Impatience finally getting the better of me, I maxed out the Skill Level of my Goblin Slayer Skill and stepped back into the Monster Room.
I set my backpack against the wall, drew my sword from its scabbard, and stood my ground against the summoned goblin legion.
Thanks to the effects of Goblin Slayer, my stats soared without me having to expend a single point of HP or MP.
The results were as follows:
―――――――――――――――― Strength: 84 (+28) Constitution: 68 (+23) Intelligence: 9 (+3) Spirit: 27 (+9) Agility: 77 (+26) Dexterity: 77 (+26) ――――――――――――――――
For the sake of comparison, here were my stats with Fighting Spirit active when I cleared out the goblins here for the first time:
―――――――――――――――― Strength: 92 Constitution: 70 Intelligence: 6 Spirit: 12 Agility: 80 Dexterity: 40 ――――――――――――――――
My Strength was a bit lower now, but that wasn't a major issue. Actually, it wasn't a problem at all.
The reason was my attack multiplier. When I first fought here, it was 4x against goblins. Even with a direct hit using Sword Aura, it only reached 4.8x.
In contrast, my current multiplier was 8x against goblins. If I landed a direct hit with Sword Aura active, that reached a staggering 9.6x.
To be blunt, in terms of raw offensive power, I was overwhelmingly superior even with my reduced Strength. As long as I could land a clean hit, the outcome remained the same: every goblin would die in a single strike.
Since I didn't plan on letting them touch me, I could disregard the Constitution stat as well. The same went for Intelligence and Spirit.
That meant Agility was the stat with the most significant impact on the battle.
One could argue the numbers were nearly identical, but the fact that it was 3 points lower than during my first clear was a nagging source of anxiety.
A difference of just 3 points could mean the difference between dodging an attack or getting grazed. There was a high probability that taking even one hit would put me in a bind, and with Hinata-san gone, recovery would be difficult if things turned south.
I couldn't exactly fight with glass potions stuffed in my pockets, and pulling one out of my backpack mid-combat presented its own set of problems.
However, there was no need to worry.
After all, this Takeo Samejima still has two more transformations left.
Heh heh heh... what do I mean?
I’m talking about Blood Vengeance, of course. Even at Skill Level 1, it’s a god-tier Skill that boosts all stats by ten percent when HP drops below half, and by twenty percent when HP drops below twenty percent.
With my current stats, a twenty percent increase would buff my Strength and Agility by over 10 points.
With a boost that large, there was no way I’d lose. And if things truly got desperate, I could always just activate Fighting Spirit.
So...
I decided to dive in without a care in the world.
And then—
"Wh-what...!?"
I was victorious.
I stood there in a daze once the last goblin had fallen.
I couldn't believe it.
"How is this possible...?"
It wasn't that it had been a close fight. On the contrary, it had been easy.
In terms of how it felt, the experience was almost identical to the previous battle where I had used Fighting Spirit.
I puzzled over why it felt that way despite my stats being objectively lower...
"Wait! Could it be because my Dexterity is higher!?"
I finally hit upon the answer.
I had been distributing my Status Points so that there was very little gap between Strength, Agility, and Dexterity—though I’d favored Strength slightly to increase my HP.
However, Fighting Spirit only boosts three specific stats: Strength, Constitution, and Agility. It doesn’t touch Dexterity.
Because it buffs Constitution, I could swing my sword with significant force without tearing my tendons like I used to, but I still had to be somewhat mindful of my movement speed.
I hadn't felt particularly hindered, so I hadn't seen it as an issue... but what if I’d been subconsciously limiting myself?
"Is it possible... no, it almost certainly is. The more balanced Strength and Agility are with Dexterity, the more effectively you can utilize your stats...?"
For instance, if Dexterity is at 50, you can fully utilize Strength and Agility up to 50.
But if Strength and Agility reach 70, the balance with Dexterity breaks. Any points over 50 can't be used to their full potential, effectively capping the usable stat value at something like 60.
It was just a theory, but I felt like I wasn't far off the mark.
"If that's the case, then Dexterity is even more vital than I thought."
Well, even so, I couldn't afford to just dump all my points there.
I still needed to raise my HP and MP. As for the stat imbalance that occurred when using Fighting Spirit or Berserk, I could eventually find Magic Equipment in the lower floors to boost my Dexterity...
"Come to think of it, Hinata-san should be able to learn Support Magic, right?"
There were definitely support-type spells in the skill trees branching off from Healing Magic.
If Hinata-san could learn Support Magic in addition to her healing, we’d be able to farm the efficient hunting grounds on much deeper floors.
Hmm... marvelous. It seems my decision to party up with Hinata-san was the right one after all.
At any rate, enough theorizing.
"That last fight... even without Fighting Spirit, I cleared the room in under a minute. And my only HP loss was the 2 points I used for the Flying Blade to kill the Commander. That much will recover naturally over time, so I can keep looping without worrying about my HP draining. One minute for the fight, a few minutes to gather Magic Stones, leave the room and re-enter... even playing it safe, that's one lap every five minutes."
If my stamina held out, I could manage twelve laps an hour.
"Alright! Let's see just how far I can push myself today!"
I bolstered my resolve and resumed my solo loops of the Monster Room.