"Xiao Lan, I heard someone say your strength seems to have increased. Is that true?"
At Sithran's home, the members of the Morning Wind Squad had gathered together. They had all rushed over after hearing that some street thugs had caused trouble for Sithran.
After seeing that the person in question had not suffered any injuries and even looked radiant, everyone visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Sithran gave them a reassuring smile. She was also happy to see everyone had come to check on her.
"I went to heal that thug and then beat him up again. He really was quite strong," Shuen said. "He should have been about as strong as you, but the bystanders all said you killed him in one move. What happened?"
"Actually, I encountered something incredible in Sain Underground City."
Sithran slowly recounted what had happened to her in the dungeon. Just as expected, everyone wore looks of astonishment after hearing the story.
The Summoning Finger Medicine? An ally's helper and an enemy fighter? Hound's Step? Campfires and leveling up at them?
One unheard-of thing after another opened their eyes.
"What does the Summoning Finger Medicine look like? Was the person who helped you alive?"
"I'm more curious about this Campfire you mentioned."
"Yeah, yeah! Killing monsters lets you—uh, what was that word again? 'Level up' on the 'panel'? And what exactly is a panel?"
As Sithran had expected, everyone was most interested in the Campfire.
To adventurers, strength was everything. Now that there was something that could rapidly make them stronger, naturally everyone paid close attention.
"Basically, you obtain souls after killing monsters, then use those souls to level up at a Campfire."
"Souls!?" The mage Aili's expression changed. "Using souls to become stronger is a blasphemous act only necromancers would commit."
"Oh, the soul I'm talking about isn't the same as the one you mean." Sithran did not know how to explain it, so she simply said, "Just tell me whether you'd use this Campfire or not."
". . . I would."
"Then that settles it."
She stood up and clapped her hands. "Talking about it is useless. Tomorrow, I'll take you there to see it for yourselves."
The next morning, everyone arrived at the entrance to Sain Underground City early.
The aboveground structures of Sain Underground City consisted of a damaged and collapsed ancient city. It was not very large and had been overgrown with vines and moss, making people wonder what had happened there in the past, why the Ancient City had been destroyed, and where its residents had gone.
Now, however, with adventurers arriving in droves, the Ancient City was bustling with noise. Some merchants had even paid to repair the buildings and set up shops inside. The foot traffic here exceeded that of Bed City's commercial street. Even some small vendors unrelated to the dungeon had come to set up stalls, conveniently attracting nearby residents as well.
Many idle people liked gathering here to comment on the adventurers entering and leaving the dungeon. Thus, anyone with business sense had opened taverns nearby, and business was booming.
Under the light of the rising sun, the lost Ancient City had once again burst into vibrant life.
"Is it just me, or are there even more people here than before?" Aili looked around and felt that there really were more people.
"Most of them are miners," Danya said. "Count Philip sent out twice as many miners. That's the only reason Blood Crystal production has barely caught up with what it was before the mutation."
"Wouldn't that mean they're losing money?" Shuen asked.
"No." Sithran shook her head. "Every few days, a miner manages to bring out a rare Purple Bloodstone. Even a small piece is worth as much as House of Bede's investment."
"Oh." Shuen nodded, though it was hard to tell whether he had truly understood.
The number of miners had doubled, but the number of adventurers had not increased much compared with before. The sudden increase in Sain Underground City's difficulty had discouraged a large number of people, while new adventurers who had hurried over from elsewhere after hearing the news filled the vacancy. As the "clumsy players" dwindled and the "hardcore players" joined in, the number of adventurers would surely continue to grow.
The actual entrance to Sain Underground City was a Teleportation Gate at the far end of the city. To enter, they had to queue up and pay attention to the interval between each person's entry.
If the entry times were within two minutes of one another, they could explore the dungeon together. If the difference exceeded two minutes, they would not encounter each other and would explore separately without affecting one another.
Queuing was one of the most disgusting things life forced people to endure, even more disgusting than Sain Underground City's poisonous swamp.
After a long and tedious wait, the Morning Wind Squad finally got their wish and entered the dungeon.
Sithran already knew the routes through the upper levels by heart, and she led everyone swiftly through the Swamp Area. When they arrived at Blighttown, she took the Great Shield off her back.
Shuen's mouth twitched. "Although I've been meaning to ask why you've been carrying a Great Shield, you're not planning to use it here, are you?"
"Why not?"
Sithran shrugged, raised the Great Shield and spear, and walked alone at the very front. As she fought the monsters, she did not forget to turn around and say:
"Want to give it a try? I guarantee you'll fall in love with them."
Shuen hesitated for a moment before refusing.
Danya and Aili went without saying; their strength was even lower.
However, people's minds could change.
After watching Sithran fight several battles, Shuen suddenly said:
"How about . . . letting me try?"
Sithran remembered what Gong Qiying had once said, then smiled. "You want to learn? I'll teach you."
A moment later.
"Shield poking is so much fun!"
Not long afterward, the adventurers defeated the Giant Cursed Frog and lit the Campfire. With Sithran, a "veteran" who had already cleared it once, leading them the entire way, none of them died, though they did suffer some injuries.
However, there was no avoiding the scares.
The various disgustingly malicious traps made the mental strain they unleashed no less intense than if one or two people had died!
Shield poking was not omnipotent, either. When they encountered something they could not deal with, they still had to obediently switch back to their usual weapons.
As soon as the other three sat down beside the Campfire, they immediately began shouting excitedly. They finally learned what the so-called panel actually looked like.
The last time Sithran had come, Gong Qiying had basically made her fight monsters the entire time, which was why she had accumulated several thousand souls.
This time, there were more people, and everyone had killed monsters, so the souls they obtained were naturally divided among them. Danya and Aili had a few hundred each, while Shuen had more than two thousand.
Danya said, "I need more than four hundred souls to gain one level."
"Huh? I only need two hundred!" Aili said in surprise.
". . ." Shuen was silent for a moment. "I need more than a thousand to gain one level."
Everyone's initial stats on their panels were 1, but judging from the current situation, different people required different amounts of souls to level up.
The stronger a person was, the more souls they probably needed to level up!
This time, the Giant Cursed Frog also dropped an item: [Giant Cursed Frog's Soul]. However, there was only one.
After discussing it, everyone decided to give it to Shuen because he had contributed the most during the battle.
Sithran discovered that she could no longer use the [Giant Cursed Frog's Soul] to enhance her physique at the Campfire. She could only convert it into souls for leveling up. It seemed the special effect had an upper limit for each person.
"Strength. I can feel strength surging through me."
Shuen put all the souls into strength and immediately began exclaiming, "Ohhh!" Add a golden special effect, and he would have turned into a Super Saiyan.
Danya put one level into agility, while Aili put one level into intelligence. A single level was not a particularly obvious improvement, but the growth in their strength still delighted them.
"With this thing, becoming a Gold Adventurer wouldn't even be a problem!" Aili's eyes were filled with longing for the future.
"That's hard to say. Once other people learn about this place, their leveling speed might surpass ours," Sithran said.
Danya pondered for a moment before looking up and asking, "Other than you, has anyone else discovered this place?"
"I don't know. So far, I haven't heard of anyone else clearing this level. Why?"
"I think . . ."
Danya stared intently at the Campfire and slowly said:
"Something like this is best enjoyed on a small scale."
I was turned into a sieve by the repeating-crossbow ratmen from Shamen Village. Thinking back on the painful history of Anor Londo.
And who did Yin Tiger learn that fast-and-slow blade technique from? Even Morgott wasn't that ridiculous. Damn!
Before you continue