I Became a 6★ Gacha Character-Chapter 9: Beginner’s First Steps 4

Bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds floating above.

An endless stretch of green plains and diverse vegetation, from grass reaching up to the ankles to reed-like plants that tower around one's waist, filled the world.

"Wow... the view is truly amazing."

A scenery reminiscent of a Windows desktop wallpaper unfolded endlessly before my eyes.

This was the first floor of the Tower of the Sky, the plains.

Some pretentious bards and pompous fellows would call it the Infinite Plains or the Plains of Abundance, but most adventurers simply called it the plains.

As you climb higher, various terrains appear, and they are often shortened, like plains, caves, swamps, and snowfields.

I relayed the answer to Han Se-ah's question, which I had heard outside the tower, as she looked around with wide-open eyes.

"That's why people who enter without the Adventurer's Guild's help die."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because there are no landmarks in the plains."

"Now that you mention it, how do we get out?"

Upon entering the dark tunnel, we found ourselves in the vast plains.

The mysterious behavior of the tower, which ignored spatial constraints, was secondary; the real concern was the fact that the exit didn't look like a door.

When we entered the tower, there was a door-like entrance, but once inside, there were no walls, trees, or rocks just an endless expanse of plains.

To return to the starting point, one would need some sort of tool or assistance.

"That's the scary part of the tower. To get back outside, we must return to the first floor, the plains, where we first entered. Specifically, right here."

As I said that and pointed to the ground beneath my feet, Han Se-ah's head lowered.

What entered her field of vision was a mysterious circle formed by the trampled grass on the plains.

It was a small circle, barely big enough for one person to stand on, with a diameter of about 1 meter.

"...Do we need to step on this platform?"

"Yes. We have to wander the vast plains without any landmarks, find this platform hidden in the bushes again, and then we can leave the tower."

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Raei Translations

***

The reason I don't risk my life climbing the tower is because of this inconvenient system.

After entering the plains and climbing to the higher floors of the tower, one would hunt monsters, collect magic stones, and then return to the plains to find this tiny platform.

Without the convenience of teleportation or minimaps like in a game, we had to rely on a magical compass provided by the Adventurer's Guild and practically march our way around.

It was simply too bothersome.

On top of that, there was no inventory system, so as we climbed higher, we had to carry food and water, making the return journey a struggle for most adventurers, who would end up looking like homeless people.

This was why many weary adventurers emerged from the tower.

The journey back was even more challenging since monsters spawned randomly.

"At least they mark the points on the map for us. It seems to map only the places I've stepped on, like the city earlier. ... To the guy in chat who said that I was going to be defeated by a first-floor goblin, I'll remember your username."

Han Se-ah finished her conversation with the viewers while looking at the pattern on the ground and then lifted her head.

Her mischievous eyes were filled with curiosity mixed with competitiveness.

She squinted with a burning desire to fight monsters right away, seemingly having a strong gamer's pride.

Of course, I wanted to clear the quest for the ten lowest-grade magic stones as soon as possible today.

So, I casually smiled and began walking in one direction.

"So, the Adventurer's Guild is in charge. They charge quite a high fee, but without them, it would be impossible to conquer the tower. The adventurer's badge has a magic function that allows you to find the tower's exit."

"Ah, it says here in the instructions that the tower's minimap is activated when the adventurer's badge is in your inventory."

Do you have an inventory, too?

I suppressed an almost envious sigh.

Since the tower's monsters turn into magic stones upon death, failing to calculate food supplies properly could result in eating grass and living rough on the plains.

The most enviable ability is undoubtedly the inventory.

Of course, the function I'm going to show is far from the game system like the inventory and the minimap.

I took out a golden badge from my pocket. In the center of the hexagonal metal badge, there was a large shield, helmet, and warhammer engraved.

"Now, when you look at the badge like this, there is a small magic stone embedded in the center of the emblem. When you press it, a waypoint appears for a moment."

When I pressed the tiny magic stone naturally embedded in the center of the shield, an arrow, like a hologram, rose above the adventurer's badge.

We had only walked a short distance, so the hologram arrow was naturally pointing back to where we came from.

"Of course, since it only shows one direction, in places other than the plains, professional guides are often hired for parties. That's why most parties always bring a rogue or an archer."

In the open plains, all you have to do is follow the arrow.

However, in maze-like caves, following the arrow alone could lead you to a dead end, becoming a skeleton on the wall.

Han Se-ah, who found this fascinating, reached into her waist pouch and pulled out her adventurer's badge.

I wondered if that leather pouch was her inventory or just for show.

The small iron badge she took out had an two elongated staves and a witch's hat crossed in an X shape engraved on it.

The material of the badge was different, but the magic stone was the same, so when she pressed the magic stone at the intersection of the staffs, an arrow floated up from her badge as well.

"Mine has a different emblem?"

"Well, the adventurer's badges also serve as a sort of identity proof. They prevent, for example, a mage from carrying a warrior's badge. In reality, the blacksmith who first made these badges just didn't like the plain design and added emblems on his own."

"Really?"

"It's a famous story among adventurers. How could it be proof of identity by just engraving swords and staffs? It's not like there are names and identities written on them."

In short, a blacksmith who received a large order from the Adventurer's Guild engraved emblems on a whim, and it unexpectedly became a tradition.

Since it wasn't made according to a template, the emblems vary greatly.

Even among warriors, there are various arrangements, such as swords, warhammers, axes, helmets, shields, and armor.

Because of this, influential senior adventurers in the Adventurer's Guild often engrave their own weapons on their badges to show off.

...Like me.

When I finally became a senior adventurer after much hardship, I was so moved that I requested to have my weapon engraved on my badge.

It's a bit embarrassing to explain, but at that time, most senior adventurers were making their own unique badges.

"Since we've checked the badge, let's look for monsters. The plains look the same everywhere, so just walk in any direction you'd like."

"Oh, just anywhere?"

"Wherever your heart desires."

Nodding, Han Se-ah walks forward with her arms crossed, swallowing her saliva.

She appears to be quite tense as she firmly grips her staff with both hands.

The lush green plains seems to only have rabbits at first glance.

However, it's only natural for there to be monsters since this is the first floor of a fantasy game's tower.

Of course, there are no dangerous monsters on the first floor since it's similar to a tutorial, but Han Se-ah, who is playing for the first time, wouldn't know that.

Monsters like soft slimes that can be killed with a kick, rabbits and foxes with tiny horns the size of a finger joint, and weak, old goblins.

Slimes are so weak that they sometimes don't even drop magic stones, making their presence in the game somewhat puzzling.

Neither the bites nor the horn stabs of the rabbits and foxes can pierce even the thickest cotton armor, let alone leather armor.

The only real threat is the goblin, wielding a crude weapon like a stone or a wooden club.

Even then, as long as one doesn't panic, anyone can easily defeat a single goblin.

"Is that a goblin?"

"Yes, we found one sooner than I expected."

It's extremely weak.

The goblin is much smaller than the ones you can find on the upper floors, with a frail, skinny body and a bent waist, giving it a small and weak appearance.

Kyaaak!

"Ah, it's coming?!"

We didn't hide our presence while walking through the plains, so the goblin must have noticed us a while ago.

A green, squat creature rushes at us, pushing through the rustling bushes. Its ragged loincloth barely covers its repulsive form.

'... From goblins to trolls, I guess the reason they wear underwear is that this is a game world?'

While I'm having an odd realization, Han Se-ah and the goblin charge at each other.

Naturally, Han Se-ah has a much longer reach. No matter how petite she is, her body is still much bigger than the tiny, bent goblin.

Moreover, there's a difference in their weapons a rock versus a staff.

"Haah!"

Han Se-ah has learned well in that short time, thrusting her staff like a spear.

With a powerful lunge, she twists her waist and stabs with the staff.

It's quite impressive.

"Uh, what?"

"Hmm, your posture is good."

The staff, cutting through the wind, pierces the defenseless goblin just below its throat.

That alone ends the battle.

The goblin lets out a final gasp and transforms into a stone the size of a finger joint with a strange "puff" sound.

[Han Se-ah and the party obtained 1/10 lowest-grade magic stones on the first floor]

The quest is progressing smoothly.

***

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