Chapter 6: Scroll and Ring

Thunk!

The battle ended and we returned to the stage.

The blue Gobori turned back to green and cheered.

[Mission Clear!]

[+400 Gold]

[+300 Diamonds]

[+10 Normal Cards]

“Ten cards! All thanks to you, Boss! We cleared an achievement, so the rewards increased!”

“Whoa! Level 3? I totally hitched a ride! I see you in a new light! Yahoo!”

Rose flapped her wings in delight.

‘Do rewards increase when you achieve accomplishments?’

On stage, stacks of cards appeared, standing like walls.

It looked like the reward for the achievement was more cards.

‘Phew.’

I exhaled and flipped over the cards on the screen.

[☆ Healing Potion]

And out came a Potion.

Potion.

You again?

[☆ Healing Potion]

[☆ Healing Potion]

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

But then, three more came out in a row.

“That’s absurd.”

“Seriously absurd.”

The two watching also let out a sigh.

“Huh? What does that even mean?”

I asked about the word for a moment, “It means it’s ridiculous!”

“Ah. That’s right, it is ridiculous.”

“Three in a row, what garbage! This sucks!”

Gobori stomped the ground in frustration.

From my perspective, it felt even worse flipping the cards.

Boom!

[★★★ Scroll: Rapid Fire]

Then came a loud explosion.

“Oh!”

“A scroll!”

Just the sound alone was enough to get my heart racing.

It felt like I was being conditioned by the explosion now.

“Me! Me! Please give this to me! I can fire my slingshot in rapid succession! Me, please!”

“What are you saying! Don’t listen to Greenie, just save it! If you give it to a wizard, they’ll shoot magic missiles three times! Save it!”

Gobori and Rose shouted.

‘Is it a skill that fires projectiles in succession?’

‘Should I give it to Gobori…?’

‘Maybe I should think it over a bit more.’

The Scroll could only be used once, so I had to choose carefully.

[★★ Half Plate Mail]

[☆ Healing Potion]

[☆ Healing Potion]

Plop! Plop!

A silver breastplate and another Potion dropped.

This Potion thing.

Now, just seeing it gave me a headache.

“Seven cards in, five are Potions—are you serious? This game sucks!”

Rose seemed to think the same.

“Would be nice if a hero showed up around now. This Fairy’s useless, right? Should just throw her in storage and replace her.”

“What? If a new hero comes out, you’re the one going into storage! How dare a 2-star try to get rid of a 4-star first!”

“Hey! You’ll be fodder once the party’s full, too! Stop mouthing off when you’re not even meta!”

“Shut up!”

“You shut up!”

Gobori and Rose bickered.

It was almost a daily routine by now.

‘But…’

I paused before opening the rest of the cards.

If a new companion joins, does that mean someone has to leave?

‘Maybe someone like an individualistic Priest might barge in on our close-knit group.’

Hmm.

I decided not to dwell on it.

In Valhalla, the important thing was the hero.

There was no need to exclude a strong hero.

Just like with equipment or tools, I had to judge things realistically.

Boom!

[★★★★ Fire Ring]

[★★ Heavy Glaive]

A pleasant flash as something shot out.

‘Fire Ring?’

It was a ring wreathed in flames, and at a glance, it looked on par with the Uruk Slayer.

“Oh, a ring! I love rings! Give it to me! Give it to me!”

Rose, having snatched up the ring, shouted.

“Hey! The Boss is carrying us, so he should have it! Once you hit level 70, fire resistance is a must! No need to give it to a bug like her! Save it, User!”

Gobori raised his voice with a clenched fist.

‘Were they both talking to the User?’

That User being me, of course.

I smirked and decided to flip the next card.

“But why are you flipping the cards so slowly? Is it because you’re a newbie?”

Gobori tilted his head and asked.

I flinched, a little embarrassed by the comment.

“Maybe he’s checking the info! Don’t discourage our User!”

“I’m not discouraging him. Just saying, our User’s careful!”

“Yeah! Be careful! Don’t waste resources on this Goblin!”

“You wanna go?!”

“Yeah, bring it on!”

Rose and Gobori squabbled.

Even the heroes seemed to enjoy the card-flipping event.

‘But nine cards in, still no hero. Must be frustrating for the User.’

I muttered softly.

If these were paid cards, I’d be even more annoyed.

Now I understood how users felt.

“Right? Even watching is frustrating! The cards you get as rewards all have this kind of rate. The chance to get the 5-star you want is only 0.006%. It’s designed to make you mad! What a crappy game.”

“0.006%? How low is that?”

“A liiittle better than getting struck by lightning, maybe? Too bad, though. If you collect ten normal cards, you can trade them for a guaranteed 4-star. Guess our User doesn’t know that. What a pity.”

Gobori shrugged.

Right.

‘Come to think of it, the Giants said that too, didn’t they?’

If you collect ten cards, you can exchange them for a 4-star.

Should’ve done that if I knew.

I regretted it briefly, and Rose butted in.

“Hmph! Why bother? Half the 4-star heroes are supporters. We already have me in the party. Aim for a 5-star, you idiot!”

“To use another supporter besides you, you idiot. Use your head, will you?”

“What? Why is this Greenie such a killjoy? You wanna get scolded? Huh? Wanna fight?”

“Go ahead, dummy! I’ll tear off all your wings!”

“Eeeek!”

Rose and Gobori bickered again.

I’d have to keep that in mind for later.

Now for the last card…

Crash!

“Oh!”

***

When I pressed the card, fierce flames exploded.

The whole stage shook with the impact, making my heart pound.

“5-star! It’s a 5-star!”

“5-star! Finally!”

The other two clenched their fists in excitement.

It was the long-awaited 5-star arrival.

[★★★★★ Terrible Man-Eating Flower]

“Kruehl?”

What appeared was a two-meter-tall monster.

Its head was made of red flower petals, with beast-like fangs jutting around them.

‘A plant-type beast, maybe?’

My heart pounded with excitement at my first 5-star draw.

“Eek! To the storage! Put it in storage, quick!”

“Aaah! Put it in storage, User! Quick, send it to storage! Aaah!”

But Rose and Gobori were horrified.

“Kwaak? Krrrrwaak!”

At the same time, the monster spread its petals and lunged.

Startled, I grabbed the monster on the screen.

Whoosh!

And shoved it into storage.

So that’s what they meant by sending it to storage.

The rampaging monster disappeared in an instant.

“Ha… I thought I was done for. A 5-star came out, but why does it have to be a beast! Damn it. Why is our User like this! Just spend some money! Your luck’s run out, just use the power of real money—”

Gobori and Rose grumbled.

I still wasn’t sure what that monster even was.

“What was that just now? Wasn’t it a 5-star? Isn’t that the highest grade in Valhalla?”

“Sigh, don’t even mention it. Not all 5-stars are the same. That beast? All its stats are dumped into strength and stamina. It’s not a hero! It’s a monster!”

Gobori, looking pale, waved his hands.

I looked down blankly for a moment.

“Boss! What are you thinking right now! Do you think I’m a monster too? That’s too much!”

Gobori’s face turned red.

‘Was my expression that obvious?’

“No, I just spaced out. So what’s the problem, then? Why did you yell to put it away?”

“Sigh. Those beasts can’t communicate. Even in dungeons or the waiting room, they attack their own team, and do you know how strong they are? If one of those joins early on, the three of us will be wiped out! I’d rather die by your hand than end up in its belly! Ugh!”

Rose crossed her arms and looked disgusted.

Gobori nodded vigorously in agreement.

“That’s right, Boss. Beasts and things like that are just concept heroes. Not made for normal use—only for certain combinations. Like, going out with only beasts in the party.”

“Combinations? What kind?”

“Party composition changes the strategy, doesn’t it? You could make an all-beast party. They won’t fight among themselves. Some users like that kind of concept. Some users make parties with only female heroes. All the nearly-naked female heroes are stronger than plate-armored brutes, too!”

Gobori raised his voice.

Rose’s eyes widened and she fluttered her wings.

“Oh! Greenie! You actually know a lot, huh? Total know-it-all!”

I was the top genius Goblin in my world, after all. How do you think I made it to Valhalla in the first place?”

“Impressive! You’re really sharp!”

“Keep the compliments coming! Hehehe!”

Gobori puffed up with pride at Rose’s praise.

Well, it was a familiar story to me, too.

A warlock who made a pact with a demon and wielded double-edged power.

An emperor who formed a knight order of young, beautiful women to satisfy his own greed.

Those two stories came to mind.

Looks like the gods of Valhalla were no different.

Well, anyway, the new friend couldn’t join us after all.

In that case, it was time to move on.

After a brief rest, my body itched to get going.

[Regions Available for Dispatch]

[Lv. 4: Smelly Sewers]

The prologue dungeon closed and a new dungeon appeared.

When I clicked ‘Smelly Sewers’, the screen changed.

[Please select the heroes to dispatch!]

[Available slots: 0/3]

We set out with the same party as before.

Only the Half Plate Mail was equipped—the rest went into storage.

Ding, ding, ding!

Now the familiar sound of Potions flying.

Pop!

A familiar flash of light rained down.

“Sigh, is there no honeybee for me?”

“Goblin Sentry, ready for action!”

Rose and Gobori spoke.

It was the same greeting as the first time.

“Do you say the same thing every time you set out? Doesn’t it get old?”

I asked the two.

“Heh. You have to do this to build your reputation. The more memorable you are, the more likely you’ll get picked and studied.”

“Yeah. My line was pretty popular for a while, too. Lately… it’s kind of lost steam. Maybe I should change it up.”

“You should just change yourself entirely.”

“Eeek!”

Gobori and Rose bickered again.

Come to think of it, the silent Dwarf and Priest were like that, too.

Not introducing themselves seemed to be a hero’s custom.

Thunk!

And then we dropped into a strange place.

In front of me was the entrance to a sewer, stinking to high heaven.

Behind was the hill from the prologue.

It looked like this area existed just beyond that hill.

“A new dungeon. Follow me carefully.”

I gripped my sword and took the lead.

“Wait, Boss! There’s a cutscene from here!”

“Cutscene?”

“You’ll see. You can’t go in until it ends!”

Gobori, behind me, stopped me.

Seriously, there’s always something else.

“Kyaa! Please, help! Save me!”

A scream rang out from inside the sewer.

What’s that?

‘Attacked by Goblins, maybe?’

While I wondered what to do, Rose and Gobori were nonchalant.

“Ugh, so boring. This damned cutscene. You can’t skip this one either. So annoying.”

“Apparently it’s because it’s the first dungeon.”

Rose and Gobori joked.

Well, at this point, not knowing was the default.

“Don’t we need to move? Someone’s calling for help. Is it okay to just leave them?”

“It’s story mode! Starting from this dungeon, there’s a story. First time, Boss?”

“Huh? Yeah. The last User just flipped cards and quit. This is the first time I’ve come this far.”

“Ah! There are a lot of Users like that! If the starter pack isn’t great, they just restart. Really, now. Haha!”

Gobori adjusted his goggles and laughed.

[A mysterious voice echoes from the sewers! Track the voice and help them!]

[Main Story Event! : Unexpected Encounter]

Ta-dum!

Words floated in the air.

Main story?

Unexpected Encounter?

The same words appeared on the screen.

I guessed it was some sort of ‘event’ like when Goblins swarm in.

‘Huh?’

But I saw something glowing gold inside the sewer.

When I picked it up, it was a plain necklace.

[You have discovered a necklace dropped by someone!]

The moment I picked it up, the light disappeared.

Thunk, thunk, thunk!!

Then more lights appeared, one after another.

‘Was it telling me to follow?’

I asked our clever one.

“It’s over, right? Does this mean we should follow?”

“Yep! Lead the way! I’ll cover the rear!”

Gobori, slingshot in hand, grinned.

Good.

I stepped forward, following the lights.

Rose and Gobori said it was boring, but to me, it was an exciting adventure.