Exploring the Underground Cemetery (1)

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Your 【Scythe Arts】 level has increased.

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We reached the stairs leading down to the second floor of the 'Forgotten Underground Cemetery' without any particular trouble. Actually, Flying Slash is pretty convenient. Just firing it continuously from the rear provides enough support. Its power is lower than magic, but I have plenty of magic power, so I can fire it repeatedly. The cost-effectiveness isn't bad. I want to acquire a new long-range martial skill soon.

"Now, this is unexplored territory. Ruby, I'm counting on you."

"Leave it to me!"

Apparently, Ruby used the SP she earned during the event to acquire every Skill useful for exploration. What a lavish spender! She really intends to make the most of her Scout Job. Being able to stick to the ceiling and move around by taking advantage of the Slime's traits is a considerable strength, so I hope she keeps developing it.

Anyway, we stepped onto the second floor. It's pitch-black here too. 【Night Vision】 means that's no problem, though.

"Stop. There's a trap here, so I'll disarm it."

Oh, Ruby seems to have found a trap right away. She silently dropped from the ceiling to the floor, then stretched part of her Slime body into a string and ran it along the boundary between the floor and wall. A few seconds later, there was a click, and the floor several meters ahead of Ruby opened up.

"Phew, disarmed."

Apparently, it was some kind of pitfall trap. When we looked down into the pit from above, the bottom was covered in spikes like a bed of swords. If someone had fallen in, everyone except me would have been full of holes. Me? I'm full of gaps to begin with, so it wouldn't make much difference.

We left vigilance against traps and the like to Ruby and proceeded while gathering whatever we happened to find. We wouldn't collect bones or anything like that, but mushrooms growing there should be fine. It would even help clean up the cemetery, so we'd be killing two birds with one stone.

Ruby is becoming remarkably sharp-eyed, finding traps and secret doors one after another. Of course, there were monsters waiting beyond the secret doors, as one would expect.

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Race: High Zombie Lv. 22

Job: None

【Fist】

【Vitality Enhancement】

【Strength Enhancement】

【Defense Enhancement】

【Night Vision】

【Status Ailment Immunity】

【Pain Immunity】

【Fire Weakness】

【Light Weakness】

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Yeah. These were monsters I had brought out in droves in the 'Cursed Tomb Tower.' Ah, I suppose they were already rotten.

Let's stop thinking about pointless things like that. Their levels were fairly high and there were quite a lot of them, but they were no match for us. I exploited their weakness with Fire Wave, and then everyone just picked them off one by one. If it were me, I would have added even more traps, but apparently there weren't any. Whoever built this place was too soft.

And the drop item was exactly what I expected. Its description reads as follows.

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Magic Stone (Dark) Quality: Fair Rarity: R (Rare Grade)

A stone generated inside a monster's body. It contains Dark-element magic power.

Absorbs and stores the magic power in its surroundings.

Absorption efficiency is proportional to Quality, while maximum magic power is proportional to Rarity.

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We should be able to make 'Black Iron' with this. There were a fair number of High Zombies, so we obtained around twenty magic stones. Iris estimates that, at this rate, we might be able to make Dark-element weapons for everyone. It seems best to hunt High Zombies whenever we find them.

Incidentally, most of the items in the secret rooms were accessories without any noteworthy abilities. Even after checking them with my 【Appraisal】 and 【Archaeology】, apparently they had value only as antiques or works of art.

Then we had no need for them. Besides, all of these were grave goods. Even though this was a game, Genzuro objected to grave robbing, so we didn't collect the items. We had still obtained Dark-element magic stones, so there was no problem. May they rest in peace.

Outside the secret rooms, Ratman Warriors and Ratman Mages appeared just as they had on the first floor. The difference in strength was within the margin of error. We never really struggled.

Now, once we entered the third floor, enemies with some real bite finally began appearing. They were Ratman Knights—the entourage of a Ratman General.

Back then, they had been weakened by my Heat Mist and instantly slaughtered by Jigoro and the others. Here, however, they were commanders leading Ratman Warriors and Ratman Mages. We couldn't launch a surprise attack and had to fight them head-on, so they were quite a handful.

The one who performed surprisingly well was Iris. Apparently, from her experience fighting as an event boss, she had mastered the fighting style of a Rock Tentacle. She was thoroughly practiced at binding enemies with her tentacles, crushing them, and butchering them with a mallet and hatchet. Perhaps I should have her attack more actively from now on.

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Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your 【Staff】 level has increased.

Your 【Scythe Arts】 level has increased.

Your 【Magic Power Control】 level has increased.

Your 【Fire Magic】 level has increased.

Your 【Lava Magic】 level has increased.

Your 【Explosion Magic】 level has increased.

Your 【Enchanting】 level has increased.

Your 【Magic Circle】 level has increased.

You learned the Star Magic Circle spell.

Your 【Curse Arts】 level has increased.

Your 【Trap Magic】 level has increased.

Your 【Spirit Magic】 level has increased.

Your 【Dark Arts】 level has increased.

Your 【Archaeology】 level has increased.

Your 【Linguistics】 level has increased.

Your 【Appraisal】 level has increased.

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It took quite a while, but we somehow managed to clear the third floor as well. Since we had walked every inch of it, we ended up in battle countless times, but the floor itself seemed to grow gradually smaller from the first floor onward. If so, would the fourth floor be even narrower? I don't know, but we should stop acting on the assumption that it will be. We must not let our guard down.

Now, let's take a break here. We've been worn down considerably by the consecutive battles so far. Resting to recover our concentration is important too.

This time, Iris, Jigoro, and I got to rest first. I was usually the one left behind during times like this, so Ruby and Genzuro had kindly made the arrangement. Ah, reliable companions are truly a blessing!

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Yes, I'm back. Iris and Jigoro are still... Oh, you're back too. Now that the three of us have returned, the two who had been standing watch log out for a while. Go get a good rest.

"Say, Izam. What happened to that egg?"

"The egg? Oh, right. I left it in my inventory this whole time."

The monster egg, one of the two rewards from the previous event. I hadn't checked on it at all since then. I'd been busy raising my 【Scythe Arts】 level this week. Well, let's take it out and see what it's like.

"Uh, this is it... huh?"

This is a monster egg, right? It's grown considerably larger than when I received it, and its shell has turned pitch-black, with creepy red blotches here and there. And unless I'm mistaken, it's even giving off a dark, murky aura...

"Whoa! It's gotten pretty wild!"

"I wonder what will hatch from it...?"

Jigoro looks delighted, but Iris seems quite put off. No, no, I didn't do this on purpose! Ah, but it grows by absorbing my magic power, doesn't it? Then I suppose it is my fault after all...

Wait! Does this mean my magic power is this ghastly? Well, I do have every kind of Abyssal Magic that ordinary people find terrifying, so perhaps it can't be helped.

Still, it's a fact that the egg gives off the distinct impression that a clearly powerful monster is about to hatch from it. Let's look on the bright side. Yes.

"Speaking of which, when is it going to hatch?"

"No idea. There's absolutely no explanation about that."

The description doesn't mention anything at all about when it will hatch. In any case, it's growing without any problems even while stored in my inventory, so we might as well leave it there. I calmly put away the egg, whose appearance had changed completely.

"Oh, that reminds me. The PV for the Second Wave has been released. Have either of you seen it?"

So that's what happened? I had no idea. I honestly shook my head. Jigoro apparently hadn't checked it either, because he shook his head just like me.

"Then why don't we watch it now? It's only a little here and there, but all of us have scenes showing off our exploits."

"Oh ho, that is interesting."

"Sounds good! Let's watch it already!"

Let's watch it right away, then. The first part shows the martial arts tournament. Oh, there's the match where Hero-kun won the individual competition, as well as the one-woman rampage by that female player on horseback that caused such a stir back then. Finally, Hero-kun and the girls win the party battle, bringing it to a close.

Next is the exhibition of crafted items held at the same time as the martial arts tournament. Oh, there are quite a few different things. Still, Iris can make higher-quality items, so... I suppose they would be appealing to newcomers who want to try crafting.

And now, the long-awaited labyrinth event. First, it shows players struggling through labyrinths of various difficulties. It really conveys the feeling of going on an adventure.

When the BGM starts building, we get a rush of boss battles! The Big Rock Tentacle, Iris, swatting players away with her tentacles; the Giant Slime, Ruby, crushing players in a flooded room; the Armored Insectoid, Genzuro, putting on a spectacular four-sword display against a party that clearly looks like the strategy group; the Ogre, Jigoro, engaging in a head-on brawl with that female player who fights as one with her mount; and the Skeleton Executioner, me, unexpectedly cutting off the Hero's head. Footage of various other monsters defeating players or putting them through a difficult fight continues to play.

And the final caption reads, 'If you meet the conditions, you can play as the same Race as the boss!' Iifa-sama's plan to increase the number of monster players looks like it will succeed. The excitement toward the end was incredible.

"That was quite a spectacle."

"Aw, I wanted to fight those two more!"

Watching the PV apparently brought back the exhilaration of that battle for Jigoro, because he stood up and started shadowboxing. That battle maniac never changes.

"Apparently, the response has been huge. I hear a lot of Second Wave players are declaring on social media that they're going to play as monsters."

"So the five of us won't be the only ones anymore."

Almost everyone had given up because the opening was too harsh, leaving only five monster players. That had been the situation until now, but apparently things were about to change. It was strangely moving.

"Who cares? We'll do our own thing. I ain't planning to get involved with the newbies, that's for sure."

"That would be best. Even though Iris expanded our base, it isn't large enough to accept an unlimited number of people. Besides, if we're going to take someone in, it has to be someone we can trust."

We may be pioneers among the monster players, but that doesn't mean we have any obligation to look after new players. Nor are we obligated to let them join us simply because they're monster players. If we happen to meet someone and they turn out to have good character, we might take them in. That's all.

"We do need to help each other, but having people rely on us all the time is a different matter."

"Exactly."

The Second Wave arrives during Golden Week. Will the number of monster players really increase? It should be interesting to watch.