New chapter of Ordinary Person is out (3/3 chapters)

Chapter 6

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

My war funds had run dry, and I headed for the dungeon in a strange outfit, a T-shirt and jeans, with a green poncho draped over my shoulders. I had stuffed the knife into my belt at my waist.

Yeah, it’s literally right across the plaza. After all, I just came out of the guild shop located right in front of the dungeon. I don’t regret it… probably. I’m not entering the dungeon because I want to die. So, armor is important!

As I told myself that, I continued walking forward.

My current defense was around DEF 6 and MDEF 5.

It was well known that most Earth-made items had no MDEF, no magical defense. But in terms of DEF, or physical defense, they functioned normally. Among those, jeans were famous for having DEF 1. Unless somebody had something like a professional sports protector, this was probably the most useful armor available.

“Hey, kid. You goin’ in there alone?” (Self-Defense Force (SDF) soldier)

At the dungeon entrance, I was spoken to by a tough-looking SDF soldier who was standing guard on either side of the doorway.

“Yeah, well… yes.” (Kouta)

“Can’t really stop you, it’s not my place… but be careful, alright? Don’t push yourself. Aim for a ‘Goblin’ that’s acting alone. And make sure you come back alive. Got it?” (SDF soldier)

To my surprise, this intimidating-looking SDF soldier not only expressed concern but even gave me kind advice.

I must’ve had a really grim expression after spending all my funds…

Thanks to this person, I managed to calm down just a little.

“Yes! Thank you very much!” (Kouta)

I made an effort to respond as brightly as I could, hoping to ease his worry. And then, I stepped into the dungeon.

When I saw that person, I remembered something I had researched before. Ever since the appraisal skill spread around the world, there was a special feature published, one that appraised the equipment used by different national militaries.

According to the article, Japan’s SDF equipment had a total DEF of 10, ranking first among all the participating countries’ gear. That said, it only meant it was good among existing equipment. It still can’t compare to dungeon-sourced gear. Even so, these people have been fighting for the past five years with that gear since the dungeons first appeared.

While military gear from various countries ranged from DEF 9 to 10, my current DEF is 6. There’s no way I’d go down that easily. Plus, dungeon-sourced equipment provides DEF across the whole body. Just this one poncho gives as much protection as five pairs of jeans all the way to the fingertips! This really is the mystery of the dungeon.

By the way, firearms also worked against monsters, but it was extremely hard to raise level with them. That piece of information had already been verified and backed by several countries. On top of that, in the deeper floors of a dungeon, monsters grew so strong that bullets were useless against them. That’s why Japan continued to ban firearms by law, just as before.

Instead, when it came to blades and knives, nearly everything was now allowed. Since dungeons appeared in Japan every year and spilled out monsters each time, they had no choice but to loosen regulations to ensure people could defend themselves when encountering monsters.

I wonder just what kind of DEF that SDF soldier I met at the entrance has right now…

As that thought crossed my mind, I continued descending the dungeon stairs.

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)