It was nearly evening, and it seemed the market was winding down.
Quite a few stalls were already closing up.
Before long, I arrived at the Baire Inn.
Inside, there was a man, a Level 28 innkeeper.
"Welcome back."
It didn't really feel like a high-end inn.
"Key."
"Sure thing."
He handed me the key to room 311.
"Is dinner okay?"
"Yeah. Choose your meal at the entrance to the dining hall."
"Ask for hot water after dinner."
"It's twenty nals."
Huh?
What about the thirty percent discount?
I had no choice but to take out twenty copper coins from my backpack.
"By the way, can this be used for firewood?"
I had switched the thirty percent discount to a thirty percent increase in buyback prices, and I showed the man the branches (branched sticks) I took out of my backpack.
"Those are branched sticks, aren't they?"
"Yeah."
"They're too powerful for our use. Blacksmiths use them. They find direct transactions troublesome, so you should sell them to the guild."
"I see."
It seems I have no choice but to sell them to the guild.
"The first floor of this dungeon is apparently the Needlewood, which drops branched sticks."
"Right."
"The second floor is the Green Caterpillar, and the third floor is the Kobold. I'm sorry to hear that."
I've only seen Needlewoods in the dungeon.
The monsters must differ by floor.
Since I mentioned this dungeon, it seems the monsters vary by dungeon.
From the tone, it doesn't seem to be a good combination of monsters.
"Well, can't be helped."
"Indeed, it's a shallow floor. Looking at that, you seem quite strong."
Shallow floors can't be helped.
β If you can dive into deeper floors, you're confident.
β You're strong.
Is that what he's saying?
I'll try to change the subject.
"I plan to go as far as I can. By the way, where is the adventurer's guild in this town?"
"Four houses to the left."
The man pointed.
Was there a building that looked like it?
"Hmm. Should I go?"
"If it's just for buyback, it won't take long, so go ahead."
"Got it. Here's the key."
I handed over the key I received and left the Baire Inn.
Four houses to the left.
I entered the building of the adventurer's guild.
It was a bit larger than the explorer's guild, like a slightly larger post office.
There were about five or six people.
The layout with a counter at the back was the same as the explorer's guild.
"I'd like to sell some items."
I stood in front of the counter.
In any case, I wanted to experience the guild's buyback process once.
The person behind the counter was a villager in her thirties, a bit too old to be called a young lady.
Her face was decent, but not compared to Roxanne.
"Please place them here."
The woman handed me a large tray.
"These."
I took the items out of my backpack and placed them on the tray.
There were thirty-three branched sticks in total.
And three leaves.
"Are you not a member of the adventurer's guild?"
The woman confirmed.
"I'm not a member."
"Leaves are raw materials for antidote pills. If you're a member of the adventurer's guild, you can buy the same number of antidote pills at half price when you sell leaves. Antidote pills are essential for adventurers."
Wait.
If there are antidote pills, that means there is poison. If there's no poison, antidotes wouldn't be necessary.
If antidote pills are essential for adventurers, it means adventurers are always at risk of being poisoned.
Maybe it was reckless to enter the dungeon without anything.
"Can I buy antidote pills?"
"If you're not a member of the guild, they will be at full price."
"How much?"
"One hundred nals."
"Hmm."
It's not exactly cheap, but not too expensive either.
"You can also neutralize poison by eating the leaves. The buyback price for leaves is eighty nals."
That would result in a loss.
The woman from the adventurer's guild is quite helpful to tell me this.
"Got it. I'll hold off on selling the leaves."
"Understood. Please wait a moment."
I put the leaves away, and the woman took the tray with the branched sticks and disappeared into the back of the guild.
With nothing to do, I looked around the guild.
The left wall suddenly turned black.
A black wall appeared, and people came out of it.
Is that a Dungeon Walk?
Can it be used outside the dungeon?
Two adventurers came out of the wall. No explorers.
"Is there anyone going to Tarella one-way?"
Seeing no one respond, the adventurer chanted something and created another black wall, disappearing into it.
It wasn't Dungeon Walk, but Field Walk.
A different skill, perhaps.
By the way, a black wall also appeared on a tree near the dungeon entrance. Six people came out of it.
Just like how explorers have Dungeon Walk, adventurers have Field Walk.
If Dungeon Walk allows movement within the dungeon, Field Walk might allow travel between towns.
Probably, those two went to Tarella.
Why did I come here?
Then, another black wall appeared, and people came out.
This time, six people. One of them was from the earlier adventurer.
The six left the guild.
Hmm.
I'm not sure what I wanted to do.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Here you go."
While I was pondering, the woman returned.
On the plate were six silver coins and some copper coins. Counting the copper coins, there were forty-three.
Six hundred and forty-three nals.
Not bad for just some branches, but not exactly high.
Earning one gold coin a day seems like a dream.
It might be different if I spent more time or went to deeper floors of the dungeon.
I switched the thirty percent increase in buyback prices back to the thirty percent discount.
It's a hassle.
"Are there any other potions sold here besides antidote pills?"
"Besides disinfectant, we have various healing potions, fatigue recovery potions, softening potions, paralysis resistance potions, and universal potions."
From what I can tell, healing potions restore HP, and fatigue recovery potions restore MP.
"How much are the softening and paralysis resistance potions?"
"Both the softening pills and paralysis resistance pills are one hundred nals each."
The price is the same as the antidote pills.
"Hmm. Then, give me two of each."
I'll buy two of each for now.
I don't know how many I'll use, and I don't need to stock up too much.
"Understood."
The woman stood up and returned quickly.
She placed two white pills and two yellow pills on the counter.
Softening Pills
Paralysis Resistance Pills
"Hmm."
"The white ones are softening pills, and the yellow ones are paralysis resistance pills."
They're color-coded.
I can identify them, so I won't make a mistake.
I placed four silver coins on the counter.
Paralysis resistance pills are for when your body is paralyzed.
What are softening pills for?
For when your body becomes stiff. Maybe there's a petrification spell.
The woman counted one, two, three, four, and alternately handed me the pills.
Unfortunately, the thirty percent discount can't be used.
I put the pills and leaves into an empty small bag and stored it in my backpack.
"By the way, how do I join the adventurer's guild?"
"Becoming an adventurer is relatively simple. You need to be an explorer Level 50 or higher and not be a member of the explorer's guild or any other guild. If you want to join, I can guide you to the responsible person."
"No, that's not what I meant."
I quickly denied and left the adventurer's guild with my backpack.
Adventurer is an advanced class for explorers, with the job requirement being explorer Level 50.
I'm not sure if joining a guild affects the conditions.
The explorer's guild and the adventurer's guild don't get along, they say.
That makes sense.
From the explorer's guild's perspective, adventurers are stepping on the toes of explorers.
In a positive light, explorers are the eggs of adventurers, but in a negative light, explorers are the leftovers who couldn't become adventurers.
I should be cautious about joining any guild.
I returned to the inn and received the key.
I entered the dining hall next to it.
At the entrance, there were four meals on a table.
"You can choose your dinner from these."
A different woman from the Level 28 man, probably in charge of the dining hall, spread her hands to guide me.
I see.
Instead of a menu, they let you choose the actual food.
Probably because many people can't read menus.
There was a single character written on the table.
I've seen it somewhere, or rather, it's the same character written on the key I'm holding.
The key probably has the room number 311.
So, the dish in the top right is number one.
"I'll take this one."
"Understood. What would you like to drink?"
I expected her to repeat, "Number one," but she ignored it.
My plan didn't work.
"What drinks do you have?"
"Beer, wine, or herbal tea. Slime wine is extra."
"Herbal tea, please."
"Understood. Please take a seat at an available table."
I drank a little alcohol when I was in Japan, but I don't know my limit, so it's better not to drink here.
I have thirty gold coins in my backpack.
I sat down, and the food arrived quickly.
Bread, soup in a cup, stew with vegetables, and grilled meat.
There's quite a bit. Probably because there are only two meals a day.
The bread is soft, and the soup and stew are delicious.
The meat is beef-like and pretty good. It's quite peppery.
I wonder if pepper is expensive, but maybe it's just my assumption.
This could fetch a good price in Japan.
The quality is quite high.
It was a good decision to choose the dinner-included option, even though it was a bit expensive.
After enjoying the meal, I returned to my room.
The sun was setting, and the room was bathed in red light from the wooden window.
The door was knocked on as soon as I entered.
"Come in."
"Excuse me. I've brought your hot water."
A man I hadn't seen before brought a bucket of hot water.
He placed the bucket on the floor, draped a towel over it, and left immediately.
No tip needed, it seems.
I took off my clothes and wiped my body.
There don't seem to be any baths in this world.
If there are, they're probably luxury items for the rich.
Even the hot water costs twenty nals, so it's not cheap.
But it feels bad to stay sweaty.
After wiping my body, I washed the underwear I was wearing.
It's the only underwear I have.
I should have bought some spare ones today since the market was open.
Oops.
If there were soap or detergent, I would have bought those too.
Since they're not included with the hot water, they might not exist.
And a toothbrush and toothpaste.
I'm not sure if they exist.
I'd like to buy some socks too.
The next time I can buy something is in five days.
It's inconvenient.
I wish there was a convenience store.
Next, I'll think about the item box.
I thought about the item box.
First, I tried putting the scimitar in. It seems there are spaces on the left and right.
I tried pushing the backpack, but it didn't fit.
I thought it was too big, so I tried the pouch, but it didn't fit either.
Maybe the backpack and pouch aren't items.
I took out the leaves from the small bag and put them on the left side of the scimitar.
Both leaves fit.
The softening pills and paralysis resistance pills didn't fit.
I moved the space with the leaves to the right, and two softening pills fit in the left space.
The paralysis resistance pills didn't fit, but two more fit in the space to the left of that.
The space to the left of the paralysis resistance pills is the space where the scimitar is.
I took out the paralysis resistance pills, softening pills, and leaves.
Can coins fit?
Silver Coins
Oops. I identified them.
I didn't think about identifying coins.
Now I won't be caught with counterfeit money.
But it's a hassle to identify them every time.
Four silver coins fit.
Four more fit in the adjacent space.
Copper coins didn't fit.
They didn't fit even when mixed, and I couldn't identify them.
Copper coins don't seem to be items.
I took out the gold coins.
I could identify them, and four fit.
I couldn't mix gold and silver coins.
Four gold coins or four silver coins.
When I took out the scimitar, four more gold coins fit in that space.
I see. Four types of items, four each.
Probably because I'm an explorer Level 4.
When I was an explorer Level 1, the scimitar alone filled the space.
I took out the gold and silver coins and put two leaves, two softening pills, and two paralysis resistance pills in the item box.
It's better to keep the potions in the item box for emergencies rather than in the backpack.
Next, I'll think about my job.
Chanting omission is a very useful skill.
The bonus points needed to get chanting omission are 3.
If my first job is Level 4 or higher, I can get chanting omission without sacrificing anything else.
Currently, I'm an explorer Level 4.
Should I switch to villager Level 6?
The advantage of being an explorer is that I can remove the villager job and add a more powerful job.
Considering the item box and Dungeon Walk, I can't imagine removing the explorer job.
The advantage of being a villager is that the level is already high.
If I can raise the villager to Level 8, I can add a fourth job in addition to chanting omission.
The bonus points needed for a second job are 1, and for a third job are 2, so the bonus points needed for a fourth job are 4.
Or, I could settle for shortened chanting at Level 6 and add a fourth job.
A villager might grow faster than an explorer.
If I have 16 bonus points, I can add a tenfold experience gain or a one-tenth experience requirement.
Having a fast-growing job as my first job would be a significant long-term advantage.
Still, 16 points are far off.
There's a risk that the experience points will be divided by four, so it's unclear how beneficial a fourth job would be.
I'll make my first job an explorer Level 4.
I thought about job settings.
Warrior Level 1
Effect: Slight increase in stamina, slight increase in HP
Skill: Rush
Swordsman Level 1
Effect: Slight increase in strength, slight increase in HP
Skill: Slash
Merchant Level 1
Effect: Slight increase in intelligence, slight increase in spirit
Skill: Calc
Herbalist Level 1
Effect: Slight increase in intelligence
Skill: Herb Creation
My jobs suddenly increased to four.
Why so many?
Probably, the common condition was being a villager Level 5.
The warrior, swordsman, and merchant, which have two effects, seem suspicious.
The herbalist might be because I picked up leaves, even though they're not herbs.
Hmm.
There might be jobs I can get at villager Level 10 or villager Level 20.
Should I keep the villager job?
But if there are jobs I can get at villager Level 99, it would be a long journey.
I'll deal with it when the time comes.
I switched my first job to explorer Level 4.
I kept my second job as hero Level 3 and made my third job a merchant.
I want to try the skill.
Rush and Slash, the skills of the warrior and swordsman, are probably attack skills.
What about the merchant?
I thought about Calc, but nothing happened. Nothing changed.
It doesn't seem to do anything.
I wanted to calculate 224 Γ 365.
Then, the number 81760 appeared in my head.
Is this the answer to 224 Γ 365?
Is Calc a passive skill?
224 nals a day for 365 days, and for 60 years.
4905600.
With 500 gold coins, I can stay at this inn until I die.
Is that right?
100 Γ 100 is 10000. That's right.
1000000 Γ 1000000 is 1000000000000.
...Yeah, my bad. I don't know if it's correct.
I removed the merchant and added the herbalist.
The skill I want to use is Herb Creation.
The target is the leaves.
It's getting dark, but I took out the leaves from the item box.
I took a leaf in my hand and thought about Herb Creation...