STGB Chapter 22

Episode 22 Level up (2)

Combat training for adaptation to the library city.

I skipped all the daily routines I had been doing every day for a month.

That’s not what an explorer should do on the day the labyrinth opens.

[08: 10] As

soon as I woke up, I skipped breakfast and ran to the meeting place with Ainar.

It’s because I was told that I would have to wait a few more hours at the slightest delay.

“Here! Yandel’s son, Bjorn!”

Surprisingly, Einar came before me.

“…Since when have you been here?”

“Didn’t you leave me behind if you’re late! That’s why I slept right in front of you! Come on! We’re first!”

“…….”

Even with 30 minutes left until the opening time, a long line stretches from the front of the entrance.

However, thanks to Einar, we were able to enter the Explorers Guild as soon as the door opened.

“What’s your business?”

“I came to receive the binding magic.”

“Are there two of you on your team?”

“Yes.”

“Please put your hand here.”

Following the instructions, a faint light leaked from the crystal ball.

The color is greenish.

“There are two 9th level explorers. The cost is 15,000 stones.”

15,000 stones…….

I could have been a bit tight if I hadn’t saved living expenses.

I obediently opened my pocket and paid the bill.

It was heartbreaking, but it was an unavoidable consumption.

The starting point when entering the labyrinth is random, but if you receive this magic in advance, at least you can start from the same place.

“What is the Explorer’s rating based on?”

“Measured by the total amount of essence imprinted on the soul.”

“I see. So, does the cost of bonding increase as the rank goes up?”

“of course.”

Ha, this doesn’t have to be the same as the game.

“It’s over. Please note that it will only last for the next 24 hours.”

“i get it.”

It was a little after 9:00 when he left the Explorers Guild after finishing his business.

“Let’s go back to our inn for a meal. It tastes pretty good.”

“Inn? Do you mean cooking at the inn?”

What kind of life has he been living?

When I turned around and asked, Einar answered with a tone that it was not a big deal.

“I usually bought the bread I used to eat in the labyrinth and ate it.”

Ah, that one for 20 stones.

I tried once to save money on food, but gave up after a while.

I don’t know what the principle is, but things that were quite edible in the labyrinth were hard as stones here.

‘Maybe that’s why the name was Dolppang…….’

But you only ate that for a month?

For some reason, I was heartbroken, so I ordered meat and stew, and Ainar swore allegiance to me.

“Bjorn! Even if you tell me to go into the pit, I will go in! So don’t abandon me!”

After the tearful meal, I went up to my room and had time to organize my backpack.

“Be meticulous. If a necessary situation comes and you forget to take care of it, you will be in trouble.”

“Don’t worry! There’s nothing to bring!”

Time passed surprisingly quickly as I was checking my equipment and stacking up the expedition supplies and consumables one by one in my backpack.

“Then let’s take a deep breath now.”

“I’ve never seen such a soft bed. I think two people can lie on it! It doesn’t even smell!”

After finishing the maintenance so that we could enter the labyrinth right away, we lay side by side and went to sleep.

But since I’m lying down with him, it’s pretty cramped.

When I was lying down with Erwen, there was a seat left.

“If you can’t sleep, force yourself to close your eyes. You won’t sleep well for a while—”

Well, what was I worried about?

Rurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Before I can finish my words, I hear the sound of native Bavarian snoring.

At this, I smiled and closed my eyes.

How long has it been since then?

[20:30]

We got up a little early and had our last meal on the first floor.

A special meal worth 800 stone per person.

“What the hell is this taste?”

Einar, who had been making a fuss throughout the meal, took a bite of the cream pie that came out for dessert and hardened it as it was.

“Is it magic? Now, tears keep flowing.”

“Ah, that’s what ‘sweetness’ means.” “I think I have to live my life

to the fullest.

”

“egg plant.”

When I pack my things and go out to the streets at night, unlike usual, I see people passing by all over the place.

Most of them, like me, are armed and carry large backpacks.

As I said, not all of them are like that, but I can see some barbarians with only one weapon on their bare bodies.

It looks like they just finished their coming-of-age ceremony and entered the city today…

“Stop! It seems they’ve lost their way.”

“It can’t be! We have to go to the labyrinth within the set time!”

“Partun doesn’t deserve to be a leader!”

It was something that happened every month.

How do they get to the labyrinth every time?

It was a time when I was seriously thinking about it.

“If you follow them, you will be able to reach the labyrinth.”

Einar approached them and gave them advice.

The young warriors looked at her and thanked her with the eyes of a successful senior.

“Thank you. I will definitely return this grace!”

Einar wiped his nose as he watched the barbarians walk away.

“…Whoops, it reminds me of the old days.”

Please don’t pretend it’s an old thing.

To me, it doesn’t look like anything has changed between now and then.

“Everyone back down!”

Thousands of people had already gathered in the Dimension Square. Caught in the gap and waiting for midnight, light began to burst from the center.

At first, it was small in size, but the halo that grew in shape in an instant shimmered in the form of a sphere.

“You may enter now!”

When the official shouted, the explorers around them quickly threw themselves into the portal.

I led Ainar out of the outskirts to escape the waves of crowds.

“Bjorn, aren’t we going in?”

“Wait.”

The number of explorers gathered in the plaza disappeared by dozens per second, but the crowd remained.

It was because of the other explorers who were arriving one after another just in time.

It wasn’t until about 40 minutes after the portal opened that the crowded Dimension Plaza became quite quiet and maintained a line of 7,800 people.

“…Shouldn’t we go in now?”

The portal, which had already swallowed tens of thousands of explorers, had already shrunk in size.

But I kept waiting.

Einar also changed his voice to see if he was ignorant.

“What is Bjorn waiting for?”

Well, it’s too long to talk about…

I don’t know if it will work or not.

However, I decided to briefly explain it because there was quite a bit of time left.

“I plan to enter when the dimension is unstable. The book says it happens once in a hundred years, but if you take advantage of this phenomenon—” “I don’t know what it is, but I’ll follow your words.

”

“……?”

“I have a feeling you won’t understand anyway!”

I honestly thought it would be like this.

It’s pissing me off to do that after asking…

In fact, it might be a convenient part to be able to omit the explanation for each action.

“Gates closing soon! Back off!”

Eventually, the portal’s light began to fade.

At this point, there were no explorers left.

Only then did I slowly walk toward the labyrinth with Einar.

Seeing us like that, the official shouted.

“It’s dangerous to go in now!”

I pretended not to hear

I don’t know why they say they’re dangerous.

Seeing that there is even a book with statistics, they must be aware of this phenomenon……..

“Rain Bjorn! People who look tall are said to be dangerous!

Why don’t you think of using this?

***

1 second 2 seconds 3 seconds…….

Hmm, counting is meaningless, isn’t it?

When I came with a strong feeling that this was enough.

“Now. Let’s go in.”

“Queuck!”

I pushed Einar’s back and entered the labyrinth at the same time.

Flash-!

A flash of light covered my eyes, and when it came up again, a deep darkness greeted me.

It means that what I intended went well.

“In front! I can’t see! I should have listened to someone who looked tall! Bjorn is an idiot!”

“Einar, calm down.”

As he hurriedly lit the torch he took out of his backpack, Einar regained some composure.

“How the hell did this happen?”

“If I tell you, you won’t understand.”

“That’s… I guess!”

Having easily convinced Einar, I calmly looked around. And when I found the tombstone in front of the dead end wall, I was seized with a strange feeling.

Again, the dimensional instability phenomenon was closely related to the starting point of the portal.

The fact made me happy and sad at the same time.

Doesn’t this mean that even if I had made a decision a minute early on the first entry, I would not have had to crawl on all three legs with one foot chewed up!

Woo woo woo woo-!

As soon as I put my hand on the tombstone, a group of lights burst out and turned into a sphere.

“What is it?”

“It’s a portal to the second floor.”

In other words, we skipped the whole process of finding directions by looking at the compass, fighting monsters as we saw them, and wandering in the dark.

It saved at least a day or two of time.

“What?! The chief said it would take three days to find the portal! What kind of magic did you use?”

Even if I tell you anyway, you won’t understand.

「You opened the portal for the first time. EXP +2”

“The character’s level has risen.”

“Soul power has increased by +10.”

“The maximum absorbable essence has increased by +1.

”

***

「Bjorn Yandel」

Level: 2 (New +1)

Body: 46 / Mind: 36 / Ability: 4 (New +3)

Item Level: 202

Overall Combat Index: 136.5 (New +3)

***

「2 I have entered the Goblin Forest on the first floor.”

After about 3m in the air, I quickly balanced and landed on my feet.

Took!

that’s what i practiced

Wrestling with the barbarians.

“Mush!”

Looking at Einar who fell on his butt, I feel my own growth.

I felt like I understood Erwen’s heart to some extent as he laughed at me.

“Oh my butt hurts.”

It’s pretty fun to watch.

Well, if he’s athletic, he’ll land right in no time.

“Something? That look of regret?”

“It’s nothing.”

I took out my watch and set it

0:05

. Einar, can you feel it too?”

“What do you mean?”

“It feels like my heart is vibrating.” Should

I say it’s a sensation as if something dense enters the blood vessels and fills the body?

I was able to feel it clearly.

What is it?

After explaining the symptoms, Einar quickly made a diagnosis.

“The level of the soul has risen! Congratulations!”

Ah, you have leveled up.

[Dungeons and Stones] also have levels.

Depending on the level, the spiritual power, that is, MP, a resource required to use supernatural powers, increases, and the total number of essences that can be absorbed increases.

Yes For example, I was able to absorb only one essence at level 1, but… I

became able to absorb up to two at level 2.

Well, it would only be meaningful if both essences came out.

“It’s amazing. I haven’t caught any monsters yet, but the level of the soul goes up!”

“There is nothing to be surprised about. Opening the portal for the first time must have been publicly acknowledged.”

Achievement is a term that means experience here. “Well

, is that

also publicly acknowledged?” [Dungeon and Stone] is a game with a slightly

unusual

growth system. You

can only get experience from the same monster once, the first time. Therefore, you have to kill various monsters to level up as if filling up a picture book. We can do it.

Wait a minute, isn’t this a bit dangerous?

“…Einar This is a secret between you and me. Do you understand?”

“Secret? What do you mean?”

“The first time I opened the portal. This is all it takes. If someone asks, answer that it took about two days to get to the second floor.”

The portal opening experience is only 2. In other words, it’s only about 2 level 9 monsters, but… ‘

Unlike monsters, they don’t accumulate over and over again. ‘

Therefore, adventurers who have reached a certain level use their energy and hang on to speedruns, because the

number of monsters that can be hunted is limited depending on the nature of the god worshiped by the priest,

etc. The only way to break through is public labor.

But is this possible from a low level?

Only I know this trick and suck honey.

If I become known, I will never see a good result.