章 2: A Pathetic Way of Getting a Quest
"System, tell me about 'Hidden Classes.'" Dante asked from the inside.
A moment later, a window popped out in his frontal vision, and an emotionless voice started to talk in his head. It wasn't a mechanical voice, but still, it was impossible to understand its gender.
[Hidden Classes are the extra classes that cannot be selected by ordinary means.]
"That's it? What's the difference between Selectable Classes and Hidden Classes?"
[Warrior, Ranger, Mage, Priest, Rogue and the varieties of these classes are all Selectable Classes. These are the classes that a participant can obtain as long as he or she meets the requirements. Some of the skills are common among the Selectable Classes. The participants' total stats don't vary too much at the same level. After hitting level 10, System allows participants to make a choice.]
[At the same level, a Hidden Class participant's total stats might differ drastically compared to Selectable Classes. All the Hidden Classes have one or more unique skills and crafting abilities. A participant doesn't need to wait until reaching the level 10, for having a Hidden Class. The more rare the Hidden Class is, the stronger it is..]
"Hidden Classes truly sound strong, but it should be hard to obtain one. System, how can a participant obtain a Hidden Class? Wait... one more question! Why do you call us 'participants'?"
[A Hidden Class can be obtained in three different ways by the participants. One, triggering a definite chain quest and successfully performing it. Two, contacting with a specific item related to the Hidden Class. Three, with pure luck.]
"You call those three different ways? All of them contains a great amount of luck if you ask me! What about my second question? Why are you calling us as participants?"
[...]
"Useless piece of trash! If you don't want to answer my question, say classified information or something. Don't throw an empty window to my face!"
Dante has gotten frustrated by The System's answers. To him, there was only one way to obtain a Hidden Class, and that was sheer luck.
"OK! Where should a newcomer like me start leveling up?" He didn't have much hope for getting an answer, but he asked nonetheless.
[…]
Dante, "…"
The twitching on his face continued for a while.
"It seems like The System is only allowed to give limited information. Since I don't have anything to do, let's continue interrogating The System."
"Stopping here was a good idea after all." Considering the answers of the System again, he sighed.
Dante sat on the rock for another two hours and kept asking questions to System. Most of the time, a blank page was the answer, but he didn't stop. The more annoyed he got, the more he realized how stubborn he was.
…
Dante has already been paying attention to his surroundings while communicating with the system. However, nothing had caught his interest. Until now, the conversations which have been coming out from the tavern were offering mostly much cry and little wool.
He stood up and was about to leave. Then, two drunkards, with their arms on each other's shoulders, came out of the tavern. They somehow managed to throw themselves at a wall nearby before springing a leak to each other.
"*Hic* Ya said the new batch of empty heads had arrifed earlier today, how da ya know? Bluuurggh!"
"Owwr god! Your burping's smell is strongr than your piss'! I'm not drinkin with ya again!"
Dante, 'What the hell? The man's belch created a small mist cloud! What did he drink? Coal oil?'
"Wha ha ha! *hic* Come on, tell me already!"
"Awwright! Boss had brought a pretty newcomer girl from back door two hours ago. 'She wants guidance', he said." One of the drunkards said while the other was wetting the lower part of his trouser leg.
"Bwah ha ha ha! It is better for her to receive 'guidance' from our boss. Otharwise, she should have gone to [The Lower Catacombs] with the othars. There are only pygmy skeletons in the caverns, and they give so little amount of experience points when killed. On top of that, no one would want to buy a pile of bones, that's what they would have aftar clearing that place. Bwa ha ha!"
"Isn't it normal? Pygmy skeletons are the weakest of the monsters in [The Labyrinth of the First]. Hey!… What are ya doing?"
Dante, 'Thanks to my four intelligence points, I have chosen right! I must stay away from 'vulgar' people. Thank you for the advice, Miss Breast Angel!'
Inside of Dante's mind, the two words, 'cruel world', kept hovering as he listened to drunkards. Then, he suddenly asked System, "System, where is [The Lower Catacombs]?"
Map window opened in front of Dante, and a big red dot was glimmering in a dark section of the map.
[Quest Log updated.]
[The number of available quests: One]
[Clear The Lower Catacombs.]
[The Lower Catacombs: A cave system that houses pygmy skeletons and other variations of its kind. The newcomer participants often choose this place as a starting point.]
[Pygmy Skeletons: As the name suggest, they are small-scaled skeleton monsters. Pygmy Skeletons resembles a ten year old child's skeleton. Compared to other skeleton species, they fall weak in all aspects, especially in terms of intelligence. Their levels vary between 1 and 7.]
[Location: Four miles northwest of Sunfell, southeast of The Yelling Peaks slopes.]
[Rewards: 100 experience points, Bonesword]
[Do you accept the quest?]
'Did I just received a quest? Darn, what a pathetic way of getting a quest.' Dante couldn't help but thinking these lines.
'Hmph! At least The System is considering details when giving quests.'
Dante looked toward the drunkards. Unexpectedly, their actions had not finished yet. Shaking his head, Dante walked down the road, leaving behind an ugly scene.
'Thanks for the information jerks.' He said from the inside.
'Now the question is, shall I accept the quest?' Dante contemplated for a moment.
'Looks like I don't have another choice. It doesn't matter how little the gains are. I must get stronger as soon as possible. Otherwise, there might be some 'vulgar' people who want to give me guidance. I want to be the one who gives 'guidance', not the receiving one!'
'I accept the quest!' Dante said, a little unwilling, but he had no other choice.
[Quest received: Clear The Lower Catacombs.]
Three hours left before the sunrise and Dante didn't have a place to sleep right now. He was sure that he would come across his fellow empty heads on the way of The Lower Catacombs. So there was no need for seeking them. Entering there alone was also out of the question.
Dante decided to revisit The Elevator, more precisely, revisit the woman residing there.
She had not said anything like 'I am residing there'. However, The Elevator wasn't a random place. It was somewhere that should not be left without a safeguard. Dante guessed this point.
He didn't want anything from her. A little conversation was enough for him. Since she was the only person he knew in this dungeon world, there wasn't a better choice for killing time. Maybe she could even give some tips to him. That was also another reason.
Dante walked back to The Elevator.
He saw the woman near the exit. She was leaning back on a soft green armchair that made of feather pillows and holding her tea-cup with one leg crossing on top of the other. Occasionally, taking a sip from her tea while watching the stars.
She truly looked lonely. During her stay at The Elevator, the only people she has seen were the amnesiac newcomers. Dante didn't have any doubt about his judgment.
The Elevator's surroundings were luminous. Dante saw her from a hundred meters away, but she didn't seem like to notice him. Maybe she was too distracted for sensing him.
However, as soon as Dante came fifty meters close to her, she abruptly stood up.
"Who is there?! Show yourself quickly!"
Her voice was as merciless and loud as before.
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