Chapter 196:

Chapter 196:

Dungeon Stampede 2.0 Paradox

The Dungeon Stampede 2.0 hit, throwing Japan into a sudden state of end-of-century violence. Despite this, we kept moving and were relieved to reunite with Shark.

As refugees filled the buildings, the school finally regained some peace. Fortunately, this area hasn’t suffered from water or power outages.

We’ve grown accustomed to news of lifelines being severed by dungeons, causing outages, and being reported almost daily.

And my beloved college girls? They were bombarded with questions from the female students, who surrounded us as soon as we reunited with Shark.

“What’s your relationship with Toga-san?”

“Hey, why are you dressed like that?”

“You look amazing! Can I shake your hand?”

They were engulfed in excited cheers.

But it makes sense. They've navigated countless deadly encounters to get here. Even I never expected such battles before we left.

As a result, they’ve all reached level 18 from fighting monsters.

They were level 15 after defeating the Bloody Carrot boss. We didn’t level up after defeating the Evil Apotrent due to too many party members, so they leveled up three times today alone.

Now, they possess power that even impresses me. A quick check revealed that their abilities increased by almost 30 points per level, reaching nearly 200.

“Charm isn't much, but stamina has increased tremendously!”

Apparently, individual attributes like charm and stamina affect each person differently.

Anyway, as special students, their growth is boosted by about 30%. With abilities of around 200, they’re almost as strong as I was when I defeated King Goki.

For reference, here’s what my stats looked like when my abilities were around 200.

Current

Level 36

Race: Human

Strength 200

Stamina 201

Intelligence 202

Spirit 220

Agility 208

Luck 103

Dexterity 200

Skills:

[Strong Acid], [Agility], [Disease Resistance 5], [Usurp], [Slime 2]

Titles:

[Insect King]

It’s alarming that they reached my level 36 capabilities at level 18. But I’ve also leveled up amid intense battles.

Current Previous

Level 13 12

Race: Human

Job: Teacher

“Should’ve entered a dungeon when one appeared.”

Despite defeating hundreds of monsters, the heavy equipment fighters didn’t level up or gain stats.

That’s because stats only become perceptible in dungeons, and without them, you can’t absorb life energy from monsters.

So, despite all their fighting, they hadn’t grown stronger.

“We thought we’d get stronger like you guys, but nothing happened.”

“Well, we failed, haha.”

They were having a cherry blossom viewing party, drinking under the blossoms.

Since they fought hard against monsters during the day, I decided not to spoil the mood.

“Could you refrain from drinking on school grounds?”

However, at that moment, the stern Aikido girl came striding over and bluntly said what I had been avoiding. Wow, this girl is amazing but scary. Being worse at reading the room than me is quite something.

"""........."""

As expected, the atmosphere turned icy cold in an instant.

"Ah, young lady, you’re absolutely right. Drinking at school, that’s on us. But you see, during the day, we saw a lot a lot of people dying. We need this drink to calm ourselves and to mourn them..."

"Yeah... even at a funeral, your dad would drink, right? This is the same."

Oh, the guys didn’t get angry but responded skillfully. Age brings wisdom, after all.

"But if you get drunk, what will you do if monsters appear again? Don’t risk drunk driving!"

"""........."""

Yeah, well, she’s right about that. When it comes to the law, even these guys had to agree.

"And Ezuki-san."

(Wait, now it’s my turn...!?)

Suddenly, her target changed to me. I was locked onto by the stern Aikido high school girl. What to do now?

"Um... what is it?"

"I heard from Toga-san that there are more Pixies. Could you let me take care of one as well?"

"Ah, I see. But no, I refuse!"

I cut down her request without hesitation.

"Why not? I’ve also gained power in the dungeon-like Toga-san!"

"I know that. But this isn’t about power. The issue is whether I can trust you or not."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I know what kind of person Shark... no, Toga is. If the Pixie was in danger, she’d protect it with her life. That’s why I trusted her with it. Even if the Pixie dies, I wouldn’t blame her."

"Are you saying you’d blame me?"

"I don’t know if I would or not. But since I don’t know you well enough, I can’t entrust an important companion to you. Besides, there are people here with heavy machinery to help defend the main gate. I think that’s sufficient, don’t you?"

"Yeah, young lady, we’ll protect the school properly!"

"That’s right, leave it to us!"

"But you’re drinking alcohol..."

"""........."""

The stern Aikido girl pointed that out, and the guys collectively wilted.

Hmm, well yeah. Things rarely go smoothly in this world.