Only My Dungeon Equipment Levels Up! (SSS-Rank Weapons)

“Sato, do you think he’ll come?”

Here is the headquarters of the Sugar & Salt guild, Sato’s base of operations, converted from a single house. Inside, the wide space opens up to a large hall where Sato and his companions laugh loudly while drinking.

“Hahaha! That useless guy has a lot of pride. He’ll come with a bright red face, I’m sure.”

Holding a can of chu-hai, Sato and his gang laugh foolishly. Today, Sato and about five of his followers are hanging out there.

“Sato, can you tell us about the plan soon? Why did we do all this?”

“You still don’t get it?”

Sato then loudly reveals the whole plan, a truly despicable scheme.

Recently, in Japan, crimes involving equipment have been rampant. If someone wearing equipment commits an assault without reason, it becomes a big problem. For high schoolers like Sato and his gang, most fights are dismissed as minor.

Therefore, Sato has been bullying and assaulting people carefully to avoid getting caught, leaving no evidence. However, the stress was building up. Then Sato had a flash of inspiration, a devilish idea.

There’s one legal way to beat someone to a pulp: self-defense.

The guild gets attacked by an equipped explorer. He starts throwing punches. Not knowing what kind of weapons he has, we have no choice but to resist with all our might…

As long as it’s self-defense, it doesn’t matter how much you hit. So, make Mikenju come to the guild and provoke him into hitting me. I’m ready to record it with my smartphone in my breast pocket, so we’ll have solid evidence.

It’s frustrating to let him land the first punch, but if it means I can beat him to death afterward, I can endure it. After that, we’ll let the law take care of him.

He’ll be beaten to a pulp, face absolute justice, have his explorer qualifications revoked, and be sent to a juvenile detention center. Then, I’ll manipulate his sister with the promise of lightening her brother’s sentence, and she’ll become my sex slave.

I’ll train her to cry with joy. I’ll transform her into my ideal woman, then violate her in front of him.

He’ll only be able to watch from his cell as his sister becomes my slave because of him. I wonder what kind of face he’ll make when he realizes this.

I can’t wait to see his eyes filled with despair.

(Oh, I can’t wait for him to come.)

Sato drinks impatiently, looking forward to it with a euphoric expression.

Then it happened.

Boom!

The sound of the door being kicked in. A boy stood there.

Driven by anger, he kicked the door open.

(Welcome.)

Sato can’t stop smirking. At this moment, he is sure the plan will succeed.

“Don’t any of you dare touch him! It’ll ruin the plan.”

Since self-defense wouldn’t apply in a group fight. Sato then looks at Mikenju.

With a despicable grin, he speaks to Mikenju.

“How did you like the surprise, little brother?”

He thrusts out his cheek as if inviting a punch. The punch of an explorer with only a soldier series equipment won’t even feel like a mosquito bite.

Provoking him with a taunting attitude.

Mikenju clenches his fists without a word. He’s too angry to speak.

Then Mikenju charges, aiming to strike with his fist full of rage.

Sato almost bursts into a grin. Punch me with that mosquito-like fist.

No… don’t laugh yet… hold it in… but…

Sato strains to suppress his laughter, feeling that everything is going according to plan.

(Yes, this is the end of your life!)

Sato waits to be punched by Mikenju. The plan is going perfectly. But there was one miscalculation.

That is…

“B-Baaraaah!!”

Mikenju had become incredibly strong.

Immediately after, Sato flies back as if in a manga.

A dull sound echoes around. Something crashes into the wall at the back.

“S-Sato!?”

Everyone watches as dust rises, looking at what was blown away. If Mikenju hit it, what was sent flying?

There lay Sato, jaw dislocated, bleeding, eyes wide with disbelief.

Mikenju runs toward Sato. Everyone else is too stunned to move.

Grabbing Sato by the collar, Mikenju raises his fist again.

“W-Wait a m-minute.”

He punches him.

“Ugh! P-Please stop!”

Sato’s retaliatory punch hits Mikenju. But Mikenju doesn’t flinch. With a cold look, as if unaffected, he punches again.

Teeth fly out, scattering with blood. Sato loses count of the blows, crying from the pain.

“P-Please forgive me.”

Wanting to escape the pain, Sato apologizes.

Like I’d forgive you. Did you stop when Nana begged you to?

“I-I’m sorry! It was my fault! Please stop hitting me!”

I don’t need your apology. What I want to hear is your screams.

“Here, my smartphone. The photos are here! This is all I have!”

You even took photos? Crushing the smartphone Sato pulled from his breast pocket, Mikenju becomes even angrier.

“I-I’m dying. Please forgive me.”

All of Sato’s teeth might have been knocked out, his nose smashed, and swollen so badly he couldn’t see.

Mikenju finally delivers a strong punch to Sato’s stomach. He wants to kill him but lacks the resolve to go that far.

But even so…

“Bluagh!!”

Sato vomits alcohol, food, and blood as if spewing his guts. Seeing this, Mikenju’s anger calms slightly.

“Apologize.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Sato bows his head to the floor, apologizing with all his might.

“Not to me, to Nana.”

“I-I will. I’ll beg for her forgiveness.”

Crying and bleeding, Sato keeps apologizing to Mikenju. Seeing this, Mikenju calms his anger a bit and leaves the guild.

He wants to be by Nana’s side as soon as possible. After securing the promise that Sato will apologize to Nana, he leaves. Like a storm, Mikenju passes, leaving silence in the guild.

Despite coughing up blood, Sato loses consciousness.

…

Late at night, Sato wakes up.

“S-Sato!? Are you okay?”

Waking up in excruciating pain, he remembers what happened to him.

“D-Damn it!”

With a swollen face, Sato pounds his fist on the bed. With his teeth gone, his words are garbled.

Why was he so strong? He must have used some underhanded trick. But that’s irrelevant now; his anger is boiling over.

“Hey! Gather the troops! We’re gonna kill that bastard!”

“Y-Yes!”

Then, Sato’s guild, thirty members strong, gathers. Even adventurers with gold tags among them.

With this force, no matter what power he has, we can kill him.

(Juvenile detention? Fine, I’ll go! But I’ll kill you first!)

Sato and his guild, equipped, head for Mikenju’s house.

In the quiet of the late night, the explorers advance. Suddenly, they stop.

Because a man stood blocking their path.

“Hello, Sato. There’s no way forward from here.”

With gleaming dark skin and reflective glasses, a man in a fine suit stands, as if waiting for them.

Smiling, the man declares to Sato,

“This is your end.”