I acquired my skill and allocated my Status Points.
Here is my Status and the details of the skill I picked up after spending everything I had!
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【Name】 Takeo Samejima
【Level】 1 (Exp until next level: 95)
《HP》 27/27 (2 up!)
《MP》 18/18
《Strength》 15 (2 up!)
《Constitution》 12
《Intelligence》 6
《Spirit》 12
《Agility》 14 (3 up!)
《Dexterity》 10
【STP】 0
【SP】 0
【Skill】 《Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons Lv. 1》
【Title】 None
《Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons Lv. 1》 — When attacking with bladed weapons, damage dealt to enemies is multiplied by 1.2. This has no effect on attacks made with anything other than a blade.
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For the time being, I decided to dump my Status Points into 《Strength》 and 《Agility》, with the occasional point thrown into 《Dexterity》.
My reasoning was simple: it made Goblins easier to take down. Plus, a higher 《Agility》 stat increased my movement speed. Since dungeons were separate dimensions, every floor boasted a massive surface area. It only stood to reason that being able to cut down the time spent searching for Experience Points—or rather, monsters—was more efficient.
There was another reason I invested in 《Dexterity》. If the gap between my 《Strength》 or 《Agility》 and my 《Dexterity》 grew too wide, I’d lose my coordination.
There were actual reports of dangerous cases where people had applied too much power and injured themselves, or run so fast they slammed into walls or tripped, resulting in major injuries.
Next came the skill. I picked 《Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons》 for the same reason: to speed up my Goblin-clearing rate. My immediate goal was to get this up to Level 5.
Until then, I’d be sticking to a steady grind of Goblin hunting on the First Floor.
"It’s just past ten... I still have plenty of time. I should be able to reach Level 3 by the end of the day."
With my points allocated and my skill set, I resumed my exploration.
●◯●
Once I had 《Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons》, the time it took to finish a fight with a Goblin decreased visibly.
The number of swings needed to kill one dropped, making the battles feel much more stable. I also felt like my encounter rate had gone up, likely thanks to my increased Agility.
That feeling was confirmed as more than just my imagination once I leveled up again. Between my skill reaching Level 2 and my 《Strength》 increasing, I could win against a Goblin in about three hits. Slimes were now one-shot kills.
My time efficiency for both combat and exploration was climbing steadily.
On a side note, it seemed Slimes were popular targets in the Shinjuku Dungeon because they were easy to defeat. They were being hunted so aggressively that my encounter rate with them was abysmal.
Normally, Slimes were supposed to spawn more frequently, but I was running into Goblins way more often.
"Hello."
"Oh, hello..."
I passed several other Explorers along the way, exchanging pleasant greetings each time as I continued my sweep of the dungeon.
"Hello."
"Gugya? Gugyarururu-aaaaahhh!!"
"Yes, yes, this might sting a bit. I'll be taking those Experience Points now! Hah! Seiya! Hnnngh!"
"Gugyaaaaaaahhh!!?"
Every time I met a Mr. Goblin, I offered a greeting while cutting them down to collect their Experience Points and Magic Stones.
I could kill them with such ease now that I wondered why I’d been so tense during that first battle. Of course, "leeway" didn't mean it was "easy." This was a fight where you killed or were killed. Every match was a serious struggle.
Every time I fought a Goblin, I swung my sword with everything I had.
"Hah! Hah! Hnnnnngggghhh—THIS FEELS SO GOOD!!"
Leveling up in real life felt way too amazing!
Perhaps because of that, I’d reached the point where I didn't even need to level up to feel a rush; just killing a Goblin for Experience Points gave me a little buzz.
The moment I spotted a Goblin, the moment I brought my sword down on one, the moment I absorbed its Experience Points—my reward-based neural circuit was fully calibrated, and my brain was pumping out pleasure-inducing substances.
"Eek!?"
"Ah, sorry about that."
A few times, other Explorers caught sight of me mid-battle. I kept moving even as they looked visibly repulsed by the indecent expression on my face.
And so, it was past 3:00 PM.
I’d stepped out of the dungeon once for a one-hour lunch break, but despite that, I easily reached my goal of Level 3.
――――――――――――――――
【Name】 Takeo Samejima
【Level】 3 (Exp until next level: 190)
《HP》 32/32 (5 up!)
《MP》 18/18
《Strength》 20 (5 up!)
《Constitution》 12
《Intelligence》 6
《Spirit》 12
《Agility》 17 (3 up!)
《Dexterity》 12 (2 up!)
【STP】 0
【SP】 0
【Skill】 《Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons Lv. 3》
【Title】 None
《Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons Lv. 3》 — When attacking with bladed weapons, damage dealt to enemies is multiplied by 1.6. This has no effect on attacks made with anything other than a blade.
――――――――――――――――
After hitting Level 3, I tested my strength against a single Goblin.
Thanks to the combined effects of my higher 《Strength》 and skill level, I could now take one down with a single attack.
The Goblins on the First Floor were only Level 1 (I’d confirmed that monsters had levels too using the Appraisal skill), but considering it had taken five or six hits to kill one at the start, this was massive growth.
The effect of 《Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons》 was especially significant. A 60% damage boost just for using a sword was no joke.
This was definitely going to make the Goblin grind even more efficient, but...
"Ugh... damn, I'm wiped..."
It was just after 3:00 PM.
I desperately wanted to keep exploring and slaughtering Goblins, but the sheer physical exhaustion made that difficult.
Statistically, my 《HP》 was full and I was in peak condition, but it seemed physical stamina wasn't reflected in the 《HP》 bar.
I’d been moving non-stop, and even though the fights had become easy, I’d likely been under a lot of subconscious tension. All that fatigue was hitting me at once.
"No point pushing it and letting a Mr. Goblin kill me... I'll call it a day."
With that, I decided to head back.
When I exited the dungeon, I didn't end up directly in Shinjuku Station. Instead, I arrived at the Shinjuku Branch of the Explorer Association, which had been built into a renovated section of the station after the dungeons appeared.
The interior looked exactly like a government office. There were several reception counters and consultation desks, with rows of benches lined up neatly in a large lobby.
I headed for the Dungeon Resource Buyback Counter and handed over my haul for the day along with my Dungeon Exploration License.
"Excuse me, I'd like to sell these."
"Understood. We'll begin the appraisal. Please take this and wait in the lobby."
I took the numbered ticket from the Receptionist and sat down on one of the benches to wait.
Looking around, I saw a handful of other Explorers.
I’d visited other association branches during my training, and compared to those, this place was practically deserted. Usually, those branches were packed to the gills during business hours.
As expected of the Shinjuku Dungeon. It was hard to believe this place was inside a major Tokyo station given how desolate it felt.
Eventually...
"Number 18, thank you for waiting."
The appraisal was finished. I headed back to the counter.
"Twenty-six Level 1 Goblin Magic Stones and nine Level 1 Slime Magic Stones. That comes to a total of 14,800 yen. After tax withholding, your payout is 13,289 yen."
"Oh...!"
I’d worked from roughly 9:00 to 3:00. Subtracting the one-hour break, that was five hours of work. For a beginner’s haul, wasn't that actually pretty great?
I hadn't found any drops other than Magic Stones today, and I’d been worried since I’d heard beginners barely made anything, but my parents couldn't complain about this much income.
Killing a high volume of Goblins had been the right move. A Slime Magic Stone was only worth 200 yen, whereas a Goblin's was worth 500.
Then again, considering it was a job where death was a very real possibility, it made sense to earn this much. For some reason it didn't make the news often, but the mortality rate for Explorers was quite high—especially among rookies.
"If this is acceptable, please sign here."
"Ah, yes."
I signed the paperwork as instructed.
After having the money transferred to my account, I hopped on a train and headed home.