“Phew......”
Fortunately, I was able to leave the Underworld Arena fairly quickly.
At first, I had been confused by the gap between the game’s graphics and reality, but the more time passed, the more accustomed I became to finding my way.
After leaving the Underworld Arena, I immediately began walking toward my next destination.
‘By now, has Karayan realized that Frost Sunset is a counterfeit?’
Well, there was a high chance that she had.
The appraisers of the Ruins Merchant Company were exceptionally skilled.
Their detailed appraisals were accurate enough to rival the 「Relic Survey Corps」, who traveled the continent professionally excavating items.
More than anything, if Karayan closely examined Frost Sunset once again with her 【Gold-Seeking Eyes】 skill......
‘......No.’
Come to think of it, Karayan’s ability was unstable at this point in time.
She had not yet completed her awakening.
Rather, the limited information provided by the skill might create confusion during the appraisal work.
Perhaps that was why Karayan had believed Frost Sunset was genuine without the slightest doubt.
‘There was definitely a story where she suffered because she trusted her unstable skill too much......’
Ah, forget it.
My head hurt, so I would stop thinking about Karayan’s circumstances here.
I would not be seeing her face for a while anyway.
‘First, I need to rest.’
Had I experienced too much at once?
I was truly exhausted. I felt as though I might collapse from fatigue at any moment.
My vision spun wildly, and my head throbbed.
......It was admirable enough that this frail body, with every stat covered in 1s, had endured this much.
‘My destination is arriving just in time.’
Step, step—.
Having reached the center of the city before I knew it, I slowly looked around.
A dark, damp city without a single ray of sunlight.
There were many people wandering the streets, but it was difficult to find anyone among them who looked remotely normal.
People who staggered about and grinned as though drugged. People whose missing body parts had been replaced with magitech machinery.
It was clearly a place that radiated an illegal and sinister atmosphere.
‘Dark City Dawnguard.’
That was the name of this place.
A Ruins Merchant Company stronghold located on the southwestern outskirts of the continent.
It was a lawless zone formed as vicious criminals expelled from other cities gradually gathered there.
Because of the region’s nature, many criminal organizations had once made their nests here. But after bloody struggles between the groups, the Ruins Merchant Company had ultimately seized control of the city.
At this point in time, it would not have been an exaggeration to say that the entire city was in Karayan’s grasp.
‘Here it is.’
Halt—.
As I wandered the streets while thinking about this and that, I stopped in front of a building.
Unlike the other ramshackle structures built in haphazard fashion, it was a lodging establishment that was neatly arranged and stylishly decorated.
The following name was written on its sign.
【Ruins Royal Stay】
One of the few top-class hotels in Lost Elder’s world.
It was no exaggeration to say that this was the safest place in all of Dark City Dawnguard.
‘The lodging fee is absurdly expensive, but it guarantees security and service worthy of the price.’
For someone like me, who needed somewhere to rest without worry, it was the perfect place.
As for the expensive lodging fee, I could simply pay it with the money Karayan had given me.
After walking to the hotel lobby, I immediately reserved a room. Then, following a staff member’s guidance, I walked through the corridors and up the stairs toward my room.
Before long, I arrived in front of it.
“May you have a comfortable rest.”
CREEEAK, THUD—.
Leaving the politely bowing staff member behind, I closed the door.
Had my stamina reached its limit? Even my legs had trembled while I climbed the stairs earlier.
I wanted to lie down on the bed as soon as possible and soothe this exhausted body.
“Phew......”
I flopped onto the blanket.
The feel of the soft mattress enveloped my entire body.
As the tension left me, drowsiness rushed in at once.
It was the first comfort I had felt since falling into this world.
“......”
With my face buried in the pillow, I slowly turned to the side.
The sky visible outside the window had already grown dim. It meant that the long, long day had finally come to an end.
Only then did it truly sink in.
......I had survived the Underworld Arena, the Tutorial Point called a living hell.
‘I really survived.’
Clearing the tutorial without dying.
Many veteran players had attempted it, but no one had ever succeeded.
After all, the system had been designed so that the player would inevitably die.
Yet I had not only survived the tutorial, but I had even killed Human Butcher Barba.
On top of that, I had extorted the Feather Sword and 100 million Shillings from the Ruins Merchant Company.
At the beginning of the game, and in a body whose average stat was 1, earning such achievements was encouraging.
‘If I had slipped up even a little, I could have lost my life.’
I thought through everything that had happened over the course of the day.
My battle with Human Butcher Barba, the meeting I had with Karayan on the highest floor of the Underworld Arena, and so on.
My life and death had hung in the balance in each of those situations.
It felt as though I had been walking a precarious tightrope.
Perhaps that was why this comfortable moment felt even more precious.
“......”
At the same time, I was worried.
Now that I had fallen into this goddamn world, I would have to face dangers like today’s again and again.
Even with 【Soul of the Swordmaster 】, living in Lost Elder’s world with a body whose average stat was 1 would never be easy.
‘So......’
I needed to make a plan.
A plan to survive in this goddamn world somehow.
***
Step, step—.
The following morning.
After leaving the hotel, I walked through the city streets while reviewing the plan I had made last night.
‘First, I need to grow stronger.’
Strength.
In this primal world, strength mattered more than anything else.
Of course, I had the trump card that was 【Soul of the Swordmaster 】......
‘......But there are problems with entrusting my safety and wellbeing to this ability alone for now.’
First, the skill’s duration was only 0.01 seconds.
In a situation where I had no idea what kind of crisis might strike, it was dangerous to act carelessly while relying only on that fleeting moment.
‘More importantly, the skill’s effective cooldown is quite long, too.’
The skill itself was an On/Off Skill, so it did not have a separate cooldown......
〔MP : 0/1〕
......But because both my Mana pool and the stat responsible for Mana regeneration were 1, it had effectively gained a forced cooldown.
Look.
Even after sleeping through the night, was my MP not still at 0?
‘Since my Magic Power stat is 1, it should recover around now......’
〔MP : 0/1〕
TICK—.
〔MP : 1/1〕
‘......There it is.’
In fact, the solution to this problem was very simple.
Without any need for thought, I could simply raise every stat related to Magic Power as high as possible.
Then, merely by clicking the skill on, I would be able to kill every enemy before my eyes.
‘But......’
I stopped thinking for a moment.
Then, I looked up at the translucent window floating above my head.
【Lv. 1】
Normally, my level should have been much higher by now.
After all, I had killed Human Butcher Barba, who was Lv. 71.
Since I had killed him while only Lv. 1, I should have received an enormous amount of experience.
......That was, if this had been a game.
‘But this isn’t a game. It’s reality.’
Well, I could infer one more thing from that.
The system visible to me was merely a tool that displayed my current state in a tangible way.
It meant that the convenient kind of growth where I raised my stats through leveling up, as I had when playing the game, was impossible.
‘Moreover, considering Lost Elder’s “setting”......’
Getting stronger for free through leveling up had been impossible from the start.
‘......Therefore, I need to grow stronger through a different method.’
And last night.
The first method that came to mind was this.
【Sacred Piece】
Sacred Piece literally meant a “holy fragment.”
In the setting, they were remnants of ancient gods scattered throughout the continent......
Well, put simply, they were rewards players received for clearing specific 「Trials」.
‘There are many types of rewards.’
Skills, traits, potions, and currency.
From minor items to high-tier equipment, including Divine Artifacts.
Whatever they were, they would be enough to make me stronger than I was now.
‘Of course, I can’t go looking for Sacred Pieces in this frail body.’
Wandering around and provoking Trials with a body whose average stat was 1?
What bullshit. That was no different from suicide.
Therefore, the brilliant idea I had come up with was as follows.
‘First, I should get carried.’
Getting carried.
The act of riding on the back of an NPC with high stats.
These days, people often called it “riding the bus,” too.
I intended to recruit an NPC who would clear the Trials in my place and make them handle the dirty work.
Of course, I would swallow the rewards.
“......”
Then there was the problem.
Where could I find this bus driver?
And even if I found one, how was I supposed to make them work for me?
It would never be easy to find someone skilled who had no chance of stabbing me in the back and would obediently listen to my orders.
All the more so considering Lost Elder’s exceptionally bleak setting.
‘Of course......’
Fortunately, I did not need to worry about that problem.
After all, an “appropriate target” had been following me since yesterday.
Halt—.
An alley in Dark City Dawnguard.
Having walked deep inside it, I stopped.
I stood silently for a moment in the narrow, dark path before muttering to myself.
“How long do you intend to keep following behind me?”
No answer came.
Only chilly silence filled the air.
Even so, I continued speaking to myself.
“I am not a particularly patient person.”
“......”
“So I will ask one last time. How long do you intend to keep following me?”
Silence fell once more.
But this time, it did not last long.
Step, step—.
After a brief hesitation, I heard someone cautiously begin walking.
Before long, a woman appeared before me.
【Lv. 77】
A lion.
Yes. At a glance, she was a woman who brought to mind a lion, the king of beasts.
Long, tangled platinum-blonde hair and blue eyes. Even faint scars scattered across her pale skin.
I quietly recited the name of that character, whom I had often seen through the monitor while playing Lost Elder.
‘Adelia von Goldheart.’
She was one of the bus-driver candidates I had in mind.
“......”
Of course, Level 77 was not enough to make someone one of this world’s handful of truly overwhelming powerhouses.
It merely meant that she was a skilled person recognized within her region.
This vast continent was filled with monsters stronger than Adelia. Even the fact that Shadow Knight Loren, whom I had met yesterday, was Level 84 proved that.
Even so, there was only one reason I intended to bring Adelia von Goldheart with me.
‘Adelia is the character with the highest growth potential among every NPC in the game.’
In the future, she would kill one of the Twelve Swordmasters, take that person’s place, and become one of the strongest people in the world.
From now on, I intended to recruit her as one of my own.
It would not be particularly difficult.
Having played Lost Elder for twelve years, I knew nearly everything about Adelia von Goldheart.
‘Including what she truly wants.’
It was time to start acting again.