Chapter 350: Dark Continent (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 350: Dark Continent (1)
The odds of Probabilistic Retaliation activating were more or less at 10 percent. For reference, this probability didn't go up just because you had Transcendence. That was because the 1.5 times increase in performance was instead applied to the amount of damage reflected back.
I mean, but still.
[You have been hit with Asura's Kick.]
Just when I started to genuinely worry that I had been scammed and had taken a weird essence, the passive activated nearly a hundred kicks in.
[The Luck dwelling in your body has blocked the damage.]
Probabilistic Retaliation activated, and a transparent veil sprouted over the target area as if to protect me.
[Your powerful luck reflects 150% of the damage received back to the enemy.]
A skeleton summoned right next to me imitated the kicking stance exactly and landed an Asura's Kick on Amelia while releasing a roar, even though it didn't have vocal cords.
"Gahhhcha!"
Hey, that's the sound that it makes when there's a critical success. Wait a minute, then this could really injure her.
I rushed forward but it was already too late.
Smack!
Startled by the sudden attack, Amelia wasn't able to dodge the strike flying toward her and took it on the shoulder.
Shaaaaaa.
The skeleton disappeared in a burst of light after landing exactly one kick.
"Ugh..."
"Are you okay?!"
When I ran toward her in shock, Amelia took her hand off her shoulder and pushed me away. "Don't be dramatic. I was just a little surprised."
Surprised? Your shoulder is totally shattered.
"Erwen, bring me splints and bandages."
"Ah, right...!"
Giving Amelia a potion was pointless because of her Spring of Eternal Youth, so I adjusted the bone with my hand, and then bandaged it with a splint.
"I told you to dodge once the ability activated. If you can't dodge it, at least kick gently."
"...I did kick gently."
Yeah right. And a critical success meant it reflected 100 percent of the original damage.
Ah... it would have been 150 percent because of Transcendence.
For reference, the amount of damage usually reflected was only 10 percent. Even if you factored in Transcendence, that was 15 percent. Since this skill summoned a skeleton to deliver the attack, it was possible to dodge it, so it wasn't a very useful skill.
"Anyway, Amelia, you take a break."
"Yes! I can help you now, Mister! I'm good at dodging. And blocking too!"
"...All right."
When Erwen summoned an elemental again, Amelia slunk over to the sofa to sit, looking dejected.
[You have taken Fire damage.]
[You have taken Fire damage.]
[You have taken Fire damage.]
This time, the skill activated after ten tries.
[The Luck dwelling in your body has blocked the damage. Your ordinary luck reflects 15% of the damage received back to the enemy.]
A cute little skeleton once again popped into existence beside me and shot out flames. Since it wasn't a critical success, it didn't come with a unique sound effect.
Pop!
As Erwen dodged to the side to avoid the flames, the sparks hit the wall and flew everywhere.
"Oh, fire."
"E-Erwen! Water elemental!"
"Ah, yes!"
That day, we almost lost our collateral house.
After experiencing a near-fire, we headed out to the yard at night to test my skill and obtained important data.
To start, it looks like there isn't much of a margin of error in terms of the probability...
Unlike the first attempt, where success only came after nearly a hundred tries, after that, the skill activated an average of fifteen times later. The problem was that averages were just averages. There were many cases where it suddenly stopped activating even though it was working normally, and in those cases, I really had to get beaten up for a long time. I was pretty sure our record was 198 times.
How is that possible?
Even if the probability were 1 percent, those statistics wouldn't make sense. And even after accumulating that huge stack, I didn't end up getting a critical success.
Well, it feels like it's working more often, though.
Anyway, after testing the passive followed by the active, the three of us spent every day planning for our quest. The number one objective of said plan was money. We took a short-term loan of six months to make up for our insufficient budget. The interest rates were high and if we didn't repay this money on time, the house would be taken over by the bank. Was that why?
"Mister, I'm okay... you don't have to overdo it..." Erwen seemed to have given up on keeping this house the moment it got used as collateral for the loan. She probably thought it would be difficult to raise the money in six months.
"I told you. I'm going to work as hard as I can."
I had a conscience too. Since Erwen really liked this house, it was only right to try and protect it no matter what it took.
"But to raise that much money in such a short period of time... There would be no other option but the war."
"Rainwales is right. None of us have boats. That means we can't go to the sixth floor and we'll have to stay on the fifth at most..."
"You don't have to look at me like that. I think it'd be better for us to join the war too. Though I may be noticeable, as long as I don't use Giantization, no one will think of Bjorn Yandel when they see me now."
Without needing to talk it over for long, we decided to join the war. If we joined the royal military, we could travel straight to the seventh floor on a big ship.
At our level, seventh-floor monsters won't be a problem, either.
All three of us were good at interpersonal combat, too, so we should be able to perform well in the war and collect bounties. No, bounties weren't the main appeal. Our enemies would also be upper-middle-floor adventurers, so if we stripped their equipment and sold it, the income would be enormous.
Not only that... If all goes well, it might be possible to kill some seventh-floor monsters and reach level seven too.
Originally, gaining that amount of XP would only have been possible by clearing more than 60 percent of the sixth floor. This made things a bit easier.
A cute little skeleton once again popped into existence beside me and shot out flames. Since it wasn't a critical success, it didn't come with a unique sound effect.
Pop!
As Erwen dodged to the side to avoid the flames, the sparks hit the wall and flew everywhere.
"Oh, fire."
"E-Erwen! Water elemental!"
"Ah, yes!"
That day, we almost lost our collateral house.
After experiencing a near-fire, we headed out to the yard at night to test my skill and obtained important data.
To start, it looks like there isn't much of a margin of error in terms of the probability...
Unlike the first attempt, where success only came after nearly a hundred tries, after that, the skill activated an average of fifteen times later. The problem was that averages were just averages. There were many cases where it suddenly stopped activating even though it was working normally, and in those cases, I really had to get beaten up for a long time. I was pretty sure our record was 198 times.
How is that possible?
Even if the probability were 1 percent, those statistics wouldn't make sense. And even after accumulating that huge stack, I didn't end up getting a critical success.
Well, it feels like it's working more often, though.
Anyway, after testing the passive followed by the active, the three of us spent every day planning for our quest. The number one objective of said plan was money. We took a short-term loan of six months to make up for our insufficient budget. The interest rates were high and if we didn't repay this money on time, the house would be taken over by the bank. Was that why?
"Mister, I'm okay... you don't have to overdo it..." Erwen seemed to have given up on keeping this house the moment it got used as collateral for the loan. She probably thought it would be difficult to raise the money in six months.
"I told you. I'm going to work as hard as I can."
I had a conscience too. Since Erwen really liked this house, it was only right to try and protect it no matter what it took.
"But to raise that much money in such a short period of time... There would be no other option but the war."
"Rainwales is right. None of us have boats. That means we can't go to the sixth floor and we'll have to stay on the fifth at most..."
"You don't have to look at me like that. I think it'd be better for us to join the war too. Though I may be noticeable, as long as I don't use Giantization, no one will think of Bjorn Yandel when they see me now."
Without needing to talk it over for long, we decided to join the war. If we joined the royal military, we could travel straight to the seventh floor on a big ship.
At our level, seventh-floor monsters won't be a problem, either.
All three of us were good at interpersonal combat, too, so we should be able to perform well in the war and collect bounties. No, bounties weren't the main appeal. Our enemies would also be upper-middle-floor adventurers, so if we stripped their equipment and sold it, the income would be enormous.
Not only that... If all goes well, it might be possible to kill some seventh-floor monsters and reach level seven too.
Originally, gaining that amount of XP would only have been possible by clearing more than 60 percent of the sixth floor. This made things a bit easier.
Once I reach level seven, I can get an essence from Burrow Island.
After that, I could erase the Gachabone's essence and move on to defeating a Bellarios.
If I reach level eight and get another essence, I'll have to erase Storm Gush too. And the essence I'll be consuming at level nine will be easier to farm after I grind for the Lord of the Floor.
As I was mapping out the direction my cultivation would take in the future, it made me feel strange. I was sure the middle act of the game was definitely over at this point. I couldn't believe I'd already come this far.
While I was momentarily in my feelings about that, Amelia asked Erwen a question. "But Tersia, is that okay with you? I thought the elves worked with the executive board."
"Oh, that's true. Is that okay, Erwen?"
"That's okay. I took vacation leave."
"Vacation?"
"Yes. I told them I wouldn't be entering the labyrinth for a while, and even if I did, I'd be working separately. So you don't have to worry about that issue."
"...If you say so."
After that, I listened to Erwen and Amelia recount how the war had progressed so far and devised plans accordingly. Time passed until the labyrinth day dawned.
***
[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]
Inside the Crystal Cave, which was glowing a soft purple, Amelia took point and started leading the way as soon as we opened our eyes. "Come this way."
"Wait a minute, I'm better at figuring out directions—"
"Amelia is a scout."
"...She is?"
Erwen had received high-level training from her sister equivalent to that of a professional scout, but she stopped insisting after my explanation. Her pride did seem to have taken a hit, however. To be honest, I couldn't understand that. I also had navigation software installed in me, but I wasn't disappointed about not being able to use it.
It's much easier to just follow, so why bother?
It was interesting, though. There were only three of us on this team yet we all had scout skills. Was this what you called being one of the elite few?
Sprint.
Anyway, I just had to follow Amelia, so I continued to glance around as I ran. The vibe inside the labyrinth, which I was entering for the first time since my return, was much different from what I had expected. I expected to see knights wearing the seals of noble families and adventurers from clans everywhere.
"There are more lower-floor adventurers than I thought."
I could see adventurers reeking of newbie energy here and there. In general, their faces were on the brighter side. They were nervous about being inside the labyrinth, but not trembling in fear.
"Oh, that? The palace implemented a lot of policies for lower-floor adventurers. After all... many high-ranking adventurers died that day."
Hearing it out, there was a reason why there were more people on the first floor than there were during my newbie days. The royal policy was one factor, but the major thing was that most large clans had disintegrated. Now that there'd been a reshuffling, the labyrinth had transformed into a land of opportunity where all you had to do was stick a flag on the ground to stake your claim. The most prominent example was the fifth floor.
"No one is in charge of the fifth floor?"
"There will be some control, but not as bad as it used to be."
In the case of the Great Demon Realm, it used to be common for clans to occupy and monopolize areas where monsters appeared, but that was rare these days. Apparently, it was better to join the war effort instead. Since the pay for participating was sizeable and the palace bestowed an essence you desired on you in return for war achievements, it seemed that was the trend these days.
"We were a bit too late."
Although we arrived extremely early, the first-floor portal had already been opened by another adventurer. Our official portal speedrun was another failure.
[You have entered the Den of Beasts on the second floor.]
There was no way we could get the second-floor speedrun after the first floor was a fail, so we started to move at a more leisurely pace. Our schedule was wide open, anyway.
The deadline is the 25th.
The way the palace recruited troops was very simple: arrive at Laemia, the Island of Beginnings, by the 25th day. Though the deadline was tight for a team that had just reached the sixth floor, it was a different story for the three of us since we had a free pass up to the sixth floor.
Our speed isn't slowing down since we have no wizard.
In the past, this would usually be the time we'd stop and rest, but no one suggested stopping.
We're already on the third floor...?
By the end of the first day, we arrived on the third floor. We didn't even run as fast on the second floor as we did on the first.
"Mister, you must be tired. Here, drink this."
Surprisingly, these two still had energy after all that, so we could probably have moved faster if we really wanted to. True, these guys were agility characters.
"Erwen, I told you not to call me Mister in the labyrinth."
"Ah, right. I'll be careful..." Erwen smiled shyly and nodded.
After that, we set up the camp. There was no night watch. We were only at the beginning of the third floor, anyway.
"I can just leave my doppelganger in position, so rest easy."
Thanks to Amelia's Self-Replication, there was no need to waste someone on a task like that.
"Wow, Amelia. It's definitely convenient to have you around."
"Don't be dramatic. This is nothing."
Ha, sassy. I was just saying thanks, since even if it is a doppelganger, it's you doing the work.
"Yes, that's right. It is nothing."
"Huh?"
"W-Well, I can do something similar..." With that, Erwen immediately summoned an elemental. It wasn't hard for her to keep it summoned while she slept, unlike before. It didn't put a dent in her mana consumption, either. "And if I use the elemental of darkness, I can make it harder for monsters and other people to see us. What do you think? Isn't mine much better? Hmm? Don't you think?"
"Y-Yeah... yours is better." I wanted to refrain from comparing teammates, but a strange feeling of intimidation made my head nod on its own.
But was that the answer she wanted? "Then... tell me the same thing."
"...Hmm? Tell you what?"
"That. What you said to that woman..." Erwen twisted her body from side to side. "Th-that it's more convenient to have me here... Th-that... I'm the best... a-and the greatest..."
Um, I never said those things.
Once I reach level seven, I can get an essence from Burrow Island.
After that, I could erase the Gachabone's essence and move on to defeating a Bellarios.
If I reach level eight and get another essence, I'll have to erase Storm Gush too. And the essence I'll be consuming at level nine will be easier to farm after I grind for the Lord of the Floor.
As I was mapping out the direction my cultivation would take in the future, it made me feel strange. I was sure the middle act of the game was definitely over at this point. I couldn't believe I'd already come this far.
While I was momentarily in my feelings about that, Amelia asked Erwen a question. "But Tersia, is that okay with you? I thought the elves worked with the executive board."
"Oh, that's true. Is that okay, Erwen?"
"That's okay. I took vacation leave."
"Vacation?"
"Yes. I told them I wouldn't be entering the labyrinth for a while, and even if I did, I'd be working separately. So you don't have to worry about that issue."
"...If you say so."
After that, I listened to Erwen and Amelia recount how the war had progressed so far and devised plans accordingly. Time passed until the labyrinth day dawned.
***
[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]
Inside the Crystal Cave, which was glowing a soft purple, Amelia took point and started leading the way as soon as we opened our eyes. "Come this way."
"Wait a minute, I'm better at figuring out directions—"
"Amelia is a scout."
"...She is?"
Erwen had received high-level training from her sister equivalent to that of a professional scout, but she stopped insisting after my explanation. Her pride did seem to have taken a hit, however. To be honest, I couldn't understand that. I also had navigation software installed in me, but I wasn't disappointed about not being able to use it.
It's much easier to just follow, so why bother?
It was interesting, though. There were only three of us on this team yet we all had scout skills. Was this what you called being one of the elite few?
Sprint.
Anyway, I just had to follow Amelia, so I continued to glance around as I ran. The vibe inside the labyrinth, which I was entering for the first time since my return, was much different from what I had expected. I expected to see knights wearing the seals of noble families and adventurers from clans everywhere.
"There are more lower-floor adventurers than I thought."
I could see adventurers reeking of newbie energy here and there. In general, their faces were on the brighter side. They were nervous about being inside the labyrinth, but not trembling in fear.
"Oh, that? The palace implemented a lot of policies for lower-floor adventurers. After all... many high-ranking adventurers died that day."
Hearing it out, there was a reason why there were more people on the first floor than there were during my newbie days. The royal policy was one factor, but the major thing was that most large clans had disintegrated. Now that there'd been a reshuffling, the labyrinth had transformed into a land of opportunity where all you had to do was stick a flag on the ground to stake your claim. The most prominent example was the fifth floor.
"No one is in charge of the fifth floor?"
"There will be some control, but not as bad as it used to be."
In the case of the Great Demon Realm, it used to be common for clans to occupy and monopolize areas where monsters appeared, but that was rare these days. Apparently, it was better to join the war effort instead. Since the pay for participating was sizeable and the palace bestowed an essence you desired on you in return for war achievements, it seemed that was the trend these days.
"We were a bit too late."
Although we arrived extremely early, the first-floor portal had already been opened by another adventurer. Our official portal speedrun was another failure.
[You have entered the Den of Beasts on the second floor.]
There was no way we could get the second-floor speedrun after the first floor was a fail, so we started to move at a more leisurely pace. Our schedule was wide open, anyway.
The deadline is the 25th.
The way the palace recruited troops was very simple: arrive at Laemia, the Island of Beginnings, by the 25th day. Though the deadline was tight for a team that had just reached the sixth floor, it was a different story for the three of us since we had a free pass up to the sixth floor.
Our speed isn't slowing down since we have no wizard.
In the past, this would usually be the time we'd stop and rest, but no one suggested stopping.
We're already on the third floor...?
By the end of the first day, we arrived on the third floor. We didn't even run as fast on the second floor as we did on the first.
"Mister, you must be tired. Here, drink this."
Surprisingly, these two still had energy after all that, so we could probably have moved faster if we really wanted to. True, these guys were agility characters.
"Erwen, I told you not to call me Mister in the labyrinth."
"Ah, right. I'll be careful..." Erwen smiled shyly and nodded.
After that, we set up the camp. There was no night watch. We were only at the beginning of the third floor, anyway.
"I can just leave my doppelganger in position, so rest easy."
Thanks to Amelia's Self-Replication, there was no need to waste someone on a task like that.
"Wow, Amelia. It's definitely convenient to have you around."
"Don't be dramatic. This is nothing."
Ha, sassy. I was just saying thanks, since even if it is a doppelganger, it's you doing the work.
"Yes, that's right. It is nothing."
"Huh?"
"W-Well, I can do something similar..." With that, Erwen immediately summoned an elemental. It wasn't hard for her to keep it summoned while she slept, unlike before. It didn't put a dent in her mana consumption, either. "And if I use the elemental of darkness, I can make it harder for monsters and other people to see us. What do you think? Isn't mine much better? Hmm? Don't you think?"
"Y-Yeah... yours is better." I wanted to refrain from comparing teammates, but a strange feeling of intimidation made my head nod on its own.
But was that the answer she wanted? "Then... tell me the same thing."
"...Hmm? Tell you what?"
"That. What you said to that woman..." Erwen twisted her body from side to side. "Th-that it's more convenient to have me here... Th-that... I'm the best... a-and the greatest..."
Um, I never said those things.