Chapter 257
Character development, in extreme terms, is the repetition of monotonous tasks.
Defeat monsters under specific conditions to level up, meet certain requirements to expand skill slots, acquire skills suited to the character, and develop those skills.
By repeating these three steps, an FBO character is completed.
Adding equipment preparation and honing player skills further enhances completion, but ultimately, the core activities remain unchanged.
I believe this is an unavoidable fate for games with a leveling system. Events interspersed throughout may mask the grind, but leveling up itself is inescapable.
And in this regard, FBO might be harsher than other games.
"I-I've finally maxed out Mana Boost's skill level!!"
"I'm done with Guardian Song and Holy Chant too!"
This grind permeates not only dungeons but daily life as well.
Reaching the level cap in Class 5 doesn't mean it's over.
Next up is skill leveling.
This alone has already consumed two months.
"Okay, after a break, please practice Mana Charge in that square over there."
"U-understood!"
Right now, Lady Esmeralda has just finished training Mana Boost—a skill that consumes a fixed amount of one's own mana to enhance the power of magic skills.
It increases magic power at the cost of higher consumption. She was using it to strengthen Claudia's healing skills, as it can be applied to both oneself and others.
I'll explain why later. Next, I asked her to practice Mana Charge—a skill that greatly increases mana recovery rate but prevents the use of other skills while active.
It's a skill that saves potions when used during movement or rest.
The training is mundane, but Lady Esmeralda nods without complaint and heads to the square.
"Liberta-sama, which skill should I work on next?"
"You've maxed out all cooking-related skills, right?"
"Yes, Cooking Art up to Divine Cooking Art, Cooking to max level, and simultaneously, Butchering and Enchanting Cooking are also complete."
"Then... next, please work on Purification Magic and Cleaning Magic."
"Understood."
"What about me?"
"Amina, focus on dance-related skills."
"All of them?"
"Of course. The spirits worked hard to get us those skill scrolls; we can't neglect training them."
"Okay! Um, Healing Dance, Vitality Dance, and, um..."
"Charming Dance. Sing and dance simultaneously to level them up quickly."
"Got it!!"
What we're doing now is a BBQ combined with a mini-live show to thank the spirits who usually gather materials and scrolls for us.
It's similar to our initial interactions with the spirits, but now with Amina's songs added—akin to a social gathering.
Even here, we can efficiently level up skills.
Especially for Amina, leveling here is safer and more effective since there's a larger audience to perform for.
After receiving instructions, Amina returns to the stage and immediately begins singing and dancing for the spirits, earning experience.
Ingrid cleans the venue while using skills to maintain cleanliness.
Lady Esmeralda continues using magic enhancement skills—a tedious task requiring patience.
She's sitting in the square, grumbling in concentration, and small spirits are drawn to her due to the heightened mana.
Class 5 allows unlocking four skill slots.
Three are the same as before, but the new condition is defeating 50 bosses of the same class or higher.
The current class has a maximum of 18 skill slots. Amina has filled 17 of them.
Some passive skills are intentionally unevolved, but all skills directly related to combat, including mine, are maxed out.
"......"
The remaining slot is for a unique skill, but I'd also like to incorporate rare skills like Heavenly Voice.
Heavenly Voice and Heavenly Dance.
With these two skills, Amina's buffs would become absurdly powerful—to the point of breaking game balance.
The others are similar; they've incorporated all obtainable skills except rare ones, but they lack the decisive powerful skills.
However, all rare skills only drop from ancient equipment obtained from Mimic Armor.
"Nell will continue developing axe skills... and also learn heavy armor defense skills to become tougher and survive better. Claudia should focus on martial arts and improve her healing skills..."
Glancing at the stall, I see Nell engaged in trade.
Though it's just bartering with spirit stones, her stall level is steadily rising.
That skill will evolve into something formidable later, so I want it leveled now.
As for Claudia, she's probably fighting spirit combat enthusiasts with the rings made for this event.
She can heal herself, so it helps with healing skill proficiency, and the relentless attacks serve as PvP practice.
Earlier, Lady Esmeralda was assisting with healing, so some of the accumulated stress should have been relieved.
However, since it's "a bit" too intense, it's held at the edge of the venue, but it's popular due to demand and the spirits' satisfaction.
Ingrid occasionally checks on them and will inform me if anything happens.
Thus, while each of us levels skills, we also show gratitude to the spirits helping us.
Tomorrow is a complete rest day, and the day after, we start Class 6 leveling.
Class 5 took a week, so Class 6 will likely take one to two months.
Class 7 might take half a year or so.
"Liberta! Let's play!!"
"Okay, I'm coming!"
While making these calculations, what am I doing? Playing with the spirits.
"Let's start hide-and-seek!!"
""""Yeah!!""""
It's a variant of hide-and-seek.
The spirits are "it," and I'm the one hiding. Spirits who find me get candy as a reward—a small event.
It's variant because not only is there a numerical difference between hiders and seekers, but I'm also allowed to move around freely instead of hiding in one spot.
The hiding area is a small rock mansion made by earth spirits.
It's smaller than the Duke's mansion but quite large for a regular home.
There are obstacles and plenty of hiding spots.
The layout is somewhat complex, so with clever movement, I can avoid being found.
"Alright, the small spirits go first. Larger spirits, please wait your turn to enter."
The time limit is 30 minutes. I use skills to evade全力 (with all my might)—an attraction of sorts.
Simple but surprisingly popular among the spirits, it has become a queued attraction.
For me, it's a safe way to level skills, and when high-ranking spirits join in the latter half, experience efficiency skyrockets.
Break time is over.
I gently touch the large hourglass and turn it over.
"When the sand reaches this line, we start."
""""Yes!!""""
The line drawn on the glass surface of the hourglass marks the time limit.
When it empties, exactly 30 minutes have passed. I take a deep breath and enter the rock mansion.
Windows are fully open, so sunlight streams in, and it's not too dark inside, but there are many shadows, making it easy to hide.
From outside, cheerful voices discuss where to search and how to proceed.
Amid the noise, it's hard to pick out individual voices, but I can grasp the general strategy. My first move is to secure blind spots.
The entrance is wide open, but the ceiling is high. By climbing along the wall, I can position myself directly above the entrance unnoticed.
Most of my new skills are mobility-based rather than offensive.
Presence Detection, Silent Walk, Shadow Clone, Hate Down.
Originally, this build was for solo dungeon runs, allowing me to strike first with surprise attacks even when encountering enemies.
Ideally, I'd have the rare skill Chameleon Mimicry, but since that's not possible now, I prioritize other skills.
"Shadow Cloak."
My figure turns black with Shadow Cloak—one such skill.
It not only blackens my appearance but also boosts magic defense and stealth—an excellent skill.
Chameleon Mimicry has short duration and long recast time, making it hard to use frequently.
But Shadow Cloak has long duration and almost no recast time.
In bright areas, a black object moving around is conspicuous, but in dim light, it's quite useful.
Especially at night, it becomes nearly invisible, making it invaluable.
Thanks to this hide-and-seek, the skill level has risen significantly, improving efficiency and magic defense.
Small spirits enter the mansion cheerfully, but they head straight inside without looking up.
After they pass, I begin moving quietly.
Spirits are generally noisy. With Presence Detection, I can track their locations, and by constantly moving while mindful of blind spots, I can usually avoid detection.
However, since they move in groups, blind spots aren't always available.
While moving, I can be cornered with no escape.
Staying still is an option, but if I'm about to be found...
"Magic Wire."
I shoot a wire made of mana to the ceiling, pull myself up, and escape upward.
Originally, this skill only creates wires, with length varying by skill level.
Multiple wires can be created, allowing for enemy severing like a wire user.
It's actually possible. At max skill level, even ultra-thin wires are incredibly strong and sharp.
Additionally, forming a blade with Magic Edge at the tip allows for ranged attacks.
Combining Magic Edge and wires lets me pierce ceilings or walls for movement, providing an aerial mobility option beyond Air Step.
The skill's strength lies in creating three-dimensional trajectories using its伸缩 (stretching and contracting)特性 (properties).
Well, for a mansion of this height, even regular jumps would suffice, let alone Air Step, but using skills like this is best for proficiency grinding.
As an assassin build, I have countless ways to avoid detection.
I'm grateful to the spirits for allowing safe skill leveling, and entertaining them ensures their continued help.
A true win-win relationship.
As the game progresses, hide-and-seek becomes increasingly challenging.
But I enjoy it myself, making it a good vacation.