Chapter 21
That day, a lone girl had co to the Gunma dungeon.
When she arrived at the dungeon camp, she often caught the eyes of passersby.
Hair as white as silk.
Seductive, tanned skin.
Abundantly full twin peaks.
Despite being at an age where she likely couldn't even drink alcohol yet, she boasted a captivating beauty that everyone desired and envied.
However, dressed in a black suit with a tightly knotted black tie and draped in a dark coat, much of her erotic allure was concealed.
At most, her shirt looked like it was about to burst from the strain. Truly enormous.
Her na was Chikusendou.
Her first na wasn't very well-known.
"Tch, could it be... an agent from headquarters has co here!"
A foundation staff mber at the Class 3 dungeon Counterasures HQ in a certain part of Gunma noticed the brooch on Chikusendou's chest, startled, and straightened their posture.
A black tal brooch resting on her ample chest.
Embedded in it were the glows of six purple gems—athysts.
It was well-known among the staff that an agent's rank increased with the number of athysts, and six signified the highest rank of agent.
Tension ran through the Counterasures HQ at the sight of the six athysts, seen for the first ti.
"I saw a Dungeon Wave here yesterday. Finger Man, it was incredible, right? That wasn't a C-rank fighting style. So, here... Shurado is around, isn't she? Give this to her."
"Y-Yes! Understood, I've received it!"
With that, Chikusendou took a brief look around the camp and soon headed back.
As she did, she passed by Finger Man walking into the camp.
(Even though the dungeon is sealed... you too can no longer turn back. You've been drawn into the labyrinth.)
Chikusendou let out a weary smile and murmured, "He's going to go as far as he can," expressing pity for one of her kind.
"Tch, that car...!"
Chikusendou let out an excited cry.
She had spotted a black, high-quality car parked by the roadside.
Until then, she had exuded the aura of a shadowy beauty, but now she dashed over with quick steps, happily knocking on the dark smoked glass.
With a beep, the driver's window slid down.
Gakidou, whose face lacked expression yet sohow looked incredibly cool just by staying composed, poked her head out.
Removing her sunglasses, she turned her gem-like blue eyes toward Chikusendou, furrowing her brow as if to say, "What do you want?"
(Gakidou, my dear sister, to et you in a place like this! Gakidou is cool, calculating, and excels in strategy—a top-tier agent among the elite. The foundation's ultimate weapon, operating across the world! Even among those with six athysts, no agent is as exceptional as Gakidou. Ah, she's looking at . Since I'm not saying anything, she's getting more and more annoyed! But even that is cool...! I love, love, love her! So cool! Intellectual, amazing!)
Lowering her IQ to about 3, Chikusendou breathed heavily with excitent.
She was nothing more than an extre fangirl.
"U-Um, Gakidou, my dear sister... is your work going well...?"
(If it's okay, could I, um, help out or sothing? —is what I wanted to say! But I'm too intimidated to bring it up~///// Ah, no, if she looks at with those eyes, I'll get pregnant...//////)
Writhing under her gaze, Chikusendou fidgeted.
Her kindness, wanting to be of use to the Gakidou she revered, always failed to form into words and ended up fruitless.
"I don't have ti (to talk with you). Because (I'm supposed to et Finger Man's informant after this)..."
Chikusendou deciphered the hidden aning behind the words of the one she admired.
('I don't have ti. Because...' In other words, Gakidou, my dear sister, is so incredibly busy that she's accepting my assistance, right? As expected of Gakidou, she easily saw through the hidden intent in my words and understood !)
Gakidou let out a proud huff and signaled to Chikusendou with a slight nod, saying, "Get in."
(Agent C (Chikusendou) is fidgeting. In other words, she must need to use the restroom...)
Gakidou's sharp deduction was in top form today as well.
Chikusendou was thrilled and excited.
The black, high-quality car eventually stopped at a nearby park.
Chikusendou got out naturally.
The black, high-quality car drove off.
"Huh?"
Stunned, Chikusendou watched the car disappear into the distance.
"Restroom... why did Gakidou, my dear sister, leave at a restroom...? Tch! Could it be, WC!"
(Back in my agent trainee days, there were tis when harsh evaluations were given by instructors. At that ti, WC—aning a double C grade or lower—ant failure, and we had to stay behind...)
"Gakidou, my dear sister... you're saying you don't need my help, aren't you? As expected, to see through my intentions and give such a harsh CC evaluation... You're saying that an investigation involving Finger Man is too soon for an inexperienced person like , right? Understood, I'll quietly head back."
Though Chikusendou is highly regarded by the foundation as one of the most exceptional agents, when it cos to Gakidou, her outstanding abilities—IQ 170, fluency in five languages, hacking skills, etc.—go haywire.
That night, upon returning to headquarters, Chikusendou reported to the agent room.
"I've delivered the sapphire brooch to Finger Man."
The Agent Master nodded with a "Hmm" upon hearing Chikusendou's report.
"So, what about Finger Man? The agent who delivered the erald brooch only gave a generic impression, calling him a 'nice young man.' That sowhat conflicts with the reports coming from Gakidou. That's why I specifically sent you... Chikusendou, what did you think?"
"It's certain that his dungeon factors are strong. He might even be on our level."
"Hmm. Anything else?"
"Anything else—I can't say anything more."
"Eh?"
"Gakidou, my dear sister, kept at a distance. She kept away from Finger Man, who's rumored to be terrifying, right? In other words, there's a high-level ga of tactics at play that only a super-elite agent like her, who's on the ground, can understand (※ there isn't)."
"Tch, to keep an agent of your caliber at a distance, Agent G..."
The Agent Master pondered.
Is it really okay to let Gakidou bear everything on her own?
The profiling image of Finger Man in the reports no longer seems human.
Based on the Agent Master's profiling experience, even if soone had been abused as a child, steeped in violence, abandoned in the mountains at midnight, nearly eaten by wild dogs, only to be saved by a second set of parents who turned out to be just as abusive, living through hellish days, giving up on any hope in this world, hating humanity, training themselves, and awakening to a desire for revenge against the world as a madman—whether they would turn out like Finger Man was questionable.
"But if that Gakidou says so, then it must be true. Finger Man. An unfathomable man. It seems dispatching Gakidou for this major task was the right choice. Soone like , a washed-up agent lacking talent and only aged by ti, could never have seen through Finger Man's true nature. Good work, Chikusendou. Let's leave this matter to her until the end."
The Agent Master thought.
(Agent G, even for as the Agent Master, she's an unfathomable girl. She speaks little. Her expression is cold. She scatters answers within her silence. As if to say she sees through everything without needing to speak. This must co from her sharp intellect and her thoroughly logical personality that despises inefficiency. The foundation unanimously evaluates her as the ultimate agent. She's the one on the ground. Her judgnt deserves absolute trust.)
The Agent Master reviewed a file with secretly taken photos of Finger Man obtained through a private channel.
"Finger Man... what are you thinking behind that refreshing smile?"
He felt a bottomless darkness similar to that of Agent G.
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
————
anwhile, at a hotel in a certain part of Gunma, Akagi Hideo was falling asleep—
Pikon!
"Whoa, that startled ... Huh? My level went up on its own again?"
He was awakened by the sound of leveling up.
"S-Status..."
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Akagi Hideo
Level 98
HP 6,386/6,386
MP 1,016/1,016
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv4'
'Phobia Syndro Lv2'
'One Strike'
Equipnt
'Blue Blood Lv2' G3
'Proof of the Chosen One' G3
'Secret Map' G3
'Adolphene's Holy Shroud' G3
'Mugen High-Load ver3.0' G4
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"That's strange... why is this happening? Is there a bug in the experience point calculation?"
Just as the eye of a swirling storm is calm, Finger Man at this mont couldn't even imagine the growing influence of Phobia Syndro.
And because his skill level had increased while he was asleep, he didn't notice that 'Phobia Syndro Lv2' had been added to his status.
————————
'Phobia Syndro Lv2'
Proof of one who delights in spreading terror.
Can gain experience points from the fear of others.
At Lv2, a 2.0x modifier is applied to gained experience points.
Unlock condition: Infect 10 people with severe phobia.
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"Fwaa~, ti to sleep."
There's no point thinking about things I don't understand.
Akagi Hideo closed the window and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
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