So, I’ve successfully wiped out the goblins in the Floor 5 Monster Room.
I wasn’t exactly struggling even while the Commander was still alive, but it was much easier to finish them off after I took it down.
If they defend with their shields, I can't defeat a Knight in a single blow—unless I use Mighty Blade, which is a different story—so that was a bit of a nuisance. Still, in terms of how it actually felt, it wasn't much different from fighting Warriors back when my level was lower.
Between the sheer weight of my level and my superior stats, it was business as usual once the Commander was dead.
That said, compared to the Floor 4 Monster Room, there were more of them, and each monster was at a higher level. I could still defeat almost all of them in one hit, but because the enemies were stronger, it felt like my frequency of counterattacking had dropped slightly.
For those reasons, the battle ended up taking about two to three minutes.
Well, I suppose if I activated Fighting Spirit, I could probably annihilate them in under a minute.
By the way, the total experience points earned were 18,840. In a two-person party, that’s 9,420 each, and I get double that thanks to the effect of my Goblin Genocider title.
It's not bad, but since the required experience to reach the Level 30 range is over six million, using the Floor 5 Monster Room for leveling feels a bit insufficient.
'This guy seriously won without even using Fighting Spirit!!?'
'Wait, didn't he also take zero damage!?'
'He actually cleared a Floor 5 Monster Room solo with no damage...!!'
'Charging head-on into a legion of monsters... he's fighting in that insane way as usual...'
'What do you mean he got surrounded by that many enemies and just won normally...?'
'The Leveling Junkie Bro's departure from humanity is becoming a serious concern...!!'
While half-listening to the viewers' comments, Hinata-san and I went around picking up the magic stones scattered throughout the room.
Mito-san gets angry if I leave them behind, so I have to make sure they're all accounted for.
"Ah, Takeo-kun."
"What's up?"
Hinata-san approached me with something in her hand.
"A Low-grade Cure Potion dropped."
"Oh, that's a good start!"
I took the cure potion from Hinata-san.
Actually, the Goblin Assassins that appear from Floor 5 onward occasionally drop Low-grade Cure Potions.
Cure potions have the effect of curing status ailments and illnesses, though the effect of a Low-grade Potion is relatively weak.
However, in addition to being effective against general status ailments, if taken regularly, they can prevent the onset of lifestyle diseases or even heal them if the symptoms are mild.
To put it simply, they have a health-boosting effect... and it's no exaggeration to say that health and beauty are one and the same.
Therefore, just like heal potions, cure potions are extremely popular among the wealthy who seek health and beauty.
Since they appear on lower floors than heal potions, the Association will buy them for 50,000 yen a bottle.
"But..."
I set the cure potion back down on the ground.
"This is just extra baggage, so let's leave it."
Since I brought camping gear, food, and other supplies this time, there isn't much room in my backpack.
On top of that, since I got scolded for abandoning magic stones, I expect my backpack to be squeezed to its absolute limit soon. I brought several eco-bags for emergencies, but even those might not be enough.
Besides, since I have Hinata-san with me, the need for a cure potion is minimal.
"Ah, I see. You're right," Hinata-san agreed, but voices of opposition rose from the viewers.
'You're seriously leaving a cure potion behind!?'
'Isn't that way too wasteful!?'
'It's 50,000 yen a bottle!?'
'Leveling Junkie Bro, value your money!! He who laughs at 50,000 yen will cry over 50,000 yen!!'
'↑ That's a pretty big amount lol. Most people would cry www'
I explained the situation to the viewers.
"No, well, the truth is, I got scolded by a certain someone for throwing away magic stones in the dungeon. I plan to pick up every single magic stone this time, but since I have my camping gear, the capacity of my backpack is a bit tight... Because of that, my policy is to be as selective as possible with drops other than magic stones."
'So you really did get scolded www'
'Well, if you cause an irregular incident like that, the Association is bound to warn you lol'
'The "It's Only Natural" Dance www'
'Hmm, but a backpack capacity problem... honestly, if that's the case, I guess it can't be helped.'
'Even so, one potion is only about the size of a bottled energy drink, right? Just how many magic stones does he plan to pick up? Or rather, how many monsters does he plan to kill...'
'Well, the Leveling Junkie Bro has a prior record of 10,000 magic stones after all lol. Since they're here for two days this time, at his pace, his backpack really might end up bursting www'
'By the way, what are you doing after this? Are you going to lap the Floor 5 Monster Room next?'
"No, for today, I intend to head further in. I want to check which floor's Monster Room is most suitable for farming."
'He's already decided he's going to farm a Monster Room...'
'Going even further in... It's true that for the current Leveling Junkie Bro, Floor 5 feels a bit underwhelming.'
'I'm starting to look forward to seeing how deep they'll go!'
With the magic stones collected, Hinata-san and I left the Monster Room and continued our descent.
●◯●
It had been about thirty minutes since we left the Monster Room.
We were drawing close to the stairs leading to Floor 6.
However, starting from Floor 5, the layout changed slightly; to reach the stairs, one had to pass through a long, straight corridor.
And in the middle of that corridor, the path suddenly opened up into a vast space that could be described as a great hall.
There were no doors, and entry was free. However, the moment one set foot inside, a magic circle drawn on the floor in the center of the hall would glow brilliantly, summoning monsters to intercept any explorers.
To reach the stairs leading down, you had to cross through the hall to the corridor on the opposite side.
In terms of layout, it was a hall sandwiched between two corridors... like a straight line: "— □ —".
It wasn't impossible to ignore the monsters and just run past, but the risk of being attacked from behind was high. Unless there was a massive gap in strength, it was safer to proceed only after defeating them.
This great hall was commonly known as the "Boss Room."
From Floor 5 onward, these Boss Rooms existed on every level, testing whether explorers possessed the strength necessary to proceed further down...
"We've finally reached the Boss Room, Hinata-san."
"Yes, we have."
"Let's stay sharp."
"Right."
Hinata-san and I nodded to each other and stepped into the room.
While keeping an eye on the magic circle beginning to glow in the center, I placed my backpack against the wall. Hinata-san stood with her back to the wall, keeping a safe distance from me.
'Finally, a boss battle—'
'There are a lot of explorers who hit a wall here...'
'Rather than a wall, I get the impression plenty of people just can't get past this part at all. Usually, you have to form a raid with multiple parties to break through.'
'The numbers are just on a different level, after all.'
'Making people fight a group of 16 all at once... this dungeon is brutal...'
'Hm?'
'Eh?'
The next instant, as the magic circle flared with intense light, the monsters appeared.
It was three full parties, each composed of five monsters: an Assassin, a Knight, a Lancer, an Archer, and a Mage.
With the addition of one Commander, it was a group of 16 monsters in total.
'Wait... Huh!?'
'Hey, wait, isn't this weird???'
'A boss battle... This is a boss battle, right?'
'Why are there fewer of them than in the Monster Room???'
'For the benefit of anyone seeing a Boss Room for the first time, let me explain: the difficulty of clearing a Monster Room is actually higher than a Boss Room!!'
'Of course it is!! Because Monster Rooms are traps!!'
'Wait, so... what's even going to happen now?'
'Of course... I guess... maybe...'
Ignoring the viewers' confusion, I drew my sword and dashed forward.
"Uooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!!!!!"
My first boss battle. I wouldn't be careless. I let out a spirit-splitting shout.
And then—
"—I won!!"
I somehow managed to prevail in the deadly struggle and emerged victorious!!
'It's been a while since I've seen a boss battle with so little tension...!!'
'I'm laughing at how obvious the victory was.'
'That's strange. It should be a tense scene of one man challenging an army of monsters, but for some reason, I don't feel a shred of tension. Why?'
'No, wait, I know what you're all thinking, but the real thing starts now!! The difficulty of Floor 6 is on a completely different level compared to everything before it!! I'm sure the Floor 6 monsters will actually back the Leveling Junkie Bro into a corner!!'
'Whose side are you even on lol'
'That's basically a jinx at this point lol'