Episode 108: Magic Gem Shortage
“Ugh…”
Kanzaki groaned, arms crossed at his company desk.
“That call just now, was it about that matter?”
Maika asked anxiously, standing in front of the desk. Tanaka and Yuma, next to her, also wore uneasy expressions.
“It’s from the Dungeon Association. A formal request, telling us to come to the Red Dungeon two days from now, on Friday.”
“Can we refuse?”
“…It’s difficult. The Dungeon Association is like a union. We have agreements to help each other when problems arise. More than anything, we can’t ignore them if we want to keep working in this industry. Besides, we can’t enter any Dungeons right now. It’s hard to turn down a job with a reward.”
“If that’s the case, the problem is…”
Maika’s gaze turned to Yuma. Kanzaki and Tanaka also stared at him, causing Yuma to fall silent, feeling out of place.
“It’s the Water Magic Gem Yuma-kun uses, right?”
“Yeah, who knew the price would skyrocket so much on the distribution sites…”
Kanzaki’s eyes fell on the screen of the laptop on his desk. It displayed a specialized online shopping site where professional Seekers traded Magic Gems.
The listed Water Magic Gems had all jumped in price, with “Sold Out” signs lined up.
“Can’t we enter the Blue Dungeon?”
Tanaka asked anxiously, and Kanzaki shook his head.
“No way. It’s overcrowded, and now it’s reservation-only. People who usually never come to the Blue Dungeon are showing up.”
“Magic Gem prices are up, so it’s a good way to make money now, huh?”
Tanaka muttered with a troubled expression.
“If we can’t use Water Magic Gems, it’s dangerous to take Yuma-kun! I can go instead…”
“No, you can’t.”
Kanzaki flatly rejected Maika’s suggestion.
“I’m taking Yuma to Ibaraki. Maika, you’ll stay and wait at the company.”
“But…”
Tanaka interjected from beside Maika, who looked unconvinced.
“Then, President, why don’t you ask the Dungeon Association? If it’s about helping each other, they should help us in times like these!”
“…That’s right. I’ll ask, just in case.”
With that, the conversation ended, and Maika and Tanaka returned to their desks, but Kanzaki stopped only Yuma, who looked dejected.
“Why the long face!”
“Well… I’m still worried if I can’t use magic.”
“Either way, we’ll be in rear support, so I don’t think there’ll be any danger. But listen…”
Kanzaki lowered his voice so Maika and Tanaka couldn’t hear.
“Since we’re being called in for an emergency, there’s a chance we’ll get caught up in unexpected trouble.”
“Yes…”
“You’re invincible when you Metallize, but you’re weak in your human form. If anything happens, you’ll have to Metallize.”
“But then Tanaka-san will find out.”
“We’ll have to tell Tanaka-san beforehand. Well, she’ll probably believe it if we say Aisha made you drink some weird Demon Ore. And if you wear a deep hoodie, I don’t think anyone around will notice. Just don’t use the Metal Armor, it’s too conspicuous.”
“I see… I’ll do that.”
As Yuma nodded and tried to return to his seat, Kanzaki stopped him again.
“Yuma, Metallization is only for emergencies. Try not to use it if you can help it. We’re already in a delicate period with the Dungeon Association’s investigation. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
“Understood.”
Watching Yuma return to his desk, Kanzaki leaned back in his chair.
–I hope nothing happens…
◇◇◇
That night, in the Seeker’s Town in Ibaraki, many vehicles were constantly coming and going.
“The transport of materials will be completed by tomorrow afternoon.”
“I see…”
Ishikawa replied absentmindedly to his subordinate’s report. He had been working almost non-stop on countermeasures for the Red Dungeon for the past few days, and his fatigue had reached its peak.
Preparations for the large-scale operation to be carried out in two days seemed to be progressing smoothly.
Ishikawa left the work to his subordinates and left to take a short nap. As he was walking back to the hotel where he was staying, the smartphone in his pocket vibrated.
Who is it? Ishikawa wondered, looking at the screen of his smartphone, he saw the name of a man he knew well displayed.
Ishikawa swiped the icon up and answered the phone.
“What’s up, Kanzaki?”
“Hey, sorry to bother you at this hour.”
“It’s fine. Still, it’s rare for you to call me.”
“Well, there’s been a lot going on. I’m going to Ibaraki this Friday.”
“Ah… I see, you got the call too. Originally, only the major players should be handling it… Sorry. It’s a nuisance.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it! We’re all in this together. More importantly, I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it? A favor?”
“We’re planning to go with three people, including a newbie, but we can’t get our hands on the Water Magic Gem we were planning to let the newbie use. Can you procure one over there?”
“Ah, there’s a shortage right now. Understood, I’ll look into it. So, how much do you need?”
“Let’s see. For now, I want a Magic Gem with a Mana Index of about 1000.”
“1000!? Does your newbie have 1000 colorless Mana?”
“Huh? Well, yeah.”
Ishikawa was surprised. Raising the Mana Index to 1000 was a difficult task. If a newbie who joined the company in the spring had raised their Mana that quickly, it would be quite impressive.
Amasawa Rui, who had increased her Mana by over 2000, was an exception, but this would still be considered quite excellent.
“That’s amazing, Kanzaki! You’ve hired a good newbie.”
“Well, yeah, he’s our promising rookie. So, can you get your hands on a Water Magic Gem?”
“Yeah, I can get one. But I can’t get 1000. It’ll be less than that, but I’ll try to scrape together what I can.”
“Sorry, I’m counting on you. Is payment at the end of the month okay?”
“Anytime is fine. I’ll give you the Magic Gem on Friday, ah, see ya.”
Ishikawa hung up the phone and put his smartphone in his pocket.
Promising young talents were growing rapidly. For Ishikawa, it was both a joy and a slight sadness.
“A changing of the guard… It’s not the era when I and Kanzaki were on the front lines anymore.”
With a light smile, Ishikawa started walking towards the hotel.