003 Spring, the Miscalculation of Age 13
I ended up hitting the level cap earlier than expected, so I’m going to illegally enter the dungeon!!!!!
“Damn it, I miscalculated how much time I’d gain by throwing away human relationships…!”
Spring of my 13th year, about two years before entering the Adventurer Academy. I had finally reached level 50, the maximum level.
Any experience points gained beyond this would only accumulate latently until the level cap was unlocked, with no visible changes. The display of required experience points at the edge of my vision was now just a line “—”, and I was about to lose my mind.
Therefore, I decided to move up my plans and infiltrate the first floor of the Academy Dungeon, also known as the Tutorial Dungeon, which is normally only accessible to Academy students who have completed the designated courses.
Of course, since I’m not an Academy affiliate at the moment, it would be illegal trespassing, but it’s unavoidable if I want to continue leveling. I don’t think talking would get me anywhere, and if it did, it would mean there’s a problem with the security system.
So, on the spur of the moment, I decided to act, and on that very day, I stepped into the Adventurer Academy and successfully infiltrated the dungeon.
I entered openly as a visitor, completed the exit procedures, then snuck into an empty room from the outer wall of the school building, put on a cardboard box, and took a nap. And voila!
After that, I just had to be careful of the night watchman’s patrol route, and by going through a hidden passage that is normally only accessible after clearing the dungeon, I arrived inside the Academy Dungeon.
Even if the passage was blocked by the system in the game, it’s a physically existing path in this world, so I can use it without worry. Ah, what a great era we live in. I’ll be using this often from now on.
The hidden passage leads directly to the second floor of the dungeon, so I casually cut down monsters while heading upwards.
The old sword I received from Bonus Uncle about a year ago, who said, “I don’t think I can teach you anything more,” turned out to be quite the masterpiece, performing far better than any mass-produced sword sold around here.
Since then, Bonus Uncle hasn’t shown his face, so I guess giving me this sword was the condition for the event’s end.
Even if the event is over, Bonus Uncle is surely alive somewhere in the world, so I hope he’s doing well. I thought he would come again after giving me the sword, so I casually said, “See you next time!” I want to thank him properly when I meet him again.
While thinking about that, I reached the back of the boss room on the first floor.
“Backstab is allowed until you die!!”
“Gah!? Gugyaaa!!!”
I quietly opened the door and ambushed the Goblin Leader, the floor boss, from behind, stabbing him repeatedly to finish him off.
I grinned at the “+1300” number that appeared in my vision after defeating him, but I was disheartened by the fact that the number in the required experience points section didn’t change at all. Level caps are a bad civilization, they must be destroyed…!!
“Let’s see, it should be around here.”
I touched the wall of the boss room, feeling slight bumps. By using a high-level climbing skill, you can use these bumps as footholds to reach the ceiling of the boss room.
In the ceiling, there is a valuable item called a “Star Seed” that can increase the level cap by “+10”, and obtaining it is my goal this time.
But there’s one problem here. I don’t have the climbing skill.
The climbing skill is a skill that can be acquired in the middle of the story, and even then, you have to climb several mountains while equipped with a “climbing set” item to raise the skill level.
In addition, it’s a skill that has no other use other than obtaining the “Star Seed” here, so it’s an unfortunate, or rather, worthless skill that you can only reach the required level after several playthroughs… Well, that’s the kind of skill it is.
So, I can’t climb the wall with my current lack of climbing skill. And if I can’t climb the wall, I can’t reach the entrance to the ceiling… So, I’ll take another approach.
“Hmm, the entrance is over there, so in terms of distance… it’s around there.”
Do you remember the hidden passage to the dungeon? Unlike in the game, in this world, if something physically exists, you can interact with it, even if you don’t meet the flags or conditions.
And if you can physically interact with it, you don’t need to get a troublesome thing like a climbing skill.
What I took out here was a small bottle with a skull mark borrowed from the school’s science lab, some soil from around here, and slime fluid mixed with potato starch and glue.
You know what, Johnny? If you mix these things together in a metal bowl, you get a sticky bomb! Seriously, Miguel!? This is way beyond illegal trespassing! Don’t worry, it’s for leveling, so it can’t be helped. Okay, theoretical justification complete.
“Alright, let’s go with gusto~~~ Soyya!!”
I threw it, it stuck, and the makeshift bomb exploded with a thud.
What fell from the hole was a treasure chest that had been treated with magic to prevent decay. Ignoring the keyhole, I smashed the broken side with my sword, and there it was, the “Star Seed.”
“Hehehehe, I finally got it~”
Oops, I have to collect the remains of the makeshift bomb and quickly get out of here. I’ll enjoy using the “Star Seed” when I get home. Don’t forget that it’s still illegal trespassing until I get home.
So, I quickly cleaned up, and in the meantime, I beat up the Goblin Leader who had respawned and headed home. The guards were quite flustered on the way back, so I easily slipped past their eyes.
I think it’s better not to leave your post easily in this world without surveillance camera technology, but it’s convenient for me this time, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.
And so, my dungeon exploration in the spring of my 13th year ended successfully, and I succeeded in unlocking the level cap by using the “Star Seed.”
“Ahhh~, my level is going up with the accumulated experience points!! Woohoo!!”