NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 7: - Equipment Selection
“Can you tell me about the dungeon?”
On the morning of the fourth day since my reincarnation, after breakfast, I asked Anneliese about the dungeon.
“Dungeons are dangerous.”
“I understand that. Despite that, I’d like advice on how to prepare and what to keep in mind so I don’t die in the dungeon. Just so you know, I know nothing about dungeons. Please give me some advice.”
Anneliese nodded and thought for a moment.
“You should start by gathering information about the features of the dungeon and the monsters inside.”
“Could you provide me with that information?”
“It would be better for you to obtain such information from the Explorer’s Guild. They have documents you can read.”
“Understood. Anything else?”
“Detecting traps is crucial.”
“How do I do that?”
“Taking a Scout-type job with you would be the best option.”
“I plan to enter the dungeon alone, so please provide advice with that in mind.”
“I will accompany you.”
“No, that’s…”
Carrying Anneliese on my back while exploring the dungeon? What a trial that would be.
“It’s okay. I’m strong, and I can also detect traps.”
Even if she said that…
“Then, please tell me how to detect and disarm traps.”
“Since it involves magic, it might be difficult for you, Master.”
To detect and disarm traps with magic, huh? My job, a Reincarnated Hero, is the only one that can use magic, but I don’t have any magic related to traps.
Anneliese seemed determined. They say people become stubborn as they age, and it looks like that’s true.
In the end, I decided to prepare for entering the dungeon as Anneliese suggested.
I packed spare weapons because I might need them. Armor tends to wear out quickly in combat, so I also brought spares. I took more food and water than initially planned, just in case. If we ended up camping, thick blankets would be essential.
The food and water turned out to be incredibly heavy. So, I dumped everything into my item box. Fortunately, now that I had an Item Box (Low), it had 40 slots, and everything fit.
Even if it didn’t fit, you could combine multiple items into one cloth bag to occupy just one slot in the item box. It’s not exactly a hidden trick, but it’s convenient.
“Item Box…? Master, are you a transporter?”
Why does she look so surprised?
“No, I’m just a villager. My level is 1.”
“A level 1 villager? …A unique skill holder with an Item Box, huh?”
Anneliese made a somewhat subtle expression. I wonder if villagers are that rare? Or maybe unique skill holders are rare?
“What’s wrong?”
“Unique skill holders are very rare. I’ve heard there might only be a few in Kerniffi, even in a city considered large.”
Golteo mentioned that Kerniffi had a population of around 200,000. I think a few should be more common, but perhaps it’s considered rare on a global scale?
“Is it better if not many people know about it?”
For now, I’ve only shown it to Anneliese. The Light Novel Bible advised me to do so.
“Unique skills have more significant effects than regular skills, and the storage capacity of the unique skill’s Item Box is twice that of a transporter. Nobles, merchants, and explorers who carry large quantities of goods envy this skill.”
Being able to travel empty-handed thanks to the Item Box is undoubtedly a big advantage.
“Transporters do exist in certain numbers, but they aren’t that common. Transporters don’t level up through combat, but they are highly valued by explorers. In some cases, they might even get kidnapped and turned into slaves.”
Kidnapping sounds really dangerous.
“I see… It might be best not to use it openly.”
“Yes.”
Just hearing this kind of common sense advice from Anneliese made me feel like she was a worthwhile purchase. I hoped she would share as much knowledge as possible with me during her limited remaining lifespan.
I decided not to mention anything about Detailed Appraisal to anyone. It felt quite risky to have it revealed, even though I couldn’t explain exactly why.
“By the way…”
“Yeah? What is it? Don’t hesitate to tell me.”
“Level 1 is very unusual for a villager.”
“Huh?”
“Villagers usually level up no matter what they do. Your age and still being at level 1 implies that you haven’t done much in your life. That’s quite strange.”
“I see…”
That was an unexpected point. To avoid any problems, I should change my job to Traveler.
“Speaking of which, do you think Anneliese needs to register as an explorer?”
“Slave registration is unnecessary. Just you is fine, Master.”
So, I decided to register as an explorer alone.
Anneliese had a crude slave collar around her neck, so it seemed that it was clear she was a slave. Putting a collar on an elderly woman like this would probably be reported as elder abuse in Japan.
“Did Anneliese become a magician using a grimoire?”
“Yes.”
“Did you obtain the grimoire in the dungeon, or did you buy it?”
“I got it in the dungeon. Grimoires have a pretty low drop rate from monsters, so I must have been lucky.”
The drop rate from monsters was 1 in 10,000, so it was a considerable stroke of luck. Moreover, it wasn’t just one person fighting 10,000 monsters; there were many explorers going into dungeons every day, so every explorer had a chance.
After hearing this, I headed to the Explorer’s Guild with Anneliese.
I appraised people on the streets and checked their jobs.
▼ Detailed Appraisal Results ▼
・Swordsman: Wielder of swords. Can use the skills Slash (Weak) and Parry (Weak). Requirements for acquisition: Perform 100 sets of 100 consecutive swings of a sword as part of serious practice. Or defeat 100 monsters with a sword.
・Spearman: Wielder of spears. Can use the skills Triple Thrust (Weak) and Downward Strike (Weak). Requirements for acquisition: Perform 100 sets of 100 consecutive thrusts of a spear as part of serious practice. Or defeat 100 monsters with a spear.
・Priest: Servants of gods. Can use the skill Prayer (Weak). Requirements for acquisition: Continuously pray for 500 days. Or defeat 100 monsters barehanded.
・Knight: Protectors of comrades. Can use the skills Taunt (Weak) and Shield Attack (Weak). Requirements for acquisition: Receive 1,000 attacks with a shield.
・Monster Tamer: Controllers of monsters. Can use the skills Tame (Weak) and Monster Enhancement (Weak). Requirements for acquisition: Win 100 one-on-one battles against monsters.
While checking people as I walked, I confirmed that there were some prominent combat-related jobs.
Becoming a Swordsman seemed doable, but since I didn’t know the actual strength of monsters, I’d have to give it a try and see.
“By the way, I should buy weapons and armor for Anneliese, and some clothes too.”
“Weapons: Staff. Armor: Robe. Clothes: A one-piece dress is what I want.”
Anneliese asserted her preferences clearly. However, she walked very slowly. While I covered 10 meters, she only managed about 5 meters. Well, it couldn’t be helped considering her age, but it made me worried about the future.
I adjusted my pace to match Anneliese’s slow walking speed, and we visited a clothing store, a weapon shop, and an armor shop.
In the clothing store, Anneliese quickly chose clothes, underwear, and socks within ten minutes. However, at the weapon shop, she stood in front of the staves and didn’t move. She was so still that I thought her battery might have run out and she had died, but she was actually contemplating which staff to choose.
“Why are you pondering so much over it?”
“I was selecting something that feels right in my hand.”
She was talking about how it felt right in her hand when she didn’t even have one in her hand. I couldn’t understand how it could feel right to her without holding it.
・Mage’s Staff A: MATK+4 Durability 13/13
・Mage’s Staff B: MATK+5 Durability 13/13
・Mage’s Staff C: MATK+5 INT+1 Durability 14/14
・Mage’s Staff D: MATK+3 Durability 12/12
・Mage’s Staff E: MATK+4 MIN+1 Durability 13/13
“I’ll go with this one.”
Anneliese chose Mage’s Staff C.
“Why did you choose that one?”
“This staff called out to me.”
Was Anneliese some kind of spooky person?
“How about this one?”
I deliberately suggested Mage’s Staff D, which had lower stats, but she shook her head.
“This one lacks conviction.”
It seemed like she was a genius who could sense the quality of staffs just by feeling them.
At the armor shop, it took her a while to choose a robe as well. Nevertheless, she eventually selected the best one.
Anneliese didn’t have any skills like Detailed Appraisal to check the quality of items, so it must have been based on her intuition developed through years of experience.
・Mage’s Robe: MDEF+3 MIN+1 Durability 10/10
Since Anneliese was a mage, she preferred a robe as her chest equipment.
So, this is what my weapons and armor looked like:
Weapons:
・Iron One-Handed Sword: ATK+10 STR+2 Durability 31/31
・Steel One-Handed Sword: ATK+15 STR+3 Durability 45/45
・Mithril Two-Handed Sword: ATK+35 STR+7 DEX+6 Slash Enhancement (Weak) Auto-Repair (Weak) Durability 85/85
Shields:
・Iron Shield: DEF+10 VIT+2 Durability 30/30
・Steel Shield: DEF+15 VIT+3 Durability 47/47
Chest Armor:
・Iron Breastplate: DEF+10 VIT+2 Durability 31/31
・Steel Breastplate: DEF+15 VIT+3 Durability 46/46
I checked my status screen and saw various stats I recognized from games, which made it easy to understand.
HP: Hit Points, MP: Magic Points, STR: Strength, VIT: Vitality, AGI: Agility, INT: Intelligence, MIN: Mind, DEX: Dexterity, ATK: Attack, DEF: Defense, MATK: Magic Attack, MDEF: Magic Defense.
These abilities seem to increase proportionally with your level, which is a common gaming convention. Additionally, different jobs have different rates of increase. I wonder if this world’s system also considers the character’s race for these ability gains.
Here are my current abilities:
**Job:** Traveler Lv1
**Race:** Human
**Abilities:**
– HP=30
– MP=30
– STR=5
– VIT=5
– AGI=5
– INT=5
– MIN=5
– DEX=5
– ATK=15
– DEF=15
– MATK=15
– MDEF=15
– STP=0
Changing your job will also change your ability values. Specifically, the two classes that were mentioned earlier, “Revenge Seeker” and “Reincarnated Hero,” have decent increases in ability values, but I don’t plan on switching to them. Additionally, when wearing weapons and armor, the values displayed include any modifications from equipment.
Furthermore, my ability screen shows an item called “STP,” which stands for “Status Points.” It seems that when you level up, you receive points that can be freely allocated to your attributes.
Regarding last night, I was able to see Anneliese’s status screen from my own. It appears that a slave’s status screen is linked to mine.
Here are Anneliese’s ability values:
**Job:** Mage Lv21
**Race:** Half-Elf
**Abilities:**
– HP=96
– MP=126
– STR=13
– VIT=12
– AGI=19
– INT=22
– MIN=20
– DEX=18
– ATK=39
– DEF=36
– MATK=66
– MDEF=60
With her high level, Anneliese is undeniably strong. Her stats are so high that a regular attack might be enough to kill someone, but her walking speed is only half of mine. Perhaps stat values aren’t related to walking speed?
Additionally, Anneliese doesn’t have any STP (Status Points). It’s not that her STP is zero; it simply doesn’t exist. I noticed that when I used Detailed Appraisal on the people walking around town, none of them had STP either. Is it a unique feature only I possess, or do my summoned classmates have it as well? Or is it possible that extremely rare individuals in this world possess STP? Detailed Appraisal didn’t provide answers to these questions.