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The Survival Guide of Hell-Difficulty Characters
Chapter 9: We Should Use Other Titles

Chapter 9: We Should Use Other Titles

A magic missile struck the monster’s head, crushing its armor and digging deep into its mushed skull. The spell’s reaction with the surrounding fire caused an explosion that spewed flesh and green blood in every direction.

[Killed the ]

[Achievement Unlocked: 'Boss Killer' - Kill your first Boss Monster.]

[You’ve earned some EXP!]

[Achievement Unlocked: 'Wow, a Dungeon!' - Clear the ]

[You’ve earned some EXP!]

[Due to the environment , EXP has been doubled!]

[Greatest contributor is ‘Silas Salvador’. EXP has been distributed.]

[‘Silas Salvador’ has leveled up! LVL: 8]

[ of ‘Silas Salvador’ has been refilled.]

[‘Ruelle Peregrine’ has leveled up! LVL: 8]

“Awh, you caught up to me now,” Crowfest joked as the flames around them died down. Along with the boss monster’s defeat, the dungeon’s environment got magically restored to its calm, flameless state, leaving only the minute traces of their battle. “Just because you got the last hit.”

“It’s not my fault the system calculated the last hit as part of the contribution,” RetiZn responded with a shrug, the cheery grin on his lips mimicking the girl’s own jesting smile. “Well now, should we reap our hard-earned rewards?”

Ruelle managed to get ahead of him due to his injured foot. As he carefully made his way around the spider corpse, an electric blue spark manifested in the air before them. The embers grew larger until a portal appeared, accompanied by a pillar of light, much similar to the one they’d seen back at the regular Monster Room.

As expected, the dissipating light revealed a large chest. Its metallic body had a shiny golden trim with gemstones dotting around as extravagant decorations. Ruelle only tapped it lightly with her hand and the chest automatically swung open. The dramatic light show glimmering from within brought a chill of anticipation down their spines, and soon several shadows emerged from within.

[ cleared!]

[You’ve earned: x1 ]

[You’ve earned: x1 ]

[You’ve earned: x3 ]

With the rewards automatically secured inside their inventory, Ruelle took out one of them. It had a spherical shape with a translucent surface, almost like an oversized marble. “Should we open them now?” She spoke without facing Silas, excitement clear on her wide grin.

The smartest choice would be to save these rewards for the future. They had no determined ‘class’ just yet, and the is only unlocked once the player had gotten at least three non-equipment skills. Even if one of them use both the skill books, they would be just one short.

While the quality of the randomized items varies based on individual luck, Dungeon Regime also increases the chance of getting the player’s class-related item. Many people opted to save these types of rewards for the later stages in the game because of the boosted percentage. Without a class, whatever equipment they will get now truly lies in the hands of fate.

Some players, mainly streamers, do use the Tutorial Dungeon rewards immediately as a way to randomize their class. But RetiZn prefered an optimized playstyle, similarly to how Crowfest like boosting her ‘Damage per Second’ even by a miniscule amount.

“I mean…” In the end, Rez could only sigh in defeat. They don’t have the luxury to be picky with what they have, and any delays could lead to their deaths. He took out his own orb as well. “As much as I hate to do this…we need every power boost we could get our hands on. Who knows how many more errors like Arachne would appear in the future.”

Crow’s expression turned grim at his words as she gave an understanding nod in response. “You’re right, and it’s not just dungeons either…We barely know anything about Silas and Ruelle’s routes. From now on, this is a blind run.”

But then she suddenly grinned. “Well, anyway! Let’s leave that to our future selves, I’m opening these!” Like an enthusiastic child on Christmas, Crowfest activated the orb in her hand. It let out a gentle glow as its form began to shift.

[Used x1 ]

[Congratulations! You recieved: x1 ]

< Equipment Description >

Name: Darkwing Mantle

Tier: B

Type: Cape

Class: Rogue

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Stats: (+3) to Speed

Effects

* Grants Equipment Skill

* Grants Equipment Skill

<<>>

A fur-trimmed coat appeared in her hands. Its body was a deep, pure black, like the shadows given form. The silky smooth surface felt comfortable on her bare palms, and the fluffy fur around the collar added depth to its simplistic design.

“A…Darkwing Mantle!?” Crowfest exclaimed in disbelief as she immediately equipped it. The cloak manifested itself around her body, covering the dirty dress beneath. She twirled around in her new attire, dragging the coat’s hem along the floor with her.

RetiZn could only stare at her, equally as baffled at her unbelievable luck. The Randomized rewards from the Tutorial Tower only gave up to B-tier items, and the Darkwing Mantle can very well be one of the best equipment for an early game rogue class build. “…Just wow.”

“Right!? This is literally the best item for a rogue!” Crowfest came to a stop in front of Rez, practically flaunting the cloak in his face. He couldn’t even bring himself to be mad at her ridiculous behavior, after all, he definitely would have done the same. “There’s a secret crafting recipe that requires the Darkwing Mantle, I couldn’t get it before since I accidentally hit a death route but I’m going to get it in this run!”

RetiZn gave her a blank look. “What secret recipe?”

“Oh, it’s not a known information,” she rolled her eyes, a smug grin creeping to her lips. “I found out about it a while ago, who would be crazy enough to share it? I’m keeping all the overpowered gear to myself, thank you very much~”

Seeing his partner received something so great, Rez felt jealousy burning him from the inside out. He frowned in contempt and activated his own orb. “Just you wait, I’ll get something good from this too.”

Their eyes fixated on the sphere’s gentle glow, and as its form began to shift, the tension grew heavier around the two of them. Silently, Crowfest was rooting for her friend to receive a nice reward too.

[Used x1 ]

[Congratulations! You received: x1 ]

< Equipment Description >

Name: Hexbringer

Tier: C

Type: Accessory

Class: Mage

Stats: (+2) to MAG

Effects

* Grants Equipment Skill

<<>>

Even when the reward had already appeared in his hand, both of them still remained silent. The shock of receiving a choker of all things had left them utterly speechless. But soon, Crowfest broke the ice, speaking carefully as if trying to avoid a landmine. “Um…I think it would fit you well, Rez.”

“‘Fit me well’ my ass.” The choker had a smooth, black leather body, adorned with a diamond-shaped pendant hanging by a silver hook; the clear blue gemstone in the middle indeed matched well with Silas Salvador’s eyes. “I’ve never seen this thing before, it’s garbage, isn’t it?”

“No?” RetiZn didn’t want to believe her, but Crowfest sounded completely serious. The furrow of her brows almost made him think she was offended in the choker’s place. “It’s not the best, but it's decent equipment for this stage of the game. Bring up its skill menu for me.”

< Skill Description >

Name: Hexbringer

Type: Equipment Skill

Tier: C

Origin: Hexbringer Pendant

Effects

* Increases the chance to inflict to the enemy by 20%.

* Ignore the target’s Status Resistance or Immunity of C-tier and below.

* Increase the wearer’s resistance to by 20%.

<<>>

“If you want me to be completely honest, I’ve never used this thing for more than three dungeon runs, but it has its niche,” Right now, Crowfest looked like a salesman trying to convince him to purchase her products…and he still does not feel like buying. “…Look, for a story player like you, this pendant could possibly negate any poison damage! Poison! Since we’re aristocrats, I’m sure there will be plenty of poisoning attempts!”

Rez stared at her with narrowed eyes, for some reason, he felt as if there’s something more she’s not saying out loud. “Uh huh, and?”

Crow threw her hands in the air. “Ugh! Just wear it for the plus two magic!”

“Well, she’s not wrong about that. Extra stat points are extra stat points.” He thought to himself, in the end yielding to Crowfest’s demands and equipped the accessory. Surprisingly, the leather felt comfortable against his neck.

What he doesn’t feel comfortable about though, is the fact that Crowfest kept grinning at him. He let out a tired sigh and looked at her with suspicion. “What is it this time?”

”I’m not going to tell you, duh~” She couldn’t speak properly from attempting to hold back her giggles.

Even if she refused to say her reasons, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out her thoughts. Rez had gotten familiar with that distinct look in her eyes; the way she stared at him as if her mere gaze alone could devour him whole. “You…You crazy fangirl, I know you’re thinking about Silas wearing a dog collar!”

“PFFT—HAHAHHA!” Crowfest almost fell over from laughing, her cheeks became as red as a tomato, but it could never be compared to the look of sheer humiliation on RetiZn’s face. “Oh my god, Rez. I’m getting second-hand embarrassment…How the heck did you come to that conclusion? You’re the crazy one here, not me!”

Rez brought his staff in front of him, though its lean pole did nothing to hide his body. All he could do was look away, not daring to meet her eyes. “If that’s…if that’s not it then why did you look at me like that?”

“Duh,” Crow rolled her eyes, speaking as if stating the obvious. “About how good Silas look in that ‘dog collar’, of course.”

“I KNEW IT.” He turned around, dragging the staff along with him. The sound of Crowfest’s laughter echoed around the cave, louder than the one before. He couldn’t grasp how she could say something so embarrassing without even a stutter.

“No. I’m a man of reason who does not indulge in a fangirl’s behavior. I am calm...calm…” As he repeated his silent chants to himself, something caught his attention from the corner of his eyes. “Huh?”

Seeing RetiZn suddenly begin limping elsewhere, Crowfest followed him curiously. “Rez?”

“Is that what I think it is?” He pointed with his chin. The cavern walls appeared ordinary at first glance, but Crow managed to spot a dark symbol etched into the stone.

When Rez placed his hands on the eye-shaped inscription, a line of light split the walls open, and the newly made entrance parted to reveal a small room within.

[Achievement Unlocked: 'Treasure Hunter' - Discover your first !]

[You’ve earned some EXP!]

[Achievement Unlocked: 'Oh, there you are!' - Find a as a ]

[You’ve received x1 ]

“Ah…haha,” Now, Crowfest could barely let out a proper laugh. She leaned her non-injured shoulder against the wall, staring in disbelief at the they had desperately tried to search for. “Wow, look Rez, we got a point zero one percent achievement! I’m so happy~ yay~”

”…” RetiZn leaned his whole weight against his staff, feeling the strength drained from his legs. “…I think I’m gonna throw up.”