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Episode 350

Dark Continent (1)

The probability of [Probabilistic Counter] triggering is around 10%.

By the way, having [Transcendence] doesn’t increase the likelihood. The 1.5x performance boost only applies to the reflected damage, but still…

[Your character has been hit by [Sura Strike]

The moment the passive skill activated, I began to seriously wonder if I had been scammed into eating some weird essence.

It was around the time after I’d taken about 100 hits.

「The luck residing in your character shields you from damage.」

[Probabilistic Counter] triggered, and a transparent barrier sprouted to protect the area that had been hit.

And then…

「Powerful luck.」

「150% of the damage received is reflected back to the enemy.」

A skeleton summoned right beside me perfectly mimicked the kicking posture and struck Amelia with [Sura Kick].

Despite lacking vocal cords, it let out a hearty shout.

[Gra-chaat-!!]

Wait, isn’t that the sound that plays when there’s a critical success?

Hold on, isn’t this going to cause serious damage?

I rushed forward, but it was too late.

Amelia was caught off guard by the sudden skill activation, and barely managed to dodge the blow that came at her, taking it straight on her shoulder.

Swishhhh.

The skeleton, after delivering the precise hit, turned into a burst of light and disappeared.

“Ugh…”

“Are you okay?”

As I ran over in surprise, Amelia pushed me away, releasing her grip from her shoulder.

“…Don’t make a fuss. I was just caught off guard.”

Startled? More like her shoulder’s completely wrecked.

“Erwin, bring a splint and some bandages.”

“A-ah, yes…!”

Because of the [Source of Immortality], there was no point in giving her a potion, so I aligned the bones with my hand, splinted it, and bandaged it.

“I told you to dodge when I use skills, didn’t I?”

“……”

“If you can’t dodge, at least hit softly.”

“…That was me hitting softly.”

What? Softly?

Even a “critical success” only deals 100% of the original damage.

‘Oh, right, it’s 150% because of [Transcendence].’

‘Ah… Because of Transcendence, it’s 150%.’

For reference, the base reflected damage is only 10%.

Even with [Transcendence] factored in, it’s 15%.

Since the skeleton is summoned and attacks, it’s possible to dodge it, so the skill’s value isn’t that high.

“Anyway, Amelia, you should rest for now.”

“Yes! Now I can help you, Mister! I can dodge well. I can also block!”

“…Very well.”

As Erwin summoned her spirit again, Amelia went and sat on the sofa, looking somewhat dejected.

And then…

“Your character has taken fire damage.”

“Your character has taken fire damage.”

“Your character has taken fire damage.”

“……”

This time, the skill activated after only 10 tries.

「The luck residing in your character shields you from damage.」

“Normal Fortune.”

“You reflect 15% of the damage received to the enemy.”

Again, a small, cute skeleton was summoned next to me, shooting flames.

Since it wasn’t a ‘Critical Success,’ there was no special sound.

However.

Boom!

Erwin dodged the flames, causing it to hit the wall and scatter fire everywhere.

And then…

“Oh, it’s fire.”

“E-Erwin!The Water Spirit!!”

“Ah, y-yes!!”

That day, we almost lost the house we had mortgaged.

***

After the near-fire incident, we went out into the yard at night to experiment with the skill.

And we obtained meaningful statistics.

‘There doesn’t seem to be a significant deviation in the probability…’

Unlike the first successful attempt, which took 100 attempts, it took an average of 15 attempts to activate the skill.

The problem is, statistics are statistics.

Even when it functioned normally, there were times when it suddenly wouldn’t trigger, and during those times, I had to get hit a lot before it activated.

Wasn’t the highest record 198 times?

‘Does this even make sense…?’

Even with a 1% probability, it’s still a frustrating number.

And stacking it like that didn’t guarantee a critical success either.

‘Though it did seem to trigger a little more often.’

Anyway, after testing the passive and active skills, the three of us spent time making exploration plans.

The number one priority was money.

After all, we had taken out a six-month short-term loan to cover the budget shortfall. The interest was high, and if we didn’t repay the loan in time, the house would go to the bank.

Maybe that’s why…

“Mister, I’ll be fine… You don’t have to push yourself…”

Erwin seemed to have already given up on reclaiming the house ever since we mortgaged it.

She probably thought it was impossible to gather all the money in just six months.

But…

“I told you. I’ll do what I can.”

I’m a man of conscience.

 

Since Elwen liked this house,  it’s only right that I try to do what I can to keep it.

“But the only way to get that kind of money quickly… war might be our best option.”

“Rainweilz is right. None of us own a ship. That means we can’t even get to the 6th floor and will end up only staying up to the 5th floor…”

“There’s no need to overthink it. I also think joining the war is the best choice. I’ll draw attention, but as long as I don’t use [Gigantification], no one will recognize me in this form.”

Without much discussion, we decided to join the war.

By joining the royal army, we could board a large ship and reach the seventh floor in one go.

‘With the three of us, the monsters on the seventh floor shouldn’t be a big problem.’

And all three of us excel in combat, so we’d likely earn a bounty from our contributions.

But is the bounty even the main goal?

Since the enemies will all be explorers from the middle floors or higher, stripping them of their equipment and selling it would be quite lucrative.

Not to mention…

‘We might even hit level 7 by defeating a seventh-floor monster.’

Originally, you’d have to clear at least 60% of the 6th floor to fill the required experience, but we can do it more easily.

nd then…

‘Once I reach level 7, I can consume the Undersea Island Essence.’

After that, I can wipe out the Gacha Essence and move on to tackling Bellarios.

‘Once I hit level 8 and consume one more essence, I’ll need to get rid of Stormgush as well. The essence for level 9 will be easier to farm by farming the Floor Lords.’

As I outlined my future growth plan, I felt a bit sentimental.

At this point, it feels like the middle part is definitely over.

As I was briefly lost in thought, Amelia asked Erwin.

“By the way, Tercia, are you okay? I heard you usually move with the Fairy tribe’s executive branch.”

“Oh, that’s true. Is it okay?”

“If it’s about that, it’s fine. I took a vacation recently.”

“Vacation?”

“Yes. I won’t be entering the labyrinth for a while, and even if I do, I’ll be moving separately. So you don’t have to worry about that.”

“…If that’s the case.”

After that, I continued to listen to Amelia and Erwin talk about how the war had been progressing so far, making plans.

And time passed…

“You have entered the 1st floor: Crystal Cave.”

The day to enter the labyrinth had arrived.

***

The crystal cave was bathed in a purple glow.

As soon as we opened our eyes, Amelia took the lead to find the path.

“Come this way.”

“Wait, if we’re looking for the path, I should—”

“Amelia is a scout.”

“…That woman?”

Erwin, who had received top-notch training as a scout from her sister, decided not to argue further when the word ‘scout’ was mentioned.

She seemed to feel a bit prideful about it.

Honestly, I couldn’t understand the feeling.

Even though I can navigate paths, I don’t feel frustrated when I can’t use it.

‘It’s just easier to follow along. Why make a fuss?’

Still, it’s kind of amazing.

We’re a three-person team, yet all three of us have scouting abilities.

Is this what they call an elite team?

Anyway, since I just had to follow, I kept looking around while running. The atmosphere inside the labyrinth, which I was entering for the first time since returning, was quite different from my expectations.

I expected to see knights with noble family crests on their chests and explorers from clans, but…

“There are far more low-level explorers than I thought.”

I could see explorers with the smell of newbies from them here and there.

Overall, they seemed to be in good spirits.

Though they were tense since they were inside the labyrinth, none were trembling or scared.

“That? The royal family implemented several policies to support lower-floor explorers. Probably because… so many higher-level explorers died that day…”

Listening more carefully, I found out why there were more people on the 1st floor than when I was a newbie.

It was partly due to the royal family’s policies, but more because most of the large clans had been disbanded.

It was like a complete reshuffling, transforming the labyrinth into a land of opportunity for those ready to stake their claim.

A prime example was the fifth floor.

“No one’s controlling the fifth floor anymore?”

“There probably is, but not as strict as before.”

In the past, large clans would frequently monopolize the monster fields on the fifth floor, but that’s not the case anymore.

It seems more advantageous to join the war instead.

With substantial war pay and royal rewards in the form of essences for achieving high merit, it’s become more appealing to join the battle.

“I was a bit too late.”

We had arrived quite early, but unfortunately, the first-floor portal had already been opened by another explorer.

So, have we failed the official time attack again this time?

[You have entered the 2nd floor: Beast’s Lair]

Having failed the time attack on the 1st floor, there was no way it would work on the 2nd floor, so we took it easier moving through the second.

 

There was no rush, after all.

‘The deadline is on the 25th day, right?’

The royal army recruitment process was simple.

The method of the royal family recruiting troops was quite simple.

To arrive at the Island of Beginning, Laimia, by the 25th day.

For most teams still at the start of the sixth floor, it would be a tight schedule, but for the three of us, who could essentially breeze through the sixth floor, it was a different story.

‘Since we don’t have a mage, our speed doesn’t decrease.’

Before, we would have rested by now, but no one was suggesting we stop.

And as a result…

‘We’re already on the 3rd floor…?’

By the end of the first day, we had reached the 3rd floor.

Even though we didn’t run as hard on the 2nd floor as we did on the 1st.

“Mister, you’re tired, right? Please drink this.”

Surprisingly, these two still had energy left. It felt like they could go even faster if they wanted to.

Well, they are agility types, after all.

“Erwin, I told you not to call me Mister in the labyrinth.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, I’ll be more careful…”

Erwin gave a shy smile and nodded, and we began preparing to camp.

There was no need for a watch.

Since we were still at the start of the third floor…

“I’ll set up my clone, so sleep soundly.”

Thanks to Amellia’s [Self-Replication], we didn’t need to waste a person on watch duty.

“Wow, Amellia, it’s definitely convenient having you around.”

“Don’t make a fuss. It’s nothing special.”

Sheesh, so prickly.

It’s still true that even a clone is doing the work, so I just meant to express my gratitude.

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s not much.”

“Huh?”

“Well, I can do something similar, too…”

Saying that, Erwin summoned her spirits.

Unlike before, she said it’s not particularly difficult to keep a spirit summoned while sleeping. The consumption of spirit power isn’t burdensome either.

“And if I use a spirit of darkness, it’s hard for monsters or others to see. How is it? I’m much better, right? Yes? Right?”

“Y-Yeah… you’re better.”

I didn’t want to compare my companions, but under the subtle pressure, I nodded.

But was this the answer she wanted?

“Then, um… Please say it to me too.”

“…Huh? Say what?”

“That… What you said to that woman earlier…”

Erwin twisted her body bashfully.

“That… it’s convenient having me around… That I’m the best… That there’s no one but me…”

Wait, but I never said such things.