Chapter 46
The Steep Path of
Leveling Up
Three days have passed since I changed the Dungeon I attack to Kagurazaka,
and today I moved to Higashi-Nakano after my labor. Even though I was
only away for a mere three days, it somehow feels like it's been a long time. I
wonder if it's because I was completely focused on the Dungeon. Thinking
about such things, I charge into the familiar Dungeon Administration.
「'Sup, Onee-san.
How're you doing?」
I'm relieved that there's absolutely no one here, as usual. It's
depopulated, the Higashi-Nakano Dungeon.
「'Sup, Aoi-chan...
what's with that outfit? Where's your usual jersey?」
「Hah! I bid
farewell to that tacky jersey a long time ago. Because this is my style now!」
I do a quick spin as a service. Take a good look!
「What are you
doing. Just come on, you're here to exchange magic stones for cash, right?」
「Ehh, isn't
your reaction a bit weak? Praise me a little, I worked hard on this.」
I press in on Onee-san with enough momentum to climb over the
counter. Whatever the case, please praise my effort.
「I'm joking.
But what happened all of a sudden? I was completely sure you just liked
jerseys. Even after you started earning quite a bit of money, you weren't
spending it on clothes, right?」
It's not like I particularly wore jerseys out of preference, but
whatever.
「Onee-san, it's the fashionable town of Kagurazaka, you
know? You can't survive in that town in a jersey. I'll absolutely get looked
down on by the fashionable girl Hunters.」
「Well, that
certainly might happen.」
It's unpleasant, really. Trying to establish dominance through fashion
is truly ridiculous. But I don't want guys I don't know talking behind my back,
much less saying annoying things to my face. I don't know what kind of
relationship those guys had, but I've seen that kind of thing happen a few
times in just these past few days.
It's safer to have enough preparation so as not to be made a fool of.
Because if someone picks a fight with me, I'll probably take them up on it, you
know. I'll send them flying! If I were poor I wouldn't dress up, but the
current me has a little bit of leeway. I can afford a little image change.
「Ah, come to
think of it, Onee-san. If you made a hotel reservation for me, tell me
in advance. I almost ignored it and went to a different hotel.」
「Ignored it?
I didn't think you wouldn't go to the hotel I told you about, and I wanted to
surprise you.」
「Well, asking
about it and then not going is kinda, yeah. I guess that makes sense.」
「How are
things with Yukino? Our shifts haven't really aligned, so I haven't been
able to talk to her recently. Ideally I wanted to hear about how you're doing, Aoi-chan.」
The Minamoto Yukino-san who was doing reception at that hotel. It
seems that Onee-san is best buds with the Onee-san in front of me
right now.
「She's a good
person, Yukino-san. It's practically thanks to her that I'm able to stay
at a hotel.」
「Oh my,
you're calling her by her first name. You can just call me Yuuka too,
you know.」
「Then Yuuka,
I'll be counting on you from now on.」
「Calling me
without an honorific isn't quite right. Yuuka-san, if you please. Aoi-chan.」
「Can't be
helped~. Then Yuuka-san, cash exchange please, for now.」
I dumped the magic stones I'd accumulated over the past few days onto
the tray with a clatter clatter. Yuuka-san is wide-eyed in
surprise. Fufun, it's the result of me working quite hard, after all. It makes
me a little happy to see her surprised.
「Amazing,
it's nothing but high quality as usual. Wait just a moment.」
Because there's a lot of them, it seems the automatic appraisal will
take some time. It's perfect for small talk.
「Actually,
I'm currently using the Seventeenth Floor of the middle layers as my
earning spot, and haven't I made quite a profit this time? Didn't I hit a new
record?」
「You've
already gone as far as the Seventeenth Floor? No matter how you look at
it, isn't that fast? Are you okay?」
「Easy.
Totally easy. Me, I've gotten incredibly strong. I'm getting stronger day by
day. Exactly like, 'When you haven't seen a girl for three days, rub your eyes
and look closely' kinda feeling?」
「Then your
level must have gone up quite a bit too, right? If you have leeway on the Seventeenth
Floor, it's about time to be conscious of a Sub-class.」
About that~. Even though I'm beating up monsters like crazy, my level
just isn't going up easily.
「It seems
like my level is hard to raise. Even though I'm defeating an insane amount of
monsters.」
「Ah, from
Level 10 onwards, it changes quite a bit depending on your Class. Even
with similar Classes there are individual differences, and perhaps
you're a late bloomer type, Aoi-chan.」
「A late
bloomer?」
「Yes. It
seems that in exchange for your level being hard to raise, your status
increases more easily, or you learn skills more easily.」
「Heeeh, then
I am completely that. My status is crappy, but I have a lot of skills and I'm
strong, after all.」
Even so, I think the required experience points are way too high. That's
probably also because of 『Ultra Hard Mode』.
「The benefits
of skills are especially large, so I don't think being a late bloomer type is
bad.」
「Is that so~.
By the way, what are the stats of a Level 10 person like? It probably depends
on the person, but I'd like to know for reference.」
When I was at Level 10, all my stats were 20. Since they were half that
of a normal person when I was Level 1, I wonder how much I was able to recover.
「At Level 10,
the influence of the Class cannot be ignored. But if you're okay with
that... let's see, maybe the average for each status is around 50? For a strong
person, they might have an additional plus 20 or so, though.」
「...Huh?
Average around 50? Seriously?」
「Ah, I was
boiling water. Wait just a moment.」
While Yuuka-san stepped away from her seat, I took my ID card out
of my Dimensional Pouch.
■ Memories of the Star Soul
Name: Nagakura Aoi Scarlet
Level: 11 (Experience required for level up: 435,467)
Class: Stray Bandit
Vitality: 23 (+880)
Spirit: 23 (+990)
Attack: 23 (+1,100)
Defense: 23 (+880)
Magic: 23 (+935)
Resistance: 23 (+825)
Destiny Power: 539
Skill:
·
『Ultra Hard Mode』 (Imposes trials. Increases Dungeon
difficulty, increases reward acquisition rate according to difficulty, growth
rate changes proportional to difficulty)
·
『Solo Dungeon』 (Allows entry into an exclusive Dungeon)
·
『Martial Soul Resonance』 (Equipment binds with the user and
grows according to level)
·
『Poison Attack』 (Inflicts poison damage upon
attacking)
·
『Star Thread Spinning』 (Visualizes details of the Star
Soul Crest)
·
『Status Ailment Resistance』 (Grants resistance against status
ailments)
·
『Rock-hard Armor』 (Summons a Rock-harding shield)
·
『Twinkling Hammer』 (A twinkling hammer performs an
additional attack)
·
『Life Force Absorption』 (Absorbs a little bit of vitality
from the target depending on the damage dealt when attacking)
·
『Telekinesis』 (Interferes with objects through concentration)
Class Skill: 『Restraint Destruction』 (Can easily destroy restraints)
Blessing:
·
Blessing of Benzaiten (Increases Charm,
Artistic Ability, and Financial Fortune. Proof of being acknowledged by Benzaiten
for solo subjugating the Five-Headed Dragon)
·
Blessing of the Yakubyogami (Returns calamities
and imparts bad causes and bad results. Proof of being acknowledged by the Yakubyogami
for solo subjugating the Smallpox Evil God)
Still Level 11. Even though I've been defeating an insane amount of
monsters of a higher rank than me these past three days, my level just isn't
going up. While I can accept my level being hard to raise by thinking I'm a
late bloomer type, it's my base stats. Normally the average is around 50, but I
only have 23. Less than half!
「I haven't
recovered at all!」
Rather, hasn't the gap widened!? If the late bloomer type thing is true,
I wonder if I'll be able to catch up all at once when my level goes up more.
Even though an unbelievable correction value is added thanks to the benefits of
my equipment and skills, it's somehow frustrating that I'm losing in base
stats.
At the very least, I want to become able to say, "I'm winning in
combat techniques." Even if my stats are below average, my true ability is
above average! I want to declare from a condescending point of view,
"Numbers don't matter."
I am Nagakura Aoi, who is strong even without relying on equipment or skills. Nice to meet ya!