Chapter 2:
Explosive Speed Leveling
A FEW DAYS AFTER the events at Yoizuki headquarters, I traveled to a new C-rank dungeon called Kuze. Before heading inside, I stopped in front of it and double-checked my Dungeon Teleportation skill.
Dungeon Teleportation LV 20
Required MP: 1 MP × Distance (meters)
Conditions: Teleportation can only occur in dungeons that have already been visited.
Teleportation Distance: Maximum 400 meters.
Activation Time: 0.8 seconds × distance (meters)
Scope: User and user’s belongings.
Sub-skill: Time Zero
Paying 100 MP allows the user to teleport instantly within a ten-meter radius. (This ability is obtained when Dungeon Teleportation reaches LV 20).
Like the description said, I couldn’t enter dungeons I’d never stepped inside of. I’d entered tons of C-rank dungeons—without beating them—to make the most of this ability. I still had a good number of them left to explore, including this one.
“Time to go,” I said. “Dungeon Teleportation.”
I reappeared inside Kuze. With a recommended level of 800, it was one of the less difficult C-rank dungeons. It surpassed Kenzaki—home of the Nameless Knight—but wasn’t quite as difficult as Marou, where I fought the Rainbow King Wolf. Although, the Nameless Knight was level 1,100…hmm, maybe Kenzaki had more substance to it than I was giving it credit for.
Kobolds and golems spawned along my way, drawing me out of my memories. I’d only run Kuze once, just to check out the interior, but now, I was over level 13,000. I didn’t need to tread carefully, like I did back then.
“I’m gonna crush this!” I declared. “Dungeon Teleportation.”
I used my skill to drop straight to the last floor. Was my experience at the Remote Magic Tower the reason I could proceed so confidently? It was strange to feel like a new version of myself.
“No sense dwelling. Time to challenge the boss.”
Once I entered the boss room, a level 800 ice golem charged at me. Its dense, glacial body deflected my blade, but our levels were about as far apart as the moon is from the stars. Greed cut it down in a single hit.
“You have defeated the dungeon boss.”
“Gained XP: Level increased by 12!”
“Nice. First run down, a bunch more to go. I’m just getting started!”
It seemed like forever since I looped a dungeon. Holding onto that motivated feeling, I beat the dungeon as many times as the day allowed.
✦ ✦ ✦
The next day, on my sixtieth dungeon win, the system spoke in my mind.
“You have reached this dungeon’s maximum number of allotted victories.”
“Bonus Reward: Level increased by 30!”
“You will no longer receive rewards for defeating this dungeon.”
“Oh! Finally maxed it out.”
That made it my eleventh dungeon fully traveled. What happened to my Dungeon Traveler title when I surpassed ten? Curiosity compelled me to open the stats display.
Dungeon Traveler (10/10)
A title granted to someone who has traversed a dungeon in its entirety.
By traveling a dungeon a specific number of times, this person gains special benefits.
“Still ten out of ten… Does that mean I won’t gain any extra special rewards?”
Huh. That didn’t bode well.
If maxing out twenty dungeons wasn’t my ticket to accessing the Remote Magic Tower again, I’d never figure out what that mysterious third reward was. Had that ship really sailed for good? To be honest, I felt shell-shocked.
Ugh, this sucks…
Never was one for sulking though. Since it didn’t seem like I could muscle my way back into the Remote Magic Tower, I would let that third reward go. For now.
“At least I earned some SP. How should I use all of it?” I wondered.
I checked my stats again.
Amane Rin
Level: 14,367 SP: 16,210
Titles: Dungeon Traveler (10/10), Nameless Swordsman, Endbringer (ERROR), Wiser Wise Man
HP: 112,100/112,100 MP: 17,330/31,570
Attack: 26,870 Defense: 22,630 Speed: 28,100
Intelligence: 22,290 Resistance: 22,430 Luck: 21,350
Skills: Dungeon Teleportation LV 20, Enhanced Strength LV MAX, Herculean Strength LV MAX, Superhuman Strength LV MAX, High-speed Movement LV MAX, Gale Wind LV MAX, Revitalize LV 1, Purification Magic LV 1, Mana Boost LV MAX, Mana Recovery LV 2, Enemy Detection LV 4, Evasion LV 4, Status Condition Resistance LV 4, Appraisal, Item Box LV 5, Conceal LV 1, Battle Barrier LV 1, Plunderer LV 1
I had a veritable treasure trove of SP saved up—16,210 points in total. A hefty sum, but how best to spend it?
“Let’s see which skills would serve my future plans best,” I mumbled, darting my eyes over the ones that jumped out.
Obtained Skills
Dungeon Teleportation LV 20 → LV 21 (SP needed: 10,000)
Battle Barrier LV 1 → LV 2 (SP needed: 10,000)
Status Condition Resistance LV 4 → LV 5 (SP needed: 1,000)
Enemy Detection LV 4 → LV 5 (SP needed: 1,000)
Evasion LV 4 → LV 5 (SP needed: 1,000)
Item Box LV 5 → LV 6 (SP needed: 1,200)
New Skills
Endurance LV 1 (SP needed: 100)
Enhanced Mana LV 1 (SP needed: 100)
Enhanced Spirit LV 1 (SP needed: 100)
Etc.
“That’s the gist, huh?”
I considered my options. First were the new skills: Endurance, Enhanced Mana, and Enhanced Spirit. They would boost my Defense, Intelligence, and Resistance, respectively. It was easiest to think of them as similar to Herculean Strength and High-speed Movement, but for different stats.
“As much as I want to spend what I’ve saved up, it would take a ton of SP to even notice a difference. I should preserve my points for now.”
Getting any of these skills to LV 10 would only boost my stats by 3,000 points. These were the kind of skills people obtained just to unlock the ones above them. There were better options.
I turned my attention to my obtained skills. Most of them were hungry for a big heapin’ helping of points. Still, this would be a difficult decision. The only ones that weren’t quite as voracious were these four: Status Condition Resistance, Enemy Detection, Evasion, and Item Box.
“If I’m picking something geared toward high-difficulty dungeons instead of speed runs, should I prioritize Item Box?” I wondered.
At LV 1, Item Box was basically a glorified backpack. Leveling it up increased the capacity exponentially. Now that it was level five, it fit my weapons, magic stones, monster corpses, and other miscellaneous items, but it might help to create some wiggle room moving forward. My future likely held a plethora of bulky, valuable monster corpses—ones like the cyclops that Claire bagged at Shiranui.
“Okay, I’ll start with Item Box. But what should I do with these two skills?” My attention slid back to two hungriest skills on the list. “Dungeon Teleportation and Battle Barrier…maybe I’ll boost one of them.”
Both of them required 10,000 SP to level up, but they were worth it so I didn’t have any complaints on that front. I selected Battle Barrier to freshen my memory of the description.
Battle Barrier LV 1
Until MP is fully depleted, this skill creates a mana barrier around the target. (The strength and duration of the effect changes according to skill level.)
Cooldown time: 60 seconds
“‘Strength and duration of the effect changes according to skill level,’” I read. “That’s important.”
Battle Barrier was massively useful during my fight with Yanagi. It protected me from his daggers several times. The caveat was that his level was barely 10,000 and his fighting style was based on speed, not strength. He didn’t have a lot of power in his hits. Even someone like him could’ve broken through the barrier with a few dozen hits, which meant keeping Battle Barrier at LV 1 might not help me much in battles with stronger enemies. I had to level it up at some point.
That didn’t mean I had to do it now, though!
“Yeah, it’s not super strong, but that means I don’t need to touch the skill level until I plan to face an opponent stronger than Yanagi,” I decided. “I’ll stick with grinding safe dungeons for a while.”
That left one candidate: my unique skill, Dungeon Teleportation.
“The SP required to level it up this time is way higher than it was. It probably won’t feel different until LV 30, but I can test it and see whether it’s worth pushing the skill level higher in the long term.”
“Dungeon Teleportation has increased to LV 21.”
“Conditions have changed.”
“Teleportation can only occur in dungeons that have already been visited à Teleportation can occur in all dungeons.”
“Wha—?!” I blurted.
I choked on the word in my astonishment, and could anyone blame me?
“All dungeons? This means I don’t have to tap in and out of new dungeons to avoid the Span. Heck, I don’t have to worry about the Span at all. This is wild…!” I marveled. “The teleportation distance hasn’t changed so it doesn’t help me with the Remote Magic Tower, but even without that…wow. This is freakin’ huge.”
I’d considered how to incorporate new B-level dungeons into my routine, since they were more suited to my level, but this development eliminated the need to figure out logistics. I could enter whatever dungeon I wanted, whenever I wanted.
“This is giving me a major tailwind!” I said excitedly. I would level up faster and easier, all thanks to this.
With a spring in my step and the winds behind me, I invested my remaining SP into boosting Item Box to LV 6 and headed home.
Dungeon Teleportation LV 21
Required MP: 1 MP × Distance (meters)
Conditions: Teleportation can occur in all dungeons.
Teleportation Distance: Maximum 400 meters.
Activation Time: 0.8 seconds × distance (meters)
Scope: User and user’s belongings.
Sub-skill: Time Zero
Paying 100 MP allows the user to teleport instantly within a ten-meter radius. (This ability is obtained when Dungeon Teleportation reaches LV 20.)