Chapter 9 – Player: Venom (1)
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Classic music gently played inside the store. The aroma of coffee tickled my nose.
We’re going to talk about 『Dungeon Seekers』, but since it’ll sound like we’re talking about some social game for outsiders, I don’t think it’ll pose much of a problem.
While enjoying the coffee and cheesecake we had ordered, we started our conversation after short introductions.
“I started this game through the QR code you put up, but why did you place the QR code in a spot like that? That’s what I want to know first…”
She had brought the coffee cup to her mouth, but put it down now, before answering. She didn’t really show it on her face, but she seemed to be genuinely surprised.
“……Ah, you don’t seem to know since you’ve only started, but players, who have played the game for a fixed period of time, can get a bonus by inviting other people. Having said that, you’ll be blocked if you try to post a message online, so you don’t have any choice but to go with such analog means…”
The game’s existence is being thoroughly concealed by the management. There are rumors that leaking information leads to memory loss, she explained.
After taking a sip of her coffee, she continued, “Also, it seems to be limited to people who possess certain qualities allowing them to download the app. According to other players, around one in a hundred people possesses the necessary qualities. Either way, you’ll often find invitation bonuses in games.”
The invitation that popped up from scanning the QR code mentioned, “the one with the right “qualities!””, in its catchphrase, but maybe they might have meant it seriously.
“Heeh, by the way, what can you get?”
“……Money and a coupon that can be used in the in-game market they’re going to add soon. I think you don’t know since you probably never entered a dungeon, but items are truly important.”
Why does this person think that I never entered a dungeon…?
Even though I wondered about this, it was kind of logical that few people would suspect a new player to immediately charge into a dungeon right after starting to play. Usually you’d cling to the help offered by a veteran player since you wouldn’t know where left and right is with a new game.
I realized it when I read the guideline, but dungeons are limited resources. Most likely no one will sell information about dungeons to their rivals. But, if it’s a beginner, they might tell them out of kindness.
It’s convenient, so I’ll pretend to be a newbie.
“There’s a lot of things I’d love to ask, but…what skills would be a good choice?”
“Ah, skills. Right. You should have been granted 10 SP in the beginning, so you could use those points to get an active skill like 『Slash』. Basically, you can say passive skills are weak. Active skills are stronger, so I’d recommend those.”
Huuuh? Are active skills that friggin’ strong?
Personally I know the strength of passive skills, so I feel doubtful of her words, but I gave her a positive answer, continuing my newbie act.
“Players cannot bring modern weapons such as guns with them into dungeons due to lacking capacity. Dungeon items are excluded from this. Therefore the acquisition of an active skill will allow you to fight in close combat.”
“What sort of skills are the active skills?”
“If you tell them to activate in your mind, the skill will assist your body movements and perform an attack. The skills are easy enough that any amateur can use them and you can also customize them, so they’re pretty handy to have.”
She moved her fork, cutting off a piece of her cheese cake.
“After you take an active skill and raise your levels…after you got all the indispensable skills, you’ll be free to pick skills that match your 『qualities』.”
She mentioned stuff unknown to me. I thought I should pretend to be a newbie, but it seems like a player community has already formed and they’re probably sharing information on how to clear dungeons. In other words, it was no pretense. Instead, I’m just a normal newbie.
I took a bite of the cheesecake just like she did. Tastes awesome.
“What do you mean with 『qualities』?”
“Oh, sorry. I think you don’t know about this since it’s information that you won’t find in DS, but it depends on each individual what skills you can actually acquire. Just as there are players who need to spend many points to get magic-based skills, others can get them at small cost. It’s great if you’ve got players with whom you can actually compare these things, but…”
She tilted her head, implicitly asking me whether I would show her my skill list. I brooded over it for a bit. If I show her my skill list, it’ll expose that I have already entered a dungeon and that comes with the risk of showing her my trump cards.
Also, my passive skill 『Intuition』 has been constantly telling me to be cautious of her. I instinctively harbored a strong wariness towards her, who ought to be no more than a composed, adult woman.
“I thank you for your obligingness, but there’s no way that I can rely on you for each and every little thing. It’d be impossible to ask you to show me your skill list as well. I’m grateful for your good will, but usually you wouldn’t show this to anyone, would you?”
“…That’s true.”
But, I can fully agree. Basic skills such as 『Slash』 all cost 10 points, but the magic skills had completely different acquisition costs depending on the attribute. For example, wind magic costs me 30 SP while light magic costs 50 SP. Going by what I’ve seen in the descriptions, they didn’t seem to have that much of a difference in strength, so I thought that it’s weird, but for such a reason to exist is somewhat unexpected.
If I take this into account, the abnormality of the weapon skill 『Hidden Blade – Dragon Eater』 stands out like a sore thumb. Probably skills simply cost many points, except for the ones related to your qualities or whatever.
But, I don’t really get that talk about passive skills being weak. There’s still more information hidden here.
As I thought, it’s good that I decided to meet with her.
I looked at the antique clock hanging on the wall of the coffee shop. I still had lots of time left to talk with her.
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