“My god...” Baltore muttered, immediately understanding the significance of what he was seeing. There was a reason he was the brains of our operation.
You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!
I didn’t know what my own level was, so I didn’t have a good grasp for just how level corresponded to strength, or what was average or high or low. However, I knew that the monsters you faced in a dungeon got stronger the higher that level number grew.
And I know exactly how strong the monsters in the Cliffside Castle are!
With the exception of the Twelve Ruins of Darkness, which were on a whole different level of difficulty compared to normal dungeons, the Cliffside Castle was the most dangerous dungeon we’d ever encountered before heading off to explore the frontier. Even as strong as we were now, we’d have a bit of difficulty going through it again, and we’d honestly thought it was the hardest dungeon you could find in the Freelea area. However, this map depicted multiple dungeons that had a higher level than the Cliffside Castle.
Does this mean there wasn’t even any point in us going to explore the frontier regions?
Thanks to the map, we now knew the precise location of these harder dungeons, and they were all at an easily accessible distance from Freelea. Anyone who used this map as a reference for their dungeon delving could get stronger way faster than normal.
Thanks to this one book, people can achieve the strength it took us years to build up in just a few months!
It was a terrifying thought, but also an exciting one. After all, we could use this map to get stronger as well.
After a few minutes we finally turned the page, only to be bombarded with even more shocking information.
“Holy shit, this book has detailed information on monsters too!”
The early parts of the book were a monster compendium, and the amount of detail they went into was staggering. For example, the Killer Ant entry included not only all of the weak points and special traits of the Killer Ant, but also had illustrations and diagrams.
In the level section, there was a little disclaimer that read “The level here gives a rough idea of how strong a monster is. Keep in mind that if you kill a monster that’s a lower level than you, you won’t get much experience!” Sadly, we didn’t know what our levels were, so that information wasn’t too useful for us. The rest, however, was.
We learned that the Killer Ant was level 12, which apparently was relatively low. We also learned that it had more Defense than Attack, which was something we vaguely recalled from when we’d been fighting those guys. But what was really eye-opening was the weaknesses and special traits section.
“Holy shit, look at this! Apparently insect-type monsters don’t take any damage from cold-type attacks, but if you keep hitting them with enough cold spells it’ll actually stop them from moving!”
“Hmm, it seems the ants’ acid spit counts as a magic attack, so Defense won’t help you much. I see, that makes sense.”
“How the hell did the author figure out that ants have a keen sense of smell and that if you apply specific scents you can control their actions?!”
Some things written about the various monsters we were familiar with, but the vast majority was brand new information.
“Hey, wait, don’t turn the page yet!”
“Gah I can’t read! Move your thumb, Baltore!”
And so, we also started acting like little kids who’d found their first porn mag.
❈❈❈
“Ngh...” I rubbed my tired eyes. I hadn’t read this much at once in ages.
Baltore noticed my exhaustion and said, “If you two are tired, you can rest for a bit. I can read through the rest and tell you guys all of the important bits.”
Honestly, I wanted to keep going, but I really did need the rest.
“Thanks. I guess I’ll take a break.”
“You’re welcome. There were a few sections I wanted to scour through on my own anyway.”
Baltore grinned, and I got the feeling I should make my break a long one. I waved casually to him, got to my feet, and started walking around the library to stretch my limbs.
Walking around, you could tell which sections were popular and which ones weren’t. The library hadn’t become popular because people realized how valuable the existing literature was; the business was clearly just due to the new dungeon guides and books on manual Arts that people were coming here for.
As I was walking around the library, Mia suddenly called out to me: “Ah, old geezer!” I turned around and saw that she was with Ai, who had a book in her arms.
“You were drooling all over that dungeon guide a second ago. Why’d you stop reading it?”
“I was not drooling. Anyway, I’m just taking a quick break. Besides, detailed analysis is Baltore’s specialty, so I’m leaving it to him.”
“Uh-huh,” Ai said, looking bored. But then her expression brightened up and she held the book she was holding out to me. “In that case, I guess I’ll let you read my favorite book!”
It seemed Ai enjoyed recommending books to people. However, I could tell from the title alone that this book would be too complex for me. It was called Character Building Theory: The Best Way to Reach the Higher Tier Classes for Each Build and What Skills You Should Focus on Developing. Thankfully, Mia spoke up and saved me from my predicament. Though with how casually rude she ended up being, maybe it would have been better if she’d remained quiet...
“W-Wait, Ai! He can’t handle a book that difficult. You need to recommend him children’s books first!”
I glanced around the room, searching desperately for someone who could help me, and locked eyes with Baltore.
“Personally, I think you should read a bit more too, Dax.”
“S-Screw you! As long as I can read the request board that’s good enough, isn’t it?!”
Ugh, even Baltore is taking the girls’ side here.
“Here you go, old geezer!” Mia said, handing a much smaller book over to me.
“What’s this? A Serious Consultation?”
“Yep! It’s a manga! I bet even you’ll be able to read this!”
“Ugh... Th-Thanks.”
I knew Mia wasn’t purposely trying to insult me, but honestly that just made it worse.
Still, no matter how easy a read this is, I feel like I’ve used up all my reading brainpower for today. In my current condition, even that super easy to understand manual Arts book I returned to the kids would be a challenge. Well, I guess this will still be easier than going through that character building theory book or whatever.
Somewhat reluctantly, I cracked open the book Mia had called a “manga.” Before I knew it I’d read all the way to the final page.
“Good for you, Gray! You did it!”
The story had been so moving I was tearing up a little at the end, and I sniffled pitifully. Ai gave me a disgusted look, but I didn’t care. Gray’s bonds with his party members had been truly wonderful. There was nothing embarrassing about crying over such a beautiful story.
Holy shit. That was so good I totally lost track of time. I never thought a book would be able to draw me in like that.
Also, though I hadn’t consciously paid attention to it while reading, thinking back on it now the comic had taught me a lot about the importance of choosing the right class and how to make tactical decisions about what equipment I should use. Not only had the story been good, it had been educational as well. Whoever had written it was a genius.
“See, it was good, right? I love that manga,” Mia said with a knowing smirk.