Chapter 70: Replica

Chapter 70: Replica

Seven days into the new year, I’m back to map-making.

Today, with the help of Merle and Mira, I have come to the inner areas of the 3rd Underground Floor.

I can’t deny that our group’s strength has lowered since Regal left.

However, we’ve got some powerful weapons in hand.

[Is this really alright?]

Merle swung a toy in her hand with a worried look on her face.

Product name: Murasame Replica

Description: A lottery toy product. Even though it’s a plastic toy, its sharpness isn’t to be outdone by the Legendary Demonic Sword. It can be used 10 times, and disappears after 10 uses.

Price: 100 rims

A lottery toy has been added to the store’s product line.

It was part of a string fishing lottery, where one pulls a string within a bundle of strings, and a toy is attached to the end of a string.

The pull-string lottery was attached to a wide variety of products, about 50 or so.

Well, not all of the products you could draw from it have magical effects.

Some are just stuffed toys, others are retro toys such as bamboo dragonflies.

On the other hand, there are products like this.

If I were to rank the products from 1 to 7, with 1 being the best and 7 the worst, Murasame Replica is a Rank 2 item.

For Merle, who has bad luck in lotteries, she won a pretty good prize.

[However, can a sword as light as this really cut something?]

It’s understandable for Merle to be concerned. Diiscover new stories at novelhall.come Replica looks just like a plastic sword sold at festivals.

The blade is about 50 cm long, but can it really be used in an actual battle?

Because it’s an item brought out by my Dagashi Shop, I want to believe in this product, but I myself really feel uneasy about it.

[This sounds wasteful, but why don’t you give it a try once?]

[That certainly would be for the best huh...... If I feel worried with this thing in my hand, I won’t be able to properly move my body.]

The number of times she could use it would decrease, but I wanted to reduce the risk since lives depended on it.

[Then, I’ll give it a try on the vines over there.]

Merle stopped to look at a plant vine hanging from the ceiling.

It was as thick as my arm and would be tough to cut with a single slash.

[Alright......]

Merle faced the vine and unsheathed the Murasame Replica.

[Uwehh!?]

Merle, letting out a cry, stumbled on her steps.

At the same time, the previously inorganic white blade was enveloped in a shimmering red light.

Seems like she had spotted something ahead.

Mira held a cocoa cigar to her mouth while hiding behind a rock, and Mira and I followed suit.

(What’s the matter?)

(There are three Leprases up ahead.)

Peeking out from behind the rock, I saw three men about 150cm tall.

They weren’t tall, but their muscles were tremendous.

Their arms, pecs, and other muscles seemed to be more than twice my size.

They were all wearing black leather masks and holding war hammers in their hands.

If I were hit with one of those things, it would shatter my bones.

(Are those humans?)

(No, they’re not. They’re also monsters created from the fog.)

That was close.

If I met them without knowing about them, I would have called out and greeted them hello.

(What should we do? Surprise attack?)

(That’s well and good, but Leprases are pretty tough. We’d usually use a trap against a Lepras.)

(A trap?)

(We set up a magic trap and lure them with a silver coin. However, Leprases are quick, so I’d say the chances of success are 50-50? Worst case scenario though, they’ll just take the silver coin.)

If it’s a silver coin, that would be 10000 rims huh.

That’s a pretty painful loss for a rookie.

(However, the Lepras is a big catch when properly subjugated, each of them dropping 2000 rims. There’s no way one would normally pass up on them. Besides, if too many gather, they could become a troublesome enemy.)

(Unnn, Lepras enjoy capturing and torturing humans. I’ve even heard people saying they would rather be killed than captured by them.)

Well, that sounds terrifying.

I guess it really would be better to set up a trap and catch them.

(Does it have to be a silver coin to lure them in though? I think a large copper coin would be fine.)

Even if they take it away, the loss will only be 1000 rims.

(That won’t do. The more the coin is worth, the more successful the trap will be.)

I’d normally be happy just by spotting a penny on the ground, but we aren’t sure what the monsters think.

(That’s right, let’s use this.)

I came up with a good plan.

<Translator’s Notes>

String Fishing Lottery

Gedan Stance: Gedan-no-Kamae, meaning “lower-level posture”, is adopted when the sword is held out in front of the body pointing at the waist, knee or sometimes the ankle. A variant of Chuudan-no-Kamae, making it seem like a defensive posture, but it’s instead used to deflect blows and create striking opportunities.