After school, at an electronics store in Tokyo.
"Excuse me, I have a question."
Kenmei Isayama pointed to a DJI drone in the display case, priced around 180,000 yen (approx. $1,200), and addressed the sales clerk.
"Can this drone take off without a GPS satellite connection?"
"It can take off without GPS, but we don't recommend it," the saleswoman explained. "Without GPS, you have to fly it back manually entirely by sight and skill. It's very easy to lose the drone."
"Alright, I understand."
Kenmei had never flown a drone before, so he had to ask about the basics. Hearing that it was possible was enough to put his mind at ease.
"I'll take two. Put it on the card."
Kenmei handed over his debit card. Five million yen minus 360,000 yen (approx. $2,400) was a hefty chunk of change to drop at once, and it stung a little.
But it couldn't be helped. Money could always be earned back, but leaving those Points on the table was physically painful for Kenmei.
The [Temple of All Living Things] had no GPS signal, so he had to be sure the drone would still function.
If Kenmei tried to infiltrate a village with no fewer than fifty Wraiths on foot, given the dungeon's three-entry-per-day limit, dying three times a day meant it would take hundreds, maybe thousands of deaths to map out the village.
That was too inefficient.
With a reconnaissance drone, his efficiency would skyrocket. It was like having an eye in the sky.
Given how stupid these Wraiths were, they probably wouldn't even recognize a drone flying right in front of their faces. To a modern man like Kenmei, they were no different from primitive savages.
Quickly mapping the village layout and formulating a precision strike plan was Kenmei's only option given his limited resources.
After all, the doctrine of "saturation bombardment" usually requires being "rich" in ammo, and the word "rich" had absolutely nothing to do with Kenmei right now.
He bought two drones: one for ops, one for backup. Since the [Temple of All Living Things] plane was constantly plagued by torrential rain, short flights shouldn't be an issue as long as he didn't keep them up too long.
Drone secured.
But Kenmei still had a long shopping list. This was a major procurement run.
First up: a massive amount of white sugar. Sugar is a strategic resource. It's flammable, and when exposed to high temperatures, it dehydrates rapidly and releases a massive amount of heat.
Most importantly, when white sugar reacts with potassium nitrate (stump remover), it generates four times the volume of high-pressure gas at a ratio of [Redacted], boosting the explosive power by several times, if not tenfold. Furthermore, the potassium nitrate acts as an excellent oxidizer, providing the high-temperature conditions needed for the gunpowder to burn rapidly, resulting in terrifying destructive power.
That's why those "successful entrepreneurs" in the Middle East start their mornings by boiling sugar—huge pots of it.
Sugar plus fertilizer equals a very fun time.
Kenmei was following in the footsteps of those pioneers. It was an ancient, time-honored tradition.
Of course, he also had to buy a ton of glass bottles, industrial alcohol, kerosene, thin cotton cloth, and the like.
Kenmei intended to use these materials to craft the infamous "Molotov Cocktail," a weapon so effective in WWII that soldiers used it as an anti-tank weapon.
Simply put, it's an incendiary bottle filled with flammable liquid. Break the bottle, and boom—instant 1,500°F fire that melts human flesh and thin steel plating alike.
It was crude, simple, but incredibly practical in combat.
Rio's Friendly Tip: Good booze goes well with good porridge, but don't drink too much.
He also picked up some outdoor gear: binoculars, night lights, survival tools, a fire axe, an entrenching tool (E-tool), and raincoats to handle the wet weather.
But these were just appetizers. The real heavy hitters—the main battle weapons—Kenmei had delivered to a small rental storage unit.
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After taking a taxi home and dropping off his purchases, Kenmei disguised himself and headed out again. After an hour-long trip, he arrived at a warehouse in the Minato Ward.
Under the cover of night, an empty-handed Kenmei unlocked the door and walked in. Five minutes later, he walked out, still empty-handed.
However, the contents of the warehouse were gone, stashed safely away in his System Inventory.
With that done, Kenmei looked noticeably more relaxed. He even had time to stop by a convenience store for snacks.
Back home, Kenmei went to an empty spare room upstairs and unloaded his entire inventory.
Suddenly, nearly twenty squat, yellow steel cylinders, each weighing about 65 pounds, appeared in neat rows before him.
The "Flammable and Explosive" hazard symbols painted on them gave the metal canisters an imposing aura.
These were civilian propane tanks, typically used by small restaurants for cooking.
But in the wrong hands, or with a little bad luck, a propane tank becomes a devastating bomb, responsible for countless tragedies.
The data is simple and terrifying: the explosive yield of a single household propane tank is equivalent to about 330 pounds of TNT.
Buying a few is fine, but buying this many raises red flags. No normal household needs twenty tanks at once. Kenmei had paid extra to have someone order them anonymously and deliver them to the warehouse.
Now, he was personally handling the transfer.
He would leave ten of the tanks as they were—pure, original flavor. The other ten, however, had a different destiny. He would empty the gas, turning them into empty shells, and fill them with his home-brewed "porridge."
He was making "Hell Cannons"—propane tank mortars. He planned to line up five of these bad boys and bombard the village in a rolling barrage.
Using the crudest methods to deal the highest damage—it was similar in spirit to the legendary "Flying Thunder Cannon." It was just a bit labor-intensive; cutting through those high-strength steel tanks was going to be a workout.
Molotov cocktails burning at 1,500 degrees, high explosives, propane tank howitzers... Kenmei's "firepower anxiety" was greatly soothed. It's always better to be over-prepared.
Kenmei looked at the propane tanks, stamped with the logo of the "Laiyang Steel Plant," and a smile crept across his face.
"You bastard Wraiths... I'm treating you to a taste of a propane explosion."