"Whoa... amazing."
Faced with such an unexpected sight, I couldn't help but murmur to myself.
After somehow managing to traverse the incredibly vast grasslands, we were currently hiding on the slope of a small hill. We peeked over the summit, gazing at the scenery unfolding on the other side.
Before us stood a cluster of small mountains, and upon the peak of one sat a stone fortress. Even though I called it a mountain, the peak where the fortress stood wasn't particularly high—perhaps about the same size as Mount Aoba, where this Sendai Castle Ruins Dungeon had manifested. Its elevation was probably around 200 meters.
At the foot of that mountain, a town spread out.
It was filled with houses of an unfamiliar architectural style, seemingly built from brick. While it wasn't a fortified city surrounded by high walls, it had the scale of what one might call a castle town.
Right next to that town lay a large lake, its surface sparkling as it reflected the sunlight.
If this weren't inside a dungeon, it was the kind of place that would flourish as a scenic tourist destination.
Incidentally, the time was already past 5:00 PM. While it was evening on the surface, a clear blue sky still stretched across the dungeon's firmament.
"A city...?"
"Don't tell me... are the ones living there all Kobolds...?"
"I mean, aren't there way too many of them?"
"I hope I'm wrong, but... we aren't about to attack that place... are we?"
"There are only about thirty of us. Surely challenging that is out of the question."
『This is insane lol』 『The Kobolds have built a civilization lolol』 『No way, this isn't even funny』 『How many thousands of Kobolds are in there...? Or maybe tens of thousands?』 『Avoiding it is the only option. Let's leave that town alone and look for the Dungeon Core or whatever』 『Seeing them living normally (?) in a town makes me feel a bit guilty about killing the Kobolds』 『But wait, every single one of them is Level 30 or higher, right?』 『If something like that invaded the surface, Sendai would be finished』
Gazing at the sight beyond the hill, the explorers and the viewers alike leaked their respective impressions. Both groups seemed stunned, as if thinking, We’re going to attack that now? No way, right? Surely not?
However, my gamer's intuition was whispering to me.
I mean, considering that the Professor and the others—who clearly knew something about this dungeon—had been aiming straight for this place... well, you can guess.
"Now then, everyone. We have not been able to take a proper break until now. Let us rest here for about ten minutes. I would like everyone to quickly finish their hydration and nutrition," Saito-san announced, turning his gaze back from the hill toward us.
Incidentally, while we had been attacked by monsters one after another in the grasslands, it seemed that monsters other than Kobolds did not approach this hill—or rather, the vicinity of that castle and its town. The encounter rate around here was remarkably low.
There was a chance we wouldn't be found for ten minutes or so, and even if we were, it wouldn't be a problem as long as we defeated them quickly.
And so, we began our break.
I moved down from the summit and sat next to Hinata-san, who was already resting on the ground.
Since we had been on a forced march without any real breaks until now, even Hinata-san, whose stamina far exceeded that of an ordinary person thanks to her stats, seemed to be feeling the fatigue.
"Are you all right, Hinata-san? Here, please drink this. Also, you might not have much of an appetite, but it's better if you eat something, even if it's just a little."
I handed Hinata-san a plastic bottle of water and an energy bar I had taken out of my backpack.
"Yeah, thank you, Takeo-kun..."
Hinata-san accepted them with somewhat sluggish movements, opened the cap, and drank some water. Then, she began to nibble on the energy bar.
I also took out my own portion, drank some water, and began scarfing down my food.
By the way, this energy bar was a drop from the Shinjuku Dungeon. A single bar contained 2,000 kcal.
Hinata-san didn't usually eat them, but they were invaluable for nutritional supplementation when time was tight. As for me, I ate them occasionally; they were slightly sweet and quite delicious.
The calories were high for a snack, but high-level explorers had a high basal metabolism inside dungeons, so they didn't get fat at all from this much. In fact, if you forget to eat for even a short while, you'll lose weight immediately.
Eh? Saito-san?
I wonder... how he's holding up?
Well, setting that aside, I opened my Status while eating and began to check the results of the exploration so far. First was the Experience Points.
―――――――――――――――― 【Name】 Takeo Samejima 【Level】 60 Experience Points to Next Level: 19,970,559,658
HP: 480/480 (80 up!) MP: 8/182 (30 up!) Strength: 250 (40 up!) Constitution: 230 (40 up!) Intelligence: 6 Spirit: 176 (30 up!) Agility: 230 (35 up!) Dexterity: 255 (40 up!)
【STP】 0 【SP】 0
【Skills】 Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons Lv. Max, Berserk Lv. 1, Goblin Genocider Lv. Max, Fighting Spirit Lv. Max, Blood Vengeance Lv. Max, Sword Aura Lv. 3, Taunt Lv. 1, Lust Murder Lv. 1, Life Magic Lv. Max, Magic Sword Lv. 1, Danger Sense Lv. Max, Mighty Blade Lv. 3, Seeker Lv. Max, Indomitable Spirit Lv. Max, Asceticism Lv. Max, Awakened One Lv. Max, Equanimity, Footing Creation Lv. 1, Blue Sky Beyond the Clouds Lv. Max, Slime Killer Lv. 1, Brave Heart Lv. 1, Silver Lightning Magic Lv. 1, Magic Shroud Lv. 1, Goblin Taker, Orc Killer Lv. 1, Unrivaled Lv. 2, Alaya-vijnana
【Titles】 Battle Junkie, Goblin Genocider, Pleasure Killer, Swordmaster, Awakened One, Slime Killer, Hero, Goblin Taker, Orc Killer ――――――――――――――――
Yes, this is my current status!
I recalled that before entering the dungeon today, my Experience Points to Next Level were 20,678,530,138, so the total earned from the battles so far was... let's see... 707,970,480.
In the Shinjuku Dungeon, one loop of the Floor 18 Monster Room with the 16x experience multiplier yields over 100 million XP, so compared to that, the efficiency here was far worse.
However, I had no complaints.
The monsters we've fought so far were all ones that would appear on Floor 10 or shallower in a normal dungeon. Considering I earned 700 million XP on floors equivalent to the shallowest levels, it was actually quite efficient.
Besides, although Asceticism was active, I naturally wasn't using Seeker, so the experience multiplier was only 6x. Given that, the efficiency was undoubtedly high.
Furthermore—I believed the true trial of this dungeon would begin from Floor 2.
If monsters that would normally appear on Floor 11 or deeper start showing up from Floor 2 onward, the efficiency could potentially exceed that of looping the Floor 18 Monster Room.
Looping the Floor 18 Monster Room allows me to earn over 10 billion XP in a day, but for example—though I didn't know if they appeared in this dungeon—if something like a Special Variant of an Orc yielded a 200x experience multiplier, it wouldn't be impossible to earn over 10 billion XP here.
Therefore, I was very much looking forward to seeing what lay ahead.
Beyond Experience Points, the drop items were also quite good. On the way here, I've defeated about 1,000 minor monsters and nearly 90 Special Variants. Including the Lightning Magic Skill Orb, I've obtained a total of seven Skill Orbs.
It seemed my hunch was right: Special Variant monsters had a high drop rate for Skill Orbs.
Actually, more than seven had dropped, but since the battles in the grasslands required us to move while fighting, I didn't have the luxury of picking them all up and had to tearfully abandon several. If those were included, the Skill Orb drop rate for Special Variants would exceed 10%.
Needless to say, that was incredibly high.
By the way, did you notice my level has reached 60?
I worked hard for it. I was Level 55 around May 15th, so I've gone up by five levels in a little over ten days.
In contrast, Hinata-san's level only went up by one, which left me feeling quite regretful. By advancing to Floor 18, we've become able to earn the experience points necessary for her level-ups as well, but since we only reached that floor three days ago, her progress hasn't picked up yet.
That said, once we can loop the Floor 20 Monster Room in Shinjuku, Hinata-san's level should quickly rise to around 59.
I felt sorry for her, but I would have to ask her to endure just a little longer. I'm sorry, Hinata-san...!!
Also... using the Skill Points I gained from hitting Level 60, as well as the three Skill Orbs I got from Goblin Taker, I've been raising the levels of various skills and acquiring new ones.
The following are the leveled-up and newly acquired skills:
―――――――――――――――― 《Indomitable Spirit Lv. 1 → Lv. Max》 When fighting an enemy with a higher level than oneself, all stats except for HP and MP are enhanced by a value of "(Enemy Level - User Level) x 2.0".
《Blue Sky Beyond the Clouds Lv. 4 → Lv. Max》 When the user is afflicted with one status ailment, the damage multiplier becomes 2.0x. Thereafter, for every additional status ailment, the damage multiplier increases by +1.0x. (When max level Asceticism is active, the damage multiplier is 6.0x)
《Unrivaled Lv. 2》 Triggers when the number of enemies is at least twice the total number of the user and any party or combat group they belong to. Constitution and Spirit increase by 40%, and damage received is reduced by 20%. Furthermore, damage dealt to enemies is increased by 1.4x. Once during the skill's activation, the user will survive any attack with 1 HP (this effect will not re-trigger for 24 hours after activation). The effects of this skill continue until the battle in which it was triggered concludes.
《Alaya-vijnana》 Connect to Alaya, making it possible to manifest all memories and experiences. Staring directly at one's own karma is not necessarily a happy thing, even if the deeds are good. If they are evil, it goes without saying. Take heed. This is an ascetic trial of reflecting upon one's own actions. ――――――――――――――――
Yes, I've maxed out Indomitable Spirit!
The reason for this was that without raising this skill level, I wouldn't be able to loop the Monster Rooms on Floor 15 or deeper while using Seeker.
However, by maxing out Indomitable Spirit and combining it with Hinata-san's Holy Bless, I've somehow become able to loop even the Floor 18 Monster Room with Seeker active.
Besides, Indomitable Spirit increases its effect the higher the enemy's level, so I think I'll be able to loop Floor 19 and beyond with Seeker as well.
When it comes to the Floor 24 Monster Room, it will probably be impossible... by then, I can only pray that I've acquired some other powerful skill.
Also, I've finally raised Blue Sky Beyond the Clouds to its maximum level.
After Mighty Blade, it's my main firepower skill, so strengthening it was a safe bet. In fact, it has been a massive help in this dungeon as well.
And then—there were two newly acquired skills.
Both of these were unlocked when I maxed out Indomitable Spirit and Blue Sky Beyond the Clouds. They were likely derivative skills.
The first was Unrivaled.
As you can see from the description, it's incredibly strong. It raises Constitution and Spirit and even provides a percentage cut to damage received—it's a powerhouse skill. On top of that, it even includes increased damage and a survival effect; it's a real all-in-one package.
However, the activation conditions seemed quite strict... it hasn't triggered once today.
The thing is, this skill seems to judge based on the number of people in the "combat group (Raid) fighting together" rather than just the party size. In the forest, our group actually had more people than the monster packs, so it didn't activate.
In the grasslands, there were more monsters than us... but apparently, the enemy count is determined by the amount of "aggro directed at oneself." Since the monsters other people were fighting weren't considered hostile to me, the skill didn't activate there either.
Well, even so, it activates without any problem during my usual Monster Room loops, so I might not need to worry about it.
This dungeon is just special. We couldn't form parties, and stats weren't being granted to the monsters.
And finally, the last skill to introduce is Alaya-vijnana.
Yeah, like Equanimity and Goblin Taker, it was a skill without a skill level, so I acquired it without hesitation... but I have no idea what it means even after reading the description.
Uh... it means I can remember things I've forgotten, right?
Incidentally, I don't think this skill has activated even once so far.
The name sounds cool and has a bit of an edgy feel to it... but it might have been premature to acquire it.
Since the unlock condition for the skill was (probably) maxing out Indomitable Spirit and Blue Sky Beyond the Clouds, I don't think it could be weak... but yeah, I don't get it!
I might have to find a good time to ask Mito-san about it.
Well, that's about it for the changes in my status.
Regarding the Skill Orbs I obtained on the way, I didn't know the contents of any besides Lightning Magic, so I'll have to have them appraised later.
But I suspected there might not be any skills I would use personally.
So, I'll either give them to Hinata-san, use them on tamed monsters like Gobu-taro, or otherwise, I'll just have to sell them.
Just as I finished eating my energy bar and was letting my thoughts wander over what to do with the Skill Orbs...
"Now then, shall we discuss our future plans?"
Saito-san spoke up.