March 21.
I headed to the Shinjuku Dungeon today, just like any other day.
Consulting the map on my smartphone, I took the shortest route down to the 3rd Floor. Just as I had yesterday, I focused my experience grinding on groups of two or three goblins.
By the end of it, my entire body was hacked to pieces and I was drenched in blood, but I was fine. Thanks to the HP Barrier, the injuries weren't nearly as severe as they looked.
So, there really was no need to worry.
Eh, what am I talking about?
Well, the people I passed on the 3rd Floor or while I was resting on the stairs kept calling out to me with looks of genuine concern. Since I was visibly covered in a gruesome amount of blood, I suppose I gave them the wrong impression.
I reassured them that I was perfectly fine, exchanging cheerful pleasantries to set their minds at ease.
While there are plenty of thugs in the dungeon, the same can be said for the surface world. Realizing that the vast majority of people were kind, sensible, and possessed common decency made me feel warm inside; it reminded me that Japan wasn't a lost cause just yet.
However, the fact that my HP kept dropping was an unavoidable nuisance. My experience-grinding efficiency failed to improve, and my level didn't go up today either.
―――――――――――――――― 【Level】『9』 Experience until next level: 『4485』 ――――――――――――――――
●◯●
March 22.
I headed to the Shinjuku Dungeon today, just like any other day.
I went straight down to the 3rd Floor and began hunting goblins exactly as I had the day before.
On a side note, leveling up feels incredible.
The endorphins flood my brain so hard it’s insane; it’s truly addictive.
What I’m trying to say is that my withdrawal symptoms were starting to get serious. Since I wasn’t even twenty yet, I’d never had to quit drinking or smoking, but I wondered if adults felt this much agony when they tried to go cold turkey.
If that was the case, I decided I wouldn’t drink even after I turned twenty. I wouldn't smoke either. All I needed was the high of a level-up.
Yesterday, I leveled up in a dream, and when I woke up and realized it wasn't real, I was plunged into despair.
Determined to level up today no matter what, I pushed myself a bit more recklessly than usual. At one point, my HP dropped to single digits, and I thought I was actually going to die.
I retreated to the stairs and messily wrapped bandages around my wounds to stop the bleeding.
Because the Bleeding status ailment slowed down my natural HP recovery, my efficiency ended up being even worse than it had been yesterday.
Apparently, impatience was my greatest enemy.
I took a deep breath to calm myself down.
Hee-hee-foo! Hee-hee-foo!
Still, it was strange; even though I passed other Explorers today, no one spoke to me.
Setting aside the lack of concern for my well-being, I wondered why they were all averting their eyes and scurrying away as fast as they could.
I was curious, but the goblins were more important.
Those damn goblins... I was reaching the end of my rope with them. They had no qualms about hacking me to ribbons today, either.
4:00 PM.
Due to the blood loss, I finally reached my physical limit. I used the Teleportation Circle to return to the 1st Floor and sat down at the edge of the hall near the Obelisk, focusing on recovering my HP.
Oh, by the way.
Those who have obtained a Status heal from wounds much faster as long as they are inside a dungeon. Although I was being sliced up every day, the bleeding stopped completely while I rested on the 1st Floor, and the wounds were already beginning to close.
Well, they weren't fully healed; they were just at the point where the scabs would reopen if I moved too violently.
If I had a Beginner Heal Potion, I could recover instantly, but the Slimes still hadn't dropped any for me. Even if I tried to buy one, the shortage made them nearly impossible to find, and even then, they cost about 100,000 yen per bottle.
Supposedly, if you apply a Beginner Heal Potion to your skin, it cures all sorts of skin irritation, blemishes, freckles, and enlarged pores. Consequently, whenever they hit the market, the wealthy upper class scoops up every last one.
The Explorer Association is apparently trying to secure a supply for actual Explorers, but it's a losing battle when their competition is the rich and powerful.
Thus, the reality for most Explorers is that we can't even buy a single Beginner Heal Potion.
If you want one, it's faster to get it yourself as a monster drop.
That said, I wasn't going to waste days hunting Slimes just for a chance at a potion. Once I reached the 4th Floor, the goblins would start dropping them occasionally anyway.
Man, I can't wait to slaughter those goblins and start stockpiling potions.
―――――――――――――――― 【Level】『9』 Experience until next level: 『2255』 ――――――――――――――――
●◯●
March 23.
Naturally, I came to the Shinjuku Dungeon today as well.
As soon as I entered, I broke into a run and took the shortest path down to the 3rd Floor.
From there, I carefully scouted for groups of two or three and hunted them with cold precision.
Even though I took damage every time I faced three of them, I had grown accustomed to the combat. It was becoming little more than routine work.
Fight, fight, rest; fight, fight, rest; fight, fight, rest—.
Then, around 4:00 PM.
After I annihilated a pair of goblins, the moment finally arrived.
——Your level has increased.
"——Nnnngghhhh, feeeeeeels soooooo goooooood!!!!!"
My first level-up in ages.
The pleasure was especially profound this time.
"Now then... (Sage Mode)"
However, I spent less time than usual basking in the afterglow and snapped back to reality immediately.
I had something to do right after this.
I promptly brought up my Status screen and distributed my points.
―――――――――――――――― 【Name】 Takeo Samejima 【Level】『10』 Experience until next level: 『10995』 《HP》 28/50 (5 up!) 《MP》 18/18 《Strength》 30 《Constitution》 20 (5 up!) 《Intelligence》 6 《Spirit》 12 《Agility》 30 (3 up!) 《Dexterity》 21 (2 up!) 【STP】『0』 【SP】『0』 【Skills】《Increased Damage with Bladed Weapons Lv. Max》《Berserk Lv. 1》《Goblin Killer Lv. 3》《Fighting Spirit Lv. 3》 【Titles】《Madman》《Goblin Killer》
《Fighting Spirit Lv. 3》— While active, Strength, Constitution, and Agility increase by 60%. Consumes 3 HP every 10 seconds. ――――――――――――――――
With this, my preparations were complete.
"Let's go."
Instead of returning to the 1st Floor, I began heading deeper into the 3rd Floor. I ran at a considerable clip.
Day after day, I had been sliced to ribbons, and my experience gain had been abysmal to boot. All that pent-up frustration finally erupted in a scream.
"I'm going to kill every last one of you, you shitty goblins!! —Ah, hello there!"
"A-Ah, u-m, hello..."
"G-Good day..."
I ran into another Explorer party along the way. They caught me mid-scream, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I gave them a bright, polite greeting as I passed them by.
Continuing on for a while, I finally spotted silhouettes that were definitely not human at the end of the corridor.
As luck would have it, it was a trio: a Goblin Thief, a Goblin Warrior, and a Goblin Swordman.
I drew my sword from its sheath, consumed 3 HP, and activated Fighting Spirit. For good measure, I also triggered Berserk.
―――――――――――――――― 《Strength》 54 (+24) 《Endurance》 32 (+12) 《Intelligence》 5 (-1) 《Spirit》 12 《Agility》 48 (+18) 《Dexterity》 21 ――――――――――――――――
No opening declaration was necessary.
The goblins noticed me and were already charging.
I also burst into a full sprint, letting my Agility—which had reached 48—do the work.
"—!?"
The distance between us closed in an instant. In the center of my vision, where the edges of the corridor blurred into a high-speed streak, the Warrior showed a trace of panic at my unexpected speed and hurriedly lowered its center of gravity to brace its shield.
I used my momentum to leap and delivered a flying kick straight into the braced shield.
"Hah!!"
"Guga!?"
The Warrior was blown back pathetically and went rolling away.
Meanwhile, the Thief was closing in on me as I landed. However, my balance was perfect. I spun around instantly, swung my sword, and cleaved the Thief in two with a single blow.
Next—,
"Too slow, you bastard!!"
"!?"
The Swordman had circled behind me and was raising its blade.
These monsters have a certain level of technique and knowledge, but because they haven't been alive for very long, they lack any real accumulation of experience. No matter how high their stats are, their tactics are always monotonous.
Therefore, I knew it was behind me, and I knew exactly when it would strike.
In the past, however, my Agility hadn't been high enough for me to react in time.
But things were different now.
Like a spinning top, I whirled around and swung my blade. I was faster than the Swordman's downward strike, and my sword sent its head flying.
Finally, only one remained.
The Warrior had already scrambled to its feet, regained its stance, and was bracing its shield toward me.
There was no time to waste.
Without a second's delay, I kicked off the ground toward the Warrior.
I maneuvered around to its left side, where it held the shield. Since the Warrior held its sword in its right hand, the shield was in its own way, preventing it from swinging at me. It tried to rotate its body to follow my movement, but by the time it faced its left, I had already circled even further to its flank.
"—!?"
"It's over."
As the Warrior frantically tried to adjust its stance once more, I swung my sword in a horizontal arc and decapitated it.
"Phew."
Before the Warrior's head even hit the floor, I exhaled and deactivated Fighting Spirit.
Checking my status, I saw that my HP had only decreased by 3.
In other words, from the moment I activated the skill, I had wiped out a group of three goblins without taking a single scratch in under ten seconds.
It was an overwhelming victory against the same trio I had struggled so much against before.
I clenched my fist, the truth of the matter sinking in.
"As I thought, levels...!! Levels solve everything...!!"
The sheer violence of stats provided by the level-up was undeniable.
Faced with such overwhelming Strength and Agility, the goblins hadn't stood a chance.
According to the "Modern Dungeon Strategy Wiki," the highest stat value among 3rd Floor goblins is around 25.
Thieves are high in Agility, Warriors are high in Endurance, and Swordmen are high in Strength.
But even the high-Agility Thief couldn't hope to keep up with my movements.
It seemed that when there was a twofold difference in stat values, the battle became this one-sided.
This is it! This is what I’m talking about!
I just want to level up. I never wanted a "good fight" or "worthy adversaries" in the first place. Fighting strong enemies is just poor efficiency for leveling.
As expected, the fundamental core of leveling is mob hunting.
"Now, if I can just win against a group of four without taking damage, my grinding in this floor is going to be incredibly productive...! And if I gain another two or three levels, I should be able to start fighting on the 4th Floor...!!"
I wasn't ready to go home yet; I set off to find a group of four.