After that, I kept making my way through the floors even more smoothly, though the monsters that showed up along the way were still just the same old goblins. By this point, I’d pretty much lost all motivation for this game because I wanted a little more variety in enemies. It’s so boring it’s not even fun, so this game sucks1. No, I don’t mean I want minor changes like “Goblin Soldier” or “Goblin Archer,” since I wanted to see completely different kinds of monsters, which is a real shame.
”Let’s just clear this fast and move on to the next game,” I grumbled, pushing forward. “Seriously, this dungeon is way too half-baked.”
While testing out the fourth magic sword I’d just gotten, I kept pushing forward. Right after the chimera fight, the magic sword that unlocked was called “Titan.”
…This sword is just huge.
The blade is easily over two meters long, and just having it manifest behind me gives a huge boost to my strength stat. The exact multiplier wasn’t written in the description, but it feels like my power increased nearly three times. And on top of strength, this sword can also boost the skills of my other magic swords. When I fire off slashes from “Abyss” or “Inferno,” the effects grow bigger-no, nearly twice as big-and the destructive power more than doubles. Truly, “power = strongest.”
”Goblin heads are flying off left and right,” I laughed, swinging the blade. “This is basically just mowing grass now.”
I killed goblins with the same feeling as pulling weeds. Using “Object Manipulation,” I spread all four magic swords around me and raced down the floors.
”Oh, treasure chest found!” I called out.
I spotted a fancy chest along the way, but I didn’t rush over to it. Using “Appraisal” lets me see at a glance whether it’s trapped or not. For the ones with traps, I just use “Dimensional Slash” to physically destroy them and grab the contents, though I did mess up a few times and destroy the items inside…
This time, it looks like the contents are a “Recovery Potion (High-Grade),” Recovery potions come in three ranks: high, medium, and low, with each offering different effects. Low-grade recovers about 30% of HP, medium-grade about 60%, and high-grade can fully heal you instantly no matter how close to death you are. I stored the potion in my “Inventory.”
”Still, I haven’t run into any other players since entering this dungeon,” I mused, looking down the empty hall. “I wonder if everyone already cleared it and moved on. It’s not like I’m the only one chosen as an Early Access player, right?”
About twenty hours had passed since I started this game, but I still hadn’t met a single other person. Maybe it’s because I set the number of initial players to “zero” on that suspicious settings screen at the start, so I kind of regret not adding more companions more casually. A game that won’t let you change difficulty or system settings later is pretty rare these days.
”Ahhh, so boring,” I groaned, slicing through the air. “Can’t I get some tough, meaty enemies with some real challenge?”
I beheaded a nearby goblin as I passed by because it was just too weak. For a difficulty called [NIGHTMARE], it’s laughable. The only hard part was the very beginning, and that was just because of some unfair gimmicks. My proficiency with the magic swords kept building up too, so I was even starting to think maybe I should hold back on raising proficiency to stretch out the fun a little longer.
While thinking about that, I’d already reached the boss area of the twentieth floor. Unlike before, I’d used “Accelerate” to move at high speed, so it went by in a flash. The boss inside was a giant man-faced tree, an “Elder Treant.”
……A boss monster of the twentieth floor.
It’s an annoying monster that scatters dust that causes multiple status effects like poison, paralysis, and confusion. Honestly, if I hadn’t gotten “Status Ailment Resistance” from the chimera fight earlier, I might have struggled, but with that resistance skill, it’s just a moving tree branch to me.
I sent two magic swords flying-“Titan” and “Inferno,” Caught in the raging flames of “Inferno,” powered up by “Titan,” the great tree let out a dying scream and crumbled into ash.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
- Level up!
- Confirmed boss floor monster defeat.
- Acquired skill: [Physical Resistance]
”The chimera at least tried a little harder than you,” I said, scoffing at the remains. “You’re way too weak.”
I spat coldly at the giant tree, now just a lump of charcoal that wouldn’t stop smoldering. Sigh… Same level as the goblins, huh. I’d expected a little more from a game made by God, so I felt very disappointed. Still feeling let down, I kept walking deeper in, mechanically.
…………
In the end, nothing particularly happened all the way to the last floor, so it really was just like doing chores. By now, all I wanted was for it to end as soon as possible.
”What’s with goblins on every single floor?” I shouted to the bare walls. “Whoever made this game, come out here! I’ve got complaints!”
My voice just echoed emptily in the empty room.
”Sigh… Of course no one’s coming out,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Guess I’ll just beat the final boss.”
I slowly opened the door in the room and walked deeper in. The final boss monster sitting at the deepest part of the thirtieth floor was a giant pitch-black dragon, a “Black Dragon,” But by the time I got here, my level had already easily exceeded 2000, so it didn’t feel threatening in the slightest. For the record, the Black Dragon’s level was 1000.
It fired a black flame breath, but I blocked it all with a water barrier from “Abyss,” …All show, no substance. I ended it by beheading it with “Dimensional Slash.”
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
- Level up!
- “Wielder of the Ten Holy Demon Swords (Degim Gladius Master)” proficiency has reached a certain level!
- Confirmed boss floor monster defeat.
- Acquired skill: [Elemental Resistance]
”Ughhhhhhhhhhh, what is this, so lame!” I yelled, throwing my hands up. “You called me all the way here for a game this low-level?”
My loud sigh echoed uselessly in the silent boss room while level-up alerts were still ringing in my head. Oh well, this was just the first tutorial-like game anyway, so it’s better that it ended quickly so I can cruise through smoothly. I’ll look forward to the next game.
”Ah man, I’m getting super sleepy,” I grumbled, rubbing my eyes. “Not that this was worth pulling an all-nighter for.”
I muttered while organizing the reward cards. The thirtieth-floor boss raised my proficiency, and the fifth magic sword I got was “Curse,” It’s a gray magic sword with traits that lower enemy defense and absorb HP, shaped like a rapier with a skull mark carved into the guard. Cool.
And I also got my third resistance skill. Now I have “Status Ailment Resistance,” “Physical Resistance,” and “Elemental Resistance,” I’m genuinely happy I got so many resistance skills from just the first game because they’ll probably come in handy in later games too.
”I could go back to grind proficiency, but honestly, I can’t stand to look at goblins anymore,” I said, turning toward the exit. “So let me move on.”
I walked down the path behind the boss. The last floor wasn’t a staircase like the others-just one massive, heavy door sitting there.
”This must be the goal,” I noted, eyeing the massive entrance. “The end part was pretty anticlimactic. Yaaawn… Man, I got tired all of a sudden. Once the next game starts, I’ll just sleep.”
Sleep is the source of energy. Normally I can handle three all-nighters when gaming, but this time it was an action game where I had to move my body, so fatigue had built up. I went back, processed the unprocessed cards at the blue save point, and then stepped through that massive door.
……In that instant.
My vision was flooded with intense, blinding white light. This is the third time I’ve experienced teleportation. I’m used to it by now, so I calmly closed my eyes and waited for the space to stabilize.
….
….
….
[GAME SYSTEM]
- First game cleared.
- Bonus skill acquired: [Material Editing]
- Second game: [Trust (Partner Game)]
- Current player count: [20]
- Difficulty: [NORMAL]
- Game start!
And then, the light faded and I slowly opened my eyes.
There, lying on the floor like a bunch of people passed out, were several men and women besides me. To be exact, everyone was completely unconscious, so they were probably NPCs, or players other than me.
I looked around. The floor was nice wooden flooring, and all the walls had a warm wood grain. There was one simple door in the front and one in the back. It felt strangely homey, like a room in some local community hall-an oddly lived-in closed space. There were no windows, but fluorescent lights on the ceiling kept the room very bright.
And on the big screen at the front of the room, this was displayed:
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
- Welcome, players!
- You will now challenge a game made by God!
- Please wait until the game begins!
”I see,” I whispered, nodding to myself.
So the second game starts here. I wonder what kind of game it’ll be. Exciting.
A digital clock on the TV next to the screen was ticking, which is probably the signal for when the game starts. With about an hour left until it begins, I might as well get stuff done in the meantime. I wanted to check their strength beforehand, so I used “Appraisal” on everyone around me all at once.
”They’re alive, good,” I muttered, blinking in surprise. “Huh, the display is different from goblins. And… everyone’s level is ‘1’? No skills at all… What’s going on?”
Everyone lying here was at starting level with no skills whatsoever. No matter what difficulty it was, if they cleared the first game, they should have at least some levels. I racked my sleep-deprived brain while the drowsiness was already at its limit.
”Ha! Got it,” I snapped my fingers in realization. “Everyone here is an ‘NPC’!”
My brain CPU concluded that. Having no levels and no skills is the same as not clearing the first game, so they are probably just stage props prepared for this second game.
Ahh… This is bad. I’m getting seriously sleepy now. I did go nonstop for about twenty hours clearing the first game, after all.
There’s still an hour until it starts, so I’ll sleep until then. It’s not like these guys are gonna suddenly attack me, and their levels are low too.
I lay down in the corner of the room, gently closed my eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
”…Good night,” I murmured, drifting off.
Trivia:
- Naoshi’s casual dismissal of the other players as NPCs is a classic gamer assumption, but the fact that they have no skills or levels after what should have been a completed first game suggests the system might be hiding something or that the second game operates on completely different rules.
- The “Material Editing” bonus skill acquired after clearing the first game is never explained or used, which might indicate it will become crucial in the second game’s trust-based mechanics.
- Naoshi’s sleepiness despite having cleared a physically demanding game could be a symptom of system fatigue or a deliberate pacing mechanism by the game to create vulnerability going into the second phase.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ A Japanese gaming slang term meaning “crappy game” or “trash game.” Used here to emphasize the protagonist’s frustration with the monotonous design.