Chapter 12: Rank A Dungeon Boss
Chapter 12: Rank A Dungeon Boss
Three months passed, and it was now January. After a modest New Year’s celebration, the days of dungeon delving resumed. The Academy’s academic calendar only had two prolonged holidays during summer and spring, with spring break beginning in March. This meant that the first was the only holiday for the month of January. When he discovered this arrangement, Allen was shocked—as a former Japanese, he was used to getting the first three days of the year off, all of which he would spend gaming from morning to night.
The No-life Gamers’ routine remained the same as before: On days with classes, they visited all the dungeons they had previously cleared in turn, fighting the final bosses. On the weekends, they spent the entirety of both days progressing through a new dungeon. They aimed to clear one floor of a Rank A dungeon per weekend, meaning they would camp out overnight.
Because of how long it took to get through the dungeons with their labyrinthian layouts, the Academy had a “dungeon leave” system—if a student went dungeon delving on a day off but could not get back out in time and therefore ended up missing school, they simply had to submit a request for dungeon leave the following day and it would not be counted against their attendance record. Even the No-life Gamers, who had Bird C mounts to serve as rapid transit, had ended up relying on this system twice before January after falling victim to Teleport Traps. Even though Allen constantly had three Bird Cs running ahead to trigger as many traps as possible, this strategy was not entirely foolproof.
The Adventurer’s Guild was aware of how many parties were challenging Rank A dungeons at any given time. Five to ten such parties resided in Academy City, and they supposedly only went back to fight the bosses on the deepest floors once or twice each week. When Allen and his friends had participated in the Auction for the first time this month, they found that all the items dropped from dungeon bosses were worth far more than they had expected. It made sense, of course—the supply itself was extremely limited.
The Auction venue had been bursting with people, many of whom were merchants from the royal capital and other major cities. Before every Auction, the Guild would use communication magic tools to share the catalog between its branches. This way, merchants who saw items they were interested in would know to head over via magic ship.
This same communication technology was used for Ratash-Giamut diplomacy as well. In fact, it could even be used to reach countries on other continents, such as Baukis and Rohzenheim. When he first heard this, Allen marveled once again at how crucial Baukis’s technology had become for the world at large.
In any case, the No-life Gamers were on track to clear their second Rank A dungeon before the end of the month. Along the way, Allen had finally obtained Strengthening Lvl. 7, which raised two stats by +1,000 for each card. His Summons could now last even longer against Rank B monsters, so he now had Summons Squads constantly roaming about in the Rank A dungeon.
Allen’s Strengthened Summons now fared much better against any traps that might suddenly surround them with a horde of monsters, as well as against abyss boxes, Rank A monsters that looked like wooden chests but were far more powerful than mimics. The party also sported much better gear compared to three months ago. At the end of the day, equipment truly was a major factor in getting stronger.
Allen’s Equipment
Hihiirokane SwordHP Ring (+100 HP)Attack Ring (+500 Attack)
Krena’s Equipment
Hihiirokane GreatswordAttack Ring (+100 Attack)Attack Ring (+100 Attack)
Cecil’s Equipment
Rod of Light MagicHP Ring (+100 HP)Intelligence Ring (+100 Intelligence)
Dogora’s Equipment
Adamantite AxHP Ring (+100 HP)Attack Ring (+100 Attack)
Keel’s Equipment
Rod of JudgmentHP Ring (+500 HP)HP Ring (+100 HP)
Oftentimes, the party was not sure of the effects of items they had picked up. In such cases, they simply had to take the item in question to an analyst in town. Analysts were professionals who appraised magical gear such as rings and armor for what sorts of effects they provided. Their service fees were based on the rank of the dungeon and the type of chest the item came from; for example, an item from a wooden chest in a Rank A dungeon cost one gold to analyze, an item from a silver chest in a Rank A dungeon cost three gold to analyze, and so on and so forth. Analysts could find out rather detailed information, making their service indispensable. The Analyze skill was a major deal.
Since the No-life Gamers had largely gathered all the equipment they needed over the past three months, they decided to begin putting their excess drops up for sale at the Auction.
＊ ＊ ＊
“That’s a dragon,” Dogora observed out loud.
“That it is,” Allen agreed.
Today was a school day, so the No-life Gamers were once again on the deepest floor of a Rank A dungeon as part of their daily quota. Before their eyes lay what looked like a Western dragon, complete with wings and reddish-brown scales. It stood on its thick hind feet and had front claws that looked tiny in comparison. For now, it stood in place unmoving, its head drooping slightly. Up until now, the Gamers had killed a total of seventy-five Rank A dungeon bosses, fighting every other variety of boss monster. This, however, was their first time encountering a dragon.
So, we finally got to meet one. I guess that makes the probability of spawning a dragon somewhere between two and one percent.
According to records, dragons possessed significantly higher Attack and Defense than any of the other types of Rank A dungeon bosses. There were accounts of these monsters thoroughly decimating parties filled with experienced adventurers.
“How should we do this, Allen?” Krena asked. It was now second nature for the party to turn to Allen for instruction whenever they encountered something new.
“This is the most powerful boss that can spawn, so I’ll make the first attack. We’ll leave four Steelys on standby to protect against AoE breath attacks.”
The party had come up with multiple strategies for fighting dungeon bosses and was still in the process of testing out new ones in the never-ending search for ever-greater efficiency. As such, they always made a conscious effort not to only use the same one, instead adopting different tactics to suit differing situations. Of all the strategies in their arsenal, the ones that ended fights fastest involved Allen dealing the first attack.
“All right, start things off with a bang,” Dogora said with a grin before getting into position like everyone else, ax in hand.
The first order of business was to gauge how powerful this dragon was. This time, the party was going with a defensive formation that made the most of Stone Cs. Allen’s grimoire flipped furiously as he Unsummoned all three Summons Squads and altered his distribution of cards.
“All right, let’s do this.”
All five Bird Cs they were riding activated their Awakened Ability. As usual, from front to back, it was Krena and Dogora together as the vanguard in the front, Allen in the middle, then Cecil and Keel together bringing up the rear providing support.
The five of them inched forward cautiously. The timing of the first attack was very important.
“Go, Wally Bombers!”
Ten Stone Es materialized in a tight circle around the dragon and exploded in one massive boom. A while back, Allen had stopped calling this maneuver “Meteor,” since it was a part of the name of Cecil’s Extra Skill. He was not someone who stole or appropriated from other people.
From within the billowing cloud of smoke, the dragon slowly reared its nearly ten-meter-long body to its full height. It roared angrily, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Cecil’s eyes widened with surprise. “It talked!”
The five teenagers stopped their advance to observe their opponent. Soon, the smoke cleared away, revealing the dragon glaring their way.
“A measly five humans? And you think you can beat me? Hah! I’ve never seen a funnier joke! All this time, you’ve had it easy not encountering me, but now your luck’s run out. Ignorance truly is a sin. Out of respect for that hubris of yours, I shall grant you an agonizing death squirming in my hellish fl—”
“Wallys, Explode.”
Before it finished its speech, another ten Stone Es appeared in a circle around the dragon and exploded once more. Right after the first round, Allen had already started making replacement Stone E cards.
Having been interrupted mid-speech, the dragon now looked even more furious than before. “How... How dare you! None of you are leaving here aliiive!”
“Uh, now it’s angry at all of us, isn’t it?” Cecil’s laser stare bore holes into Allen’s back.
“Well, y’know...collective responsibility and all that, right?”
Combat in this world was not turn-based. If one side did nothing during a fight, the other side could simply whale on the first using whatever skills were at their disposal. In fact, if one side was fast enough, they could get in more attacks within the same period of time. The dragon choosing to stay still and deliver a monologue was one example of this.
I hope that whittled down a significant chunk of its HP.
Since the group had no idea how powerful the dragon was, they had no choice but to focus solely on dealing damage. The damage dealt by Summons with attack-oriented Awakened Abilities received a significant boost now that Allen had reached Strengthening Lvl. 7—with Stone E and its Explode being one such example.
The enraged monster bared its ferocious teeth and barreled toward the party.
“Krena, let’s get in there!” Dogora shouted. “Maintain formation!”
“Okay, let’s go!” Krena replied.
The two tightened their grips on their weapons and charged forward, not cowed by the dragon in the slightest. In the next instant, both sides clashed. Krena landed the first blow, slamming her greatsword into the dragon’s foot with every ounce of her strength. However, her blade barely broke the skin, despite her having 3,000 Attack. Dogora’s attacks did not seem to do any serious damage either.
Through masterful maneuvering of their Bird Cs, Krena and Dogora desperately dodged the barrage of attacks from the dragon’s front claws, jaws, and tail. While doing so, they continued piling on the attacks.
Oof, the two are having trouble hurting it. By the looks of things, it doesn’t just have high Defense; it’s definitely also resistant to physical damage.
How much damage someone could deal to a target was generally affected by four main factors: the attacker’s weapon, the attacker’s skill levels and stats, additional stat boosts from items such as rings, and the defender’s Endurance stat. At times, however, there were more forces at play. Some beings had resistance against physical attacks, with Spirit C being a good example. Allen suspected that the dragon did as well, meaning that what little damage it would normally have taken with its high Endurance was now almost completely nullified.
Several minutes into the fight, Allen noticed a red glow forming deep within the dragon’s throat and climbing up to its mouth. The next moment, the beast raised its head high and reared back.
“Breath attack incoming!!!” Allen roared.
Immediately, two Stone Cs stepped forward to protect Cecil and Keel as the other two Summons used their Awakened Ability, Sacrifice, to cover the entire party. When this Ability was activated, the Summon took on all of the damage for every party member within range until its HP ran out. How much damage it suffered was based on the Stone C’s own Endurance stat, not that of the targets it was protecting.
The dragon’s mouth gleamed with bright light, then an incredible heat assaulted Allen’s group.
Ugh, this attack is lasting so long.
A torrent of fire enveloped Krena, Dogora, and Allen, which meant that the two Stone Cs using Sacrifice had to endure the damage that three people would have suffered. They did not last long, quickly disappearing into glowing bubbles and therefore forcing Allen to immediately Summon two more to take their place before making replacement cards.
The instant the dragon’s breath fizzled out, Krena and Dogora resumed their assault.
“INSOLEEEEEENCE!!!”
Once again, the dragon’s throat began to glow. Everyone braced themselves for another breath attack, but it did not come.
Wait, is it...?
“Oh no! It’s building up to a big one!”
Some monsters were intelligent enough to gather their strength for an exceptionally powerful attack. Naturally, these were far more devastating than regular moves. Krena and Dogora continued doing as much damage as they could, but the dragon was clearly not going to fall before its next attack was ready.
Soon, the charged-up breath attack burst forth in a blinding stream of destruction, only this time broader and farther than before. The newly Summoned Stone Cs as well as the ones protecting Cecil and Keel all disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Right after the breath let up, the dragon’s throat started glowing once more. The monster had clearly figured out that this would be the effective way to defeat Allen’s party. The third breath attack, in all its punishing grandeur, arrived all too soon.
Allen could not create new Stone Cs in time. He was barely able to keep Cecil and Keel protected, as they would likely die immediately if they took this attack head-on. That was how formidable it was.
That left Krena, Dogora, and Allen exposed, and they paid for it as the torrent of flames washed over them and sent them flying. The Bird Cs that they were riding collapsed into glowing bubbles and disappeared underneath their riders. Maria, who had been floating in midair, rushed over in a fluster to heal the party up with recovery items.
It did not take long for the dragon to build up for another breath.
Ugh, I can’t make Steelys fast enough.
“Allen, another breath attack is coming! What’re we going to do?!” Cecil cried out.
“Everyone, line up!” Allen replied in the form of a command. “This is gonna be a drawn-out fight!”
“Okay,” Dogora nodded. “Otherwise we’re gonna get wiped out.”
Based on what they now knew about the range, strength, and timing of the dragon’s breath attacks, Allen had concluded that a full-on assault was a bad idea. They needed to work out a different tactic. However, while Dogora had acknowledged the order, Krena simply stood in place, her sword arm hanging limply at her side.
“Krena! Fall back!” Allen repeated, but then noticed his companion’s blank stare. “Krena?”
Wait, no, I’ve seen this somewhere bef— Ah, is she?!
Suddenly, Krena let out a loud cry, and a heat haze burst out and surrounded her body. The next moment, she was charging forward at an impossible speed.
The dragon set its sights on the girl and let loose a particularly gigantic breath attack that instantly swallowed her up in blinding, scorching flames.
“ROOOOAAAARRRRR!!!”
“KRENA!!!” Just as Allen was about to rush forward with a recovery item in hand, however, he witnessed a greatsword severing one of the dragon’s claws.
Krena had charged into the flames and come out the other side. Her movements were now a far cry from mere moments prior. The dragon shrieked with pain and bled profusely as her tiny figure ran circles around it, launching a frenzied assault.
There was no telling how long Krena could remain in this state. Allen took advantage of this time to reconfigure the party’s formation and create as many Summons as possible.
Can we keep this up and end the fight in one push? Krena’s stats are now through the roof. Whoa, her HP is recovering at a rate of one percent per second!
Krena’s Status was showing numbers higher than anything Allen had seen before. The burns on her body from the dragon’s breath attack she had taken were also healing at a visible pace.
Name: Krena (Massive HP Regeneration)
Age: 13
Class: Sword Lord
Level: 58
HP: 2,360 + 3,900
MP: 922 + 3,000
Attack: 2,360 + 3,900
Endurance: 1,654 + 3,900
Agility: 1,594 + 3,900
Intelligence: 942 + 3,000
Luck: 1,155 + 3,000
Skills: Sword Lord {5}, Slash {5}, Flying Slash {5}, Pyroblast {5}, Thunderous Sword {5}, Toughness {1}, Sword Mastery {5}
Extra Skill: Limit Break
“YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!!!”
The dragon’s composed and pompous manner of speaking was quickly devolving into little more than vulgar insults. It was absolutely consumed with rage. Deep gashes marred its body from head to toe, and they bled profusely. Its thick tail managed to slam squarely into Krena and smashed her against a far wall, but she immediately got back to her feet and started running back at the beast.
The dragon’s throat began to emit the brightest glow of the whole fight thus far. The monster apparently thought it had bought itself enough time when it had batted Krena away, but it was dead wrong. Before it could finish charging up its attack, her greatsword plunged into the glowing part of its throat.
“YAAAAAAH!!!”
“ROOOAAAARRRR!!!”
Flames burst from the throat like a bomb detonating, enveloping the dragon. Its massive body fell over, crashing to the ground with a shuddering boom.
<You have defeated 1 heavy dragon. You have earned 1,600,000 XP.>
Damn, Krena just took out a dragon! And that amount of XP—since we got 1.6 million fighting it as a group of five, that means someone soloing it would get 2 million. That’s two to three times the amount that the other Rank A dungeon bosses give.
The next moment, the dragon was reduced to nothing but a Rank A magic stone.
“Krena, you all right?” Allen asked as he and the rest of the party ran up to Krena, who was no longer enveloped in an aura.
“Yep! I beat the dragon! Yaaayyy!”
Seriously, Extra Skills are way too overpowered.
Allen recalled the time when Krena had beaten up Vice-Captain Leibrand when she was five years old. Now that Allen fully understood what had happened back then, he could not help but feel sorry for the man.
Effect of Krena’s Extra Skill “Limit Break”
Recovers HP at 1%/secondAll stats +3,000
“WHOOOOO! It’s a gold chest!!!” Keel shouted, jolting Allen away from his thoughts.
Everyone cheered at getting their first-ever gold chest. It glittered even more magnificently than the silver chests did. Krena opened it, revealing a single ring resting inside.
“It’s a ring!” she exclaimed. “Is it an MP Recovery Ring?!”
HERE WE GOOOO! IT’S A RING! This has got to be an MP Recovery Ring. It’s gotta be!
Allen was beside himself with excitement. Because Krena had just used up a lot of MP, he asked her to put it on. He checked his grimoire, but her MP did not go up.
Noticing his crestfallen look, Krena asked, “Did it not work, Allen?”
“This is...not an MP Recovery Ring, apparently.” Despite feeling disappointed, however, Allen was not one to stop testing things out. “Um, Dogora, you try putting it on.”
“’Kay.” Dogora obliged. Immediately his HP began recovering at one percent per tick. Before long, he was back to full health.
“This is an HP Recovery Ring,” Allen declared, albeit regretfully. Grrr, so close!
“I’m sorry,” Cecil said out of sympathy. “But hey, this is a good thing. Now you know you can keep hoping.”
If an HP Recovery Ring could drop, then so could an MP Recovery Ring. Allen gathered himself and renewed his determination to keep challenging the dungeons.
＊ ＊ ＊
Roughly three months had passed since the No-life Gamers had cleared their second Rank A dungeon, and March was now coming to its end. When thinking about how they had come to this city around the same time last year, time truly seemed to have passed in a flash. It would not be not long before they would become second-year students.
The party was currently deep inside the third Rank A dungeon they were challenging. They had just finished off a group of Rank B monsters that had attacked them when Krena felt something.
“Oh, it went up.”
“Your level?”
I see. So even Krena’s finally hit the level cap. That makes all four of them, then.
Krena had reached Lvl. 60. Her stats had gone up, but now her Status in Allen’s grimoire looked different from how it always had.
Name: Krena
Age: 13
Class: Sword Lord
Level: 60
HP: 2,440 + 1,800
MP: 954
Attack: 2,440 + 1,800
Endurance: 1,712 + 1,800
Agility: 1,648 + 1,800
Intelligence: 974
Luck: 1,195
Skills: Sword Lord {6}, Slash {6}, Flying Slash {6}, Pyroblast {6}, Thunderous Sword {6}, Toughness {2}, Sword Mastery {6}
Extra Skill: Limit BreakName: Cecil Granvelle
Age: 13
Class: Wizardess
Level: 60
HP: 1,028
MP: 1,736 + 1,200
Attack: 659
Endurance: 842
Agility: 1,019 + 1,200
Intelligence: 2,390 + 1,200
Luck: 960
Skills: Wizardry {6}, Fire {6}, Earth {6}, Wind {6}, Water {6}, Wisdom {2}, Sparring {3}
Extra Skill: Petit MeteorName: Dogora
Age: 13
Class: Ax User
Level: 60
HP: 1,322 + 600
MP: 716
Attack: 1,741 + 600
Endurance: 1,145
Agility: 724
Intelligence: 482
Luck: 783
Skills: War Ax {6}, Full Might {6}, Flying Hatchet {6}, Explosive Strike {6}, Avalanche Smash {6}, Fighting Spirit {2}, Ax Mastery {5}
Extra Skill: Heart and SoulName: Keel
Age: 13
Class: Cleric
Level: 60
HP: 787
MP: 1,499 + 600
Attack: 598
Endurance: 841
Agility: 959
Intelligence: 1,321 + 600
Luck: 1,203
Skills: Cleric {6}, Healing {6}, Solidity {6}, Cure {6}, Magic Wall {6}, Faith {2}, Sword Mastery {3}
Extra Skill: Drops of God
The “XP” and “Skill Levels” fields had disappeared, indicating that max level was 60, and max skill level was 6.
Just like the others, this Rank A dungeon was large and expansive, so the party had once again decided to look for a small room to spend the night in. Thankfully, there was still a bit more of spring break left, and they had planned to make the most of it.
When it came to setting up camp and cooking, everyone helped out. However, because none of them really had much experience doing chores, their meals were always rather simple. It was essentially just meat cut into cubes, skewered and grilled over a fire, then seasoned with a bit of salt and other condiments. The firewood that they used for the fire came from Allen’s Storage, which also contained dozens of barrels smaller than thirty centimeters across filled with drinks. Over the course of the past year, the supplies that he brought along for camping had gotten a lot more substantial.
“So...does this really mean we can’t get any stronger?” Dogora asked while biting into a juicy piece of meat. Everyone else looked somewhat shocked about this fact as well.
Allen shook his head. “‘Can’t get any stronger’ is not quite right. More accurately, your base and skill levels have maxed out and can’t go any higher.”
“But that’s the same thing.” Making a confused face, Dogora picked up a slice of bread that had been warming by the fire and began tearing into it.
Yeah, they’ve really hit the level cap. This happened a lot faster than I’d expected.
The term “level cap” referred to the upper limit of how high someone’s base or skill levels could go. Every single game Allen had played in his previous life had level caps. Some were only 50, whereas some went all the way up to 999. From what he remembered, he had maxed out every single character he played.
The question, however, was why the No-life Gamers reached this level cap within a single year.
Then again, the answer’s pretty clear. It’s definitely related to the Demon Lord raising the ranks of all the monsters in the world.
Ever since he was a young child, Allen had always thought that the amount of XP monsters in this world gave was quite high. In all likelihood, since all monsters had gone up a rank in this world—including the ones in dungeons—this meant that the XP they awarded had also gone up.
Horned rabbit (Rank E): 1 XP → 10 XPGoblin (Rank D): 20 XP → 200 XPGreat boar (Rank C): 100 XP → 1,000 XPOrc king (Rank B): 2,500 XP → 25,000 XPGreat warrior (Rank A): 60,000 XP → 600,000 XP
Since the amount of XP received was ten times what it was before, people’s levels now went up ten times faster.
“Well, it’s true that now all of your active skills have reached Lvl. 6, so now they’ve gotten really powerful,” Allen said. “However, everyone’s still got a long way to go.”
“We do?”
I was pretty surprised when everyone got another boost to their stats when their class skill reached Lvl. 6. My Summoning is also Lvl. 6, but Krena’s stat-boosting skill gives her 1,200 more stat points total than all my cards give me. Conversely, she has two fewer skills than I do.
One star (Ax User, Cleric): +600 to 2 skills for a total of +1,200 stat pointsTwo stars (Wizardess): +1,200 to 3 skills for a total of +3,600 stat pointsThree stars (Sword Lord): +1,800 to 4 skills for a total of +7,200 stat pointsEight stars (Summoner): +6,000 stat points in total
As it turned out, those in Normal Mode received stat buffs twice; once when their class skill reached Lvl. 3, and again at Lvl. 6. The buff amount depended on their class rarity, but it was still significant, thanks to the double buff. However, as someone whose class skill was Lvl. 6 as well, Allen could not help but feel that the number of skills his companions possessed was on the low side, especially given that one slot was used up with a stat-booster. Unlike Allen, they did not receive new skills every time their class skill leveled up.
Ever since the first member of the No-life Gamers had reached the level cap, Allen had been racking his brains for what direction they should take going forward. He had come up with a few ideas.
Learn how to use their Extra Skills at willCollect stat-boosting rings from gold treasure chestsObtain orichalcum weapons and armor
“First, let’s get to the point where everyone can use their Extra Skill at will.”
Since they were going to begin their second year at school next month, the idea was to ask their instructors for guidance on this aspect.
There was something else the party needed to do. Some of them were still wearing equipment they had picked up from wooden chests, but because silver chests appeared around one-tenth of the time, they were pretty sure they could outfit everyone in silver-chest gear with half a year of fighting Rank A bosses every day.
After the one gold chest dropped by the dragon in January, the party had not seen another one since. The HP Recovery Ring from that time was now being worn by Keel. Monsters ranked B and higher were often intelligent enough to go after the healer first. Because Keel had only a fraction of Dogora’s HP, he would die in no time at all if several monsters were to gang up on him. When they took his Status and other equipment into consideration, the party had concluded that he had the highest chance of dying and agreed to give him the ring.
“And we’re aiming for another gold chest, right?” Cecil asked. “The second one just isn’t showing up at all.”
“Of course we’ll be hunting for gold chests. However, if they’re really this rare, then we might be better off buying the items we want at the Auction.”
Time was ticking down before the No-life Gamers would be heading to the battlefield. The rings that came in silver chests gave better buffs than those from wooden chests, so it made sense to assume that any rings found in gold chests would be even better. However, if gold chests would only appear a handful of times a year, then Allen was thinking they might as well check the Auction for gold-chest items that other people had found and put up for sale.
Krena, who had taken it the hardest when she had learned that she could no longer gain levels, joined in the conversation with food still in her mouth. “That leaves orichalcum weapons!”
“But Krena, orichalcum stuff doesn’t appear at the Auction, and even the Adventurer’s Guild couldn’t tell us how to get them,” Keel pointed out. “All they said was we might get them from the dungeons.”
“Oh right, they did say that.” Krena nodded.
Unlike the rings that came from gold chests, no one seemed to have a clue where or how to get orichalcum weapons. The staff at the Guild had hesitantly said that it was possible gold chests in a Rank A dungeon might drop them, but there was nothing to back up that theory. In the first place, there was very little information about gold chests due to their rarity. For all the Gamers knew, they might have to go all the way to the Rank S dungeon to find any orichalcum.
“In any case, we’ve got to explore every last possibility there is to get stronger,” Allen concluded. “Even if it’s nothing but a rumor, we’ll track it down. We might even encounter incredible items beyond orichalcum and rings.”
“Maybe,” Cecil said, doubtful, “but with how desperate everyone has been to get stronger since the Demon Lord appeared, don’t you think they’d have found everything already?”
“No, I’m sure there are still things left to discover out there. Like the Rank S dungeon; it supposedly exists, but there’s almost no information about it, meaning we have to go check it out ourselves. Maybe there’s some rich collector out there who possesses something incredible but doesn’t even know it. It’s important to keep our mind and ears open.”
The process of gathering information was part of the thrill of climbing to the top. At times, legend and rumor were rooted in truth. No matter what the scoop, if there was even the slightest possibility that it could lead to something crucial, then Allen was determined to pursue it to the end.
Maybe we should check the Academy library for legends too. In any case, I’ve got to seriously brainstorm ways to make everyone stronger. That’s why I was reincarnated with memories of my previous life intact, after all.
And so the No-life Gamers, after having reached the level cap within a year, found themselves having to get creative with their progression going forward.