Seeker 89

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Chapter 89. Another World And Limit-Breaking Event

When I came to my senses, we were on a familiar hill.

It was a scene that didn't seem like inside a dungeon.

When we looked up, there was a dazzling sun, a blue sky, and white clouds.

Stretching as far as the eye could see was a vast grassland.

A road descended slowly from the top of the hill where we were, piercing through the grassland.

If we followed the road, we could see something like a town in the distance.

It was a medieval European-style (?) town surrounded by tall stone walls. There is a castle inside the town.

The three of us—me, Kazane-san, and Yuzuki—stood in a circle, embracing each other and standing close together.

We drifted apart from each other without anyone's intention.

"Where is this...?"

"It doesn't feel like inside the dungeon... but..."

"I... I've seen this scenery in my dreams..."

""Oh right!""

That's right.

This scenery is like the one I saw in a dream one day.

Kazane-san and Yuzuki also said they had similar dreams.

"So, is this... another dream?"

Kazane-san pinched her cheek and muttered, "Ouch."

Although testing, if it hurts when you pinch yourself in a dream, is a questionable verification method.

"Then, Senpai, to check if it's a dream, I want you to whisper in my ear in a sweet voice, 'Hanging moss is cute today' or something like that."

"Uh, I'll pass on that normally."

"Why would you do that?! Senpai, your service spirit is lacking even in dreams!"

"Yeah. That's why this isn't a dream. Probably."

I think this is a real scene.

If my memory serves me right, we were on the 9th floor of the dungeon until a while ago.

We found a secret passage at the southwestern edge and opened the door to the small room beyond it, enveloped in dazzling light.

And now, here we are, after experiencing a long or short period—unknown—inside the pure white light where neither sight nor hearing worked.

The words of the equipment shop owner come to mind.

[I've heard rumors of party members going missing after being cursed in return.]

It was when I heard stories about the dungeon fairies.

Oyaji-san said that alongside the blessings, there were rumors of curses.

I don't know where this place is, but if we can't return to where we were before, we might get classified as missing.

"—That's right! Pearl Of Return!"

"Ah... wait a moment, I'll take it out now... [Item Box]!"

Kazane-san makes the [Item Box] appear on the ground in front of us.

The skill seems to work properly.

Kazane-san opens the lid of the [Item Box] and searches inside...

"Hmm? There's an item here that I don't remember putting in. A Limit Break Event Guide?"

"Eh?"

Both Yuzuki and I exclaim in surprise.

What...?

Kazane-san takes out the Pearl Of Return and another mysterious booklet from the [Item Box].

The booklet is an old-fashioned one with a bundle of papers tied together and leather covers.

It says Limit Break Event Guide on the cover.

Kazane-san opens it, and Yuzuki and I peer inside from behind.

There, the following description was written.

──────────────────────

Welcome to the Limit Break Event!

For better or worse, you've got transported to another world.

For the next 100 days, you must live in this alternate world.

If you lose your life in this world, naturally, your journey ends here.

Do your best to avoid that outcome.

After 100 days have passed, whether you desire it or not, you will automatically return to your original world.

There is no other method of return, and the Return Gem is also ineffective.

Now, let's get to the main point.

This is the Limit Break Event.

In this world, you can level up beyond the limit of level 25.

There are primarily two methods to level up.

The first is the usual method of defeating monsters and gaining experience points.

While in this world, your experience points counter is no longer stopped, and you can acquire new experience points.

You may encounter familiar monsters or new ones you've never seen before.

Regardless, you can gain experience points in the same way as usual by defeating monsters.

However, it is advised not to have high expectations for this method.

In this world, you won't encounter monsters at a frequency or efficiency similar to the dungeons in your original world.

The more important method in this Limit Break Event is the second one.

That method involves clearing missions.

You can acquire significant experience points by challenging designated missions and completing their objectives.

The experience points obtained from mission completions are much greater when compared to those obtained from monster defeats.

Please check the mission list at the end of this book to see what kinds of missions are available.

The missions will be updated regularly.

There may also be special missions that aren't on the mission list. You will know when the time comes.

Generally, missions with higher difficulty and danger provide greater experience points.

Whether you want to challenge high-risk missions with large experience point rewards is up to you.

As the minimum necessary ability for living in this another world, you've been granted the [Translation] skill, which gives you language proficiency.

For further details, please refer to the following pages.

Read them at your leisure.

With that said, I wish you the best of luck.

──────────────────────

On the first spread of the booklet, there was something written. 

And it seemed like the following pages contain detailed explanations.

"Well, um... Daichi-kun, what should we do with this?"

Kazane-san closed the booklet and looked at me with a half-smile.

Yes, I'm in trouble.

Yes, we're in trouble.

Let's organize the information again.

First, the phenomenon that seems to have caused us to get transferred to this another world is called the Limit Break Event.

We have to live in this different world for 100 days and can level up beyond the general seeker's limit of level 25.

Well, that's good news.

It's a huge piece of good news that we should be extremely happy about.

However, it's not all good.

Even though we can level up beyond the limit for 100 days, it's if we survive in this different world.

If we die in this world, we will naturally lose our lives in reality.

That's insane...

That's different from modern dungeon exploration where monster information is available, and safe enough to be part of our daily work.

I can't quite imagine how to survive in this world.

I don't even know what kind of world this is.

We're severely lacking in information and real experiences.

I remember the story of the weapons Oyaji-san gets trapped in an unknown dungeon for 30 days.

Is our situation better or worse than that?

But wait another world?

Is that even possible?

Is that kind of thing even possible?

Whether it's possible or not, we have no choice but to accept that it's happening.

Let's remember the basics of being a seeker.

We need to accept the phenomena happening before us as they are and think about how we'll "play" in response to them.

Task one, survive in this world for 100 days.

Task two, level up as much as possible within 100 days.

Alright, that's it.

Which means...

"Daichi-kun... Hey, Daichi-kun!"

"Huh...? Oh, sorry, Kaza-san. I lost in thought."

"Sometimes, senpai, you get so absorbed in your thoughts that you can't see what's around you."

While I was deep in thought, I realized that Fumine-san was shaking my shoulder.

But with deep contemplation, I had established a plan.

Or rather, it's more accurate to say that I had completed the acceptance of the situation within my mind.

"For now, let's think about what we need to do to survive in this world. That's our top priority."

"Yeah... That's right."

"And once we have some leeway, we'll think about leveling up. That's our second priority. If we try to think about both simultaneously. It will be confusing, so let's focus on the first one for now."

"...Yeah. Okay... You're amazing, Daichi-kun. You're calm and reliable."

And so, we established the basic policy.

Next, we needed to come up with concrete plans in line with this basic policy.