April 28th.
Since I was taking a break from exploring with Hinata-san today, I headed to Shinjuku Dungeon alone.
I used the teleportation circle on Floor 1 to head straight to Floor 6.
Previously, my solo limit for grinding had been the Floor 5 Monster Room, but I figured that with my current strength, I could probably handle the one on Floor 6.
With that in mind, I made my way into the depths of Floor 6 toward the Monster Room.
Feeling no nervousness at all, I placed my hand on the heavy stone door, pushed it open, and stepped inside. I immediately swung my backpack off my shoulders, set it against the wall, and drew the Holy Sword from my waist.
Instantly, a giant magic circle began to glow in the center of the room, and a legion of thirty-six Goblins materialized.
These monsters had physiques so muscular they could hardly even be called Goblins anymore. The varieties that appeared in the Floor 6 Monster Room included Assassins, Knights, Lancers, Archers, Mages, Berserkers, and a Commander.
Mages appeared here instead of Archmages, which meant I could obtain Life Magic skill orbs.
If I recalled correctly, Hinata-san’s Life Magic skill was stuck at Level 4, so this was perfect. I’d grab one as a souvenir for her.
"All right... let's get killing with some vigor today!"
I shouted to psych myself up.
The monsters here were Level 16 at most. I was currently Level 39. To keep doing laps, I had to minimize my HP and MP consumption. That meant using Fighting Spirit or Mighty Blade was strictly off-limits.
I wondered just how well I could fight under those constraints.
Back in the day, I hadn't been able to withstand the pressure and coordination of the Goblins; I'd ended up activating Fighting Spirit halfway through, and the battle had dragged on for over two minutes.
I remembered that fight well—the one where I'd actually shed tears at my own pathetic performance.
I shook my head to clear out those past failures and activated the necessary skills.
During combat, I only needed two. First, I activated Magic Sword, coating the blade in a red glow. And next—
"Come and get me!"
I grabbed the Goblins' aggro with Taunt and triggered Goblin Genocider.
My stats surged instantly, looking like this:
――――――――――――――――
Strength: 250 (+125)
Constitution: 230 (+115)
Intelligence: 12 (+6)
Spirit: 142 (+71)
Agility: 240 (+120)
Dexterity: 250 (+125)
――――――――――――――――
Yes, I was strong. I was sure of it.
These stats were roughly equivalent to when I’d used Goblin Genocider and Fighting Spirit together during my previous attempt here. My Spirit and Dexterity were actually significantly higher now than they were back then.
Oh, and for the record:
I wasn't using Seeker or Asceticism today.
As expected, I couldn't handle those without Hinata-san’s support.
Anyway.
"Yeahhhhhhh!"
The battle began.
●◯●
"Hell yeah!"
I stood in the center of the Monster Room and raised my sword, letting out a cry of triumph.
What? It was a total victory. In fact, it was easy.
Looking back, even though my Strength and Agility were about the same as during my last visit, my base stats were much higher now. My Dexterity was roughly 90 points higher than before.
Currently, my Dexterity and Strength were identical, and my Dexterity was actually higher than my Agility. Because I wasn't using Fighting Spirit and throwing my stat balance out of whack, it was extremely easy to move my body. I even had the mental leeway to observe my surroundings calmly.
Furthermore, being balanced with high Dexterity meant that the physical ability I could actually demonstrate was much higher.
I wasn't pushed back by the Goblins' coordination or pressure like I was before; I stayed calm from start to finish.
I dove into the Goblin legion, concentrating on evading and parrying with Danger Sense. I spotted the Commander trying to reposition behind its forces and, as if threading a needle through the gaps between Goblins, I fired a precision Flying Blade with my Magic Sword. I took the Commander down in a single strike.
Usually, even if I aimed for the Commander out of the blue, the Assassins and Knights would jump in front to act as annoying shields. However, because I hadn't targeted it blatantly and allowed myself to be surrounded by other Goblins, they ended up acting as a screen that delayed the reactions of the elite units. That seemed to be why the one-hit kill worked.
I felt a surge of joy at discovering a new time-saving technique and pressed the attack.
With their leader gone, their coordination fell apart. The Goblins—no longer buffed by the Leadership skill—were no match for me.
I dodged their attacks calmly, finishing them off one by one with certain lethality.
The total battle time for the victory was under a minute and thirty seconds.
My MP consumption was exactly 10. I’d only used Flying Blade once, after all. Given that level of consumption and natural recovery, my MP wouldn't run out for a while even at a pace of four laps per hour... though I had brought twenty mana potions with me today just in case.
Twenty potions would restore 600 MP.
If I drank two or three per hour... no, considering the time it takes to pick up magic stones, ten laps per hour was probably my limit.
And then, for the most important part: the experience points. Since I wasn't using Seeker and Asceticism, only the multipliers for Goblin Genocider and Awakened One were active, totaling 2.4x.
The experience points for the Floor 6 Monster Room were 39,070 when solo, so in my case... it was 93,768 experience points per lap.
............
Thud!
I collapsed on the spot, falling to the floor and rolling around while clutching my head.
"Ughhhhhhhh!!?"
It’s so little!!
It’s way too little!!!
No, this is seriously pathetic! Yesterday's Floor 7 laps ended up being 592,448 experience points per lap!
The drop-off! This drop-off is way too brutal!
Compared to yesterday, these experience points are like absolute trash!
"Haa... haa... haa... hurk!"
After rolling around for a while and finally calming down, I managed to push myself up while gagging.
"What have I done...?! I... I’ve already become someone whose body can’t be satisfied without Hinata-san...!!"
It wasn't Hinata-san's fault, but I still wanted her to take responsibility! Responsibility for turning my body into this!
That said, today was Hinata-san’s day off.
She needed her rest. Even on her holidays, she was busy editing videos for Yo!Tube and doing other things. The reality was that she was quite busy.
If I stole any more of her time with my selfishness, she would literally die from overwork.
But... it would be a total disaster if Hinata-san ever left the party. I might actually go insane from experience points deficiency.
To ensure there was never even a remote chance of her leaving, I had to treasure her.
For now, I’d try to appease her tomorrow with the Life Magic skill orb... and then I’d get her some kind of proper present later.
Yes.
Anyway, having reconfirmed Hinata-san's importance, I ground out as many Monster Room laps as I could that day before heading home.
Laps completed today: 75 Skill orb drops: 1 Total experience points earned: 7,032,600 Magic stone sale amount: 56,332,500 yen (excluding tax).