Volume 4 Chapter 3 Valley of Trials – First Floor
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The Valley of Trials was a desolate place, not a blade of grass in sight.
It was like a miniature Grand Canyon, with a vast expanse of reddish-brown gorges that looked like they belonged in a Western flick.
In any fantasy or sci-fi game, this kind of stage is a staple.
The oppressive atmosphere was perfect for a battlefield, and it seems like there were practical reasons for the developers──like how easy it is to create terrain data.
In this world, whether it’s a desert or a rocky terrain, the wall barley grows shamelessly, covering almost every inch of bare rock.
There’s probably a barrier around the valley that keeps the wall barley at bay, as the lush green carpet ends abruptly at a certain line.
It seems even wolves can’t enter the valley, so the barrier must be selectively filtering out intruders based on some criteria.
Could this be the work of a dragon like Uno?
”This way.”
Ms. Claire navigates the labyrinth of boulders without a moment’s hesitation.
I doubt I’d have even made it to this dungeon without her.
It’s a strange twist of fate; the centaurus woman I bought on a whim at the slave market has become an invaluable companion.
Thanks to her, I’m smoothly advancing towards my doom, but it’s not her fault.
The final choice is mine to make.
Once past the boulder maze, the entrance to the dungeon was immediately recognizable.
The dead end at the valley’s floor was a nearly vertical cliff.
Carved into the rock face on either side of a square hole were lifelike reliefs of soldiers with spears at the ready.
It looked just like the entrance to a dungeon should.
In front of the entrance was a small plaza of sorts, littered with countless carriage tracks.
So, this dungeon comes with its own parking lot, huh?
Examining the footprints on the ground, I saw no fresh ones.
During the Wyvern Festival, this place must be off-season.
Sort of like a “closed for business” situation.
Where the ground was muddy, water trickled down from the rock face.
Seeing buckets set up to collect the water, it seemed to be used as a water source.
They’ve even thoughtfully left a ladle behind.
I only brought the bare minimum for drinking water, so finding a natural spring like this?
Lifesaver. No more worrying about fresh water. Heck, I could even take a bath if I felt like it.
Just in case, I tried to summon Ms. Lime to purify it for me… but got nothing.
No response. Not like I’ve done anything to make Ms. Lime ditch me, so it’s probably this barrier messing with things.
Still, it’s spring water. Should be fine, right?
I took a small sip. Cool, crisp──that’s good.
* * *
Lunch comes early, eaten by the stream. After that, time to face the dungeon for real.
I hand my bow over to Ms. Claire for safekeeping.
Let’s be honest──if it comes to a fight, it’s not like I could win anyway. Better to travel light, no weapons weighing me down.
For now, it’s just reconnaissance──so I’ll leave my rations behind too.
Fewer things to give off a scent, the better. I clean off in the water, rinse away the sweat.
Can’t erase my scent completely, but even this helps a lot.
If whatever’s in there only has a human-level sense of smell, they’ll never know I was here.
Since I’m stripping down completely, Ms. Claire’s kind enough to quietly look the other way.
Out here, worrying too much about privacy will just get us killed.
Not that I want her staring, either──so this is perfect.
The canteen’s a pain too──bulky, and it sloshes every time I move.
But dehydration’s no joke, so I hook the smallest one I’ve got on my belt.
I can muffle the noise with a skill, but if I make it out alive, maybe I’ll invent a canteen that never sloshes.
Or something──maybe soaking up water with a clean sponge? Bet I could even add a filtration feature, while I’m at it.
”Ms. Claire, wait around here for me, okay?”
I mean, I’m Level 4, and this dungeon’s meant for Level 50s. My only shot is sneaking through without fighting anything.
Not much of a strategy, if I’m being honest… but there are games where this sort of thing actually works.
As long as there aren’t any doors that need monsters defeated to open──if I remember right, this dungeon doesn’t have those.
My mana and strength are both low, which makes me tough to notice.
Maybe being under-leveled is actually an advantage when you’re trying to stay hidden.
Plus, when you’re solo, all your stealth skills get an extra boost.
Question is, will that actually get me anywhere in this dungeon?
”Running into human Adventurers is just a headache. I’ll wait for you at the horsefolk caves.”
Supposedly there’s a whole zone just for centaurs a little ways off.
The Valley of Trials has a strict no-fighting-between-Adventurers rule, but hey, the fewer chances for trouble, the better.
It’s only a few minutes’ walk, even if it’s out of the way. Shouldn’t be a problem.
* * *
I take a breath and step up to the dungeon entrance.
The cliffside is all rough stone──except here, where the stonework’s surprisingly intricate.
The reliefs on either side are masterful. Hard to believe they carved these statues out of raw rock, not even patching anything on.
No seams, no join marks. Whoever made these did it in a single go──never messed up once.
That’s insane. Just gazing at the craftsmanship feels like it’s working my Crafting skill up a notch, but there’s no time to stand around gawking.
The moment I set foot inside, the air changes.
Out in the autumn sun I was sweating buckets, but in here it’s perfectly cool──almost refreshing.
I glance back.
I can still see the world outside clear as day, but my Searching skill can’t sense Claire-san anywhere.
Must be some invisible barrier at the entrance, blocking my skills from penetrating inside.
Well, it’s a dungeon.
Weird stuff’s par for the course.
Time to get serious.
I crank my Stealth skills and start creeping down the stairs.
The heart of Stealth is the recognition-blocking skill.
Even if someone’s got their eyes on you, this beauty keeps them from really noticing──but it’s not like I’m actually invisible, just… hard to focus on.
If someone’s got high enough Search ability, eventually they’ll see through it and bust me.
That’s where skills like Optical Camouflage, Silent Steps, and Scentless come in──they’re all offshoots of Stealth.
As long as none of their 5 senses catch me, my recognition-blocking skill doesn’t drain nearly as fast.
By combining these skills effectively, you can get a massive boost from their synergistic effects.
It lets you move stealthily enough to avoid detection by higher-ups, but it’s not a guarantee you’ll always go unnoticed.
Against someone with sharp instincts, your skills could be nullified in an instant──that’s the catch with the recognition obstruction skills.
This mission of mine is like walking a tightrope; I know the risks are sky-high, but I’ve got no other choice, so…
Focus. Focus.
All I can do is give it my all.
After that, it’s all up to luck.
* * *
The basement is one big room, lined with thick pillars that stretch up to the ceiling.
There’s an entrance to the next level at the far end, guarded by 2 Naga warriors with spears at the ready.
Naga are monsters with snake-like lower halves.
Their upper halves are much larger than a human’s, and they look plenty strong.
If they’re like in the game, they should be level 42, pure power fighters who only use spear skills.
There’s a limit to how many can tackle this dungeon: parties of 4, max.
But that means a well-coordinated party of 4, at the right level, should be able to clear it.
After all, it’s a dungeon meant to test, to give challengers a goal to strive for.
With 2 Naga, if 2 of us can act as distractions, the remaining 2 can focus on the attack.
These unfortunate Naga might be pretty tough one-on-one, but as the first challenge, they might be keeping the difficulty low on purpose.
Either way, they’re not opponents I can beat.
The only saving grace is that they don’t have a searching skill, but their heat-sensing ability, a special trait of snake-type monsters, is a real pain.
I don’t have a skill to mislead their thermal readings, so I’ll have to rely solely on the recognition obstruction skills.
But with such a level gap, even hiding behind a pillar, the skill’s effect will be worn down in no time.
For me, my perception-blocking skill feels like I’m wrapped up in a colored barrier──a shield that cloaks my whole body.
As long as that barrier’s thick, I can breathe easy.
But the moment someone focuses on me, or starts using search-type skills, the shield gets chipped away──thinner and thinner with every second.
And once it’s gone… I’m exposed.
They’ll spot me for sure.
So, I pull back to the stairs while I’ve still got some buffer left.
Judging by how fast my skill’s getting worn down, even if I hide out at the far edge of the room, I’ll barely last a few dozen seconds before they catch on.
I kinda saw it coming.
Turns out, even if the enemy doesn’t have a searching skill, if their level’s high enough, they’re still a massive threat.
Not that it’s all bad news.
Just in that short time, my skill proficiency shot up to some flat-out impossible level.
Guess the gap between our levels messes with how much experience I get, huh?
I mean, I’m level 4, and that naga was level 42──that’s a difference of 38.
Fighting a level 4 quail versus a level 5 quail, I earned nearly double the proficiency, just from that one extra level.
If the gain really doubles with every level gap, then with a 38-level difference… 2, 4, 8, 16 times… just, an absurd amount of proficiency pouring in.
Okay, it’s probably not that game-y.
But even so, just a handful of seconds and I gained more skill points than should be possible.
I’m getting so much, it’s almost worrying.
Kinda reminds me of middle school──everyone freaking out because some guy got his account banned for “cheating.”
Not gonna lie, half of what he said made no sense to me, but even I could tell he was trying to show off about using cheats or whatever.
Guess everyone goes through that phase where calling stuff “cheat” powers feels cool.
Cheats, bugs, whatever──I heard he raked in XP using some broken trick the devs never expected anyone to find.
Usually, if a player reports stuff like that, no one blames them.
The devs kinda brought it on themselves.
After all, it’s their screw-up to begin with.
In his case, though, the dude learned a busted method from someone in-game, started abusing it himself, then blabbed to pretty much everyone he knew.
Honestly, the line between a hidden move the devs planted on purpose and some broken glitch… it’s pretty damn blurry.
In online games, if something feels off, safest bet’s to call a GM and ask before you get burned.
Break the rules or tick off Lady Luck one too many times, and──bam──your Red Account’s shut down.
You’re out of the game.
Sure, this world isn’t a game… but if I mess up here, it’s not just my account on the line.
I could vanish for real.
So this trick? It stays my secret.
I’m taking it to the grave.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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