Episode 140 – Second Quarter (3)

Second Quarter (3)

Kwa─! Kwa─! Kwa──!

The wheat field was covered in volcanic ash. The peacefully lined scarecrows were all buried, and the birds pecking at the grains fled in flocks.

If left like this, it seemed like it would continue indefinitely.

I activated 「Card Drawing」 again. As I drew, I made a wish.

Please give me something that can erase that-

This time, a blue card was drawn. I threw it in a hurry.

Whii─!

The flying card was swallowed up by the volcanic ash.

…1 second,

2 seconds,

3 seconds.

There was no reaction even after waiting.

Should I draw another card? Just when I was thinking about it.

Chururururu───!

A blue crystal emerged from the crimson explosion. From that single point, a stream of water originated and gushed out. It spread out like a rippling wave, neutralizing the entire explosion.

Fortunately, the destruction had stopped.

“……Shion.”

The calm wheat field.

Soliette asked with a suspicious tone.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know either. But we should probably run.”

The guards were already rushing towards us from behind. They were blowing their whistles very intensely.

“Yeah, let’s run. We might get thrown in jail if we’re caught.”

We took off running, using the still-thick smoke as a cover.

[Achievement Unlocked: Why bother with those sturdy scarecrows? Destroy 50 scarecrows!]

◆ EXP + 1,500

◆ Level up!

◆ Level up!

◆ Level up!

[Permanent item acquired due to achievement: (S/R) Scarecrow Summoning Kit]

[Achievement Unlocked: Volcanic eruptions are actually beneficial to the land.]

[Permanent buff acquired due to achievement: Farmer’s Blessing]

[You have left the starting village, and the Beginner’s Luck buff has disappeared.]

In the meantime, the notification window kept popping up.

After roughly glancing at it, we continued running until the wheat field was out of sight.

“Shion. Are you, by any chance, a hidden class?”

Soliette asked me with slightly suspicious eyes.

“Whew, huff…….”

“Is it a hidden class? Are you? It’s important.”

“What class? Hidden? What’s that?”

I asked back, panting.

“There’s a very unfair system in this game. It’s the ‘hidden class’. Hidden classes are unfair. They put in a fraction of the effort compared to regular classes, but they are superior classes.”

Soliette shook her head as if she found it distasteful. On the other hand, a small smile appeared on my lips.

“It’s not a hidden class, it’s an extended class. It’s just that the Gambler is a class where luck is important, and during the beginner phase, luck is doubled, right?”

The beginner’s luck is probably a measure to prevent newbie slaughter.

“……Hmm. Well, the average luck stat is 10, so if it’s doubled, it’s 20… But it still seems like a hidden class. Let’s just say it’s hidden.”

“I started with a luck of 16. But I don’t have any basic stats.”

“Ah~ So there was a penalty? But having no basic stats would be quite disadvantageous.”

“That’s what I’m saying. That’s why I’m worried.”

As I downplayed myself, Soliette’s complexion brightened a bit. She’s a typical veteran who doesn’t want to be overtaken by the latecomers.

Her dislike of losing, especially when it comes to games, hasn’t changed at all.

I can’t help but find this side of Soliette cute.

“Give me a heads up next time. But Shion, you’re quite the powerhouse. I’m impressed.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes. Well then.”

She whistled sharply.

And then, clip-clop, clip-clop.

A horse came galloping from nowhere.

“Let’s go. I was planning to give you a quick tour before we left, but it seems we can leave right away.”

“Where to?”

“We have a quest in progress. For now, get on.”

Soliette patted the back of the saddle.

“……”

I just stared at it.

For the record, riding a horse is as intense as riding a motorcycle, and if two people are to ride, the person in the back must lean against the one in front. And it’s not even a two-seater saddle.

“What are you waiting for? Get on.”

Soliette said again.

I hesitated a bit, but oh well.

She probably has no feelings for me anyway. So I, too, should treat her just like a friend of the same sex.

“Alright.”

I quickly mounted the horse. As soon as I sat behind her, I yawned.

Throwing cards took a toll.

“If you’re tired, you can sleep a bit. The time here is the same as outside. You have two days until school starts.”

“How do you sleep while riding a horse?”

“Just lean on me. I’m good at horse riding.”

Soliette shrugged her shoulders. They were too thin to lean on.

“……No, I’ll just endure it.”

“Do as you wish. Let’s go─!”

She gripped the reins tightly. The horse galloped, and five minutes later.

I fell asleep.

……

When I opened my eyes, I was still on the horse. My arms were naturally wrapped around Soliette’s waist, and my face was buried in her back.

Like a koala clinging to its mother.

It was a rather awkward position.

“……”

I calmly and carefully detached myself. She glanced at me.

“Did you wake up?”

“Huh? Oh, oh. We haven’t arrived yet?”

“We’ll arrive soon. Do you see that campsite?”

The sky had already darkened. At the place Soliette pointed to, there was a campfire and a few people.

“It’s a party.”

“A party? Like an all-night party?”

“Pfft. No, not that.”

Soliette, who had let out a small laugh, quickly composed her face.

“Not that kind of party. It’s a party to track and investigate Knightmare with me… I’ll explain the details later.”

We arrived while she was talking. Soliette jumped off the saddle first, and I landed on the ground.

“Oh─ Solize has arrived─”

The party members waved their hands. There were three men and one woman.

“Is this the colleague you mentioned?”

“Yes.”

“Oh~ I see. Nice to meet you.”

A man with slicked-back brown hair and a cunning look approached first.

“I’m [Karl], level 20. Next to me, in order, are level 18 [Hans], level 18 [Jenny], and level 17 [Chris]. And you?”

“I’m Shion.”

“Shion. What’s your level?”

“4.”

I had just leveled up to 3 by defeating a scarecrow. I also got some permanent-usage item or something.

“……4?”

[Karl] looked slightly taken aback, but Soliette stepped in on my behalf.

“He’s a hidden class.”

“Really? A hidden class… Well, if Solize vouches for you, I trust you. He’s after the same target, right?”

“Yes. Knightmare.”

Soliette didn’t hesitate to mention Knightmare.

Indeed, her attitude had changed significantly since the beginning of the semester.

Clap clap- [Karl] applauded.

“Okay. Since we’ve been waiting, let’s get straight to the strategy. Over there, do you see that city?”

He pointed to a pale city in the distance.

“That’s ‘Shadowring’. It’s one of the largest cities in the Bethune world. But it’s been blocking user access for a year now. As a result, the quest path is blocked.”

The murky air and smog. In that opaque convection, a strange landscape where dim green gas lamps were mixed like paint.

“Knightmare is there. The bastard is a baron. He killed the owner of that city and took over.”

“……Is Knightmare famous here?”

I asked that first. [Karl] raised an eyebrow.

“More precisely, the owner of the city, [Baron Alegi], is famous. Only a few know that the baron is Knightmare. Only users like us who hold a grudge against Knightmare. That’s why Knightmare blocks user access. The bastard slaughtered a lot of users.”

[Karl] stepped back and gestured to the party members at the campsite. They each looked at me with different thoughts in their eyes.

“We’ve all been killed by Knightmare once. That’s why we’re chasing him.”

“Everyone’s aware that Knightmare isn’t dead in the real world, right?”

“Of course. We’ve seen him with our own eyes. We intend to kill that bastard twice and turn him into an NPC. Now, shall we shake hands?”

As he said this, [Karl] reached out his hand, but Soliette stretched out her arm to stop him.

“Karl. He’s my friend before he’s a party member. He’s still a newbie, so I’ll take care of him.”

“……Can’t we even shake hands? He’s not a baby bird. Look at his physique.”

[Karl] chuckled and stepped back. Only then did Soliette look me up and down.

“Shion. Have you always been like this?”

“I guess. I’ve grown a bit.”

“……Interesting.”

“Anyway!”

[Karl] clapped his hands again.

“We need to get into ‘Shadowring’.”

“But, can we beat Knightmare if we meet him?”

That was the most crucial question at the moment.

Knightmare had been killed by Soliette before the regression, but even then, she had said he was a ‘tough opponent’.

“We obviously can’t beat him in reality. But in the Bethune world, the basic stat value is huge. We can definitely beat him with that.”

I looked at Soliette. Soliette explained on my behalf.

“Usually, the basic stat of an ogre is Strength +14. No matter how weak you are in reality, if you can raise your basic stat value to +14, you can compete with an ogre in the game. But Knightmare has killed too many users, so his level is low. It’s a confirmed fact that he’s even carrying penalties. No matter how strong he is, if he’s handicapped in this level system, we have a valid chance of winning.”

“Did you hear that? Let’s go.”

[Karl] said, lifting the ground. Beneath it was a long underground passage.

“We dug a path connected to the city sewer. Ah, should we first merge the parties, Solize?”

“Yes.”

Soliette nodded. The two exchanged systems in the air.

[Karl, Hans, Chris, Jenny have joined Solize’s party.]

[Quest has been generated]

◆ You have decided to join people who hold a grudge against the owner of Shadowring. They suggest ‘sewer’ as a way to infiltrate Shadowring.

◆ Completion Reward: EXP + 300

──You can use the Gambler’s unique skill 「Betting」.

Betting. One of the four unique skills of a Gambler.

「Betting」

：The Gambler can bet once every 12 hours, and can stake what they have. If they lose, all the stakes disappear, but if they succeed, they receive rewards according to the stakes.

：The Gambler can predict the success rate of the bet. The accuracy of the prediction varies depending on the luck stat.

──The success rate of the quest is 33.78%.

33.78%. I don’t know what prediction model it is, but it’s quite low. However, in my opinion, the class ‘Gambler’ is a bundle of variables.

Therefore, the lower the probability, the better. The return will be greater.

I used 「Betting」.

[Betting on the success of the quest.]

[Please set the stakes.]

“……I’ll stake this wooden ring and my experience points.”

“Yes. Please give me the ring. Thank you.”

Soliette suddenly interrupted.

“No. Not you. I was talking with the system.”

“Yes.”

Soliette backed off without refuting. It seems she thinks I will give it to her someday.

“Let’s go! We don’t have time to waste!”

The bleached-haired rogue [Karl], the thickly muscled warrior [Hans], the curly-haired archer [Chris], and the robed mage [Jenny].

We went down underground with them.

* * *

A damp tunnel. I was checking the unique skills of the Gambler as I walked.

「Dice Roll」

：The Gambler can roll the dice once every 6 hours.

：The number that comes up on the dice can be used to add value to the basic stats for 5 minutes or utilized for other purposes.

：The number of faces on the dice increases depending on the luck stat.

[Luck Stat: 36.2]

[Dice: D20 (4~20)]

It’s a whopping 20-sided dice. Perhaps because of the high luck, there are no 1~3 values, only a dice that shows the range of 4~20.

If I add 20 to my strength, does that mean I could wrestle with a two-handed ogre and win?

Next, 「Deception」.

「Deception」

: You can deceive your opponent in various ways.

: The power of Deception increases according to the luck stat.

[Luck Stat: 36.2]

This one is a bit ambiguous, but thanks to the privilege panel, most skills seem to have been upgraded quite fraudulently.

However, seeing that luck only increased by 1.2 when I reached level 3, it seems like the growth curve itself has already hit a wall.

“Here.”

Just then, [Karl] at the front found a barred gate. It was a passage connected to the sewer.

“Just a moment.”

I stopped them as they tried to break the rusty gate.

It’s a quest with a 33% success rate. We need to be careful.

“Let’s send a scout first.”

“What, scout?”

I drew a card.

A white card. I fiddled with the surface.

The R-elix 「Treasure Hunter」 can easily identify objects. Not only their identity but also what kind of effect they have.

Of course, it didn’t activate in the wheat field, but that’s probably because the ‘Lucky 70s Card’ was so over-spec’d.

Anyway.

This card is roughly 「Automatic Tracking」.

It seems like the card is drawn to match roughly what I want as a ‘goal’.

I let the card flow into the bars.

Whiiii───

The card flew around the sewer, scanning it. There was no sign of detection.

That means it’s safe.

“At least there’s nothing in the sewer.”

“…You can tell that?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t trust it, but well, we’ll see.”

[Karl] gestured. [Hans] grabbed the bars with both hands and creaked-! He opened it.

His strength is 11, after all.

We entered through that gap.

Splish-

A faint water sound echoed in the sewer.

Mage [Jenny] lit up the darkness, and there was nothing in the vicinity that was clearly revealed.

“…There’s really nothing. Not even a rat.”

[Karl] looked at me and smirked.

“So this is why they call it a hidden class.”

“Yeah. It’s a shame it’s only in the game.”

As I muttered, a thought suddenly came to me.

Can’t I put these game skills in 「Notepad」 and bring them to reality?

It doesn’t seem impossible.

“Uh-huh. Let’s get going.”

“Uh-huh. Let’s go, Hans. Lead the way.”

Clack-clack- [Hans], the warrior and tanker, took the lead.

The party advanced while maintaining a certain level of tension and a tight formation, but nothing happened. As [Karl] said, not even a rat was seen.

“They said there were hundreds of zombies in this sewer. Was it bullshit?”

“Don’t let your guard down.”

I replied to [Karl].

It can’t be this easy. It’s a quest with a 33% success rate.

“Oh~ A level 4 is lecturing a level 20. But, we’ve already arrived, what now?”

[Karl] pointed up. There was a ladder connected to a manhole cover.

Almost simultaneously.

Grrrrrr…….

A strange wailing sound echoed from somewhere. It was from the end of a tunnel on the right side of the sewer, obscured by darkness.

“Zombies, damn it. They really exist. Everyone, climb up quickly!”

[Karl] quickly grabbed the ladder. With agile movements befitting a rogue, he climbed the ladder and opened the manhole cover.

Grrrrrr……

The sound of zombies became clearer. The rest of the party members quickly followed [Karl].

By the time they emerged above ground.

“──Hello?”

There were quite a few people.

At dawn, in the smog where even the moonlight did not shine, a man with golden hair and dressed in noble attire stood.

“Nice to see you, rat Karl?”

With the protection of knights, he aimed dozens of firearms at us, smiling.

He was vile and despicable.

“Dylan.”

[Karl] glared at him as if he wanted to kill him.

“……You traitorous bastard.”

Soliette also drew her dagger.

“Who is that man?”

“An old party member. He’s a mage and a priest. He chose a multi-class and couldn’t grow. A guy who doesn’t even know the D in DND, despite us telling him not to be greedy, disappeared, and now he’s joined Knightmare, huh?”

Watching the unfolding situation, I nodded.

“……No wonder. The quest success rate was 33%.”

The problem wasn’t at the beginning but at the end.

With that, I slowly and carefully took out the 「Dice」.

“Blabber all you want. I don’t want to mix words with low-life people like you.”

The golden-haired man named Dylan waved his hand. It was an unnecessarily elegant gesture.

“Now, gunners. Let’s kill those trashy NPCs.”

Gunners. Dozens of rifles loaded with Magic Bullets aimed at us.

Soliette took a defensive stance, and I rolled the dice.

Rumble-

“Ready──.”

[20]

[Great Success!]

“──Damn.”

20. If I invest in strength right now, I might be able to wrestle with an ogre and win, or if I invest in agility, I could be as fast as Jade, or maybe faster?

It seems like a number that can do anything, but there’s no time right now.

Let’s quickly pour it into agility…….

[Status Abnormality: The basic stat ‘Agility’ is increased by the value of the dice by 20.]

“Fire────.”

Bang─!

At the moment when Magic Bullets poured out from dozens of gun barrels.

The world froze.