Chapter 30: The Fang Boar

Several months had passed since the existence of Cool Dreamer was made public. When Masaya woke up in the detective agency’s room and finished breakfast, he immediately began gathering magic essence and creating magic crystals.

This ritual had become his morning routine, driven by Professor Kanbara’s keen interest in acquiring magic crystals for his research. The professor had established a laboratory solely dedicated to the study of magic essence.

Through his research, it was discovered that magic essence responded to strong human intentions. However, humans did not possess the ability to project their intentions outward.

The true name of “magic essence” seemed to include a function to assist this ability. Additionally, it was discovered that magic essence also reacted to sound waves, albeit in a more simplistic manner compared to its response to intentions.

Human intentions were vague and influenced by physical condition and mood. However, the reaction of magic essence to sound waves was reliable. Professor Kanbara realized this when he observed the magic crystal glowing while listening to classical music.

When a melody was played on the piano, the magic essence crystal emitted a radiant glow. Professor Kanbara hastily published his research paper, driven by his eagerness to prove the existence of magic essence.

His work received criticism and was deemed nonsensical by the academic community. In response, he distributed the magic essence crystals to research institutions for verification. After some time, it was confirmed that the magic essence crystals were indeed an unknown substance and exhibited the reactions described in the paper.

This caused a stir among university researchers and private scholars. The government research institutions also joined in the study of magic essence crystals. The question of how Professor Kanbara obtained these crystals became a matter of concern.

One day, a government official from the research institution visited the professor’s laboratory.

“Professor, I would like to inquire about those magic essence crystals.”

“That is classified information. I cannot disclose it,”

The official nodded, seemingly understanding the situation.

“In that case, could you at least tell me whether you obtained them from someone else or if you manufactured them here in this laboratory?”

The professor realized that claiming he obtained them from someone else might cause trouble for Masaya.

“These are experimental prototypes produced in the laboratory,”

“That’s fantastic. So, it means you can obtain them regularly,”

Feeling the conversation veering in an unexpected direction, professor Kanbara grew flustered.

“Well, they are still being experimentally manufactured, so it’s difficult to say they can be obtained regularly. Besides, magic essence crystals are rare. We distributed them for verification purposes free of charge, but it would be problematic to continue doing so.”

“We understand that. We are also considering purchasing them at a fair price. How much would you be willing to sell them for?”

“I can’t give an immediate response. Please give me some time to think about it.”

“Understood. We will contact you again at a later date.”

On the same day, Professor Kanbara contacted Masaya. After finishing his detective work, Masaya visited the professor’s house to discuss the situation.

“Professor, wasn’t it a bad idea on your part to distribute the magic essence crystals?” Masaya asked.

“I apologize. There were people who dismissed it as nonsense, and I wanted to prove them wrong,”

Professor Kanbara was highly regarded as a researcher, but he was also known as someone who could be called a research fanatic. He didn’t take things outside of his research too seriously.

“What do you intend to do now?” Masaya asked.

“Hijiritani-kun, you mentioned wanting to start your own architectural firm. This is an opportunity to earn the funds for that,”

“But if we sell the magic essence crystals, people might investigate how we make them,” Masaya pointed out.

“It’s too late for that. As soon as I published the research findings, suspicious individuals contacted me wanting to know more,”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“You just have to stand your ground. If anyone tries to meddle, we’ll give them a taste of their own medicine. They’re the ones who’d be breaking the law,”

Although Professor Kanbara urged Masaya to be confident, he couldn’t shake off his anxiety. A few days later, he received a message from the professor about establishing a company.

The company would specialize in the manufacturing and sale of magic essence crystals. Professor Kanbara would serve as the CEO and head of the research department, while Masaya, who produced the magic essence crystals, became the majority shareholder.

The professor’s research institution was absorbed into the new company. The distribution of shares was arranged with Masaya holding 90% and the professor holding 10%. Masaya had no objections to the arrangement.

In return, his quota became producing three magic essence crystals per day and delivering them to the professor or his daughter Koyuki. The company planned to sell each magic essence crystal for 500,000 yen.

Although it was an unknown substance, it was a 3 mm diameter crystal. Masaya couldn’t determine whether it was expensive or cheap. Professor Kanbara was delighted, as he no longer had to worry about his research funds.

According to Professor Kanbara, the pricing strategy was aimed at earning enough until the research demand was met. It became apparent that the professor considered it expensive.

For Masaya, he had no complaints since he wanted funds to fulfill the demands for his architectural firm and for Dennis as well. Dennis desired knowledge that would assist him in managing his territory.

While some knowledge could be found through online research, there were things that could only be understood by purchasing books or hiring experts. And for that, funds were necessary.

“Masaya-san, please have dinner at our place,”

Since he was in their house, Koyuki politely invited him. Koyuki’s mother had already passed away, and she took care of all the household chores at the moment.

“In that case, I won’t hesitate,” Masaya replied.

The Kanbara family dinner consisted of ginger pork and miso soup.

“It’s quite delicious. Koyuki-san will make a good wife.” Masaya complimented.

“Even if Masaya-san praises me….”

“What’s wrong? Am I not good enough? Are only handsome guys allowed?” Masaya said.

“It’s not that, but if I were to date Masaya-san, Director Fuyuhiko would inevitably pester me,”

Upon hearing that, Masaya sighed in frustration.

“Fuyuhiko is generally a good guy…”

“But there are times when he can be annoying.”

Fuyuhiko was the next generation of the Mononobe Group and had an overly confident attitude toward women. He seemed to believe that every woman was interested in him.

This attitude affected his words and actions, causing women to dislike him. His single status was also a result of this behavior.

After a pleasant time together, Masaya bid farewell to the professor his daughter, and left the Kanbara house. As he walked towards the train station, he noticed some commotion happening on the road near the station.

He heard a high-pitched scream of a woman. Masaya headed in the direction of the voice. In the busy downtown area, he saw a man, who appeared to be a salaryman, lying on the street.

The sight of bright red blood flowing from the salaryman’s abdomen caught Masaya’s eyes. As he glanced around, he couldn’t believe what he saw.

Masaya rubbed his eyes and double-checked.

“This is unbelievable. A wild boar in the middle of the city?”

A wild boar weighing around 70 kilograms was causing a rampage on the road in front of the station. Upon closer observation, Masaya noticed something peculiar about the boar’s fangs. They were unusually long and had a dark color.

In Masaya’s memory, there was a creature with similar characteristics. It was the Fang Boar, a monster that inhabited the Shadow Forest Labyrinth.

“No way… Is this actually a Fang Boar?”

Masaya rushed to the fallen salaryman and carried him to a safe distance away from the Fang Boar monster. In the process, the boar collided with a taxi parked diagonally on the road. The taxi door was dented with a thud.

A woman and child inside the taxi screamed in fear. The taxi had seemingly braked abruptly in response to the sudden appearance of the Fang Boar. The driver fled, leaving only the female passenger and her child behind.

Masaya immediately started searching for a weapon; he found a small broom on the sidewalk in front of the convenience store. It seemed that someone had left it there while cleaning, possibly fleeing into the store when the Fang Boar appeared.

Masaya picked up the broom and molded it into a makeshift weapon then transformed it into a quaking blade.

“It’s light and unreliable as a weapon,”

On the left side of the taxi, the door had been crushed by the Fang Boar, while another car had stopped exactly on the taxi’s right side, keeping the door on the right side tightly shut. The passengers were trapped, unable to escape.

Suddenly, a patrol car arrived, and a tall officer holding a handgun, accompanied by a chubby officer, stepped out in front of the Fang Boar.

“No way. A wild boar in a place like this…”

“Be careful. Many people have suffered serious injuries from wild boar attacks.”

With the arrival of the officers, people seemed to feel relieved. Curious onlookers, who had been cautiously observing from a distance started approaching closer.

“Don’t get too close; it’s dangerous,”

The chubby officer warned loudly. Consequently, his voice made the Fang Boar notice the presence of the policemen.

The Fang Boar lunged toward the chubby officer. Seeing that, Masaya shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Shoot your gun!”

The officer seemed hesitant about firing. In that moment of hesitation, the Fang Boar collided with him. Its long fangs pierced through the officer’s thick thigh, lifting him up.

The officer spun in the air and landed face-first on the asphalt. The surrounding sounds faded away as silence settled, accompanied by the slow spread of red blood. The onlookers, who had been watching, let out a collective gasp of fear after a brief pause.

The remaining tall officer raised his gun and desperately tried to take aim. The Fang Boar let out a loud snort, its breath heavy, and shivered.

At that moment, a gunshot rang out. The bullet hit the Fang Boar’s shoulder. It seemed to feel the pain, but it wasn’t a significant injury. Recognizing the tall police officer as an enemy, the Fang Boar let out a roar and charged toward him.

In swift succession, the police officer squeezed the trigger of his gun, yet not all of the bullets found their mark upon the Fang Boar’s massive form.

Undeterred, the Fang Boar fixed its sights on the tall man, charging relentlessly towards him.

Masaya had hoped that the officer would somehow handle the situation. Disappointed, he clicked his tongue and then dashed forward. He closed the distance and struck the quaking blade onto the Fang Boar’s head.

As the blade impaled the Fang Boar’s skull, the broom that had served as his weapon shattered into pieces. The monster staggered forward, taking a few faltering steps before collapsing onto its knees.

With a cautious gaze fixed upon the fallen creature, Masaya leaped back, maintaining his vigilant stance. In the blink of an eye, akin to the vanishing monsters within the labyrinth, the Fang Boar disintegrated into a swirling cloud of dust, dissipating entirely. The stunned onlookers, who bore witness to this extraordinary sight, were left utterly speechless.

“It truly was a Fang Boar… but why?”

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TN: This is interesting, so monsters would start appearing, and would labyrinths as well…