Surviving in a World Teeming with Monsters with the Useless Skill 【Everyday Items Master】! I Was Just Hunting Wild Animals with a Crowbar, So Why Is Everyone Screaming It's an S-Rank Monster? - 71

Chapter 71: The Offspring of the Mad God

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Commander of the Special Mobile Unit A-4 for Quarantine Zones, Shuuya Koufukuji, had finally managed to escape from the dungeon.

“Damn it, what a waste of time.”

He clicked his tongue and muttered, swinging his bloodstained sword before sheathing it. The blood on his suit was beyond saving, so he left it as it was. It had been the worst. While they were on the move, the surroundings had suddenly transformed into a dungeon.

In the quarantine zones, monsters were rampant, and dungeon particles were constantly being dispersed. Because of that, incidents like this were bound to happen.

Two voices responded to Shuuya’s grumbling.

“Man~ that was rough! This is why I hate the quarantine zones! Why did we have to get trapped in a dungeon with an SS-class monster in the middle of a high-priority mission!?”

“That giant monkey from earlier—tens of meters tall—was probably one of those Mountain King’s offspring, or something like that…? I can’t believe we made it out without proper preparation…”

The ones speaking as they came up behind Shuuya were a pair of twin girls.

They both had black hair styled in low ponytails, with bangs covering one eye. Each had a colored streak in their bangs—one red, one blue—and wore uniforms similar in design to Shuuya’s suit.

Sango Koufukuji, with the red streak. Shizuku Koufukuji, with the blue streak. They were Shuuya’s younger sisters—though not related by blood. Sango carried two long swords, one at each hip. Shizuku carried a sawed-off shotgun and a submachine gun.

They were still quite young. Depending on one’s background and skill set, exceptionally capable individuals could be recruited early. Shuuya himself was only twenty-five, still considered young, but the twins were just fifteen. They had recently skipped grades to earn high school graduation certificates and still retained a hint of childishness.

At their words, Shuuya let out a sigh.

“In the end, that thing escaped. Good thing this is the quarantine zone. If an SS-class boss had broken out into a non-quarantine area, it would’ve been a disaster.”

“A blessing in disguise, huh! Too bad the ‘disguise’ part was massive!”

“The last time with that SSS-class monster actually felt easier than this…”

“Shizuku, come on! You’re seriously saying dealing with an SS-class monster without preparation was easier!? You’re exaggerating it now!”

“You’re one to talk, Sango-chan! With proper preparation, SSS-class was easier!”

Despite being twins, the two had completely opposite personalities, and they started their usual light-hearted bickering. Shuuya let it wash over him and asked absentmindedly:

“Where’s Nee-san?”

“Onee(big sister)? She said she’d go ahead and report the situation and handle all the other stuff.”

At Sango’s reply, Shuuya nodded. 

“I see.”

He pulled out his communication device from his pocket—only to find it shattered. As he’d feared, he frowned. This was why he hated large-scale combat in quarantine zones. If your gear broke, there was no resupply until you returned. Thankfully, thanks to his skills, his sword and guns didn’t suffer damage or wear, which was at least something to be grateful about.

“Sango, Shizuku. Are your phones still working?”

“Mine’s toast~.Shizuku?”

“Mine’s fine. Both Nii-ni(big brother) and Sango-chan’s are dead?”

At Shizuku’s reply, Shuuya shrugged his shoulders.

“We’re melee fighters. It can’t be helped.”

“Same here~! I’ve been dying alongside you the whole time, Onii~!”

“I mean, I’m technically melee too…”

“You’re more mid-range, Shizuku~”

At Shuuya and Sango’s responses, Shizuku gave a wry smile. She then pulled out her device and handed it to him. When Shuuya checked the messages and other communications, he found more messages than he’d expected.

There wasn’t time to read them all, so he skimmed through the important ones. That’s when he noticed a message from the Minister titled: 『[URGENT] Additional Information on Current Operation.』”

“…His Excellency…”

“Onii, what’s wrong? You’ve got a face like an oni~”

“Getting worked up is bad for your health, Nii-ni. Want some candy?”

“I’m fine. It’s just some additional info from His Excellency. I was hoping, for once, it wouldn’t be too late to be useful, unlike usual.”

The Defense Minister’s intel was always accurate—just always late. It was common to receive information that could’ve made things much easier, right after defeating an SS-class monster with great  difficulty. 

That was why Shuuya always got irritated when he saw ‘additional information.’ Still, that didn’t mean he could just ignore it.

“I’ll read it aloud.”

As Shuuya said that, both Sango and Shizuku straightened up, ready to listen. Once he confirmed their attention, he began.

“To: Special Mobile Unit A-4

This is the Minister of Defense. I will keep this brief.

From Special Mobile Unit Y-5, Team ‘Prophet,’ we’ve received new data regarding the retrieved object. According to them, the object is the ‘Offspring of the Mad God.’ As for what the Mad God is, further investigation was halted when members of Y-5 suffered Class B or higher mental contamination.

Therefore, we suspect the object is a powerful monster with mental corruption capabilities,

or perhaps a member of the unconfirmed species known as ‘Demons.’ While its threat level is unknown, this intelligence has been classified as a high-priority prophecy by the team.

In case of failure, an SSS-class monster may manifest, and in the worst case, significant damage may spread beyond the quarantine zones. Continue to treat the target as highest-priority for retrieval.

If retrieval proves impossible for any reason, shift immediately to destruction, ensuring the target cannot be revived. That is all. We thank you for your continued cooperation.”

When he finished reading, Shuuya couldn’t help but scowl again.

“They could’ve told us this at the start of the damn mission…!”

What the hell was a Mad God? What the hell was its offspring? To think something that ominous was their current retrieval target… Shuuya groaned.

“Ughhh… This mission’s looking worse and worse…”

“Even after dealing with that Mountain King Junior surprise, I still feel exhausted…”

The twins both grimaced in unison. “Offspring of the Mad God” sounded far too ominous for something in an official government document—but whenever that happened, things never ended well.

As Shuuya sighed, Sango stood up with frustration.

“Aaarrgh, enough! No more thinking! Easier to act than worry! Maybe nothing bad will happen! Let’s just head to the rendezvous point!”

“Ahaha… Yeah. Sitting around moping won’t help. Besides, the Everyday Items Master went into the dungeon to retrieve it for us.”

Oh, right—that’s true.

Shuuya thought to himself. The Everyday Items Master. The first person in the world to slay an SSS-class monster. Civilian or not, they were undoubtedly a powerhouse. He should treat them with due respect.

“We can’t be late. The sun’s still high—we should move out.”

“Right!”

Sango replied energetically to Shuuya’s words. Then Shizuku added, a little hesitantly.

“…But what if the Everyday Items Master failed to retrieve it?”

“Shizuku! Don’t jinx it!”

“Well—shouldn’t we at least prepare for the worst-case scenario!?”

“Sango, Shizuku, quit fighting. If it comes to that, we’ll just dive in and retrieve it ourselves.”

Then, Shuuya continued.

“Besides,it’s a shallow dungeon. Even if it’s the most difficult dungeon in existence, it should be easy to clear it with Master-tier skills on our arsenals.”

“We’ve still got time too~ What time is it now, anyway? Let’s see… Huh?”

Sango tilted her head. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Shuuya asked.

“…Onii, it was just past 3 PM when we got swallowed by the dungeon, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Did… Time just rewind?”

“Huh?”

Shuuya checked the time. It was a little past 2 o’clock. 

There’s no way time has gone back. 

He confirmed the date, thinking, No way. And then, he was stunned.

“Two weeks.”

“Huh? Onii?”

“Nii-ni, what’s wrong…?”

“Look.”

He pointed at the date on Shizuku’s smartphone and showed it to the twins.

“It’s been two weeks since we were swallowed by the dungeon.”

“…Ehh…?”

“Wha-What?”

The twins stared at the date, their expressions saying they couldn’t keep up with the reality. Shuuya felt the same. There was something about the dungeon that distorted the sense of time. Even so, he never would’ve thought a battle that felt like just a few hours would amount to two whole weeks in the real world.

“This goes way beyond being late…”

“Eh, w-w-w-what do we do!?”

“Awaawa, i-it’s a huge delay…!”

The twins were in a panic, flustering and glancing at each other as they talked in a rush.

“Eh, sh-should we head to the rendezvous point now!? We have to, right!?”

“B-but what if they’re not at the rendezvous point anymore…? Wouldn’t it be better to go straight to their house…?”

“But if it’s a place like this dungeon where the time gets messed up, they might still be in the dungeon!”

“B-but what are the chances of that…!? Isn’t the house more likely…?”

As the twins went back and forth, Shuuya told them flatly.

“There’s no point in panicking now. We’re heading straight to the dungeon at the rendezvous point to check whether it’s already been cleared or not.”

When a dungeon’s boss was defeated and the treasure in the deepest chamber was secured, it collapses immediately. In other words, you could see whether a dungeon had been cleared from the fact that it had collapsed or not. 

“If the dungeon has already collapsed, we’ll move on to the Everyday Items Master’s base. If it hasn’t, we’ll assume they’re having trouble and join in to help.”

“Ro-Roger that, Captain!”

“Y-yes! Understood…!”

“First, we’ll regroup with the other two. Then we’ll head out together at full speed.”

After laying out the plan, Shuuya let out a sigh.

“No matter what, a mission is a mission. All we can do is carry it out with determination.”

No matter how impossible something seemed, no matter how hopeless the situation appeared, Team Ashura had overcome it all. This time would be no different—they would do what they could and somehow find a solution. That was all they had ever done, and all they would continue to do. 

With that resolve in mind, Shuuya started moving.

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