MV – Chapter 123: Preparations and the Minor Villain

When Lanpeach arrived at the Lanpeach Complex, he quickly headed to his room.

“Welcome back? You’re home earlier than usual, Lan. And who are the people behind you? Looks like you’ve added more girls again, doesn’t it?” (Chihiro)

“I’m back, Chihiro. Don’t worry, I’m far from any harem or popular guy scenarios.” (Lanpeach)

Sadly, there wasn’t a single person among the people Lanpeach had brought along who loved a minor villain romantically.

“My name is Tateno Mana. Pleased to meet you, are you the manager here?” (Mana)

Mana had tagged along for some reason. 

She could have returned with the soldiers since Toko had already been handed over to them. Yet, she introduced herself with a pleasant smile.

“I’m Koume. I am right behind Papa-shan now.” (Koume)

Koume, who was clinging tightly to his back, joined the conversation while giving out a big exhale. Though she was as light as a feather, her strength was astonishing -is what Lanpeach thought and saw that a rabbit was holding onto her butt.

Well, no need to worry about that. He can just gently set her down.

“I’m going to head to the Underground District’s base for a bit. Don’t let anyone through.” (Lanpeach)

“The base?” (Chihiro)

“Yeah, I’ll teleport, so I’ll be gone for a little while.” (Lanpeach)

He stepped into his room and stood in the center.

“We’ll go ahead.” (Mira)

“Why are you saying that first!” (Libra)

Mira vanished after declaring this. Libra also disappeared, grumbling angrily, and Lanpeach immediately chose to move to the colony.

“Koume’s going too!” (Koume)

Koume, who was still clinging to his back, didn’t let go.

“Oh! You’re going to the space base, aren’t you! I’m coming too!” (Touka)

“Of course Dry’s coming too.” (Dry)

Touka barged into the room and tried to tackle him as she shouted this, but Dry grabbed her waist.

“Then I’m coming too.” (Chihiro)

“Stepbrother, I am not letting you leave me behind!” (Nono)

“I’m not foolish enough to miss a once-in-a-lifetime chance.” (Mana)

Chihiro, Nono, and Mana grabbed onto Dry and the others, and the teleportation was carried out.

◇◇

“Oooooh! This is space! Dad, who became a star, I’ve finally made it to space!” (Touko)

Touka’s parents shouldn’t be dead, but she clasped her hands together, tears brimming in her eyes, as she pressed herself against the colony’s transparent outer wall in awe.

Outside was the vast expanse of space. The starlight was countless, and below them was the blue planet Earth. The terminal was vast, holograms flowing, making it an extremely futuristic place. Even an ordinary person would be excited by the sight, so it was no surprise that Touka, seeing the world she had only imagined up to now, was ecstatic.

“I see, there have been theories about how the Underground District’s space was distorted and how large it might be, but the district itself is small. The true residential area was in space. It all makes sense now. There’s as much land as they need. The difference in technological level really hits home.” (Mana)

Mana immediately began observing her surroundings, taking it all in like a tourist gawking at everything.

“Want to buy some manju-usa? We’ve got pennants too-usa yo.”

“How about some food-usa? The ramen’s delicious-usa yo.”

“Want to take a picture-usa? It’ll be a great souvenir.”

The terminal rabbits, excited to have customers after a long time, eagerly gathered around, shining with excitement, trying to attract business with all their might.

But don’t you need EXP to buy anything?

[Don’t worry. There are things you can buy with Elemetals besides EXP. Otherwise, the colony’s residents would starve to death. Ordinary people can buy everyday items, though military supplies like weapons can’t be purchased.]

Mira explained confidently, though her eyes gave Lanpeach a critical look, as if silently asking why he’d brought everyone along. 

(Sorry, there was a big turnip, so everyone tried to pull it out.) (Lanpeach)

[Oh, I see. That makes sense. Wait, does that mean we could teleport just by sticking together?] (Lanpeach)

[Good thing we didn’t fuse into one being, Soldier. Honestly, you’d be hopeless without me.] (Libra)

[We were only apart for a few seconds, weren’t we?] (Lanpeach)

Libra clung to Lanpeach’s arm with a super happy smile. She seemed to be thrilled by Lanpeach’s blunder, and her chest was exceptionally soft, as always.

“Lan, is this the base in the Underground District?” (Chihiro)

Seeing Libra pressing against him, Chihiro also clung to his other arm in response. Yes, the subtle softness is nice too. Truly, size doesn’t matter in this world.

“How much are the manjus, manju seller?” (Touka)

“5000 Elemetals-usa.”

“I’ll take a box!”

“Thanks for your business-usa! It’s been ages since we had a sale-usa yo.”

Touka converted her precious currency into manju without hesitation. The manju should only be worth 50 EXP, so it smells like a rip-off. The rabbits hopped around, ecstatic over their first sale in a thousand years.

“Hmm, what currency is that? Touka-kun, where did you get it?” (Mana)

“I want to try some too, but can we use Ele?” (Nono)

Mana asked, looking envious as Touka quickly opened the box and began eating manju, while Nono also looked eager to try.

You wouldn’t have seen this currency unless you’d cleared a request from the Hunter Guild. It’s no surprise they don’t recognize it.

“Pla-san, they are completely ignoring you, so let’s sneak over to the research lab.” (Mira)

“Got it.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach slipped away while everyone was busy exploring the terminal. Though it was sad no one seemed to notice.

◇◇

“Ordinary people can’t enter any areas beyond the terminal. Only those recognized by the Space Library can access them.” (Mira)

“Koume’s sticking with Papa-shan!” (Koume)

(So transcendentals can enter, huh. I’d forgotten Koume was still clinging to my back, but it should be fine.) (Lanpeach)

They arrived at the research lab after teleporting through the portal. The interior was clean, filled with various devices and in-development weapons. White rabbits, wearing lab coats, were curled up asleep in their chairs.

When they noticed Lanpeach’s group entering, they perked up, twitching their noses.

“Oh, finally here-usa ne! We’ve been waiting to start the research-usa yo!”

“Sorry, I kind of left you hanging. I didn’t have enough EXP. My bad.” (Lanpeach)

“We forgive you with the vastness of our ocean-sized generosity-usa.” 

Lanpeach handed the scolding rabbits some carrots and patted their fluffy heads. Their soft, fuzzy fur was incredibly pleasant to the touch. He also patted Mimi and Koume’s heads.

“Well, Pla-san, let’s begin the research. We’ll be using 1,000 EXP to develop a Special Herbicide. It’ll deal massive damage or instant death to plants related to Demon Seeds.” (Mira)

“Understood. White-coated rabbits, begin research on the Special Herbicide!” (Lanpeach)

“Roger that-usa! Research commencing-usa yo~!”

The rabbits, delighted to finally have work, eagerly raised their hands and waddled off to their desks or isolated rooms, pouring liquids into flasks, producing smoke, hammering metal parts, and typing on keyboards. It was the very image of a research lab.

“Are they really researching? It looks more like a scene from a game where they’re pretending to work.” (Lanpeach)

(At least they don’t need to be tinkering with half-constructed spirit armor while developing herbicides, right? It feels like a game, so maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised…) (Lanpeach)

“The Space Library is assisting them, so the research will progress without issues.” (Mira)

“So most of the rabbits are just pretending to work, huh…” (Libra)

Some of the rabbits were secretly munching on carrots, but if the research is proceeding without issues, it’s probably fine.

[Research on the Special Herbicide will be completed in three days.]

“This really does feel like a game world.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach chuckled at the familiar game-like notification that appeared before him.

“Next, let’s unlock the spaceship dock, Soldier. It’ll cost 5,000 EXP. Unlocking it will give us an initial spaceship, which should be useful for combat in the surface world.” (Libra)

“So you were a support character, Libra. Alright, hold on. I want to level up some skills before spending the EXP. There was the last Spirit battle, so I need to power up.” (Lanpeach)

He already decided which skills to raise. He is heading straight for the ultimate build.

[Acquire Detection Level 5, Concentration Level 5.] (Lanpeach)

[Acquired. Detection and Concentration have reached Level 5. Special Skill [Hyper Sense] acquired.] 

[Hyper Sense: Enhances the user’s ability to sense the flow of the world, increasing action success rates by 30%.]

Hyper Sense wasn’t a popular skill in the game. People usually didn’t have enough EXP to get it, so they opted for other skills instead…but in this world, it might be useful. We’ll see how it goes in battle.

[Acquire Martial Arts Level 7 and Gunmanship Level 6. Specialties will be [Light Fist], [Bullet Acceleration], and [Illuminating Magic Bullet].] (Lanpeach)

[Light Fist: Punches through the enemy at near light speed.]

[Bullet Acceleration: Bullet speed significantly increases, and accuracy goes up by 30%.]

[Illuminating Magic Bullet: Transforms bullets into beams, making sweeping attacks possible.]

[Finally, Physical Strengthening Level 5.] (Lanpeach)

[You have acquired Physical Strengthening Level 5.] 

With a ping, the log was displayed and…

“Oh? This is…amazing!” (Lanpeach)

The moment he acquired it, the Hyper Senses informed him. It seems that he could understand the influence on his body across dimensions. Truly, it could be called Super Senses. He could feel the power of his trained body from another worldline pouring into Lanpeach as EXP (fate energy).

(The worldline where I foolishly trained only my physical abilities.) (Lanpeach)

(I see. So this is the mechanism behind how I’ve been increasing my skills and physical abilities not with spirit power, but with the power of fate, huh.) (Lanpeach) 

He was copying the power from the infinitely branching worldlines.

This was a different sensation from before, and the sense of omnipotence from having doubled his physical abilities. 

He clenched and opened his hands, confirming that he had been greatly enhanced. It felt like he had transcended to another dimension. With this, he might even be able to fight evenly with those Spirits from the other day.

———

Lanpeach Kouza

EXP: 7000
HP: 168
PP: 236
Endurance: 84 (+42)
Strength: 84 (+84) (+42)
Dexterity: 108 (+54)
Agility: 88 (+44)
Mind: 136 (+68)
Psy: 118 (+59)

Inherent Skills: Minor Villain Level 10, Extraterrestrial Level 5, Transcendental Level 5

Skills:

Physical Combat Level 7, Gunmanship Level 6
Supernatural Powers Level 7
Presence Detection Level 5, Concentration Level 5, Perception Level 1
Physical Enhancement Level 5, MasqueradeLevel 2
Alchemy Level 1, Dismantle Level 1
Base Defense Knowledge Level 6, Machine Operation Level 2, Electronic Manipulation Level 5

Equipment:

G1 Assault Rifle: Attack Power 6
DG5 Assault Rifle: Attack Power 21
BD Berserker Driver: Attack Power 52
Ice Magnum: Attack Power 38, Ice Attribute
Flame Magnum: Attack Power 38, Fire Attribute
Spirit Gauntlets: Attack Power equal to Strength, Strength x2
G1 Bulletproof Vest: Defense Power 4
Monotaurus Leather Armor: Defense Power 9
Spatial Ring
Sunglasses of Chaotic Causality
Sword Saint’s Robe: Defense 150. Increases Attack Power by 50%, Physical Abilities by 50%, and unlocks the ‘Sword Saint’ skill.

———

The Status changed considerably, and the remaining EXP was 7,000.

“Alright, this looks good. Now, let’s unlock the spaceship dock!” (Lanpeach)

“Aye aye! Unlocking spaceship dock!” (Libra)

Libra spun around, her shrine maiden outfit fluttering as she shouted. With that shout, there was a loud “gwoon” sound, and a new facility, the spaceship dock, was unlocked.

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