Chapter 19
"Uwaaaaaah!"
Lately, I've been waking up easily as soon as the sun rises, probably because of that. But today, I felt the lingering fatigue from running around the dungeon yesterday, and I let out a big yawn, something I hadn't done in a while.
Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I crawled out of the straw bed, remembering my promise with Nel.
Then, as I pushed open the heavy door and stepped outside, heading to the well to wash my face...
"You're late!!"
"Sleepyhead, huh?"
"Nah, you two are just too early. The sun just came up, you know?"
Sure, I overslept a bit, but it was still just after sunrise.
Seeing the two of them already fully prepared, I couldn't help but think their energy was insane.
"Can I at least wash my face?"
"Fine, hurry up."
"Quickly!"
Wait, did Nel wake up before dawn and then go get Amina as soon as the sun rose?
As I hurriedly drew water from the well, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and got ready, the two girls stared at me intently. This is... kind of embarrassing, isn't it?
"Ready?"
"Uh, I haven't even eaten breakfast yet."
"You'll be fine without breakfast."
"No way, breakfast is important. It's the energy for the day. You can't fight on an empty stomach."
Nel was practically bouncing with excitement, and Amina was right there with her. If it were just Nel, I could probably handle her, but with the peer pressure from both of them, my words weren't getting through.
"But, but!"
"Yeah!"
This was no longer about logic—it was pure emotion.
Well then.
"Ah, I was going to tell you something amazing and do something incredible for you, but if you're going to rush me like this, I guess you don't need it, huh?"
I decided to appeal to their emotions too.
"Something... amazing?"
Their earlier enthusiasm vanished in an instant. They didn't even seem to notice how deliberately I was speaking, their minds immediately jumping to what this "amazing thing" could be, and they quickly connected it to the dungeon.
"Yeah, it's something that will absolutely be useful for Nel and Amina's future."
"Absolutely?"
"Yeah, absolutely."
Humans are weak to words like "amazing" and "worth it." Limited-time gacha and revival gacha are prime examples.
Those words seemed to work on both Nel and Amina. Their focus shifted slightly from going to the dungeon to wanting to hear this useful information.
"So, what is it?"
For a moment, I wondered what kind of face they'd make if I told them something useless. I thought about teasing them a bit, but Nel was looking at me with pure curiosity, her tail wagging, and Amina was practically vibrating with excitement, waiting to hear more.
Seeing them like that, I couldn't bring myself to be mean.
"It's about the Class 0 Bonus Time!"
"Bonus... time? Amina, do you know what that is?"
"Nope. I don't think I do."
Despite my confident declaration, the two girls didn't seem impressed.
"Is that really amazing?"
"It's amazing!"
"How amazing?"
"If two adventurers of the same class and level fought a hundred times, and one knew about this while the other didn't, the one who knew would win every single time."
Maybe it would be faster to just show them.
"Actually, seeing it might be quicker. Check this out! Status Open!!"
"Eh!?"
Actions speak louder than words, so I immediately displayed the status I had acquired yesterday.
"Why does Liberta have a status!? Did you sneak ahead!?"
"That's cheating!! You promised to level up with us!!"
"Uh, that's what you're focusing on?"
I thought they'd be impressed, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
"Calm down, seriously. Look at my status. Especially the level part!"
"Level?"
"Ah, both class and level are zero."
Reluctantly, they seemed interested enough to look at the status screen I displayed.
"?????"
The status screen they were looking at was different from what they knew. Class, level, HP, MP—everything was zero. The only thing that showed up was the skills, which made the whole thing feel off.
"Why?"
They both asked at the same time.
"This is the Class 0 Bonus Time!"
I emphasized the term "Bonus Time" again.
"You both know this, but skills have a limit to how many you can acquire. But you can still learn a decent number. That means you have to train a lot of skills."
I continued to explain what I wanted to say.
"For example, if you're a merchant, you need to learn a lot of merchant-related skills. Each one is important, and it takes time to train them."
"Right."
"Same for singers! If you focus on singing skills and their derivatives, you'll naturally end up with imbalances or delays in skill development."
"Yeah, that's true."
"It's hard to fix that, but there's a way to mitigate it!"
This was starting to sound like a telemarketing pitch. Since I was already on the path to becoming the strongest, I couldn't help but get passionate about explaining this.
"Use BP? It's nonsense to allocate limited points to anything other than base stats!! Skills should be leveled up using training bracers and enhanced with items. That way, you can allocate all your remaining BP to base stats!"
BP, or Build Points, are points you get when you level up. There's a limit to how many you can earn, and if you waste them on skills, your character's base stats will weaken, making you truly weak. However, training skills takes time. But if your skills are weak, your character won't be strong either.
"And Class 0 is the perfect time to use training bracers to develop two skills simultaneously. Those who don't know about this are at a huge disadvantage."
There's a way to improve this during the Class 0 period. Technically, other classes can do it too, but the efficiency and resource consumption are on a completely different level.
That's why FBO players call the Class 0 period "Bonus Time."
"Alright, Nel, question!"
"Eh!?"
"Between a strong enemy and a weak enemy, which one gives more EXP when defeated?"
"Uh, uh, the strong one?"
"Correct! Next, Amina!"
"Eh, yeah?"
"Between defeating a monster of the same class and level when your class and level are lower versus when they're the same, which one gives more EXP?"
"Uh, uh...?"
FBO has a system called the "Level Bonus," which adjusts EXP based on the level difference.
If you defeat an enemy while your level is lower than theirs, you get a bonus to the EXP you earn.
"When your level is lower?"
"Correct!"
Amina answered hesitantly, and I made a big circle above my head to indicate she was right.
This bonus system increases the more the level difference grows. To simplify, if your class is one level lower, the EXP roughly doubles. Additionally, for every level difference, you get a 1% bonus.
For example, if a Mochi gives 1 EXP, defeating it at the same level would give you exactly 1 EXP. But if you defeat it at Class 0, Level 0, you get a 100% class difference bonus, and if the Mochi is Level 5, you get an additional 5%, totaling 105% bonus EXP.
For weak enemies, the difference between 1 and 2 EXP might not seem like much, but think about it—there are bosses I can defeat even at Level 0.
Yes, the Kagami Mochi.
The Level Bonus increases even more if the enemy has the "Boss" attribute. The class difference bonus doubles, and the level difference bonus triples.
According to the analysis team, the Kagami Mochi is Class 1, Level 15. So, if you defeat it at Level 0, the EXP bonus is an insane 250%. That's 3.5 times the normal EXP.
But it's the weakest boss, right? The EXP can't be that much, can it? Wrong.
The analysis team's research shows that the Kagami Mochi's base EXP is 500. With a 3.5x bonus, that's 1,750 EXP.
Of course, there are plenty of other monsters that give similar amounts of EXP. You might think it's not worth stopping here to spend time training skills, but hold on. Remember, this is Bonus Time.
The training bracers I'm wearing have an effect that prevents my base level from increasing but boosts skill EXP by 100%. If you enhance them through synthesis, you can increase that to 200%. Equip one on each hand, and you get a total of 400%.
And the equipment bonus isn't additive—it's multiplicative.
Normally, you might think the Level Bonus of 3.5x plus the 400% equipment bonus would make it 7.5x, but the calculation table is different.
It's (Monster Base EXP × Level Bonus) × Equipment Bonus.
So, for the Kagami Mochi:
(500 × 3.5) × 4 = 7,000.
That's an insane amount of EXP for the early game. And there are even more ways to increase it.
"So, that's what Class 0 Bonus Time is all about."
"W-wait!! Amina can't keep up with this!!"
"Uh, uh, base? Bonus? Numbers are...?"
Oops, I got carried away and explained everything in a rush. Nel, being a merchant, could follow along, but Amina was completely lost.
"In short, in this situation, if you prepare a bit more, you can make your skills incredibly strong!"
"Okay, I get that!"
"Amina, are you sure?"
"Yeah, it was too complicated for me, but I understood that Liberta isn't saying anything bad."
If the complicated stuff is too much, as long as you understand that you can efficiently train your skills now, that's enough. Amina seemed to think that way, and Nel was worried if that was okay.
"Well, if that's fine. But Liberta, there's only one key, right? Are we going to have to find another one?"
"Actually, this key can be used multiple times after a short cooldown. It's a special item that works well with the 'Weakling's Proof,' and the only place you can reliably get it is in the Mochi Dungeon."
But since Amina was okay with it, Nel reluctantly accepted it and pointed out that the key might be a consumable, but I had already solved that problem last night.
"Let's aim for your ideal skill setups. I'll teach you everything I know."
In that case, let's go all out and train them to their fullest. It might be arrogant, but I can't stand seeing people who try to walk the path of weakness.
I don't go out of my way to help everyone, but for Nel, who shared a meal with me, and her friend Amina, I'll help them become strong with me.
"Ideal skill setup? Liberta, do you know a lot about skills?"
"Yeah, I do. I even know how to get them."
"Then, then! Do you know a lot about singing skills for me?"
"Of course! I'll teach you the strongest songstress build I know!"
"Strongest songstress! Amazing! Can I become that!?"
"Yeah, the road is tough! But if you reach it, you'll definitely be among the top!"
"I'll do it! I'll definitely do it!!"
Playing games alone is fun, but playing with others is just as enjoyable.
"That's not fair! Me too! Me too!"
"Of course, Nel too! I'll teach you how to become the strongest merchant!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, I don't lie! But if you compromise even a little, you'll regret it immensely. If you're going to do it, commit fully."
"Then I'll do it! I'll become the world's greatest merchant!!"
"Me too! I'll become the world's greatest songstress!"
Aiming for the top with your companions. Not as named characters, but as mob characters—the three of us.
Not bad. I'm starting to feel excited.
"Alright! Now that that's decided, let's eat breakfast, have a strategy meeting, go shopping, and then head into the dungeon in the afternoon!"
"Ooh!!"
A wellside meeting behind the shop—who would have thought we'd aim for the top from a place like this? I know the road ahead will be tough because of the knowledge I have.
But that's exactly why.
"Hey, Liberta."
"Yeah?"
"Why are you looking at us with such kind eyes?"
"Yeah, I was wondering too."
"It's just a rite of passage. Don't worry about it."
For now, it's enough if they're happy. I smiled gently at them.