Episode 45: Whereabouts of Mana
After that, Yuma struggled under Tanaka’s guidance, defeating Blue Frogs.
He slammed his Pickel down on the leaping Blue Frogs. Just as they spurted out bodily fluids, he pressed the switch, sending a current through them to finish them off.
Tanaka had told Yuma that the battery would run out quickly if he left the switch on, so Yuma made sure to send the current the moment the Pickel hit the Blue Frog.
Because he was using a long-handled Pickel, he wasn’t showered with as much Blue Frog bodily fluids as Tanaka, who fought with a short sword, but even so, he was sticky all over by the time he went home.
“Tanaka-san… is it like this every day?”
“Well, yeah. You get used to it eventually.”
Yuma left the Blue Dungeon with Tanaka, who was laughing cheerfully. They parted ways at Koganei Park, bathed in the setting sun, and Yuma trudged home.
For the next three days, he continued to dive into the Dungeon and defeat Blue Frogs.
◇◇◇
“This is strange… I wonder why.”
On the morning of the fourth day, Maika frowned as Yuma came to work.
“It’s still no good?”
Maika groaned, pointing a professional Mana Measurement Device at the bewildered Yuma.
“Hmm… you’ve defeated more than twenty Blue Frogs, right?”
“Yes, I worked really hard with Tanaka-san to defeat them…”
“Then your Mana should have increased. Blue Frogs should raise your Mana by about 0.2 to 0.3 per kill, so defeating twenty should raise your Mana Index to 4 to 6.”
The president came over from behind Maika, looking puzzled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, President. Something’s a little strange. Yuma-kun’s Mana Index is still zero.”
“What? Even after three days? It should have gone up at least a little.”
“Nope, not at all.”
“Could it be broken? That Measurement Device is pretty old, isn’t it?”
“Then, let’s try–“
Maika pointed the tip of the Measurement Device at the president and pressed the switch. After a beep, she looked at the display window.
“1107. That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Next, Maika went to Tanaka, who was working at his desk.
“Please let me measure you for a moment, Tanaka-san.”
“Huh? Oh, sure.”
She pointed the Measurement Device at Tanaka’s chest and pressed the switch. It beeped again, and the index was displayed.
“623.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
In both cases, the Measurement Device showed the correct values. Seeing this, the president scratched his head in dismay.
“It’s not broken, huh.”
Watching the president and Maika talk about the Measurement Device, Yuma became anxious.
“Um… could it be that it’s hard for my Mana to increase?”
Hearing Yuma’s words, the president and Maika exchanged glances.
“Well, it’s true that there are individual differences in how Mana increases… but only slightly.”
“That’s right! It’s usually impossible. So I thought it would be okay, but…”
The president and Maika wore troubled expressions. Yuma began to worry that perhaps some adverse effect had occurred from continuing to defeat Metal Slimes.
“Anyway, let’s wait and see a little longer. If it still doesn’t go up, we can think about it then.”
With the president’s words, the status quo was decided. Yuma and Tanaka headed to the Blue Dungeon and hunted Blue Frogs like crazy to raise their Mana.
And two days later–
“Ugh…”
The president and Yuma sat facing each other on a sofa in the back of the office, looking down with serious expressions.
The president closed his eyes and pondered with his arms crossed.
“It’s strange that your Mana hasn’t increased at all after this long.”
“Is it a problem with my constitution, after all?”
The two of them were at a loss. The president seemed troubled by the unprecedented situation, unsure of what to do.
“That’s right. I’ve never heard of Mana not increasing due to constitution, but I can’t say it’s absolutely impossible. Should we look into it?”
“How would we look into it?”
“I have an acquaintance who’s a scholar studying how Mana affects the human body. I’ll ask if they can look into it for you.”
The president stood up and made a phone call on his cell phone, which was on his desk.
Yuma also stood up and scratched his head as he returned to his desk. It was an unexpected situation.
He had thought that if he defeated the slightly stronger Monsters in the depths of the Dungeon, his Mana Index would steadily increase. But in reality, it didn’t increase at all.
If it didn’t increase, he naturally couldn’t become a Seeker. He’d probably be fired from the company too.
If he was kicked out of here, there would be no Dungeon-related companies where Yuma could find employment.
As Yuma sat down with anxious feelings, Tanaka, who was sitting at the desk next to him, called out to him.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
“Well, it seems they’re going to investigate the reason why my Mana isn’t increasing… they’re contacting some scholar.”
“Ah, that person.”
Tanaka smiled as if he understood.
“Do you know them?”
“Yeah, I know them well. They’re a scholar who also gives out exploration requests. A woman.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Apparently, he knew her well. As he wondered what kind of person she was, Tanaka grinned eerily.
“W-what is it?”
“Well, Yuma-kun. Just, just…”
Yuma leaned closer and listened as Tanaka beckoned him.
“That scholar is the president’s ex-girlfriend.”
“Eh!?”