Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 7

For those who dream of success as explorers, the system of 【Titles】 engraved on the status screen is extremely important.

　As you can see from the explanation of [Title: Madman] that suddenly appeared on my status screen for some reason, when you acquire a title, you can acquire certain skills at level 1.

　Many of the skills that can be acquired through titles are unique and powerful, and even if they aren’t, being able to acquire skills without spending skill points is a big deal. Even level 1 skills can have a very good effect.

　But the title isn’t easily earned.

　The reason for this is due to how titles are acquired in this real-life dungeon.

　For example, in many games that have a “title” system, these are like accessories that can be acquired by unlocking achievements.

　The achievements required could be defeating a certain number of specific monsters, clearing a certain quest, wearing special equipment and defeating certain monsters in a special way, or even exploring unknown fields.

　However, because it is a game, most of the conditions are ones that anyone can obtain if they try hard (although it may be different in MMOs or social games).

　However, in real dungeons, there are two main conditions for obtaining a title.

　These are “removal of achievements” and “recognition from an unspecified number of people.”

　For example, there is a title called “Goblin Killer,” and the conditions for obtaining it are to “slay over 100 goblin-type monsters” and “to be recognized by an unspecified number of people as being skilled at goblin slaying, or as having an unusual enthusiasm for it.”

　The latter condition, “recognition by an unspecified number of people,” is particularly tricky; it requires that a wide range of people strongly recognize this.

　To be honest, it’s difficult to meet the latter condition by just endlessly hunting goblins.

　That’s why many of today’s dungeon explorers broadcast their explorations online.

　This was simply to obtain more rare titles and, with them, more powerful skills.

　The country and the association understand this, and to secure skilled explorers in their own countries, they actively support and encourage the activities of dungeon broadcasters. Evidence of this is the website “Dungeon Tube” set up by the Explorers Association.

The main purpose of the “Dungeon Tube” is to act as a surveillance camera or dashcam to maintain order within the dungeon, which has become a de facto extraterritorial zone, but it also has a major role in helping to produce powerful explorers.

　Therefore, the more serious explorers who dream of becoming successful explorers, the more enthusiastic they are about streaming…

“I don’t understand…”

　To be honest, I don’t have any intention of becoming a successful explorer. I’m just a player who wants to level up. That’s why I keep the videos I take with my helmet camera private.

　In the first place, it is extremely difficult to earn a title even if you stream, so if you can earn one while streaming, it would be best to think of it as a nice bonus.

　Since I don’t like relying on such uncertainties, I didn’t aim to obtain a title from the beginning, and instead narrowed my goal as an explorer down to simply leveling up efficiently.

　There’s no way someone like me could become famous enough to meet the requirements to obtain the title.

　No, even if I were to become famous for some mistake, it would be strange to earn the title of “Madman” because I’m not a madman…

“… No, is that so?”

　A sudden thought occurs to me.

“Recognition by the general public” is merely the recognition of others, and does not have to be the truth. In other words, it is truly unfortunate and strange, but if a rumor that I am a madman spreads and there is an unspecified number of people who believe it, then by some chance I may meet the conditions for “achievement unlock” and obtain the title…

　In other words, the current situation is that a rumor is spreading that I’m a madman.

　We want to do something about this rumor, but even if it is a baseless rumor, it is difficult to dispel it.

“Hmm… Well, it’s fine. It’s not a problem.”

　I decided to think of it positively.

　I unexpectedly gained some skills, so I haven’t lost anything.

“…Okay, let’s go to the second floor quickly.”

　I pulled myself together and decided to quickly move on to the second floor.

　I took out my smartphone from my backpack and retrieved the map information for “Shinjuku Dungeon 1st Floor” from the “Modern Dungeon Strategy Wiki” website.

　Dungeon map information only covers the first few levels, but it’s readily available online.

　By the way, the smartphone is compatible with magical communication, so I can connect to the internet without any problems even inside the dungeon.

　Then, as I continued, knocking down about five goblins along the way, I finally reached the stairs leading to the second floor.

　After descending a long staircase that resembles the stone steps of a shrine on top of a mountain, we arrived at the second floor of the Shinjuku Dungeon.

　At the bottom of the stairs, in a corner of the large space, there was a solitary glowing magic circle.

　That magic circle is called a “Teleportation Circle” and exists on every floor. When you step on it, you can teleport to the teleportation circle on the first floor, so no matter how deep you go, you can easily return to the first floor when you want to go back.

　However, this teleportation circle is one-way, and you can’t teleport from the first-floor teleportation circle to a lower-floor teleportation circle. When you dive, you have to dive on your own two feet.

　Well, I don’t have any business there right now so I’ll skip it and head deeper into the second floor corridor.

　Soon after, I spotted a moving shadow at the end of the candle-lit underground passage.

　I squinted my eyes and saw they were goblins wearing fur loincloths and holding wooden clubs. However, there were two of them.

“Suddenly, multiple people…”

　The goblins on the second floor are higher level than the goblins on the first floor. So, if possible, it would have been better to start with just one, but… there’s no other way around it now that I’ve encountered one.

　I steeled myself and pulled my sword from its sheath.

“Gugyarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!”

　It seems the other person noticed my presence too, as they came running, letting out cries of joy.

　It’s okay. I’ve already studied how to fight multiple enemies… from manga and such.

　In any case, if you move around so as not to be pinched to the left, right, front, or back, and try to position yourself so that the enemy you’re fighting is sandwiched between yourself and another enemy, the enemy in front of you will act as a shield, and you will essentially only have to fight one-on-one twice.

“Woooooooohooooo!!”

　I ran, letting out a roar that rivaled that of the goblins.

“Hmmm!!”

　I slammed my sword down on the closest goblin. I saw the other goblin move around to try and pinpoint me, so I moved to stop him from doing so.

“Hmmm hmmm!!”

“Grrr!!”

　I slammed my sword down on the first one I hadn’t managed to kill, thinking I had to make a quick finish, but it seems my level has increased for no reason. It reacted quickly to my movements and blocked with its club.

　Still, I managed to hit it twice. The goblin’s movements were lackluster. I thought I could probably take it down with one more hit. “Oi!” I swung my sword and killed the first goblin.

　–and.

“Huh?! Guh?!”

　The moment I saw something out of the corner of my eye, I felt a shock in my side.

　– Ouch!!!

　The intense pain blinded my vision. I coughed loudly, but I continued to move and took some distance.

　There was no need to think about what had happened to him. Another goblin had approached him without him realizing it and hit him in the side with a club.

　What’s the point of using one as a shield for the other? They’ll get close before you can kill them.

“Gugyaluaa!!”

　There was no time to catch one’s breath as the goblins charged at him with all their might.

“-Experience points!! Don’t underestimate me!!”

　There was only one enemy left. Although it was tougher than the goblins on the first floor, it wasn’t a tough fight against just one.

“Hmmm, hmmm, orrrrrrrrr!!!”

It seems that my stats of Strength and Agility are superior. I slammed my sword into the club with all my might, throwing the goblin off balance, and then I continued to pursue without letting up, eliminating the goblin.

“Haaah, haaah, zuuuu…!!”

　This was the first damage I’d received in a dungeon.

　While catching my breath, I checked my status and my HP.

《HP》27/32

　Even though it hurts so much, my HP has only decreased by 5…

　Well then, what happens if you take 10 or 20 damage?

“-I see, that’s why so many people quit.”

　On the other hand, I was convinced.

　I read an article online that said that over 50% of explorers quit within a month of starting. There are various reasons for this, such as not being able to bear killing things that have a living form, or it being too physically demanding, but the most common reason is that the attacks from monsters hurt too much, and it breaks their spirit.

　If you think about it, it’s only natural that someone with little experience in fighting or martial arts would lose interest if they were subjected to repeated murderous attacks.

　I would have been in trouble too without your emotional support.

　Check a certain section in the status column.

————————————————–

[Level] 『3』 Experience points to next level 『65』

————————————————–

　By the time he’d reached the second floor, the experience points needed to reach the next level were 115. In other words, he’d gained 50 experience points from just this battle.

　A level 2 goblin’s experience points were “20”, and a level 3 goblin’s experience points were “30”, so one of the two goblins was probably level 3.

　With this, I have earned the experience points equivalent to eating five level 1 goblins.

　As expected from the second floor. The efficiency is incomparable to the first floor!!

“–Hmmmmmm!!!”

　As the experience steadily built up within me, I couldn’t help but feel good. Pleasure chemicals were released in my brain, and the pain in my side disappeared.

　I see.

　It seems that if it’s just a little pain, it will be tolerable if you gain experience and feel good.