As Long as You Have the [Shop] Skill, the Dungeonized World Is a Breeze ~The Bullied Youth’s Payback

Chapter 71 – Former Champion

As expected from Sol, her scouting skills were excellent. As soon as she discovered what Ryudou’s skill was, she immediately began to scout out the labyrinthine building. In the blink of an eye, she finished exploring the buildings one after the other.

In the third building that Sol had entered, she had seen a certain sight. There were two monsters standing guard in front of a massive, heavy-set door. It seemed as if there was something behind that door.

According to Sol, the two monsters were both B-Rank and were quite formidable opponents. With those guys guarding the door, it was hard to believe that it was a trap.

The Core was most likely hidden behind that door. It would be best if Sol could defeat them all by herself, but she was also B-Rank so it would be difficult for her alone.

We had a pretty good idea of the building, so we all decided to head there together. But just as we were about to enter the entrance, a gunshot rang out. When we turned our heads―

“―Ryudou,” Kuzuhara muttered, his tone filled with fury. Kuzuhara glared hatefully at Ryudou, who held up his gun and smiled wickedly.

“Yo. It’s been a while… Kuzuhara. Where are you all headed?” (Ryudou)
“…You…!” (Kuzuhara)
Kuzuhara’s doubts were understandable. He was probably wondering what Ryudou was doing here. Based on Sol’s information, I had guessed that this was probably where the Core was hidden. But Ryudou shouldn’t have figured that out yet.

“Looks like this is where the Core Monster is, huh?” (Ryudou)
“….!” (Kuzuhara)
“With that face, you’re probably wondering how I knew that. Right, Kuzuhara? What, it’s easy.” (Ryudou)
He pointed to a spot where there was a zombie hiding in the shadow of a building. Without even waiting to be asked, Ryudou pointed at his own eyes and began explaining.

“That zombie is my pawn. I can hijack and use the vision of any of my pawns.” (Ryudou)
“W-What?!” (Kuzuhara)
Kuzuhara’s surprise was understandable. After all, even I was still thinking about how useful his skill seemed. This meant that Ryudou could see what a zombie was seeing, even if he was far away.

In other words, Ryudou had zombies posted on us, observing our every move.

“You guys were just waiting on standby for so long. You were probably waiting until we found the real building, right? Then you would somehow find out and follow me. That was your plan.” (Ryudou)
That certainly was the plan at first.

“But then your plan changed, and you guys suddenly found yourselves here. You guys came in all of a sudden and didn’t check out the other buildings… Strange, isn’t it? It’s almost as if the objective you’re looking for is in this building.” (Ryudou)
This guy…! Ryudou wasn’t a guy who used ordinary methods. He was thoroughly prepared, and no matter which way things turned, he was always ready to react.

Kuzuhara’s fists were trembling as he gritted his teeth in frustration. Just when he thought he had gotten here first to clear the dungeon, the wind had been taken out of his sails. And even I had underestimated Ryudou once again. I hadn’t expected him to be this prepared. To make matters even more troublesome, the skill he possessed was extremely versatile.

“Hmm~? That hakama woman with the katana. She’s as beautiful as the rumors say, eh?” Ryudou said, licking his lips as he stared at me. It really creeped me out.

“Hey woman, why don’t you toss aside that puny man and come over here? I’ll make you satisfied from the bottom of your heart, as a person and a woman.” (Ryudou)
“Unfortunately, I’m not interested in someone like you.” (Komon)
“….What did you just say?” (Ryudou)
His smile froze and his face turned grim.

“Be careful what you say, woman. Do you want to get killed here?” (Ryudou)
“You’re welcome to try… But a piece of scum like you wouldn’t be able to kill me.” (Komon)
Suddenly, a tremendous killing intent surged out from Ryudou. The bald man who was standing beside him as well as Takasu and Tengawa, who were still somehow alive, were also glaring at us.

For a while, the staring contest continued. If Ryudou made a move, Shiki would immediately rush out and deal with him. But then, Ryudou smirked.

“How nice. I like a strong woman. Come to think of it, she was also like that, wasn’t she? Kuzuhara.” (Ryudou)
“….!” (Kuzuhara)
The woman he was talking about was most likely Katsuragi Tomoe, who I had heard about from Chake. If they were both talking about a woman, it could only be her.

“She was kinder than anyone, and she was strong… But she died. No, you killed her. Right, Kuzuhara?” (Ryudou)
“….I don’t have any intention to deny it.” (Kuzuhara)
No matter how you thought about it, Kuzuhara wasn’t the one at fault. It was a car accident. There was nothing that could have been done about it.

“Kukuku, well whatever. Either way, you’ll be ruined today. It’s over for you.” (Ryudou)
“No, it’s not. I’ll end things today. I’ll win this match and then… I’m going to kill you.” (Kuzuhara)
“Kuhahah! You’re starting to say it finally. Then let’s start over. I’ll pick a select few to participate, and you do the same. Let’s have an enjoyable war, yeah?” (Ryudou)
What a shameless thing to say. He’s got a bunch of zombies ready to charge in at a moment’s notice.

“Fine. We’re already sick of you. We’ll definitely win this!” (Kuzuhara)
As the two of them glared at each other, I intervened.

“Calm down, Kuzuhara-san.” (Komon)
“…! Komon…” (Kuzuhara)
“Your mission is to clear this dungeon. Leave this place to me and hurry inside.” (Komon)
“…….Sorry.” (Kuzuhara)
Having cooled his hot head, Kuzuhara broke his gaze away from Ryudou and walked into the building. Chake followed after him.

“Sol, I need you to escort him, alright?” (Komon)
“Understood!” (Sol)
I entrusted Sol, who was waiting inside the building, with protecting Kuzuhara. This way, his safety was ensured to some extent.

“Ryudou-san, you can leave this side to us and head inside too,” the bald man proposed. Ryudou agreed and took off.

I would have wanted to finish him off here, but Kuzuhara had made a request to me, so I planned to leave him alone.

“Hakama-wearing katana user. I’m going to crush you.” (Kuroki)
The bald man threw off the jacket he was wearing, showing his fighting spirit. He was a huge man, almost twice the size of Komon, clearly surpassing two meters in height.

He was built like a pro wrestler or a heavyweight boxer. His body was so muscular that it looked like his entire body was one big knot of muscle.

When I looked at his rugged face, I got the feeling that I somewhat recognized him. He looked like someone I had seen a long time ago….

Then, Takasu explained it to me at that moment.

“Hahah, you’d better hurry and give up! Kuroki-san here is the former MMA champion in the open-weight division after all!” (Takasu)
….! Ah, so that’s why he looked so familiar.

(TL: MMA = mixed martial arts)

If I recall correctly, he was Kuroki Kenichi. He was originally a kickboxer. After becoming a world champion, he immediately returned the title and immersed himself into the world of mixed martial arts.

He was an undefeated champion who had won all of his fights by KO since his debut. His abilities really shone through in the world of MMA, and in no time at all, he quickly became the world champion. However, after defending his title only once, he stepped away from the world of MMA.

I knew this because I watched the moment when he first became MMA world champion on TV. It was 10 years ago, and he had won in a seriously spectacular manner.

Right at the very beginning of the fight, he fired off a kick and knocked out the former champion with a single blow. The kick, which slammed into the champion’s abdomen, shattered his bones and ruptured his internal organs. The former champion was immediately rushed to the hospital, and the doctors struggled to save him. However, he still ended up passing away.

Kuroki was then considered to be the strongest man in the world after destroying the former world champion in a single blow. However, even though it was an accident, it was an undeniable fact that he had killed a man, which meant that aside from the praise, there was a lot of bashing and criticism.

The former champion was well-liked and adored by all, and he was even called a hero by children. He was also popular among women because of his good looks. Then, suddenly, a man who looked like a bear came out of nowhere and killed that man. It was sure to cause a lot of complaints and discontent.

And then, the world began to call him―’The Hitman of the Ring’.