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~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +18 this weekend!
~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!
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After discovering that his erstwhile assailant had been murdered rather brutally, the shopping he had been sent out to get had fallen to the wayside until the inspector left, but Issei handed the bag of food over to his mother just after that, and sure enough…
[Quest Complete!]
Gofer Shopping: You have successfully completed your mother's shopping!
Quest Reward: +50 EXP, ¥1000, +100 reputation with your mother.
It was rather odd to suddenly look inside his wallet and see that he had an extra thousand yen note. Compared to the weirdness that had been inhabiting his life since the previous day, however, Issei was easily able to roll with it.
The question was, what should he do about the attempted murderer getting murdered? Issei could easily imagine whoever had ordered the other man killed ordering Issei's death as well, which wasn't a pleasant thing to imagine.
Just as he was thinking that, another blue screen popped up.
[Quest Alert!]
Defence for the Defenceless: Dungeoneering for Life!: You are concerned that you are going to be attacked by whoever silenced your attacker from yesterday. Go conquer a dungeon to become stronger!
Quest Reward: +400 EXP, ¥3000, Random Reward.
Quest Failure: +200 EXP
Accept?
Y/N
Issei just stared at the screen for a moment. Seriously? He's worried about his life being at risk, so the stupid system tells him to go and risk his life. Paradox much?
With a sigh, he hit 'Y'. There wasn't anything else he could do and you never know, he might actually survive if he did this. He'd better leave right now.
"Issei! Lunch is ready."
Correction: He'd leave as soon as he'd had lunch.
Later
Streets, Kuō Town
The instant he set foot outside his house, a blue path appeared on the ground, leading away who knows where. Judging by the lack of a panic, Issei guessed that he was the only one who could see it.
'Well, what's one more weird thing today?' he thought philosophically as he trudged along.
He had been walking for the least fifteen minutes and he was hoping that the 'dungeon' wasn't too far away. Just a minute or two ago, he had received a notification that his effort had granted him an extra point of STA.
Issei paused as the blue path veered off into a wall, for some strange reason. He inspected it and noticed that a blue square was on the wall, so he stepped up to examine it.
[Warning!]
You are about to enter the dungeon [Nest of the Ratlord] (LV4)
Once entered, you must clear the dungeon in order to leave.
Do you wish to enter?
Y/N
"Rats…" Issei said with a grimace. He didn't like the little buggers, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. He hit the 'Y' button.
Almost at once, the box vanished, along with a doorway-shaped segment of the wall it had been on, revealing steps leading down into the darkness.
"Eerie…" Issei whispered, before squaring his shoulders and walking down the stairs. Fortunately for him, as he walked, fiery torches lit the stairway every few meters. Behind him, Issei heard the sound of stone grinding as the entrance was sealed behind him.
At length, he reached the bottom of the stairs, in a circular room made of roughly hewn stone. Lying in the centre was a skeletal body wearing rags, slumped over a wooden chest.
"Ah. Starter kit." the Sekiryūtei nodded. Standard fare for early parts of most RPG games these days was to give the main character basic weapons if they were unarmed or basic armour if they were armed.
He wasn't planning on using the [Boosted Gear] until the dungeon boss as he didn't really know what would happen once the he used up the time limit on the consecutive boosts. No, it was best to use it as a trump card for the moment…or at least until he have evolved it from being a [Twice Critical].
Walking over to the skeleton, Issei clapped his hand before offering a prayer to the skeleton before gently removing it from the chest and opening it up.
Inside was a single bronze sword, complete with a leather sheath.
"Bronze? Really?!" Issei tsukkomi'd. As he (reluctantly) picked it up, a message appeared.
You have acquired [Bronze Short Sword]!
Do you wish to equip this item? Y/N
Hitting the 'Y' button, Issei blinked when the blade seemed to teleport into his right hand. He wondered if there was any way to view its stats.
[For information on this weapon, please open the Equipment menu]
Bemused, he did so.
Right Hand: Bronze Short Sword
Left Hand: (Empty)
Head: (Empty)
Body (Layer 1): Ordinary Red T-Shirt
Body (Layer 2): Kuō Academy Uniform
Arms: (Empty)
Legs: Kuō Academy Trousers
Feet: White Running Shoes
"Err…oops…" he said, looking down at his clothes. He'd accidentally worn his school outfit today. Force of habit, he supposed. Issei dismissed that and touched the only weapon he was equipped with.
[Bronze Short Sword]
A short sword forged from bronze, it bears no makers mark and is of average quality. It seems to be taken directly from the Bronze Age.
Short Sword
Slashing Damage: S+10
Piercing Damage: S+5
So basically, it was an ordinary starter weapon. Other than the fact it was from about 700 B.C.
Swinging it experimentally, Issei was surprised that it wasn't heavy, considering it was a western-style sword. Shrugging, he noticed that a door had appeared opposite the staircase…with another blue box floating in front of it.
[Nest of the Ratlord #1]
In order to confront the Dungeon Boss, you must defeat all of his minions and pull two levers that open the way to his chamber.
OK…that sounded relatively easy.
He cautiously entered the main part of the dungeon and was immediately confronted by one of the enemies. It was a rat the size of a ten-year-old child…standing upright on its rear legs. It wore rags and had a club made of wood in one hand.
Ratman Slave LV3
[Scumbiter]
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