When starting a run in [Dungeon Log], the very first thing you had to do was decide ahead of time what kind of build you were going to complete.
Otherwise, your Records would get tangled up right from the early floors, forcing you to slap on band-aid fixes until you eventually hit a wall and had to start a brand-new game.
Deciding on a build, of course, wasn't hard in itself.
All I had to do was pick one of the countless builds I knew inside and out and had played myself.
Or I could pick an interesting concept and try something new.
Still, that only applied when enjoying it as a game; right now, my situation was a bit different.
This wasn't a game anymore—it was reality.
All that mattered was pure performance, and the event required to maximize that was [Divination].
The specifics of [Divination] were a little complex, sure, but the concept itself was simple.
It heavily restricted the direction of your build, and in exchange, it raised your build's ceiling and lowered the difficulty of completing it.
FWOOSH—!
Above the crimson-glowing stream, black lettering began to float into the air.
"What does it say?"
"I don't know either."
Just like the runes carved into a Runestone, I couldn't read the script at all.
In the game, subtitles used to pop up under every single line.
Still, that wasn't a problem.
There were a fixed ninety-nine types of [Divination] anyway—
Rustle.
And every single one of them had its own distinct illustration.
Once the black text finished forming, an image like a tarot card appeared right above it.
A battered man holding a spear and a shield.
His entire body was covered in wounds, with several sword hilts jutting from his torso.
Evoking a ruined battlefield, the devastated background was wreathed in flames and littered with corpses.
It didn't have an official name in the game, but I used to call this Divination by a name of my own.
[Battlefield Mage]
Its modifiers were as follows:
—Indirect Combat Efficiency -77%
If you tried using summons or the like, their performance tanked to rock bottom.
—Support Action Efficiency -77%
You couldn't play a support role.
You had to fight on the front lines yourself.
—Ranged Weapon Efficiency -77%
Bows, magic orbs, staves, and the like were practically unusable.
—Melee Weapon Efficiency +10%
Recommended weapons: melee weapons such as swords and spears.
—Magic Rune Skill Efficiency +10%
—Area-of-Effect Attack Efficiency +10%
—Status Ailment Infliction Chance +30%
And yet at the same time, it heavily pushed you toward a classic mage-style kit.
—Solo Combat Physical & Magic Stats +10%
If an ordinary mage ever triggered this solo condition, they were basically already dead.
On the surface, it was a walking contradiction of a modifier set.
Looked at another way, though—
'Nothing to agonize over.'
It also meant there was only a tiny handful of builds capable of squeezing peak efficiency out of these modifiers.
In fact, whenever I pulled [Battlefield Mage] from the Divination event, there was only one build I ever went for.
[Battle Mage]
My path was set.
Now it was time to run down it.
***
I'd received my [Divination], sure, but now that game system messages were gone, there was no status screen to confirm whether the event had been applied properly.
—Melee Weapon Efficiency +10%
Even so, from the way my body felt noticeably lighter as I held my spear and shield, I could tell for sure that the effect had kicked in.
As I gave my weapons a few light test swings to get used to the sudden change in my body, the orc shouted from behind me.
"Don't tell me you grew stronger all by yourself?! I want to do it too!"
"Not for you guys."
[Divination] wasn't a guaranteed positive event for everyone.
Because one of the ninety-nine Divinations was assigned completely at random.
If an orc—who couldn't even learn Magic Runes due to his racial trait—got saddled with a pure mage Divination, his character would be bricked beyond repair.
And unlike Records, which could be erased if you met the conditions, a Divination could never be removed.
The same went for the elf and the dwarf.
Unlike warrior builds, paths like mage, supporter, or alchemist demanded a high level of game knowledge.
Later on down the road might be a different story, but if novices who didn't even know the basics of the labyrinth rolled one of those roles right now, it would cause a massive headache.
Besides, we needed to save our potions right now.
We only had two bottles left.
"How could that be...?!"
In any event, I had successfully checked off the crucial goal of [Divination].
All that remained was to survive the last two days and head back up to the city.
"Where's the nearest exit?"
"Hrm... Right here."
Thinking it over for just a moment, the dwarf soon found a passage on the map that led up to the surface and pointed at it.
"Distance?"
"Seven miles—"
For some reason, I felt my grip tightening around the shaft of my spear.
"—No, around eleven kilometers, I reckon."
"Got it."
My body relaxed again.
***
The stream where you could trigger the [Divination] event.
The official name for this chamber was a "Water Source."
Aside from drinking water and Divination, a Water Source had one more important feature: it served as a boundary line dividing monster "habitats."
Which meant that since we'd decided not to backtrack the way we came, Goblins wouldn't be showing up in front of us anymore.
"Kyauung!"
We took the upper passage out of the Water Source, and the monster species that inhabited this sector was the "Twinkle Dog."
Translated literally, it meant "Sparkle Dog" or "Glitter Dog," and true to its name, it was a dog-shaped monster with fur dusted heavily in glittering powder.
Calling it a mere "dog" was a bit of an understatement, though—it was big enough to look more like a wolf.
"I-It is not a Goblin! I cannot tell if it is stronger than me!"
"You're stronger."
"Is that so?!"
Its main trait was that despite being a Level 1 monster, it possessed an "element."
You could tell which element a Twinkle Dog had by the color of the glitter coating its fur.
'Blue—frost.'
Exhaling icy breath, the Twinkle Dog lunged at us, and under my direction, the newly confident orc brought his axe down—CRACK-CRUNCH!—and split its charging skull cleanly in two.
"Urooooh! I am a warrior stronger than a Twinkle Dog!"
Because it was still just a Level 1 monster, it merely possessed an element; the elemental power itself wasn't strong at all.
Which actually made it an easier opponent.
In exchange for having an element, its physical specs were lower than a Goblin's.
Because of that, among 1-Star Explorers, it was often called a prime monster for leveling up.
However, it wasn't all pros and no cons.
"If everyone's fine, we move out right away."
"Aren't you going to dismantle it?"
"There's nothing worth taking from this one."
With the sole exception of the "Steel" variant, Twinkle Dogs didn't drop any byproducts worth selling.
Meaning for the next two days, we'd basically be doing unpaid labor.
"Is there another exit down a different route?"
"The next closest one is about twenty-five kilometers away."
Since that would add at least a full day's march, I decided to stick to our current route.
With the Raider problem still hanging over our heads, getting out of the labyrinth safely had to take top priority.
"Then we stick to the original plan... and call it a day right here."
Since our fifth day had already been drawing to a close by the time we reached the Water Source, we found a suitable cave chamber nearby and unpacked our gear right away.
"Do we not need to build the walls anymore?"
"No, build them. Cave Goblins inhabit the entire first floor."
Just as we were about to start setting up camp for the night—
"Here I wondered who had unlocked the Mystery of the Water Source... Was it beginners?"
An unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed into the cave.
It came from the rear entrance—the direction we had just walked in from.
Moving on reflex, I snatched up my weapon and spun around, while my party members, now fairly used to sudden ambushes, quickly took up their positions.
The newcomer's demeanor, however, was utterly relaxed.
And it wasn't hard to see where that confidence came from.
'Solo...?'
Walking into the labyrinth all by yourself meant you were no ordinary Explorer to begin with.
Either he was a complete lunatic or he had the skills to back it up, and judging by the gear he was wearing, this guy was textbook latter.
'Eighth floor, bare minimum.'
I couldn't tell his exact specs at a glance, sure, but one thing was certain: we had zero chance of beating him in a fight.
Which meant the real question was whether this guy was a Raider—
'He's not.'
I could tell that much right away.
Because I recognized the necklace hanging around the man's neck.
[Executor's Duty]
A soulbound item famous both for its broken modifier that boosted all stats by a full 10%, and for its brutal penalty.
While wearing that necklace, launching a preemptive strike against another person became impossible; anyone who had ever murdered a human couldn't equip it in the first place, and if you killed someone while wearing it, it forcibly unequipped itself and knocked you unconscious for a full hour.
Put simply, it was mechanically impossible for anyone wearing that necklace to be a Raider.
It looked like we could breathe easy for now.
Judging by what he'd just said, though...
"Were you looking for us?"
"To be precise, I was looking for whoever unlocked the Mystery at the Water Source back there... Looks like I found the right people."
"Mystery" was the local term used in this world for a hidden piece.
Strictly speaking, the nuance was slightly different, sure... well, close enough.
And the "Mystery" this guy was talking about had to be [Divination].
Once triggered, the Water Source stayed dyed red for about an hour afterward, so he must have spotted the red water and followed our trail here.
"That's right."
I didn't bother denying it.
A basic check would make it obvious anyway, so there was no point lying and making things messy.
Perhaps because it was the answer he'd been hoping for, the man got straight to the point.
"I'd like to know about the Mystery of the Water Source."
"..."
"Ah, I'm not asking you to tell me for free. I'll compensate you plenty."
Thankfully, since I'd been upfront with him, he was dealing with us in good faith too.
He wasn't the type of thug to shake down beginners just because he could.
Taking a closer look at him now that I knew we weren't in immediate danger, he made a pretty decent impression.
He gave off a slightly stiff, old-school vibe, sure, but he had the upright, by-the-book look of a straight arrow.
Having sized him up, I answered.
"We'll settle on the price first. The information comes after."
"...What?"
His brows furrowed deeply at once.
Ah, was that the wrong move?
"Are you saying that because you actually know how to appraise the value of the information you're holding?"
I'd thought I might have misstepped for a second, but thankfully, nothing bad came of it.
His frown wasn't because he thought a weakling like me was being cheeky—he simply doubted whether a beginner actually knew what a Mystery was worth.
Well, it might have been behind a monitor, sure, but I'd done deals like this dozens of times; there was no way I'd get it wrong.
"I know its exact value."
"Hm... Don't you look like a beginner, though?"
"My standing as an Explorer has nothing to do with my ability to judge the value of information."
"...Alright, let's hear it first."
All those hours spent navigating NPC dialogue trees in [Dungeon Log] hadn't gone to waste.
At the silver tongue I'd honed from behind a monitor, the look in the man's eyes shifted noticeably.
"Name your terms."
"Guard us for two days."
It might have sounded like a small ask, but in reality, it was anything but.
For starters, it would guarantee our safety against the Raiders almost 100%.
On top of that, two full days of time from an Explorer who operated on at least the eighth floor cost a small fortune.
"Too long. If it's just for tonight, I can do it."
"Then I'll have to refuse."
Turning me down flat without a second thought, huh?
'Must be an even bigger shot than I thought.'
He seemed to be a much bigger fish than my initial estimate.
Any "Mystery" of the labyrinth carried a hefty price tag regardless of its specific effect, so for two days of his time to outweigh that meant his daily rate was sky-high.
'Can't be helped, then.'
Guaranteed survival would have been the best payout, sure, but there were plenty of other things I needed too.
I immediately tossed out the backup demand I'd prepared.
"I need a map of the first floor."
"...Don't you already have one?"
Come on, between people who know how things work, why play dumb?
The map we were carrying right now was a "basic map" that literally only showed the tunnel paths.
What I wanted was—
"I want an expanded map."
The version with every Special Zone and monster habitat neatly marked out.
Hand that one over.