Part 1
The day was still young. If the main roads in this town are designed in such a
way that they are heading directly to the north, south, east and west, then the
sun has moved slightly over the west towards the south. So it should be… a
little over noon, if I'm not mistaken?
Now that I've gotten back onto the main road, the first place I will try to visit
will be the Explorer's Guild which is in that second building to the right,
according to the information I have obtained from Alan the Slave Merchant.
So that confirms that he wasn't lying: there really is such a Job as an
Explorer. Just to be sure I used Identify on that one hot chick in the building
and it showed me that she was a Lv17 Explorer, just like the receptionistlooking guy behind the counter.
Okay, now for the most important part: do I really have to join the Explorer's
Guild to become an Explorer myself? Also, I was expecting the inside of the
building to look more like a tavern, or the medieval equivalent of an office
building, but if I were to draw any comparisons, then I'd have to say it looked
like a primitive post office, wooden tables, counters and mailbox next to the
guild's main entrance included. Several townspeople were already inside,
apparently doing business with the guild's staff, because I heard sentences
such as 「I'll take that, then」, 「Sold」 or 「So how much is this going to cost
me?」 being used. If that is any indication, then I guess this place can also buy
188 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
items off of you and made it possible for you to purchase whatever it is they
are offering. But I am not interested in those, not for now at least.
First of all, I'll need to do some information gathering. Listening to the
people around me in hopes of catching something interesting, I headed over
to what I assumed to be an information board with multiple pieces of
parchment stuck to it….
Well, shit. I can't read any of those strange letters.
Something is definitely written there, but I don't know what that is, which is
strange since the Bandit's Intelligence Cards were written in kanji, so why
are the letters here different? Is the Explorer's Guild special or were the
Intelligence Cards special?
「Excuse me sir, is there a problem? Do you need assistance with anything?」
A soft voice called out to me from behind my back. When I turned around, I
learned It belonged to a young girl who looked roughly the same age as me.
She was a Lv2 Explorer and was dressed in the same receptionist outfit as the
guy behind the counter.
「Uhm, yes. Actually, I'm sorry to bother you but I can't read any of those.」
I said apologetically while pointing at the message board.
「Of course sir. If that's the case then I can read the information you want for
16 Nar.」
I see. A substitute reader, huh? In a world in which the literacy rate is quite
low and the ability to read is a privilege reserved mostly for those of noble
birth who could afford to learn it, such an institution might actually be a quite
lucrative business. And the price seemed to be pretty reasonable, but that is
just my own opinion, that is to say a layman who doesn't know the actual
value of this world's currency and the average hourly payment rate.
「Then please do so.」
I took the backpack off my back and got the necessary amount of money out
189 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
of the drawstring bag.
I wonder if 16 Nar is the standard price, or the one that has already been
affected by my 30% discount skill? Because my intuition was telling me that
the former was the case here.
「Please follow after me.」
She took the pieces of paper out of the board and we made our way to one of
the tables. On the way, she passed the payment on to the receptionist dude.
So I assume he's responsible for handling all the money that comes from the
transactions with the people who want to read the information despite not
being able to read themselves? That might be wise from the guild's
perspective, but I hope that guy leaves all the money here when he finishes
his shift. After all, if we assume that the Explorer's Guild earns a lot from
substitute reading alone, then the caretaker of said money would make a
perfect target for a robbery.
Money, huh?
It pained me a little that I had to spend some money so soon after steeling
myself to save as much of it as possible, but if it's for the purpose of getting
as much information about this world as I can, then I will take every little
piece of info I can get my hands on, as long as it will lead me to making lots
of money in no time.
On a totally unrelated side note, that girl is as pretty as Roxanne is, at least
when we talk about facial features. If we're talking about boobs, then hers
were hidden under the uniform she was wearing, but at the very least the
visible bulges confirmed that she was not as flat as a cutting board. But she
was still inferior to Roxanne, who was an absolute bombshell all across the
board!
「All right , I can translate as many things as you want, as long as it'll be in
the time it takes for the sand in this sand watch to finish falling. Is that alright
with you?」
She then procured a small hourglass out of her pocket and showed it to me,
190 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
probably so that I wouldn't try to accuse her of cheating on time. But I feel
like I should point out that even for a pocket hourglass, the midsection was
surprisingly narrow. I wonder how much time it will take for the sand to fall
from one section to the other? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? Maybe 15 at best?
Either way, I should get this lady to read as many documents as she can for
me. In other words, be as precise with your questions and demands as you
can.
「Okay, I understand.」
「Then I presume we can start the countdown?」
「Yes, please do.」
She then placed the hourglass on the table and turned it upside down,
beginning the sifting of the sand inside.
「So, what exactly do you want to know, Mr. Customer?」
She asked me. What I want to know is… wait, actually, I don't even know
what I want to know, because I have no idea what is written on those pieces
of paper. I asked her to read them for me precisely because I wanted to know
that! So I guess we'll start with that and then branch out to the specifics.
「What is written in this document right here?」
「Those are the general information about the newly-discovered Labyrinth,
The Labyrinth of Cooratar. The current exploration progress is 11 levels. The
first level is inhabited primarily by Needlewoods, level 2 is the domain of
Naïve Olives, the third one…」
I don't get a single word of what she's saying to me. Like, I hear those words,
but none of them is clicking with me. All I know is that she's probably
talking about monsters prowling each level of the Labyrinth's dungeon.
「What about the intel on the Labyrinth's deepest depths?」
She takes all the papers and searches through them in order.
191 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
「Well… it looks like no one has reached the deepest level yet, therefore we
don't have any information on it yet. I'm sorry.」
After all that searching, all she had for me was a disappointing answer. But I
kinda expected it, since the Labyrinth was apparently discovered only a few
days ago. Of course no one would have reached all the way to its end in such
a short amount of time.
「And the other papers? What are they about?」
「The ones over here contain the details of jobs for an Explorer.」
Another piece of knowledge which was imparted to me by Alan the Slave
Merchant was that the Guilds generally did not offer quests and jobs to
outsiders, and that they might find it difficult to recruit Party members, but he
also said that the guilds are always open for accepting new members into
their ranks. But for the time being I would like to avoid making any decisions
that may or may not have an impact on the rest of my days spent here. Before
I commit myself to one guild or the other, I'll have to carefully consider all of
the options available to me to ensure that I won't pick the worst possible one
on the worst possible conditions. Kinda like with job hunting back on earth,
but with more dire consequences.
192 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Part 2
「What kind of jobs are there, exactly?」
「There are various kinds differing with specifics and difficulty level. Are you
interested in anything in particular?」
「Not really, so if you could please start reading from the beginning…」
「Well then, first we have the services offered by the Knights of the Marquis
of Negliva for those of 70 years of age or above, more details will be given
when the candidates arrive in the Knight's headquarters. I believe that is one
of the requests that are a part of the kingdom's elderly assistance initiative.」
So they have one of those here, even though this is clearly a medieval
setting? Okay I guess. All that I care about is that there is nothing about
recruiting potential Party members. Besides, I wouldn't want my companions
to be a group of old geezers who are one foot in the grave already.
「Next one please?」
「Goods carrying quest, commissioned by one of the warriors in service of
Viscount Kustov. That is all.」
「Hmm…」
I repeatedly looked over the upper and lower pieces of paper sprawled on the
table. All of them probably relate to the same kind of quest, that is
transportation or escorting jobs, because their characters in the headers that
apparently represented them were repeating across all the posters, or at least
193 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
that was my guess from observing the movements of the guild lady's hand as
she moved her slender fingers from words to word, explaining their meaning
to me. I think I have a firm grasp of those two now, but the rest of the
symbols were still a complete mystery to me.
As I was lost in my own thoughts, about six minutes have passed.
「I'm afraid the time is up. What do you want to do, sir? Shall I continue or do
you want me to stop?」
The sand in the hourglass seemed to have fallen from top to bottom in its
entirety. So this pocket one lasts for about six minutes, huh? Technically I
could ask her to read some more of those posters for me for another six
minutes, but that would mean I'd have to hand another 16 Nar to her, and
since I don't want to spend any more money than absolutely necessary, I
think it would be best to call it quits here for now.
「We can stop here. Thank you for your assistance, ma'am, you've been very
helpful.」
「I'm glad to hear it. Thank you for your patronage and have a pleasant day,
sir.」
We shook each other's hands and then I left the Explorer's Guild. To be
completely honest, this whole endeavor wasn't helpful at all, except for
maybe one thing: reaffirming my conviction that it would be more beneficial
for me to actually learn the written language of this world. That way I
wouldn't have to bother with finding someone to read stuff for me all the
time, and that would be a huge relief for my wallet, and who knows, maybe it
would also improve the way others look at me.
Crossing one thing off of my to-do list, I headed towards the town center. My
next priority was securing myself a place to stay, at least for the time being.
To do that, I headed to the inn which Alan the Slave Merchant recommended
to me. It was to the southwest, so just opposite of the knight's guardhouse.
Supposedly it was run by the Innkeepers guild, so it should be a place that
should be both safe and secure, but a part of me was getting worried that due
to such a convenient location the accommodation fee might be off the charts.
194 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
However, that was one of the few matters where I absolutely couldn't allow
myself to be a scrooge. I have 33 gold coins on me and I won't allow them to
be stolen from me just because I chose some cheap, but shady place instead
of something more reliable.
I entered the inn through the lightly colored, wooden door. One look at the
place told me that it was just like Alan-san told me: kinda sloppy and
definitely not cozy, but perfectly average for someone like me. It looked
more like an interior of a restaurant than the lobby of a hotel. Curiously
enough, almost all of the tables here were empty and there was barely a soul
to be seen. Right about now should be one of the busiest times of the day
when places like that should be bustling with customers! Or maybe the
concept of lunch does not exist in this world?
「Welcome!」
As I headed for the counter, a man standing behind it called out to me. He
was a sturdy looking guy in his thirties, who was a Lv28 Innkeeper. Well,
this shouldn't come as a surprise. If there was such an organization as an
Innkeeper's Guild. He wore rough clothing which was somewhat similar to
what I was wearing right now. Looks like the business really wasn't booming
to such a degree that he could afford to buy himself something fancier. But
enough about that. Let's talk business.
「How much would I have to pay for a longer stay?」
「You intend to go to the Labyrinth as well, young lad?」
How did he know that I was going to the Labyrinth? Was it just a lucky
guess? Or perhaps more people like me came here with exactly the same
intention? That was what I initially thought, until it occurred to me that he
probably deduced that from the way I was dressed. I mean, if I was in his
shoes and saw a young man dressed in a bandana, leather armor and two
weapons on him, I would assume that he was a) crazy b) trying to rob me c)
heading someplace dangerous. And the only such place around these parts is
the newly-discovered Labyrinth, so yeah, it must have been a simple causeeffect deduction.
195 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Since the Labyrinth is still brand-new, there might be a possibility of more
people like me showing up, and once they do, it will be like an open hunting
season, so I hope he still has some vacant rooms left. Please let that be the
case!
「That's right. That is my intention.」
「Hmpf, thought so. You look exactly like them adventurous folks who come
to the big cities from the countryside to see what the world outside of their
stuffy little villages has to offer and try to make a name for themselves. So
what kind of room do you want then? A single? Or double? Or perhaps a
shared quarter?」
「For now single room will be enough.」
A shared quarter? What's that? Is it similar to those Japanese Edo periodstyled hot-spring inns where you can have as much as six people sleeping
together in the same room? And here I thought that medieval worlds in games
were based exclusively on European middle ages where something like that
wasn't as common. What a nice cultural addition. Regrettably, I have to turn
that option down, for security reasons. I have too many valuable items on me
to risk them getting stolen. That is why I cannot allow myself to share a room
with other guests.
「What about the furnishings? You want something that's a bit more on the
fancier side?」
「Just your standard lodging will be fine. I don't mind if its furnishings are a
little old.」
「What about the meals? Of course I can't force you to eat here exclusively,
but if you choose to have your meals together with the room, then I could
offer you a discount, as per the policy of the Innkeepers Guild. And just
between you and me, dining in this city can get pretty darn expensive, going
as high as 100 Nar per meal, and since you came here for lodging then I
guess you're not exactly sleeping on the moneybags, right? Then again, if
you were really strapped for cash, you would have chosen something even
cheaper.」
196 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
So I have been branded as either a poor or stingy type of guy. But putting that
matter aside, the Innkeeper makes a pretty solid point. What should I do
about the meals I'm going to eat? I know that since I came here from the 21st
century Japan I'm probably going to be heavily biased towards the food from
this world, but what I had so far wasn't exactly what I would call terrible, so I
think that given enough time I might be able to adjust my palette to it, even if
it is many tiers below what I have been used to for my entire life.
「Fine then, hit me up with the meals as well.」
If what this guy says turns out to be true, then finding a decent food place
with affordable prices might be quite an ordeal. That's why having food
waiting for me here at discounted prices might not be such a bad deal.
197 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Part 3
「Now, this is just a formality, but it's an order from the top brass of my
Guild, so just bear with it for me, okay kiddo? Here, this is my Intelligence
Card with the officially certified Innkeepers Guild's seal of approval.」
And he practically shoved his Intelligence Card down my throat. It really
must have contained all of his personal and business information, but since I
can't read any of those words I can't know for sure.
「Ah, okay. Not that I didn't believe you, but it's nice to know that your Guild
takes such small details into consideration.」
「Really? You're the first one who actually thinks like that. Other customers,
even some of my most loyal regulars just think of it as a bother.」
No shit? But I can see why that would be the case. If Intelligence Cards can
be said to be this world's equivalent of my old world's ID Cards that contain
every little detail about a person then the owners of inns, shops and
restaurants could definitely use them to keep shady customers out of their
businesses by creating the list of the permanently banned ones and handing it
over to the authorities. Kinda scary, futuristic concept, but as long as it gets
the job done…
「By the way, are there any restrictions as to who might stay in this fine
establishment?」
「As long as you are a law-abiding citizen you're free to stay here. The only
ones whom I won't tolerate here are Bandits, Thieves and other scummy
criminals. I take pride in the fact that for as long as I've been the owner here,
198 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
none of them bloody outlaws set as much as a foot in here and I intend to
keep it that way. Does that answer your question, boyo?」
「It does, thank you very much.」
「Good. Anything else you wanna know?」
「Nah, I think I'm good for now.」
It would seem that this place will accept anyone, be it a noble or a slave, as
long as they are not lawbreakers.
「Speaking of Bandits, have you heard any rumors about their activity in the
town or in its vicinity?」
「Not many of them, thank the Gods for that. But from what I do hear it seems
that the activity of the Demi-human Brigands and Beastman Pirates began to
be on the rise again. Not to mention the Robbers who commit brutal and
atrocious acts on anyone who happens to be unfortunate enough to cross
paths with them. I have never seen one of them for myself mind you and I'm
not going to complain about that. So to give you a short and precise answer,
you'll definitely find them around here, but I wouldn't recommend looking
for them unless you had no other choice. No matter who they are, criminals
and outlaws are no good pieces of shit who should all be wiped out from the
face of this earth!」
「I see. I'll be sure to take those words to heart.」
Looks like he really has it out for Bandits and other criminals. Perhaps it
would be best not to pursue the matter further. Instead, let's ask him about
the actual cost of my staying here.
「How much would I have to pay for the lodging + meals combo, if you don't
mind me asking?」
「Ah, that's right, I almost forgot about that! The cheapest single room costs
260 Nar and the cheapest meal set costs 60 Nar, so 320 Nar in total. If you
intend to stay for longer, I can cut that price to 224 Nar per night. I always
199 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
demand payment in advance, but you can pay for 1 day every day instead of
paying for a week or a month.」
320 Nar a day for accommodation and food, downed to 224 Nar after
applying my 30 % discount. Good to know that it works in this particular
case.
「That's a pretty sweet deal you have for me, and I'll gladly take it.」
I took the backpack off my back and took the drawstring bag out of it.
「Thank you for your patronage then. The meals are served in this here dining
hall. Breakfast is already included in the accommodation fee. We begin
serving it 30 minutes after sunrise, sometimes a little earlier if there is a
special occasion. Dinner is served starting from 30 minutes after the sunset,
and will be served for 2-3 hours, so it will be in your best interest not to be
late if you want to keep that stomach of yours full. As long as the lights in the
canteen are on then you're safe, but if they are turned off then you either wait
until breakfast or finding something on your own.」
「Sounds reasonable enough.」
That said, I placed 4 silver and 48 copper coins on the counter. If I knew
exactly how long I would have to stay here then it might have been better to
pay for more days in advance, but with my current budget I would have
risked losing all the money I have on me right now without any guarantee
that I would be able to get those back. That is why I will pay for 1 day of stay
on a day-to-day basis, starting from 2 days payment right now.
The Innkeeper counted the coins slowly.
「Payment for 2 days, got it. Now boy, raise your hand.」
「Okay.」
I did exactly as I was told.
「Investigate the will of the flowing spirit, the wisdom of intellect.
Intelligence Card, open!」
200 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
I stretched my left hand with the newly-materialized Intelligence Card
towards him. Showing him my Card sounded infinitely more convenient than
filling the inn's logbook while being unable to write the letter or read the
words.
「Is this enough?」
「Yeah, absolutely. Kaga… Michio, huh?」
I know that the name on the Intelligence Card was written in the Japanese
fashion, but I wasn't sure if I should go out of my way to tell him that Kaga
was my surname, not a given name.
「That's my name alright.」
「And your Job is still a Villager I see. Well, do your best to get yourself
some decent one as fast as possible.」
「I will be sure to do that.」
「Okay, that takes care of all the formalities. Now come on, I'll show you to
your room.」
And he left the counter. It looks like he does not intend to carry my backpack
for me, so I have to do it myself.
「Right behind you, sir.」
I followed behind him through two flights of stairs. Looks like my room is
placed on the third floor.
「If you really intend to go explore the Labyrinth, I can buy the ingredients
you'll find in there off of you, as long as it won't be too large and it will be
more than one piece of it so I can add it to the menu.」
「Roger that.」
If I'll obtain some monster meat I might as well sell it to him, since he seems
201 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
so eager about the idea.
「When you return here after the day of adventuring and you'd want some hot
water to wipe your body, come see me about it. A whole basin of hot water
costs 20 Nar by the way. Take it to your room with you after dinner and bring
it back in the morning before breakfast. If you want to use the lamp, the
rental fee is 10 Nar, and it contains about an hour's worth of lamp oil. Feel
free to add more oil yourself if you'll need it, just don't go starting any fires.」
「I will be careful not to do that.」
While we were talking about all those things we have reached our
destination. The Innkeeper stood in front of the door as he was searching for
the right key to the room, and then he placed it in the keyhole and opened the
door.
「Here we are.」
「Hoo…」
It really was a single bedroom the size of about 10 tatami mats. The only
furnishings were a small closet right next to the room's entrance, a bed in the
middle and a desk and a chair at the back. On the other side of the room was
a medium-sized wooden window.
All in all, this room isn't all that bad. It's certainly better than the one at the
Village Chief's house, although I stayed in it for only one night and it was
free of charge.
「The shelves under the closet can be locked and I reinforced them with
special shielding cement, but I would advise against putting any valuables in
them anyway. If you have such items, you'd best keep them close to yourself
at all times. The servants will come clean the room once a day. If you want
your clothes to be washed, just negotiate the price with whoever will be in
charge of cleaning at that time. When you'll be heading out, please leave
your room key at the reception desk. The number of this room is 3-1.」
He showed me the key and placed it on the closet.
202 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
「Alright. Thank you for all the information.」
「Don't mention it. Now please enjoy your stay.」
And he left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
203 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Part 4
Finally being left alone in my new temporary base of operations, I sat on the
bed to test it out. It wasn't particularly soft, but also wasn't as hard as I was
initially expecting it to be. Overall, it was not bad, like a solid 5/10 or 6/10.
I lowered the backpack on the floor and took all of my luggage out of it. I
think that my old jersey can be left here without any regrets. The Village
Chief thought it was pretty valuable, but he couldn't have been more
mistaken, so even if it was stolen from me, I wouldn't have been shedding
many tears because of it. The same principle can be applied to the leather
shoes which are currently on my feet. They were cheap as dirt, so even if I
lose them I can buy myself another pair anytime.
Next I took off the Scimitar and Copper Sword in order to rearrange the way
I was wearing them. Since I was training kendo from a young age I was more
accustomed to fighting with a two-handed sword instead of a one-handed
one, but I wasn't going to use Durandal in a fight unless I had absolutely no
other choice. Since the Scimitar was a relatively light weapon, it would be
best to place it at my waist.
Finishing my rearrangements, I placed the rest of my things in the closet and
locked it, storing the key safely in my backpack. I did the same with the
Bandit's Bandana since it was so light that adding it there made no difference
to its weight. The last thing which ended up there were the two drawstring
bags filled with my money.
Inspecting the key to the room, there was something written on it. Probably
my room's number, but it was written in a rather peculiar fashion. The
Intelligence Card contained Arabic numerals, but those were different from
204 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
them. They were more reminiscent of the ones I saw on the posters back at
the Explorer's Guild. Could it be that the letters they were using there are the
standard, or 「normal」 letters used by the inhabitants of this world?
.........….
Okay, now that I got myself accommodated, I feel it is high time for me to go
hit the Labyrinth. I will accomplish nothing by simply sitting around on my
ass doing nothing. Yup, that sounds like the best course of action for now.
I got up, pulled the backpack back on my shoulders and left the room. Back
at the lobby floor I just left the key on the counter in front of the Innkeeper
who gave me a small nod and I left the inn and made my way towards the
town gate which was facing the castle in the distance.
There were no gatekeepers at the gate, so I just crossed it without being
bothered by anyone and made my way towards the nearby forest. According
to the Slave Merchant's instructions, the Labyrinth itself should be nearby.
While I was passing by the wheat field, I noticed that a suspicious black wall
suddenly appeared between the trees right in front of me. It's a good thing
that I managed to stop myself right in my tracks, otherwise I would have
surely bumped into it head-first and then who knows what might have
happened? What the hell is this thing? Is this some kinda trap?
As I was thinking that, a group of six people before me approached it as if it
was the most obvious thing to do. Is this some kinda transportation device? A
teleporter, perhaps? That's amazing and cool in all sorts of ways! I want to
give it a go immediately…. But wait a second! Identify! Just like I suspected
that Party has someone with the Job of a Wizard among their Ranks. A
friggin Wizard!
「Here. This is the place.」
「Umu.」
All of them exchange a few sentences and the knight who I suppose is the
Party's leader proceeds forward and enters the forest. Despite his fairly low
205 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
level, he looks like a pretty proud and self-important fellow. For now, maybe
I should try following after them to see where they will go and what they are
going to do.
Following after those guys (at a reasonable distance, of course) to the other
side of the portal, I happened upon a small hill with the same kind of portal I
passed through just now. Is that the entrance to the actual Labyrinth? I said
that the portal was on a small hill, but to be honest, rather than a hill, it looks
like just a sizeable mound of fresh soil. My guess is that this, let's call it
entrance for now, is the only thing that's sticking above the ground level and
that the dungeon itself is actually hidden underground.
Apparently, someone was waiting for the group at the entrance. Looks like an
Explorer. When the Party I was following approached him, he began the
conversation almost immediately.
「How far have you gotten?」
「The second level. I got out just now.」
「What kind of monsters have you encountered?」
「Needle Woods on the first floor and Green Caterpillars on the second floor.」
He gave them a short, methodical answer.
「Well, you heard him. So? What should we do?」
「I think we can handle the first level.」
The knight presented his opinion. So he really must be the party's leader. The
rest of his comrades nodded their heads and approached the black wall one by
one, and then disappeared. So that really is the entrance.
Should I go in as well? Ah, but before that, I guess I should do another
Character Reset. I opened the menu and got rid of the 30 % discount and
replaced it with Bonus Weapon 6. Now I have 1 Bonus Point left, because the
second one was used to get the ability to shorten the casting time of Skills
and Spells, since using them in-battle was difficult enough as it is. Not
206 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
casting them should be easier for me, even if only for just a little bit. I am
lucky that such a Skill has been implemented into this game… I mean world.
Upon closer investigation, that 1 Bonus Point should shorten the casting time
of Skills and Spells for about 10%. I decided to place the last Bonus Point I
had left into Critical Strike Chance Increase. Just like with the reduction of
the casting time, one Bonus Point seems to be equal to a 10% increase. If that
is the case, then I wonder what is the maximum cap for such abilities? 30%?
50%? !00%? Or does it vary from Skill to Skill, depending on what it is and
the method of its use?
With that out of the way, I closed the settings screen. Durandal is placed on
my waist next to the Scimitar.
With the preparations done, I finally approached the entrance to the
Labyrinth. I was half-expecting the Explorer who stayed near the entrance to
comment on how I shouldn't be going into such a dangerous place when I'm
clearly not ready, but he just ignored me and didn't even look my way. Okay,
that works just fine for me I guess.
I tried going through the black wall myself. When I inserted my hand into the
portal, it went through it without encountering any kind of resistance.
Encouraged by it, I went there properly…. and ended up in a room-like cave,
or perhaps a cave-like room.
It was a small square space covering about 4-5 square meters. There wasn't
any artificial source of light, but thankfully it wasn't so dark that I couldn't
see my surroundings at all. The dim light emitted by the stone walls was
enough to give me the vague idea of where I should go to proceed.
So this is a Labyrinth, huh?
207 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
208 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Part 5
Three roads were extending from this room: one in front of me, one to the left
and one to the right. The black portal behind me served as an entrance to the
Labyrinth, therefore it was of no interest to me for now, since I wasn't going
to leave this place minutes after I entered it.
All of the roads looked exactly the same, that is a narrow tunnel about 3
meters wide and even more dimly lit than this starting area, so much so that
seeing what's on the other side was practically impossible. In your typical
RPG terms, I found myself on the crossroads, and quite the complicated ones
at that.
Will I really be okay wandering around this place? After all, I didn't prepare
any kind of mapping supplies. Moreover, I haven't even thought about
buying myself some of those. The same goes for some portable sources of
light, like torches or even that goddamn oil lamp from the Innkeeper. What
am I going to do now if it turns out that the inside of the Labyrinth is all dark
like a… I'll better stop talking now before I say something I'm going to
regret. I mean, I didn't see those six players carrying any light sources with
them either, but there is a possibility that their Wizard could create light with
his magic. Alright, time to use my knowledge learned from video games in
practice.
When it comes to mapping and navigating the labyrinths, the general rule of
thumb is that you should always stick to one side of the passages you're
going through or to always turn in one direction so that you could eventually
come back to the place where you started the exploration even if you end up
getting lost.
209 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
I chose to go down the path to the left. There was a fork at the end of it, and
one of the available paths was turning left again. Both the floor and the walls
are still solid and don't show any signs of crumbling down on my head or any
traps launching themselves at me from out of nowhere.
Luckily for me, when I made another step, I noticed that every time my foot
touched the ground beneath me, that portion of the floor shone with the same
dim light emitted by the walls of this place. So it turns out I don't need an
external source of light after all. Good to know. It's nice that this Labyrinth
turns out to be quite a convenient place to explore. This way, I won't have to
worry about being suddenly attacked from behind by monsters who dwell in
here. And speaking of surprise attacks, after I went a few steps ahead, I heard
the sound of something moving behind my back. However, it was not an
attack I was anticipating, ready to slash whatever tried to jump me with my
right hand firmly on Durandal's hilt.
Looking back towards where I came from, the black wall shone with a pale
blue light, revealing another group of people. They were a party of 5 Knights
and 1 explorer. I thought they were going to head through one of the
pathways leading out from the main area, but apparently their intention was
the exact opposite, because they faced the stony entrance and then proceeded
to head out of the Labyrinth, one after the other. So the entrance to the
Labyrinth is at the same time its exit. Expected, but having a visual
confirmation is always nice. Anyway, I should proceed further. I cannot
allow myself to waste even a single minute if I am to make a ton of cash
required to buy Roxanne.
One thing I wondered about though, was what I was going to do if a monster
really attacked me in here. As I mentioned above, the passages were
claustrophobically narrow and Durandal wasn't exactly a short sword or a
dagger, so If I'm going to be attacked in those corridors, I will have no other
option but to run towards some wider space if I ever want to defend myself.
Only an idiot or a total noob would attempt to fight with a longsword while
being confined in an enclosed space. If this was just a game dying wouldn't
be much of a setback, since I'd just have to make the trip back here again
from the nearest respawn point, but as long as I have no way of knowing if I
only have one life here or not, I'm going to assume that death here is like the
210 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
one while playing games on Death March difficulty: you die = no do-overs,
just the cold emptiness of the void in the afterlife.
But before I worry more about that, a system message flashed before my
eyes.
『New Job obtained: Explorer』
Now what do we have here? Better check it in the Job settings screen.
『Job: Explorer, Lv1』
『Active Effect: Slight increase to Physical Attack』
『Skills: Item Box Party Organization Dungeon Walker』
Oh would you look at that, just by going into the Labyrinth and walking
around a little I have obtained the Explorer's Job! So you don't have to join a
Guild to obtain a Job they represent after all! Neat!
So let's run a quick check, just to be sure. I have obtained a Thief Job after I
have stolen a pair of sandals from the barn in the village, the Job of a Hero
after I saved said village from a Bandit attack, and now a Job of an Explorer
after entering the Labyrinth. What does that tell us? It tells us that you don't
have to join a guild to get a Job, but you still need to complete an action that
would act as a sort of 「trigger」 for obtaining it.
I tried changing it to be my first Job, but it proved impossible. The only two
Jobs which could be set as my main one were Villager Lv3 and Thief Lv3,
just like before. I can't place Hero or Explorer at the first slot. If that is how
it's going to be, then I guess I have no choice but to continue going forward
with Villager as my main Job. Even if it was kinda lame, it was still a better
alternative than placing Thief as my first Job and becoming the target of
society's scorn in this world as well. Can you imagine how epic of a fail
would that be? It would literally be the biggest of all 「Oof's」, and to add salt
to the wound, the one I would have brought upon myself with nothing but my
own stupidity. As long as the First Job is considered your main one, the one
that can be displayed on the Intelligence Card for all to see, it's best not to
211 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
tinker around with it too much and just leave it at the default, safest option.
Besides, it doesn't change the fact that my second Job was the Hero Lv1. The
Skill of that Job was called Overwhelming. As to what that Skill actually
does, I have no idea, since I didn't have any occasion to actually try it out, for
the obvious reason.
The third Job I set was the newly-acquired Explorer Lv1. I think now's going
to be a good time to test one of the Skills that came with it, the Item Box.
Let's give it a shot.
「Item Bo…!」
Before I finished speaking those two words, something that looked like a
small wooden box appeared in front of me. Or at the very least, something
that looked like a lid of the wooden box. I tried to look at it from the side, but
all I saw were the edges of the thin portal out of which the Item Box
appeared. Did it arrive from the other dimension? Is it governed by some
kinda space manipulation magic? But why did it appear like that even before
I finished calling out the Skill's full name? Is it because of the Reduced Skills
and Spells chanting time I invested my Bonus Point in? I thought it will only
work on Spells and Skills with longer incantations, but it looks like it works
on the shorter ones as well. I wonder if the effect would be the same if I just
mentioned it in casual conversation? That would be quite a weakness, or
perhaps even a bug. I would have to pay attention to it from now on, but for
now I yeeted the Item Box from its portal to the meat and potatoes of the test
that I wanted to carry out.
Okay, here goes nothing I guess.
I tried removing the Scimitar from my waist and putting it inside the Item
Box. I had some concerns at first, but much to my relief it managed to get
inside without any problems. Next I tried letting go of the box, and it
disappeared, just like I expected. Then I called the Skill's name again, and the
Item Box materialized itself in front of me one more time. I opened the lid
and sure enough, the Scimitar which I placed inside not even a minute ago
was there, waiting to be pulled out. Going by the video game logic, even if
the sword was sizeable, it should only occupy one slot inside the Item Box.
Hmm, I wonder if I can be like the protagonist of that one game… I think it
212 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
was called Gothic? I remember that you could carry every item from the
entire game in your backpack because its inventory space had no limit.
Wouldn't it be nice if that was the case here as well? Yes it would.
213 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Part 6
If only the circumstances allowed me to, I would love to twiddle around with
the Item Box some more to thoroughly test its capabilities, but my common
sense was telling me that a Labyrinth, a foreign, uncharted ground was not a
place for such frivolous behaviors. If I'm not careful, a monster might attack
me the moment I let my guard down.
I let go of the Item Box, allowing it to slide back into the dimensional portal
it popped out from, and then proceeded to checking out the rest of the Skills.
I can leave the Party related one be for now, since I don't have an actual
Party yet.
「Dungeon Walker!」
The best way I could probably describe this Skill was a navigation device
which worked entirely in my head. Just like a professional GPS, it was asking
me where I wanted to go, so I thought about the Labyrinth's entrance, the
very first room I ended up in when I came through that black wall-portal.
When I pictured that place in my mind, Dungeon Walker pointed me towards
the right wall of the cave I was currently in. When I approached it somewhat
reluctantly, it turned black, and the same pale blue pattern like before
appeared on it. Could this be a shortcut to the starting area? Let's see for
ourselves, shall we?
I walked through the wall, and sure enough, I ended up going back to where I
started, a dimly lit cavern with a wall-portal serving as the doorway inside the
Labyrinth. As soon as I exited this newly formed doorway, it closed behind
me and returned to being just an ordinary wall. I see, so that's how it works.
214 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
So to cut the long story short, Dungeon Walker will show me the shortest
possible route to any place I have previously visited as long as I remember it
and can picture it clearly in my head. I could be pretty useful on the surface
as well, but I think that this Skill's usage is restricted only to the inside of the
Labyrinth and other kind of Dungeons, hence the name Dungeon Walker.
Category-wise, I wonder if it is closer to walking magic or perhaps map
magic? Are such magics even exist in here? I don't know, so I just make
those names up on the spot for my own convenience. And while we're still on
the subject of walking around and wall-portals, I walked through the same
one earlier, when I entered the forest outside of the Labyrinth after that one
Party. What was up with that, exactly?
「Dungeon Walker.」
I chanted the name of the Skill again after visualizing a portal at the edge of
the forest in my head. The wall in front of me has indeed turned black and the
symbol has appeared on it, but I wasn't able to go through it no matter how
hard I tried. So it can point me to a place outside of the Labyrinth, but it
won't allow me to use the passage to go there? Looks like I'd have to get a
separate Skill if I wanted to use that kind of magic in the world outside of the
dungeons. Kind of a bummer, but at least now I know that I won't have to
worry about mapping the entire area and getting lost in here.
「Dungeon Walker.」
I recast my Skill to go back to where I have come from and approach the
newly formed black portal in the wall… but I couldn't go through it at all.
Another failure? But why? I thought I did everything exactly as I should! A
shortage of some kind? No, that can't be it, because the black portal
appeared. Could it be that the places that I can go to are limited to the
Labyrinth entrance or places with doorways? If that's the case, then I guess I
have no choice but to walk back on my own without any assist.
On my way back through the corridors, I noticed that something was
wandering behind me. It was a small monster that looked like a hybrid of a
human with a plant. I was rather small and quite thin. I wonder if my current
power will be enough to defeat it? I brandished Durandal from my waist,
gripped it tightly with both my hands and rushed towards the monster.
215 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
「OVERWHELMING!!!」
I placed my whole battle spirit in that shout and swung my weapon down,
slashing the monster downward from its left shoulder. It fell to the ground
immediately and didn't stand back up.
Alright! Still managed to dispose of him with a single blow!
I must've looked pretty cool right now, right? I bet that if somebody saw my
greatness just now, they'd want me to join their Party right then and there. If
Overwhelming is so OP, then I might as well make it my personal secret
ultimate technique. Heh, I can probably kill the strongest of monsters with
such a move. As long as I have Durandal and the Hero's Job, I feel like I
might be invincible! And who knows? Maybe once I'll find a way to actually
level that Job up, maybe I'll gat my hands on even more powerful abilities…
yeah right. That attack just now was not due to a Skill. It was a simple blow
from Durandal. Overwhelming didn't activate at all. I shouted the Skill's
name, but nothing happened and nothing's changed when I did so.
What the hell is wrong with this damn Skill? Is it useless? Bugged? Broken?
No, I refuse to accept that that's it!
I used Identify on myself and checked that one bar under my HP which, as I
assumed earlier showed the energy required to cast Spells and Skills,
essentially my MP bar. Only ¼ of it remained. The rest was drained. 1/4th
,
huh? That's very low. That must also be the reason why Overwhelming failed
to activate properly. I simply didn't have enough points left to use it. My first
guess was that I still couldn't use the Skill, but I got it together with the Hero
Job, so it should technically be possible for me to use that Skill even when
the level of its corresponding Job was still just 1. *Sigh* this is my second
failure at using a Skill in a span of like what, 15 minutes? Therefore not
having enough energy was the only plausible explanation as to why I was
unable to use it.
But then, what is at fault here? My excessive usage of Dungeon Walker?
Yeah, that has to be it. I must've simply used it too many times which
drained all of my energy down to such a pathetic level. But I was convinced
that it was going to be more of a Passive Skill, the one which provides the
216 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
user with benefits at all times without any actual cost of its usage! Was I
wrong to think that? Does Dungeon Walker has to be activated at the cost of
expending energy points, just like any other Active Skill? That must really be
how it is. I mean, if you think about it carefully, there is no such thing as
Passive Skills with active effects that can be turned on and off. Passive Skills
are Passive Skills precisely because once acquired, they stay active all the
time. But Active Skills, on the other hand, could have the additional, passive
effects to them. So yeah, I think that settles it. Dungeon Walker is actually an
Active Skill with a passive effect, and that's the end of that story.
Anyway, the monster I have just defeated disappeared in a cloud of green
smoke. After he was gone, the only thing remaining after him were the small
branches, like the ones you often see on the trees in the spring. Identify told
me that it was a Needlewood Branch, a drop item from the enemy I just
killed, the Needlewood. Come to think of it, the Explorer Who talked to that
Party I tailed did mention something about the first floor of the Labyrinth
being taken by Needlewoods, and the second one was the domain of… Green
Caterpillars, if I remember correctly. I tried putting the dropped branches into
the Item Box, but for some reason they got rejected. Hey now, so you're
telling me that putting a giant-ass Scimitar in there is okay but a few twigs
are a no-go? *Groan* Okay, fine, if you're going to be so anal about it, then
I'll just place the damn thing in my backpack. There, happy now? Great.
Now that that's done, let's move to the next prey who's clearly aching to be
slaughtered.
Along the way, I checked Durandal's Skills and saw that it also has a Skill
called Absorption, meaning that with each enemy killed I should recover
either a portion of my health or the energy necessary to cast other Skills. I
have no way of knowing if I sis recover some health because that
Needlewood earlier didn't even graze me, but it look like I did recover some
energy. Maybe I should go and kill some more enemies just to confirm it?
Yeah, that is what we're going to do.
The next Needlewood rushed me from afar and twisted its wooden body in an
attempt to slam into me and slash me with its branches, but my own attack
was still faster. Just like the one before him, he ended up being one-shotted,
this time by a slash which followed from the right shoulder to its left side. It
217 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
disappeared, dropped the items, I collected them and moved forward,
prepared for quite a lot of grinding to be done.
218 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Part 7
When I arrived at another wider cavern the only way I could choose was the
one leading straight ahead. Right now I have ventured quite far to this floor's
left side, but there is absolutely no cause for concern, since I can always use
Dungeon Walker to go back to the starting point.
In the next four caverns I also had no choice but to go straight ahead, until I
happened upon another enemy. I was hoping to get a surprise attack at it, but
unfortunately the mechanic of the floor shining with every step gave my
position away too early. It's not that big of a problem, but I'll have to take
that into consideration the next time I'll come to the bigger area. Also, it
would be good if I could determine if the monsters in here move and hunt by
relying primarily on their sight, or if they use other senses to determine the
location of the potential prey. But that will come later. For now…
「Overwhelming!」
Since I should have enough MP recovered, I tried casting the Hero Job's Skill
one more time. At first I thought that nothing has happened, just like last
time. But this time something about the enemy has visibly changed. The
Needlewood's movements became much slower, as if he was moving in slow
motion. He was slowed to such a degree that I thought he was going to freeze
in place any minute now.
In the meantime, I have approached it and positioned myself behind it. Due to
the slow effect, it didn't even shift its head in my direction. For a second I
thought about leaving it alone since there was no way that it would be able to
hurt me in its current condition, but I discarded that thought almost
immediately. This is a monster, and I am an Adventurer. This world operates
219 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
on a very simple principal of [kill or be killed] where one wrong move
equaled death. I didn't have to worry about it in my old world, but right now
I have to keep telling myself that I am no longer an ordinary, powerless
citizen. I am a warrior, and if I have the strength to fight, I might as well use
it against anything which seeks to inflict harm upon me, no matter how
defenseless it might seem! So sorry buddy, but I won't be risking letting you
go so you could call the rest of your friends in an attempt to overwhelm me
with your numbers!
I raised Durandal into the air and swung it down, cleaving the slowed Needle
Wood before me in half.
There! How do you like that, you wooden dick?!
Based on my observations, I can tell that the slow effect lasts for some time,
but I'll have to confirm if it is the same for every enemy who'll be slashed by
Overwhelming, or does it differ from enemy to enemy.
I exhaled deeply and placed Durandal back at my waist as the monster, who
probably didn't even realize what was going on until it was too late
disappeared in a puff of green smoke. My own feelings have also calmed
down sufficiently for me to analyze how exactly the effect of Overwhelm
worked. Was it really slowing down whoever was cut by my weapon? Or was
it actually accelerating my own movement speed, making me see everything
around me as moving extremely slowly? Or perhaps it's just increasing my
Agility? Either way, to put it in the simplest way possible, it is a Skill which
manipulates time. If it can really allow me to move faster than my enemies,
than that is going to give me a tremendous advantage in battle. However,
there is still one issue that I have to address.
The negative effect that the loss of MP has on my mental state.
After using Dungeon Walker too much, I have exhausted almost all of my
MP, and as a result of that, my head was gradually being filled with gloomy,
depressing thoughts which made me quite angry and irritated, and that anger
and irritation reached their peak when I used Overwhelm to kill that Needle
Wood whom I first wanted to spare. But after I slayed it and the MP recovery
effect kicked in, I gradually started feeling better, as if something has chased
220 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
away the dark clouds looming over my mind.
Does my mental well-being really have something to do with how filled my
MP bar is? Because I remember that something like that has happened to me
before, when I used the Skill of the Flame Rapier, only then I simply felt
extremely mentally exhausted. So if we assume that expending MP worsens
my psychological state and recovering MP improves it, then that would mean
that the more Skills I use in battle, the wilder of an emotional roller coaster
ride I'm going to go through.
Great, that is simply wonderful. Here I was, thinking that this adventure is
going to be just like your regular RPG kind, but now I feel like I have just
discovered the existence of a hidden Sanity statistic, just like in those Call of
Cthulhu games. And that means that if I want to avoid the scenario in which
I'm going to either go insane or so depressed that I'm going to kill myself for
real this time. So until I'll be able to afford using Skills without having my
MP drop to zero almost immediately, I think it would be best to avoid
spamming them left and right unless the situation really calls for it.
Okay, after all these battles I think it's high time for another appraisal of my
levels. I looked at my own hand and used Identify.
Kaga Michio (Male, 17 years old)
Villager Lv4 Hero Lv1 Explorer Lv1 Thief Lv3
Equipment: Durandal Leather Armor Sandals
The only Job whose level went up was the Villager. Hero and explorer stayed
exactly the same as they were.
Exactly how many Needle Woods have I defeated so far? I don't know the
exact number, but it must be approaching a hundred, and yet even with the
two of my Bonus Skills, 1/5th Experience Required and 5 x Experience
Earned the only Job to gain a level was Villager? Just how many EXP does
the Hero Job needs to level up?! And don't get me started about the Explorer,
my newly acquired Job! Is obtaining levels for anything that isn't your main
Job really that difficult?!
221 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
To begin with, I don't think that the actual level cap in this world is very
high, probably because this is a reality, not a game that can be cleared in just
a few days if you spend all of your time grinding and power-leveling. The
denizens of this world can't do that, hence they have to amass experience
gradually over the course of their entire lives, so it should come to me as no
surprise that killing close to 100 monsters was still not enough for more than
one Job to level up. Or maybe the Bonus Skills are not working as they
should be working? Honestly, I don't even know anymore. Maybe by
obtaining more Jobs the value got reduced to 1/3rd? Or perhaps the rest of the
Jobs do get the EXP points, but not the entirety, but only a small portion of
it? That would explain why did the Villager Job's level went up from 3 to 4,
but the level of Hero and Explorer stayed the same.
Ugh, at times like these I would really like to have some kinda strategy guide
with me. Or a cheat compendium.
Since my business with that monster is done, there's nothing left to do but to
pack the branches he left behind and be on my way.
Or maybe I should do another Character Reset?
Since the Villager has leveled up, I should have one more Bonus Point. That
is one thing which is totally praiseworthy: a system in which the total number
of your Bonus Points increases as the level of your first assigned Job
increases. With that said, I removed the Critical Strike Chance Increase and
replaced it with Skill Cast Time Reduction. I feel like it might be of better use
to me, because further down the line I will probably obtain much more MP,
to the point where I will be able to spam Skills without running the risk of
damaging my mentality, so it would be nice to have something that would
allow me to fire those Skills off that much faster. As for the Critical Strike
Chance, I think investing my Bonus Points into it might have been a mistake,
because let's face it, with my current equipment I will probably never even
get the chance to use it in an actual combat since I one-shot every enemy that
is stupid enough to face me, and even if I didn't do that, 10% Critical Strike
Chance is still a pretty low number, so it can go fuck itself for all I care.
222 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Part 8
The thing with having a strong weapon on you (and Durandal can certainly
be classified as one such weapon or even going beyond, seeing how absurdly
OP it is) is that if you can defeat everyone who dares to challenge you with
one of two strikes, you will have absolutely no use of Critical Strikes, as they
only serve to increase the damage done by weaker (normal) weapons beyond
their usual capacity. In most games, the damage done from critical attacks
varies between 100 – 250% of the damage dealt by the weapon you currently
have equipped, so I'm sure that Durandal would have achieved truly absurd
numbers, but that would only be a cosmetic touch. Against the current, low
level enemies, the base damage done by it is perfectly enough for me to
breeze through any challenge I might come across.
With my latest Character Reset, I've made sure to distribute my Bonus Points
in such a way that I have none of them left. After getting rid of the Critical
Strike Chance Increase I've put 2 Bonus Points in Skill Cast Time Reduction
and 1 Bonus Point in Skill Cast Speed Increase. I wonder if just with those 3
Bonus Points alone I'll be able to achieve the highest possible reduction time
and casting speed increase? It certainly would be nice, but let's not get our
hopes up just yet.
For starters, I have to see with my own eyes how the current Cast Time
Reduction and Cast Speed Increase will influence the usage of my Skills.
As a trial I decided to use the Item Box Skill, and when I called its name out
loud, it appeared in my hands almost immediately. Great. Now we see that
those Skills do actually contribute to my performance in a practical manner.
I'm glad I decided to perform that Reset just now.
223 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
When I ventured forward, I battled even more Needlewoods. I know that one
Explorer at the entrance mentioned that they are on the Labyrinth's first floor,
but did he mean that the first floor consists only of Needle Woods? Because
so far, I haven't seen any other monster besides them. Well, it's not like I
have any problems with that fact, especially since my Durandal ensures that I
one-shot them every time, granting me an easy win and a relatively safe
passage through the corridors of this floor, but I'm just saying that some
variety would be nice every once in a while, otherwise the process of farming
monsters and their drop items will get extremely repetitive and dull.
After plowing through hordes of enemies for a while, I decided to try wearing
the Bandit's Bandana to see exactly how its effect is going to work. But in
order to do that, I have to set the Thief as my first Job…. But I cannot do that.
No matter how many times I tapped the Thief Job in an attempt to set it as the
primary Job, the game just wouldn't let me do that.
Why? What is going on here?! Why can't I do this now, when earlier both
Villager Lv3 and Thief Lv3 could be set as the first Job without any issues?!
No, wait a damn minute, a thought just occurred to me.
Currently Villager is not Lv3, but Lv4.
Oh, so that's how it is? Then that would solve the mystery quite nicely.
Right now my Bonus Points are distributed as follows: 63 points in Bonus
Weapon 6, 15 points in 1/5th EXP Required to Level Up, 15 points in 5 x
EXP Earned, 3 points for the Third Job, 2 points for Skill Cast Time
Reduction and 1 point for Skill Cast Speed Increase, Identify, Job Setting and
Character Reset. A total of 102 Bonus Points, an increase by 3 points from
the original 99 due to the Level Up of the Villager Job to Lv4.
However, that way I'd have to leave the Villager as the first Job, willingly
discarding the option of switching it with the other Jobs that might provide
me with better benefits.
Back when the Villager Job was still at Lv3, it was possible to switch it up
with Thief Job, which was also Lv3. Because there was no change in the
224 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
amount of the Bonus Points.
So what would happen if I tried a little something?
I performed another Character Reset where I discarded the Skill Cast Time
Reduction and Cast Speed Increase and recovered the 3 points I've spend on
them just a few minutes ago. Then I entered the Job Setting screen. If what I
have in mind right now proves to be correct, then it might be possible for me
to set the Hero Lv1 as my first Job.
Bonus Points are a wonderful addition that can be obtained by leveling up the
first Job you have selected, but once they have been used up, the level of the
Job set as the first one cannot be reduced to its earlier value. The increase is
permanent. That much should be obvious. But now with the adjustments I've
just made…
I was able to set the Thief as my first Job!
Now that I was finally able to do that, I can test the Bandit Bandana at last. If
I remember correctly, it is supposed to increase its wearer's physical
capabilities. When I placed it on my head I did had a feeling as if my body
became somewhat lighter, but tat might as well be my imagination. I don't
understand it very well so that's the best way I can describe the feeling that
has enveloped me.
It looks like this world is unlike the video games I have played thus far.
Normally you'd be able to see the effects of the positive changed to your
status immediately, but that does not seem to be the case here, even after
increasing your level. All I have in regards to whether or not the Bandit's
Bandana's effect has worked or not is my gut feeling alone. I would have
gladly tested it out on one of the Needle Woods roaming the Labyrinth's
halls, but since I'm killing them to death like One Punch Man (but like, with
a sword, so… One Slash Man?) it wouldn't prove anything, and I don't want
to fight with anything else than Durandal right now. Even though I wouldn't
have to use the Copper Sword since I have a Scimitar with me, I feel like it
would be only slightly better than its copper counterpart, directly impacting
the time it would take me to defeat monsters in here, and since I am strapped
for time, I cannot allow myself to experiment.
225 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Finishing my little Job switching test, I took off the Bandana and reverted my
character settings to the previous ones. It would be very bad if someone
happened to see me wearing it, even by accident. The last thing I need right
now is the spreading of the news that I have a Job that allows me to wear
clothing that is exclusive to criminals.
I don't know exactly how much time I have spent hunting in here so far, but I
feel like it must have been around an hour or so. Technically that much
should have been enough for my first bout into such an unknown ground, but
a part of me was telling me that I can still keep going. But this is my first
time in the Labyrinth, so maybe calling it quits for today is actually a smart
thing to do? On the other hand though, I don't feel tired at all yet, and my
mental fatigue was also holding up nicely because of that self-restraint on
Skill usage I placed upon myself.
Yeah, let's keep going just a little bit more.
No matter how far or deep I will delve into the depths of this dungeon, I can
always use Dungeon Walker to get myself right back to the entrance point by
going through the shortest route possible. As long as I'll have MP to cast that,
there's no way for me to get truly lost in here.
Throughout the next hour, I fought around twenty more Needlewoods, which
always came at me one at a time. Of course, I have spent most of that hour by
going around the narrow corridors and the small caves they were leading into.
Unlike in the video games, the real life didn't possess a random enemy
encounters system that would allow me to fight a battle after battle in a span
of seconds, which was quite regretful, because I'll admit that it would be nice
if I could maximize the amount of battles and drop from enemies as much as
possible without having to waist too much time on actually finding them.
Although all I needed to slay Needlewoods was one blow from Durandal, the
procedure of defeating them, gathering the drop items and placing them back
in my backpack still too a considerable amount of time. That is a chore to be
sure, but at least my life is not threatened. The Villager's level did not
increase further, but both Explorer and Hero both got up to Lv2.
And that's what I call fucking progress!
226 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Part 9
By doing another Character Reset I got rid of Durandal. Then I opened the
Item Box and took the Scimitar out of it.
Hmm? What's this?
When I took the Scimitar out of the Item Box, I noticed that it freed some
space right next to it. I think it means that I can place some additional items
there. Kinda tricky and unintuitive, but I can work with that.
I got some of the dropped branches from the backpack and tried putting them
into the newly-freed space of the Item Box. Looks like one space slot can be
taken by two branches simultaneously. It was exactly the same for the slot
right next to it: exactly two branches could be placed there. So I guess that
means that a single space slot in the Item Box can be occupied by varying
quantities of items, depending on their size, and quite possibly weight?
I tried to do another thing next. I tried to place some branches into the space
that was already occupied by one Scimitar, but I couldn't do it, but two
branches could still fit into the space right next to it. I'm pretty sure that this
space was not there before. But now that I think about it, it might also be
related to the level of my Explorer Job. Maybe when its level will go up, then
the number of spaces in my Item Box will increase accordingly?
When I just got this Job, meaning it was at its base, level, Level 1, I only had
one space in the Item Box that could only hold one item in it, but now that
the Explorer Job gained a level, I have obtained an additional item slot and
could not hold up to two pieces of the same item in one slot. That's why I
should now be able to hold both of my Scimitars in a single item slot. I guess
227 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
I could test that further when I will elevate Explorer's Job level to Lv3. If my
assumption is correct, then I should get a third item slot and be able to hold
up to three items of the same kind in one slot.
But for the time being, I placed the Scimitar back onto my waist and made
my way back to the Labyrinth's entrance and passed through the black walldoorway back to the outside world, and then headed back to the town of Veil.
When I got out of the forest, I noticed that the sun's position had changed
drastically. I thought I was in there for only about an hour or so, but it looks
like much more time have passed. It was probably due to my cautious
approach since it was my first time in a place like this and I thought that it
would be best not to go in too deep. But if I am to make all the money I'll
need to buy Roxanne, then I'll have to cast that overly cautious attitude aside
in favor of a more aggressive, gain-oriented approach. I only have so many
days left until the deadline, so I need to pick up my pace from tomorrow
onward.
Even though the day was slowly moving towards the night hours, the city
was still booming with activity. As I was making my way towards the town's
center, I took my time to browse through various shops and stalls (and ogled
the nice looking shopkeeper ladies while I was at it).
Before returning to the inn and calling it a day I decided to pay a quick visit
to the Adventurer's Guild, the other place that Alan the Slave Merchant has
told me about.
The building itself was one story larger than the one belonging to the
Explorer's Guild. At first glance, it looked like a really big post office, the
kind that you'd see in larger cities. There were about five or six people
inside, not including the receptionist-looking staff members behind the
counters by the walls. Huh, when I look at it like that, I realized that this
place has much in common with the Explorer's Guild, even though the two
were not exactly on good terms. Was it a conscious choice, or perhaps all of
the public service buildings were build like that?
「Uhm, excuse me? I would like to sell some items from the Labyrinth, if it's
not a problem of course.」
228 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
I reset my character to get the 30 % better selling price and then I stood in
front of one of the counters. Since this is my first time selling anything to the
Adventurer's Guild, I guess the actual amount of money I'm going to get is
not all that important, but it's always better to get more money rather than
less and then regret it. That and I'll get to see for myself whether or not they
are going to try and swindle me out (which was rather improbable, but I'll
have to be ready for everything).
I was expecting an older dude to be behind the counter, just like it was with
Picker-san back at the village, but instead the one who was going to handle
my inquiry was a nice-looking onee-san with an above average face. She
looked much better than most of the village women but was still inferior to
Roxanne in my opinion.
「By all means. Please place your items here on the counter.」
She gestured me with her hand and a big friendly smile on her face.
「Here you go.」
I placed my backpack on the ground beside my legs, took all the items that
dropped from the monsters I have slain today and placed them on the counter.
The spoils from my first-ever excursion to the Labyrinth were 21
Needlewood Branches. Even though I killed more enemies than that, only
twenty-one of them actually left something behind them when they died. I
guess this must be another game-like aspect of this world: a chance of
obtaining a Drop Item from a monster when it is slain. On a side note, I
wonder if the items here have varying degrees of rarity just like in all the
RPG games that I've played. If so, then the degrees would probably be
Common, Uncommon, Rare and Very Rare, and the ones belonging to a Very
Rare category would sell for much more than those from the Common one.
Hehe, it would be nice if those branches were actually worth a ton; that
would make achieving my current objective so much easier. But I guess we'll
have to wait and see what this nice onee-san has to say about it.
「Understood. Please wait here for a bit while I will go and check the exact
price for your items.」
229 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
She placed all the branches in a small trey and then withdrawn to a room in
the back of the building. She's probably going to examine all the branches to
confirm how much they are worth.
Since I had no choice but to wait, I decided to take a look around the guild
building. As I was taxing everything with my eyes, I saw that one section of
the wall to my left suddenly went all black, and that people emerged out of
that newly-formed dark space.
Wait a minute… that looks like a wall-entrance to the Labyrinth! Then… is
that Dungeon Walker?! But I thought that it can only be used inside of a
dungeon! The ones who emerged from it were two Adventurer-looking
dudes. There were no Explorers with them.
「Attention please! Anyone here interested in a one-way trip to Tahera?」
The first Adventurer who emerged out of the wall asked that question in a
loud, lively voice. When he saw that apparently no one was interested in his
offer he chanted something in a quiet voice, created another black gateway on
the wall and disappeared inside it.
Well, that sure was random as hell.
Putting that aside, if that Skill wasn't Dungeon Walker, then it must have
been Field Walker, a Skill that works similar to Dungeon Walker, but outside
of Labyrinths and Dungeons. Or at least that was my assumption. I mean, it
would be very logical, right? If Dungeon walker can be used to create
passages and shortcuts in and out of the Labyrinth just like that Party did
before me, then Field Walker must be used like a method of fast travel
between various towns and cities. In that case, those two must have been
heading to another city called Tahera. But if that was their goal, then why did
they stop here? Did they just drop in to say hi? Also, I wonder if that skill is
Job restricted. Would I need to become an Adventurer first in order to use it?
As I was contemplating that, another portal has appeared in the exact same
spot as before, and a group of Adventurers came out of it. Without talking to
or greeting anyone, they left the guild as soon as they appeared.
230 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Yup… that was definitely a series of events that happened.
…. Jesus Christ, how much longer will I have to wait?!
「Thank you for your patience. Here is your money.」
Onee-san who took my items finally came back to the counter, so I turned my
head back towards her. Now let's see, how much money did those branches
get… me?
Huh?
On a small plate before me, there were two silver coins and a lot of copper
ones. When I counted it, their exact number was 73.
73 coins. That is how much my hard work was worth.
Is that a fucking joke?