I Level Up With In-app Purchases

I Level Up With In-app Purchases – 68

EP.68 Hunting Monsters in the Contaminated Zone (1)

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“Mmm…”

Rustle rustle—

“Wake up.”

“Ah… is it morning already? Yaaawn~”

Ariane, who had just woken up, opened her small mouth and yawned.

She rubbed the sleep from both eyes and quickly looked around.

It would be the same forest as where she had fallen asleep yesterday, not much different.

“Mmm… I miss my bed.”

No matter how well-prepared she was, it wouldn’t be easy for a noble lady who had lived a pampered life to adapt to rough camping.

Considering her usual personality, it wouldn’t be strange if she complained a lot in this situation.

But surprisingly, Ariane didn’t complain much.

Look at her now.

Isn’t she obediently getting up and going outside to wash her face like a cat?

“How’s your body?”

“My back’s a bit sore, but I’m okay. I’ve gotten used to it!”

It might be partly because an awakened person’s body is incredibly resilient, but she had unexpectedly good patience and a steady personality that didn’t shy away from difficult tasks.

She must have grown up receiving lots of praise as a genius since childhood, but it’s impressive that she didn’t become twisted.

‘It’s because she’s kind that she said she’d hunt monsters without putting her sister in danger.’

We hired mercenaries for Ariane’s monster hunt and set out at dawn.

Several days have passed since then.

We had already moved to a location close to the contaminated zone.

‘Even the hastily hired mercenaries have better stamina than I expected.’

Finding mercenaries who could help with monster hunting wasn’t an easy task.

To begin with, there weren’t many mercenaries who hunted monsters.

It’s a job where you risk your life for high pay, isn’t it?

It wasn’t a field that anyone would easily step into unless their life had hit rock bottom.

Finding such rare mercenaries overnight was impossible, and some compromise was necessary.

‘In the scenario, Ariane catches them all by herself anyway. So I just hired guys who could provide decent support.’

The mercenaries can’t enter the contaminated zone, but the monsters we’re targeting are in the contaminated zone.

In other words, Ariane’s hiring of mercenaries wasn’t to get help with fighting, but to get help in reaching the place where the monsters are.

Therefore, I focused on hiring mercenaries who were good at camping and had strong stamina rather than those who could help in combat.

‘Getting paid this much just for going to the edge of the contaminated zone and coming back is a real jackpot for them.’

Even mercenaries who were reluctant to accept the request because they had to go near the contaminated zone were helpless against the money Ariane offered.

“Shall we eat?”

“Yes~”

The mercenaries who had already woken up early were huddled together eating food.

We also went to our seats and started eating the food that was already prepared.

And quickly, complaints spilled from Ariane’s mouth.

“Boss, I want to eat ramen.”

“…You know we can’t do that here.”

Ariane was becoming more and more pitiful as she ate the ordinary vegetable and grain soup that everyone eats for breakfast.

Although she doesn’t complain much about most things, there’s one area where she frequently whines, and that’s food.

This was clearly my fault.

‘I shouldn’t have made her ramen that night. Who knew she’d get this hooked on it?’

A food that doesn’t exist in this world.

When I told her I had developed it independently, her eyes sparkled and she immediately started begging to sell it, saying everyone should taste this food.

She probably wants to learn the recipe so she can eat it without having to ask me all the time.

Of course, if a noble house like the Duke’s family were to step up and make and sell ramen, it would be convenient and quite profitable, so I didn’t refuse and said I’d think about it.

‘This means we’d have two businesses to do with their family…’

Beads and ramen.

It wasn’t an easy choice to decide which one to focus on more.

To be honest, I found making ramen a bit troublesome too.

If it became something I could buy with money, I’d be willing to purchase and eat it anytime.

“Raaameeen… sniff.”

Ariane, whose taste buds had completely changed because of ramen, cried out for it several times a day.

It’s understandable that she keeps thinking about it.

It’s not strange; this is perfectly normal.

‘I just didn’t expect a young lady from a noble family who had eaten well would go around crying for ramen like this…’

Don’t nobles usually eat well?

Ramen is originally a commoner’s food, but here’s a noble craving it.

“Complaining won’t make it appear out of thin air.”

“Let’s finish this quickly and go back. Then I can eat ramen!”

Gulp—!

Swallowing her saliva, Ariane’s determination burned brightly.

…I didn’t know ramen could have this effect.

“Someone might think I left ramen in your care.”

The store I run is a general store, not a restaurant.

Despite my words, Ariane seemed to be thinking only about returning quickly.

“How far have we come?”

“I told you before we went to sleep yesterday.”

“Mister~”

“…If you look at the map, we should have come about this far.”

“We’re almost there!”

“Yes, you’ll go north alone from here, and we’ll be waiting in this area. Until you return, that is.”

Since the mercenaries are ordinary people, there is a time limit on how long they can endure near the contaminated zone.

Before that, Ariane had to kill the monster and return here.

Ariane pointed to a space slightly west of where we were and asked,

“Is this where the monster wave occurred?”

“That’s right. It’s a very dangerous place. You must never go there. No matter how confused you get about other things, absolutely do not go west.”

If you accidentally enter that area, it’s better to consider yourself dead.

“Ugh… I’m scared.”

“You have to go in alone, do you think you can do it? Your life could be in danger.”

“Hey! I can do it. I’m Ariane! Ariane!”

Just a moment ago she was trembling in fear, but when asked if she could do it, she responds with enthusiasm as if provoked.

In fact, I might be the one who believes in Ariane the most here.

‘I know she’ll succeed.’

The reason Ariane can be so confident is because her abilities are special.

No matter how big the monster is, if it’s hit with her 5-stack poison and fatal blow, it will inevitably die.

Plus, doesn’t she have a stealth skill that can easily hide her own body?

‘I’ve also given her some good buff scrolls.’

If I were to follow her unnecessarily to help, I might end up drawing aggro and causing trouble instead.

The tracker was still clearly revealing the location of the target monster.

After walking diligently for about half a day from there.

“Cough, cough!”

Finally, the mercenaries started coughing as if they were having difficulty breathing.

We had approached so close to the contaminated zone that even the mercenaries, who were quite sturdy among ordinary people, couldn’t endure it.

Observing their reactions closely, I concluded that if we went any deeper in this state, it would be fatal.

“Alright, this seems to be our limit. Everyone stop!”

In the past, I would have been coughing like them too.

But after awakening, I gained the ability to remain unaffected even when entering contaminated zones.

‘So this is how nobles can roam around contaminated zones in such a calm state.’

Although telekinesis is the only ability I’ve realized so far, I didn’t know that awakening would make such a big difference.

‘I didn’t feel any difficulty coming this far. The same goes for Ariane.’

The journey was only delayed when the mercenaries showed signs of fatigue.

You might ask, wouldn’t it have been better not to bring the mercenaries at all?

For a comfortable journey, we needed a lot of luggage, and that luggage was currently being carried by the hired mercenaries.

‘If I didn’t hire mercenaries, it would mean that much more hardship for me.’

Even if we matched the pace of the mercenaries, it didn’t severely delay our schedule.

Anyway, the awakened body made the body I had used for 30 years feel unfamiliar, and as we got closer to the contaminated zone, the difference became more noticeable.

‘I used to shake my head wondering how nobles could endure such severe toxins… but after awakening, this level is nothing.’

The discomfort caused by the toxins of the contaminated zone was just slightly difficult breathing and a musty smell.

Since the discomfort was limited to this extent, it seems they were able to kill monsters while doing all sorts of things on this land.

Meanwhile, the mercenaries’ expressions brightened as they finally stopped walking.

“Are we stopping here? Cough!”

“It seems impossible to go any deeper, so we have to stop.”

“Actually, cough… we were about to tell you that we couldn’t go any further from here.”

“Am I any different from you all? A job is a job, but we need to stay alive.”

Staying too close to the contaminated zone will ruin your health.

Worried about receiving strange looks for appearing too calm, I made an appropriate excuse and called for Ariane.

“Ariane, pack this bag.”

“Okay~”

I put the tracker on Ariane’s neck.

“If you get confused about directions, use the compass. You remember how to use the compass, right?”

“Yep.”

“We’ll be in this part of the map. What did I tell you to do if you get lost?”

“After getting out of the contaminated zone, light the firework in the bag and shoot it upwards!”

“Right, and then wait there, and we’ll come to you. Which direction can you escape from the contaminated zone?”

“Go south! Because I’m going north now!”

“Don’t go west. That’s the direction where the monster wave is.”

“Okay!”

Like a parent sending a child to kindergarten, I kept instilling precautions into Ariane.

In the scenario, what’s important is not only avenging her sister but also returning after shaking off the family’s trackers.

Ariane needs to successfully carry out these two scenarios to grow well.

‘We moved much faster than the original scenario. I was able to guide us directly, allowing for quicker movement. With this faster pace, we should have secured ample time to avoid the trackers sent by their family.’

If Ariane can catch the monster without getting too lost and rejoin us, we’ll be able to complete the scenario excellently.

In the game, with its low degree of freedom, we couldn’t even dream of this, but isn’t this reality?

I was excited to see what results the time I had shortened would produce.

Ariane entered deep into the contaminated zone with a bulging bag.

“…Will she be alright? She seems too young.”

Perhaps having grown fond of her during our journey together, a mercenary expressed concern.

“She’s a noble, isn’t she? It’s right not to worry about nobles. She’s probably in less danger than we are, having to endure here.”

“Haha, that’s true. I overstepped.”

“Do we just need to hold out here?”

The mercenaries burst into laughter at my words.

In reality, the problem was greater for those of us who remained.

Being near where the monster wave had occurred, there was a possibility that monsters that had broken formation could appear.

Those of us remaining here were in a position akin to baggage carriers, so we couldn’t expect help if monsters appeared.

“That’s right. Let’s make a place to sleep before the sun sets.”

“Let’s do that.”

With the noble gone, the mercenaries set about tamping down the ground and erecting tents with more relaxed expressions.

Until now, we had taken care of sleeping arrangements and living conveniences, but Ariane, who had left alone for the contaminated zone, would have to struggle on her own from now on.

Even if she manages not to get lost by relying on the tracker, it would take more than a day to encounter the target.

The key was whether Ariane could endure well on her own.