Read Novel Full Chapter 299
Chapter 299
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Chapter 299 – What You Can Do in a Dungeon
The first and second floors contain 150 to 200 rooms of various sizes.
There are dead ends and rooms with only one exit along the way, forcing you to pant your way through the maze-like interior of the dungeon, just as the name suggests.
Jumping around helps a bit, but if you think of it as a way to build up your stamina, then it’s probably necessary exercise.
When I saw a monster, I’d say, “Whoa-cha!” and instantly kill it with a flying kick. After clearing a room, I’d immediately check for items dropped by the monster.
If seeds were dropped, I’d sweep them up super fast with a broom and dustpan. This way, each floor took about an hour and a half.
I can’t deny that I wasted time because of my stubborn need to map everything, which was a serious problem.
Still, I discovered a stylish treasure chest in a dead-end passage. Its contents were just a slightly larger copper fragment. But I managed to smoothly descend all the way to the third underground floor.
Then, as I sat at the edge of the passageway, taking a break, I clutched my head in realization of a shockingly obvious fact:
“Not gaining skill experience points is a real pain…”
I had suspected something was off right from the first kobold that appeared.
Many of the kobolds here carry weapons.
Despite that, they don’t have a single skill linked to weapons.
Still, since kobolds are pitiful monsters without skills to begin with, I thought it might be different for other monsters.
And then, just now…
When I faced the “Air Mantis” of Rocker Plains for the first time in a while, I understood the nature of the monsters appearing in dungeons. I resigned myself to the fact that this was hopeless.
It should possess wind magic, yet even with the Mind’s Eye, I see nothing.
Nevertheless, I gather black magic power and unleash wind blades.
It felt like fighting a phantom: something that seemed tangible but wasn’t.
But that’s just how dungeons are; I had to accept it.
If I couldn’t accept that, then I could just hunt in the “outer field,” where I could gain skill experience.
“Hey, you okay? Feeling sick or something?”
“Ah, sorry to bother you. I’m just tired and taking a break, so I’m fine.”
“All right, don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
Maybe a parent and child?
I watched the three-person party ahead of me. An older man and woman were moving forward with a boy slightly older than me sandwiched between them.
Mom carried the basket, the son handled the broom and dustpan, and Dad led the way with a sword, probably the monster-bashing guy.
(A party, huh…)
Anyway, this is a beginner dungeon.
Considering the monsters’ level, even if they have skills, most are probably level one.
Having skills is better than nothing, but realistically, hunting tens of thousands of level 1 monsters barely increases your skill levels.
I need a new hunting ground where I can play with others.
As I thought about what I could do, I resumed exploring the dungeon, imagining all sorts of possibilities.
▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽
“Thanks for your hard work! Once you’ve cashed out, please return any borrowed items.”
“Okay!”
The lady at the entrance called out to me. I set the basket I was carrying on the table.
Today, I made it halfway through the fifth floor.
Still, it’s a decent result—better than I’d expected.
Peering inside the basket, I saw three small creatures.
Relieved to see that they were healthy, I checked the notice boards outside each shop.
(Seeds are bought by weight, regardless of type. Minerals are bought by weight, per type. Actual weapons—does weight matter for these, too?)
A wooden sign propped up read, “High prices for longswords! Unpopular weapons melted down for high prices!” It’s pretty game-like, but places like this are real.
Then, I saw my absolute top priority.
My feet stopped completely when I saw the “Rare Items Purchased” sign.
~Purchase Guide~
・Skill Seeds… 100 million Beeke
・Growth Seeds… 50 million Beeke
・Special-Bestowed Weapons & Accessories… Not Accepted
・Skill Blue Books (Thin)… 2 million Beeke~
・Skill Blue Books (Thick)… 30 million Beeke~
・Skill Yellow Book (Thin)・・・20 million Beeke～
・Skill Yellow Book (Thick)・・・200 million Beeke～
・Job Blue Book・・・2 million Beeke～
・Job Yellow Book・・・30 million Beeke～
・Fragments of Wisdom・・・3 million Beeke～
・Other Items・・・Consult the Marketplace
(What the hell? It sounds impressive, but I don’t get it!)
There are even words not found in books, and I don’t know what effect these rare items have.
The only thing I vaguely grasp is that none of them seems to trigger a skill reset.
Maybe he noticed me staring, completely motionless.
“Never seen you around. Did you find something rare?”
The voice came suddenly from the middle-aged man propping his cheek on his hand and minding the shop at the “Appraisal Office” next door.
The ‘Rare Item Purchasing’ and ‘Market Price Consultation’ have different signs, but they’re connected inside. This old man might handle all three places.
“No, I didn’t find one, but I went into a dungeon for the first time today. I was wondering what kinds of rare items might be out there.”
“Being eager to learn is a good thing. But they don’t just pop out that easily, you know? If they were easy to get, I wouldn’t be sitting around here.”
“I guess you’re right. Um, if you’re not too busy, could you teach me a few things?”
“What do you want to know?”
“First, I want to know what the items listed here are. Also, I want to know things that ordinary hunters usually don’t know. You seem really knowledgeable.”
If he can appraise items, buy rare goods, and handle ‘market price consultations,’ he’s probably very knowledgeable about this kind of rare stuff.
Getting all that information from someone like him would be worth more than any small fee I could pay.
“Usually, you’d think about it after you’ve actually found something. Well, fine. I’ll keep you company to kill my boredom. Bring me one of those chairs over there.”
“Right away! So, what exactly are the effects of this rare item written on this wooden tablet?”
Honestly, I wanted to pull out my notebook and take notes right then and there.
But I knew that would be going too far. Still, I was definitely hearing something important.
That’s precisely why I drilled the item’s name and its effects into my head, making absolutely sure I wouldn’t forget them.
“Um, so the Skill Seed makes ‘Prayer to the Goddess’ easier to succeed, and the Growth Seed increases ‘Contribution to the World’?”
“That’s right. That’s why nobles especially love feeding their kids Growth Seeds. At first, with increased contribution, prayers succeed easily, even without Skill Books.”
“Hmm, hmm. Both look like small seeds, but they glow, so you can spot them instantly.”
“I’ve never seen a fool who accidentally sold them to a ‘Seed Shop.'”
“So, for special enchanted gear, since it’s picky about buyers in beginner dungeons, auctions are the only option?”
“Mm. They’re too expensive for those suited to beginner dungeons. Even powerful individuals who could afford them will opt for higher-tier materials unless it’s absolutely necessary, despite the special enhancements. Thus, for grades 6 and below, only nobles and certain collectors are potential buyers.”
“So, you shouldn’t panic and sell cheap with this type, right?”
“Exactly. Since you can’t expect bidding wars anyway, it’s more effective to wait for one buyer to bite than to sell cheaply. You’ve got potential, kid.”
Being solo meant no gear or item handouts from allies, so I spent all my time checking stalls with my sub-account or glued to the auction house.
Nostalgic memories resurfaced, making me want to bid on tons of items I desired at the auction. However, I had to hold back for now.
My funds were too meager anyway. This level of spending would drain them in no time.
“So, skill books are for acquiring specific skills or raising skill levels, and thicker books guarantee instant mastery. Is this ‘color’ indicating rarity?”
“That’s right. Job books are color-coded by tier—novice and intermediate—so they’re easy to understand. However, Skill Books are more complex and not fully understood. It definitely relates to acquisition difficulty.”
“So, is there a color above this one?”
When I asked, the old man rubbed his chin and looked at me with genuine interest.
“The ‘Green Book,’ considered superior to the ‘Yellow Book,’ definitely exists. However, there’s no record of one ever dropping in this beginner dungeon.”
“I see. So it must be in higher-level dungeons, then?”
“That’s the conclusion. But, realistically speaking, these are the most promising in beginner dungeons. If you get a thick Yellow Book, you’d likely never have to worry about money again. The value of skill books varies wildly depending on their contents, so even if you get one, luck still plays a big part.”
“By ‘contents,’ you mean what they actually contain, right?”
“Exactly. Ultimately, it comes down to demand and rarity. Even a thin blue book can fetch hundreds of millions at auction. The value of rare items has been steadily climbing, especially in the last decade or so.”
“Because wars have become more frequent?”
That’s probably correct, but it misses the mark.
I felt it, yet I couldn’t bring myself to voice the thought I’d had, wanting to deny it.
But—
“I often hear stories about some wealthy man banned from our establishment using agents to buy rare items.”
Well, that’s how it seems.
In fact, I heard that they tried to seize control of the dungeon’s operations at one point. All the hunter guilds resisted and prepared to turn every enemy against them. Somehow, they managed to settle things. When I heard that, I thought, “This guy’s okay.”
Honestly, it’s probably about to reach its limit.
Marie is going a bit too far.
“Haaah… Sorry, I got sidetracked. So, what exactly is this ‘Fragment of Wisdom’?”
“Church officials call it the ‘Scriptures,’ but generally speaking, it’s considered part of the book first written by the gods—the ‘Source Book.'”
“Considered?”
“No one’s ever seen the complete version. On the back of each fragment are three things: mysterious characters that are indecipherable even to those with high-level Different Language Comprehension, and two types of numbers. The higher the first number, the rarer the fragment. All we know is that fragments in the 100s exist. No one knows how far the sequence actually goes.”
“…Wh-what’s written on them?”
“Various ‘truths.’ Some say they record everything in this world, but who knows?”
“…”
The old man propped his cheek with his hand and spoke cheerfully with a slight smile.
I was speechless at the sheer magnitude of what he said.
This fact made various connections become clear.
“You look like you’ve been gathering something, huh?”
“Well, it’s just…incredibly…”
“Kukuku. There are many rivals, you know? Church officials are showing an abnormal obsession with ‘Fragments of Wisdom.’ I hear the major nations are actively collecting the unclaimed ones. Naturally, many wealthy individuals are collecting the fragments as well.”
“Even so, I’d like to collect them bit by bit. The process itself and what comes after gathering them seems enjoyable.”
“That’s fine. But be careful, okay?”
“Huh?”
“Even if you collect them, they’re just scraps of paper. A simple fire will reduce them to ashes and make them vanish.”
“…I see. I’ll keep that firmly in mind.”
I suppose that’s the fate of those who collected before.
Of course, it wasn’t just a simple fire. I suspect they kept repeating the folly of collecting, only to have it all reduced to ashes in war, and end up back at square one.
Otherwise, even the cheapest scrap at 3 million Beeke seems like too high a price to pay.
After confirming a few other points of interest, like the next auction date and information related to skill resets, the course concluded just as a hunter arrived to request an appraisal for a physical accessory.
It was obvious from the middle of the course that he was there to buy as well as sell.
I shrugged it off, gave a deep bow of thanks, and carried the basket’s contents back to base.
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