Chapter 165 - Exploration (4)

An Expanded Backpack worth two million Stones. A steel dagger and assorted equipment. A bundle of consumables better suited to use against people than monsters.

And...

“Just who was that person?”

A spoonful of unease that settled like a stone.

Those were the things the masked man, whose name we didn't even know, had left us.

“No matter how I look at it, I don't think he was an ordinary plunderer, nyah. Traveling alone, and what he did at the end...”

The masked man had chosen suicide the moment things turned against him. Anyone could see this was far from normal.

Still...

“Stop worrying about it. Wondering now won't get us any answers.”

The truth was already buried in darkness. All we could do was take what we could and keep going.

Wasn't that what explorers did?

“Bjorn. How much cotton candy could we buy with this?”

Aynar asked, her eyes practically drooling. Just as I was about to answer, Raven spoke.

“All together, it should come to about 3.5 million Stones.”

“... You know about this sort of thing too?”

“We won't know the exact amount until we sell it in the city, but I shouldn't be far off. I got my general appraiser's license a while ago.”

Huh. So that was a thing too...

When I asked for details, it turned out to be different from being a special appraiser. Apparently, you had to be able to determine value through knowledge alone, without skills, to qualify?

“You should study for it too when you have time, Mr. Jandel. Just showing the license saves you all that posturing when you haggle. A trading broker's license might be a little difficult, but—”

“I'm fine. I've never lost a battle of wills.”

I cut her off before she could start bragging and resumed exploring. Our approach wasn't much different from our Outcast Team days. We prioritized the Stairs of Wisdom, with the Stairs of Courage as our second choice, focusing entirely on climbing the tower.

“... Ugh, are we going to spend all day lost in a maze again, nyah?”

“We don't have a professional Scout. What else can we do?”

Finding our way was a real ordeal every time we chose the Stairs of Wisdom, but I had to give it everything I had.

After all, I had a nagging mother-in-law right beside me.

“Four hours, thirty-four minutes.”

“Four hours, eleven minutes.”

“Three hours, fifty-nine minutes.”

Raven timed us at the end of every maze. Fortunately, our times gradually improved as we climbed. I was picking up tricks as I found our way.

I still had a long way to go to catch up to Rotmiller, though.

“Four hours, thirty-five minutes. That was a sudden jump, wasn't it?”

“... It couldn't be helped. Aynar stepped on a trap.”

“I'll take that into account.”

Day nine, day ten, day eleven...

Time continued to fly by, and starting on day twelve, we went back to sleeping without a night watch.

“Are we assigning watches again today, nyah?”

“... It seems like a waste.”

“Ugh, all this because of that bastard. Isn't this taking things way too far, nyah? Ambushing people here, of all places...”

Misha was indignant, as though someone had violated a sanctuary. Honestly, I felt much the same. This had been the one place we could rest easy.

'Fucking hell.'

Despite everything that had happened, our exploration continued without further trouble, and we reached stage 100 on day sixteen. That meant we could now search for a portal to the fifth floor.

“Two hours, forty-one minutes... You've really gotten a lot faster.”

Even Raven, who had been acting like a nagging mother-in-law every day, wore a satisfied smile.

For the record, I felt the same.

'Was I actually a navigation genius all along?'

No matter how hard I tried, the three-hour barrier had been formidable. But one realization had let me break through that seemingly insurmountable wall and cut down our time.

It was easier and faster to smash traps.

“Oh, right, Mr. Jandel. How long did you say it took to get here with a professional Scout on your team?”

“About twelve days.”

“A four-day difference isn't bad. With our Scout-free lineup, the fifth floor should be much easier.”

I agreed. We'd lost four days for lack of a Scout, but every member of our team was a combat character. We could make up for it in battle.

Still...

'Sigh. Can't you just give me a compliment?'

Just as that complaint was running through my mind, Misha came over and patted my shoulder.

“Bjorn, you worked really hard, nyah. I honestly didn't think this would work. We're probably the only team with a barbarian finding the way, nyah.”

You're the only one who gets me...

“Ahem.”

Mister Bear stepped forward, clearing his throat as though Misha's words had struck a nerve. He must have felt embarrassed about leaving navigation to a barbarian despite being a Guide.

“Then it's my turn to step in.”

I willingly handed over the wheel. To reach the fifth floor, we had to open doors in the correct sequence...

“Which door should I open?”

“That one.”

This was why Guides were so overpowered. Even without their sensory stats reaching the required threshold, their innate talent alone let them perceive a portal's mana.

「You have selected the Stairs of Courage.」

「You have selected the Stairs of Wisdom.」

「You have selected the Stairs of Courage...」

With Mister Bear as our compass, we headed toward the portal hidden somewhere in the tower. We opened doors and cleared trials, over and over.

We spent another night there and continued exploring. After opening ten more doors in total...

“Finally, the last door.”

We reached the entrance to the stage containing the portal. Day seventeen was already drawing to a close. Since it was nearly time to make camp, I considered resting first and opening the door tomorrow.

But...

“I think I'll be able to concentrate better now.”

Taking Raven's difficulty with mornings into account, we decided to proceed today. The portal room was also a boss room, after all. The better shape our mage was in, the better.

“As I said earlier, a rank-five monster always appears here.”

“A monster like that Vampire?”

Aynar gripped her greatsword, her eyes brimming with excitement and anticipation. She seemed eager to see how much she'd changed since those days of helplessness.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

I'd planned to add that we shouldn't let our guard down, that fewer than half the would-be graduates who made it this far returned alive...

“Um, why did you stop talking?”

But there wouldn't be much point. It wouldn't be very barbarian-like, either.

“I forgot.”

“What?”

“Let's go fuck it up.”

I opened the door and climbed the stairs to the next stage. It was a stone chamber with a familiar monument planted in the center. Once all five of us were inside, the door closed and a monster was summoned.

[GRAAAARGH—!!]

I laughed again without meaning to. I'd been wondering what we'd get.

“It's a troll, nyah!”

Yeah, it wouldn't feel like graduation without at least this guy.

* * *

A troll. The creature that had made me smash my keyboard about a year into playing [Dungeon and Stone]...

And the very same bastard that had nearly wiped us out back in our Outcast Team days.

“Should I cast spellbend first? I hear troll parts are quite expensive.”

She really did have nerves of steel. A rank-five monster's fear aura had to be pretty strong.

“No need. Its Essence is expensive too.”

“If you say so.”

While Raven and I exchanged those few words...

THUD!

The troll let out a monstrous roar and stepped forward. I kicked off the ground to do my job as tank.

「The character has cast [Gigantification].」

The gap in our sizes shrank in an instant. Once the distance between us closed too, the troll swung its massive fist.

BOOM!

A heavy impact traveled through my giant shield. But was it because I'd absorbed an Ogre Essence? This was hardly impressive.

'And my shield's still fine.'

The raitinium shield that used to dent with every punch didn't budge this time, thanks to [Unity], the stage-six engraving effect. The equipment I wore now grew stronger in proportion to the sum of my stats.

Damn right, considering how much money I'd poured into unlocking it!

“Behel—raaaaaa!!”

After inflating my stats with [Wild Outburst], I brought my mace down with all my strength.

「The character has cast [Swing].」

「The destructive power of blunt weapons increases greatly in proportion to Strength.」

I was aiming for its head, but the creature twisted, and my enormous mace slammed into its shoulder instead.

CRACK!

Its shoulder caved in unnaturally with a satisfying impact. A single blow had dislocated it. Before, I'd needed six strikes just to break a joint I'd already stripped of flesh.

[GRAAAARGH—!!]

Of course, being a troll, the very embodiment of healing power, its bones knit back together in seconds. But that was enough to gauge my own combat strength.

'Let's have a look.'

I focused solely on defense and observed my teammates.

First up was Misha, an original member. She hadn't absorbed any new Essences since then, but...

SLASH!

Her swinging sword sliced through the troll's hide with astonishing ease.

The power of spending real money. That was an ayril longsword she'd bought for a whopping twelve million Stones. If it couldn't even do this much, she ought to get a refund.

“Behel—raaaaa!!”

That battle cry came from Aynar. Perhaps envious of Misha getting the first chance to shine, she immediately joined the front line and swung her greatsword.

WHOOOSH!

The blade stirred up a powerful gust as it swept through the air, leaving an afterimage in its wake.

Actually, could I really call that an afterimage?

「Aynar Pheneline has cast [Double Slash].」

The active skill from the rank-four Essence she'd inherited from the elder. Its effect was simple: one slash inflicted the effects of two.

SLASH! SLASH!

Of course, it wasn't particularly effective against a troll. Despite her superior Strength and the greatsword's weight, the blade only cut about three centimeters deep. That was because [Double Slash] was Aynar's only skill. It was hard to get its full effect from basic attacks alone.

“This thing's skin is tough... Aaagh!”

Aynar took a punch from the troll and was sent flying backward. She quickly got back up, but blood trickled from her mouth. It looked like she'd suffered internal injuries.

“Behel—raaaaa!!”

Instead of drinking a potion and resting in the rear, however, Aynar charged back in and swung her greatsword. It was a rational choice rather than stubbornness. This time, her blade glowed red.

The Bone Knight's active skill, obtained in the Blood-Tinted Castle.

「Aynar Pheneline has cast [Life Power Absorption].」

「Dealing damage to a living creature temporarily increases regeneration.」

Aynar recovered health by hitting enemies. An ideal trait for a secondary bruiser. With [Life Power Absorption] and [Double Slash] working together, she was back to normal after just a few swings.

'Less damage than Misha, but much better at tanking.'

I watched the two fight for a while, noting their strengths, weaknesses, and what they needed to improve.

'I need to find Aynar a decent attack skill to absorb as soon as possible. And Misha needs more beast blood to raise her Spirit beast's level first.'

As I pondered those things while casually keeping the troll occupied, Mister Bear asked from behind me,

“Can we join in now too?”

“Oh, were you waiting for us?”

“I wanted to see how well those two young ladies could fight.”

“I'm not a young lady!!!”

Aynar's shout notwithstanding, Mister Bear joined the fight once I gave my approval.

「Avman Urigfried has summoned Iron Bear Irathun.」

Perhaps he'd decided our front line was already more than crowded enough. Mister Bear summoned his Spirit beast behind us like a bodyguard, then began firing his crossbow in earnest.

THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!

Each bolt tore through the air with a tremendous sound and buried itself deep in the troll. Even his choice of targets showed his experience. He aimed at joints like the elbows and knees to restrict its movements.

SLASH!

Misha and Aynar worked together to sever the troll's arm. Its [Hyper Regeneration] phase began, but its regeneration was slow, since Raven had already cast “Worsening” on it.

'Nothing more to see now.'

Just as I was about to smash the troll's head with my mace...

“Stop!”

Mister Bear held me back.

“The third young lady deserves her chance to shine too.”

“... Would you please stop calling me a young lady?”

Grumbling, Raven waved her wand. Unlike Dwalki, she didn't even tell us to get out of the way. It wasn't so much a lack of consideration as a judgment that there was no need.

「Allua Raven has cast the rank-five attack spell [Lightning Spear].」

White lightning shot forth, zigzagging around our positions. A flash filled my vision. The sound came afterward.

KRAKABOOM!

By the time I registered it, the troll's head was already gone.

THUD.

The troll collapsed to the floor, then turned into light and disappeared.

Oh, and of course, no Essence this time either.

* * *

We'd killed the troll. Easily, as though we were merely toying with it.

Of course, that didn't mean the fifth floor would be free of danger. Up there, rank-five monsters could appear in groups.

WHOOOOSH!

The portal opened with the troll's death. Rather than heading straight to the fifth floor, however, we made camp. It would be time to sleep once we got up there anyway, so we decided we might as well enjoy one more comfortable night.

'So this is where it really begins.'

I tossed and turned for a while, anxious and excited, before falling asleep.

The next morning—around seven on day eighteen, to be exact.

“Wow, I'm really going to the fifth floor, nyah...”

Having finished packing, we stepped into the portal.

「You have entered the fifth floor, the Great Demon Realm.」

With that, we'd graduated from the early game.

It was time to do some real exploring.