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

Chapter 9 – Level-up Pudding

“Alright, alright! I got it, so calm down a little bit!” (Bouchi)
“Puuu~. Okay…”
What was with that pout? It was so cute. And that slightly dejected look… It just heals my heart.

I placed it on top of the bed and started with an introduction.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Bouchi Hiro. You’re my Familiar, the Sonic Owl, right?”
“Yep! Ah, but…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?” (Bouchi)
“Umm… If possible, I wish that Master would give me a name…”
“Ah, a name? Let’s see… How about Sol?” (Bouchi)
“?!! Sol… That’s nice! From today on, Sol is Sol!”
Ahaha, how happy can you be?

Sol was flapping and fluttering her wings in delight. Ahhh, compared to humans, animals provided a different kind of inner healing. That innocence was irresistible. She seemed to be a good girl, so I was really happy. Then, Sol began fidgeting around somewhat, so I asked her what was wrong.

“U-Umm…. I’m hungry.” (Sol)
“Oh, right. Just a moment… Er, what do you eat?” (Bouchi)
“I’ll eat anything! Ah, but I don’t really like things that have a strong smell…” (Sol)
“I see. Then there’d be no problem with fresh meat or vegetables, right?” (Bouchi)
“Yes, no problem!” (Sol)
“Alrighty, just a second.” (Bouchi)
I went to the fridge, took out some remaining vegetables and meat, and put them on a plate for Sol to eat.

“Thanks for the food~!” (Sol)
With a look of joy on her face, Sol began to stuff food into her small mouth.

I was watching pleasantly over her while thinking to myself, when Sol suddenly stopped eating and started to suck in a large breath.

And then―Pwoooh!

Suddenly, she breathed fire.

“Uwaaah?!” (Bouchi)
“Ah?! Master?!! Did I surprise you?! I-I’m sorry!” (Sol)
She began to apologize repeatedly, but I told her it was fine and started patting her lightly on the head. Her eyes closed partially as she giggled cutely.

Ah, this is nice. I felt my heart, which had always been troubled by deteriorating human relationships, being purified.

“So why did you suddenly breathe fire? And at your food, of all things?” (Bouchi)
“Ah, you see… Sol has a particular way of eating. I like to first eat it raw, and then use fire to heat the remaining half before eating it.” (Sol)
“Hoh, is that a special preference for Sonic Owls?” (Bouchi)
“Nope! That’s just Sol’s personal preference!” (Sol)
“Ah, is that so?” (Bouchi)
It seemed that owls, like humans, had their own eating preferences.

“―Kepu. Pyuuu~, that was delicious!” (Sol)
“That’s good to hear. At least according to the name, Sonic Owls are apparently able to fly at the speed of sound. Is that true?” (Bouchi)
“Mm~. Sol was just born so it would be difficult for me now. Once I grow up a bit, I’ll be able to do that.” (Sol)
So monsters also have an extent of growth? It seemed to be the same as humans in that sense.

“I see. Could you fight Slimes and Goblins in this state?” (Bouchi)
“No problem! Sol might look like this, but Sol’s rank is actually a D-Rank!” (Sol)
Come to think of it, monsters had ranks.

“But as I said before, I was just born, so I would be at the weakest among similar D-Rank monsters… But, but, once I grow up, I should be at the top of the D-Rank monsters!” (Sol)
It was natural for monsters to have their own individual differences. Even if they had the same rank, their strength could vary depending on their abilities and affinities.

I was pretty sure that there were products specific for Familiars to use. Among them, there were probably some that had the effect of speeding up growth or strengthening Familiars.

For now, I took out the [Appraisal Looking-Glass] and examined Sol.

Other than her name, rank, and weak points, there were also the newly added words, ‘Level 1’ added.

In the Shop, there was something called [Level-up Pudding I], which could raise a Familiar’s level and could dramatically improve its strength overall.

But this item was really expensive. It cost ¥1,000,000, which was a price that I had to think twice about before buying. Just to try it out, I bought a [Level-up Pudding I] and gave it to Sol.

“Woah~! Can I eat it?” (Sol)
“Apparently, it’s a special food for you. Feel free to eat it.” (Bouchi)
“Yaaay~! Thanks for the food!” (Sol)
The [Level-up Pudding I] looked completely like a regular pudding. Sol ate it with relish, finishing it in 10 seconds flat. Then, Sol’s body began to faintly emit light, and soon her tawny, ash-colored plumage took on a slightly reddish tinge to it.

“Oooh~! I feel power welling up within me!” (Sol)
She seemed to have succeeded in leveling up. The appraisal showed that she was now Level 2. Also, her rank had increased from D-Rank to C-Rank.

There were two other [Level-up Pudding] types, which were the ‘II’ and ‘III’ variant, but they were in an entirely different league in terms of price. They had ridiculous price tags that were completely incomparable to the price of ‘I’. As expected, it wasn’t something I could buy right now. I didn’t even have close to enough money for either of those things.

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“Sol, it seems that you’ve leveled up and are now C-Rank. Congrats.” (Bouchi)
“Eh? Really? Yaay! Now Sol can be more useful to Master!” (Sol)
Yes, yes, you cute, innocent little thing. I’m truly looking forward to your loyal service.

At any rate, Familiars were existences that couldn’t betray their masters. I could trust her.

“Well then, let’s see how strong you’ve become, Sol.” (Bouchi)
“Yes! Sol is totally ready to go!” (Sol)
I put Sol on my shoulder and went outside.

—

I took something out from the <Box>.

“Master? What’s that?” (Bouchi)
“This? It’s a [Dungeon Map] that I bought a little while ago.” (Sol)
In my hand, there was an A4-sized sheet of paper. A map of the surrounding area was displayed on it, and there was a glowing blue symbol that indicated my current location.

Just like a navigation app, the map continued to update in real time and show the surrounding area. In that sense, it could be used like a regular map. And if there was a dungeon on the map, it would show up with a red symbol.

“Now that I have this, I don’t have to go around searching high and low like an idiot.” (Bouchi)
“As expected of Master! You’re so smart!” (Sol)
With a skill like mine, surely anyone could have come up with something like this, though.

“Ah, if there are other humans aside from me around, don’t speak, okay? It would be troublesome if someone were to hear you.” (Bouchi)
“Roger that!” (Sol)

Her attentive reply made me feel good inside. Shortly after, a red symbol appeared on the map, indicating a building that was a short distance up ahead.

“Sol, we found a dungeon. Let’s hurry over!” (Bouchi)
“Got it!” (Sol)
That said, Sol was just sitting on my shoulder, and it was actually just my legs that were the ones hurrying us over. The [Perfect Ring] boosted my stamina, so I wouldn’t be out of breath after a bit of running.

After running about 1 kilometer, we arrived, but…

“―This place won’t work.” (Bouchi)

It was an apartment building, but the police had already surrounded the place.