Chapter 25
My Villains Episode 025
7. sewer(3)
While I was thinking about equipment, Ellen suddenly spoke up..
“How about just searching around the stairs??”
huh? Suddenly some stairs?
Oh, that's right. I was debating whether to explore further or not..
“Only around the stairs?”
“ O 99 O •
As Ellen said that, she rummaged through her sling bag and pulled out something that looked like a flat folded piece of wax paper..
“Give me a map.”
“huh? Uh, here.”
He took a map of the second floor, covered it with waxed paper, and marked the locations of the stairs with a charcoal pen..
Then he raised his white finger and pointed at the marked points and said:.
“Now, this is the location of the stairs on the third floor, right? Just by going down and checking the area around the stairs, you can dramatically improve the completeness of the map..”
“Hmm. The 3rd floor is where you have to go anyway, so figure out the terrain in advance and prepare.?”
“that's right.”
Oh, this…….
It is a historic game that has firmly established itself as an unrivaled masterpiece in the roguelike world by providing infinite play experiences through dozens of races, gods, and constantly changing dungeon terrain features, and can even be enjoyed for free..
This is a method often used in Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup (DCSS or Stone Soup for short).?
I like it so much.
After blowing off the charcoal dust, Ellen folded the greaseproof paper and put it in her arms and added:.
“And guys like Ratmen might appear further down. Then you can make some money.” "good. So, let’s just look around the stairs. Instead, take your time and look at it without haste..”
“of course.”
So we decided to explore around the stairs on the third floor..
There were a total of four stairs leading from the second basement level to the third basement floor. What was not new was that there were four stairs leading from the first basement level to the second basement floor..
What was slightly different was that, unlike the stairs on the 1st to 2nd floors, which were located north, south, east, and west, the stairs on the 2nd and 3rd floors were twisted about 45 degrees clockwise..
Searching only around the stairs required traversing the second floor several times, which lengthened the route, but it was a good choice. This is because I was able to find and catch two zombie gangs that were wandering aimlessly..
After dealing with them, Ellen pursed her lips and looked at the waterway where Cheolhwan had bounced..
“Ugh, annoying zombies. You just lost Cheolhwan for no reason..”
When he muttered with a sad expression, I shrugged my shoulders and comforted him..
“There's still a lot left, right? And, if you run out, you can buy it from the workshop..”
“If you act so loosely, you'll soon be empty.?”
•••What are you talking about, you're really broke?.
He spent most of the money he earned from selling his silver tiger's eye ring to buy a crossbow worth six silver coins..
It's probably in his hands by now... Is there a silver coin? No, it will be less than that..
Yes, youth is poor. let's not say anything.
Ellen didn't know that I was laughing inside, and she looked very satisfied when I kept my mouth shut..
“So, just avoid these zombies and go. It's a waste of time and stamina..”
“That's not possible. There might be a situation where you have to run away from the third floor. It is essential to clear the exit route.”
At my firm refusal, Ellen kept her mouth shut with a stern look on her face..
It was understandable that he was complaining, but from my perspective, let alone a retreat, I was just glad to have this amount of experience..
The reason I care about experience points is because after killing the pirates on the ship and leveling up, I was stuck at level 11..
Even in hardcore mode, which is just a game, if you neglect experience farming, the progress of the scenario slows down and the risk of death skyrockets..
After all, isn’t this reality? It was obvious that in this shit world, the probability of survival would be proportional to the level. So I have no choice but to pay attention.
But a really annoying problem arose here: I couldn't accurately figure out my current experience level. This is because in the dream, only the character sheet was shown, and no necessary experience points, inventory, or equipment information was provided..
Phew, real mode that goes beyond hardcore.?
Hey, where are the stats and skills? It's just that the information is a little bit controlled.?
And, the required experience could be roughly estimated. How many years have you been playing in Dark World? Is this even enough?.
First of all, if you think about the experience table required to level up,….
11Is the experience required for the level 4500? No, no, it's 3600..
There was no way to know exactly the experience level at the moment of arrival at South Harbor. Let's assume it's roughly 0..
I don't remember the Naked Pirate's experience very well. It's probably similar to a highwayman. Let's say 15.
Iron Mask, that is, the experience of a warrior wearing an iron mask is 50..
Then, the experience gained at the dockside is... It won't be much more than 1000.
Zombie experience level is 7, and there are cardboard bugs… Was it around 5? So, roughly, the experience gained today is about 410..
No, since I'm partying with a crossbow stand, it's 40% off, so it's about 250..
Oh, the reason I predicted it would be a party with Ellen was because of a dream..
Next to the I tab, which shows my character sheet, there was a 1 tab, which showed Ellen's sheet..
I can't say with certainty that it was a party, but... Should I say that they are connected? Anyway, it seemed like that..
Anyway, if you estimate it that way, my current experience level is around 1,250..
This was the reason why they wanted to kill as many zombies and bugs as possible..
Although Dark World was originally difficult to level up, it became even more difficult when faced with reality..
Game characters fight all day long without getting tired or backing down, just by tapping the mouse and keyboard, but I can't do that..
So, when you are safe and relaxed, you should farm experience points by wiping out as many random mobs as possible..
You just have to repeat the hunt you've done so far - about ten times to level up..
•••I can't help but sigh as I think about rolling around with cardboard bugs for quite some time to come..
As we expected, the 3rd basement floor was not much different from the 2nd floor..
The dark passage stretched out on both sides with a waterway in the center. It was also the case that after passing through the passage, there was a hub that divided the path into four branches..
The monsters that inhabit the hub were the same. Zombies and worms. I'm already feeling sick of it.
When on earth is Ratman coming out? I'm sick of people who don't even make money..
Of course, being bored is being boring, and experience is experience. So I stubbornly killed every last one..
Are you saying that I can slightly increase my chances of survival by being a little upset? Then I have to roll in a poop field, is there anything I can do?.
Ellen and I were the first to go down the stairs located at 7 o'clock. There was no particular reason for choosing the 7 o'clock direction, it was just because it was closest..
I went down the stairs, moved along the straight passage, cleaned up the first herbs I encountered, and came back up..
5We explored the same level by taking the stairs at o'clock and 2 o'clock in that order, and the map of the third floor that Ellen drew took shape little by little..
It was about to head to the last staircase, the 11 o'clock staircase..
I noticed that Ellen's leather shoes were starting to drag and asked the guy..
“ Are you tired??”
“•••Don't worry.”
Although he spoke bluntly, there were a couple of drops of sweat hanging from his chin..
Well, it must be difficult. Searching in advance, no, just searching around the stairs on the 3rd floor was more difficult than expected..
Dealing with the enemy was actually nothing special. However, continuing to walk caused constant fatigue. This was especially true because the sewer system was a vast structure as large as South Harbor..
Of course, the sewer was a facility made of well-cut flagstones. Since it was a facility originally built to manage waterways, it was naturally structured to be easy to move around..
However, because it had been neglected for a long time, there were many obstacles on the floor, and there were many blocked or collapsed points, so there were often major detours. Moreover, there was no time to relax because of the monsters that appeared from time to time..
Even I was starting to feel stiff in my legs..
Ellen, who is small in stature, is carrying a backpack bigger than her torso, and it would be even stranger if she didn't feel tired..
“Would you like me to carry your backpack??”
“•••It's done.”
Really, that damn stubbornness.
The guy's bag contains bandages, oil and empty bottles, four sulfur torches, rope, antidote, hemostat, ointment, dry weight, leather canteen, glass bottle for collection, etc... It contained all kinds of miscellaneous items..
I also carry a sling bag with my personal items like iron bullets and an hourglass..
If you add up all that weight, it probably weighs about 15 kilos.?
Then what did I hear??
Let’s see… First of all, I was armed..
Then, I wrapped the bag around me, and inside it was a whetstone, tinder, an antidote, a hemostatic agent, and a little bit of dry weight..
Oh, and he also had a half-empty leather canteen hanging on his belt..
23Considering his superhuman strength, it is virtually as if he has no burden..
•••As I say this, something pricks my conscience, but it was because there was a reason for everything..
If an enemy suddenly appears nearby, I have to react immediately and fight. You can't entrust close combat to a weak crossbow stand.?
And the really surprising thing is that it was Ellen, not me, who suggested this unfair distribution of burdens..
To be honest, I was a little surprised, but I was very happy because I felt a strong will not to become a burden on myself..
But- I can't help but feel like I didn't faint when I saw him having a hard time. I took breaks in between, but I've been doing this for 9 hours already..
“Give it to me. It's almost the last time, I'll listen to you.”
“•••I said it was done.”
“Hey, are you afraid that I might make fun of you? It's okay, I'll just ask. Acquaintance, I won’t make fun of you.”
Ellen's blue eyes wavered for a moment at my assurance, but she soon closed her mouth. Then he shakes his head..
“I don't like it, I don't need it. My ears are clogged?”
•••Yes, when I look at your eyes, I see that there is still energy left in your eyes..
As we chatted, we arrived at the stairs at 11 o'clock..
If you go down here and search until you get to the first hub, today's work is over..
I went down the stairs with an ox-eye lantern, and when I reached the third floor, I noticed something strange..
“huh? Hey, look over there..”
“ •••Is it water??”
As Ellen muttered, it was water. Water was lapping around the stairs as if the central waterway had overflowed..
“what?”
“Either the downstream is blocked or the upstream is open. It's probably one of two things. Or maybe both.”
I fell into deep thought while listening to the guy muttering..
Was there a point like this on the surface of the sewer, that is, in the sewer of the ancient empire??
From what I remember, the sewers of the ancient empire were just regular, boringly long structures..
Tension naturally soared in the unexpected environment..
My instincts, which had become loose while dealing with corpse bugs and zombies so far, have sharpened..
“……What should I do??”
Ellen’s question got me lost in thought..
It's only a little bit of water, but there's no need to be too nervous.?
I earned quite a bit of experience, but I didn't earn a single penny. Shouldn’t we save something??
And it's still on the 3rd floor underground. At best, it's like a rat man. Moreover, there was also an escape route secured right behind it..
I thought about it for a while and made a decision..
“Let’s just check the hub..”
At my words, Ellen put her heavy backpack down on the stairs. Since I was going to be back here right away anyway, it was better to go light..
After making sure that the crossbow was cocked, he walked along the passage..
I walked around for about 5 minutes and reached the hub... It was all a fucking waste..
“Oh, that's annoying. There was nothing in the hub except water lapping up to the ankles..
As I muttered in vain, Ellen frowned and muttered..
“•••something is strange.”
“what?”
“look. There's just nothing there. No corpses or trash.”
“Ugh?”
As he said, there was nothing particularly notable about this hub. If I had to choose, it would be the collapsed wall in one corner and the soil that flowed out from it.?
But even that was a common sight in sewers..
Wait a minute, but that….
Something caught my eye in the middle of the soil. I approached carefully and looked.….
what is this?
“Ellen, look at this..”
“What is it?”
When I gently scattered the silt, I saw spheres the size of a fist gathered in a huddle..
The white spheres, which were confusing as to whether they were covered in dirt or speckled with brown, were slightly elongated, as if they had been pressed sideways..
«... egg
Ellen came to my side and looked at the spotted eggs for a moment..
Then his face turned white and he said:.
“•••Poi, we need to run away..”
Blue Son Fusion Fantasy ‘Length Novel’
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