The Adventurer's quarters are over, rest well the next day, and take the fifteenth day off in the summer.

Finally, the day of the race has come.

At the battlefield of the Tokyo Dome Dungeon, the starting point, hundreds of three-star adventurers met, and there was a tingling air that was close to killing.

Looking around while performing preparatory exercises, most athletes meditated and performed preparatory exercises alone, but there were also groups of several people who were gathered to talk.

We can't ask about the conversation because we have a soundproof boundary, but it probably doesn't simply deepen friendship.

The fact that there were already players who were forming a political party and planning an operation gave the surrounding athletes a strong sense of vigilance.

Athletes' reactions to this were broadly threefold.

Someone who quietly puts his condition in order, regardless of who he is.

Those who cry out that they should make friends.

Finally, those who only ask their surroundings, who make up the majority, "What should I do, should I make a companion myself?"

Of these, I belonged to the smallest group of quiet conditioners.

Because the reason is simple and there is not much point in forming more groups now.

Already in the group, they may have known each other since before the race, or they were working in advance to create a team for the race.

They have already talked about the distribution of rewards after the race and should move extremely efficiently.

On the other hand, the group builders will start talking about the distribution of rewards and the division of roles. Even if we talk about it, there is no guarantee that it will be respected, just the risk of breaking up with others.

I admit the ability to act quickly on this occasion, but I am one or two steps behind those who have already formed the group. Soloists like me, who have prepared and manoeuvred to win by themselves, will be one step behind in terms of preparation and preparation.

As far as the last group is concerned, it is out of the question. I'm not planning a plan to win alone, and I don't have the ability to create a group on the spot. It is already clear that the primary goal is to survive the race safely and that the top priority is not to lose cards.

The lowest of the three star adventurers here.

They were no longer just sacrifices for group and solo star hunters.

As I was observing the surroundings in that way, a young man dressed strangely with his own card - probably Silky because he was wearing a maid's clothes - approached us.

"Eh ~, you guys are still very tingling.... I wonder if anyone is going to talk to me. Ah, I found a celebrity. Maybe he'll be all right. I'll try to speak up for a moment."

At the same time as I had a bad feeling about the remark, a dungeon tuber man came to talk to me. A man with red and black two-tone hair wearing a clown-like phantom mask and a flashy look.

This guy... I've seen him before. It's not as bad as the inflammatory system, but it's a bit inflamed... yes, it's a dungeon tuber called "Time to Mon".

"Hello! Kitagawa-san, the student tournament champion, right? Can I talk to you for a second?

It's time to say hello politely and unexpectedly with a loving voice.

I patrolled how to deal with it, but I decided to deal with it normally after all.

There are a lot of antidotes, but there are also a lot of fans. Instead of taking the risk of being stuck to fans with bad behavior and malicious editing, we should have responded with ease.

"Um... it's okay."

"Thank you! Actually, I'm shooting it as a dungeon tuber, but is it okay to film it? Of course, if it doesn't work, I'm going to cut this scene."

"Well, until the race starts.... um, it's about time, right?"

"Oops! You're watching the video! Thank you, wow, I'm so happy!

If you don't want to flatter yourself and say the other person's name in front of the famous one, it will make you more tense and understandable.

"Well, occasionally. I haven't been very busy lately."

"Absolutely! I'm rather glad you remember my name! Kitagawa-san has a lot to talk about. From the discovery of spiritual regression to the resolution of vicious cases!... are there any other team members coming today?

"No, just me."

When you answer that, it's about time you stroked your chest.

"Ah, good! No, I'd never win if I had all the members who caught the hound man! No, even Kitakawa Kun is a threatening rival."

"No, it's all you have to do is aim for yourself."

"No, no, no, no, that's not true. You're the leader of the winning team!

... the winning candidate, right?

Since this is a kind of Moncolo, the process and winning or losing are the subject of a bet.

The most basic way to bet is to divide 100 athletes into twenty groups, one of which can come in first place or within three clothes.

The group consists of a mix of leading and unknown athletes, with odds determined by the popularity of virtually one leading athlete.

Ten in order of popularity were now considered to be the winning candidates in the tournament.

... by the way, these ten people were all recommended by the show side, and I was about the third or fourth popularity. After all, it feels like confrontation or single-hole, depending on the person, it's destiny.

It's popular there, but it's not as popular as the lead.

It's about time you lifted me up a little.

"... this is an incredibly generous request, but can't you show me the deck I'm using today?

I asked her to put her palms together.

... finally, here's the thing. You can't show it to me, Bokeh!

And while you're naughty inside, hmm, put your arms together for a minute to make you look worried.

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

"Please! I swear I won't show anyone in this race! True! I will quit the Dungeon Tuber if I break it!

When the race is over, you're gonna put it on the net as a video, right? How can you say that?

"That's right..."

So pretend to be worried for another minute.

"No, Mullis after all. I didn't lick Momo-san that much. Rather, I think it's my best rival."

"No, no, no, I'm not even at the foot of Kitagawa Kung, Honma! No, this way as a handicap! People who watch videos will be very happy!

He just said something he didn't think he would. Can you expose your hand for the high quality of my video? That's why I hate dungeon tubers.

It is extremely troublesome to have influence and diffusion power in waste.

Hands, rather than handles them the other way around.

"Why are you handing me the handkerchief! Yeah, well, if it's hard to show you because you're a rival, why don't we team up? If we teamed up, we'd be number one and number two!

............ I see, maybe this was meant to be from the beginning?

Ask about Chilari and the show staff.... you're almost there.

"Hmm, isn't it a pain in the ass to work with people and distribute rewards?

"Is that equal to half? Shouldn't we discuss this in detail on the way?

And along the way, I'm going to make a proposal to confirm the disassembly. I'm happy to just use it and throw it away. I wonder if this is destiny.

"Hmm.............................."

It's time to gradually create an irritating atmosphere for me to pretend to think together. "Don't even think about it, Bokeh! Make a decision if you're an adventurer."

That's how I spend my time openly.

Ladies and gentlemen! I will now explain additional races and some changes to the rules, so please be quiet. "

Finally, it's time for the race to begin.

"Ah, looks like time has come. I'm sorry, but we don't have to talk about teaming up. Bye!"

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

Ignoring the slightly audible little tongue, I left the scene with a faint face.

Thank you for joining us today. Additional explanations are required to start the race. First of all, please receive the magic equipment used for this race. "

When the host man says so, the sphere flies like a basketball that produces a propeller for each athlete.

The sphere that flew to me, dropped something like a clock on my hand and began to idle around me.

What I just flew to you is a camera eye that captures the race and sends it to operations. As stated in the rulebook, if this breaks, please return to the previous checkpoint immediately. Keep in mind that if your camera eye is broken, it will still be disabled for your next checkpoint. Now, let's take a look at your clock-shaped magic equipment.

The host man told me to drop my gaze to my hand. The clock-shaped magic equipment was a simple silver construction, with only a portion of the clock fitted like a rectangular black crystal.

She said it was magic equipment, but I wonder how to use it.

Your magic equipment will be a new product of Emerald Tablet called Card Gear. The person in charge has come to explain the function in detail. "

As the host man stepped back, a career woman in a suit rose to the stage.

Emerald Tablets... is the company that develops and sells the largest artificial magic tools in Japan.

The air-conditioning pendants I hit with the pack, Magic Stone generators, Mermaid swimsuits, etc., are developed and sold by this company.

"My name is Sagawa, and I'm a publicist at Emerald Tablets. Best regards, Let me explain the card gear. To get started, pour a drop of your blood into the lens. The needle is stored on the side of the magical instrument."

According to Sagawa-san, the athletes shrugged their faces for a moment, hurting their fingers with a needle and spraying blood on the crystalline lens. Now, there are no adventurers here who say boo to bleed with a needle.

When we drained the blood, a stereoscopic image of about 30 cm in length and 20 cm in width emerged from the crystal lens of the card gear.

"Oops!" The voice of surprise leaked. Looks like some kind of science fiction. That's cool!

The stereoscopic video is lined up with a number of icons, like the screen on your phone.

Next, please stack your card on one lens. I'll be fine in a second.

Besides, I let Lotus' card touch the crystal.

Then....

"... mmh!? This is...."

"Lotus!?

The three-dimensional image shows the upper body of Lotus.

"What the hell is going on?

"I don't know... I feel like a window suddenly appeared inside the card."

I see... is it a magic tool that allows you to talk to cards without summoning them? This is convenient.

I thought that Sagawa-san told me that this liver would be removed.

"Your card gear allows you to talk outside the labyrinth with cards that have traditionally only been able to talk inside the labyrinth."

----- Oh, my God!

The venue made a loud noise.

What did you just say? You said you could talk to cards outside the labyrinth?

Card gear is the next generation of adventurer gear developed with the concept of more card and closer…. At this time, we can register about six sheets, but we plan to gradually expand the number of sheets.

In addition to the conversation function with the card, it is equipped with various functions such as automatic mapping function in the labyrinth, rescue request function equivalent to the license, communication function with other card gear owners in the same labyrinth, and because it does not use any machines, it is a new form of artificial magic tool that is not subject to machine destruction by Gremlin. "

I see... that's what I mean.

Rescue request for the auto-mapping function in the labyrinth... and the characteristic that it will not be destroyed by Gremlin.

Apparently, it was a magical instrument developed under the influence of the hound case.

Perhaps not just the development of Emerald Tablets, but the country behind it… military technology is being diverted.

Machine destruction countermeasures by Gremlin and others have long been the biggest challenge for national armies.

Only Gremlin can be found and destroyed first, but in labyrinths above C rank, it is not uncommon for the hierarchy itself to have the effect of mechanical destruction. Within a hierarchy of dozens of floors, the difficulty of the attack jumps just by mixing several hierarchies with a mechanical destruction effect.

Therefore, all countries were studying machine destruction measures as their top priority.

The most prominent candidate was the creation of artificial magic tools that did not rely on machine control.

Most of the artificial magic tools currently being made incorporate microchips and circuits for control, with the exception of some labyrinthine magic tools.

When it was even announced, "At last, humans can build magic tools on their own! Unfortunately, it did not become a key mechanical destruction measure.

It seems that some time after that, they were able to build artificial magic tools that didn't use machines at all.

Previously, it would have been a military monopoly, but it would have been affected by the incident and stepped into civilian diversion.

That's how much the government is looking at the hound case.

However, I thought it would be a big deal to give 100 adventurers a $10 million participation fee, and even pay the top winners close to a billion yen.... I see, the country and Emerald Tablet were the sponsors.

Generally speaking, this race also serves as a final test and publicity to test whether this card gear works properly.

"The card gear we have distributed to you is a prototype in the development stage, but the performance is assumed to be a high-end product of the product version. If you like it, don't hesitate to ask for the official version."

Sagawa-san takes a step back and the host man goes forward again.

"The prototype card gear will no longer be available to anyone other than the blood registrant, so the card gear we gave you this time will be presented free of charge by Emerald Tablet."

The cheers rose and applauded Sagawa-san on the stage. She lowered her head to smell it.

I didn't know I could get the pre-launch product beforehand... This is a pleasure to be honest.

Now, let's return to the description of the race. In races, this card gear is used to enter the choice of "Fight and Run" and the number of stars to bet on. Also, you can see the distance and direction of the checkpoint tips in the Maps app, so please rely on it to achieve your goal. "

In addition, I explained the detailed operation of the card gear, and then moved on to the racing stage.

First of all, two labyrinths for you to challenge... one is a daytime ocean-shaped labyrinth in Tokyo Dome City Rakua, a short distance from here. The other is an underground labyrinth around Tokyo Station, a short distance from here. "

View the location information sent to the Maps app at the same time as the words.... the underground labyrinth is about a 30-minute walk from the train.

These two labyrinths have no information on the Alliance's app. This means that the secret dungeon is not open to the public.

It was expected that there would be some problems in the public labyrinth, but was this confirmed?

Moreover, unlike the less-tasting subordinate secret dungeon, which is also restricted to professional adventurers, the authentic secret dungeon is completely exclusive to the country...

I felt the overall voltage of the adventurers on the field rise. Dive into a completely private secret dungeon. If you're an adventurer, it's only natural that the tension rises regardless of the race.

This labyrinth has become a slightly special labyrinth. In the sea labyrinth, Vivienville will definitely appear, and in the underground labyrinth, several carbunkles will appear per floor.

Whoa...! Vivienne, you're serious!

Vivier is, in a nutshell, a fully top-compatible monster in the carbuncle. Defeating increases the combat power of participating monsters to the limit of growth and drops Diamonds on the forehead for a certain amount.

This diamond is called the Viuville Diamond and can be traded for at least 100 million yen, allowing you to remember the ability to increase your combat power by giving the card.

In anticipation of the confusion in the main battle, we will set up a one-hour bonus time for the first person at the bottom of each labyrinth. During this bonus time, the next adventurer will not be able to enter the bottom tier. If you defeat the Lord within an hour, the blockade will not be lifted, but if you fail to defeat the Lord within an hour, the first player will be removed from the lowest tier and the second player will be relinquished. "

In other words, if we can kill instantly, we can get ahead of our rivals by an hour.

You've come up with a lot of advantages in being a leader.

I don't think about the latter case because it's unlikely that a level player who wins the first place won't be able to defeat the Lord.

"In addition, we will buy 100 viville diamonds and 1 or 2 carbuncle garnets. Of course, you can take it home without selling it."

Hundreds of diamonds and two garnets. Considering that several carbundles appear on one floor and the labyrinth hierarchy is 25 floors or more, is the total number of stars per se more underground labyrinths?

However, it is impossible to monopolize all carbundles where they are scratched.

Aim for a hundred Monopoly Viuville Diamonds, or head to the Underground Labyrinth to get a little spare...

That's all about explanation. The race starts in five minutes. It will be perfect at 10 am. "

As the host fell, the adventurers finally confirmed their preparations and reviewed the operation among the group members.

Especially since the groupings disclosed crazy information in the basic strategy, they felt somewhat impatient.

However, as time approached, the noise set on fire and became completely silent about thirty seconds ago.

… 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, -1.

Race! Starfleet!

The start bell rang suddenly, and the athletes ran in unison.