I've been in my dungeon for more than a week now. However, less than a day has passed in the real world.
During this time, I've been practicing [Dark Magic]. I got it all the way up to level 8!
Overprepared?
Impossible!
Oh yeah, [Run] also went all the way to level 5. I was just running around to try improve stamina.
I got to be honest, [Dark Magic] is stupidly overpowered!
Essentially, the higher level a spell is, the more you can do with it.
I guess if [Dark Magic] was level 1, all I could do is make cool shadow puppets. But, my [Dark Magic] is level 8!
I've got good progress to report, boss!
First off, I can use darkness as a weapon. I can shoot bullets materialised from my hands that are made up of dure darkness, and stuff like that.
Which means I have a way of long distance battling!
But the coolest thing is... ta-dah!
My [Ebony Daggers] are coated in blackness. I can shred though rocks and stuff now.
I tried on one of those small rocks, and it cut like butter!
For the bigger, boulder-looking ones, well...
...A dozen cuts is still good, okay?!!
Not only that, but I can slink into shadows and pop out of them.
According to [Appraisal], dark magic is totally suuper rare, just like its contrary, light magic.
I have one of the seven wonders in my hands! Bwahaha!
I kind of wish I didn't neglect mana now. A bit further from the Xtrava Meadows live a bunch of magic using monsters, so after the trial I'll go there and kill some.
I want to power-level mana to a minimum of 200!
For the examination, it should be fine. Coating my daggers with darkness takes roughly 50 mana, but it lasts for a pretty long time.
So after that, I'll have 50 mana left.
Each black bullet needs 10 mana, and shadow jumping costs 20 mana.
Well, it really varies. I can make a powerful dark bullet for 100 mana, or I could make a tiny one for 1 mana.
Practically, 10 mana per black bullet should be fine.
Shadow warping also costs different amounts of mana depending on the action.
A quick, sudden warp already costs me 20 mana! Hiding in shadows for a long time will absolutely drain all the mana out of me!
Also, [Reparation] levelled up once as well.
[Reparation] recovers roughly 4 mana every second.
My mana is full right now, so I might as well give a hands-on demonstration.
First, I shoot a 1 mana dark bullet. It hits the wall, leaving no traces of damage.
Next, I shoot a dark bullet worth 10 mana. It hits the wall and leaves some cracks.
After that, I awkwardly sit around and wait for my mana to recharge. I take a few steps back as a precaution, and fire a black bullet; the one worth 100 mana.
When it hits the wall, a low rumbling ensues, and dust covers the area. When the dust settles, a crater the size of my head goes right through!
It shredded about thirty centimetres of rock before evaporating. If that hit an actual monster, it would annihilate them!
However, it takes up all my mana reserves, so I have to use it sparingly.
I can also coat objects in darkness. As I said before, coating something in darkness allows it to gain the 'darkness' attribute, making it super useful in combat!
Coating my daggers take 50 mana. The black can also absorb quite a lot of damage, so I could sprawl one on my body to tank a hit.
After my mana refills, I use my shadow-warping technique.
Essentially, it lets me sneak into someone else's shadow. It also works on non-living things like, well, like rocks. And stone. And boulders. And maybe that wall over there.
...There's not much variety here, okay?
It's mostly just a dungeon, but with no monsters.
The dungeon-y vibe is still there.
Once I enter someone's shadow, I can pop back out, allowing me to quickly teleport.
While I'm in their shadow realm, they also can't attack me.
It's stupid overpowered, but camping in a shadow takes up too much mana, so I only use this function to teleport behind my opponent.
Just two seconds in a shadow takes up all my mana!
And when I run out of mana, I just get popped out! That leaves me wide open!
I have to use magic sparingly.
I don't have much of it, you know?
With nothing better to do anymore, I leave my dungeon.
Let's see... all exams will be held in the Adventurer's Guilds training grounds, except for the practical, which will be held...
...In a dungeon??
Actually, it's not that surprising. Unlike instantaneous dungeons, which are super rare, permanent dungeons have been around since the beginning of time or something.
Since they periodically respawn monsters, it isn't surprising that these dungeons would become monopolised.
You can just farm materials and XP in those.
So lower-tier dungeons can be entirely controlled as long as there's a group strong enough to clear the dungeon without much effort.
Maybe they're using aa D of C ranked dungeon?
If Guild Master Koya, or even Yache was there, they could set up an extermination mission.
And if anything goes wrong, BOOM! Dungeon cleared by overpowered guys, danger: gone!
As I walk into the Adventurer's Guild, a crowd of adventurers swarm the meeting hall.
I see mostly humans and demons, some dwarfs and some beast-folk. I heard that some fancy demon lord is prepping for a war, so I don't get why the humans and demons aren't staring daggers at each other.
Politically, the Adventurer's Guild is neutral, but that doesn't necessarily mean their 'employees' are also neutral.
I suppose those guys are good mates and adventurer buddies before rumours of a war started?
Most of them seem to have some sort of sword, spear or bow & arrow-based classes, but I see a few mages here and there.
I also find some legit dagger classed adventurers, not a fraud like me.
At first glance, my getup gives close range dagger user vibes!
...Which isn't far off.
These guys are wearing all sorts of armour, but most are green-ish yellow.
Practically, I do see why camo would be a popular choice.
Me?
Well, I bought a new pair of pants and a shirt, but most of it is covered by my black leather-looking armour, so I more or less give off emo vibes.
I'm not emo! Okay?
I'm just saying.
"SILENCE!"
Suddenly, the entire hall goes silent. After all, that voice belonged to Guild Master Koya.
No one here would dare defy someone with such power and authority.
Except maybe Misaki - because she's a stupid good-for-nothing.
Well, Guild Master Koya just blabs on about how this trial is super important, and what it means to be a Silver-Badge.
Sure, he says it in a loud, presentable voice, but that doesn't change the fact that he's yapping about boring administrative stuff.
After a hype-up speech, he leads us the guild's huge training fields.
This must have cost a fortune!
Guild Master Koya announces the requirements for the fitness evaluation.
He summons a bunch of fist-sized rocks, some as big as a head, and a few literal boulders the size of me!
The small rocks are each worth 10 points, the slightly larger ones 20, and the boulders, a whole whooping 500 points!
You only need to get 200 points in a ten-minute timeframe, so it should be easy enough to do.
But then comes the catch, no weapons or magic! Just pure stats.
A few rich-looking kids who seem like their gear carries them look down in disappointment.
I quickly [Appraise] one of them.
What the heck?!
With his armour and the boosts that come along with it, his stats reach 400?!?!
Haha! It's hopeless for him! His base stats are 150 or so!
Er, how come I get an instant promotion?
I'm not much better than him, am I?
I can only think of two reasonable explanations.
First: I progressed really fast, so I'm getting a guaranteed promotion due to potential.
Or: Singlehandedly taking down 4 rank Cs really was that impressive.
It might actually be a mix of both. Sure, from a pure stat perspective, I'm one of the biggest runts here.
But I also have skills. Normally, the maximum number of skills you can obtain is 5, but [Absorption] evaluates that all the way up to 10.
And trust me, skills can make a HUGE difference.
[Appraisal] is also useful in combat. I can check my opponent's skills, stats and other stuff like their health bars and mana.
Knowing my enemies' weaknesses and strengths allows me to make an easy countermeasure.
I'm pretty sure the 'normal' skill for checking stats and stuff is [Inspect].
However, [Inspect] can only let you see your own status and any items near you.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
You can't [Inspect] your foe, nor can you use it to gather information.
It's essentially an inferior version of [Appraisal].
Guild Master Koya - actually, you know what? 'Guild Master Koya' is waay tooo looong ooof a naaame.
How about GM Koya?
Yeah... nope. That downright sounds weird.
But 'Koya' also sounds wacky. That just removes the authority.
Master Koya?
No. Just no.
I think I'll stick with Guild Master Koya for now.
Anyway, Guild Master Koya announces the beginning of the test.
Most people rush to the twenty-pointers. They are the most value, after all.
But me? Nah. I'm guaranteed to get the Silver-badge anyway, so I might as well go for the big fish.
I sprint past the crowd and go for the boulders.
Only a few other people go for those.
I punch the boulder with all my might.
Yeowch!
I heard some cracks, but those were probably my bones dislocating. A tiny dent forms on the boulder.
I can't make myself a laughing stock!
Wait... I might've found a loophole...
Guild Master Koya said no magic attacks, but he never mentioned anything about magic empowerment!
I coat both my hands in darkness and try slicing the oversized rock. I go for a right hook, smack-bam in the centre.
I managed to make a decent crater - roughly the size of my fist. Considering the damage a pure black bullet would do, it isn't very impressive.
I'm not made for hand-to-hand combat!
In my fights, I use my daggers, not my hands! ...Wait...
I totally forgot about my legs! My kicks are pretty heavy and they're also effective.
It feels like a waste of mana, but I cancel the cloak of black covering my hands.
With my remaining mana, I can manage to cover one leg from knee to toe.
Thanks to [Melee], I gain impressive amounts of momentum from a spin. Using that force, I kick the boulder once more.
I hear a deafening rumble.
Some adventurers look at me in awe.
Guild Master Koya raises an eyebrow.
I stand there dumbfounded, with my leg stuck in the hard rock.
From another person's perspective, a single one of my kicks broke halfway through the boulder, which in theory, should be an instant 250 points.
What they don't know is that I also dislocated my knee since it wasn't really covered in dark magic, and my foot is stuck in the boulder.
Please look away
Thankfully, [Reparation] manages to heal my kneecap fast enough that I yank it out before the crowd notices my 'oopsies'.
I puff out my chest and stand up tall. Should I do a cool pose?
NO! Rena, you idiot! Who the heck strikes goofy poses in the middle of an examination?
This time, I take a slight run-up, before leaping into the air and kicking the top half. My leg smashes into the boulder, and it topples downwards.
500 points already! And only four minutes have passed! I can go for another one!
The mana surrounding my foot begins to disappear.
I check my mana. It's refilled enough that I can cover my entire leg - just one though.
However, I try a new strategy.
Instead of evenly distributing the mana around my leg, I condense it to engulf just a foot.
Either this works splendidly or fails spectacularly. I whirl around, increasing velocity before going in for a quick kick on the next boulder.
Although it takes some effort, I still manage to slice the entire thing in one kick.
It crashes down with a dull thud, and the ground itself slightly trembles.
The entirety of adventurers cease their actions and look, utterly baffled.
Except for the rich looking kids. With such low stats and almost no worthwhile skills, they struggle on breaking the 10-pointers.
5 minutes remain.
I see some bulky dudes snarl at me.
Aren't they part of Misaki's simp army?
I have a bad feeling about this.
Well, I might as well bask in the light for as long as I can. I knock down another boulder with a roundhouse kick.
I know it sounds really impressive - actually, for Bronze-badges transitioning into Silver-badges -it IS impressive, but the 'boulders' are really just the size of me.
165-ish centimetres tall, and 40 or so centimetres wide.
H-height-wise! Height wise, okay? I DEFINITELY am not 40 centimetres wide!
My bad, I got lost in thought again.
It's not as cool as I hoped it would be, but I've only been here for a week.
If I keep on farming monsters, I might even be able to clear the impossible hurdle: Silver to Gold!
Getting from Bronze-badge to Silver-badge is well within the reach of a normal person.
However, the jump from Silver-badge to Gold-badge is way harder!
The highest born C rank is still overall 300 stats lower than the lowest born B rank!
A whole 300!
You'd essentially have to double your stats as a rank C just to reach that milestone!
And since required XP is cumulative, you wouldn't be able to progress much afterwards.
Levelling up would become almost impossible, like a fat roadblock.
Luckily for me, I have the perfect solution: [Absorption]!
[Absorption] allows me to increase my stats without the need to level up. In fact, it gives more stats than the level-up +1 and the 5 CP combined!
[Absorption] and [Appraisal] are both the real MVP's here.
Guild Master Koya smiles at me, before summoning a legit boulder from the ground!
This giant sphere has a diameter double my height!
Er, I think I'll pass on that.
The people around me inch backwards as well.
Guild Master Koya frowns.
I remember what Charles said before.
You should get on Guild Master Koya's good side
I give a wry smile. It's do or don't!
I pour more mana into my foot. The darkness engulfs it, as if entirely consuming my foot.
It's so dark the sunlight doesn't even reflect anymore.
Is this what pure blackness looks like?
Wait... never mind. Some glint of light still reflects off my foot.
Oh well.
I do some fancy footwork and acrobatics, spinning even faster than before, rapidly gaining both momentum and velocity.
I sort of hear the air whooshing past.
I quickly get good footing right before I hit the boulder, and smash as hard as I can.
Dust starts building up. Did I do it?
Nope. I got a nice crater with some cracks surrounding the centre.
But the boulder didn't even budge.
Duh. What was I expecting?
Guild Master Koya looks impressed though, so I guess it's a good thing?
Ugh. I used up all my mana doing that.
Good thing for me, next up is a written exam. I can replenish my mana and use [Appraisal] to cheat - er, I mean, I can use the knowledge I got while spending tireless hours in my dungeon studying to ace it!
After that, is the magic exam.
My mana is pretty flimsy, and I'm nowhere near being a mage, but any extra credit is fine by me.
In fact, I mostly just use dark magic to boost my close-combat capabilities. Mana-embedment, shadow jumping and stuff like that.
I wait for the next slow three minutes to pass.
The rich kids look like they might not make it.
They look really primitive right now.
They're just smashing the 10-pointer rocks against each other.
It's kind of embarrassing when you think we have similar base stats. I'm totally acing this, while they're...
...they're... getting the 'effort' prize at best.
One of the rich kids starts smiling furiously. Oh? It looks like he's about to break his tenth 10-pointer and pass the physical examination.
I can almost see it in slow motion. Unfortunately for him, I know something he doesn't.
As the rock slo~owly moves downwards, the ten-minute mark hits him like a truck.
Poof!
The stone he was holding, and the stone he was about to smash it into both turn jelly-ish and vanish into the ground.
Bad luck, I guess.
I can set timers with [Appraisal]. Useful, huh?
"This marks the end of the physical examination! Our top scorer, with a total of 2,000 points, is... RENA!" bellows Guild Master Koya.
2,000? I thought I only broke three mini-boulders. Did the final kick impress him so much that I got an extra 500 points?
Well, this is something else. I didn't expect to come first.
Guild Master Koya continues his speech "...Second, is Poile, with a score of 420! And third, we have Nuay, with a score of 370!"
All the eyes in the room turn to me again.
Ah. I too, did not expect such a big gap.
I do a quick [Appraise]. Poile has the highest damage stat of 350, and Nuay has the second highest; a stat of 310.
And yet... I became such a huge outlier?
Does magic infusion work that well?
Poile complains. "B-but Master Koya! She cheated! Rena used magic! We all saw it!"
Figures. An attack stat of 350 is certainly not something to joke about. Here, the range of stats vary from roughly 200 to 300.
An average of 250. 350 is still 100 CP higher! 20 whole level-ups!
Of course, you would expect to come first and not fall short by a mile.
Unfortunately for Poile, I took a legitimate loophole. In fact, it wasn't even a loophole.
Guild Master Koya emphasised on only attack magic being banned. It's as if he was trying to hint on something.
And turns out I was the only one to bright enough to pick up on that. In fact, Guild Master Koya literally flames Poile!
"Cheated? I did not see any 'cheating'. I clearly noted that only attack magic was banned. It was your own incompetency that led you to fail to notice such a fact. Even if I said magic was allowed, would it make a difference? Only few wield magic with the expertise Rena has shown. Even fewer have unlocked the mastery path to [Dark Magic], one so rare it is rumoured to directly descend from Satan."
Sure, the roasting was nice, but Guild Master Koya just dropped a huge bombshell. A direct descent from the magic used by a god?
I do a quick [Appraisal]. Yep. [Light Magic] descends from God, [Dark Magic] from Satan.
It also means that those two are the strongest elements, since they were used by bona fide gods and all.
If a god preferred a certain property of magic, there has to be a reason, right?
These gods were totally battling it out, meaning they chose the strongest magic in their arsenal.
Holy crap... I really want to increase my mana now!
No wonder why [Dark Magic] seemed so strong.
I need more of it!
While I was daydreaming, Poile shrunk back into the crowd, frowning in shame.
We get a break before the written exam starts.
As I walk around the court, I hear some distinct chattering. Mostly complaining. This one conversation stood out to me.
[Appraisal] was still adding subtitles, so I can replay the conversation.
<[Geoffrey]: Why do they have a written exam?
[Kester]: Cause they don't want dumb people like you joining, Geoffum Bum.
[Geoffrey]: Can you stop acting like a two-year-old?
[Kester]: Geoffum Bum.
[Geoffrey]: *sighs* I knew I had no hope getting a good job. My family runs a farm, and I'm too busy helping out to do academeeks. I failed my JCE after all.
[Kester]: It's 'acadamics', not 'academeeks'. Besides, how did you fail the Job Certification Exam? Even I got a 63%!
[Geoffrey]: Look, unlike your spoilt arse, I had to grow up helping out on the farm! I had no time to study, but all the working made me pretty strong, so I figured becoming an adventurer could work. They get paid decent.
[Kester]: Geoffad Sad.
[Geoffrey]: SHUT UP!>
Okay, this 'Kester' guy was pretty weird.
But this seems like a common reason people become adventurers.
Most commoners can't afford schooling. Either that, or they have to help the family work to make enough money.
So, schools are actually for nobility.
Well, the schools for nobility are known as 'Academies'.
'Schools' are for the richer lower class. No nobility would want to associate themselves with peasants.
It's a bit disheartening, but it isn't my problem. Geoffrey can learn to deal with it himself.
A loiter around until Guild Master Koya finally announces the end of our rest break.
Next, we get taken to a large hall. Each desk has a corresponding chair, a pencil and a sheet of paper.
Some illiterate guys get taken to another room for a verbal examination instead...
...Okay, wow. Almost a quarter got deported to the 'special' room.
I guess the lack of education is more serious than I thought?
Eh, still not my problem...
I choose a seat in the far corner.
Sure feels like I'm back in school again.
A magitech clock appears on a large screen, and the test begins.
Question 1. What is the first thing to do when approaching a monster?
Unlike the other examinees who spent their days picking flowers and doing other odd jobs, I have practical experience.
I don't even need to ask [Appraisal]!
In the strange runes, I write: Gauge the strength of the monster before deciding on an appropriate countermeasure.
A bunch of these monster-handling questions pop up. I use [Appraisal] a few times to answer them, but I can do most of them myself.
After that, I see some math questions.
What is three squared divided by 2?
I just stare at the paper blankly. What the heck?
This is the final question - an optional 500 marker question.
Really? Thats it?
4.5
I hand in my test paper with an hour to spare. In half an hour, I finished all of it.
I glance around, and see some adventurers struggling on questions like 7 times 2.
Some of them are no-joke, using their fingers!
Actually, the final question was the only one with decimals. Yeah. The most complicated question was a decimal question.
Not even fractions.
With my test finished, I leave the hall.
Guild Master Koya sees me and walks towards me.
"Finished the written exam already?" he questions.
"Yep"
He looks unsure and walks into the examination room. He asks the moderator to hand him my test paper.
Guild Master Koya grabs it and walks outside.
Um, why is he personally marking it?!?!
I hear an audible gulp come from somewhere. Oh. It came from me.
Guild Master Koya makes weird 'hrmm' and 'hmm?' sounds as he marks my paper.
Are those good or bad 'Hmms'??
After a few tense minutes, he places the paper on his lap.
"Absolutely fabulous, Rena! 500/500! Full marks! And you even got the challenge question correct! Splendid, truly splendid. 1000 for your written exam! Your total number of points add up to 3,000 now!"
Whoa. I thought I did well during the exam, felt nervous when he was marking it, but now?
I'm shocked. I was expecting a few marks lost to errors.
Guild Master Koya points to some wall of fame.
Silver-badge examination records.
1. Feirune - 5,000
2. Shun - 4,500
3. Katia - 3,000
"Rena, you certainly have the potential to get your name on that board. I presume you are doing the magical test?"
I nod.
"I see," says Guild Master Koya, "If you continue to achieve this high, you could get a score of 6,000!"
Wait whaa? 6-6,000??
Thats way higher than first place! If I don't sell my elo and continue this streak, my name could get carved onto that tablet!
Oh boy, now I'm getting pumped.
With an hour to spare, I go to the receptionist's desk, only to see... Misaki.
"Hello, beggar"
What is her problem?
"What do you want?" I respond in a husky tone.
"Nothing! Nothing at all..." She says, before whispering something to herself. Unfortunately for her, [Appraisal] catches on.
<[Bitch]: It would be a shame if something happened during your practical exam>
Oh yeah. Did I forget to mention I can nickname people? Well, Misaki is certainly going to try to do something to me today. Maybe she'll use her army of simps to beat me up or something? No use worrying though. I'll just deal with the matter when it comes.
Walking past the receptionist's desk, I take a few turns before arriving at Gyras' store.
A bell jingles as I walk in, and his head pops out from behind a shelf.
"Aha! How 'yer doin, Rena? 'Yer looking fer summin?"
I swear his accent got stronger!
"I'd like to buy some boots that can store conferred mana."
"Oh? 'Tas some rare items indeed! Lucky for 'yer, I got just the right thing!"
Gyras shuffles back to the counter, and takes out a pair of boots. I give them a quick [Appraise].
Armour: 500 Durability: 6,000 Resistance: 700 Specials: Can store up to 300 mana in reserves. Passively repairs itself (+1 durability/minute)> Damn, these sure are nice! Just one BIG issue though... "...Er, I don't think I can afford the [Highwalker Boots]" "T'sall good, Rena! I sold the [Roach Daggers] 'yer gave me 'fer 20 gold coins! That guy was such an eccentric collector. I'll sell these ter 'ya fer 10 gold coins!" According to [Appraisal], the [Highwalker Boots] are worth 30 gold coins! This is a once in a lifetime deal! But... "...Sorry Gyras, but I don't have 10 gold coins on me. Is it fine if I deposit 5 gold coins and pay the rest later?" Gyras just laughs. Thats a good laugh, right? "Ahah! Sure, missus! 'Ere, take them boots!" Looks like my business partner strategy worked, after all! I give Gyras my 5-gold coin deposit and try on my new boots. Whoa... So, this is what C-ranked gear feels like. It's probably on the low end of C-ranked gear, but a C-rank is still a C-rank. I dump all my mana into the deposits. However, that only fills it unto a third. I now have a theoretical mana count of 400! Thank you Gyras, thank you! Well, I still have quite some time before the magical test. I can easily store my boots with 300 mana within that time frame. The way things are looking, I should be able to come first and get that prize money. Hopefully the prize money is worth at least 5 gold coins. There's no interest on these boots, but it would feel bad if I returned the money after a month or something. I have to maintain this business partner relationship so I get all the perks a regular would get! Well... Gyras is a blacksmith, right? So, what if, instead of selling monster parts to the Adventurer's Guild, I sell them to Gyras? Monster claws, fangs and whatever can be crafted into weapons go to Gyras and materials such as skin and fur to the Adventurer's Guild? Sounds about right. Haha! I'm monopolising the entire town! I'm totally the [Demon Lord] of the financial world, right? ... I actually don't have much to do. Guess I'll practice more [Dark Magic] in my dungeon with my boosted mana.