SGB: Episode 22
Episode 22: Level Up (2)
I skipped the daily routine I've been doing every day for a month – library, city adaptation, combat training.
On the day the labyrinth opens, those aren't the things an explorer should be doing.
[08:10]
As soon as I wake up, I skip breakfast and run to the meeting place I agreed on with Ainar.
I heard that if I'm even a little late, I'll have to wait for several hours.
"Here! Bjorn, son of Yandel!"
Surprisingly, Ainar was there before me.
"...Since when have you been here?"
"You said you'd leave me behind if I'm late! So I slept here! Come on! We're the first!"
"......"
There's a long line in front of the entrance even though there are still 30 minutes left until opening time.
But thanks to Ainar, we can enter the Explorer's Guild as soon as the door opens.
"What can I help you with?"
"We're here for the Bonding spell."
"Are there two of you in the team?"
"Yes."
"Please place your hands on this together."
As we follow the instructions, a faint light emanates from the crystal ball.
It has a green hue.
"It seems both of you are 9th-grade explorers. The cost is 15,000 stones."
15,000 stones...
It would have been a bit tight if I hadn't been saving on living expenses.
I readily open my pouch and pay the fee.
It hurts my heart, but it's an unavoidable expense.
Although the starting point when entering the labyrinth is random, receiving this spell beforehand ensures that at least we start in the same place.
"What is the basis for determining an explorer's rank?"
"It's measured by the total amount of essence engraved on the soul."
"I see. So the cost of bonding increases each time the rank goes up?"
"Of course."
Ha, there's no need for even this to be the same as the game.
"It's done. Please note that it only lasts for 24 hours."
"Alright."
We finish our business and leave the Explorer's Guild, and it's a little past 9:00 AM.
"Let's go back to our inn for a meal. The food there is quite decent."
"Inn? They cook at the inn?"
What kind of life has she been living?
When I indirectly ask, Ainar replies as if it's no big deal.
"I usually ate the bread I had in the labyrinth."
Ah, that one that costs 20 stones each.
I tried it once to save on food expenses, but I gave up soon after.
For some reason, even though it was quite edible in the labyrinth, here it was as hard as a rock.
'That's why it's called 'stone bread'...'
But to eat only that for a month?
Feeling a bit sorry for her, I order meat and stew, and Ainar swears her loyalty.
"Bjorn! I'll even jump into a pit of fire if you tell me to! So don't abandon me!"
After a tearful meal, we go up to the room and spend time organizing our backpacks.
"Do it meticulously. It'll be troublesome if you need something and forget to bring it."
"Don't worry! There's nothing to bring anyway!"
As I check the equipment and carefully pack exploration tools and consumables into the backpack, time passes surprisingly quickly.
"Then let's get some sleep now."
"This is the first time I've seen such a soft bed. It seems big enough for two people! And it doesn't even smell!"
Having finished our preparations to enter the labyrinth as soon as possible, we lie down side by side and try to sleep.
But lying down with her like this feels quite cramped.
When I was lying down with Erwen, there was space left over.
"Even if you can't sleep, try to close your eyes. You won't be able to sleep properly for a while—"
Hmm, what was I worried about?
Snore, snore, snore!
Before I can even finish speaking, the sound of native barbarian snoring fills the room.
I chuckle and close my eyes too.
How much time has passed?
[20:30]
We wake up a bit early and have our last meal on the 1st floor.
We splurge and order the special meal for 800 stones per person.
"What, what is this taste?"
Ainar, who has been making a fuss throughout the meal, takes a bite of the cream pie that came out for dessert and freezes.
"Is, is this magic? T, tears are coming out of my eyes."
"Ah, that's called 'sweetness'."
"I, I feel like I need to live diligently..."
I didn't intend to, but it seems like I've successfully motivated her.
"Let's go."
As we pack our things and head out into the night street, I see people passing by, unlike usual.
Most of them are armed like me and carrying large backpacks.
As I said, not everyone is like that, and I also see some barbarians with nothing but their bare bodies and one weapon.
They seem to have just finished their coming-of-age ceremony and entered the city...
"Halt! I think we're lost."
"No way! We have to get to the labyrinth within the allotted time!"
"Partun is not qualified to be the leader!"
So this happens every month, huh?
How do these guys even make it to the labyrinth every time?
As I'm seriously pondering this...
"If you follow them, you'll arrive at the labyrinth."
Ainar approaches them and offers advice.
The young warriors look at her with grateful eyes, as if she's a successful senior.
"Thank you. I will definitely repay this favor!"
Ainar wipes her nose as she watches the barbarians leave.
"...Huhu, it reminds me of old times."
I hope she doesn't pretend it's something from the past.
As far as I can see, she's not much different from back then.
"Everyone, please step back!"
Thousands of people have already gathered in the Dimensional Plaza. As I'm waiting for midnight among the crowd, light starts to burst from the center.
It's small at first, but the light quickly grows larger, forming a shimmering sphere.
"You may enter now!"
As the official shouts, the nearby explorers start throwing themselves into the portal.
I lead Ainar and escape the crowd, moving towards the outer area.
"Bjorn, are we not going in?"
"Wait."
Although the number of explorers gathered in the plaza is decreasing by dozens every second, the crowd remains.
It's because other explorers are arriving just in time.
About 40 minutes after the portal opens, the crowded Dimensional Plaza finally becomes less crowded, with around seven or eight hundred people remaining.
"...Shouldn't we go in now?"
The portal, which has already swallowed tens of thousands of explorers, has become noticeably smaller.
But I keep waiting.
Ainar, as if sensing something, changes her tone of voice.
"Bjorn, what are we waiting for?"
Well, it's a long story...
And I don't even know if it will work.
But since there's still some time left, I decide to explain briefly.
"We're going to enter when the dimension is unstable. The book said it's something that happens once every hundred years, but if we can use this phenomenon—"
"I'll follow your lead, whatever it is."
"......?"
"I have a feeling I won't understand anyway!"
Honestly, I expected this.
She asks and then says that, which is annoying, but...
The fact that I don't have to explain every single action is actually quite convenient.
"The gate will close soon! Step back!"
The light of the portal starts to fade.
There are no explorers left at this point.
Only then do Ainar and I slowly walk towards the labyrinth.
The staff member shouts at us as we walk.
"It's dangerous to enter now!"
I pretend not to hear.
I don't understand why they say it's dangerous.
There's even a book with statistics on it, so they must be aware of this phenomenon...
"B, Bjorn! The tall-looking person says it's dangerous! We need to step back!"
Why don't they think of using it?
1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds...
Hmm, is there any point in counting?
When I get the feeling that this is enough...
"Now. Let's go in."
"Kwek!"
I push Ainar's back and enter the labyrinth at the same time.
Flash-!
A flash of light blinds me, and when I open my eyes again, deep darkness greets me.
It means what I intended worked perfectly.
"I can't see! I can't see! We should have listened to the tall-looking person! Bjorn is an idiot!"
"Ainar, calm down."
As I quickly light the torch I took out of my backpack, Ainar regains some composure.
"Wh, what the hell is going on?"
"You won't understand even if I tell you."
"That's... that's true!"
After easily convincing Ainar, I calmly look around. And I discover the stele in front of the dead end wall and am overcome with a strange feeling.
As expected, the dimensional instability phenomenon is closely related to the starting point of the portal.
This fact is both happy and sad.
In other words, if I had made a decision just one minute earlier during the first entry, I wouldn't have had to crawl on three legs with one foot fucked up!
Whoooooooooosh!
As I place my hand on the stele, a light erupts and takes the shape of a sphere.
"What is this?"
"It's a portal to the 2nd floor."
In other words, we skipped the entire process of finding our way with a compass, fighting monsters as we encountered them, and wandering around in the darkness.
We saved at least a day or two.
"What?! The chieftain said it would take 3 days to find a portal! What kind of magic did you use?"
You won't understand even if I tell you.
「Opened a portal for the first time. EXP +2」
「Character level has increased.」
「Soul Power increased by +10.」
「Maximum absorbable essence increased by +1.」
To become a veteran player, you also need to be good at using bugs.
_____________________________________
「Bjorn Yandel」
Level: 2 (New +1)
Physical: 46 / Mental: 36 / Ability: 4 (New +3)
Item Level: 202
Total Combat Index: 136.5 (New +3)
I skipped the daily routine I've been doing every day for a month – library, city adaptation, combat training.
On the day the labyrinth opens, those aren't the things an explorer should be doing.
[08:10]
As soon as I wake up, I skip breakfast and run to the meeting place I agreed on with Ainar.
I heard that if I'm even a little late, I'll have to wait for several hours.
"Here! Bjorn, son of Yandel!"
Surprisingly, Ainar was there before me.
"...Since when have you been here?"
"You said you'd leave me behind if I'm late! So I slept here! Come on! We're the first!"
"......"
There's a long line in front of the entrance even though there are still 30 minutes left until opening time.
But thanks to Ainar, we can enter the Explorer's Guild as soon as the door opens.
"What can I help you with?"
"We're here for the Bonding spell."
"Are there two of you in the team?"
"Yes."
"Please place your hands on this together."
As we follow the instructions, a faint light emanates from the crystal ball.
It has a green hue.
"It seems both of you are 9th-grade explorers. The cost is 15,000 stones."
15,000 stones...
It would have been a bit tight if I hadn't been saving on living expenses.
I readily open my pouch and pay the fee.
It hurts my heart, but it's an unavoidable expense.
Although the starting point when entering the labyrinth is random, receiving this spell beforehand ensures that at least we start in the same place.
"What is the basis for determining an explorer's rank?"
"It's measured by the total amount of essence engraved on the soul."
"I see. So the cost of bonding increases each time the rank goes up?"
"Of course."
Ha, there's no need for even this to be the same as the game.
"It's done. Please note that it only lasts for 24 hours."
"Alright."
We finish our business and leave the Explorer's Guild, and it's a little past 9:00 AM.
"Let's go back to our inn for a meal. The food there is quite decent."
"Inn? They cook at the inn?"
What kind of life has she been living?
When I indirectly ask, Ainar replies as if it's no big deal.
"I usually ate the bread I had in the labyrinth."
Ah, that one that costs 20 stones each.
I tried it once to save on food expenses, but I gave up soon after.
For some reason, even though it was quite edible in the labyrinth, here it was as hard as a rock.
'That's why it's called 'stone bread'...'
But to eat only that for a month?
Feeling a bit sorry for her, I order meat and stew, and Ainar swears her loyalty.
"Bjorn! I'll even jump into a pit of fire if you tell me to! So don't abandon me!"
After a tearful meal, we go up to the room and spend time organizing our backpacks.
"Do it meticulously. It'll be troublesome if you need something and forget to bring it."
"Don't worry! There's nothing to bring anyway!"
As I check the equipment and carefully pack exploration tools and consumables into the backpack, time passes surprisingly quickly.
"Then let's get some sleep now."
"This is the first time I've seen such a soft bed. It seems big enough for two people! And it doesn't even smell!"
Having finished our preparations to enter the labyrinth as soon as possible, we lie down side by side and try to sleep.
But lying down with her like this feels quite cramped.
When I was lying down with Erwen, there was space left over.
"Even if you can't sleep, try to close your eyes. You won't be able to sleep properly for a while—"
Hmm, what was I worried about?
Snore, snore, snore!
Before I can even finish speaking, the sound of native barbarian snoring fills the room.
I chuckle and close my eyes too.
How much time has passed?
[20:30]
We wake up a bit early and have our last meal on the 1st floor.
We splurge and order the special meal for 800 stones per person.
"What, what is this taste?"
Ainar, who has been making a fuss throughout the meal, takes a bite of the cream pie that came out for dessert and freezes.
"Is, is this magic? T, tears are coming out of my eyes."
"Ah, that's called 'sweetness'."
"I, I feel like I need to live diligently..."
I didn't intend to, but it seems like I've successfully motivated her.
"Let's go."
As we pack our things and head out into the night street, I see people passing by, unlike usual.
Most of them are armed like me and carrying large backpacks.
As I said, not everyone is like that, and I also see some barbarians with nothing but their bare bodies and one weapon.
They seem to have just finished their coming-of-age ceremony and entered the city...
"Halt! I think we're lost."
"No way! We have to get to the labyrinth within the allotted time!"
"Partun is not qualified to be the leader!"
So this happens every month, huh?
How do these guys even make it to the labyrinth every time?
As I'm seriously pondering this...
"If you follow them, you'll arrive at the labyrinth."
Ainar approaches them and offers advice.
The young warriors look at her with grateful eyes, as if she's a successful senior.
"Thank you. I will definitely repay this favor!"
Ainar wipes her nose as she watches the barbarians leave.
"...Huhu, it reminds me of old times."
I hope she doesn't pretend it's something from the past.
As far as I can see, she's not much different from back then.
"Everyone, please step back!"
Thousands of people have already gathered in the Dimensional Plaza. As I'm waiting for midnight among the crowd, light starts to burst from the center.
It's small at first, but the light quickly grows larger, forming a shimmering sphere.
"You may enter now!"
As the official shouts, the nearby explorers start throwing themselves into the portal.
I lead Ainar and escape the crowd, moving towards the outer area.
"Bjorn, are we not going in?"
"Wait."
Although the number of explorers gathered in the plaza is decreasing by dozens every second, the crowd remains.
It's because other explorers are arriving just in time.
About 40 minutes after the portal opens, the crowded Dimensional Plaza finally becomes less crowded, with around seven or eight hundred people remaining.
"...Shouldn't we go in now?"
The portal, which has already swallowed tens of thousands of explorers, has become noticeably smaller.
But I keep waiting.
Ainar, as if sensing something, changes her tone of voice.
"Bjorn, what are we waiting for?"
Well, it's a long story...
And I don't even know if it will work.
But since there's still some time left, I decide to explain briefly.
"We're going to enter when the dimension is unstable. The book said it's something that happens once every hundred years, but if we can use this phenomenon—"
"I'll follow your lead, whatever it is."
"......?"
"I have a feeling I won't understand anyway!"
Honestly, I expected this.
She asks and then says that, which is annoying, but...
The fact that I don't have to explain every single action is actually quite convenient.
"The gate will close soon! Step back!"
The light of the portal starts to fade.
There are no explorers left at this point.
Only then do Ainar and I slowly walk towards the labyrinth.
The staff member shouts at us as we walk.
"It's dangerous to enter now!"
I pretend not to hear.
I don't understand why they say it's dangerous.
There's even a book with statistics on it, so they must be aware of this phenomenon...
"B, Bjorn! The tall-looking person says it's dangerous! We need to step back!"
Why don't they think of using it?
1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds...
Hmm, is there any point in counting?
When I get the feeling that this is enough...
"Now. Let's go in."
"Kwek!"
I push Ainar's back and enter the labyrinth at the same time.
Flash-!
A flash of light blinds me, and when I open my eyes again, deep darkness greets me.
It means what I intended worked perfectly.
"I can't see! I can't see! We should have listened to the tall-looking person! Bjorn is an idiot!"
"Ainar, calm down."
As I quickly light the torch I took out of my backpack, Ainar regains some composure.
"Wh, what the hell is going on?"
"You won't understand even if I tell you."
"That's... that's true!"
After easily convincing Ainar, I calmly look around. And I discover the stele in front of the dead end wall and am overcome with a strange feeling.
As expected, the dimensional instability phenomenon is closely related to the starting point of the portal.
This fact is both happy and sad.
In other words, if I had made a decision just one minute earlier during the first entry, I wouldn't have had to crawl on three legs with one foot fucked up!
Whoooooooooosh!
As I place my hand on the stele, a light erupts and takes the shape of a sphere.
"What is this?"
"It's a portal to the 2nd floor."
In other words, we skipped the entire process of finding our way with a compass, fighting monsters as we encountered them, and wandering around in the darkness.
We saved at least a day or two.
"What?! The chieftain said it would take 3 days to find a portal! What kind of magic did you use?"
You won't understand even if I tell you.
「Opened a portal for the first time. EXP +2」
「Character level has increased.」
「Soul Power increased by +10.」
「Maximum absorbable essence increased by +1.」
To become a veteran player, you also need to be good at using bugs.
_____________________________________
「Bjorn Yandel」
Level: 2 (New +1)
Physical: 46 / Mental: 36 / Ability: 4 (New +3)
Item Level: 202
Total Combat Index: 136.5 (New +3)
_____________________________________
「You have entered the 2nd Floor Goblin Forest.」
I float about 3 meters in the air and quickly regain my balance, landing on two feet.
Thud!
Well, I practiced.
While wrestling with the barbarians.
"Ugh!"
Seeing Ainar fall on her butt, I'm newly aware of my own growth.
I think I understand how Erwen felt when she giggled at me.
"Ugh, my butt hurts."
It's quite amusing to watch.
Well, with her athleticism, she'll soon be able to land properly.
"What's with that disappointed look?"
"It's nothing."
I roughly brush it off and take out my watch, adjusting it to 00:05.
I should have done it as soon as I woke up, but I forgot.
Well, it should be fine since I set it 5 minutes fast.
"...Ainar, do you feel it too?"
"Feel what?"
"It feels like my heart is vibrating."
It's like a feeling of something dense entering my blood vessels and filling my entire body.
I've been feeling it since the moment we came through the portal, and now I can feel it clearly.
What is it?
When I explain the symptoms, Ainar quickly makes a diagnosis.
"It seems like your soul rank has increased! Congratulations!"
Ah, I leveled up.
[Dungeon and Stone] also has levels.
Leveling up increases Soul Power, which is the resource needed to use abilities, and increases the total number of essences that can be absorbed.
For example, when I was level 1, I could only absorb one essence, but...
Now that I'm level 2, I can absorb up to two.
Well, it only matters if both essences appear.
"That's strange. My soul rank increased even though we haven't killed any monsters yet!"
"There's nothing strange about it. Opening the portal for the first time must have been recognized as an achievement."
Achievement means experience points here.
"Hmm, even that counts as an achievement?"
It does.
No, once you reach a certain level, 'speedrunning' is the easiest way to gain experience points.
[Dungeon and Stone] has a rather unique growth system.
You can only gain experience points from the same monster once. Therefore, to level up, you need to defeat various monsters, as if filling up a collection book.
Uh, wait a minute, isn't this a bit dangerous?
"...Ainar, this is a secret between you and me. Got it?"
"Secret? What do you mean?"
"That we opened the portal first. That's all you need to know. If anyone asks, tell them it took us about two days to get to the 2nd floor."
The experience points for opening a portal are only 2, which is equivalent to about two 9th-grade monsters, but...
'Unlike monsters, it accumulates.'
Therefore, adventurers who reach a certain level are desperate for speedrunning.
The monsters you can hunt are limited by compatibility, active area, whether you have a mage, and the characteristics of the god the priest worships.
When you hit a wall, the only way to break through is by grinding achievements.
But to be able to do this from such a low level?
I need to keep this trick to myself and reap the benefits.
It won't end well if it becomes known.
"I swear on my honor as a warrior."
Was my expression that serious?
Ainar looks at me with a different gaze and even swears an oath without me asking. Thanks to that, I feel somewhat relieved, but we need to move quickly.
"We need to leave this place first."
In a few hours, adventurers will start entering the 2nd floor. And they'll look at us, who seem like newbies, and wonder.
Why did you get here before us?
It's best not to be noticed at all.
As always, I'm more scared of explorers than monsters.
「You have entered the 2nd Floor Goblin Forest.」
I float about 3 meters in the air and quickly regain my balance, landing on two feet.
Thud!
Well, I practiced.
While wrestling with the barbarians.
"Ugh!"
Seeing Ainar fall on her butt, I'm newly aware of my own growth.
I think I understand how Erwen felt when she giggled at me.
"Ugh, my butt hurts."
It's quite amusing to watch.
Well, with her athleticism, she'll soon be able to land properly.
"What's with that disappointed look?"
"It's nothing."
I roughly brush it off and take out my watch, adjusting it to 00:05.
I should have done it as soon as I woke up, but I forgot.
Well, it should be fine since I set it 5 minutes fast.
"...Ainar, do you feel it too?"
"Feel what?"
"It feels like my heart is vibrating."
It's like a feeling of something dense entering my blood vessels and filling my entire body.
I've been feeling it since the moment we came through the portal, and now I can feel it clearly.
What is it?
When I explain the symptoms, Ainar quickly makes a diagnosis.
"It seems like your soul rank has increased! Congratulations!"
Ah, I leveled up.
[Dungeon and Stone] also has levels.
Leveling up increases Soul Power, which is the resource needed to use abilities, and increases the total number of essences that can be absorbed.
For example, when I was level 1, I could only absorb one essence, but...
Now that I'm level 2, I can absorb up to two.
Well, it only matters if both essences appear.
"That's strange. My soul rank increased even though we haven't killed any monsters yet!"
"There's nothing strange about it. Opening the portal for the first time must have been recognized as an achievement."
Achievement means experience points here.
"Hmm, even that counts as an achievement?"
It does.
No, once you reach a certain level, 'speedrunning' is the easiest way to gain experience points.
[Dungeon and Stone] has a rather unique growth system.
You can only gain experience points from the same monster once. Therefore, to level up, you need to defeat various monsters, as if filling up a collection book.
Uh, wait a minute, isn't this a bit dangerous?
"...Ainar, this is a secret between you and me. Got it?"
"Secret? What do you mean?"
"That we opened the portal first. That's all you need to know. If anyone asks, tell them it took us about two days to get to the 2nd floor."
The experience points for opening a portal are only 2, which is equivalent to about two 9th-grade monsters, but...
'Unlike monsters, it accumulates.'
Therefore, adventurers who reach a certain level are desperate for speedrunning.
The monsters you can hunt are limited by compatibility, active area, whether you have a mage, and the characteristics of the god the priest worships.
When you hit a wall, the only way to break through is by grinding achievements.
But to be able to do this from such a low level?
I need to keep this trick to myself and reap the benefits.
It won't end well if it becomes known.
"I swear on my honor as a warrior."
Was my expression that serious?
Ainar looks at me with a different gaze and even swears an oath without me asking. Thanks to that, I feel somewhat relieved, but we need to move quickly.
"We need to leave this place first."
In a few hours, adventurers will start entering the 2nd floor. And they'll look at us, who seem like newbies, and wonder.
Why did you get here before us?
It's best not to be noticed at all.
As always, I'm more scared of explorers than monsters.
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