Chapter 55 – Treasure - Strawberry Lilies

There was still no one on the mountain.

Then, when I was almost at the top of the mountain, I found a small hut that was half destroyed on the way.

「… It’s suspicious no matter how you look at it…」

There were no trees growing around the hut, and the grass did not grow in circles. Rightly so, anyone would say it was suspicious.

「Excuse me……」

Fearfully, I stepped into the hut with its roof partially intact and looked around inside. Before I knew it, it was broad daylight, and even though the lights were not on, it was dimly lit.

「……」

The floor creaked when I stepped into it, and there were chairs and shelves that had fallen over, dusty desks and beds that no one used.

「… I wonder if there really is a treasure in this place… ?」

Things were scattered all over the place, so I had to find a place to step and look for treasure at the same time.

If the man’s spirit was right, there must be treasure in this mountain.

… I didn’t really need to take it, but I had time on my hands. Besides, if it’s something good for Suzu, I want to give it to her.

With that in mind, I creaked and squeaked as I searched for the treasure. Then…

Gishi…… Gishi… Goto… Gishi…

「Hmm?」

I found one spot on the floor that sounded different.

「Hmm~… ?」

I get down on all fours and look for a crack in the floor. If the sound is different, it means that’s where the section is.

If they were connected, they’d make the same sound.

「………. I found it」

A small gap. It was very small, only about 2mm.

「It’s hard to open…」

I tried to put a little nail in the round floor to open it, but it was a little too thick, so it got stuck.

「U~n…… Ah」

Something flashes through my mind, then I hold up my sword. And then…

――Supassupassupan! ! !

I slashed the floor in an exact triangle.

――Hyuuuuu…….. Garanggoron! !

The sliced wood fell in an exact triangle, and not a few seconds later, the sound of wood hitting wood rang out.

「Is it pretty close? There’s even a proper ladder…」

It turned out that it was not just an empty hole, but a hole that had been manually dug.

So I descended by ladder.

───────

「U… Wa~a…」

The place I went down to was, in a word, a bad taste.

There were human skulls all over the place, and although there were lights in what looked like a room, the lights were purple flames, and it looked suspiciously like some kind of ritual.

I tread more carefully than in the hut.

They’re skulls, after all… I feel like I’ll be cursed if I step on one…

「Magic… Formation…? Why is it here? Hmm?」

A doll of some sort was placed on top of the magic circle in the middle of the room. I approached the magic circle and picked it up to appraise it.

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【Name】 Cursed Doll: Quality 8

【Description】 A doll that has been placed on a magic circle for days on end. It curses those who hold it in their hands, and even when they let go of it, it always returns to their inventory before they know it. This doll is looking for its master, and when it finds him, it wants to protect him… It seems.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

「………. Achaー」

I’ve done it.

It’s a doll that looks like a girl, pretty cute but scary as hell.

U~n… I don’t care if it’s just in my inventory… I wonder… ?

And who’s the master…? I’m also a little curious about that. I hope one day I can find out who the master is… I want to give it back to him…

Having thus obtained the cursed doll, I left the hut and continued walking for a while.

And then…

──────

───

『We have 50 participants left. We will now begin to reduce the scope』

「Hi ~yaa! ?」

A mechanical sounding voice suddenly echoed in my head.

「Only 50 left, huh… We’re almost there!」

This was good information for me, who had been hanging around for a while and had nothing to do.

And scope reduction, as the name implies, will probably reduce the area in which you can move.

I don’t know where the middle is, but for now, when it narrows, I’ll run inside.

─────

───

『Only 10 participants left』

「Uwa! ?」

The mechanical sounding voice echoed in my head again.

Ayane was a little impatient as she hadn’t been able to meet any enemies since there were 50 left.

「I- I didn’t do anything…」

I just ran frantically as the barrier, which was obviously going to be a disaster if I got too close, was slowly approaching. When there were only 10 of us left, we could see all the walls that surrounded this map. The area was probably about 100 meters in diameter.

There are 9 other people in here…

『Only 5 left!』

Ah, there are 4 others left…. They’re dwindling fast…

――Dogoon… !

I heard an explosion from a location directly opposite the barrier I was currently near.

「… I think I’ll go…」

Then, as I was moving, one of them found me, and the other one intercepted me, and it turned into a three-way fight…

○Today’s Skill○

Today’s topic is 《Appraisal》.

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【Name】《Appraisal》 MP consumption: 25

【Effect ① (LV. 1)】 You can see the status of the target. The more levels you have, the more information you can see. However, hidden information cannot be seen if this skill level is lower than the opponent’s skill level.

【Effect ② (LV. ☆☆)】 You will be able to see all information, even if it is hidden from you.

LV.1: INT＋10