Seeker 2

Test

Chapter 2. Pedaling My Bicycle To A Neighborhood Dungeon

The entrance to the dungeon closest to my house is on the river bank near the next prefecture border.

I pedaled my bicycle for about 20 minutes to get there.

There are several special facilities near the entrance of the dungeon.

I entered one of them, a small building with a sign that read "General Information of the Dungeon".

"Welcome. This is the information desk exclusively for seekers."

The receptionist at the counter gave me a business smile.

I showed her the pattern that appeared on the back of my right hand.

"When I woke up this morning, I became a seeker. I'd like to enter the dungeon, but I don't know what the procedure is."

"If that's the case, we'll need you to register as an explorer seeker first. Please fill out this form with your name, address, phone number, etc."

After receiving the form and filling it out, I underwent a few tests and a brief training session.

After about 20 minutes, the process was over, and he gave me a temporary license.

He told me if I brought a picture of myself later, they would make me an official license.

"If you don't already have weapons and armor, we recommend you buy the minimum amount of equipment at an armorer's store."

"I'll drop by after this. Thank you very much."

I thanked the staff and left the general information desk.

Next, I went into the nearby "Dungeon Armor Shop.

The armor shop was crammed with weapons and armor, each with a price tag attached.

I went to the "Beginner's Corner" labeled area and started browsing.

By the way, I have 10,000 yen in my wallet right now.

The cheapest weapon on display was a Dagger for 5,000 yen.

It is a large knife about the length of a kitchen knife, and the price tag says, (category: dagger), (equipped part: one-hand), and (attack power: 5).

The next cheapest is a Short Spear for 8,000 yen.

The price tag lists the spear as (category: spear), (equipped part: one-hand), and (attack power: 6).

Next was a Hand Axe for 11,000 yen.

It is a small axe with (category: axe), (equipped part: one-hand), and (attack power: 7), but it is too expensive to buy at this level.

There were various other weapons, including a Short Sword, Broadsword, Rapier, and Battle Axe, but they all cost over 10,000 yen.

Let's take a look at armor as well.

The cheapest was a Wood Shield for 4,000 yen.

It is a wooden shield with a metal frame and a diameter of about 50 cm, and the price tag reads (equipped part: one-hand), and (defense power: 2).

The next cheapest item is a Leather Helmet for 6,000 yen.

It is a leather helmet with (equipped part: head), and (defense power: 2).

The cheapest armor-like item is the Leather Armor at 12,000 yen.

It is a leather armor that protects the torso, and is written, (equipped part: body), and (defense power: 5).

"Welcome nii-san. Is today your first time exploring the dungeon?"

While I was staring at the weapons and armor in the beginner's section, a handsome man with a skinny head approached me.

He seemed to be a shopkeeper at this armorer's store.

At first glance, he appeared to be a tough-looking guy, but he gave me a friendly smile.

"Yes, I woke up this morning and became an explorer seeker, so I thought I would dive into the dungeon to try it out. ─ ─ What is this (attack power) or (defense power)?"

"Oh, those numbers appeared when you use the [Item Appraisal] skill. I don't know the details of the values yet, but use them as a reference when you buy the item."

"The 'category' and 'equipment part' are also generated when you use that skill?"

"Oh. If you have a weapon skill. You might want to look at the 'category'. I mean, brother, have you used your first skill point yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Then you might want to look at the list of skills you can acquire before you buy a weapon."

So, I called up my status and opened the <Skill Acquisition> page.

I know how to operate this page by feel.

Skills that I can get (I can get all with 1 skill point)

- Weapons

Spear attack power up (+2)

- Magic

Rock Bullet

Protection

Earth Heal

- General

Strength Up (+1)

Endurance Up (+1)

Agility Up (+1)

Magic Up (+1)

HP Up (Endurance x 4)

MP Up (Magic x 4)

Mapping

Stealth

Presence Detection

It seems that the only weapon-related skill that I can get is [Spear Attack Power Up (+2)]."

"Oh, nii-san's specialty weapon is 'spear'? By the way, if you have at least one weapon-related skill, you could be a great weapon fighter. The next skill is released each time you acquire (+4), (+6), and so on. I heard there is an upper limit, like (+10) is the maximum, (+20) is the maximum, etc. depending on every individual."

"Is it possible to have none of the weapon specialties?"

"Depends on the person. If you don't have weapon-type skills or magic, it will be quite difficult for people to explore the dungeons in the lower layers. In that respect, nii-san is lucky."

According to what I heard at the training, the list of skills people could get is original to each seeker.

My masterable skill is [Spear Attack Power Up (+2)], but this could be Dagger, Axe, or Sword, and I suppose it is possible to have none of those skills.

Also, there seems to be an "unlock" tiering of new skills in the skill list.

There is a skill tree element where new skills are unclocked by mastering certain skills, and there is also the possibility of new skills being unclocked by leveling the level above a certain value.

Then.

I decided to pay 8,000 yen to purchase a Short Spear.

My 10,000 yen, which I had nothing to spare, quickly turned into 2,000 yen.

"You need a bottle of 'HP Potion' as insurance, but you've only got 2,000 yen left in your budget."

"There seems to be a recovery magic called [Earth Heal] on the list of skills I can get, so I'm thinking of acquiring that."

"Oh, nii-san, you can even learn recovery magic? That's lucky. I think there's no loss in unlocking recovery magic first."

Since he told me that, I immediately manipulated my status to acquire [Earth Heal] magic.

In my status <Skill> column, [Earth Heal] was displayed.

"Thank you for everything. I'm going to go to the dungeon now."

"Oh, be careful. The monster Kobold in the first layer is not strong, but you must be on your guard. It is especially troublesome when you encounter two or more of them."

I bid farewell to the old man at the armory store, left the store, and headed for the dungeon's entrance.