Enjoy~
TL: ALT
Chapter 42 – Prepare for the Cascade
“Whoa! Dungeon Flood! And isn’t Shinjuku Station Underground… an S-ranked dungeon!”
I know that probably didn’t answer my question,
‘The Dungeon Flood is a small one; those who have not yet explored an A-rank dungeon are advised to avoid entering the dungeon area. Other explorers are advised to follow the instructions of the local authorities and cooperate in dealing with the disaster.’
No one knows “whose” voice is the Voice of Heaven.
However, it is likely that the “Voice of Heaven” is the creator of the “Dungeons Go Pro” app, as well as the system for marking murderers in dungeons with red.
It is a mystery how the Voice of Heaven recognizes the nature of social organization in this country.
Anyway, the general opinion is that the Voice of Heaven is not a being that harms people but rather tries to help and guide us.
…But I’m curious to know what the relationship is with this ‘God.’
“Small scale, huh? The headquarters of the Explorers Association is also in Shinjuku. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Serika will probably be sent out to deal with the situation.
No, she’d probably be the one to get involved herself.
“If I go back now, will I be a force to be reckoned with…?”
According to the Voice of Heaven, I am what they call someone who has never been in an A-rank dungeon.
I can’t be a force to be reckoned with, so get lost, scum! That’s what it means, right?
No, it doesn’t say anything about scum.
‘Also, explorers who are exploring dungeons near the Shinjuku Station Underground Dungeon are advised to leave the dungeon as soon as possible. Even though it is a small flood, flooding in high-level dungeons can cause cascades in surrounding dungeons.’
“Cascades… I think it was a chain reaction of dungeon floods.”
The Shinjuku Station Underground Dungeon, as the name suggests, is located directly under JR Shinjuku Station.
The Hikarigaoka Park Dungeon, where I am now, is only a few minutes away from Shinjuku by subway.
This means that a cascade could happen.
The “Voice of Heaven,” who is usually known for saying the bare minimum to explorers, was very eloquent just now, wasn’t it?
“Damn it, even if it is a secret monster.”
I realized that I had saved 150000 SP.
I wanted to use this momentum to earn as much as possible.
Even though I had saved up to 150000, there was no reaction to the Escape skill increase.
I started to think that something was wrong.
Isn’t the SP required too high?
Maybe something other than SP is needed to increase the skill level of Escape?
“It can’t be helped. It would be bad to get greedy and get caught in the flood.”
The question is, how do I get out?
“It would be faster to go through the boss room than to go back the way I came.”
With my current status, the boss should be easy enough to defeat.
Since my goal this time was to achieve the special condition of destroying 400 Hobbit-type monsters, I had to defeat the boss here at least once.
I think about acquiring skills while using the Mini Map as a guide.
“I might meet some of the Rakan explorers.”
If it is Junko Tozaki, there is a possibility that she will not dive into the dungeon herself but will instead take a high view of it.
But if that is the case, there seems to be no need to go to the trouble of appearing in the dungeon.
That woman’s appearance in the dungeon was probably intended to inspire her subordinates there.
If I went to the boss’s room, there was a possibility that I would run into Junko Tozaki.
If she remembered that I was the man who was with Serika, she might try to take advantage of the confusion to harm me.
I would like to think that I would not be stupid enough to do such a thing in a situation where flooding might occur.
Junko Tozaki did not know that I was the one she bullied in high school.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if she remembered the face she had just seen this afternoon.
In preparation for an unexpected cascade, I’m going to convert as much of the SP I have now into skills as possible.
I calculated the required SPs on a spreadsheet on my phone…
“Level up the skills: Do exactly what I’m about to tell you. Mental Strength Enhancement 5, Magic Power Enhancement 5. Fire Magic to 5. Increase the level of Covert and Enemy Search to 3. MP Recovery Speed Up 3 and Magic Barrage 2. Thought Acceleration to 3, Magic Crit to 3, Self Regeneration up to 3, Fast Chant 2. Acquisition of Taijutsu and increase it to 2. Ninjutsu increased to 2. All current Abnormality Resistance skills to 2.”
‘Consumes 151700 SP and acquires the following 27 skills. Mental Strength Enhancement 5, Magic Power Enhancement 5, Fire Magic 3, Fire Magic 4, Fire Magic 5, Covert 2, Covert 3, Enemy Search 2, Enemy Search 3, MP Recovery Speed Up 3, Magic Barrage 2, Thought Acceleration 2, Thought Acceleration 3, Magic Crit 2, Magic Crit 3, Self Regeneration 2, Self Regeneration 3, Fast Chant 2, and Taijutsu 1, Taijutsu 2, Ninjutsu 2, Paralysis Resistance 2, Petrification Resistance 2, Instant Death Resistance 2, Sleep Resistance 2, Confusion Resistance 2, and Silence Resistance 2. You may not interrupt the acquisition process while it is in progress. Are you sure you want to do this?’
“Do it.”
‘You have acquired the skill Mental Enhancement 5.’
‘Confirmation of the fulfillment of the special condition. You have obtained the skill Astral Survival.’
Congratulations !!! ────────────
Special Condition Achieved: Skill HP Enhancement and Mental Strength Enhancement, both at level 5.
Reward: Astral Survival skill.
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
Astral Survival 1
Even if your HP is zero, you can escape death by going astral for (S.Lv x 10) seconds. If you can recover your body during this time, you can return to your original body.
────────────────────
‘Confirmation of the fulfillment of the special condition. You have obtained the Astral Defense skill.’
Congratulations !!! ────────────
Special Condition Achieved: Both the Defense Enhancement and Mental Strength Enhancement skills have reached level 5.
Reward: Astral Defense skill.
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
Astral Defense 1
When receiving a physical attack, the damage is reduced by adding (S.Lv x 10)% of Mental Strength to the Defense.
Also, when hit by a magical attack, the damage is reduced by adding (S.Lv x 10)% of Defense to Mental Strength.
────────────────────
“Oooh!”
I have low defense.
It’s nice to know that 10% of my high Mental Strength is always added to my Defense.
Astral Survival is also important to increase my chances of surviving.
I also have a skill called Survive that allows me to survive with 1 HP, even if my HP goes down to 0.
This makes instant death from heavy damage even less likely. [T/N: The name of the skill Survival has been changed to Survive from now on. I’m sorry for the inconvenience].
‘You have acquired the skill Magic Power Enhancement 5.’
‘Confirmation of the fulfillment of the special condition. You have acquired the skill, Energy Drain.’
Congratulations !!! ────────────
Special Condition Achieved: Skill HP Enhancement and Magic Power Enhancement, both at level 5.
Reward: Skill Energy Drain.
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
Energy Drain 1
Absorbs (S.Lv x 10)% of the target’s current HP. Fails if the target’s Mental Strength is greater than your Magic Power.
────────────────────
‘Confirmation of the fulfillment of the special condition. You have acquired the skill Magic Barrier.’
Congratulations !!! ────────────
Special Condition Achieved: Both the Magic Power Enhancement and Mental Strength Enhancement skills have reached level 5.
Reward: Magic Barrier skill
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
Magic Barrier 1
Creates a powerful magic barrier that blocks magical attacks. The strength of the barrier is based on your Magic Power, Mental Strength, and S.Lv. It consumes MP while deployed.
────────────────────
These two skills are also very useful.
“As expected, two level 5 ability enhancement skills can achieve special conditions.”
The others are MP Enhancement, Agility Enhancement, and Luck Enhancement.
The SP required to get them to level 5 is a tough 25600, so I decided to put them on hold this time.
But all the skills I just got are powerful.
Should I have pushed myself to get the other buff skills as well?
…No, I can’t take that risk now.
There are 15 combination patterns for enhancement-type skills: 6 x 5 ÷ 2.
But there didn’t seem to be any special conditions for the combination of Defense Enhancement, which is already level 5, and Magic Power Enhancement, which I made level 5 this time.
The remaining… err, nine ways may not all be a hit.
It’s better to save them for when I can afford them.
‘You have acquired the skills of Fire Magic 3, Fire Magic 4, and Fire Magic 5.’
‘The skill Advanced Fire Magic is now available.’
‘You have acquired the skills Covert 2, Covert 3, Enemy Search 2, and Enemy Search 3.’
‘The skill Presence Detection is now obtainable.’
“I see; some skills are unlocked by acquiring multiple skills…”
Unlocking is a slang term used by explorers, but the phenomenon is relatively well known.
It is even mentioned in the wiki.
However, because it is difficult to verify, the information is a mixture of rumors and untruths.
If I had known it was going to be unlocked, I would have added Advanced Fire Magic and Presence Detection as options, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
The “available for acquisition” only means that it will be available for selection from the menu, not that it has been acquired.
In other words, the skill is now available for acquisition, which means it has been unlocked.
‘You have acquired the skills MP Recovery Speed Up 3, Magic Barrage 2, Thought Acceleration 2, and Thought Acceleration 3.’
‘Confirmation of the fulfillment of the special condition. You have acquired the skill Gain Up SP.’
Congratulations !!! ────────────
Special Condition Achieved: Acquired or leveled up the skill 100 times.
Reward: Skill Gain Up SP.
────────────────────
Skill──────────────────
Gain Up SP 1
Increases SP gain by (S.Lv x 10)%.
────────────────────
“Oooh, here comes a good one!”
Apparently, it was the commemorative 100th skill increase. As expected, I didn’t expect something like that to be counted.
Let’s celebrate with an Oni’s Weep if I make it back safely, shall we?
‘Skills: Magic Crit 2, Magic Crit 3, Self Regeneration 2, Self Regeneration 3, Fast Chant 2, Taijutsu 1, Taijutsu 2, Ninjutsu 2, Paralysis Resistance 2, Petrification Resistance 2, Instant Death Resistance 2, Sleep Resistance 2, Confusion Resistance 2, and Silence Resistance 2.
The following skills have been acquired.’
‘The skills Paralyzing Attack, Petrifying Attack, Sleep Attack, Confusion Attack, and Silence Attack are now obtainable.’
“…Is that all?”
I waited for a while, but the Voice of Heaven did not continue.
“Status open.”
Status ──────────────────
Kurashiki Yuto
Level 1
HP 44879/44879
MP 30554/30554
Attack Power 1089
Defense 19485
Magic Power 82224
Mental Strength 86404
Agility 69344
Luck 64115
・Unique Skill
Escape S.Lv1
・Acquired Skills
Magic: Fire Magic 5, Wind Magic 1, Water Magic 1, Ice Magic 1, Lightning Magic 1
Technical Ability: Taijutsu 2
Special Ability: Ninjutsu 2, Assassination 1, Poison Spray 1, Earth Crack 1, Energy Drain 1
Combat Support: Self Regeneration 3, Thought Acceleration 3, MP Recovery Speed Up 3, Magic Crit 3, Strong Strike Magic 2, Fast Chant 2, Magic Barrage 2, Ancient Chant 2, Fatal Crit 1, Backstab 1, MP Save 1, Attribute Amplification 1, Evasion Up 1, Surprise Attack 1, Preemptive Strike 1, First Move 1, Vanguard Knowledge 1, Heaven’s Punishment 1, Absolute Defense, Astral Survival 1, Astral Defense 1, Magic Barrier 1, All Out Strike 1, Berserk 1, Divide, Knock Out, Survive, Drive Away
Ability Value Enhancement: HP Enhancement 5, Defense Enhancement 5, Magic Power Enhancement 5, Mental Strength Enhancement 5, MP Enhancement 4, Agility Enhancement 1, Luck Enhancement 1, Physical Ability Enhancement 1
Resistance: Paralysis 2, Petrification 2, Sleep 2, Instant Death 2, Confusion 2, Silence 2
Exploration Support: Enemy Search 3, Covert 3, Stealth, Trap Detection 1, Trap Removal 1, Appraisal, Simple Appraisal, Disguise, Spying, Archive, Mini Map, Item Box, Gain Up SP 1
・Equipment
Anti-Poison Earrings
Cloak of Thunderstorm
Ring of Protection
Mage Staff
SP 1290
────────────────────
“…Did I overdo it?”
Maybe I should have left some SP in there.
Well, it’s better than being unprepared and…
In addition to Sealth, now that I have Covert at level 3, I can walk right by a monster without it noticing me.
If I use Escape to the front, I will inevitably need the 25 seconds of the Escape timer.
Of course, it would be better to run forward on the road to earn SP, but it’s an emergency right now.
The flood cascade―it’s better that it doesn’t happen, and the odds are that it rarely does.
However, this time, the flood happened in the S-ranked Shinjuku Station Underground Dungeon.
It is also quite close to this Hikarigaoka Park Dungeon.
I feel like the air in the dungeon is getting heavier and heavier, but… I’m sure it’s just my imagination, right?
After a few minutes of progress, a number of blue light spots appeared at the end of the Mini Map.