First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 60

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 60

 

While crossing the vast labyrinth and searching for stairs leading upward.

 

I was able to earn a decent amount of points by dealing with other examinees who occasionally appeared.

 

[No. 176 Asel: 600 points (Currently 4th place)]

 

In addition to the first 2 I dealt with, I hunted 10 more.

 

A total of 12 people, 600 points in total, ranking 4th overall.

 

About an hour had passed since the exam began.

 

Since the passing cutline was definitely up to 6th place, at this pace I could comfortably secure my acceptance.

 

However, I was concerned that I didn’t know the scores of the top 3 who ranked higher than me.

 

‘They might have similar scores to mine, but there’s also a possibility that the gap has already widened significantly.’

 

The top 3 from the first screening’s final results.

 

Irin Kramer. Tanya de Belyaev. And Ragnor von Grantuan.

 

I couldn’t be certain, but I had a strong intuition that these three were also currently in the highest ranking positions.

 

Especially Ragnor von Grantuan was definitely running in first place.

 

4.8 million points in the first screening.

 

Among the applicants here, there probably wasn’t anyone who could face him.

 

Except for me, that is.

 

“Ah, stairs.”

 

I finally found stairs leading upward.

 

Bright sunlight poured down the stairs, illuminating the area brightly.

 

If I just climbed those stairs, I would reach the surface where I promised to meet with my teammates.

 

I could naturally realize that my current location was Basement Floor 1, and my starting point had been Basement Floor 2.

 

However, if there was a problem.

 

“Another one came.”

 

“Looking at how relaxed he is, he seems pretty strong?”

 

“Don’t worry. It’s just one person. Look at our numbers.”

 

“Everyone be careful. There was a black-haired man among the top 5 from the first screening. It might be him.”

 

A group of no less than 7 people was blocking the stairs, setting up a formation.

 

The individual presence of each didn’t seem very strong, but they seemed to work well together, as if they knew each other from outside.

 

‘7 people would be 350 points.’

 

That would be enough points to expect a decent rise in ranking.

 

“Are you guys coming? Or should I go?”

 

When I shouted toward them while bouncing my sword on the ground, I could see them flinch.

 

“What is he saying right now?”

 

“Is it just me or does this look dangerous?”

 

“I think that’s him? 5th place in the first screening. His hair is black and his face looks similar…”

 

They kept whispering among themselves while keeping their eyes fixed on me.

 

The tall man standing at the front frowned deeply, as if he couldn’t stand listening anymore.

 

“Stop.”

 

The whispering voices stopped all at once.

 

He seemed to be the leader of that group.

 

“If he’s in the rankings, that’s actually good news. We can never get admitted without beating those guys anyway.”

 

The tall man raised his sword.

 

The rest of the group also adjusted their stances and steeled their fighting spirit in response to his movement.

 

“Ho, good attitude. But if you won’t come first, I’m going?”

 

Swoosh!

 

I stepped forward with true steps and charged.

 

I swung my sword horizontally and cut across between them.

 

Along with bright flashes of light, the figures of 6 people except the tall man evaporated all at once.

 

“Huh?”

 

The tall man looked around, trying to find me who had suddenly disappeared from his sight.

 

Then he discovered me standing behind him and trembled with the hand holding his sword.

 

“Wh-when did you…”

 

“Your mindset is good, but your skills are a bit lacking.”

 

I swung my sword toward his neck.

 

Along with a bright flash of light, the tall man was forcibly sent back and the artifact on my wrist chimed!

 

[No. 176 Asel: 950 points (Currently 3rd place)]

 

After gaining 350 points at once, my ranking reversed as expected.

 

“Good.”

 

I climbed the stairs.

 

* * *

 

“How about that person?”

 

Frida, who was watching the exam from the control room, asked Fail.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Not only did he deal with 7 people in one strike, but he didn’t even disturb his breathing in the process.

 

Fail quietly murmured the man’s name.

 

“Asel…”

 

One of the top rankers currently running in 3rd place.

 

His skills were undoubtedly real.

 

To think such a dark horse was hidden among the examinees.

 

I thought everyone except Ragnor von Grantuan and Tanya de Belyaev were more or less the same level.

 

“…This is going to get quite interesting?”

 

Perhaps the flow of the exam might develop differently than expected.

 

* * *

 

I take in the scenery of the surface.

 

A lush jungle overgrown with palm trees.

 

A clear sky without a single cloud and a blazing sun illuminated the earth, and statues built with ochre bricks could be found here and there.

 

A scene where civilization and nature were in perfect harmony.

 

I was satisfied just to have escaped from the stuffy underground labyrinth.

 

‘They said to come to the place with the giant sea serpent statue, right?’

 

The appearance of the statues was identical to those in the basement.

 

There were statues in the shape of animals like lions, bulls, and seagulls, and there were also human figures holding weapons like bows and swords.

 

After moving through the thicket for about several dozen minutes, a coiled sea serpent statue finally appeared.

 

A highly completed statue that even implemented the sea serpent’s characteristic stripes through color differentiation.

 

Two people were gathered in front of it.

 

“You’ve arrived!”

 

“Tsk, why are you so late? Commoner.”

 

It was Bael de Ernst and Joseph de Folcy.

 

“Ariel hasn’t come yet, I see?”

 

When I approached them and asked, Bael opened his mouth.

 

“Yes. Unfortunately, it seems we’ll have to wait a bit longer.”

 

“Hey, commoner. How many points do you have?”

 

Joseph seemed to show great interest in my score.

 

I silently turned on the artifact screen and showed it to Joseph.

 

“…950 points? 3rd place?”

 

“Why. How many points do you have?”

 

“It’s none of your business.”

 

Joseph clicked his tongue and turned his gaze away from me.

 

Bael placed his hand on my shoulder.

 

“We were lucky to be summoned to the 1st Floor surface and met here right after the start. Since we’ve each only dealt with one other examinee during this time, both Lord Joseph and I would have 50 points.”

 

“50 points? What’s my current ranking?”

 

Bael checked the artifact screen and answered.

 

“74th place.”

 

74th place.

 

Just two hours ago, 50 points would have been equivalent to 29th place.

 

The average score increase rate among examinees was higher than expected.

 

“It seems too late to gain points by targeting people.”

 

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

 

What this phenomenon indicated was simple.

 

It meant the number of examinees remaining in the testing ground was decreasing at a rapid pace.

 

“Someone gaining points also means someone got eliminated. By my calculations, close to 200, no, nearly 300 people have already been forcibly sent back.”

 

If we delayed any longer, a comeback might become impossible.

 

The remaining number of people would naturally keep decreasing, making it harder to gain points.

 

Ding!

 

Just then, a notification rang from my artifact.

 

[No. 176 Asel: 950 points (Currently 4th place)]

 

After maintaining the same score for dozens of minutes, my ranking had dropped.

 

It didn’t even end there.

 

Ding!

 

[No. 176 Asel: 950 points (Currently 5th place)]

 

My ranking had dropped two places in an instant.

 

The lower ranks were catching up at a frightening pace.

 

“So you’re saying if we don’t build a big point lead early on, it’ll be hard to make a comeback?”

 

I nodded at Bael’s question.

 

Of course, it wasn’t like there were no solutions.

 

I opened my mouth.

 

“We need to change our strategy. Would you mind taking a look at the booklet?”

 

Bael and Joseph took out the booklets from their backpacks and opened them.

 

It contained information about point distribution and the general structure of the labyrinth.

 

“Turn to the next page.”

 

The group turned the page as I instructed.

 

The next page described the types of monsters placed throughout the labyrinth and the points gained from hunting them.

 

-Defeating 10 or more monsters of the same type: 1,000 points.

 

-Defeating 5 or more Rare-grade monsters: 1,500 points.

 

-Defeating 5 or more Unique-grade monsters: 2,500 points.

 

An enormous amount of points at first glance.

 

Some monsters were even classified under Achievement rather than the monster category.

 

-Defeating the Blue Abyss Imugi: 10,000 points.

 

It was the same point value as the final survival reward.

 

Joseph pouted and grumbled.

 

“Is it okay to give out points so generously? They only give 50 points for taking down a person.”

 

They weren’t giving out points generously.

 

Why would an Achievement be called an Achievement?

 

At the level of ordinary students, defeating them would be impossible.

 

So if you had the skill to defeat those, they’d guarantee your acceptance.

 

“Lord Bael. Do you have any information about the difficulty of boss-level monsters?”

 

“The Blue Abyss Imugi is a high-risk monster that has been defeated only a handful of times in history. It’s not something we should target right away. I think this one would be good as our first target.”

 

Bael pointed to the text written below it.

 

-Defeating the Flame Poison Scorpion King: 3,000 points

 

“This doesn’t have low points either, but if Lord Ariel joins us, we should be able to defeat it somehow.”

 

“Do you know its location?”

 

The booklet didn’t record the monsters’ locations.

 

Bael confidently tapped his head with his finger.

 

“All the monster locations are stored right here in my head. The Flame Poison Scorpion King’s lair is on the 1st floor above ground. Right near here.”

 

Rustle.

 

Just then, Ariel approached us, pushing through the grass.

 

“I’m a bit late.”

 

Having encountered various situations on the way, his whole body was drenched in sweat and his shirt was soaked.

 

“It took some time to climb up from the 4th basement floor.”

 

“It’s fine, Lord Ariel. I’m glad you joined us, even if late.”

 

Joseph smiled and welcomed Ariel.

 

The temperature was strikingly different from when he greeted me.

 

“Finally, we’re all gathered.”

 

Bael explained the plan to Ariel as well.

 

After hearing the entire plan, Ariel crossed his arms and stroked his chin.

 

“The Flame Poison Scorpion King… If we’re going to defeat it, we need to move quickly before someone else gets it first. Monsters in the labyrinth don’t respawn once they’re killed.”

 

“Let’s depart right now.”

 

Thus, the four of us quickly moved to the Flame Poison Scorpion King’s territory.

 

As Bael had boasted, the destination was at a close distance.

 

When we pushed aside the vines growing along the cliff, the entrance to a hidden underground cave was revealed.

 

We entered without hesitation.

 

Inside was a vast cavity with lava flowing along the outer edges of the ground.

 

A space shaped like a flat rocky island floating on lava.

 

This was the Flame Poison Scorpion King’s lair.

 

“You’re finally here?”

 

But what awaited us wasn’t the Flame Poison Scorpion King.

 

“I thought my neck would fall off from waiting.”

 

On top of the giant scorpion’s corpse, torn and shredded all over, sat a blue-haired girl with a heavy axe resting on her shoulder.

 

The girl brazenly held out her wrist toward us.

 

[No. 137 Irin Kramer: 3,800 points (Currently 1st place)]

 

Irin bared her white, even teeth and giggled.

 

“Now, let’s have some fun.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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