A Super-Rare Drop on the 12th Run! The Silver Chest Holds the Real Prize

"G-graaaah!"

With a heavy thud, the 〈Bear Anteater〉 sank to the ground.

Its HP hit 0, and it vanished, engulfed in a massive burst of effects.

That was our twelfth run today.

"Nice work, Zephyrus-kun. Wasn't that the fastest one yet?"

"Yeah. Thanks. I think I've finally gotten used to fighting a real 〈Bear Anteater〉 and moving my body around, too."

Hannah brought over a towel and a drink to help me recover, so I thanked her and gratefully accepted them.

We were currently busy farming the boss in the 〈Tropical Forest Dungeon〉.

That 〈Bear Anteater〉 had been our twelfth clear. Three hours had passed since our first boss fight.

After fighting it twelve times, my body had finally gotten used to it. Now I could avoid every attack and defeat it easily with nothing but regular attacks, without even using 'Brave Slash.'

I was relaxed enough to let Hannah attack while I kept the boss focused on me, too.

Hannah also got more EXP by joining the fight than by just standing around watching, so once she'd gotten used to it, I had her participate actively.

And Hannah, you've got a real knack for this. Being able to take on a boss without hesitation is a talent in itself.

I hadn't realized it until I saw a real boss, but they're pretty scary.

"I'll go pick up the drops. We're doing another round after that, right?"

"No, my MP's run dry. Let's call it quits on the boss-respawn marathon for now."

Since a boss respawns when the boss room takes a powerful impact, I have to slam 'Brave Slash LV1' into the gate. But my MP wasn't recovering fast enough with natural regeneration alone. And since we were clearing the boss faster and faster, we couldn't keep fighting it any longer.

Without any support Skills, recovering 15 MP takes about thirty minutes. It didn't take that long in the game. Does everything just take longer in real life?

I'd used 'Brave Slash' twice during our first boss fight, but after that, I'd conserved MP by sticking to regular attacks. Still, 'Appeal LV5' cost 5 MP every time I used it to draw the boss's attention, so I'd finally run dry.

"Then, should we head back?"

Hannah looked toward the teleportation circle, but I shook my head and pointed in the opposite direction.

"No, we're going back that way."

"Back up a floor? But the boss hasn't respawned, so isn't that bad manners...?"

"We have the 〈Tropical Forest Dungeon〉 to ourselves right now. Nobody else is coming, right? Besides, we're going to use the teleportation circle on the way back, so it'll be fine."

"U-um... I guess that's okay, then?"

"Here's the plan. Once we farm the boss until we run out of MP, we'll go back up a floor and hunt regular monsters for materials while we wait for our MP to recover naturally. Then, once our MP's back, we'll farm the boss again. That's the basic loop."

As I explained the plan to Hannah, I realized she did have a point.

This wasn't a single-player game anymore. It was the real world, where lots of other people used the dungeons, so I had to be more considerate of proper etiquette from now on.

I changed my mind and decided we'd respawn the boss before going back up a floor from now on.

"Hey, Zephyrus-kun. What's this bracelet?"

"Hm?"

Hannah had been putting the drops into her 〈Item Bag (Capacity: Large)〉. She came over holding a bracelet from the Silver Chest, the reward for defeating the boss.

Huh!? This is!

"Oh! This is the 〈'Guest' Bracelet〉! It's definitely one of the rarest drops in the Lower Beginner 〈Shocker〉 tier!"

"Huh? No way! Yes!"

At my rare-drop verdict, Hannah's eyes lit up in an instant. She loved treasure, after all.

The bracelet Hannah had brought me had such an incredibly powerful effect that many players had wondered, 'Why is this in a Silver Chest?'

Honestly, this item was so good that people said the real jackpot in the Lower Beginner 〈Shocker〉 tier wasn't the Gold Chest—it was the Silver Chest.

I'd always hoped I'd get one someday, but I never expected to find one this soon.

In 〈Dan-Katsu〉, you couldn't acquire Skills later on through Skill Orbs or Skill Scrolls regardless of your Job.

However, you could temporarily use a Skill by equipping certain gear.

My 〈Sky Series〉 set bonus, 'Status Ailment Resistance LV3,' was one example.

And one of the best-known types of equipment that let you use Skills temporarily was the 〈'○○' Bracelet〉 series.

Hannah's 〈'Alchemy LV1' Bracelet〉 was one such item.

Most were used to meet the requirements for unlocking a Job, so they only granted Skills equivalent to LV1.

Since they only had LV1 Skills, they were no match for someone with the corresponding Job. And once people met the Job's unlock requirements, they promptly sold the bracelets, so they were available for next to nothing.

I sold Slime Jelly in the towns along the way to the academy, then bought a bunch of bracelets and met the unlock requirements for a bunch of Jobs in the carriage. I ended up spending all my preparation money for the academy, which is a sore spot. If only I'd had a smartphone back then, I could've passed the time... I blew my entire fortune just to kill time!

Anyway, while most 〈'○○' Bracelets〉 were like that, there were a few unusual ones that were worth an incredible amount.

One of them was this 〈'Guest' Bracelet〉. It granted the wearer the 'Guest' status. It didn't increase your defense, by the way.

And the 'Guest' status had an extraordinary effect: it let someone join a party in addition to its regular members.

In 〈Dan-Katsu〉, a party could have up to five members, but a 'Guest' could join in addition to them. That's why the 〈'Guest' Bracelet〉 was considered an ultra-rare drop.

However, it came with the restriction that it would self-destruct if its wearer took part in combat, so the wearer couldn't fight. Even so, it was an extremely valuable item.

'Guests' were mainly used as porters or referees, so the academy bought the bracelets at a high price and lent them to students for a fee. (There was a fine if you made one self-destruct.)

Those six sweaty muscleheads we'd seen earlier could challenge the 〈Beginner Dungeon〉 as a six-person party because Instructor Davidef was wearing a 〈'Guest' Bracelet〉. Instructors got to borrow them for free.

Still, I was lucky to get my hands on a 〈'Guest' Bracelet〉 this early.

The academy does buy them, but they almost never have any for sale.