Chapter 32
This is a story that takes place a little before Dent-san takes us outside.
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"Hey, Liberta. Why can't we level up?"
"Yeah, it's weird to stay at level zero like this. We’ve been raising our skills as much as we can, so it doesn’t make sense to keep our level at zero."
After clearing Count Crelemont's lament, our pockets are quite full. On top of that, we’ve figured out how to use the items we obtained. Plus, we’re planning to go on an expedition with Dent-san and the others in two weeks, so today we’re gathered in the stable again, preparing for the journey.
This time, we’ll be traveling by carriage, so we can take a bit more luggage with us. Potions, camping tents, ingredients, cooking utensils—there’s a lot to prepare for the trip. With Jinku-san’s advice, we’re handling the preparations on our own.
When your hands are busy, your mouth naturally gets bored. And when your mouth gets bored, you naturally want to talk about something.
"Alright, let’s take a break and I’ll explain why we shouldn’t level up yet, and talk about leveling in general."
This time, to clear up the doubts of the two girls who still can’t accept being at level zero despite having gone through such a tough quest, I pull out the wooden stick I once used to teach Nel and start writing on the ground. Of course, I’m writing in this world’s script, which for some reason I can write. Though what I’m writing looks more like Arabic numerals.
"In this world, strength is basically determined by your level. But that’s not absolute. A small level difference can be easily overcome with equipment or skills."
"We know that. Even at level zero, we can defeat dungeon bosses every day."
"Though it’s the weakest boss."
I write "1/10." This means a Class 1, Level 10.
"Right. So here’s a question: There are two men, both Class 1, Level 10. Both have only the swordsmanship skill, and their skill levels are the same. They’re both equipped with wooden training swords and shields. But for some reason, when these two fight, one wins more often. Why?"
I tap the ground with the tip of the stick as I pose the question to the two girls, who tilt their heads in confusion.
"They’re the same level, right?"
"Yep."
"And their skills and equipment are the same, so their strength should be about the same, right?"
"From what I can see, they’re balanced to be about the same."
"Is there a height difference?"
"Physique is almost the same. They could be twins."
"Is one of them less confident or something?"
"Both are equally aggressive."
I answer each of their questions one by one, adding conditions as I go. I keep dropping hints, and Amina is the first to come up with an idea.
"Ah! I got it! One of them has their base stats focused on stamina, while the other has them evenly distributed! That’s why one loses more often!"
She beams with a triumphant smile, as if she’s hit the jackpot, and puffs out her chest as if to say, "How about that?" But this question is intentionally tricky. Unfortunately, the correct answer is something else, and I can see Nel looking frustrated out of the corner of my eye.
"Good thinking, but unfortunately, that’s not it."
"Eh!?"
Both Nel and Amina are shocked. "That’s not it!?"
"Both of them have definitely allocated all their base stats to stamina. To add to that, neither has any special equipment, nor are they being secretly helped by allies. It’s not just about skills—they haven’t undergone any special training, and there are no traps in the battlefield that only one of them knows about. And of course, neither is being blackmailed or anything like that."
"??????"
As I systematically eliminate all possible explanations, the two girls are left with nothing but question marks floating above their heads.
"Ugh, I give up!"
"Me too, I surrender. Just tell us the answer."
After thinking for about a minute, Nel looks frustrated, and Amina looks tired and gives up.
"The answer is, one of them used a special method to level up and was able to allocate more stat points."
"Wait, what?"
"That’s cheating! How were we supposed to know that?"
Of course, they’re going to complain when I give them that answer.
"That doesn’t make sense! When you level up, you only get one point! Sometimes you might get more as a reward from the gods, but that only happens when you defeat a strong boss or something like that!"
Nel’s words are probably common sense in this world. Amina nods in agreement, so it’s clear that’s how things are supposed to work.
"But actually, that’s not entirely true."
However, I have knowledge that can overturn that common sense. If the gods created this world’s system, then it should work the way I know it does. That’s why you shouldn’t level up carelessly.
What Nel said about occasionally getting more points is just a matter of meeting certain conditions.
"What Nel calls a 'reward' isn’t something you get by chance. It’s a bonus you can earn up to the maximum if you meet the conditions."
"What do you mean?"
I tap the ground with the stick again, and their attention shifts back to me.
"When you level up, you get BP—Build Points. These can be used for both stats and skills, but there are actually two types of BP."
I write "BP" on the ground in this world’s script, and then add something next to it.
"EXBP—Extra Build Points. These are additional BP you can earn by meeting certain conditions."
I write "EXBP" and tap it.
"This is the gods’ reward for your efforts. By meeting the conditions set for each class, you can earn extra points."
What a fitting name for a reward from the gods. At the start of the game, we, like Nel, thought that you might randomly get more points if you were lucky. But when the analysis team discovered that there were certain conditions for earning EXBP—points that were either the same as or even better than regular BP—we were blown away.
Redoing your character creation can break a player’s spirit. The number of times the developers and retired players’ complaints fueled outrage is countless, and yet the developers, unafraid of losing players, never fixed this hidden feature. It made us wonder what else they were hiding, and that fear still haunts me to this day.
"Extra rewards!"
Nel’s excitement snaps me out of my dark thoughts. Her merchant instincts kick in at the word "reward," and her earlier complaints vanish. If there’s a chance to earn more, she’s willing to put in the effort. Maybe she has the makings of a hardcore gamer like me.
Her eyes sparkle, and her tail wags excitedly.
"W-Whoa, calm down, Nel. Liberta’s going to explain it to us now."
Amina stops Nel, who’s practically breathing down my neck in excitement. I decide to hurry up and explain before things get out of hand. Not because Amina is glaring at me to hurry or anything.
"The conditions for earning EXBP are set for each class. The number of conditions increases with the class rank—one for Class 1, two for Class 2, and so on. If you meet the conditions and level up, you’ll earn EXBP in addition to the regular BP."
"So, for Class 1, you can earn up to 100 BP in total?"
"Exactly! The max level for Class 1 is 50. If you meet the conditions while leveling up, you can earn double the usual amount—100 BP."
This hidden feature is a great deal. Simply put, you can become more than twice as strong as someone who levels up without meeting the conditions. And as your class increases, the gap widens even further.
"That’s why I’ve been avoiding leveling up until now. There aren’t many places around here where I can meet the conditions."
This system rewards you for putting in the effort early on. That’s why I’ve been so stubborn about not leveling up. Securing skill slots was part of it, but this is the main reason.
"I see."
"Huh, I didn’t know that."
"It took me a lot of effort to figure this out."
Countless players worked on analyzing this, and it was only after a lot of effort that this truth came to light. There’s a lot of hardship behind this discovery.
I cross my arms and nod solemnly. It’s not like I’ll get punished for it.
"So! What are the conditions for leveling up?"
But Nel, unaware of the struggles it took to uncover this, leans forward and asks straightforwardly. I could tell her about the hardships, but it doesn’t feel necessary.
"For Class 1, the EXBP condition is simple: for each level, you must defeat at least three different types of monsters before leveling up."
"Three types? Like Motchi, Goblins, and Tanuki?"
"Sounds like a hassle. Monster territories usually only have one type of monster."
"That’s right. Monster territories usually only border one other type of monster. It’s rare to find an area where three types overlap."
The distinction between the three types of monsters is based on their species. Since they’re different monsters, it’s easier to distinguish them by type.
"That’s why there’s a bit of leeway in the classification. For example, Goblins and Hobgoblins are considered different species. Even though Hobgoblins are evolved from Goblins, they’re treated as separate. If Goblins were all lumped together, meeting this condition would be a pain."
"If that’s the case, other people should have figured it out by now, right?"
"Yeah, but I’d never heard of it until Liberta told us."
But even so, you’d still have to defeat one type of monster and then travel to another monster’s territory. Our theory as players is that the system is designed to make you fight a variety of monsters to gain experience, rather than focusing on just one type.
It’s a system that seems inefficient for gaining experience. For hardcore players, it might not be a big deal, but for casual players, it’s a turn-off.
I kept playing FBO because I loved the world, but among the players I knew, many quit because of these tedious systems. They all said the same thing: if it weren’t for these annoying systems, it would be a great game.
That mystery remained unsolved until the servers shut down.
"One thing to be careful about is the classification of monster types. Like I said earlier, Hobgoblins and Goblins are easy to distinguish, but Goblins are Class 1 monsters, while Hobgoblins are Class 2. So they’re classified as different monsters based on their class. And a common mistake is thinking that Goblins with bows are called Archers, or Goblins that move stealthily are called Scouts, but they’re all still just Goblins."
"I see. So Hobgoblins are evolved, but Goblins with different appearances are still the same species, just with different roles."
"Does 'type' mean they’re different as living beings?"
"That’s a safe assumption. Though there are usually exceptions to these kinds of rules."
It’s a bit frustrating not knowing for sure, but considering the situation we’re in now, all that effort feels worth it.
"Exceptions?"
"Yeah, exceptions. Probably some kind of relief measure from the gods."
No gamer leaves hardship unaddressed. People will always look for the most efficient way to achieve the best results.
And there will always be those who explore those possibilities.
"Relief from the gods?"
"Yeah. If things are too difficult, fewer people will take on the challenge, so the gods prepared some convenient monsters."
"The gods sure love their trials."
"Yeah. My dad said that if there were no monsters, humans could expand their living areas more."
These exceptions were discovered by those pioneers.
"So, the place Liberta suggested we go is where these exception monsters are?"
The place Amina is asking about is the famous leveling spot for Class 1 players starting in the southern continent.
"Yeah, that’s right."
Its nickname is the "Shape-Shifting Haniwa."
That’s where we’ll get stronger.