Chapter 227 - Accidentally Blurted Out...
Monday
"Ah, there you are."
"Oh, sorry."
Homeroom had run a bit long, so when Shou arrived at the [Club Room] later than usual, Bell-buchou was waiting right outside.
He opened the [Club Room] and headed to his usual seat. Bell-buchou, as always, had her energy drink.
"Club President, I heard you achieved a Skill Level Cap Breakthrough in Elemental Magic during yesterday's stream."
"Eh? Seriously?"
She could've told me at lunch... No, wait, even if she had, what difference would it make? I can just ask her now.
Still, Iincho was with her, right? Mion must have heard it from Iincho, but it didn't come up at lunch because... it was mostly about my Saturday stream and the new World Quest PV, yeah.
"Yes, that, and we also reached the 11th floor of the [Mage's Tower] in the [Ancient Ruins]."
Bell-buchou opened the archive of her stream from yesterday, a joyful smile on her face.
A [Skill Level Cap Breakthrough] in [Elemental Magic] must mean she can now acquire its higher-tier skills, right?
And he was curious how they managed to reach the 11th floor, a place where even [Game Dolls] and other players had been stuck.
"Was the cap breakthrough from equipment?"
"Yes, this."
The Club President fast-forwarded the video. The opponent they were fighting was… a [Ghost]? Shou thought the [Mage's Tower] in the [Ancient Ruins] was mainly inhabited by goblins, orcs, and their higher-tier monsters.
"That's a [Ghost], right? Why is it here?"
"Yes, it's a Ghost Wizard, a higher species of [Goblin Magician], I suppose.
Polly-san had been mapping, and Seth-chan noticed something odd when she saw it."
Rewinding the video a bit, Seth (Miki) was looking suspiciously at a dead-end corridor.
"Isn't there a space of about three meters square beyond this?"
"But how do we confirm it?"
Seth seemed to be peering at the map Polly had drawn, debating back and forth. Gold-oneesama even commented, "I wonder if it would break if I punched it?"
In the end, Polly-san asked an earth spirit to open a hole about 30cm in diameter, and what came out was…
"It was a hidden room, then."
"Yes, it was a rather cramped space, so you wouldn't have noticed it without being extremely careful."
The combat itself was easy; Seth, blessed by Gold-oneesama's [Holy Magic], quickly dispatched it.
"Seth-chan is too strong!"
"The amulet it dropped granted [Elemental Magic] +1. We defeated it easily, but it could have been dangerous if it had gotten a magic preemptive strike."
Before it dropped, this [Ghost] had possessed it, so a preemptive strike would have been bad. It even means there was a chance they could have been ambushed if Gold-oneesama had just punched through and broken the wall.
"Was it hiding in this small room all this time?"
"Yes, perhaps it just died there. Or maybe it was affected by the 'Day of Calamity' mentioned in the [World Quest] story."
The video showed them collecting, appraising, and distributing the spoils. When Bell-buchou equipped the amulet,
[World's First Skill Level Cap Breakthrough (Elemental Magic): Acquired 3 SP!]
[Higher-tier skills for Elemental Magic are now acquirable!]
"Whoa! Amazing!"
"Congratulations!"
"Thank you."
Bell-buchou blushed as she received congratulations from her party members and viewers in the video. Super Chats were flying in.
Shou was curious about the higher-tier skills, but in the video, that discussion was put on hold. Since they were live, they decided to press on, and Polly-san slowly widened the hole during breaks.
"So, an earth spirit can do the same things as Shou-kun's magic, huh?"
"Well, the [Gnome] were doing something similar."
Perhaps the earth spirits were assisting their pickaxes in that case.
"It seems even with [Spirit Magic], the MP consumption was quite severe. It just goes to show how incredible Shou-kun's cape is…"
Oh, right, that's true.
His MP recovery is fast, and he has Lupi's [Mana Aid], so he rarely has trouble with insufficient MP.
"Was this originally a room?"
"Yes. You weren't actually meant to break through this wall to enter; it seems the hidden door was at the back of a closet in the room to the left."
"That's too hard to notice…"
"Comments were saying that some skill or another must be necessary," she added.
Ah, so that's it.
Were there skills like [Discovery] or [Discernment]? Maybe my [Trap Detection] skill would have a chance?
"Oh, so there was a staircase leading up to the next floor?"
"Yes, in the end, the [Transfer Elevator] only became directly accessible to the 11th floor after we climbed this and emerged there."
Apparently, when they retreated, the 11th floor became an option for the [Transfer Elevator]. That's a very game-like aspect.
Bell-buchou's party emerged on the 11th floor.
They encountered [Wood Golems] and [Stone Golems] in the front lines, with [Ghosts] and [Skeletons] in the rear using [Elemental Magic] – it was quite intense.
"That's tough…"
"Yes, it felt like the difficulty level suddenly jumped. I suspect it's balanced with the assumption that players have higher-tier skills."
"It's amazing that you still managed to win."
That's right. Gold-oneesama's [Holy Magic] and Polly's light spirit seemed to be playing a huge role.
Seth was also a stable tank, thanks to the blessings she received. Even the person with the bassoon who participated as a fan, and the [Dwarf] with a [Round Shield] and axe acting as a sub-tank, were incredibly skilled in their movements, Shou thought with admiration.
"Wait? Speaking of which, wasn't Leona-sama there?"
"Sunday was the [Fulldive Virtual Idle Championship (FVCS)] team finals, followed by an awards ceremony. She said she was too lazy to attend, so I told her to make sure she went."
Bell-buchou said with a wry smile.
Well, she probably hates sitting still. I can see why she gets along with Mashiro-nee in that regard.
In the end, after about 30 minutes of exploring the 11th floor, they returned and descended to the room, where the stream concluded. After that, they apparently withdrew from the 10th floor.
"So, you haven't acquired any higher-tier skills yet?"
"No. I'm agonizing over which one to choose, and I'd like your opinion."
I see, so there are several higher-tier skills she can acquire.
When I achieved a [Skill Level Cap Breakthrough] with [Stealth Skill], it was only [Stealth Skill] itself, so I guess that's why…
"These are the higher-tier skills available."
Bell-buchou took out a video she had personally recorded after the live stream and showed it to him.
Let's see… Gravity Magic, Barrier Magic, Spatial Magic…
"Ah! [Spatial Magic] was a higher-tier skill!"
That's why I could only do basic, fundamental measurements!
So, first, I need to achieve a cap breakthrough in [Elemental Magic]. Anyway, Argenta-san just sent me a higher-tier skill book out of nowhere—what on earth…
"Shou-kun…"
"You knew? What [Spatial Magic] is?"
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry…"