Chapter 10: Corshim Dungeon
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Author's note: I've been really, really busy. I have classes five days a week, my only free days being Sunday, Monday, and (temporarily) Thursday. I have 11 hour days on Saturday and church on Fridays and Sundays. Not to mention the commute to class is 23 minutes one-way. Oftentimes, I'm too fatigued to even think about writing. On the games side, I was obsessed with the Feed the Beast modpack for Minecraft for about a month, and now I'm playing the free-to-play Japanese browser game known as Kantai Collection.
Also, October will be a very bad month for writing. Rune Factory 4, Pokemon Y, and Disgaea D2 all come out then, so... Yeah... Still, I'll be writing slowly and steadily, though obviously I won't be able to keep up the old pace I set before I started class. I'm getting used to the pace of work so I feel less tired nowadays.
As usual, please feel free to message me suggestions, encouragement, constructive criticism, plot holes, things you feel seem weird or whatever like the pace of character development, etc... I'll accept it all, because I want to write a great story and I'm not a perfect writer.
On another note, I made a few changes to chapters 2 and 3 regarding suffixes, but it shouldn't impact anyone, just ease into character development better for new readers. I'm also rewriting Chapter 7's conclusion, but that wasn't finished in time. I'll stealth update it sometime in the next week.
xxxx
"Are you serious about this, Veritas-nim?" Kirhi demanded, following him as he headed for the northern gate. "I know you're strong, but this is way over our heads."
"Don't worry about it, I've got a plan," he assured his party.
"What kind of plan could you possibly have this close to winter? Gunter, speak some sense into him."
"I've got everything under control, you two don't need to panic like this. Calm down."
"Veritas-nim, it's not so easy to c-calm down just because you tell us to. K-Kirhi and I have no idea what's going on and we're n-nervous."
"Relax. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. This plan is completely foolproof. Also, I have experience dealing with elves, remember?"
"Yes, but d-different subraces have d-different sensibilities. What might've worked for wood elves might n-not work for snow elves." Gunter counted down on his fingers. "Env-vironment, level of p-pride, hostility, and on..."
"I gathered that, but still, I've got a trump card. I'll show it to you when we meet the snow elves."
"And why can't you show us now?"
"Because it's cooler this way."
"Because it's-... Why-... Well," sighed Kirhi, "we already set our spawn points to Helmstad. I guess we might as well at least try, if Veritas-nim says he can do it."
"I s-s-suppose, yeah. I m-mean, we aren't the t-t-types to just abandon someone. I c-can't speak for what we'd do if this was in real life, but however much it seems real, this is still a g-g-game, so I g-guess occasionally doing wild, rid-di-diiculous things like this isn't that b-bad."
"Maybe. Still, it won't be fun to be locked out for an entire day and lose levels."
"Well, it's c-considered an impossibility to get through without d-dying at least once. Death's b-bound to happen eventually."
"That's true, but we shouldn't intentionally walk to our deaths either, that'd be a waste of time and money. Also, can't you do anything about your stuttering, Gunter?!"
"I c-can't help it! I'm c-c-c-cold!"
The two continued to banter even as they neared the gate. At this point, most everyone returned to their business, but a few of the players followed them, wanting to watch what would happen. Would they die horrible deaths or flee with their tails between their legs?
"Y-Y'know, c-c-could we, I d-dunno, m-maybe stop at a st-st-store and get some warmer eq-equipment first?" Gunter asked hopefully, teeth chattering.
"Nonsense, Gunter-nim, walking will help your blood circulate."
"That's what they all say," the archer whined, "but it's n-never worked."
Kirhi and Gunter let Veritas lead the way, though they had no illusions about their own safety by doing this. Elves in general were known for their archery and spell-casting, and lagging behind wouldn't save them from accurate long-range fire.
The forest wasn't too far, just about five kilometers, an hours' walk from Helmstad. This part of the tundra was the only real forested area remaining, with large, dark pines reaching out to the sky.
The way to the forest, though, were occupied by increasingly stronger monsters. For the sake of balance, Unicorn Corporation had minimized the jump in monster strength by implementing crawling level increases as one approached a high-level zone, slowly ramping up the strength until it matched that of the destination zone.
That meant that the monsters they faced quickly went from single digits to level 90s as they traveled closer to the forest. At one point, the party and their curious followers hurriedly fled from a large mob of monsters. As confident as Veritas seemed regarding the elves, these were another story.
Gunter and Kirhi were levels 60 and 58 respectively, while he himself was level 65. Even considering the stat bonuses gained from the Training Hall, his and Gunter's respective levels would only be between levels 85 and 90. They were statistically strong enough to fight and beat the monsters in a one-on-one, but they were outnumbered anywhere between five to ten times.
They drew up a battle plan, again consisting of Veritas as the speedy vanguard to gather aggro while the rest of the party supported him. As it tended to, the tactic worked considerably well, because the wild melee resulted in monsters hurting each other trying to hit him, leaving them weak enough to get picked off.
Due to the repeated success of this tactic, Veritas dubbed it Plan Hayasugi, or 'too fast'.
When they were about half a kilometer from the forest, a flight of arrows were shot from the branches. With frightening accuracy, they all thudded into the ground in front of their feet. Though his party flinched, Veritas showed no reaction while admiring the distance of the shot. To maintain accuracy over such a long distance required both strength and skill, with a touch of talent. Like the bow and arrow, hitting faraway targets with kunai and shuriken were murderously difficult. He knew, because he'd tried, and failed many times.
He also saw that the area within that half kilometer around the forest were empty of monsters. Most likely, the elves shot and killed all the monsters here as soon as they spawned, not only keeping their borders safe but also giving them valuable exp to level up.
"Don't worry guys, I know exactly what to do."
Veritas drew the medallion and raised it in the air before walking forward again. Kirhi and Gunter looked at each other, bewildered that Veritas believed an item could save them if they continued into the elves' territory, but followed him when it became apparent that no more arrows were being fired.
It also became obvious to the onlookers that something was different when the three players reached and entered the forest with no further overt action by the elves. Those that tried to follow were immediately rebuffed with more arrows.
It didn't take long after entering the forest for the party to be surrounded by the snow elves. Unlike wood elves, snow elves were possessed of a very pale complexion, almost white as powder with a pale bluish tinge from the color of their blood vessels. Their hair was bone white with a, likewise, slight blue hue and their eyes were gunmetal blue.
"You, human, how have you come by that medallion?" demanded one elf.
Kirhi and Gunter looked at each other, feeling like they were doing this too often. So the medallion did indeed serve a purpose.
"I got it from the elves in Ahrah as a gift."
"It is no mean feat to gain the trust of those who seclude themselves so thoroughly. Truly no mean feat."
Another elf agreed vehemently. "No mean feat. Perhaps he took it from their cold, dead bodies?"
Veritas cocked his head. "Is there any reason to not believe what I'm telling you?"
The elf sneered. "This wouldn't be the first time a human has tried to trick us, intent on robbing us of our livelihood."
"I dunno, if I'd wanted that, I'd have come with a bigger force than just the three of us, don't you think?"
"That's true, no human would be stupid enough to try and take an entire army on with just three people."
"See? And do I look like an idiot? There's no reason to suspect us."
"You must understand, humans, that your kind have made us their enemies for centuries." A new voice entered the conversation, and a female elf walked towards them. All others in her path parted to make way. "All we have ever wanted was to live in peace. Such animosity doesn't easily disappear." She bowed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Nyxia, the High Priestess of the Snow Elves of Niflheim."
"Niflheim? You mean that fallen kingdom?" Kirhi blurted.
"Yes, we once made our home within the kingdom of Niflheim in ancient times. When the Niflheim Empire was invaded in force by the monsters and the Church of Embinyu, we fled in all haste, lest we be caught up in their destruction."
"Priestess, can we trust them?"
"Yes, how can we truly be sure they aren't lying?"
"Humans have always lied to us, trying to obtain what we so fiercely protected."
"I believe they can be trusted," she affirmed. "I could sense faint traces of the wood elves on the man, but he lacks the Elven Stigmata that would be associated with him if he was responsible for shedding elven blood. And if this is true, the pride of the reclusive elven tribes would never allow them to part with such an important treasure to someone who they felt didn't deserve it."
"Thanks for understanding, it's a relief." Veritas let out the breath he'd been holding in unconsciously. Though he'd tried to act upbeat, each of the elves here were statistically equal in strength to him. It would've been child's play for the force to annihilate their party. Like magic, as soon as Nyxia voiced her opinion, the rest of the elves backed down immediately.
"Come. Walk with me."
The trio followed the priestess deeper into the forest. It was far barer than Ahrah since it was situated in the tundra, but a surprising amount of shrubbery still managed to prosper even in such conditions. When they came to a village, Veritas noted that there'd been no sign of any barrier, which probably meant that the snow elves had full control of the forest, making barriers unnecessary.
Sort of like how we pretty much kept the gates open almost all the time back in Konoha before the war started.
"So, now that we're in the safety of the village proper, why have you come here, humans?"
A shivering Gunter stepped forward, volunteering to speak first. "The c-city of Helmstad wants to get rid of you, cl-claiming that you block all their attempts to expand and p-p-prosper. Is there any reason why?"
"I'm sorry, though you are cold, I can offer no meaningful warmth to you. We snow elves are very well adapted to live here, and we do not light fires for purposes outside of cooking and signaling."
"T-That's alright, t-then."
Well, as I mentioned earlier, we've been in and out of conflict with the humans of this area for centuries. They have long desired to pillage our forest of its valuable resources completely, which would leave us destitute because of the greed of a select few." She paced agitatedly. "Those fools believe that stripping the land of all its sustenance will bring them prosperity, when it will only bring about our mutual destruction."
"Hm, it's like that in the real world too." Kirhi frowned. "There's all that trouble about global warming and sustainability nowadays. I think one of the reasons Royal Road is so popular is because you can live a life of extraordinary excess without actually taking resources from the world apart from the equipment you need to play the game."
"Never expected to see environmentalists in-game though, b-but I think it really enhances the p-p-perception that this is a real, functional world."
"What should we do, though? It doesn't seem like the snow elves particularly hate humans, just that they're bitter and suspicious from a long conflict."
"Isn't there any way to make p-peace with the barbarians?" Gunter implored to Nyxia, true to his nature. Conflict with monsters was inevitable, but he believed in the goodness of mankind.
The High Priestess shook her head sadly. "Centuries of conflict have left us apathetic to kindness. At this point, there isn't any way to resolve this conflict peacefully anymore."
"Then what can we do?"
"I believe that it is now time to quit this place and find a new home. It is a shame to leave this forest to be torn down by the humans, but our influence is steadily weakening. In the near future, we may not be able to protect the forest any longer. So, legend speaks of underground forests and oases, special locations filled with magical significance and power, the birthplace of magical beings such as faeries." Nyxia sighed heavily. "Unfortunately, with the increasing aggressiveness of our human... neighbors, we don't have the manpower to search for them."
"I'm guessing you have some idea though, since you brought it up." Veritas put his hand on his chin. "... I'm guessing that these places would give off a signature..."
"That is correct." For a moment, Nyxia looked surprised a human had made such an observation. "It seems the Wood Elves of Ahrah were not wrong in their assessment of you, Veritas. Yes, as fonts of magical power, these locations would give off a magic signature visible through meditation. Unfortunately, so do a variety of other locations, like ancient dungeons and the homes of powerful monsters. These past years, we have spent considerable time searching, with nothing to show for our efforts. I suspect they may possibly be further north, where the terrain, weather, and foes are all far more dangerous than it is here. But the north is vast... too vast..."
"I'm more than willing to offer my assistance," Veritas offered, much to Gunter's despair at the idea of going further north.
"Why would you, human Veritas? What have you to gain?"
"I sure get asked that a lot. Can't you believe that some people want to help for the sake of helping?"
"... I'm sure there are people like that, but forgive me, you don't look like that type of person."
"Hm? Really?" Veritas pulled on his cheeks lightly. "I thought for sure that I looked pretty friendly and helpful..."
"You look more mischievous than helpful, human Veritas."
"Ah. Well, I guess I can't help that. Anyways, if I can help, I will. I can promise you that, and I never go back on my promises."
"Well, seeing as you gained the trust of the secluded Wood Elves of Ahrah, I have no reason not to give you some of my trust. Very well, do as you please, human Veritas." Nyxia lead them into what must have been her home and moved over to a nearby bookcase and rummaged through it, returning with a map of the surrounding area. "Our current location is here. From there, the points of interest are marked on the map. Points we have already examined are crossed out. I will warn you, be careful. This is a dangerous land. One wrong move will mean the end of your lives."
"Hm, the closest POI is just half a day's travel from here," Gunter noted, peering over Veritas' shoulder to examine the map.
"I'm afraid this is all I can help you with. We would investigate the rest of these areas ourselves if we could, but the nearby human settlement would not hesitate to strike us if we showed any sign of weakness in our defenses. At the very least, I can get you a guide, a second at most. Beyond that, as with most other elven races, we do not have the numbers to split our forces too greatly. Our territory is sizable, and keeping up our vigilance across its entire border is straining."
"You can count on us to investigate in your stead," Veritas declared. "Right, guys?"
Unable to protest due to the situation, both Gunter and Kirhi mutely nodded their heads.
"Then, I leave it in your hands."
~ttiring~
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You have been given a quest.
Wasteland Exploration
The Snow Elves of Niflheim have persisted in the frozen wastes of the north for as far back as the emergence of written historical records. But now, with powerful monsters, undead, and humans pressing in against their territory from all directions, the future of the Snow Elves is in question.
Investigate the points of magical concentration to locate for the Snow Elves a new home where they can live in peace and isolation.
Quest Difficulty: D
Rewards: Ornate Frozen Key
Quest Restrictions: Must be on positive terms with the snow elves. Must be completed before Helmstad loses patience and declares war.
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…
Kirhi clicked her tongue irritatedly for the umpteenth time, occasionally interspersed with low mutterings such as "I can't believe this," and "This is ridiculous."
"Kirhi, you're being rude. Veritas-nim's gotten us through a lot of trouble safely before, so I think we should trust his gut instincts." Gunter now wore a heav, but basic fur coat, having managed to find a shop that sold it in the village, despite the lack of needs by the snow elves in regards to warmth.
"Mm, I don't mind if you're angry." Veritas smiled sheepishly. "That's a sort of bad habit of mine, acting impulsively. This won't be the first time you hear me admitting this, and it definitely won't be the last. Trust me, my teacher tried everything, but I'm still like this. So, sorry, but think you can put up with me?"
She sighed and stalked off huffily without a word.
"Veritas-nim, in the future, please keep us in mind when you do things like this. Kirhi and I are less skilled and less powerful than you are, and things that you can do, monsters you can kill, are much harder for us."
"Sorry, Gunter-nim, for giving you two so much trouble."
Gunter looked over at Kirhi, who stood facing a corner some distance away. "She's a bit angry, but she'll calm down after a while. Don't worry too much over it. Like she said when we first met, she's actually easily irritable, but she usually tries to be patient around you, so that she doesn't give off a bad impression."
"Mm... I'll try not to forget that next time."
"Anyway, I'm glad we got the whole snow elf thing sorted out speedily and without any complications. It's all thanks to that medallion."
"Right? The wood elves really gave us something useful, I'm glad I found their village."
"Hey," the archer pointed, "that might be our guide coming over here."
"Good timing, then."
The elf, as they'd guessed, walked up to them. Although they had the High Priestess' approval, humans' attitudes towards the minor elven races had left them distrustful. Veritas could see it in their eyes, the same sort of wariness that used to be directed his way during his childhood. It was so obvious even Gunter, and probably Kirhi, had picked up on it. So the only elves that would even look like they were approaching the group of humans had to be doing so on someone's orders.
"I am the guide that has been appointed to you by the High Priestess," the elf announced. "Follow me."
"Before that, let's do introductions. I'm Veritas."
"... Kirhi."
"And I'm Gunter. Nice to meet you..." He trailed off expectantly.
"... Rem. The High Priestess has tasked me with getting you to where you need to go safely."
"You don't trust us," Veritas stated bluntly.
"Does that even require an answer?"
"I guess it doesn't." He threw a copy of the map to Rem. "Then lead the way. We're headed towards the closest spot from here."
As Rem set off and they followed, Gunter leaned in towards him.
"Are you sure it's alright to just leave it like that?"
"Yeah, it's fine, Gunter-nim. Negative emotions are hard to get rid of. The best way to convince him that we're people worth trusting is to show it in our actions, not just our words."
"That's true."
Next to them, Kirhi sighed very loudly.
"Looks like she didn't like being ignored," the archer muttered under his breath before maneuvering to console the sulky spellcaster.
Boy... This is going to be a long trip...
xxxx
Naruto breathed in deeply. After reaching the POI, they decided it'd be a good time to log out, as the sun was going to set soon. He'd told Rem that they'd return the way they came when they were done there, and that the elf could return to the village without waiting for them to finish. NPCs had lives of their own, and he felt it'd be wrong to leave the elf there for what could be days, as time in Royal Road passed much more quickly. Sure, the trek back would be annoying, especially if they wanted to keep traveling the same direction, but his sensibility as a person came before efficiency.
"You spend too much time in that thing."
You're not my mother, Kurama. I know what I'm doing.
"Oh, really now? Is that why there hasn't been a single drip of income this past month?"
It-it's an investment! I need to make an investment to get a return.
"Hohh, and what would you know about investing anything?"
… Whatever. Leave me alone so I can try to not look so out of place.
Naruto tried not to stand out as he explored the city, but the vividness of his natural blondness meant that, even among a sea of dyed and highlighted hairs, he would stand out regardless of his efforts.
Not to mention he had a few inches on the average Korean citizen.
Whatever, I guess I'll just act like the tourist that everyone thinks I am.
"Heh."
Though he'd been living in the city for about a month, most of that time was spent in the capsule. The times where he wasn't was usually spent exercising, practicing, shopping, or browsing the net. He hadn't actually explored the city of Seoul too thoroughly, which had been an oversight. He had to know where everything was if he didn't want to get lost. A smart phone would be nice, but his budget was thinning as it was, and he deplored the idea of unnecessarily converting more of his remaining ryo.
At least it's a good thing that this world and ours shares some of the same technology. And that I'm making a little progress with learning the language... somewhat...
"Hmph, all you can do is say a few numbers and yeses and nos, it's nothing to be proud about."
Well aren't you just a little ball of sunshine? If you don't have anything useful to say, you should just not say anything.
"When I have nothing to do but sleep and watch you sleep, do you think I'm going to be happy?"
Don't say you aren't used to it, that's all I must've done as a baby. Heck, the stuff I did as a kid probably bored the heck out of you too!
Naruto glanced at a nearby clock, which read 3:00.
I should get going, I promised to be back within an in-game day, so I have an hour or so.
"Hmph. Having time travel faster in that world seems more convenient at first, but when you're not in that world, time is still moving. The days that you miss while in the real world can be crucial. It's both a strength and weakness."
For sure, Royal Road is dominating my life. I eat and sleep around the in-game clock. So this is what the rumored video game addiction is...
"Just make sure to get sufficient nutrition. I don't want to share a body with a decrepit shell of a host."
Yeah, yeah. You know me, the thing I love after learning and using awesome jutsu is food. Especially ramen. It's a shame this city doesn't have a good ramen store.At least, I haven't found one yet.
"What, is that why you're combing the city?"
No, it isn't. Finding good ramen is a bonus.
"..."
Don't judge me!
"Oh, if it isn't Naoto-chan."
He turned around, recognizing the voice. "Ohh, Sung-sook-baachan, I didn't know you came to the city."
Naruto smiled at the old lady. She was small and hunched over from the weakening of bones in old age, and her skin resembled that of prunes. Basically, your typical kind-looking, wizened grandma-type person.
"I'm just here to get a new rice cooker, the one I've been using the past ten years finally broke, you see?"
"You won't get it fixed?"
"I wanted to, because a lot of the old things work the best, but my son told me that the repair cost would be much higher than if I just bought a new cooker. I'm attached to it, but I know the value of money too, so it's time to say goodbye to my trusty cooker."
"Do you need any help?" he offered, thinking amusedly that if this were Tsunade, she'd have thought he was mocking her.
She shook her head, but smiled at the offer.
"I can carry at least a rice cooker. Back in the day, we elderly were much stronger than the ones now, we had to be."
"Ah... I'm sorry." Following Kim Chung-hee's mention of the war, Naruto had looked up information about Japanese aggression during the war. It hadn't been very nice. As one who had lived during that era under that aggression, Sung-sook would always carry the burden of those memories.
So he felt the need to apologize, seeing as he was technically registered as a Japanese, and that it was his native language. It didn't really make too much sense to him either, but he felt he had to give her what consolation he could offer.
"What are you talking about, this is much beyond your time." She stretched to pat him on the shoulder. "Youngsters shouldn't have to apologize for the mistakes of their elders. The elders shouldn't leave it to the youngsters irresponsibly, trying to pass off the blame. Anyways, I'll give you a discount next time you stop by, Naoto-chan."
Jung-sook walked away, waving behind her.
"... You know her from somewhere?"
Geez, what have you been doing all this time, you shitty fox? She's the old lady I buy my vegetables from!
"What do you think I am, some kind of voyeur? I don't always look at what you're doing. In fact, most of the time I don't even want to."
That's funny, coming from a fox who can't do anything else other than sleep or watch me.
"You ingrate. Whose help do you think you needed to beat Madara?"
That was then and this is now. Keep with the times, Kurama.
"That's funny, coming from someone who has the freedom to do whatever he pleases."
Oh, sorry that I didn't get sealed away because I attacked a major village and killed a lot of people.
"You damned... You already know I was being controlled by Madara's Sharingan!"
Hhh, I guess you're not all that big of a hotshot like you say you are if you can get controlled by a pair of human eyes.
"Keep digging your grave, brat."
Heh, I'll make it big enough for the two of us.
xxxx
Veritas returned from patrolling the perimeter and setting up a resupply point, which he'd done since he'd logged on early and had some spare time. One of the things that Kakashi had managed to impart unto him was the concept of vigilance. At the rendezvous point, Gunter and Kirhi had logged in and were waiting for him.
They have to either be living together or near each other or something, because they always log in and out at the same time.
"Veritas-nim, I guess you logged on pretty early." Gunter greeted him, but Kirhi remained stubbornly silent.
Girls, will I ever understand them?
Speaking of the opposite gender, he knew there were people that played using female avatars despite being male, but the vibes he got from Kirhi were that she was indeed female. Although... could he really bash people for playing as females when he had the Sexy no Jutsu in his repertoire? Some people wanted hot virtual bods, the ideal girls they wished for in real life, whereas he could change his appearance at will using his ninja arts.
Eh, I guess I can't blame em then... Men are all beasts, as they say. Although Ero-sennin was a class of his own, hehe.
"Yeah, just making sure the surrounding area is secure. It'd suck if we got ambushed, you know?"
He tried to exude his typical aura of cheerful carelessness, which proved a little difficult when one of the party was giving him the silent shoulder. Gunter, noticing this, nudged her in the shoulder-blade with his elbow.
"That's rude, Kirhi," he admonished.
"Stuff it, Gunter! Stop bothering me."
Veritas made a motion to be cautious, remembering the times when Sakura had been angry like this. If he kept bothering her when she was in that state, the pinkette would mostly send him flying with a Tsunade-style punch. It never stopped hurting, no matter how much he braced himself for the hit. A woman scorned was a fearful thing.
If anything, I'm glad I learned a lot of life lessons before adulthood, when the mistakes really matter. Although I'm pretty sure I'll be making new mistakes then as well. Sigh...
Gunter, taking his advice, backed off and suggested, "Alright, now that we're all here shall we explore this cave?"
The warrior clapped his hands together. "Yes, let's."
They moved into the caves. Occasionally, Gunter would stop and use some of his class' innate skills to check for monsters. Among bow users, there were two main classes: The Archer and its sister class the Woodsman. The Archer promoted into the Ranger and Sniper classes, while the Woodsman promoted into the Hunter and Trapper classes. Excluding secret archery classes, of course. Hunters focused more on detecting monsters, debuffing enemies, and buffing allied pets. Rangers focused more on detecting humanoids and striking with a wide variety of close and long-range skills. The Sniper class focused on powerful extreme-ranged attacks while the Trapper had the best trapping and detection skills among all basic bow classes.
The Archer class and promotions were proficient with the sword, with the Ranger possessing the best affinity for it, while the Woodsman class and promotions were proficient with the axe, with the Trapper possessing the best affinity for it likewise. Snipers possessed the greatest raw damage and Hunters had the greatest raw HP and defenses via pets. Unicorn Corporation had put a lot of effort into balancing the various classes so that, all other things equal, the various classes throughout the games all had their strengths and weaknesses.
But to say that only the bow classes could learn the Detection skill was a bit of a misnomer. Any class could learn the skill. The difference was that each of the bow classes had generous bonus modifiers to the Detection skill that put them above those of other classes, but if one failed to raise the skill level, they could still be outperformed by another class whose skill level was much higher.
Gunter, being the type to enjoy partying, took advantage of this to use the skill whenever possible to raise the mastery of his Detection skill. A good detective ability would be crucial in exploring with parties.
"Nothing around us for up to twenty meters."
Veritas nodded. In real life, he'd have no trouble sensing above and beyond that distance, but here, all of his specs were limited to his stats. It was disappointing, but apart from his sixth sense, martial arts, and combat experience, nothing else had carried over. He could track to an extent because of the near-perfect simulation of the five senses, but even back in Konoha, he'd been one of the worst trackers.
Makes me wish I'd been more diligent with my studies. Ahh, is this what they call the regrets of youth?
They'd only walked a little further when a clear noise split the silence.
~ttiring~
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DUNGEON: You are the very first players to discover Corshim Dungeon!
Reward: Fame +100.
Everyday for one week, the item drop and experience rate will be doubled. The rarest items will drop when killing the first enemy of each type. Subsequent kills will use the normal loot table.
::::
"Well, there goes my sleep schedule," he lamented. He looked at Kirhi, whose demeanor had performed a complete 180. Uwahh, she's all sparkles now...
"Double exp! Double drops! Rare items!" she bubbled excitedly. Catching Veritas' gaze upon her, she turned red and looked away in embarrassment.
"See, Kirhi, all we have to do is trust in Veritas-nim's judgment. He's yet to lead us astray yet."
She kicked him in the shins. "Stuff it!" She then pointed at Veritas. "Don't think this means I forgive you yet!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, so let's go in and kick some ass, shall we? Onward!"
xxxx