Chapter 21
[Any cards you don't take will be added next time!]
Six Arcanas coiled in front of me.
I saw the cute little things sparkling in all sorts of colors.
Of course, three of them were the ones that were already there.
[Artifact - Red Moon Earrings (SR)]
[Ability - Demon Flame Orb (R)]
[Trait - Dragon Eye (SR) -> (SSR) Enhancement]
They were decent enough, but let's see the others before deciding.
I only need to look at the new three.
[Artifact acquired!]
[Wand of a Certain Magic School (SR)]
When used, mana efficiency, power, and casting speed increase!
This wand feels vaguely familiar.
'...Huh.'
Isn't this our school's loaner wand?
No, if you look closely, it's a little different.
It was a bit thinner and longer.
But the performance looked similar.
For some reason, I liked the school wand better.
Hmm.
But why bother?
It was better to save up a little more money and get a wand made at the school market.
Pass... no, fail.
[A trait is added!]
[Retry Ticket (SR)]
You can retry a room you've already cleared once!
Available anytime, but only once per room!
However, no rewards are given.
Any challenge rewards or hidden pieces you've already obtained will not be given again!
'Oh?'
Pretty good, actually.
If I don't like my speedrun record, that means I can just try again, right?
And I can find hidden pieces I missed, too.
I mean, couldn't I just go back out and clear it again...
But if it turns into a 'Boulder incoming!!' situation like that third room earlier, you can't even turn around.
For now, I looked at the third one.
[An ability is added!]
[Aura Manifestation (R)]
You can manifest aura!
Depending on the conditions, you can evolve into an Aura User (R+)!
'Uuuuuum... hmmmm...'
This is a real dilemma.
Originally, if nothing else came up, I was planning to enhance Dragon Eye.
But isn't this exactly what I need right now?
Aura is a bit much, though.
And if I keep training this, couldn't it eventually rise to SSR?
Of course it would take an absurd amount of time, but I could get the starting point for free.
As I kept agonizing over it, one sentence on the Arcana caught my eye.
'Available anytime, but only once per room!'
Anytime.
'Then even if I look like I'm going to die, I can retry, right?'
Obviously, the kind of place you shouldn't go into.
Even if I went in there, couldn't I survive by clicking retry?
'That's insanely broken.'
[Retry Ticket (SR) has been added to your trait list!]
I chose the Retry Ticket.
[Speedrun bonus! HP and mana fully restored!]
Hmm.
I took my phone out of my inventory and checked the time. A little under 40 minutes had passed.
'I didn't spend much time clearing the room.'
I spent some time looking at the artifacts and thinking it over.
Now then.
Today I intended to clear up to the third floor.
Going to the fourth floor or higher seemed impossible, and I didn't feel like working any more anyway.
Especially on the second floor, the mental fatigue was pretty severe.
Using Dragon Eye to that extent wasn't just mana consumption; the mental toll was pretty severe too.
'I'm not going to the fourth floor, at least for now.'
Then the only choices left were whether to go to the third floor now or after eating.
'Let's clear it fast and eat something delicious!'
This time, I definitely have to bring a sealed container.
[Entering Floor 3 - Ghost Graveyard!]
[Entering Ghost Graveyard's first room - Cemetery!]
[This floor consists of a single room!]
[Speedrun conditions revealed. SSS: 15 min, SS: 18 min, S: 21 min...]
I felt the surrounding air grow eerie all at once.
The sky was a muted purple, and it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night.
Bats and zombies were crawling around, and grave markers stuck up every few steps.
What?
Ghost Graveyard?
I reflexively remembered an internet post.
[Why undead are fucking awful.]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
Undead are seriously fucking awful.
(roughly, a meme of one ghost completely messing with an entire melee party)
You absolutely have to bring a mage party member...
Spamming tons of rare-grade magic is normal.
When the ghosts use poltergeist to reach the exit and make a run for it, it really makes you want to kill them.
If you put mana into a weapon, the damage is basically nonexistent, and I only barely cleared it by throwing dozens of mana potions at them...
[Comments]
If you dig a mage party member out of the ground, do they come out?
Our guild is nothing but musclehead swordsmen, desu-yo
OP, you rich? Mana potions???
Even if you bring a mage, if the mana density is low, you can't properly catch the ghosts.
ㄴ Seriously??
ㄴ Yeah. I know because I brought one. They do catch them better than swordsmen, though.
ㄴ Damn...
ㄴ If these bastards show up in the Tower, you either brace for a massive bloodbath or give up and head to the Abyss.
ㄴ Fucking sucks
ㄴ Especially if there are more than ten of them, big guilds tackle them by sending in ten people at a time.
ㄴ What about the rewards??
ㄴ If it isn't a floor meant for party play to begin with, I guess you just split the rewards.
Back then I was a melee DPS, so I was pretty scared by this post.
I worried because magic doesn't even work well there.
Especially the speedrun condition.
The SSS clear condition was 15 minutes.
Enough time to kill a werewolf and boil a cup of ramen.
Thinking about how tight the second floor had been, it seemed pretty horrifying.
So I went in all nervous, and...
It was surprisingly easy.
No.
It was basically as if there was no difficulty at all.
'Byaaaaak—!'
'Myaaaaak—!'
'Miyooooooong—!'
'Why is it this easy?'
These bastards get hit even if I just aim roughly and fire.
Even when they get hit, they let out ridiculous cries and are laid to rest.
It was a scream as if they alone had suffered all the world's sorrow.
This is minimum firepower.
I fell into confusion while looking at the wand faintly wreathed in mana haze.
What?
I thought back to Karnarof's class.
'Especially in basic attack magic, the momentary density of mana is...'
'...something we also pay a great deal of attention to in magic circle studies as well...'
'Layering magic circles and... and so on... there, student Yumia. Wake up.'
'Eheh! I wasn't sleeping!'
She really wasn't sleeping.
So she was somehow listening even while dozing off.
Anyway, it seemed related.
'Well, if it's good, it's good.'
I fired at every ghost I could see and purified them.
When they were purified, they turned from ghosts wearing white shrouds back into their original forms.
It was kind of funny seeing them transform into cats, duchesses, birds, hamsters, and so on as they were purified.
[User: Yumia. Ghost Graveyard - Cemetery cleared! Mana and HP greatly restored! Rewards granted!]
The rewards were...
[Status Enhancement Selection Ticket (SR+), Trait Enhancement (SR), Good Hammer (SR)]
Oh?
A trait enhancement essence.
It really comes out here too.
Wasn't this usually something that dropped from boss rooms every five floors?
But...
This wasn't an enhancement-ticket form; I had to use it right away.
What should I enhance?
Dragon Eye had already come up through an Arcana, so I'll hold off for now.
The candidates were Magic Circle Designer, Great Mage's Talent, Inventory, and Nature Affinity.
Hmm.
They're all good, though...
Still, the one I use the most these days is Inventory.
Let's try Inventory.
[Analyzing trait...]
[Enhancement chance: 40%. If it fails, only the enhancement ticket is consumed.]
[Would you like to enhance it?]
What? There's a chance?
Is that because I'm using an SR enhancement ticket to enhance an SSR trait?
Let's do it.
The status window's colors changed all over the place, and a golden light flashed as a fanfare rang out!
[Inventory (SSR) has been enhanced to Inventory (SSR+)!]
[Inventory (SSR+)]
A subspace 1.3 meters on each side is provided.
Items can be taken out and put in from anywhere the space touches the user's extremities.
Hostile objects and living beings cannot be stored.
The inventory's interior can be viewed by speaking the keyword.
The flow of time inside the inventory can be slowed by up to 20 times.
Cooldown: None
Mana cost: 0
'It's gotten way better than I expected.'
First, the size.
If it's 1.3 meters by 1.3 by 1.3, how many cubic meters is that?
Hmm.
I can't do mental math.
I wrote it on the floor and worked it out.
2.1... something.
The rest was too annoying, so I didn't bother.
The capacity had almost doubled!
That means I can carry a lot more, doesn't it?
And most importantly.
It can slow the flow of time by up to 20 times.
What does that mean?
That means fresh food that would normally last one day can be stored for 20 days!
In other words.
'So the Tower is telling me to go buffet mooching!!'
Airtight container, come to me!
This is a revolution.
'No one can stop me!!!'
Then, the fanfare rang out.
I reflexively turned toward it.
[Hell Difficulty Special!]
Ah.
Right, there was that.
I looked at the Arcana that appeared.
There were three new Arcana.
[Cards left unclaimed will be added next time!]
[You can hold up to 7 Arcana in reserve!]
'Huh?'
More than 7 isn't allowed?
[Please take 1 and discard 1!]
Since 4 came out on the first floor... the math checks out.
I examined the Arcana that had appeared.
'Hmm...'
The first and second were no good.
[Spell Encryption (R)]
A trait that lets you apply simple encryption to a ritual by adding a single line to the spell...
This is something you learn in second year at Reinhart.
If you ask a professor like Isabel nicely, she might teach you.
Rejected.
[Drill Footwork (R)]
Knight Order drill footwork.
Even someone with absolutely no talent can learn the footwork!
Traits like this are really helpful for true klutzes, but...
What do they think I got first place in training camp for?
Rejected.
The third one was a little appealing.
[You obtain an artifact!]
[Red Moon Spellbook (SSR)]
A spellbook that lets you acquire the semi-unique Red Moon series magic.
Preview available!
Would you like to preview it?
Huh?
A preview?
I pressed preview without hesitation.
And then.
[Too much information has been input!]
[The user's magic theory level is very low! Too much burden is being transferred to [Magic Circle Mathematician] beyond what is necessary!]
[[Magic Circle Mathematician] enters overload! Reuse cooldown (1 day)]
'Aaaagh!!'
...Damn.
I can't learn this.
[Red Moon Breathing Method (SR(4-))] is added to your traits!
It was a breathing method I couldn't use in the first place, even if I learned it.
It felt like they were patching over my lack of basic knowledge with Magic Circle Mathematician.
I obediently chose the Dragon Eye upgrade.
[Dragon Eye (SR+) -> (SSR+) Enhancement]
Dragon Eye is enhanced.
Dragon Eye contains a small amount of dragon mana.
Dragon Eye's [Far Sight] trait is greatly enhanced.
[Dragon Eye has been enhanced!]
Hmm.
Is there actually any difference?
Other than being able to use dragon mana better, it feels like there's no real difference.
I should test whether my dynamic vision has improved right now...
'Too much trouble. Later.'
I'll let Adrian take a look later.
He's the one who stuck something like that into my eyes and enhanced it.
He probably knows more about Dragon Eye than I do.
[[Spell Encryption] disappears from the reserve cards!]
I discarded the useless card that had the most alternatives.
It was time to leave.
***
Well, Ms. Se-ra. Fancy seeing you here.
'This is bad.'
It was Oh Hyun-young.
Him being on Chuncheon Tower Street wasn't strange.
Famous people come here sometimes, too.
But.
Isela and Oh Hyun-young.
It was strange that the schedules of two important figures from different guilds overlapped in the same place.
'You said you cleared your whole schedule with the White Tiger Guild? Must be something important?'
'Important? Not at all. I just came for vacation. You're handling something much more important than me, Mr. Oh Hyun-young.'
'What are you talking about? I'm the A-rank closest to S-rank right now.'
That was true.
[Divine Sword Fusion], an ability not obtained from the Tower but recognized by the Association as SSR-grade.
A very powerful ability that overlays divinity onto the sword you carry.
The better the sword itself, the stronger the user becomes.
Of course, maintaining the sword itself is a lot more of a hassle, but it's manageable.
Besides, the Tower's difficulty is [Very Hard].
Considering that roughly 70 percent of S-rank hunters at home and abroad come from Very Hard difficulty...
Isela also had plenty of potential.
No, if she cleared just one floor, she'd definitely join the ranks of S-rank hunters.
But...
'The reason you came to see me isn't that, right?'
'Of course, I was also planning to scout our super rookie. Tell me. Where is she?'
'I don't know, I told you.'
'Ah. Lies aren't allowed.'
One golden eye shone.
'You even brought [Observer of Jupiter] with you?'
'You're lying.'
But Isela kept her composure.
'If I keep my mouth shut, isn't that the end of it?'
'But we can make a deal.'
'Why are you so fixated on her? There are plenty of other people, aren't there?'
'I looked at her training camp record.'
'...What? That's illegal...'
Demon of Samaksan, trainees' nightmare, vengeful fiend, homeless bum, king of incompetence.
......
They're all words that refer to one person. With not a single ability, she took first place in training camp.
'Wait. That's a bit exaggerated...'
Something felt off.
She was definitely called that during her training camp days, but...
It seemed like there was a little too much strange embellishment mixed in.
She must be some monstrously tough heroine.
'...A tough heroine?'
Isela had to suppress her laughter.
That crazy bastard should be the one seeing her climb mountains while chugging from a bottle.
She is tough.
Too tough, in fact.
'I won't ask where she is. Just answer one thing, and I won't bother you any further today.'
'What is it?'
'What kind of person is she? Looks and personality both seem good. After all, I need to know what kind of person she is if I'm going to persuade her.'
Hmm.
A person carrying Jupiter's Observer can see through truth and lies.
But they cannot speak lies.
It was about time for Yumia to arrive.
And for that question, I could prepare an answer that was both true and false.
One that matched his misunderstanding perfectly.
'She's a cool person.'
'That isn't enough of an answer.'
'She's dependable and smarter than anyone I know. Is that enough?'
'Hmm...'
'Huh? Who are you, mister?'
I thought I'd handled that well.
If Yumia hadn't been tugging at Hyun-young's suit with her tiny, cute hand,
'I'm hungry.'