NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
New Power
It has been twenty years since dungeons like games appeared in this world.
At first, there was a lot of confusion, and the world’s various organizations were in flux.
However, people are adaptable creatures, and if they work hard, they can manage.
In other words, in one year, the World Dungeon Convention was established, and they made new laws in Japan, where I live.
And since ordinary people could obtain status and skills and enter dungeons, the price of a small magic stone exceeded one million dollars at that time, and people dreamed of making a fortune.
However, the number of people who lost their lives in the dungeon increased, and the situation settled down.
Well, tens of thousands of new explorers still enter dungeons every year, and even those who are not new to dungeons are dying now and then, but the number of explorers who dive into dungeons does not decrease.
That is the dungeon of today.
That is the world today.
***
“……”
Focus.
I aim a clear arrow at the head of an orc about 20 meters away.
“Poof!”
I fire a clear arrow from my bow.
The arrow flies through the air and pierces the orc’s head, which is far away, and the orc collapses to its knees, spilling its bodily fluids.
-Level increased by 1-
“…… Phew.”
I took a breath and lowered my bow after confirming that I heard a system sound in my brain that informed me that my level had increased.
The actual number of monsters I have defeated just now is finally the 30th.
I guess I’ve achieved my quota for today, right?
“Status.”
Before taking out the magic stone from the defeated orc, I open the status to check my status that might have increased due to the level-up.
——
Amamiya Kaede
Level 78
HP: 780/800 MP: 125/410
Attack Power: 150(+52)
Defense: 100(+12)
Agility: 150(+57)
Dexterity: 250 (+147)
Mental Strength: 200 (+117)
Luck: 50
BP: 5
SP: 50
Skills: [Mana Bolt Lv.9] [Archery Lv.5] [Hawk Eye Lv.2] [Item Box Lv.1]
——
Okay, so the status is going up.
For every level up in status, HP goes up by 10, MP by 5, and each status except luck goes up by 1.
The amount of increase is subtle, but for dungeon-diving explorers like us, it’s pretty significant.
Even so.
“It’s getting harder and harder to raise my level. …… It’s already a year and I’m still at 78. ……”
I’ve been diving into dungeons for a year already.
The first thing I saw on my 18th birthday was when I could check my status and I got [Mana Bolt], a so-called unique skill that I had no information about even though I looked it up.
I was so excited by this that I took a two-month course while still in high school to qualify as an explorer and immediately entered the dungeon.
I had high expectations for having a unique skill, and I had high hopes that I would be able to reach the world’s top level with all sorts of things, but it’s not going to be that easy.
First of all, my unique skill [Mana Bolt] is like this at the moment.
Mana Bolt Lv.9
• Consumes MP: 20
• Consumes magic power to create magic arrows.
• The strength and attack power of the arrow itself is 0.5 times the status of mental power.
My [Mana Bolt] is just as explained, it’s a skill that consumes magic power to create magic arrows.
……Yes, that’s all it is.
It doesn’t fly to the monster on its own.
The most important thing to remember is that the arrow couldn’t fly away on its own, so I have to shoot the transparent arrow made with [Mana Bolt] with the bow.
This is the same as when I use a normal bow and arrow.
To increase the flying distance, you need to have a higher attack power status, and to hit the target, you need to have a [Archery] skill or a skill status.
If that is the case, it is stronger and faster to shoot a shotgun at close range after getting permission from the government via the explorer association.
Besides, the BP to increase status cannot be specialized like others, such as customizing it to Attack Power and Agility or to Defense and Battle Art to become a damage dealer or a tank.
Or even for Attack Power to increase flying distance, Battle Art to hit arrows, and Mental Power to increase the strength and power of [Mana Bolt].
In my case, I have to improve multiple stats, which makes me what is called poor dexterity.
Even so, Mana Bolt has attack power, so it still has more attack power than an ordinary bow.
Well, I’ve never seen anyone but me using a bow because it’s stronger to use a gun than to use a bow.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t change it now.”
But as it is, the gap between other people and me when I qualify is widened.
The moment I found that my [Mana Bolt] was useless, everyone left me, and because of my poor dexterity status, I couldn’t keep up with the party I had set up with my peers and they fired me.
I was so frustrated and sad at the time that I cried so hard and wet my pillow, but now I don’t care anymore.
I guess because I cried so much that I let out all the things I had accumulated, I was able to dive into the dungeon the next day without worrying about it.
However, I was also more efficient in many ways at a party, so I joined a party of new explorers a few times after that.
However, if I didn’t allocate enough BP, I could only follow them to the D-rank dungeons, which ranged from F to S-rank.
After a while, entering E-rank dungeons alone was more efficient than joining a party of new explorers.
I still often taught the newbie party about dungeons in the F-rank dungeon.
“So that’s how I got the nickname ‘Guide Navigator’? It’s not funny.”
It’s not funny.
Because of this nickname, after I leveled up and reached a status that would be good enough for a boss in a D-rank dungeon, I couldn’t find a party that would let me join their party to challenge the boss.
Well, the people at the explorer’s association trust me, so that’s good there, right?
“Well, fine! I’ll go on and get stronger in my way!”
The only way for me to get stronger anyway is to keep diving in the dungeon.
I’m a high school graduate who started diving in the dungeon without going out into the world, so the companies I can get into pay less than I do now, and even if they do pay more, they’re still black-company!
“Okay! Then I’ve saved up all this SP! Let’s raise the skill level of [Mana Bolt]!”
After I regain my composure, I allocate SP to [Mana Bolt] in my status and raise its level.
-The skill level of [Mana Bolt] has been raised-
Okay, [Mana Bolt] level will be 10, even though the 10 SP I’ve saved up are all gone.
In the past, leveling up has only increased the number of arrows that I can make, decreased the MP consumption, and increased the arrow strength and attack power multiplier, but this time should be different.
In general, unique skills often increase in multiples of 10, such as 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and so on.
The new [Mana Bolt] level is 10, so it must have some new effects.
“……Well ……, let’s see what’s going on ……”
The outcome of this will determine my future.
Will it be easier to dive dungeons from now on, or will there be more effects that are unusable?
I hope it has an effect that will blow away all the hard work I’ve done so far.
I’d cry if there was nothing after all this hard work.
A man who is one step away from adulthood is crying with no regard for shame or appearance, right?
I fearfully check the description of the [magic arrow mana bolt].
“………… oh! The net effect is. Yeah?”
——
[Mana Bolt Lv.10]
Consumes MP: 20
Consumes magic power to produce magic arrows.
The strength and attack power of the arrow itself is 0.5 of the spiritual power status.
The [Lock-On] skill is compulsory.
——
…… Is this all?
Well, I’ve never heard of unique skills being able to level up and get new skills.
Let’s see, for more information:
——
Lock-On Lv.1.
Long-range attacks on sighted targets are sure to hit.
——
No, I’m sure it’s a great effect, but isn’t something a bit shabby?
From the description of [Lock-On], it seems that a long-range attack is a sure-hit, so in my case, it means that the arrow I shoot will always hit the target. .
What? Is this all there is?
I thought it might have a powerful effect, such as making the attack power stronger or eliminating the MP consumption!
Mana Bolt itself hasn’t changed at all!
“I’m glad that Mana Bolt now always hits.”
But what’s this disappointment?
“Haahhh.”
Well, but that’s okay.
From now on, I’ll be looking forward to my newly acquired skills. I’m so tired today.
With such expectations, I took the magic stone out of the orc and started walking toward the exit to leave the dungeon.