Chapter 7: Traps and More Testing

Hell Mode — LNCrawler · All chapters

Chapter 7: Traps and More Testing

And so it was decided that Keel, his sister Nina, and the servants who used to serve House Carnel would be moving into the No-life Gamers’ home base. When Keel first announced this, the fifteen-year-old servant boy looked like he wanted to protest. After Keel had a talk with him, however, he made no further comment.

The next day was spent entirely on helping Keel’s group move house as well as purchasing any daily necessities such as bedding. The salary of the six servants was also determined, with the rates set according to their ages.

15yo gentleman-in-waiting: 1 gold
15yo lady-in-waiting: 1 gold
10yo manservant: 50 silver
10yo maidservant: 50 silver
8yo houseboy: 20 silver
8yo housemaid: 20 silver

Their salaries were fixed, but there was no change to the rule of dedicating a sixth of all earnings from the dungeons to the base’s maintenance costs and living expenses. The idea was to cover all expenditures with dungeon loot.

With the addition of a Cleric, everything seemed to be going great with the party. This was not entirely true, however. The main reason was because of the way that Viscount Carnel had decided to handle Keel.

Nobles generally reacted in one of two ways when the Appraisal Ceremony identified their children as Talented. Some would lament their child’s fate and do whatever they could to get their child exempted from their duty. This was what Viscount Granvelle had chosen. He had rushed to reopen the mithril mines in his realm in hopes of offering them to the king in exchange for his daughter’s exemption.

The majority, however, welcomed their Talent as a blessing. This was because, for nobles who returned after successfully fulfilling their duty, the benefits were simply too great. It was far easier for veterans to be appointed to positions at the royal palace, and former combatants who went on to become head of their houses were granted tax cuts.

Take Rifol, for example. He was a slender and fragile-looking boy who had been born to House Hamilton, an esteemed family that had a history of producing generations of exemplary generals. If things remained as they were currently, chances were high that his family would lose their prestige with his generation. However, the Ceremony determined that he had the Swordsman Talent. If he attended the Academy and fulfilled his three years of duty, he would surely return home a changed man, with all the advantages from service to boot. At least, this was what his family expected, and his father had joyfully sent him off to the Academy. Nobles who prioritized the prosperity of their house generally welcomed their children’s Talents.

But what had happened to Keel was neither of the above. When Allen first heard Keel’s story, he thought Viscount Carnel was sending his treasured son far away to hide him from the royal family. However, the living conditions that he then provided his son did not match that profile. What was more, the visit from the royal envoy made no sense within the context of this narrative either. Further investigation was needed, starting with whether the envoy’s claim of the royal promise to restore House Carnel was even real in the first place.

＊＊＊

A few days later, Allen and his companions visited the reference room on the third floor of the Adventurer’s Guild to look up information on Rank B dungeons. When they had applied for their promotion to Rank C, the receptionist had told them that an inordinately large number of adventurers died within the first year of reaching Rank C. She added that their causes of death were more often traps than combat. Allen, Cecil, Dogora, and Keel were now researching the kinds of traps that existed and their respective countermeasures.

“I-I’ll look stuff up too,” Krena insisted, on the verge of tears.

Allen shook his head and, without even looking up from the resource on traps he was going through, replied firmly, “No, you memorize everything in front of you instead.”

“Ugh... You’re such a meanie...”

Krena had her own separate task: to study for the written general education exam that would be taking place next month. The first year curriculum at the Academy specially emphasized general education. The Demon Lord Army had a proper chain of command and moved under instructions from above, meaning that the Allied forces sometimes had to suddenly change strategies with no advance notice. If the soldiers did not have a basic command of language and common knowledge, it would be difficult for them to keep up with the rapid-fire commands from their superiors.

A while later, all five came together to share what they had learned.

“This trap summons dozens of Rank C monsters all around if you step on it,” Dogora reported. According to the page he had opened up to, there were small rooms inside the dungeons with camouflaged switches on the ground that, when stepped on, would call out anywhere from five to thirty monsters all at once; most of the monsters generated by summoning-type traps in Rank B dungeons were Rank C.

Keel was the next up. “As for the variety of traps, the most common ones cause Poison or Sleep or just straight-up shoot arrows. I haven’t learned the Antidote spell yet, though. Are we not going to hire a Scout?”

“I don’t think we should expand our party any more for a while yet.” After all, even if we hire someone, they probably wouldn’t follow us to fight the Demon Lord.

In the first place, Allen felt like the party already had enough resources to make do without a Scout. First, he himself had Summons with Abilities that made them highly suited for scouting. Next, although Keel had yet to learn any spells that could dispel status debuffs, it was likely that he would somewhere down the line; that would give the party a means of dealing with poison from traps or monsters. Furthermore, Allen always kept Garnishes, the product of Grass C’s Ability, on hand. Lastly, herbs to fend off Poison and Sleep did exist, so the party could also manage by visiting an apothecary regularly for now.

Allen proceeded to share what he had found out. “We can expect to see monsters that use poison, like death spiders. There are also Rank B monsters called mimics that pretend to be treasure chests; let’s make a point to kill all of those we come across.”

Rank B dungeons were all differentiated by monster—such as insect-type monsters, spirit-type monsters, and so on—with each type requiring unique precautions. For example, having a way to counteract Poison and Paralysis when entering dungeons swarming with insects was as important as having ways to deal magic damage in a dungeon full of spirit-type monsters, which were generally highly resistant to physical attacks. One monster found in all Rank B dungeons, however, was the mimic. According to records, adventurer casualties to mimics were incredibly high.

“You serious?” Keel asked doubtfully. “We’re killing all the mimics?”

“They apparently drop rare items,” Allen replied.

“I see! Then we shouldn’t miss a single one!”

Once Keel heard the words “rare items,” all his apprehensions about danger dissipated and he immediately threw his support behind Allen. Money, valuable equipment, and MP Recovery Rings were important objectives for the No-life Gamers. According to records, mimics could drop items that went for over a hundred gold apiece.

“In the first place, what even are these dungeons?” Cecil murmured while looking at a very aged scroll. “Apparently they’ve existed for more than a thousand years.”

Hm? Cecil’s research seems to have taken a very different direction than the rest of ours.

In his previous life as Kenichi, Allen had almost never bothered himself with the backstories in games. After all, no matter how grand the plot, what he had to do was still the same: level up and get stronger. If he had to clear a tower, the question of why the tower existed would never even cross his mind.

Cecil shared what she had learned. As it turned out, dungeons were located all over Ratash, Giamut—the entire world, in fact. Some people theorized that they existed to attract adventurers, but there was no way to know the truth.

“However, strangely enough, I can’t find any records at all of dungeons that date prior to a thousand years ago.”

Krena asked for the scroll and started reading through it. “Hmm, I see.”

“So, did you finish studying for the test, Krena?”

“Hmmmmm, I seeeeee,” Krena replied in a drawn-out voice, covering her face with the parchment.

“All right, that means you’ll be hitting the books again when we get back, Kre—”

The pink-haired girl suddenly leaped to her feet and dashed toward the exit. However, Allen managed to grab her in time. For now, at least, Allen still had higher Agility than her.

“Heguhhh...” Krena made a sound like her life was ending and hung her head.

Cecil, Dogora, and Keel all cast her looks of pity but otherwise made no move to help.

Now that we’re done researching, let’s give a Rank B dungeon a try.

For now, though, Allen dragged Krena off to a different kind of dungeon, one that involved a lot more glaring at books.

＊＊＊

“Nina, you sure you don’t wanna let Maria free while you’re eating at least?”

“She’s okay. She prefers being on my lap. Right, Maria?”

“Y-Yes, death’s right...”

The gang was currently having breakfast and, seeing Maria once again on Nina’s lap, Keel had gently admonished her, but to no effect. Ever since Nina had moved in, she had not let go of Maria. Allen had no idea if this was compensating for how lonely she had been before or if she had simply taken a liking to Spirit C; either way, she always kept the doll close at hand.

Looks like Nina’s completely latched on to Maria. I’ve never had a pet cat before, but I imagine this is probably similar to how that feels? Allen thought nonchalantly as if this problem did not concern him.

Five days had passed since Keel and his family joined the No-life Gamers in their home. Allen had taken the time to tell Keel about the Demon Lord, but the boy did not fully believe it. Awkward moments did crop up here and there, but when compared to the commotion on the first day, it could easily be said that both sides were warming up to each other.

Every day, the party visited all three Rank C dungeons that they had already cleared to fight their final bosses. These gave them a daily income of roughly three gold, which worked out to fifty silver per person plus fifty silver to cover food and housing expenses. They were now much better off in both time and money.

“Everyone, get ready,” Allen called out as they were finishing. “Remember, we’re starting a Rank B dungeon today.”

“Let’s do our best!” Krena cried, leaping to her feet with exponentially more energy than what she normally displayed while studying.

Everyone else expressed their acknowledgment in their own way and wrapped up their meal. Afterward, Nina saw them off with a distraught expression, so Keel gave her a few reassuring pats on the head. This was fast becoming a ritual for them whenever he headed out to a dungeon.

There were two Rank B dungeons close to the base, each containing a different kind of monster. The one that the No-life Gamers were heading to today was inhabited by beast-type monsters. Their attacks were easier to read and generally did not deal debuffs. This left traps and treasure chests as the only sources of poison. This particular dungeon was often recommended to newly promoted Rank C adventurers as a good one to start off with.

A short walk from the base later, the dungeon reared into view. The adventurers lined up outside looked markedly more powerful than those who had been waiting to get into the Rank C dungeons.

It was said that eighty percent of adventurers were able to take on Rank C dungeons; however, only around twenty percent could handle Rank B. Many had already died and more would continue to die to the innumerable traps and terrifying enemies within. Even when a group reached the deepest level, only those with Talents could even dream of defeating the boss that lay in wait. This here was a wall that truly separated the Talented from the Talentless.

The sight of young students—and only five of them!—approaching the dungeon cut such an unusual sight that one of the staff on duty asked them if they needed any help. Allen answered, “We’re totally fine” as the whole group produced their Rank C adventurer cards and walked on through.

“Welcome to this Rank B dungeon. I am General Dungeon Operating System B304.”

The party found a cube floating in midair when they stepped into one of the rooms, just as in the Rank C dungeons. They asked it to transport them inside.

With his ax propped on his shoulder, Dogora looked around, studying the stones that made up the ceiling, floor, and walls. “This feels the same as one of the Rank C places.”

Allen nodded. “That might be, but there are now traps. Let’s proceed carefully.”

Just in case, everyone started off drinking an Antidote Potion. Each cost a rather steep three silver, but they lasted a full day. As they did so, Allen sent out a Bird E to scout ahead.

The following were general notes that Allen had written down in his grimoire about Rank B dungeons.

Rank B dungeons have 10 to 12 floors
One floor of a Rank B dungeon takes twelve hours to traverse
The upper floors are filled with Rank D monsters, whereas the lower floors are filled with Rank C monsters
The boss on the deepest floor is Rank B

So, this dungeon has twelve floors. On average, people walk five kilometers per hour. If, at that pace, it takes twelve hours to get through one floor, that means 660 hours are needed to reach the eleventh floor. And that’s not including the time it’d take to hunt down all the mimics we come across. Well, that’s plenty of time to test out a bunch of things with my newest Summons.

“All right, I’ve gotten a general grasp of the layout of the place. Come on out, Frans.”

“Kweeeee!”

The group started moving forward without activating Breakthrough. Although there were only Rank D monsters on this floor, they decided not to charge their way through, taking into account the traps that they would have to deal with. Even so, they managed to reach the second floor by noon despite having entered at around eight.

“We didn’t see any treasure chests. I thought they’d be more common,” Cecil grumbled while eating her bread. Even this noble young lady had gotten quite used to eating out in the open after two months doing so.

Allen shrugged. “Well, at the end of the day, our top priority is still reaching the lowest floor. I guess there just aren’t all that many chests lying around.”

After passing through one more floor that afternoon, the party finally spotted what they had been looking out for on the fourth floor.

“Look! A treasure chest!”

Just as Keel was about to charge into a small chamber with a treasure chest in the far end, everyone grabbed him and pulled him back. They had taken precautions against being Poisoned, but there was still a possibility this chest was a mimic.

“Maria, would you mind checking it?”

“Your will is my command!”

The porcelain doll floated toward the chest. Allen’s strategy was to have Spirit C, which could phase through matter as well as converse normally, handle checking for traps in chests. If a chest did turn out to be a trap, they would just pass it by.

Everyone watched the Spirit C with their hearts in their mouths. Keel was on standby, ready to cast Healing Magic—which was also effective on Summons—at a moment’s notice. The more he leveled, the less the party had to rely on Allen’s recovery items.

Name: Keel Age: 12 Class: Cleric Level: 30 HP: 397 MP: 749 Attack: 298 Endurance: 421 Agility: 479 Intelligence: 661 Luck: 603 Skills: Cleric {2}, Healing {2}, Solidity {2}, Sword Mastery {3} Extra Skill: Drops of God XP: 26,550/30,000

Skill LevelsCleric: 2 Healing: 2 Solidity: 2

Skill ExperienceHealing: 28/100 Solidity: 15/100

I’m glad to see his skills are improving steadily. If I remember right, he said he learned Healing by repeatedly praying at a church, right?

When he joined the party, Keel’s Cleric and Healing skills were both only at Lvl. 1. Just like Cecil, it was only once he reached Lvl. 10 that his class skill had gone up. This proved that both Healing and Attack Magic had level caps. One additional thing had come to light: Healing Magic was dependent on the Intelligence stat.

In the time it took all of the above to go through Allen’s mind, Maria had finally reached the chest. Allen Shared her view to examine it closely. It indeed appeared to be a common wooden chest, but it could still be rigged or a mimic. If it was rigged, they would pass it by; if it was safe, they would open it. But what if it was a mimic?

Maria placed her hands on the wooden chest.

“GAAAWWWRRRRRRR!” The treasure chest’s mouth suddenly burst open, revealing countless rows of jagged teeth.

“It’s a mimic!” Allen shouted.

“AHHHH! D-DIE! PSYCHOKINESIS!” Maria screamed in surprise at suddenly finding herself under attack. She generated gray volleyball-sized energy spheres from her hands and started throwing them at the mimic with incredible velocity.

“G-Gaaawrrr?!”

“DIE! DIE! DIE!”

Every time Psychokinesis landed, the monster went flying. Even when it slammed against the wall, Spirit C continued raining down attacks without mercy. It did not take long for the mimic to stop moving. It had died.

<You have defeated 1 mimic. You have earned 20,000 XP.>

I see, I see. When Strengthened, Maria can kill a Rank B monster using slightly less than half of her MP.

“Hold on a... What?! Mimics are Rank B monsters, right?!” Dogora exclaimed.

As Spirit C’s MP gauge would fill back up after six hours, the group now knew for certain they could easily kill two mimics within each six-hour period.

“Yay! A spear appeared!”

When the mimic disappeared, it left behind a Rank B magic stone and a mithril spear. Apparently, it really was true that mimics would sometimes drop items. Krena clambered down from her Bird C to pick up both. This single weapon would probably sell for around fifty gold.

The No-life Gamers then continued making their way deeper into the Rank B dungeon.

＊＊＊

With a gasp, Allen abruptly woke up. He was lying on the stone pavement. He looked around and found his companions peering at him.

“Are you back with us? You sure you don’t want to drink a Rousing Potion?”

Oh, did a trap get me with the Sleep debuff? I’ve been waiting for this!

They were currently in a small room on the sixth floor. Allen was the only one in the party who, for the sake of his experiments, had not drunk any of a potion that granted Sleep immunity.

“Did you use Garnish on me, Maria?”

“Yes, Master.”

“How long did it take me to wake up?”

“Fewer than ten heartbeats, Master.”

So only a few seconds. And I’m not groggy at all; I’m wide awake. Which means I can get back into battle immediately.

“What happened, Allen?” Krena asked anxiously.

“Nothing, everything’s great,” Allen replied. “I want to do a bit more testing using this trap. Is that okay with you guys?”

“Ah, testing? Okay,” Cecil nodded.

“Okay, take your time.” Dogora picked up his ax. “Krena, train with me?”

“Sure!”

Everyone accepted Allen’s request with an accustomed air. These experiments were a common occurrence when down in the dungeons with Allen. Although getting to the end of the dungeon was a priority, his ability to properly analyze all the possible threats they encountered had proved crucial to their survival many times. Plus, there was still a lot that he had yet to learn about his Rank C Summons and the Awakening skill.

So, knowing that Allen’s experiment sessions could run as long as several hours, Dogora immediately asked Krena to spar with him. Although he had yet to figure out how to use his skill, he believed that if he repeatedly swung his ax at her while trying to form the correct mental image—basically having Krena do what Dverg had done for her—he would eventually get the knack of it. The two of them managed to find one or two hours for this training every day on top of their daily dungeon runs after school.

This time, Allen was studying the Sleep debuff. Or rather, he was using the Sleep debuff to study the effects of Grass C’s Ability, Garnish. After obtaining items to recover HP and MP from earlier Summons, he figured that this one was supposed to dispel debuffs. There were plenty of traps in this Rank B dungeon, but all of them had been either arrows or poison so far—for these the party simply went with a brute-force approach with the help of items. Allen could not test either of those kinds, as he could die if anything went wrong, so he had been waiting for a Sleep trap all this time.

This one’s also really cleverly disguised.

As the other four spread out inside the room, Allen headed back out to examine the trap in the middle of the corridor. The trap looked completely indistinguishable from the surrounding stone pavement. According to Maria, when it was stepped on, it would depress and trigger the release of some white smoke. Allen purposely stepped on the trap once more. Sure enough, it released a cloud of smoke.

Okay, it’s the same style as the Poison traps. The range is five meters from the trap itself, and the cloud dissipates after a few seconds. Hmm, I don’t feel sleepy at all. Is this due to Garnish? If so, then Garnish works differently from commercial Rousing Potions.

Effect of Commercial Rousing Potions

Wakes up someone who’s asleep
If drunk in advance, can protect the drinker from the Sleep debuff for one day
Effect can only trigger once
Costs 3 silver

In contrast, the effect of Garnish did not wear off even after it had worked once. Allen activated the trap a third time, but nothing happened to him. Just as he was scratching his face, trying to think of other things to confirm, he realized that he had a little bit of dried blood close to his mouth.

Huh? I got hurt? When— Oh wait, before I blacked out...

An important fact came back to Allen: he had been on the move when he had fallen asleep. And a Bird C could run at fifty kilometers per hour even without using its Ability.

Did I fall off of Fran when I lost consciousness?

“Maria, what happened to all the Frans when the smoke triggered?”

“They all fell dead asleep.”

According to Maria, since all of the Bird Cs had been running together, all of them had fallen victim to the trap at the same time. As the other No-life Gamers had all drunk Rousing Potions in addition to the Antidotes beforehand, they had been able to leap off their mounts in the nick of time and were thus uninjured. He himself, however, had collapsed with his mount and gotten scratched up in the process.

Allen checked his grimoire—everyone’s HP stat, including his own, was full.

“Keel healed me?”

“Yes, Master.”

I see. He must have used Healing Magic on all the Frans and me. Oh boy, that was a close one. Both times just now, I saw Maria get enveloped in the smoke and remain unaffected, so I unconsciously assumed that all my Summons are resistant to Sleep.

Allen called out various Summons and had them step on the trap one by one in order to confirm which ones were and were not affected by it. As a result, he learned that their resistance was based on their type, regardless of rank.

Effectiveness of Sleep

Insect-type: 100%
Beast-type: 100%
Bird-type: 100%
Grass-type: 0%
Stone-type: 0%
Fish-type: 100%
Spirit-type: 0%

I see. So the trap is basically guaranteed to work on living creatures, but is ineffective on the nonliving ones. Grass-types are alive, but because they’re plants, they don’t sleep, I guess?

The pattern was clear and easy to understand. The next logical thing to do was to see whether Garnish worked on the Summons.

Findings on Garnish

Can dispel the Sleep debuff
Works on Summons too
Effect is sustained

Requires Further Testing

Does it dispel the Poison debuff?
How long does the effect last?

Since it lasts, it makes sense to consume one beforehand. Still, it looks like I put everyone in danger, not having thought about the possibility of the Frans falling asleep too.

Having just finished his tests, Allen was about to turn around and say, “Thanks for waiting. I’m done now. Let’s go,” when Dogora suddenly roared at the top of his lungs.

“HECK YEEEEAAAAHHHHHH!!! I DID IT! WOO-HOOOOOO!”

“Yay! You did it, Dogora!” Krena cheered.

Immediately catching on, Allen asked, “You managed to activate your skill?”

“You bet! I did it! I used my skill!”

A smile spread across Dogora’s bumpkin face, reaching from ear to ear. He had figured out how to use his skill only a little later than Krena.

Allen checked his grimoire. Oh! He really did earn Skill XP!

Name: Dogora Age: 12 Class: Ax User Level: 35 HP: 772 MP: 416 Attack: 1,016 Endurance: 670 Agility: 424 Intelligence: 282 Luck: 458 Skills: War Ax {1}, Full Might {1}, Ax Mastery {4} Extra Skill: Heart and Soul XP: 59,630/70,000

Skill LevelsWar Ax: 1 Full Might: 1

Skill ExperienceFull Might: 2/10

“Hm? You done with your tests, Allen?” Dogora had been so occupied with his training that he had only just noticed that Allen had packed away everything he had taken out to do his tests with.

“Yep, all good. Thanks for waiting, guys.”

“Nice. Let’s keep going, then! I want to use my skill a few more times so I make sure to remember how it feels!” Dogora promptly hoisted his ax and hopped onto his Bird C’s back.

After Allen said, “Sounds good,” the party once again resumed pushing forward through the dungeon.

＊＊＊

Today was a day off.

“Pochi, good boy! Who’s a good boy? You’re a good boy!”

“Arf! Arf!”

Allen was petting a Beast F, which was waving its tail enthusiastically. Unlike its usual giant and threatening appearance, it was tiny and fluffy like a chihuahua. From up on top of a cupboard, a Beast E watched with a judgmental look on its face, as if asking, “What’s so fun about that?” Just like Beast F, it was no longer the huge saber-toothed cat it normally was, but was now more like a cool and haughty house cat. It had fully occupied the empty space above the cupboard and was busy grooming its fur. The appearances of these two Summons were due to their Awakened Abilities: Loyal Dog and Borrowed Cat, respectively. The former turned Beast F into a small, affectionate dog, and the latter turned Beast E into a cat that just lounged around. The effect would last for one month.

At first glance, these two Awakened Abilities seemed quite pointless. However, that was not the case. Despite their new appearances, the two Summons retained their Strengthened stats, possessing more than five hundred HP and Attack. They made for perfectly camouflaged guards and perfect objects of affection for the servants.

Allen was still in the middle of going through all the Summons’ Awakened Skills. Their effects and durations were all so different that the more he discovered, the more he realized how much care and effort had been put into the Awakening skill.

“All right, ready to go?”

“Heck yeah! Let’s go!”

Ever since he figured out how to use his own skill, Dogora had been extremely enthusiastic about going to the dungeons—he was practically champing at the bit. Allen was just glad that his friend had learned the joy of seeing his own progress.

This day would be the first time the party was going to challenge the boss of a Rank B dungeon. As always, they entered the dungeon building and asked GDOS to send them down to the deepest floor. The next moment, they found themselves in front of giant, heavily ornamented double doors. When they opened those doors, the circular space beyond came into view.

“That’s a...what was it called again?” Allen racked his brains. “Ah, huge boar, right?”

“Yep,” Keel confirmed. “It’s very similar to great boars, but stronger.”

One huge boar loomed in the center of the chamber, standing five meters tall. Ten great boars, three meters tall each, formed a perimeter all around it. This was a truly befitting boss for a beast-filled dungeon.

Honestly, I don’t think this fight is gonna be a challenge to us.

Name: Krena

Age: 12 Class: Sword Lord Level: 37 HP: 1,520 + 900 MP: 586 Attack: 1,520 + 900 Endurance: 1,068 + 900 Agility: 1,027 + 900 Intelligence: 606 Luck: 735 Skills: Sword Lord {3}, Slash {3}, Flying Slash {3}, Toughness {1}, Sword Mastery {5} Extra Skill: Limit BreakName: Cecil Granvelle Age: 12 Class: Wizardess Level: 37 HP: 637 MP: 1,069 + 600 Attack: 406 Endurance: 664 Agility: 628 + 600 Intelligence: 1,470 + 600 Luck: 592 Skills: Wizardry {3}, Fire {3}, Earth {3}, Wisdom {1}, Sparring {2} Extra Skill: Petit MeteorName: Keel Age: 13 Class: Cleric Level: 37 HP: 475 MP: 899 + 300 Attack: 358 Endurance: 505 Agility: 575 Intelligence: 793 + 300 Luck: 723 Skills: Cleric {3}, Healing {3}, Solidity {3}, Faith {1}, Sword Mastery {3} Extra Skill: Drops of God

The other day, Keel had turned thirteen—his birthday was the earliest among the No-life Gamers. They had thrown a party in his honor at the base. Allen had been glad to see that Keel was starting to get used to this kind of thing as of late.

When the party started going through their first Rank B dungeon, they had found many more opportunities to use their skills, so everyone’s class skills—except Dogora’s—had reached Lvl. 3, unlocking Toughness for Krena, Wisdom for Cecil, and Faith for Keel.

Toughness: +900 to 4 stats
Wisdom: +600 to 3 stats
Faith: +300 to 2 stats

And to think I believed only Summoners got buffs.

Allen had been under the mistaken impression that getting stat buffs was something unique to him since Summoner was an eight-star class. The truth, however, was that other classes also received skills that boosted their stats. The other Gamers truly were growing a hundred times faster than Allen.

Yep, it’s just as I’d thought. Normal Mode isn’t weak at all. If the Alliance is still struggling against the Demon Lord, it means the demons are the ones who are too powerful.

Both Zenof, the captain of the knights in House Granvelle’s service, and Dagrah, the hit man that Viscount Carnel had hired, were incredibly powerful. In spite of this, the battlefield was claiming half the lives of fully leveled fighters as strong as them.

“All Protect.”

Keel’s voice when casting Solidity Lvl. 3 brought Allen back from his thoughts. This was a skill that raised the entire party’s Defense by ten percent. This modifier applied on top of each person’s own skills, such as Toughness and the card buffs from Summoning. This made it actually quite useful—when activated, Krena’s Defense nearly reached 200.

“Okay, let’s do this!” Krena cried.

“Hell yeah!” Dogora replied with equal vigor. “We’ll hold the front line!”

The two of them promptly charged forward on their Bird Cs, flanked on both sides by Beast Cs—giant boar-like Summons—who were using their Ability, Charge, to run in tandem. This arrangement was to prevent any of the enemies from ignoring the front line to attack the members with lower Endurance in the rear. Now that they were fighting Rank C monsters, there was a noticeable uptick in the number of monsters clever enough to attempt this. When the party had been making their way through the dungeon, Allen would remain at the back to protect the rear, but for boss fights, his usual position was right behind the front line so that he could command his Summons from the center of the battlefield.

“Flame Lance!”

Cecil focused her magic and Allen his Summons on the weaker great boars, leaving the huge boar to Krena and Dogora. Flame Lance, an Area of Effect spell that Cecil had obtained at Fire Lvl. 2, fell like rain and roasted the Rank C monsters to cinders.

“OIIIIIINK!”

After several attacks, a Flying Slash from Krena split the huge boar’s head apart, finishing it off.

“Oh, heck yeah! We killed a Rank B monster!” Keel cheered. Determining that the battle was over, he healed everyone up. “All Heal!”

Having access to a spell that can heal the entire party at once really is a boon. I can’t be more thankful, Allen thought.

“Now we have one Rank B dungeon under our b— WHOA!” When he saw the silver treasure chest that the huge boar had dropped, Keel whooped and rushed forward. “Ha ha ha! It’s silver! It’s a silver chest!”

He opened the lid, revealing a knuckle duster made of hihiirokane, the metal that was the next tier up from mithril. This weapon with a flame-colored glow was a top-class item that would easily go for several hundred gold. Keel lifted it slowly, transfixed at the sight. At first, Allen had thought Keel’s obsession with money was due to his family’s circumstances, but after partying with him this long, he had realized that Keel just liked money, plain and simple.

“Just how obsessed with money is he?” Cecil sighed, thinking the same thing as Allen was. “Ha ha, what if we call him Saint of Fortune?” That was the very moment the tongue-in-cheek title of “Saint of Fortune” was coined in this world.

This was how Allen and his party cleared their very first Rank B dungeon.