One hour had passed since we began our exploration.
It had taken longer than usual, but we had finally arrived at the Floor 7 Monster Room.
In truth, our travel time should have been shorter since the Teleportation Circle allowed us to jump straight to Floor 7, but the frequent monster encounters along the way had eaten up our time. Still, it had given me plenty of opportunities to test Asceticism, so I considered it a win.
"—All right, Hinata-san, please."
"Got it. I’ll top off your HP just in case. —Heal! Bless!"
Once Hinata-san finished applying her recovery and support magic, we charged into the Monster Room.
The drone following us read out comments from the self-proclaimed Seekers.
『If I remember correctly, the Leveling Junkie Bro usually wipes out most of the Goblins with his big moves but fights the last few in close combat!』
『That’s when Pain is at its most terrifying!』
『The moment you freeze up from the agony of Pain during a melee, you’ll realize it! You’ll understand the true horror of Asceticism!!』
Thanks for explaining it all for me. Much appreciated.
They were right; the most dangerous part of Pain was the physical paralysis caused by the agony in the middle of a fight. It went without saying that being unable to move while an enemy attacked was a death sentence.
However, I now had a way to circumvent that entirely.
Facing the army of forty-nine summoned Goblins, I activated my skills in rapid succession. Once Seeker, Fighting Spirit, Sword Aura, and Indomitable Spirit were active, I steeled my resolve and triggered Asceticism.
"—G-Gwah!!?"
In an instant, a horrific, searing pain erupted in my right thigh. Last time it had been my abdomen, but the location changed every time.
The initial sharp pain was brief, but the lingering, throbbing aftereffects threatened to buckle my right leg. I endured it and activated another skill.
"Hey, you Goblins! What’s wrong? Are you scared!?"
I used Taunt to pull all the Goblins' aggro onto myself. Immediately, Goblin Genocider automatically triggered.
At this point, my status looked like this:
———————————————— HP: 204/210 MP: 47/66 Strength: 201 Constitution: 195 Intelligence: 118 Spirit: 130 Agility: 195 Dexterity: 128 ————————————————
...Did you notice?
I wasn't using Berserk, and Blood Vengeance hadn't triggered yet. On top of that, I wasn't even using Fleet-footed or the Bracelet of Technique... yet my stats were incredibly high.
Even with Seeker active and my stats reset to their initial values, I had still managed to buff them this far.
I was strong. I knew it for a fact.
But enough about the stats for now. I had some Goblins to kill!
I stepped forward into the approaching Goblin horde, exuding an overwhelming aura of intimidation. As usual, I infused 10 HP into my Sword Aura and unleashed a massive horizontal swing enhanced by Mighty Blade.
A Great Flying Blade soared into the army, bisecting dozens of Goblins at the waist. It tore through their formation, blowing them away as it pierced through the ranks. Its momentum didn't stop until it slammed into the wall of the Monster Room, carving a deep gash into the stone.
I unleashed the Great Flying Blade a second, third, and fourth time.
As per usual, about eight Goblins remained after the initial onslaught. They were scattered, making it impossible to finish them all in one more blast.
Previously, I would have closed the distance and finished them off in melee.
But things were different now.
Actually, it was a tactic I could have used before if I hadn't been worried about MP consumption...
"Hinata-san!"
"Got it! Heal!!"
At my signal, Hinata-san—who I'd briefed on the plan beforehand—instantly cast Heal.
My HP shot up from 44 back to 144 in a heartbeat.
But immediately afterward...
"H-Hngh!?"
A second wave of agony struck. This time, it was my left thigh. Does Pain have some kind of grudge against my legs?
Furthermore, ten seconds had passed since I activated Fighting Spirit and Sword Aura, consuming another 6 HP. My HP sat at 138.
Without Hinata-san's Heal, it would have been impossible to fire another Great Flying Blade, as each use currently consumed 40 HP. If I had rushed it, I could have fired five in a row, but given the Goblins' scattered positions, one more wouldn't have killed them all, and it would have put me in unnecessary danger.
However, with my current HP, I calculated that I could fire three more Great Flying Blades.
You can probably guess the rest.
"Oraaaah!!"
I swung my sword twice more, unleashing a Great Flying Blade with each strike.
And that was it.
The eight Goblins closing in on me were cleaved in two by the dual blades of light. The horde was annihilated.
Because Hinata-san had used Heal, the Goblins' aggro had been shifting toward her (recovery magic generates massive aggro), but with this method, we could clear the Monster Room with zero risk.
"Phew... We managed, Hinata-san."
"Yeah, that was a solid win."
With the battle over, I deactivated my skills and lowered my sword. I checked my status screen to see the experience points from the fight.
The total gain was a staggering 222,168 XP.
The effects of Asceticism were definitely working.
At Level 1, Asceticism only provided a 1.2x multiplier. However, since I already had Seeker and Goblin Genocider at max level, the 4x multiplier combined with the 1.2x meant a total experience gain of 4.8x.
Previously, with the 4x multiplier, I gained 185,140 XP. Just by activating Asceticism, I was earning over 37,000 more per run.
This was the absolute best.
"—Nnnnnnnghhhhhh!!!!!"
The massive influx of experience points sent a wave of pure ecstasy through me.
Waves of pleasure surged up my spine, and I could feel my brain flooding with dopamine. The dull, throbbing ache from Pain vanished instantly.
I could keep going. I could grind like this all day!
『Wait, I thought he had some secret strategy, but it's just brute force!!』
『He's totally relying on Hinata-chan!!』
『As if anyone else could imitate this!!』
『Stop getting high on the levels!!』
『I was a fool to expect an intelligent strategy from the Leveling Junkie Bro!!』
Complaints poured in from the self-proclaimed Seekers watching the stream. I didn't know what they were expecting, but I made sure to fire back at their rude comments.
"I actually did think the strategy through, and it worked perfectly, didn't it? I have Hinata-san heal me so I can spam the Sword Aura and Mighty Blade combo."
『That's not a strategy, lol.』
『That's the definition of brute force, lmao.』
『Such a muscle-brain style, lol. I don't hate it, though.』
『But seriously, this might be the most viable way to use it. You can win without ever entering melee.』
『If the Seekers are that jealous, why don't they just do the same thing?』
『As if we could!!』
With the viewers' comments acting as background noise, Hinata-san and I collected the scattered Magic Stones and loot.
At this pace, as long as Hinata-san's MP held out, we could manage thirty runs an hour. I was essentially just standing in place and swinging my sword six times; there was almost no physical exhaustion. More importantly, I wasn't using any MP myself.
Of course, Hinata-san’s MP wouldn't last for thirty runs... but we could easily manage ten runs an hour with room to spare. If we pushed it and factored in a lunch break, we could probably hit fifteen runs an hour in the first half of the day.
And if we used Mana Potions, we could go even faster.
Regardless, our marathon grinding session began.
We continued our runs from around 10:00 AM, initially maintaining a pace of fifteen runs per hour.
Then, shortly before noon, just as we finished our twenty-seventh run, it happened.
"—I-It feeeeeeels soooooo gooooooooooood!!!!!"
『There it is, lol.』
『So loud, lol.』
『My eardrums are gone.』
『Is it because he hasn't leveled up in a while? I feel like the snap on the Leveling Junkie Bro's Inabauer is even sharper than usual.』
『↑ Who the hell are you to notice that, lol.』
『↑ I've never paid enough attention to notice that, lol.』
『↑ That's such a useless observation, lol.』
It had been over a week since my last level-up. Every cell in my body was vibrating with joy.
I basked in the afterglow of pleasure as my body twitched. Once the sensation finally subsided, I allocated my status points.
As planned, I put my skill points into Asceticism.
Each time Asceticism's level increased, the number of status ailments it applied also increased. At Level 2, the added ailment was Poison.
Poison dealt 5 points of fixed damage every ten seconds. It sounded insignificant, but it wasn't to be taken lightly. Because it was fixed damage, someone at a low level or with low HP could be drained in no time.
Furthermore, being Poisoned didn't just deal damage; it made you feel physically ill. It felt like having a high fever from a cold. My joints ached, and I got winded easily. Even exerting strength became difficult.
However, since I wasn't engaging in melee and the battles ended instantly, it wasn't a problem. The Poison damage only totaled about 10 points over the course of a fight, which was a negligible burden.
Most importantly, now that Asceticism was Level 2, my experience multiplier had reached 5.6x!
Which meant the pleasure was also 5.6 times greater!
Feeling a little under the weather and taking a bit of damage was hardly an obstacle, logically speaking!
In practice, the grinding continued without a hitch.
『Level 2 of Asceticism adds Poison on top of Pain. Don't underestimate it, Junkie Bro!!...is what I wanted to say, but...』
『Dammit, lol. The Leveling Junkie Bro is getting even higher now that the XP has increased.』
『Even when he screams from the Pain, his voice has changed from "G-Gwah!?" to "Nnnnnngh!!" lol.』
『Stop moaning from the pain, lmao!!』
We continued until 2:00 PM.
And just before 2:00 PM, as we finished our fifty-sixth run of the day—
"—I-It feeeeeeels soooooo gooooooooooood!!!!!"
I reached my second level-up of the day!
The comment section erupted in chaos.
『What!?』
『Wait, his second one today!?』
『No way, no way!? Hang on! Did the Junkie Bro seriously level up again!?』
『Junkie Bro is in his 30s, right!? How is that even possible!?』
『The experience table for the 30s is between 6 million and 7.8 million, right!? That's impossible!!』
『There's no way someone in their 30s levels up twice in such a short time...』
『Does that mean he just reached a climax from the sheer pleasure...?』
『Which is it!? I can't tell!!』
『No, look!! The Junkie Bro has entered Sage Mode and is moving his hands!! That's the movement of someone allocating points on a status screen!!』
『So he really did level up!?』
『Even with Seeker and Asceticism, that's insane!! With a 2.8x multiplier, a Floor 7 Monster Room run should be about 130,000 XP, right!?』
『Wait, 130k is already insanely high!! But even so, leveling twice at this pace is totally broken!!』
『What's going on, Junkie Bro!!』
Their confusion was understandable. I hadn't made the effects of Goblin Genocider public yet.
I had already decided when to reveal it, so I wasn't going to do it now. Previously, I wouldn't have cared, but I decided that if I was going to announce Goblin Genocider, I should use the reveal to our advantage.
It wasn't a huge secret, though. I might end up revealing it today or tomorrow anyway.
Regardless, I brushed off everyone's questions with a "There, there," but—
『It's not "There, there"!!』
『Answer us!!』
『Hey, you guys calm down!! Forcing someone to reveal their status details is against the rules!!』
『Right! I get that you're curious, but settle down!!』
Since I couldn't brush it off easily, I decided to shift their focus by providing a different distraction.
"Actually, I just raised Asceticism to Level 3."
『Wait, what!?』
『Seriously!?』
『Then you really did level up, you madman!!』
Perfect. While the viewers were still reeling, I resumed the runs.
For the record, the status ailment added at Level 3 was Frailty.
Its effect was: "All stats except HP and MP are reduced by 10%. Every minute, they decrease by another 10%, up to a maximum reduction of 50%."
In other words, four minutes after the ailment was applied, your stats would be halved. Since it also dropped by 10% the moment it hit, it was a very troublesome debuff.
However, this didn't lower the base stats before skill buffs like Seeker; it was applied to the stats after they were already buffed. Therefore, the reduction wasn't as debilitating as it seemed, and my Strength was still over 180.
A Great Flying Blade enhanced by Mighty Blade was already overkill for these Goblins, so a reduction of about 20 Strength had almost no impact. My Agility and other stats were also decreasing, but with my current "stationary turret" fighting style, I didn't need to move, so it wasn't a problem.
And because Asceticism reached Level 3, my experience multiplier had reached 6.4x!
The experience points earned per Floor 7 Monster Room run was now a staggering 296,224 XP!
This was insane...!! This was seriously insane...!! The efficiency was out of this world!!
The agony of Pain, the poison damage, the feeling of illness, the sensation of losing strength from Frailty—it all felt like trivial nonsense compared to the sheer ecstasy I felt every time that XP hit!
They said you could never get used to the agony of Pain, but I felt like even the time I spent paralyzed by it was getting shorter!
In fact, I was starting to feel like it really wasn't that painful anymore...!
My excitement continued to build as I slaughtered Goblin after Goblin!
"Hya-haaa!! Come at me, you Goblins!! Every last one of you is becoming my experience points!!"
『F-Frailty is a vicious status ailment that cripples your stats over time, you know...!!』
『If you underestimate Frailty, you're gonna regret it...!!』
『What's up with the Seekers? They've completely broken character, lol.』
『The Seekers are in tears, lmao.』
『But seriously, the Junkie Bro's energy is terrifying, lol. His eyes look totally vacant.』
『He's reached a total high, lmao.』
『Wait... the Junkie Bro is still using Asceticism, right? Is it just me, or does it look like he isn't even reacting to Pain anymore???』
『Now that you mention it!?』
『He's not just avoiding screaming—he's not even flinching!?』
『Did he seriously overcome Pain through sheer willpower!?』
『Is that even possible!?』
So much experience! I'm so happy! This is so much fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!!!