“So Shouta, are you going to the second floor like always?”
Asks Maki.
“That’s the plan. I’m going to see the wolves, but the problem is if other teams are there too…”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. Skipping ranks helps with that.”
“Eh? What do you mean, Aki?”
According to them, being a high rank adventurer comes with perks.
One of them is that low rank adventurers can’t disturb high rank adventurers while they hunt.
And in a beginner dungeon with few people who are even C rank, an A rank like me can really make use of that privilege.
This feels kind of vague, but basically, it means you shouldn’t go near someone who’s a higher rank than you when they’re hunting.
It’s not like I’m supposed to show up there and go ‘A rank coming through, outta my way’. That’s good at least. Although some adventurers get the wrong idea about that.
“Promotions are all about points until D rank, so we don’t know if those people are bad news. From C rank up, there needs to be an interview with a branch manager or their assistant and a background check, so some can be weeded out.”
“Hm…”
“But we don’t have to worry about that with you.”
“Basically, in this country, the higher your rank, the more we can trust your skills and character.”
My mouth loosens as they praise me from each side.
But if other people won’t get close, that gives me options.
First I’ll make a rare monster spawn in the hilly area with no people, and see where its spawning point is. Even if it’s somewhere where people are, if I fight there, they won’t get close.
Apparently there are other perks, but it doesn’t sound like the sort of thing that interests me.
“Here I go. Ayane gave me this, so can you put it in the freezer?”
“All right. Ah, Shouta, we are going to start seeing you off again today.”
“So we’ll go with you part of the way.”
“Ah, yes. Because we’re officially together.”
I walk to the entrance with one on each side, and enter with Aira.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
“Master.”
Once we reach the second floor, Aira talks to me when there’s no one around.
“What is it?”
“There is something I have to tell you. We can keep walking.”
“What?”
I slow down a little, and walk next to her.
“I will be accompanying you while the lady is away, but… I have been told that I do not need to report what happens in the meantime.”
“By Ayane’s mother?”
“Yes. It is a reward for figuring out our secret.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have noticed if my ‘Intuition’ wasn’t working for me.”
“She expects great things from you, and your unusual Luck.”
“I see…”
Both her and Aira know you need Luck for good Intuition.
But then… Let’s ask her something I’ve had on my mind.
“Aira, you’re not going to report this conversation, right?”
“Yes.”
I see. My Luck is a thousand.”
“…!? Really?”
Her face is always serious, but she can’t hide her surprise over this.
“Have you ever seen someone with this much Luck?”
“…No, not that I am aware. I have heard of people who started with ten, poured all their SP into it, continued doing it as their SP went down, and went over six hundred…”
Hn? Did she say something about SP going down?
“SP can go down?”
“Yes. It seems if you continue to pour it into Luck, the SP bonus you receive with each level up noticeably decreases. In the end, people receive only one or two points, just like you, master.”
“Eh… Well, I wouldn’t be able to live if something like that was enough to break my spirit.”
“A spirit as indomitable as yours is not a common thing.”
Well, that’s because it was like that for me from the start. I guess it’s different when you fall from the top.
“And it seems the amount of SP and growth points will return to normal if the SP is put into normal stats, although it is said to take a lot of levels.”
“Hm…”
So it’s hard to stay strong while raising Luck? They can’t finish off monsters properly without sufficient firepower, right? That means they can’t properly fight in high rank dungeons, where even regular monsters are stronger.
At least there’s the saving grace of their growth curve returning to normal.
“You know my level, and say you respect the amount of time put into it. However, I think you are also a person deserving of respect. You have been fighting alone without any help.”
“…Thank you. You’re talking a lot today.”
“…! E-excuse me.”
Aira turns away.
I feel like I’m seeing a different side of her, now that Ayane isn’t around. This might be what she’s actually like.
“No, it’s fine. I prefer it that way.”
“Hnn. So be it.”
We smile at each other, stop, and turn another way.
“Aira, let’s hunt a General Goblin as a way to celebrate us being friendly.”
“Understood, master.”
I open the map, and see a currently empty hilly area. Much like when I got to the second floor, there are multiple people on the right side, both near the entrance and further back.
And so, we hunt goblins on the left side, and take out a General Goblin.
【Level up】
【Leveled up from seven to eighteen】
【Level up】
【Leveled up from eighteen to forty-one】
I offer the Super Strength II I get from it to Aira as a present, upgrading her Super Strength. This also confirms that it doesn’t show those numbers when it’s overwritten.
It’s kind of a waste that it doesn’t become Super Strength II (1/3), but at least now I know.
“I’m surprised to hear other people have tried Luck. I thought I was a trailblazer.”
“Yes. This is a secret, but I received permission from the branch manager to share it with you. The association actually contracted several level one adventurers with an SP level of eight or higher to only use it on Luck. But as I stated before, everyone’s growth slowed down, and when they were unable to keep up with others on the front lines, they despaired and retired.
Because of this, all projects running concurrently failed. Plans stalled, not the least of which for moral reasons.”
Several adventurers who seemed to have a bright future couldn’t handle the trouble that came with increasing Luck, and retired… The higher one’s SP and growth curve, the better chances they have of becoming high rank adventurers. And the plan was stopped because these people were being wasted.
All because of how hard it is to restore the growth that comes with levels and SP, without Level Gacha.
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Thanks for the treat.