Published at 13th of August 2019 11:40 am

Chapter 36: Baku-agebon-bar

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

　Cool, I’m feeling really excited this morning!

　Why? Because today we’re finally capturing the Proline Dungeon.

　With my current mood, it almost seems like a lie that yesterday I was feeling down, and I’m currently planning to tell everyone the strategy while having breakfast.

　Eh, mood swings?　No, no, that’s not the case.

　My motivation to aim for the top in the world is in full throttle this morning, and so is my appetite. However, after thinking a bit, I’m sort of lazy and aside from being the top of the world I have no other motivation at all…… But I’m sure it’ll be fine.

“I think we should dive into the Proline Dungeon today.”

“Understood…… But, even if we capture it on our own, I doubt the Blacksmiths Guild would accept it.”

“Eh?　Why? “

“A dungeon capture is something done by a lot of people. It is carried out regularly by the Adventurers Guild in the form of a 『Group Capture』. Therefore, even if you were to claim that an unknown team captured it alone……”

“They will think it’s a lie? “

“Yes, Master.”

“Even if I show them the Mithril itself? “

“Right. Mithril seems to be gathered not only from the boss, but also from the monsters inside the Proline Dungeon.”

　Oh… Somehow, I’m no longer feeling that excited.

“Then, how about we clear it many times and collect a lot of mithril? “

“……That’s a possibility. We could clear it many times.”

　Yukari then said “I’m sorry I forgot about that”, and continued to think.

　Silvia tilted her head and was also thinking. And Eko, since the story was a bit difficult for her to follow, she began to play with the houseplants’ leaves swaying in the wind.

“With that, we might be able to trade with the Blacksmiths Guild without waiting for the group capture. However, since we ignored their rules, the Adventurers Guild will not remain silent.”

“Ohh, I see.”

　I don’t know how often the group capture is conducted, but if we were to ignore the guild and capture it by ourselves, it will be seen as a challenge and crush the efforts of the guild, who had gathered a large number of adventurers, pretty much butting heads head on. There’s no doubt they will hold a grudge against us.

“Then, wouldn’t it be okay to just participate in the Group Capture, and have Second-dono show his ability? “

　Silvia said, while a lot of question marks seemingly floated above her head. Her line of thought is quite good. However, there’s one fatal flaw in that plan.

“That would be alright if only they allowed F ranked teams to participate.”

“Hmm, I see……”

　Group capture raids of an uncaptured dungeon give a great opportunity for adventurers to increase their own fame. Probably a lot of fierce adventurers gather from all over the kingdom. There’s no way they will allow a newly formed F ranked rookie team to participate in there.

　That’s why, capturing without permission will turn the Adventurers Guild into an enemy, and nobody will believe in you…… Ahh, they really closed all options.

“The best thing to do is to contribute to the Adventurers Guild as much as possible, in order for them to allow us to participate in the group capture.”

　Yukari calmly stated. That was probably her plan from the beginning. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have claimed that we should register as adventurers yesterday.

　But, how many months would that take?　As expected, that’s not something that gets me motivated at all. Is it because I’m still thinking about this as a game?　Or is that the difference between the sense of time of the relatively long-lived elves and that of normal people?

“…………Oh.”

　At that moment, an idea came to my mind.

“Say, Yukari. In short, if the rank of the adventurers is high, they can participate in the group capture?　Or rather, if we become A Rank, can they accept that we captured it alone? “

“Y-yes…… In theory, that might be the case. However, instead of aiming for A rank, it is more efficient to steadily contribute to the guild and earn the right to participate in the group capture.”

“You might be right, but I just remembered a good way.”

“A good way? “

　Yeah, in Mobius era there was “a way” that was considered mostly useless―― it was nicknamed『Baku-agebon-bar』.

“Alright!　Let’s go to the Proline Dungeon right away.”

　Ignoring the puzzled people, I started to walk away.

———————-

　Baku-agebon-bar.

　This was a way to raise your adventurer rank with explosive speed.

　However, in Mobius, the adventurer’s rank was a title without much meaning, therefore it was an element that was mostly discarded since it became known that the higher the player, the more of a waste of time it became. Nevertheless, thanks to the diversity of players, there were always some who tried to find the fastest way to do things, and they eventually found out “the fastest way” to raise the rank.

　And this fastest way should take at least six days. Yet, not many people wanted to spend six days raising their adventurer’s rank in the era this was a game, so it mostly became forgotten information. I just happened to remember it since it was associated with a “certain technique” that I used. Truly, knowledge is power, a power that’ll become useful now.

　Well then.

　Six days to A rank. How the heck do you accomplish that?　You might be thinking along those lines, but the truth is, this is quite simple.

　There’s an item that’s automatically generated inside the dungeon called 『Magic Crystal』――You just need to collect it and deliver it to the Adventurers Guild.

　Among the 「Unlimited Deliverable Items」, the Magic Crystal was the item that earned 「Guild Contribution Points」 the most, therefore, if it could be collected in large quantities, this was the best method for raising the guild rank efficiently.

　In the Proline Dungeon, around 128 Magic Crystals are produced each day. And assuming you deliver 83 per day, you can calculate that in six days, your accumulated Guild Contribution Points will be equivalent to Rank A. In other words, if about 500 Magic Crystals are delivered, you can earn Rank A at the guild.

　And the reason why you only deliver 83 per day and not more isn’t because of ‘want’, but because of ‘can’t’. The Magic Crystals don’t grow all at the same time, but are generated little by little all the time, therefore some waiting time is needed. Therefore, the limit is around 85 per day no matter how hard you try, so long as you take your time to sleep.

　Then, where in the dungeons are those Magic Crystals? The answer is “Hidden Rooms”.

　In these hidden rooms, Magic Crystals can be found in large quantities. Therefore, as long as you can get into those hidden rooms, getting to A rank is a piece of cake.

　And the way to reach the hidden rooms is a secret technique called 「Explosion Jump」, which was the origin of the Baku-agebon-bar.

　And in addition, the Proline Dungeon has the most hidden rooms among the intermediate class dungeons. Therefore, if you’re collecting Magic Crystals, this is the place for you.

　This was also one of the reasons why I loved the Proline Dungeon, besides it being a large and beautiful cave. This large number of hidden elements can tickle anyone’s gamer side. At that time, it was quite a pleasure to explore every corner making full use of various techniques like the explosion jump.

　Well, to summarize.

　We will accumulate Guild Contribution Points at the Adventurers’ Guild in the next six days, while aiming for A Rank. In order to do so, we need to deliver 83 Magic Crystal per day. Therefore, we need to enter a hidden room with many of those crystals inside the Proline Dungeon. And now, how do we enter those rooms――?

————————-

“Exproshon jamp? “

　Explosion Jump, sometimes also called, “pitiful jump”. Why pitiful (hisan)? Simply because 《Fire (Hi) Attribute・Third (san) Form》 is abbreviated hisan.

　After Eko heard my explanation, she just tilted her head, seemingly not understanding.

“Yeah. After you jump, I’ll shoot Wind Attribute Third Form at you Eko, then Silvia and I will each shoot Fire Attribute Third Form with the bow at your feet one after the other. All you have to do Eko, is to defend in this order Bishop Shieldmanship → Knight Shieldmanship → Gold Shieldmanship. All of them while facing down.”

　In the end, this is just a trick to fly higher than a normal jump. If it works well, you can get to a height of nearly 20 meters. This is a technique that can be performed by a single person if they have the Third Form, 《Bishop Shieldmanship》, 《Knight Shieldmanship》 and 《Gold Shieldmanship》 all of those at Grade 9, but if the ranks are lower, two or more people are needed.

“Okay! “

　Eko answered energetically.

“Hey, is this really going to be okay?　Like, really okay? “

　Silvia then asked me with a worried look. Considering Eko’s MGR, she should be alright…… But maybe we should do a rehearsal before doing it for real.

　I looked at my surroundings again.

　This is a really big dungeon, quite wide both vertically and horizontally, with rocky surfaces exposed all over the place and a slight gray glow. However, since the vertical hole has quite the height, and the horizontal caves are somewhat convoluted, the atmosphere is very eerie, as if it’s not being illuminated by a strong light.

　The monsters in the area have already been wiped out. They are called 『Golems』 and are large monsters made out of rock that appear here in the Proline Dungeon, but they’re not that big of a threat, and can be killed with one or two shots of 《Rook Archery》 at Grade 9. And since they give a nice amount of experience, this is good for ranking up skills.

　In addition, the topography of the Proline Dungeon has two main shapes, a main vertical shaft, similar to a tree trunk, and many small caves that extend horizontally, like branches and leaves, quite complicated.

　And what’s more, there are hidden rooms in almost every place that require very difficult techniques to reach them. Even me, who was the world’s top rank, does’t remember all of them, and where they are located. Therefore, to avoid falling into the cave after the Explosion Jump, and successfully reaching the point chosen, it is necessary to practice carefully first.

“Alright, let’s practice here.”

　After deciding on a place that seemed okay, I moved Eko towards the wall and prepared 《Wind Attribute・Third Form》 while aiming at her feet.

“Let’s begin. Jump! “

　After making sure Silvia was ready, I gave the command.

　Right after Eko jumped, I shot 《Wind Attribute・Third Form》 below her, then using 《Bishop Shieldmanship》 she defended and was blown up about three meters. Immediately after that, Silvia used a combination of 《Fire Attribute・Third Form》 and 《Knight Archery》and shot it from her bow, then Eko defended with 《Knight Shieldmanship》. The knockback effect became a vertical propulsion, and she went up twice as high as before. And finally, I finished with a combination of 《Fire Attribute・Third Form》 and 《Knight Archery》. Using 《Gold Shieldmanship》, Eko then gained even more altitude in an instant. About 15 meters from the ground. This much should be enough.

“Kyaaaaahahahaー! “

　Eko then started to fall while laughing.

　…………

“H-hey, is that fine!? “

“……Crap, I forgot!! “

“Wha-!? “

　Looking at the worried Yukari and the panicking Silvia, I finally became aware.

　I never thought about the landing!　In Mobius there was no problem losing some HP, but here is the real world. I can’t let Eko get hurt!

“Eko!　Bishop! “

　I shouted so, making a moment’s decision.

　Immediately after, Eko tightly held her shield. I then made a water pool at the point where she would drop using 《Water Attribute・Third Form》.

　Dobbaaan!　The moment the shield collided with the water, it splashed everywhere similar to a geyser.

“…………! “

　After she landed, Eko was just sitting on the ground looking shocked and surprised.

　Then, as she began to stand up, my face stiffened.

“Haa haa haa haa.”

　Eko slowly stood up, water dripping from her clothes, and looked towards me. My breathing was rough.　Since I was anxious about her being injured, I rushed towards her.

“Second!　One more time!　Let’s do it one more time! “

　Eko then said so with a face showing she really enjoyed that. Jumping around me, she began to beg to do it again.

　I’m glad she didn’t get hurt…… I feel like I would’ve lost my mind if so. Silvia and Yukari were still a bit worried, but also quite relieved.

“Okay, next is the real deal.”

“Okay! “

　After saying so, I went towards the correct location.

——————————

“I got them all! “

“Nice, now come down.”

　There are about three main Magic Crystal production spots in the Proline Dungeon. All of them are hidden rooms obviously, locations you can’t reach without the Hisan Jump. It might be possible to climb using ropes, but if you spend too much time on it the golems will respawn. And even then, most of the people don’t know the existence of the hidden rooms in the first place.

　Maybe because of that reason, Eko collected around 100 Magic Crystals from just three locations. The sources of these crystals were untouched. There was a huge amount of Magic Crystals that had never been taken by anyone. If it goes on like this, we’ll be able to reach Rank A in six days with ease.

“Alright, let’s go turn them in.”

　We went back to town while feeling excited.

——————————–

“Th-these are……!? “

　The guild receptionist had her eyes rounded in surprise.

“R…… Real……!　Magic Crystals, and this amount……! “

　She alternately looked at me and the Magic Crystals with a surprised expression and her mouth agape.

　Wow, this really feels nice.

“With this, our team should now be Rank C, right? “

　Back in the Adventurers Guild, one of the rules was that increasing your Guild Contribution Points will also increase your Rank. Therefore, it was possible to explosively increase your rank by bulk contributions without any issue, and achieve Rank A in a heartbeat…… but how about the real guild? If possible, I’d like that system to remain the same.

“……Ye-yeah, yes!　That is correct! “

　Nice, nice, this is good. Ranked up from F to C in a moment. To think it would really be this easy. I just hope they won’t tell me something like “You can’t get to Rank A by turning in Magic Crystals” later. (Did I just raise a flag?)

“We’ll turn them all over to the guild. Deposit all the money. And please raise our individual and team rank.”

“Understood! “

“Thanks, Camelia-san. We’ll bring more tomorrow.”

“Un-understood.”

　Looking at her name tag over her chest, I called her by her name and gave her a wink.

　……It was a weird act, if I say so myself, and it really gave me goosebumps all over my body, but it seems like the effect this body had was outstanding, since Camelia saw me off while her cheeks were dyed in red. Although the Adventurers Guild has a notoriously bad reputation, it seems like I can establish a good relationship with the receptionists.

“Second-dono……”

“…………Master.”

　But, judging by the cold gazes from my companions, it seems there is a price to pay for that.

　Or rather, aren’t Yukari’s eyes just too scary? Was she that uncomfortable with my actions? Well, I guess so.

“Ho? “

　Eko, as usual, had a foolish look on her face. When I look at her, she gives off this kind and tender feeling with her mouth slightly opened, Eko is so cute I want to pinch her cheeks.

“……Well then. For the next five days, we will collect the crystals and defeat the golems to earn experience. After we become Rank A, we’ll capture and clear the Proline Dungeon several times a day, and make Mithril Alloy. With that money, then we’ll buy a house at the capitol. Let’s go with this in mind.”

　I tried to move the talk in a different direction.

　But judging by their eyes, they still didn’t give it up, yet Silvia and Yukari gave their opinion.

“Umu. I’m in favor of earning experience. Do you still want to prioritize Yukari’s Blacksmithing skills? “

“No, Blacksmithing doesn’t have to be a priority anymore. The experience distribution will be set evenly for all members.”

“So that means we’ll all raise our skills again.”

　Silvia nodded while she had her arms still crossed. Judging by her face she had calmed down a little. Probably she’s glad she can raise her skills and get stronger. I know that feeling, I was like that at the beginning. I feel like those were the times when I enjoyed the game the most.

“By the way, Silvia has her Magic Archery, Eko her Shieldmanship…… But what are you going to raise, Master? “

　Yukari suddenly asked what was on her mind.

　……Hmm, me, huh?

　That’s right, I already raised Archery, Swordsmanship and Magic to a decent level―― it might be time to start with ‘that’.

　Turning my eyes to Yukari, I opened my mouth to answer.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll begin raising Summoning Magic.”

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