What happens if multiple people step on a teleportation circle at once?
I had assumed that if a group entered together, they would all be sent to the same destination.
Or rather, since the Hero's party members—who were far more experienced than I—didn't even seem to consider the possibility of being scattered, I figured staying together was the norm.
"Well, this is a problem."
Finding myself alone was unexpected. What should I do now?
"Grrr..."
A low groan reached my ears. Looking ahead, I saw a drooling Bugbear standing in my path.
"Right."
Even with this irregularity, my objective remained unchanged. I would kill the enemy in front of me and leave this place alive.
Yes, that much remained constant.
◆
Currently, I possessed Swordsmanship Lv3, Provocation Lv3, and the Sword of Raging Flames. With those factors aligned, a Bugbear was no longer a threat.
"The real issue is that I have no idea where I am," I muttered after cutting down the third Bugbear.
If I remembered correctly, the first time I entered the Kataroff Dungeon, I fell into a pitfall that trapped me in a room filled with a massive number of Bugbears. If I followed that same route, I should be able to reach the deeper layers. However, the place I had been teleported to this time was significantly different; no matter where I walked, nothing looked familiar.
"A fork in the road."
Following the path, I eventually reached a point where the corridor split left and right. Should I go right or left?
"Well, I’ll just have to go with my gut."
I chose the right. Since there was no way to know which was the correct path, a whim was as good a reason as any.
I continued walking. I encountered several more monsters along the way, and then—
"Ah."
I tripped a pitfall.
It was a familiar sight. Directly below me was a bed of sharp spikes.
Fortunately, I had been advancing with pitfalls in mind. In an instant, I twisted my body in mid-air and successfully avoided the spikes. When I landed and stood up, a hidden passage had appeared ahead of me.
"If I remember right, this hidden passage leads to the room where skills are obtained."
Specifically, it was the room where you were granted a skill in exchange for being swarmed by a horde of Bugbears. How many times had I died trying to clear that room in the past? I’m fairly certain it took nearly five hundred deaths before I finally managed to break through.
Feeling a strange sense of nostalgia, I continued forward.
"This is the place."
In the center of the room sat a treasure chest. When I opened it, a message appeared alongside an item that looked like a gemstone.
▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽
Obtained <Crystal of Wisdom>.
Effect will activate automatically.
△△△△△△△△△△△△△△△
I knew the message would cycle after a few seconds. Just as expected, the text changed.
▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽
Please select "one" skill you wish to acquire from the following list.
S-Rank <Item Box> <Enhanced Recovery> <Enhanced Mana Recovery> <Chant Shortening> <Acceleration> <Stealth>
A-Rank <Healing Magic> <Barrier Magic> <Fire Magic> <Water Magic> <Wind Magic> <Earth Magic> <Alchemy> <Taming Magic> <Enhanced Memory>
B-Rank <Swordsmanship> <Archery> <Axemanship> <Spearmanship> <Shieldmanship> <Martial Arts> <Status Camouflage>
C-Rank <Physical Enhancement> <Presence Detection> <Mana Generation> <Fire Resistance> <Water Resistance> <Wind Resistance> <Earth Resistance> <Poison Resistance> <Paralysis Resistance> <Curse Resistance>
D-Rank <Appraisal> <Provocation> <Strength Enhancement> <Endurance Enhancement> <Agility Enhancement> <Vitality Enhancement> <Vision Enhancement> <Hearing Enhancement>
△△△△△△△△△△△△△△△
Hmm. I had considered the possibility that I wouldn't get a skill since this was my second time through, but it seemed I could acquire a new one after all. In that case, I wouldn't hesitate.
"What should I pick?"
An S-Rank skill was the obvious choice. Last time, I had to rely on Provocation to scrape by, but back then, I was in a hopeless spot—no other skills, and not even a weapon. I was much better off now. Any of these would work, but...
"Yeah. I'll go with <Acceleration>."
I selected <Acceleration>, the skill that seemed most likely to boost my combat power.
▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽
Acquired skill: <Acceleration>.
△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△
Immediately after the message appeared, the door slammed shut, locking me inside.
"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Then, accompanied by magic circles, Bugbears began to manifest out of the void with gutteral groans. Ten of them in total.
I had experienced this all before. There was no reason to be surprised.
◆
"I guess everything really is easier the second time around."
Several tens of minutes later, I stood among the corpses of the Bugbears I had cut down. The battle had been far too brief. With <Acceleration> in my arsenal, the Bugbears weren't much of a threat at all.
It was so easy that it was actually a bit boring.