you will be a little more resistant to the cold. [T/N: Kotatsu’s are short-legged heated tables with a thick blanket to trap the heat. It’s the cozy-looking tables you can see in anime and manga where the characters usually drink tea or eat mandarin oranges (Mikan). Google-sensei has pictures if you want to see more.]

I ran between rice fields and along forest roads. I’ll be back home at my usual time. Even though I moved around for a day, I wasn’t physically exhausted because we just walked.

When I entered the house, the lights were off and Haru seemed to have already fallen asleep. Taking a quick bath, I then immediately go to the futon. As expected, at this age, Haru seems to have already fallen asleep even with how busy the day was. For the time being, I have to sleep while being cautious of the surroundings like yesterday. I fell asleep relieved that nothing had happened.

I was woken up when the alarm clock rang. Haru was no longer in the room. Looking around, there is some onigiri on the desk.

“Well. I woke up early, so here, eat your breakfast and come to the basement. I’m getting ready. Well, even if I fall asleep again, I still woke up earlier than usual.” (Haru)

Fortunately, I’m the type who can start working as soon as I wake up, so I chowed down the onigiri and changed into a light jersey before heading to the basement.

Haru has already gone. I was about to take off the clothes I had on and changed into my work clothes.

“Haru, if you’re not able to move easily, you’ll get hurt, so you should wear light clothing under your work clothes.” (Kei)

“Oh, that’s right.” (Haru)

Haru clapped her hands as if to say she understood and went upstairs in her underwear. But since there were only two rooms, one on the first floor and the other in the basement, she had to change in the same room with me all the time, and perhaps that was why I didn’t mind seeing Haru in her underwear. If I saw her naked, I might get embarrassed, but that’s about it. Perhaps in my mind, my sister is “just my sister” and not even a girl. [T/N: Well I used to work in the health and care profession and I’ve seen a lot of naked people. From kids to the elderly, the fair and not, healthy and ill, and male and female. I’ve bathed and cleaned so many people I’m pretty much apathetic to nudity. I’ve even bathed family members when they’re sick, so I kinda get Kei.]

Or maybe this is normal. I put on my work clothes, thinking about slightly weird things like that. It’s and overall, so I can put it on right away. As I was putting on my elbow and knee protectors, Haru came back. She was wearing light clothes and had two water bottles in her hands.

I receive the water bottle from Haru, putting it in the backpack I prepared in advance, I took out the weapons from the bag and tie the machete to my waist. It has a scabbard so it’s pretty safe.

Since we can’t use any electronic devices inside, I set the time on a mechanical pocket watch I bought a long time ago and turn the knobs firmly. It seems that we will have plenty of time to dive for today, so there will be no problem if we explore. I don’t need a smartphone because we can’t use it anyway. Then, I give graphing paper and a pen to Haru. I am confident that I will get lost if I enter the dungeon if we don’t map. Also, Haru is better at grasping distances and directions.

“Okay, brother. Let’s go.” (Haru)

Haru wears the same equipment as I do and puts the crowbar on her shoulder.

“Okay, it’s our first dungeon dive.” (Kei)

I unlocked the padlock, open the door, use the door as a ladder, and climbed down to the bottom. I came to the area just before the color of the wall changed, signifying the entrance of the dungeon.

Haru opens her mouth wide.

“First Kizaki Dungeon Exploration!” (Haru)

We stepped into the dungeon at the same time.

(Now!) (Kei)

As soon as I stepped on the floor of the dungeon, the color disappeared from my view and everything stopped. Did time stop?

Woah, I was so surprised that I couldn’t speak or even move my gaze, so I guess my surroundings weren’t stopping, but only my thoughts were accelerating. As I was thinking about this, words suddenly flowed into my head. It was an indescribable feeling as if I was reading words that don’t exist.

[Sword] [Shield] [Fist] [Bow] [Spear] [Club] [Trap] [Hunting] [Magic] [Heal] [Enchant]

Are these like game jobs? If it is, I have to think carefully about what Haru will choose.

Perhaps it does not mean the type of weapon that’s written here. If so, I can’t use my hoe or Haru’s crowbar.

What does this… mean? The sword is for cutting, shield for protecting, fist for hitting, bow for projectiles, spear for stabbing/piercing, and so on.

(Ah…) (Kei)

When I made a prediction, the details of the jobs suddenly came out. I was surprised enough to exclaim, but same as before, I couldn’t make a sound, and I couldn’t even open my mouth.

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“Sword” … Slash; Strength: Endurance; Secondary Support

“Shield” … Defend; Strength: Hardness; Secondary Support

“Fist” … Striking; Strength: Speed; Secondary Support

“Bow” … Shoot, Strength: Targeting; Secondary Support

“Spear” … Stab, Strength: Balanced; Secondary Support

“Club” … Bash; Strength: Power; Secondary Support

“Trap” … Stealth; Strength: Ambush, Quickness, and Deception

“Hunter” … Subterfuge; Strength: Scouting, Agility; Secondary Support

“Magic” … Spell Shot; Strength: Magic Release

“Recovery” … Recovery Magic; Strength: Injury Recovery

“Enchant” … Support Buffer, Strength: Various Enchantment

It’s very hard to understand the choppy words. It is also not written on paper, so it’s harder to understand than to see.

First of all, I will choose whether to be a vanguard or a rearguard, and Haru will choose a vanguard because she said that she wants to fight using a crowbar. She can’t slash with a crowbar, so she’ll probably use either a “Spear” or “Club”.

If I think about it in terms of reach, she’s more likely to select “Club”. If that’s the case, then I should be a rearguard. Our original physical strength does not matter inside the dungeon, divers are able to move to some extent in the rearguard position if they are accustomed to moving in reality.

When it comes to it, there are five choices “Bow”, “Trap”, “Magic”, “Recovery”, and “Enchant”. There is the “Hunter”, but I don’t want to use something I don’t understand, though maybe it’s easier for stealth.

I do not have any tools to shoot with, so I am going to exclude “Bow”. I think that “Trap” would also need tools, so I excluded it.

So, it is “Magic”, “Recovery”, or “Enchant”? Whether to attack with “Magic”, “Recover” from damage, or strengthen with “Enchant”. But I don’t want to even think about getting hurt so I could have “Recovery”. So, it is “Magic” or “Enchant”.

So, since I can’t decide, I’ll take the right side since I’m right-handed.

I chose “Enchant”.

When I thought about it in my head, the letters that had appeared so far disappeared and new ones appeared.

[You became an “Enchanter”.]

As soon as the characters appear, my body begins to move.

Obviously, Haru also starts to move at the same time as me.

“So what did Haru chose?” (Kei)

Haru, who looks at me with his eyes shining, asks about my profession at the same time.

“I’m curious about yours too, so let’s say it at the same time…” (Haru)

“Magic” “Enchant” (Haru) (Kei)

“”e?”” (Haru & Kei)

Oh god, oh god. Our party has two rearguards.

Please help us we have extremely bad luck.

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~Haru’s Perspective~

“First Kizaki Dungeon Exploration!” (Haru)

I declare in a loud voice, with the purpose of inspiring myself. At the same time as the brother, I set foot in the dungeon.

Then the color disappears from the scenery and the surroundings stop. Considering that I could still think, it might be that only my thoughts have speed up. Well, if I want to stop time, I don’t have to stop the world’s time, just speed up my brain’s thoughts. I don’t understand the concept of the dungeons, but I think it uses a tremendous amount of energy to do this.

Hmm?

I can see some characters. Well, it’s visible or it’s my brain that receives it. It feels like my mind is just trying to remember it all. The characters that came out are:

“Sword” “Shield” “Fist” “Bow” “Spear” “Club” “Trap” “Hunter” “Magic” “Recovery” “Enchant”

That’s it, isn’t it? I think it’s a class from an RPG I played a few years ago.

I really want to slash and dice my way through the enemy. I’m not as athletic as brother, but brother is. I’ll leave that to him. I’m sure he’ll protect me and play the attacker. So I’ll have to help from behind, right?

Yup. It’s bad if I mess around, so I will specialize in attacks.

My brother defeats the enemy in front of me, and I magically wipe them off from behind. I like it. If I defeat a lot of enemies, I may get praised by brother. Good luck to me.

I decided on “Magic”.

If you decide so, a new character string will come up.

[You became a “Magician”.]

My brain suddenly stops accelerating, my vision starts moving, and I stepped forward unintentionally. Now I don’t care about that. What does brother choose as his class?

I looked at him with a smile, trying to get him to tell me.

“So what did Haru chose?” (Kei)

Oh, he also wants to know mine.

“I’m curious about yours too, so let’s say it at the same time…”

“Enchant” “Magic” (Kei) (Haru)

“”e?”” (Kei & Haru)

Oh god, oh god. I don’t think I understood the way my brother thought. If you can give me something, please give me the ability to understand my brother’s thoughts.