Checking the 11th Floor Tavern

'Anyway, since I've raised Tipina's [Ability Orb] to A-Grade.'

Now, all that's left is to imbue that Ability Orb with an A-Grade ability.

I thought the first ability to imbue should naturally be the Assault Captain's [Infinite Bullets], so I asked him right away.

<Survivor★(2ch): Assault Captain-nim. If it's not too much trouble, could you do me a favor?>

<Assault Captain(3ch): A favor? It's fine, just tell me whatever it is.>

<Survivor★(2ch): I have something called an Ability Orb. Could you please imbue it with your ability?>

<Assault Captain(3ch): ......What does that mean? Imbuing an ability?>

Unlike his answer that anything was fine, the Assault Captain reacted with skepticism.

<Survivor★(2ch): My party obtained something called an Ability Orb. It's an ability that allows others to use someone else's ability.>

<Assault Captain(3ch): So, if I imbue my ability into that Ability Orb, someone else can use Infinite Bullets?>

<Survivor★(2ch): Yes. But unless it's a special case, I plan to be the only one using it, so you don't have to worry.>

The Infinite Bullets ability was a significant power in itself, so I intended to use it only on this side.

<Assault Captain(3ch): That Ability Orb thing. It sounds like an insanely powerful ability.>

<Survivor★(2ch): Is it that insane?>

<Assault Captain(3ch): It is. It means an individual can use multiple abilities.>

Just as the Assault Captain said, I had also intended to combine Telekinesis and Infinite Bullets.

<Assault Captain(3ch): Plus, if you carry around abilities like Wound Healing or Infection Cure, you can use them in emergencies.>

<Survivor★(2ch): I can only make one a day, so it's not like I can sprinkle them everywhere.>

<Assault Captain(3ch): That's a shame. It would be helpful if you could make at least 10 a day.>

'10 a day.......'

If it were 10 a day, I wondered if I could do business with Ability Orbs in channels 3~4.

Honestly, even just the Infinite Bullets ability could probably be sold for a considerable price in channel 4.

'Because channel 4 is coveting the Infinite Bullets ability.'

But that was in the past.

Now that I'd given them the Bug Extermination magic, they might covet that even more.

<Assault Captain(3ch): By any chance, can you keep using the ability as long as you have the orb?>

<Survivor★(2ch): No way. It's disposable.>

If it could be used without a limit on the number of times, even S-Grade wouldn't be enough.

<Assault Captain(3ch): It's a shame it's disposable, but maybe later, an option like ability specialization might pop up.>

Indeed, the Ability Orb had now become A-Grade.

As the Assault Captain said, it wouldn't be strange if such an option appeared.

<Assault Captain(3ch): Anyway, I'll imbue my ability for you. Please use it well.>

<Survivor★(2ch): Ah. Also, since the Ability Orb is disposable, I think I'll have to ask you again next time, so would it be okay to register as friends?>

<Assault Captain(3ch): Friend registration! Does this mean I'm finally entering Survivor-nim's fence?!>

What's with my fence?

'Come to think of it, the only person I've registered as a friend in channel 3 is Ice Queen.'

It seemed the Assault Captain thought that no one else besides Ice Queen had registered as a friend with me.

'Besides, the Assault Captain belongs to the Incheon Coalition.......'

There would be that many Awakeners, so it seemed I could utilize the Ability Orbs a bit more.

<Survivor★(2ch): I don't know about this fence talk, but you can contact me separately.>

<Assault Captain(3ch): Then if I need something, can I contact you and buy it right away?>

Buy?

'I need to keep receiving the Infinite Bullets ability, too.'

<Survivor★(2ch): Yes. If you have something to buy in bulk, you can contact me.>

<Assault Captain(3ch): Understood! I'll imbue my ability right now! Ah, by any chance, won't there be a problem with my ability or anything?>

<Survivor★(2ch): I've already experimented with it, so don't worry, nothing like that will happen.>

Afterwards, I was able to receive the Ability Orb containing the [Infinite Bullets] ability through the Assault Captain.

<Assault Captain(3ch): And lastly, the Blast Crusher is.......>

<Survivor★(2ch): I'll lend it to you a bit longer. Use it to your heart's content.>

<Assault Captain(3ch): Yes! Understood! I hope Survivor-nim has a good day too!>

Having finished the trade with the Assault Captain, I looked at the Ability Orb in my inventory.

'Huh?'

The items in my inventory had their names written on them, and the Ability Orb was the same.

[Ability Orb (Infinite Bullets LV10)]

'Does this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mean Infinite Bullets Level 10 is imbued?'

It wasn't hard to guess that Infinite Bullets was Level 10.

Since Tipina's Ability Orb level was currently 10, it seemed the orb could only store up to Level 10.

'In other words, I have to raise Tipina's ability level.'

It wasn't difficult.

I had received 8,000 Bloodstones from the trade in Busan this time.

'Before that, I also have the Intermediate and Low-Grade Awakening Stones I've been collecting one by one.'

I didn't know for sure, but I'd be able to raise it to Level 30 easily.

"Tipina-ssi. Let's raise the Ability Orb to Level 30 today."

"Level 30?"

"Yes. We worked hard to raise it to A-Grade."

Since I had used as many as 3 High-Grade Awakening Stones to raise it, I wanted to raise it to at least Level 30.

Tipina also knew the usefulness of the Ability Orb, so she didn't refuse or decline, but accepted it.

Tipina's Ability Orb could be raised to Level 30 by feeding it about 5,000 Bloodstones.

Naturally, there were two ability specializations while raising it to Level 30, but the options were fixed.

【Tipina's Ability Specialization】

【1. Up to 1st stage ability specialization is applied.】

【2. Up to 2nd stage ability specialization is applied, and all effects increase by 5%.】

【3. Up to 3rd stage ability specialization is applied, and usage count increases by 1.】

'Actually, I was quite conflicted.'

Among the ability specializations, there were all sorts of things, making me worry a lot.

In particular, there was an effect where the grade of the stored ability increased by one level, or the orb remained even after using the ability.

'There was one flaw, though.'

The effect of increasing the stored ability's grade by one level capped out at A-Grade.

So, if you stored a B-Grade, it became A-Grade, but A-Grade had no effect.

'Also, the effect of the orb remaining.'

The orb could only be made once a day.

If you only think about that, it's an incredibly good ability, but the problem was the 50% probability.

In other words, it was an ability where if you used the Ability Orb, there was a 50% chance that only an empty orb would remain.

'Still, it's right to apply the ability specialization.'

The difference between having and not having ability specialization was significant.

Fortunately, perhaps because it had risen to A-Grade, it had other additional effects as well.

'Now, tomorrow I'll imbue the Infinite Bullets ability into the Level 30 Ability Orb.'

After that, I thought ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I could just contact Ice Queen and the Assault Captain every day to get recommendations for useful abilities.

"We came down to the 17th floor today. I think we can go to the 18th floor tomorrow."

Elysia said we could go to the 18th floor by tomorrow and slowly started looking for a place to camp.

I also thought it would take about a week to get to the 23rd floor while looking for a place to camp with Elysia.

"Ah. Survivor."

Just then, for some reason, Rubyel called me.

"Yes. What is it?"

"It's nothing much, but I was curious about what happened to the 11th floor."

11th floor?

"The 11th floor? You mean the tavern?"

"Yeah. Looking at the gallery, it seems like people are coming down to the 11th floor."

"People are coming down to the 11th floor?"

When I asked about that, Rubyel answered with a dissatisfied expression.

"Why are you so uninterested? It's a place made using your points."

"That's because I made it for the purpose of selling alcohol and snacks to hunters."

Actually, around the evening, I would get a call from Derno, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whom I entrusted with the tavern.

The reason for the call was to purchase alcohol and ingredients needed for the tavern.

'The points themselves are earned at a modest level, but.'

It was only earning 2,000~3,000 points a day.

However, since this was for the purpose of vitalizing hunting, I intended to keep maintaining it.

'But hearing Rubyel's words, I am curious.'

Rubyel seemed to be the same, telling me to check it.

"Let's check with the surveillance camera. You never know, they might be doing something else."

"No way, that wouldn't happen."

If they did something useless, someone would post about it in the gallery, and someone from the Hero Party would read that post.

Naturally, news would reach me, who was with the Hero Party, so I thought they wouldn't do that if they had any sense.

"Still, I'm curious about how it's being operated, so I'll check."

"Yeah. Watch it together with gallery sharing."

"Let's watch it together when we wash up and eat dinner."

Afterwards, at the camping spot, I installed the hideout and shower room, washed up, and watched the 11th floor while eating dinner with everyone.

'After sharing the gallery.'

I adjusted the screen size and position with Telekinesis to prepare it for everyone to see.

After that, when I checked the 11th floor tavern and Derno, who was in charge of the inn, through the surveillance camera, the bustling atmosphere was revealed first.

'There are quite a lot of people.'

In the tavern, many people were sitting at tables in groups of three or five, chatting busily and drinking alcohol.

Looking closely, I could see that there were some people drinking whiskey, which was more than 10 times more expensive than beer.

"The atmosphere itself is good."

"It sounds like I can hear music from somewhere, too."

Elysia said the atmosphere was good, and Aila mentioned the music, and indeed, music could be heard.

'What kind of music is this?'

So, when I turned the surveillance camera here and there, someone was playing an instrument on one side.

Moreover, I could frequently see waitresses walking around and serving alcohol and snacks in various places on the surveillance camera.

"It seems those people came down to the 11th floor."

"Yeah. It seems so. But why did they come down to the 11th floor?"

Rubyel spoke as if she were puzzled, but I thought I knew the reason.

"It's probably because the points they earn are different."

The main source of income on the 1st floor was stones dug from the labyrinth walls.

Even though I distributed pickaxes to make it easier to earn points, it would be hard to earn even 50 points a day.

'Maybe 10~20 points.'

Compared to that, on the 11th floor of the labyrinth, you can earn 100 points just by catching one monster wandering around.

'So perhaps the tavern revenue is decent.'

Since the tavern was for hunters, alcohol and beer were being sold almost at cost.

Derno, who runs the tavern, seemed to have hired people by charging more there.

"I never thought I would see a scene like this after evacuating to the labyrinth."

Meanwhile, Elysia stopped eating and stared blankly at the tavern screen.

After the monsters invaded from the surface, she probably hadn't seen a scene where people laughed and chatted like this.

'Hmm.'

I looked at Elysia, who seemed to be lost in sentiment, for a moment and answered.

"It will get a little better in the future."

Once, as long as I didn't die, I could continue to purchase necessary items.

As people slowly adapted to the changes, they would ask for new things, so I just had to sell them each time.

"......."

Also, at my answer, Elysia turned her head and looked at me blankly.

Seeing Elysia looking at me without a word, I wondered if I had done something wrong, but nothing particular came to mind.

"Sometimes I have this thought. Wouldn't it be better to make this labyrinth a new settlement instead of going down?"

"Well...... it wouldn't be impossible."

Considering the points I earn now and the items I can purchase with those points, it's not an impossible task.

"But that relies on you alone, Survivor-nim. As a hero, I can't do that, so I think it's right to go down."

Elysia said in a voice that seemed to contain regret and bitterness.

Certainly, it might be good for now, but unless ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠self-sufficiency was possible, it was right to recapture the surface.

'Even if I decorate the labyrinth as a new settlement, it would collapse in an instant if I died.'

Thinking that, I answered that Elysia's words were correct.

"Hero-nim is right. For this world to survive, we must recapture the surface."

"......Thank you for saying that."

Elysia then smiled, albeit slightly.

Apart from that, the Beastkin Chief, Sirien, was busy eating regardless of the atmosphere, though.

"Survivor! This is super delicious!"

Additionally, what Sirien was eating busily right now was braised pork ribs.

'Braised ribs are delicious, aren't they.'

Seeing the braised ribs already hitting the bottom, I purchased more through Modern Item Purchase.

Ttiring~!

'Huh?'

【Congratulations.】
【The level of the ability, 'Modern Item Purchase', has increased.】

With that, the level of my Modern Item Purchase increased.

It seemed the experience I gained from continuously purchasing and registering items in channel 6 this time was significant.

'Well. Just the items I purchased and registered in the channel 6 exchange were enormous.'

Anyway, a new function was added to Modern Item Purchase, which became Level 6.

【'Product Registration' is added to the Modern Item Purchase list.】