Chapter 5

"Stop, who are you!"

As I approached the capital, I heard a familiar, stern female voice.

It was definitely Sylvia, the beautiful but somewhat dim-witted female knight.

"Ah... thanks for yesterday."

I dismounted and greeted her. It felt a bit embarrassing.

"Hmm, you're that Second from yesterday. What are you doing out so late at night?"

Sylvia seemed to remember me. Also, her attitude seemed a little, just a little softer. She must have been scolded by her superior.

"Just heading to the mine."

"The mine? You? What for?"

She looked at me with suspicion. I see, this is like an on-the-spot interrogation. The capital's police force must be working hard.

"For experience points. The big cave behind the mine."

"...You, stop lying. You're saying you went all the way to a dangerous place to fight monsters? That makes no sense."

"Huh...?"

I didn't understand.

"What do you mean? I think the Viper Zombies there are pretty good."

"Hmm. I see. You have no sense of common sense. Or maybe you're just crazy."

She looked at me as if I were a regrettable sight. I wanted to punch her...

...

...No, wait.

Did she say "dangerous" just now?

I suddenly had a premonition. Could it be...

"Hey, I have a question, okay?"

"...Sure."

Sylvia nodded very reluctantly. I asked her to confirm.

"There are 21 dungeons, right?"

The dungeons, the essence of Mevion, number 21 in total. Players all challenged them, shared information, and sought out easier ways to clear them...

"What are you talking about? There are currently 19 known dungeons."

As expected. That means—

"How many have been cleared?"

"13, of course."

Wow... no way...

"Got it, thanks. Can I go now?"

"Hmph, get going."

I rode my horse to the inn, feeling Sylvia's "what a weird guy" gaze on my back.

...I see. I got it.

In this world, "death = death."

If I had said this five minutes ago, I would have laughed at how obvious it is.

No, this isn't something to laugh about.

In other words—there are few people who would risk their lives to become stronger. Why? Because "if you die, it's over."

And—because "I know information that can only be obtained by risking death thousands or tens of thousands of times."

That means—

"Haha, hahaha, hahahahaha!"

I couldn't stop laughing.

World number one.

I might reach it sooner than I thought.

Thank you for reading.