A plan frustrated for a good reason.
Initially, he planned to return to his dimension and leave Friday on watch in case someone came looking for him, but after seeing the room that was bigger than his and... It had hot springs!
After going to his dimension and returning with bedding and pajamas, he also swapped the mattress for his own. After all, he wasn't a fool—his mattress was better than the one in the room, and he didn't know how many people had already slept in that bed.
If it were just one night, fine, but if possible, he preferred not to sleep in a bed that belonged to someone he didn't even know. Even if it looked clean.
Then, he took a set of clothes and a towel, placing them in a basket, and left the room. Walking down the hallway, he went down the wooden stairs.
When he arrived at the men's changing area, he undressed and entered with a bucket containing his hygiene products.
Inside, he was alone.
"Ahh, what a good bath. Paradise, paradise~"
Separated by a wall, he heard Aria's voice.
Scratching his face, he shook his head and grabbed the shampoo.
After lathering up, he took a bucket of water and rinsed the shampoo off. Next was washing his body with liquid soap.
Finished, he entered the hot spring and felt his body melting into the water.
'This is great~' He thought: 'Now I understand why Aria said that out loud.'
...
Outside, he didn't go up the stairs but waited for Aria.
When she appeared, he handed her a glass bottle with white liquid.
He had a similar bottle himself and drank from it.
"Puahhh, nothing better than drinking yogurt after a bath!" He exclaimed after drinking it all.
Confused by his reaction, she did the same, and as she drank, her eyes sparkled more and more until she finished it.
"What is this? It's so delicious~!" Aria exclaimed.
"It's yogurt, a drink from my home village." He didn't completely lie. He added: "After bathing, we have the habit of drinking it."
"I understand why." Aria said, agreeing: "I'd also like to drink this every time after a bath~"
"I have plenty." He said: "I can always give you some of my yogurt."
"Really? Thank you~" She smiled, enchanted.
**
**
The next morning.
[Connection with Dimension SRMBNMEP 100% Established!]
[Time difference 1/100]
"..."
Tomoya, who was awakened by the sound produced by the system, seeing what appeared on his retina as soon as he opened his eyes, was speechless. Whether it was because of the number of letters likely abbreviating something like dimension TSSDK, or because of the huge time difference between the dimensions.
If it's really like this, he could practically stay a little more than a quarter of a year and only one day would pass in his dimension.
'But this is strange, it wasn't like this before.' He thought.
{Searching for answer... Answer found. Master, before the connection was made, the time between your home dimension and this dimension was exactly the same. However, at the moment the connection was made, the time difference was adjusted.}
An answer that left no doubt.
Tomoya sat on the bed and said mentally: 'Thank you.'
{You don't need to thank me, Master. I am at your service.}
...
After returning from the bathroom, he went to his dimension. Up until then, an entire night had passed.
In other words, only that morning did the 1/100 difference happen. Besides, that difference worked in his favor. If he was in his own dimension, time was automatically invested.
The only downside was that, even if he wanted to let time in X dimension pass faster, he couldn't.
The rule is crystal clear: While in SRMBNMEP, time in the original dimension runs 100x slower. Since TSSDK is already 5x slower than the original, this results in a total deceleration of 500x.
Hearing two knocks at the door, he went to answer.
"Coming."
"Aria, good morning." He said when he saw who it was.
Smiling, Aria, who was already wearing her battle outfit, said: "Good morning, Tomoya. I was going to have breakfast and if possible I'd like you to come along, it would be more convenient since we're going to the labyrinth, right?"
"Of course." He said: "Come in, I'll get ready."
"I'll wait out here." She replied.
Not wanting to impose, he nodded and went inside, leaving the door open.
He went to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, he didn't start changing clothes, but instead, opened the shop.
══════ •『☯』• ══════
[Item: Mage's Boots]: 15,000 Gold Coins
Item Rank: Mid-High
Mana Recovery: +0.2% per second
Intelligence: +50
Strength: +10
Movement Speed: +20%
Special Effect: You deal 20% more elemental damage
══════ •『☯』• ══════
[-15,000 Gold Coins]
In his hands, a pair of simple black boots appeared.
Before putting them on, he looked at another item.
══════ •『☯』• ══════
[Item: Mage's Pants]: 16,000 Gold Coins
Item Rank: Mid-High
Mana Control: +10%
Mana Recovery: +0.1% per second
Intelligence: +70
Strength: +10
Stamina: 150
Defense: +50
Special Effect: Your attacks randomly deal between 1% and 100% more damage
══════ •『☯』• ══════
[-16,000 Gold Coins]
He put on the black pants that appeared, then the boots.
The instant he did so, he felt incredibly strong.
══════ •『☯』• ══════
[Item: Mage's Robe]: 50,000 Gold Coins
Item Rank: High-Mid
Mana Control: +40%
Mana Recovery: +0.5% per second
Mana: +50%
Intelligence: +150
Strength: +30
Stamina: 300
Defense: +100
Special Skill: [Ice Shards: Launches 5 shards that deal 100% damage each. Deals 50% more damage to frozen enemies.]
[4/4]: Bonus effect: [+10 Intelligence], [+1,000 Magic Attack]
══════ •『☯』• ══════
[-50,000 Gold Coins]
The instant the black robe appeared, he put it on.
'Status.'
══════ •『☯』• ══════
Name: Tomoya Yamano
Race: Human
Class: Mage
Title: None
Level: 15 -> 16
══════ •『☯』• ══════
Attributes:
Strength: 100 (+60) [+]
Intelligence: 325 (+380) [+]
Speed: 100 [+]
Luck: 60
Points: 10
══════ •『☯』• ══════
Attack Power: 1,000 (+600)
Magic Attack Power: 6,500 (+7,600+1,000)
Stamina: 975 (+1,140+450)
Defense: 200 (+120+150)
══════ •『☯』• ══════
Special effects:
Mana Control: +80%
Mana: +105%
Movement Speed: +20%
Mana Recovery: +0.8% per second
══════ •『☯』• ══════
He gasped just from seeing his status.
Only 5,000 gold coins remained, but it was worth it.
Leaving the bathroom, he closed the door behind him. Reaching the entrance door, Aria gave him a curious look.
"Tomoya, those clothes..."
He interrupted: "My Mage outfit. Since we intend to explore deeper levels of the labyrinth, it's more appropriate that I prepare better."
"I see... Yes, you're right." She said: "Maybe I should upgrade my equipment?"
"That's a good idea." He asked: "Do you have enough money? If not, I'll lend you some."
"No!" She made a stop gesture with her hand while shaking her head: "I don't think it's right to borrow money from you. And, even though I technically have money with you right now, I want to use that for the storage ring."
"That's a good mindset." He said: "Then, I won't insist. But if you're going to upgrade your equipment, will it be ready in time?"
"Well..." She blushed in embarrassment.
She realized she got too excited, but hadn't considered that if she were to place an order, it wouldn't necessarily be ready right away. It could take hours, even days.
"Let's take a look, maybe you'll find something ready that fits you." Tomoya said.
"You're right. Let's do that after we have breakfast." She began to walk away.
...
[Blacksmith Vulcan]
Opening a wooden door, Aria said as she entered: "Hello, Miss Vulcan?!"
From behind the counter, opening a curtain, a tanned-skinned girl appeared.
She wears a blue blacksmith's overall, with no bra or any kind of underwear underneath. She wears tight black shorts under the overall and armored boots. She has short blond hair with tiger ears, emerald green eyes, and metal gauntlets. Compared to Aria, her bust is medium but still prominent, and her muscular biceps are of good size.
Sweating, Vulcan said breathlessly: "Nyahh, welcome, Aria."
"Nyah, is this the friend you teamed up with?" She approached with long strides.
Circling him, Vulcan said: "You look strong."
"You too." Tomoya evaluated her.
"Nyahaha." She laughed, turning to Aria: "By the way, Aria. What can I do for you today?"
Aria cleared her throat and said: "I want to see if I can find something better than my current weapons and equipment. If there's nothing ready, I want to place an order."
Vulcan touched her chin while looking at Aria: "I see. Now that you've reached Rank C, it makes sense to want better equipment."
She lowered her head with her arms crossed, thoughtful with closed eyes: "How should I put it, your current equipment is already the best I've made – nyah – and if I make new ones, they won't be that good with the materials I currently have..."
"I see." Aria's ears drooped.
"I got it – nyah!" Vulcan opened her eyes looking excited: "How about we form a temporary party?"
"Huh?" Aria looked surprised.
"Watching you in action could help me understand what you need to improve – nyah." Vulcan said with index finger and thumb extended: "Besides, I need some materials anyway, and in the process, I intend to get what I need to create new gear for you, how about it – nyah!?"
"Tomoya, what do you think?" She didn't answer, but instead, asked him.
"I'm fine with it." Tomoya agreed.
"You're kind – Nyah~" Vulcan gave him a thumbs up: "I like you~!"
[Charm Leveled Up!]
"..."
'Is it because she said she liked me?' He wondered, seeing that.
He still replied: "Thank you."