NOVEL NEXT Cycle 23 (13)
Dear Diary,
So, I guess something big changed on lvl99. Usually we only get one or two people coming through more than once, but this time it’s been basically everybody. Aya doesn’t know what it is. She suspects, but she’s the type of person who doesn’t say something until she’s absolutely certain that what she says is right.
I guess that’s why she got the spy job in the first place. Like, I would say things that are super wrong, and probably lie to some people just because I was bored. But Aya is always careful about what she says.
Anyways, we know that lvl 99 is an ice level. There are polar bears and yetis there. That hasn’t changed. I know, because I heard someone complaining about them. They didn’t say what killed them specifically, so it could be that there are just more yetis or something. Kimi wonders if the ice is thinner, and people are falling through. Mika wonders if there’s more wind and snow, making it harder to see. Lilly says that the people who come through for the second time have all asked for an upgrade to their flight spells, which… is interesting. But not very helpful. I mean, the polar bears don’t have any kind of ranged weapon (and can’t yeet themselves out of the water like sharks), so it could just be that, or the thin ice, or even more snow because the spell anchors you in space regardless of wind.
I kind of enjoy that we’re all paying attention to that stuff now. Before, we didn’t care what was on the floors below us, because we thought we’d never see it. But now we have. We like the dire wolves, and don’t like the slimes. We have strategies for dealing with sharks and kobolds. We know we have to survive the bugs and evil worms, same as the players. So the fact that they’re all having trouble with a level is pretty fascinating.
Anyways, Lilly is practicing her flight spell. Aya is, too. They say it can’t hurt to have a head start on the spell, since apparently we’ll need it. And if they get strong enough, the rest of us might not need it at all.
Practicing spells with players around is… tricky. Lilly is able to, since she’s the mage. She’s supposed to be able to do magic. Aya is able to, because honestly people don’t hang out in her shop much. But the rest of us don’t know when players will suddenly drop in and want to spend three hours talking to us or something.
There’s a guy who’s decided he’s in love with Kimi. It’s funny and sad to see him with her. On the one hand, she’s perfectly willing to flirt with anyone. On the other hand, she has a legit crush on Y, the kobold. To us the difference in how she acts is obvious. To him, who doesn’t know Y exists, not so much. I think Aya is planning on giving him a hint tonight that she isn’t, erm, available. Besides, even if she does like the player, they’ll hardly ever get to see each other. That would suck.
Anyways, someone just came in and is trying to summon me.
Goodnight, dungeon!
