LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 28
#28 Episode – Promising Prospects (5)
There exists a type of skill called “Life Steal.”
Literally, it means to suck blood, but in games, it usually refers to a skill that restores health when certain conditions are met.
For example, it could mean recovering a portion of health equal to the damage dealt when attacking an enemy, or regaining a specific percentage of health upon defeating an opponent.
It’s quite common in RPGs, but simultaneously, if poorly designed, it could easily ruin game balance.
In that regard, the skill I just acquired, ‘No.4444 Death Knight,’ precariously straddles the line of ‘balance-breaking.’
Once I kill a monster, regardless of whether it’s a mere beginner zone rabbit or a dungeon boss, the healing effect activates without question, restoring not only health but also mana all at once.
It compensates for the Death Knight’s soft flesh and intense mana consumption, making its utility beyond words.
Simultaneously, it’s so powerful that it was something I could never have dreamt of on the main server.
What kind of fallout would there be if people found out that a family of the creators obtained a skill only one player can get?
Of course, going about obtaining it quietly wouldn’t be impossible, but morally, I shouldn’t do that.
“I honestly can’t tell if you’re diligent or just sneaky…”
I must definitely be diligent towards the players enjoying ‘our game.’
This is a private server after all, akin to an illegal pirate version, so it doesn’t matter.
“Sure, sure. But are you really okay with that? It’s a top-tier skill for monster hunting, but it’s not much help in boss battles.”
What are you talking about? The fact that it’s great for monster hunting is the best part!
When Nadia and I partied together, I could overlook a lot of things, but as I continue to play, my abnormally high level is bound to draw attention.
But with this skill, it makes explaining my level so much easier.
As long as I manage my breathing appropriately, I can essentially hunt infinitely.
And besides, in any case, if your level and specs are high enough, you can take down the boss. That’s RPG logic.
“I really don’t want to admit it, but I can’t deny it either…”
While engaging in trivial chatter with my older brother, my hands and feet kept moving busily.
“For the god Apep!”
“Death to the intruders!”
Skinny with an ashen body, it would look something like a mummy with empty eye sockets if given spears and shields — the soldiers charged at me with their weapons raised.
I dodged one of the two spears coming at me and deflected the other with my sword, changing its trajectory.
At the same time, I uttered a short word.
“‘Burn’”
The flame that burst next to my body shot toward the soldier, lured by its gaze.
The soldier hit by the flame staggered, and their health instantly dropped by half.
I slashed at the staggering soldier three times while also sending a fireball at another soldier who was still unharmed.
“Who do you think you are?!”
“Feel the wrath of the god!”
Just as I dispatched those two soldiers, more soldiers who spotted me rushed in.
I gifted each of them a fireball and three slashes, and this process repeated like a well-oiled machine.
It was already a chaotic map full of monsters, and trying to clear it alone without any backup was no joke.
If it weren’t for my high DPS as the Black Knight, the monsters would pile up, leading to a quick dead end.
“Aren’t you overextending in battle? If you had asked Aurelia for help, she would have either come or sent reinforcements.”
I had already received enough help from her.
Even if I had gave her some loot or took a cut of the user’s hunting profits as a form of appreciation, the fact that I used Aurelia and her soldiers according to my convenience didn’t change.
While I may have thrown in prophecy and whatnot, whether Aurelia would listen to me was purely up to her mood, so I needed to refrain from using her too easily. In fact, it was already quite close.
“Still, don’t let your guard down. No matter how much combat experience you have, one slip-up could make things impossible to turn back from. You don’t have any spare lives now, and there’s no save/load function like other games.”
Oh, dear brother. Are you really worrying about me right now?
I’m fine, I’m fine. I won’t die.
Should we grab a meal after this hunt since it’s been a while?
“Aren’t you laying the flag a bit too openly?! And you know we can’t eat!”
Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Anyway, unlike before, I’m fighting happily in a suitably leveled map, gaining experience quickly, and I’m especially pleased with how rapidly my skill proficiency is increasing.
Until now, I only leveled up by being carried through, resulting in terribly low skill proficiency compared to my level.
Particularly for a Black Knight like me, who needs to focus on evasion, without an acceleration in perceived speed from skill proficiency correction, things could get really tough.
So I needed to raise my skills quickly whenever I could.
How long had I been wandering this map alone?
I finally found the entrance to the dungeon, which was my original target.
“…Are you really going to do this?”
I suppose I must. If this is doable, the number of survivors after the trial will change dramatically.
The moment I stepped into the interior of a stone engraved with strange markings, reminiscent of Egyptian ruins—
#“You have entered the ‘Blessed King’s Tomb.’”
Seeing the cheerful system message, I muttered absentmindedly.
“This is really happening.”
*
Honestly, I was quite nervous when Lunara added new classes at first.
Putting aside whether the balance and settings of that class fit BE or not, it meant Lunara or their collaborators had that ability to create such things.
But the more I learned about the two classes, the more I could only feel a sense of despair.
– Oh, hunter weapons? Come to think of it, they’re all the guns I used in ‘Hungry Shadow.’
– The martial arts technique of warriors? There are some minor differences in the details, but the basic performance directly comes from ‘Dragon’s Sword Dance.’
‘Hunter’ and ‘Warrior.’
These two classes were not created by Lunara.
They had simply converted pre-existing elements from other VR games and shoved them into BE.
Even the wild boar from the first trial was the same.
Such wild boar monsters are common around BE.
They might be slightly bigger or have adjusted stats for health or attack power, but essentially, it’s just a slight modification to what already existed.
Imagine a phenomenal scientist who creates a stunning supercar by themselves.
Of course, making a car is not something one can whip up alone, but the scientist was so incredibly talented that they achieved this seemingly impossible feat.
Then a dirty lowlife thief kills the scientist and steals the car keys, getting their hands on the supercar.
Would it be possible for the thief to “modify” the car any way they wanted?
Driving the supercar would be possible. They might even buy completed external parts and attach them. However, creating something entirely from scratch is a different story; I think it would be extremely difficult.
That’s the level I see Lunara at.
But would that person create a map just for one trial?
And even all the monsters inside it?
If Nebula actively cooperated with Lunara, it might not be impossible, but Lunara had much more straightforward options available.
Simply take an existing dungeon and modify it as a base.
I found a dungeon that fits the keyword “tomb” and is situated in a location that current players can never hope to reach, and that deduction was exactly on point.
‘Blessed King’s Tomb.’
Its original name was ‘Apep’s Sacred Tomb.’ Appropriate level: 52.
My current level is around 40, so normally, I should never even attempt to solo this dungeon.
Yet, here I am, clearing it effortlessly as if I’m performing a massacre.
“‘Burn’”
Fire magic that required two strikes against the ‘Apep’s Lesser Deity’ outside the dungeon now sinks a foe in a single hit.
The fallen monster is named ‘Guardian of the Blessed King’s Tomb.’
But do you want to hear something funny?
Their appearance and combat style are exactly the same as the ‘Apep’s Intermediate Deity’ that originally appears in ‘Apep’s Sacred Tomb.’ The only difference is their level.
The ‘Apep’s Lesser Deity’ blocking my way outside the dungeon was a level 36 monster, yet the one based on the intermediate deity is wandering around at level 30.
“…And they’ve even cut all of the dialogue. They were supposed to be talking about Apep, but now they just attack without saying a word.”
My older brother looked beyond anger; he was utterly baffled.
Of course, taking perfectly normal existing monsters, changing only their names, slightly adjusting their stats, and deleting all the cumbersome dialogues for detailed settings results in such sloppiness.
At least he seemed to have thought that he should hide it; as soon as I stepped into the entrance, a black barrier formed behind me, blocking me from exiting or peeking outside.
In other words, it’s impossible to exit through the ‘original entrance’ after entering using a ‘map.’
However, entering is possible without any map needed.
As I proceeded through the dungeon and defeated what seemed like a mid-boss, this system message appeared.
“You have passed the first floor of the Blessed King’s Tomb; stage one ‘blessing’ is granted.”
“Currently, ‘Curse of the Forgotten King’ has been completely nullified by ‘Blessing of the King’s Tomb.’” “Remaining time 24:00:00.”
──── ──── ────
“Blessing of the King’s Tomb”
Lowers the stage of “Curse of the Forgotten King” by the blessing’s grade.
Every 24 hours, the blessing’s stage decreases by one.
──── ──── ────
“Every 24 hours the grade drops… Is this possibly…?”
This is a means to make higher-tier players repeatedly tackle the dungeon.
More precisely, it’s a way to prevent lower-tier players from being able to help.
If the ‘blessing’ lasted permanently, players could simply finish the dungeon and then ignore the curses afterward.
They could give map fragments to players still suffering from the curse or even tackle the dungeon for their own benefit using the “carry” concept.
But with this setup, even higher-tier players would need to keep consuming map fragments just to renew their blessings.
While it’s certainly easy for me now since I’ve made a separate exchange booth to obtain fragments, under normal circumstances, finding the correct pieces would be a headache.
Wow, what a marvel.
Messing with the game itself haphazardly while being so meticulous about malicious features is indeed a talent.
After defeating the mid-boss, I looked toward the stairs it was guarding.
Next to the stairs was a glowing white magic circle. That must be the ‘midway escape route.’
Debating whether to go further down, I decided just to venture deeper.
Basement level 2. Average enemy level 31.
Basement level 3. Average enemy level 32.
Basement level 4. Average enemy level 38.
“Suddenly the levels just skyrocketed?”
Exactly. If it weren’t for my close-to-cheat level, a normal party may have just died here.
And with that, I was certain.
Lunara probably didn’t intend for players to casually clear up to the fifth basement level.
Most likely, she set it up under the assumption that a very small number of top parties with high levels and good formations would attempt a precarious clear toward the end of the trial.
In other words, the average, most parties that don’t reach that level would need to keep clearing up to the third basement level and return. And each time they came back, they would have to consume a map.
“Then, the players who only just started playing during this trial…”
If they played normally, they’d die. Whether to the curses gnawing at them or by trying too hard to hunt, they’d certainly meet their end.
But did I say I would just leave it be?
“What do you intend to do?”
Why are you asking me? You already have a plan.
“Oh?”
Didn’t you say up to six people could enter by using map fragments?
That’s a reasonable party size for adventurers but quite lacking for an army.
So, let’s raid it like an ‘army.’