ăAfter browsing the town, I proceeded to the city gate along the road.
ăSure enough, there was no one at the city gate.
ăI went out of the gate and headed towards the forest.
ăThey said the labyrinth was right after entering the forest.
ăI walked through the fields.
ăJust before entering the forest, a black wall appeared on the left side of a tree.
ăWhat is that?
ăAs I was thinking, a person came out from the wall.
Adventurer Lv19
Knight Lv14
Swordsman Lv42
Explorer Lv41
Priest Lv39
Mage Lv40
ăWow. A mage, a mage.
ăIs that a teleportation spell?
ăThat's amazing.
ăI want to use it.
ăAre these six a party?
"Over here."
"Indeed."
ăWhen the adventurer spoke, the knight nodded and entered the forest.
ăThey look important.
ăEven though the knight has the lowest level.
ăFollowing the direction the six went, there was a small hill with piled-up soil a little off the path. A black wall similar to the one I saw earlier was attached to the hill.
ăIs that the entrance to the labyrinth?
ăIt feels more like an igloo made of soil. Perhaps itâs a part of the underground that has emerged.
ăSomeone was standing near the entrance.
Explorer Lv18
"How far have you progressed?"
"Still on the third floor. We just came out."
ăTwo explorers were talking. The one who asked the question was the one who just arrived.
"What should we do?"
"Starting from the first floor should be fine."
ăThe explorer asked the knight, and the knight gave instructions. Indeed, the knight seems to be the leader of the party.
ăThe six approached the black wall and disappeared inside.
ăThey must be entering there.
ăI'll go in too.
ăI reset my character, set the discount to zero, and equipped six weapons. I allocated one of the two remaining bonus points to reduce casting time.
ăCasting spells while fighting is difficult.
ăWhen I checked the reduce casting time, the skill changed to casting omission. I'm glad it didn't become a 10% reduction in casting time.
ăI allocated the remaining point to increase critical hit rate.
ăWhen I checked the increase critical hit rate, the skill changed to a 10% increase in critical hit rate. The next level is 10%, and the maximum is 30%. It's a subtle value.
ăI finished the settings.
ăI sheathed Durandal and approached the entrance.
ăPerhaps because I tried to ignore the explorer near the entrance, he didn't say anything.
ăTentatively, I entered the black wall.
ăI moved inside without hitting anything.
ăI passed through a dark area for a moment and emerged inside the labyrinth.
ăThe place I emerged was a small cave-like room, or perhaps a room-like cave.
ăIt was a nearly square room, about four to five meters on each side. It wasn't bright, but it was dimly lit.
ăPaths extended from the room.
ăOne path went forward, one to the right, and one to the left.
ăThere was a black wall behind me.
ăThat must be the entrance and the place I came from.
ăThe paths extending from the room were dark and narrow, about three meters wide. Because it was dark, I couldn't see far ahead.
ăThe path ahead led to a crossroads.
ăIt seems to be quite complex.
ăI haven't prepared for mapping, but I should be fine, right?
ăWhat would I have done if the labyrinth was completely dark?
ăWell, those six didn't have any lights either.
ăPerhaps the mage can use a light spell.
ăFor mapping, I'll just keep the left wall on my left side as I move. When walking through a maze, if you always follow one of the walls, you won't get lost.
ăI entered the left path from the room.
ăThe left path branched into two paths ahead, and there was another path to the left beyond that. The walls and floor were quite solid.
ăWhen I stepped on the floor, the part I stepped on glowed dimly.
ăThis means I don't need a light, but it might make it easier for monsters to spot me.
ăAfter moving a little, I heard a noise from behind.
ăWhen I turned around, part of the wall of the room had turned black, and people were coming out. It was a party of six: five knights and one explorer. The six disappeared into the black wall at the entrance.
ăSo that black wall is definitely the exit.
ăI thought about job settings.
ăI might have gained something by entering the labyrinth.
Explorer Lv1
Effect: Slight increase in HP
Skill: Item Box Operation, Party Formation, Dungeon Walk
ăThere it is.
ăI see, so an explorer is someone who explores labyrinths.
ăIt must be a job you can gain by entering a labyrinth.
ăI tried to change my job, but for the first job, I could only set Villager Lv3 or Thief Lv3.
ăIt's the same as before. This is probably because I've used up all my bonus points.
ăConsidering the Intelligence Card, it's better not to set Thief as the first job.
ăThe job displayed on the Intelligence Card reflects the first job, so if I set Thief as the first job, it could cause problems when the card is checked.
ăI'll keep the first job as Villager Lv3.
ăThe second job will remain as the powerful Hero Lv1.
ăI set the third job to Explorer Lv1.
ăI tried casting a skill.
"Item Box"
ăBefore I could finish, a box-like object appeared in my hand. It's a box, or perhaps an entrance to a box. From the side, it looks like just an entrance with no depth.
ăIs this spatial magic?
ăI tried to cast "Item Box Operation," but it came out before I finished.
ăIt must be due to the casting time reduction.
ăWhat would happen if the topic of the item box came up in a conversation?
ăI discovered an unexpected weakness of casting time reduction. Perhaps the effect won't occur if I only say the words in a conversation without intending to summon the item box.
ăI took off the scimitar from my waist and tried to put it in.
ăIt went in without any problem.
ăWhen I let go, the entrance disappeared.
ăI cast "Item Box" again, and the box reappeared.
ăThe scimitar was inside the box.
ăIt seems like the box is full with just one scimitar.
ăI want to try various things, but it's probably better not to do strange tasks in the labyrinth.
ăI might get ambushed by a monster.
ăI let go of the item box and tried the next skill.
ă"Party Formation" is irrelevant since I'm alone.
"Dungeon Walk"
ăWhen I cast it, I felt something asking for input in my head. It's information about where I want to go. I thought about the small room I entered first.
ăThe right wall of the cave turned black.
ăI entered the black wall and passed through it.
ăI emerged in the small room from before. The black wall that served as the entrance to the dungeon was also there.
ăThe black wall behind me returned to its original state as soon as I passed through.
ăI see.
ăI can move to places I can recall.
ăI think it's limited to within the dungeon, though.
ăNo. Before entering the labyrinth, I saw a black wall at the entrance to the forest.
ăThe wall where the party of six came out.
"Dungeon Walk"
ăI cast the skill while thinking about the tree in the forest.
ăThe wall in front of me turned black, but I couldn't enter it.
ăIt seems I can only use it inside the dungeon.
ăHowever, I don't have to worry about getting lost.
ăI might not need to map the area either.
"Dungeon Walk"
ăI cast the skill again to return to where I was before. I thought about the original location and cast the skill, but I couldn't enter the black wall that appeared in front of me.
ăDid I fail again?
ăWhy?
ăLack of MP?
ăNo, that's not it. The black wall appeared.
ăI think the places I can move to are limited.
ăTo places like this small room or areas with an entrance.
ăI have no choice but to walk.
ăNext, I'll try the Hero skill, Overwhelming.
ăHowever, I somehow assumed this skill is used during battles. Is that correct?
ăThinking about it, there's no basis for that assumption.
ăIt could be a passive skill that has been active all along.
ăNo, that's not it. A casting spell is required.
ăI moved forward.
ăSomething stirred in the depths of the labyrinth.
Needlewood Lv1
ăAs I approached, it was a humanoid monster with a brown body and a green head. It wasn't very large and was quite thin.
ăI wanted to see how far Durandal could go.
ăI drew my sword and ran towards it.
"Overwhelming"
ăI shouted and slashed from the left shoulder to the right side.
ăThe brown body fell to the ground.
ăHmm.
ăOne hit.
ăFrom the outside, it probably looked cool.
ăIt might look like a decisive finishing move.
ăImagine slaughtering the strongest monster with that technique.
ăOf course, the one-hit kill was thanks to Durandal.
ăNothing happened.
ăNothing changed.
ăNo, that's not it.
ăI didn't have enough MP.
ăThe skill didn't manifest due to lack of MP.
ăI have the Overwhelming skill at Lv1, so it should be usable with the MP of Hero Lv1.
ăI don't want to think that I can't use the skill just because I don't have enough MP.
ăI probably wasted too much MP on Dungeon Walk. The two failures were the cause.
Branch
ăWhen the Needlewood disappeared, a branch was left behind.
ăI tried to put it in the item box, but it didn't work.
ăThe item box is full with just one scimitar.
ăWhat is this?
ăI had no choice but to put the branch in my backpack.
ăIt's a thin branch, less than ten centimeters long. It might be useful as firewood, but it doesn't look like it would sell for much.
ăI moved to find the next target.
ăDurandal should be absorbing MP, but to be safe, I should hunt a couple more. It's inconvenient not knowing how much MP I have.
Needlewood Lv1
ăI approached the monster that appeared.
ăAs I got closer, the Needlewood raised its left branch and prepared to attack. However, my attack was faster.
ăI slashed from the right shoulder to the left side of the abdomen in one stroke.
ăThe Needlewood turned into smoke and disappeared, leaving a branch behind.
ăI put the branch in my backpack and moved forward.
ăI killed another one and turned left at the next fork.
ăThere was another party ahead.
ăThey were surrounding and attacking a Needlewood.
ăI had no choice but to go straight.
ăI couldn't keep the left wall on my left side, but it should be fine.
ăI can return to the first small room with Dungeon Walk.
ăI went straight at the next intersection.
ăSomething stirred in the depths.
Needlewood Lv1
ăMy feet are slightly glowing, which puts me at a disadvantage.
ăI need to be careful not to get ambushed.
ăI don't know if the monsters rely on visual cues to move.
"Overwhelming"
ăI cast the skill while running towards the monster.
ăNothing happened.
ăNo, that's not it. Something changed.
ăThe monster's movements slowed down.
ăFor a moment, just a moment, the monster's movements slowed down like a slow-motion replay. I approached the monster during that time.
ăA negative thought of not wanting to do anything came to mind, but I suppressed it and raised Durandal.
ăHow long did the monster's movements slow down?
ăNo, how long did my movements speed up?
ăI raised Durandal and slashed the Needlewood that hadn't yet taken an attacking stance.
ăThe monster turned into smoke and disappeared. I felt relieved.
ăThe effect of the skill seems to be acceleration, time extension, or a slowing of perceived time. It might just be increasing the agility stat.
ăIf it allows me to move faster than the enemy, it's a very useful skill.
ăMy thoughts sank and then returned to normal. It must be related to MP.
ăWhen MP is low, my mood drops significantly.
ăThe skill took a lot of MP, and I recovered some with Durandal's MP absorption.
ăMy mood fluctuated like a roller coaster.
ăIt's mentally taxing.
ăIf I keep doing this, I might really get sick.
ăI shouldn't use it too frequently until I have enough MP.
ăI calmed down, looked at my arm, and thought "Appraise."
Kaga Michio, Male, 17 years old
Villager Lv4, Hero Lv1, Explorer Lv1
Equipment: Durandal, Leather Armor, Sandal Boots
ăMy level had increased. Only the Villager level.
ăThe levels of Hero and Explorer didn't increase.
ăI've killed four Needlewoods so far.
ăIf the fivefold experience value and the fivefold experience gain are still in effect, I should have gained the equivalent of 25 times the experience, or the experience of 100 Needlewoods.
ăIt seems quite difficult to level up.
ăThe levels in this world don't seem to be very high in general.
ăUnlike in games, it probably takes decades of steady effort to level up.
ăIf I can't level up even after killing 100, and I hunt one a day, it would take more than three months for an Explorer to reach Lv2.
ăIt's about time, isn't it?
ăOr perhaps the 25 times experience gain isn't working properly.
ăIs the Explorer level particularly hard to increase? Since the Hero level didn't increase even when the Villager level went from Lv2 to Lv4, there must be differences in the required experience for different jobs.
ăIt's also possible that the experience points are distributed with a bias towards the second and third jobs.
ăMore specifically, the experience points might be divided equally among the three jobs.
ăAh, I need a guidebook.
ăSince I don't have one, I put the remaining branches in my backpack.
ăI thought about resetting my character.
ăSince the Villager level increased, I had 1 bonus point left.
ăI removed the increase critical hit rate, which I didn't understand how to use, and added casting omission.
ăSince I've only attacked four times, if the critical hit rate is 5%, it's not unusual that I haven't gotten a critical hit yet.
ăBesides, I've been killing everything in one hit, so a critical hit wouldn't make much difference.
ăThe 2 bonus points I had became 0, and the casting omission became a faint text.
ăCan I get a skill that allows me to cast without chanting for just 3 points?
ăThat's amazing.
ăWell, if there was a 16.67% reduction in casting time, it would be confusing.
ăFor casting omission, it seems I just need to think about it.
ăI tried thinking "Item Box," and the entrance appeared in my hand.