The next morning, I finally managed to escape from the goddess’s arms and got ready to head for the Dungeon as usual.
Even though I’d barely slept last night, I’d also recovered a little, so maybe that made it a net gain?
Thanks to my updated Status, my body felt much lighter.
“Be careful today too, Nia. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Yes, Goddess. Don’t worry.”
Lady Istarot saw me off while munching on the bread I’d bought yesterday.
Watching her eat soft bread instead of the hard stuff made me smile before I even realized it.
So this was the reward for making money.
I should buy her lots of delicious food.
On the way to the Dungeon, I came up with a plan different from yesterday’s.
Today’s goal was to break through to the 5th floor for sure.
The 1st through 4th floors were the beginner area, made of pale blue walls.
There was no longer much room for growth from goblins and kobolds alone.
As soon as I entered the Dungeon, I headed downward without hesitation.
The 1st through 4th floors were practically a walk in the park.
Instead of simply passing through them, I used that stretch as a training ground to practice new control.
I gradually increased the number of weapons I controlled at once—two daggers, three, then four...
Several daggers traced different paths as they swept through kobolds, goblins, and the occasional Dungeon Lizard crawling along the walls.
It took far more concentration than using a single blade, but it was just that much more powerful.
At last, I reached the 5th floor.
The pale blue walls from before were gone, replaced by green ones.
The passages twisted together like an ant nest, and because of the spores floating in the air, my vision felt subtly restricted too.
From here on, they said it was common to get surrounded by monsters the moment you wandered into a dead end.
I stayed alert and moved forward one careful step at a time.
Sure enough, no new monsters appeared.
But the movements of the goblins, kobolds, and Dungeon Lizards were clearly different from the lower floors.
They skillfully made use of the complicated terrain.
Following the maze-like corridors, I entered a relatively wide room.
And at that moment, monsters began pouring out all at once not only from the entrance I’d come through, but from the side passages I hadn’t managed to check in time.
Even the ones freshly born from the walls and floor joined in.
A monster party.
The most primal threat the Dungeon created to hunt adventurers.
“Ssshaaa!”
“Grrrk!”
Dungeon Lizards, goblins, kobolds.
Tens of monsters surged toward me, forming a perfect encirclement.
Each individual monster was still weak.
But dozens of them rushing me all at once in such a confined space was a completely different level of threat.
I sent my daggers flying in every direction, cutting them down, but there was no end to them.
When I brought one down, two more born from the wall and floor took its place.
“...Damn it, there’s no end to them!”
So focused on controlling the daggers that I hadn’t checked the ground beneath my feet.
My foot caught on a goblin corpse on the floor, and I lost my balance for an instant.
“...Kuh!”
Without missing that split-second opening, a kobold swung its club and smashed into my side.
Thanks to the leather vest with [Protection] on it, I avoided a serious wound, but the impact still knocked the breath out of me.
This was dangerous.
I could get overwhelmed and crushed by sheer numbers.
I made the decision immediately.
“I need to open a path.”
Was there any enchantment useful in a situation like this...?
While fighting nonstop and turning the problem over in my head, one thing came to mind.
Explosive.
An enchantment that caused an explosion on attack.
I immediately focused my Mind and bestowed an explosive enchantment on a spare dagger.
“Let fate be granted.”
I had to bestow it at the highest grade possible.
With my current Mind, even Explosive II would be cutting it close, but this was no time to be picky about cost!
I could feel my Mind draining away in a rush, but now wasn’t the time to conserve it.
I hurled the dagger with the explosive enchantment toward the retreat route where the monsters were most densely packed.
The moment the monsters, still clueless, rushed toward the dagger—
KWA-BOOM!
With a deafening roar, the dagger exploded.
Monsters caught in the blast wave were sent tumbling, screaming.
One side of the encirclement collapsed completely.
I didn’t miss the opening and slipped out through the gap, putting some distance between us.
I calmly dealt with the monsters pouring out of the trap room one by one.
When the battle was finally over, I collapsed onto the floor, panting hard.
The pain in my side was still there, and the drain on my Mind and mental stamina was severe.
For the first time, I truly felt it—the Dungeon itself was trying to kill me, not just the monsters.
Scattered across the floor were Magic Stones far larger and more brilliant than anything I’d seen before.
As I swept them up, I thought to myself that it would be best to call it a day and head back.
I left the Dungeon without lingering.
Before returning to the clock tower, I exchanged the Magic Stones, then headed back to the secondhand weapon shop in the back alleys.
With part of today’s earnings, I bought back the broken daggers.
I should put [Explosive] on these before bed and use them tomorrow.
“Hey, old man.”
“What is it, kid?”
“Do you have a decent bow besides this? Around 10,000 valis, maybe.”
“Hmm... how about this one?”
The weapons dealer tossed me a bow.
It looked pretty high quality.
“Huh? Old man, this looks like it’s worth way more than 10,000.”
“It’s secondhand anyway, just stolen goods gathering dust. Better for someone who can actually use it to take it. I’ll throw in arrows for free.”
This old man was actually a really good person, wasn’t he?
“Thanks, old man.”
I bought the bow because I’d keenly felt the need for a way to deal with different situations.
When I returned home with my weapons, Lady Istarot greeted me with a worried expression.
“Nia! You’re late today. ...Oh my! What happened to your side!”
Seeing the bruise on my ribs, she gasped and rushed over to me.
“I’m fine, Goddess. I just fought the Dungeon a little.”
I showed her the pouch with today’s earnings inside.
The amount exchanged at the Guild came to a whopping 60,000 valis.
Even after subtracting the cost of the daggers for [Explosive] and everything else, it was still a substantial income.
“That’s amazing, Nia! But... to get hurt like this...”
She looked back and forth between the money pouch and my injury, then finally teared up and hugged me tightly.
Wrapped in her arms, I quietly asked for today’s Status update.
────────────────
Nia
Race: Pallum
LV1
Strength I 12 → I 41
Endurance I 9 → I 33
Agility I 21 → H 105
Dexterity I 94 → G 227
Magic I 45 → H 192
Development Ability
[Magic]
[Enchant]
• Chant: “Let fate be granted.”
• Enchant magic
• Permanently bestows random effects on equipment
• By consuming additional Mind, a desired effect can be fixed in place
• By consuming additional Mind, the effect’s rank can be increased
[Skill]
[Weapon Master]
• Controls weapons
────────────────
“Amazing! At this rate, you’ll be able to level up soon enough!”
Lady Istarot, as if she had forgotten all about worrying over my injuries, patted my head with pure delight.
My act of surviving a monster party in the Dungeon, while precisely controlling multiple weapons against a swarm of monsters, seemed to have pushed my Dexterity up two ranks at once, straight to G rank.
Was it really that easy to raise?
Well... if it’s good, it’s good.
My Magic and Agility had also settled into H rank.
At her praise, my shoulders unconsciously straightened with pride.
Still, I did wish she’d stop patting my head so much.
It’s embarrassing...
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