Chapter 262
Well then, Class 6 leveling has begun smoothly, but...
Nell, staring intently at her status, asks me with a troubled expression.
"Hey, Liberta.""What is it?""Even though we've defeated so many, why is it rising so slowly?""Hmm, the experience efficiency isn't bad, but the experience table increases ridiculously."
In just one week, we've only gained 30 levels.
The sluggish experience gain is painfully evident.
I completely understand Nell's confusion—she probably expected faster progress based on Class 5 leveling.
I too was shocked when my first character in FBO suddenly struggled to level up upon reaching Class 6.
It's like a boundary line. From Class 6 onward, which marks the start of the latter half, the experience required becomes absurdly high.
"Liberta, aren't we moving to a dungeon where we can level up faster?"
Behind Nell, who has tirelessly slain Wind Dragons for a week without complaint, lies a massive pile of Wind Dragon materials—far more than on the first day.
If we offered this to the kingdom, could we become a ducal house? I briefly applied Lady Esmeralda's earlier calculation but smiled wryly, knowing it's impossible, and answered Nell's question.
"Considering safety, drop items, and experience efficiency, the Wind Dragon dungeon is the only one that meets all conditions."
Class 6 EXBP acquisition conditions really hinder us here. If we only cared about experience efficiency, there are plenty of better dungeons.
But when "becoming stronger" is the prerequisite, the options narrow drastically.
"Do you remember the Class 6 EXBP acquisition conditions?"
This world is undeniably status-driven. EXBP, which guarantees that status, is an absolute must-have.
Nell, though frustrated, calmly responds to my question, nodding and recalling from memory.
"First, possess one divine-class passive skill and at least five skills raised to class level 10.""Exactly. That one's pretty straightforward.""Second, level up by defeating monsters at least 20 levels higher than us.""Right, these first two are the same as Class 5."
The initial conditions are easy to remember and relatively achievable. Meeting just these two would open up many options.
The first is essentially a benchmark for growth, and the second has been mentioned before. Wind Dragons are around level 250 for Class 6, so adjusting levels with the Mark of the Weakling lets us meet this condition.
The real problem starts after this.
"Then, what's the third?"I'm not trying to be mean, but Nell hesitates slightly when asked about the third condition.
"Third, we must level up by defeating monsters of the same rank.""Correct."
The third condition prevents us from using the efficient leveling methods we've relied on. Previously, we gained large amounts of EXP by defeating higher-level monsters, but that's not allowed in Class 6.
Same rank means only Class 6 monsters count for leveling. We must equip the Mark of Training when facing the dungeon boss, the Thunder Dragon.
If you're just starting to level, defeating it might not cause a level-up, but failure would be disastrous.
Keen players might start sensing something fishy here. Trust that intuition—it's important.
"Fourth, it must be a dragon species.""Yep, correct."
And as feared, a species restriction appears here. Moreover, the specified species is among the most privileged monsters in FBO. Dragons are significantly stronger than other monsters.
They come in various types, and their performance is excellent.
Some players even avoid fighting them if possible at the same rank due to their high specs. But once you get used to them, they become prime targets for hunting, just like we're doing now.
By Class 6, dragon species beyond the four elemental dragons (earth, water, fire, wind) start appearing.
A famous example is the Fairy Dragon.
It looks like a seahorse with butterfly wings, about the size of a human face.
The scary part is that they appear to be around Class 2 or 3 monsters. If you carelessly attack them thinking they're weak, they mercilessly debuff you worse than Marsh Dragons, buff their allies, and attack in groups as link monsters.
Dragons always have some annoying trait, and all dragon species possess mid-to-high level strength for their class.
By the fourth condition, it's clear the game is forcing players to challenge strong enemies by making dragons the only way to earn EXBP.
"Fifth, it must have the boss attribute."
And there are still two more conditions. Up to this point, it's manageable: train adequately and defeat same-rank dragons. But FBO's quality means things get stricter, not easier, adding more complications.
What is this "boss attribute"? It's an attribute only given to dungeon boss monsters. In dungeons like ours where they roam normally, they have 1.1 times the stats of regular individuals.
So, the Fairy Dragon I mentioned earlier, which never becomes a boss, doesn't have this attribute.
Wind Dragons, being boss monsters in the Wyvern dungeon, all have the boss attribute here.
Note that this attribute only applies within the dungeon; Wind Dragons on the central continent don't count.
Some players eagerly go to the central continent for leveling, only to miss out on this EXBP. You must carefully check if the Wind Dragon has the boss attribute—this is why the developers are called twisted.
Seriously, "boss attribute"? Shouldn't that be for bosses only? Yet they're scattered everywhere in the dungeon, making normal monsters pseudo-bosses—it's contradictory.
So why did we choose the troublesome flying Wind Dragons? Elimination led us here.
There are other dragon species with the boss attribute: the Water Dragon and Earth Dragon from the Marsh Dragon dungeon boss, and occasionally the Fire Dragon from the Wyvern dungeon boss. Including Wind Dragons, all four elemental dragons have the boss attribute.
Others include the Hydra from the Marsh Dragon dungeon boss. There are a few more special monsters.
We chose Wind Dragons because they're the easiest to defeat among the limited options.
Water Dragons are in aquatic environments, so water-based combat—immediately excluded. Similarly, Fire Dragons are in volcanic fields—rejected. While Ingrid's skills could help, it's not worth the risk.
Next, the Hydra from the Marsh Dragon dungeon is rejected because it spreads too many status ailments, requires effort and skill to defeat, and the field has poison mist and swamps—avoid at all costs.
Then the Earth Dragon: too tough, inefficient to defeat, hides underground to heal, and won't respawn until defeated—a hidden trap. Rejected for efficiency.
Other dragon species are rejected for similar reasons.
Thus, we chose Wind Dragons because, while they fly, their defense isn't too troublesome, and we can counter them.
Frankly, there's no EXP difference between dragon species, so no reason to choose something more complicated.
So, there's no groundbreaking leveling method this time, as Nell hopes.
"Sixth, it only applies to level-ups within one year of reaching Class 6."
And the final condition is the most trap-like. This was the hardest for the verification team to identify.
EXBP that should always be added no matter what—would FBO's management really be that generous?
This condition was discovered when a player, for various reasons, stopped leveling a character midway through Class 6 and resumed later.
The always-added EXBP was suddenly missing one upon level-up.
This time-limited condition, once missed, is permanently lost, making it notoriously tough. Among players, it became common sense to rush through Class 6 leveling.
This one-year condition, combined with the same-rank requirement and class-up experience table changes, clearly favors speed-leveling.
"Thus, Wind Dragons are the only ones that meet all six conditions, are relatively safe to defeat, and allow item collection—the greedy triple combo. So, we must patiently persevere until the next break.""Seriously? There's no other way?"
She droops her ears like she did that day she got tired of farming in the Mochi Dungeon. I smile wryly; there's nothing to be done.
"If only we had cash shop items. We could manage then."
My knowledge only covers efficient defeating and leveling methods. Experience boost items exist, but we can't obtain them.
"Cash shop items?""Never mind, just products of corporate effort."
Items that ease this are paid items, so-called cash shop items. I used to spend a significant portion of my salary on them.
Most paid items can't be player-made, so we can't get them now.
Even the flavor text describes them as "miraculous items bestowed by gods." We used to joke that "gods" meant the management, accepting that players couldn't obtain them.
"Huh? Not obtainable by players?"
Recalling that flavor text, I have a sudden idea.
"Claudia.""Yes?""Are there cases where you can receive items or things from gods?"
This world isn't a game, but gods exist here—entities unknown in real-world Japan—replacing the management.
Could it be that items provided by the management can be created by gods?
"Well, yes, though rarely. Mostly items that only appear in legendary tales."
This line of thought leads to a hopeful, perhaps greedy, idea: maybe we can obtain incredible items through this perspective.