STGB Chapter 27

Episode 27 Cracks (1)

People grow.

Each method is different.

Reading a book, looking back on one’s past, having a sincere conversation with a friend for the first time, or having a dream you truly wish for.

or.

To be jealous of someone else’s good fortune, to witness someone’s misfortune, or to realize the power of desire.

Any inspiration from experience is a boon to growth.

Today’s me wasn’t much different either.

Well, mental growth is only a small part.

“One short bow, one plate gaiter, three bottles of low-class potion, and a dozen regular torches… What is this portrait? Is it a family member? Anyway, throw it away…….” All together, it’s well

over 800,000 stones.

As I was organizing the backpacks of the yellow-haired party, I smiled.

Looking back, I’ve always been like this.

Growing up didn’t always follow from going through shit.

But…

“With this one, I’ll be able to fit more of the three armor pieces.”

When I grew up a notch, shit always followed.

Damn I’ll figure out what to do soon.

***

You are walking in a cave.

with Einar.

“Where are you going now, Bjorn?”

“We’ll move south where the gnomes come out.”

For a total of 8 hours, each person took a break of 4 hours, and Einar regained his energy a little.

Compared to usual, the tension is like crawling on the floor.

“You can move Bjorn in a hurry. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Why are you so impatient?”

“I… want to become stronger as soon as possible.”

“Right.”

Einar doesn’t seem to have to worry anymore.

As long as you have a clearer goal, dark emotions will become nourishment, not poison.

Um, is that common?

“I am of the same mind.”

Throughout the night, I looked back at the steps I had taken so far.

Entering the Labyrinth at the Coming of Age Ceremony, a 4:2 battle with Hans’ night friend, Erwen Goblin Forest Crossbow Party, etc.

Now that I think about it, there was nothing really wrong with that.

I have found the best option to choose from in any given situation.

But…

In other words, it would mean that I was only in a hurry to escape the moment.

“Why do you suddenly stop?”

“No, I’ll keep moving.”

There is room for extenuating circumstances.

There was no tutorial or system text.

As soon as I opened my eyes, a person’s head was cut off, and from then on, things far from reality continued to unfold.

Therefore, we had no choice but to act as passively as possible, prioritizing safety.

But what was it like?

“Bjorn……? His expression is not good.”

“never mind.”

You always choose the best option?

dog sound.

If so, it’s just a response in the end.

How good would it be to say that it is the best for the guy who is going to take care of things after it happens?

If you really want to survive, you need to be more proactive in the future.

Then there are different options to choose from.

Didn’t my uncle, who was addicted to gambling every day, say that?

Throw the dice on the board you made, rather than playing on the board made by others.

Okay, a change of plans.

“Do you really want to be strong, Einar?”

When I suddenly stopped and asked, Einar expressed deep doubts.

“…what does that mean?”

“It’s asking for determination. There is a way to become stronger. But there is a risk. What will you do?”

High risk high return.

What kind of answer will he give to this proposal?

After watching for a while, Einar gulped and his eyes lit up.

“Of course I will. If we don’t become strong anyway, we will all die!”

yes i guess

Because it was a game with such a worldview.

Einar, who expressed his consent, continued to shout.

“I am a warrior!”

You said it wasn’t before?

food.

Looking at the barbarian’s attitude, which was so inefficient but sometimes more efficient than anyone else, there was something I realized.

“So, how do you get that strong?”

The easy road is the slow road.

And shit is a natural disaster.

No matter which way you walk, it comes right in front of you without warning.

In my twisted arms, the frequency was much more frequent.

That’s why…….

“I will enter the rift.”

First bread victory.

This time, I’m going to look for the fuckin’ thing first from this side.

As someone famous said.

The pain that doesn’t kill me will make me stronger.

***

“Ohh! That’s right!”

Upon hearing my plan, Einar exclaimed.

And asked carefully.

“…but what is a crack?”

How come you are a native and have less knowledge than me?

I wish I could read some books.

Uh… I can’t read the text properly yet.

“Cracks… in a word, a labyrinth within a labyrinth.”

Detailed explanations were skipped.

Because you won’t understand anyway.

“A labyrinth within a labyrinth?”

“okay.”

Should I say that [Dungeon and Stone] is like a game that few people have these days?

If the subject I had to explain to was a modern person like me, I would have said ‘Instant Dungeon’.

“Sometimes a portal opens at a random location on each floor. When you enter it, a new space appears that is neither the second nor the third floor.”

“Ah! You mean the Palace of the Frostlord!”

I did hear it though.

The Frost Lord’s Palace is a space that can be entered from the crack on the 8th floor.

How much did he struggle to try one of the frost lord’s essence…

“But is that possible with just the two of us? I heard that the chieftain went there when he was young and almost died.”

“It’s okay. We’re on the first floor.”

There are a total of four types of cracks that can be opened on the first floor.

Whatever it was, the level of difficulty was incomparably easier than the cracks on the other floors.

If we were to set it as our standard, it would give us about seven stars.

Assuming, of course, that it’s 5 out of 5.

“But how do we get into a place that appears randomly?”

“Don’t worry. There are ways.”

Even after all this, I was a deceased person in my 9th year.

Discovered hundreds of hidden pieces in this unfriendly game.

“I will only believe in you, Bjorn!”

Heading south, I turned east.

Originally, I was going to hunt gnomes and kobold stone golems on the second floor of the southern route, ‘Blackrock Mountain’.

Stone Golem ‘suppression’ is a headache, but if you prepare in advance, it’s not that there isn’t a strategy.

However, there is no guarantee how many years it will take to reach the 8th floor if you play with a safety mindset like that. “Two barbarians. Aren’t you looking for a

night

mate?

“No, I just asked—”

“I’ll explode your head in three seconds.”

As I was crossing the first floor, several people besides the monsters clung to me, but they were all sorted out on the Einar line.

…but can’t we just say no?

“I hate humans more than dwarfs.”

Einar seems to have evolved beyond distrust of humans to a state of hatred.

Fuck! Fuck! Kwajik!

After moving for almost 20 hours, smashing the monsters blocking the way, we finally reached our destination.

The time is around 4 am.

Once again, you can feel how wide the first floor is.

No matter how tedious the structure of the anthill was, it took more than a day to get from the western end to the center.

“Isn’t Bjorn the entrance to the first floor?”

Strictly speaking, the word introductory part is absurd.

Most of the starting points are biased to one side, either north or south.

Above all, there is no light here, right?

Roaring!

Burning the normal torches obtained after killing the yellow-haired party, we entered the Dark Zone.

And how long has it been?

“I hunted gnomes. EXP +1”

“You hunted a razor wolf. EXP +1」

After the eighth battle, Ainar vomited an exclamation as if he was amazed.

“I didn’t know that there was a place like this in the center of the 1st floor when all four types of monsters appeared.”

It’s common sense for most explorers, but it’s not a place you come to often.

As an analogy, should we say that it is the point where the Korean Wave and the Warm Current meet?

At this place where I am now, the ghouls in the west, the gnomes in the south, and the goblins in the north all appear.

But…

“It’s strange how few people there are.”

This area is not popular among explorers.

The reason is simple.

Even if all four types of monsters appeared, it would only make it more difficult to deal with.

The number of monsters is also low.

‘Besides, since I have to consume the torch, there is a fatal flaw that the cost performance is poor.’

In fact, there is nothing to come except for those who cross to save travel time.

But the deceased people like this kind of space.

Are you winning?

It’s good to hide something from the producer’s point of view.

“But why are you here?”

“Wait a little. It will be out soon.”

An hour of wandering around in the dark, changing directions.

Finally I got to where I wanted to be.

“All right, everyone has come.”

A cavity with a radius of about 30 m.

On the first floor, which is an anthill structure, a tombstone stood up in the middle of an open space on all sides, which is not common.

“…what the hell is that?”

“It’s a monument. To honor the person who first discovered this labyrinth.”

I carefully approached the tombstone and read the words written at the bottom.

[In memory of the great first step of the last great sage, Diplon Groundel Gabrillius] First of all,

the content of the text is the same as that of the game.

In other words, it would be more correct to say that the ‘Hidden Peace’ I found is highly likely to match.

“Everything that happens in Einar’s future is a secret. Do you understand?”

“I will.”

“It takes an oath, not just words. It could put both of us at risk if this became known.”

“…I swear on the honor of a warrior.”

“thanks.”

I slowly undid the pockets on my waist.

Goblin Gnome Ghoul Razor Wolf.

The Manastones of the four monsters that appear on the 1st floor and the Manastones of the 8th grade monster, Desfind.

And even the great sage monument in front of me.

“I’ll start slowly.”

All preparations were prepared to forcefully open the rift.

***

Dungeon of [Dungeon and Stone].

In other words, cracks have a cooldown.

Taking the first floor as an example, it took three months, at least three cycles of city time, before the ‘rift’ could be reopened.

Of course, it is rare to open immediately after three months, and most cracks open randomly between 5 and 6 cycles.

Was the maximum 8 cycles? Probably.

“…….”

By the way, this was all figured out by myself.

I needed to know more about the ‘rift’ as I worked on the Frost Lord Essence.

It was not efficient to go around the stairs every time and wait for the crack to come out.

“Is something wrong?”

“no.”

Recalling old memories for a moment, I put the magic stone of Desfind in my hand in front of the monument.

If the most recent ‘rift’ was opened within 3 cycles, that is, if the cooldown is running, there will be no reaction, but

…

Before long, the magic stone that was put down glowed and disappeared, and vibrations spread around the monument.

It’s also real

Whoa!

The vibration got stronger and a black portal opened.

“Come on in.”

“Uh uh. Got it!”

I hurriedly threw myself into it with Einar.

That’s right, the garden fills up in 10 seconds.

「The character has entered through the crack on the 1st floor.」

Leaving behind Einar, who had been hit on the butt without fail, I checked the surroundings.

The red sky, as if the world would end at any moment.

A flock of crows flying above it and a black fortress visible in the distance.

Needless to say, it is the ‘Blood Fort’, one of the four types of cracks on the first floor.

The 8th grade magic stone that was offered as a sacrifice belonged to Despind, so it was only natural.

Whoa!

After waiting for a while, a gap opened in the air and the person was spit out.

I, who know how to open the ‘rift’ definitively as well as how to attack it, was the decisive reason for putting off my coming here.

I’m more afraid of explorers than monsters.

“Hahahaha! You finally managed to get in!”

Wouldn’t it be better if we had a 5-person team that was guaranteed confidentiality?

If you enter in this way, you must clear the rift with random explorers who entered on a first-come, first-served basis.

In terms of games, it means that automatic matching is required.

I nervously checked the first team member.

“Oh! I’m relieved that there are two barbarians! Please take good care of me! My name is Hikurod Murad! As you can see, I’m a dwarf hahaha!!”

First of all, a dwarf who seemed to talk a lot.

I don’t know how good it is, but it’s not bad at all.

I hope the rest of the kids will stop at this level

.

After all, that would be too big a wish for my subject, right?

If you’re going to come, come see me.

Because I’m not expecting it anyway.

“A new colleague joined the journey.”

Within two more team members were added.