Vol. 1 - Ch. 5 - Beyond the Sewers

I've read a dark story that killed my excitement. All the sense of accomplishment and exhilaration of beating a superior player has blown away in a glimpse. It's like when you're in a good mood after drinking to forget every worry, and then you're told that the deadline is tomorrow, and now, you have to sober up.

 I don't feel like reading anymore, and I have no magic power to test new techniques. So what should I do? I should turn on the lamp.

 Oh, now that I leveled up, I wonder if I'll be able to use two magic stones? Let's give it a try.

The amount of recovery is just barely higher than the previous one. Anyway, I'll go with two magic stones from now on.

 Come to think of it, this self-mutilation-like training that I am doing is to acquire [Light Magic], right? It's an excellent opportunity, so let's take a look at the ability skills acquired by consuming SP.

Let's start with weapons by sorting them by lineage. It remained the same when I created my character, but I guess even mages can get [Sword]. But consuming 5SP at a time, isn't it too heavy? The elemental four-attribute sorcery consumes 1SP.

 If that's the case, it must be pretty hard to become a "Weapon Master" who can use SP to master all kinds of weapons. Switching weapons depending on the situation sounds interesting, but it is a thorny path. I hope I get lucky.

 Next up is magic, but let's save the fun for last, so it's production.

'What... this one is normal.'

 It had a flat rate of 2 SP consumption. Is it easier to get your hands on? It's suitable for comfort when you're short on time like I am now. I won't take it, though.

 Next is a hobby. There are many. There are a variety of pursuits, such as fishing and mountain climbing, which would be great for people who don't have time for those activities in real life. However, it's a normal development in games that there are places you can't go or items you can't get without these skills. I guess it could happen in this game too. I'll keep that in mind.

 The next one is, whoa? Status Raising System? What's in it? [Strengthen Muscle] and [Strengthen Intellect]?

I see, so it's an ability skill that raises the status to mask data. In particular, they  [intelligence strengthening] and [mental strengthening] seem to be related to magic, as well as [physical strength recovery speed increase] and [magical power recovery speed increase]. I'd like to have a few of these.

 'The first two seemed a little heavy at 5SP, while the latter two are at 8SP.

Should I prioritize the power of a single shot, or should I increase my other abilities? I'm sure I'll get all of them later on, but they'll determine how I get through the early stages.'

 I'd prioritize the ability to survive. Since I'm a solo player, it would be more critical for me in unforeseen circumstances, and I would be less likely to run out of magic power.

 Now, information systems. Wow, that's heavy. It's a bit of a rip-off to get 10 SP for things like [Listening Ear] and [Distant Vision].

 Oh, by any chance, should I acquire SP-consuming ability skills on my own? I gained ability skills by reading books and sneaking around. In the same way, if I swing your Sword, I will probably get [Sword], and if I listen carefully and eavesdrop, I will probably get [Ears]. So they're saying that I should acquire them on my own at first and use the SP to evolve my ability skills? How unkind of them.

 And the last one is sorcery,

All of it came out as "Obtained". Well, I worked pretty hard on it. What? This, [Seance]...? Why is it there? Maybe only because I read the old mage's diary.

 I'm interested in it but... but, let's forget it for now. It won't be too late to acquire it after I know what the goddess wants from me. Besides, I'm still struggling to master a lot of magic. Trying to learn too much won't help.

 Oh, now it looks like my magic power has fully recovered while doing that. So, let's summon our servants and start exploring the south.

 There's a lot of Rat Men over here, too, primarily primitive ones. But their numbers are strangely high, in the north and east. Is there something ahead of us?

 There are three guys a little farther away. They're all armed, which means it's a trio of evolved Ratmen!

'Impossible! Impossible! Retreat!'

 To the north, there's only the Lesser Ratman. To the east, there are a few Ratmen, and to the south, there's a party of Ratmen. If the east is the danger zone, the south is the magic zone. At the very least, it's not a place I should enter with my initial race and my initial equipment. Not now!

 So we set off west. I'm stronger than Lesser Ratman but weaker than the evolved Rat Man. I wish I had a more convenient partner.

 There's nothing here! Nothing at all! There is not even a Lesser Rat Man! It's too much of a drop-off from the magical world to the south.

 But well, the less there is, the more I can explore. But now we're fourteen blocks away from the base. The base is located to the east of the city.

"Mmmm, a wall."

 One block further on, we hit a dead end.

So that means Fifteen blocks from the base was the west end.

 However, since I didn't encounter any enemy or have any chance to raise my level. My strength and magic power remained full due to my natural recovery, so I decided to continue my search.

 'So which way should we head, north or south?'

 Since Ratmens were in the east and south, we assume that the west and north are relatively safe. We should go to the north to get prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.

"---! ---!"

"Hmm?"

 What was that? I think I heard something...? The direction the voice came from was south.

"Hmm, should I go there?"

 I'm lost, but, let's go. There might be something new to discover. If it looks terrible, we can turn back.

 Uh, is it around here? I have my servants who stood behind pillars, activating [stealth] and [stealthy feet]. Now, I wonder what's going on.

"Juju!"

"SYURRRRRR!"

 There seems to be some battle going on.

On one side, it was the familiar group of two Lesser Ratmen and an evolved Ratman. But the other side is an enemy I've never seen before. Let's try to appraise it.

Race: Big Slug Lv7

Occupation: None

Ability skill: [Mucus].

   [Blow Resistance

   [Pain tolerance]

   [Poison Injection]

 As you can probably tell from the name, they were fighting a giant slug the size of a man. I'm not the first person to cower at the sight of that of the slimy creature, but that thing was just plain creepy.

It was only one Slug, but it seems like the Ratmen were having a hard time fighting it. The evolved Ratman is of the same rank as the one who fought with me, and he has a weapon. But still, he was struggling to fight with a lower-ranked opponent.

 At first, I thought, "Why?" But after observing it for a while, I found out that it was because of the Mucus. The Ratmen's primary means of attack were their front teeth and swords, but they slipped due to the [Mucus] in the Slug's epidermis. You can punch or kick the slug, but this is where the [blow resistance] comes into play. It's almost pointless to attack with blows.

"Jgaaaaah!"

"SYUUUUUUUUUU!"

 At this point, Ratman took the fight to him. As if he had closed the distance at once, he unleashed a thrust with the Sword in his hand. If the slash is slippery and the blow is ineffective, it seems reasonable to play with a stab. If the opponent dies from it, that's fine. But...

"JUUUUUU!"

"Jeez...!"

 I knew it. The other party has excellent pain tolerance. If they're not able to finish him off, it's natural that Ratman, who stepped in too far, will be crushed.

 And the counterattack is the last ability skill, the [Poison Spray]. Big Slug spat out a foul-coloured liquid from his mouth and poisoned Ratman at close range. That's the worst attack I've ever seen.

 The slug's poison seemed to be quite powerful, and the rat man's marker showed the poison. However, he understood the foolishness of leaving at this point, and instead of jumping back, he started to move his Sword to finish off the Big Slug. It's quite a fierce battle. But...

"Magic circle deployment, darkwave."

"「「「「! 」」」」"

'I just hit them with a huge darkwave attack.'

From my point of view, I did not think I could win. It was just a lucky opportunity that both of my opponents were preoccupied with their fight. Sneaky? Hahaha, I'm an aspiring villain.

You have won the battle.

Race Wraith level increased. 1 SP gained.

Occupation job level increased. 1 SP gained.

The [Wand] level has been increased.

The [Magic Control] level has been increased.

The [Dark Magic] level has been increased.

The [Appraisal] level has been increased.

The [Covert] level has been increased.

The [Stealthy feet] level has been increased.

The [surprise] level has been increased.

The experience was good. A single Ratman is quite hard to fight, but fighting two Lesser Ratmens and a Big Slug is almost next to impossible.

 However, I attacked them by surprise when both were severely injured, so it was possible for me to win.

 In addition, the current battle was a significant gain for me because I found out that there is a demon other than the Ratman called the Big Slug in this sewer. Now we can safely know the composition of its ability skills, and I think I can deal with it without panicking if we encounter it.

Now, let's start exploring the north side.

The [Wand] level has been increased.

The [Magic Control] level has been increased.

The [Earth Magic] level has been increased.

The [Water Magic] level has been increased.

The [Fire Magic] level has been increased.

The [Wind Magic] level has been increased.

The [Dark Magic] level has been increased.

The [no magic] level has been increased.

The [Summoning Technique] level has been increased.

The [Granting Technique] level has been increased.

The [magic circle] level has been increased.

The level of [necromancy] has been increased.

The [Spellcraft] level has been increased.

The [Trap Magic] level has been increased.

 Yes, there were more,

Well, a bunch of giant slugs. I want you to imagine it. Slugs larger than humans, intertwined like snake balls, blocking the sewer passage. It wasn't even close to creepy anymore that I almost went crazy. It was a scene that could only be described with violent images, and if you are not a fan of it, you might faint just by looking at it.

 But, frustratingly, the experience was excellent. They were not agile enough to avoid magic. It was just a big target for me and was also a significant factor. It's so good that my magic ability skills have gone up across the board---most of the giant slugs were higher ranked than me.

 Nevertheless, this time I realized what compatibility is all about. Just as the Big Slug was a lousy match for Rat Man, I could be the worst enemy for the Big Slug. After all, compatibility is a significant factor in combat. How do you get along with a disadvantaged opponent? You have to think about that, too.

All of the Big Slug's drop items were magic stones. Fourteen in total. It was a fair harvest. At first, I was a bit scared, thinking what would happen if Mucus or something came out.

 The giant slug swarm was fifteen blocks west and three blocks north of the base. From there, we went straight ahead and are now five blocks further north.

"...the wind is blowing?"

 At this point, I noticed that there was a flow of air. There should be no wind, only stagnant air in an almost enclosed sewer system. The blowing wind meant that there was a pathway for the air to go outside!

 I rushed toward the direction of the incoming wind. My steps were a little faster than usual, and I was not my usual cautious self.

'I might finally be able to get out!'

"Oh, oh, oh!"

 Finally, I found the entrance to the wind. It was fifteen blocks to the west and seven blocks to the north from the base. There was a spot where the ceiling had collapsed, and sunlight shone through a gap that a single person could fit through with no room to spare. Finally, I can get out of the sewers!

 But let's not panic. The sun's rays may not harm me. I'll return to my base and make sure I'm ready before I go out. I'm about a day and a half behind the other players in real-time, but my adventure begins now!

Name: Isam

Race: Moving Skeleton Lv7 up!

Occupation: Apprentice Magician Lv7 up!

Title: Seeker of Reason

   Those who have earned the title

   heretic

   juniors dominating seniors

   Demon's advocate

Ability skill: remaining SP 110

   [Wand] Lv8 up!

   [Magic Control] Lv8 up!

   [Earth Magic] Lv6 up!

   [Water Magic] Lv6 up!

   [Fire Magic] Lv6 up!

   [Wind Magic] Lv6 up!

   [Dark Magic] Lv8 up!

   [No Magic] Lv6 up!

   [Summoning Technique] Lv6 up!

   [Granting Technique] Lv4 up!

   [Magic Circle] Lv4 up!

   [Deadly Magic] Lv3 up!

   [Spellcraft] Lv3 up!

   [Trap Magic] Lv3 up!

   [Archeology] Lv6

   [Linguistics] Lv4

   [Pharmacy] Lv0

   [Alchemy] Lv0

   [Appraisal] Lv7 up!

   [Night Vision] Lv-.

   [Covert] Lv8 up!

   [Stealthy Footsteps] Lv7 up!

   [Surprise attack] Lv5 up!

   [State Abnormality Disable] Lv-

   [Light Attribute Vulnerability] Lv7

   [Vulnerable to Blow] Lv10

Comments