As always, I woke up in the goddess’s arms.
Seeing me off with a worried expression, Lady Istarot sent me on my way back to the Dungeon.
Yesterday’s battle had taught me an important lesson.
Even if a monster itself wasn’t especially strong, the Dungeon’s terrain and sheer numbers were threat enough.
And I had also experienced both the power of the Explosive enchantment and its brutal Mind consumption firsthand.
On the way to the Dungeon, I put an enchantment on the bow I’d bought yesterday.
“Let fate be bestowed.”
I focused my Mind and inscribed [Sharpness] I and [Acceleration] I.
I wanted to put [Infinity] on it, but if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to go to the Dungeon today.
Just a hunch, but I figured my Mind would probably bottom out the moment I applied it.
[Sharpness] was the same as in the game, raising projectile power.
But [Acceleration] had originally increased attack speed, and honestly, this wasn’t a game, so I didn’t think it would increase attack speed here. Sure enough, after firing it, it seemed to have been converted into increasing projectile speed instead.
And after actually using the bow, I realized something else: the [Master of Arms] Skill wasn’t just limited to sword control. It also seemed to improve my overall ability to handle weapons.
For someone like me, who had never used a bow in my life except for toy bows, to shoot this well, the correction effect must be incredible.
This is pretty good...
Anyway, today’s goal was to reach the 8th floor.
Thanks to the monster party I’d run into on the 5th floor yesterday, my ability growth had also accelerated quite a bit.
Maybe this was what it meant when the adventurers in the original story said you had to adventure to grow?
Since I’d already done it once, I made it back to the 5th floor much more easily than yesterday, relying on the experience I’d gained.
I avoided the wide rooms where monster parties could form and lured the monsters into narrow passages to pick them off one by one.
When I finally reached the 6th floor, the Dungeon’s atmosphere turned damp and sinister.
Shadows rippled strangely across the green walls.
Frog Shooter and War Shadow.
From here on, new kinds of monsters began to appear.
A Frog Shooter clinging to the ceiling spotted me and lashed out with its long tongue like a whip.
I drew the newly enchanted bow.
I nocked an arrow, then drew the string with the help of my Finesse G-rank and the correction from [Master of Arms].
Swish!
The enchanted arrow pierced straight through the Frog Shooter’s body with ease.
“Oh, the power’s definitely there.”
The combination of [Sharpness] I and [Acceleration] I was even better than I’d expected.
But the real problem was the War Shadows.
They slipped in and out of the shadows, launching unpredictable ambushes.
I deployed five daggers, made them circle around me, and used the bow to snipe the monsters hiding in the darkness as I pushed through the 6th floor.
On the 7th floor, killer ants appeared.
They boasted tough exteriors and fast attack speed, but compared to the sheer numbers I’d faced on the 5th floor yesterday, they were honestly easier to deal with.
I relentlessly targeted the joints, their weak points, and brought them down.
At last, I found the stairs leading to the 8th floor.
As I descended, the Dungeon’s scenery changed dramatically.
The ceiling rose to at least ten meters high, and the wooden-colored walls and ground covered in short grass made it feel almost like I’d stepped into a plain.
This should have been a relatively safe stratum, dominated by enhanced goblins and kobolds.
As I moved forward, staying alert and not letting my guard down, I heard a goblin scream from ahead.
Aaaaagh!
And with heavy footsteps, a huge shadow burst out, smashing through the wooden-colored wall.
Bugbear.
“...No way.”
I muttered under my breath.
Bugbears are middle-floor monsters that only appear around the 19th floor.
Why was one here on the 8th floor?
Dungeon anomaly.
A rare phenomenon where middle-floor monsters surfaced in the upper floors.
I’d stumbled into the worst possible situation.
Once it spotted me, the monster let out a savage roar and charged.
I calmly widened the distance and fired my bow.
Thwip!
The arrow, strengthened by enchantment, buried itself in the Bugbear’s shoulder.
But the monster didn’t even flinch, let alone scream. Instead, it casually pulled the arrow out and tossed it aside.
“Damn it, that thing’s got insane durability.”
Ranged attacks didn’t seem to do much.
That meant I had no choice but to settle this in close combat.
Just as I was thinking that and trying to close in on it, the Bugbear suddenly stopped its charge and slammed a foot into the ground.
It swung its forepaw horizontally with enough force to cut straight through my waist.
Instinctively, I leaned back and crossed two daggers to block the strike.
KRAANG—!
With a tremendous impact, the two daggers bent like soft noodles and were blown away.
“Ghk!”
The shock threw my balance off.
The Bugbear didn’t miss that split-second opening.
It raised its forepaw high and brought it down toward my head.
There was no way to dodge.
I gathered the remaining three daggers above my head.
“Block it!”
CRACK!
With a horrifying bursting sound, the three daggers couldn’t withstand the Bugbear’s attack and shattered into pieces.
Even so, the shockwave from the monster’s forepaw slammed into me.
“Kuhk!”
I tumbled through the air several times before crashing into the floor.
The pain made it feel like my whole body was breaking apart, and I could barely breathe.
If it hadn’t been for the [Protection] enchantment, I might have died on the spot.
Confident of victory, the Bugbear strode over and looked down at me, raising its forepaw again.
Am I going to die like this?
My vision blurred.
But then, a thought flashed through my mind.
Could [Master of Arms] be applied to broken weapons too?
What I could control was a weapon.
Just because it was broken didn’t mean it was no longer a weapon.
I focused my consciousness on the dagger fragments scattered across the floor.
Move!
Just before the Bugbear brought its forepaw down, dozens of sharp metal fragments scattered on the ground all shot up into the air at once.
“GROOOH?!”
The monster was thrown into confusion by the bizarre sight unfolding before its eyes.
The metal shards surged toward the Bugbear’s entire body like a swarm of living bees.
Its eyes, nose, mouth, and every weak point like the unarmored joints.
Slash! Slash-slash-slash!
Dozens of fragments tore into the monster’s body.
The Bugbear thrashed in agony and swung its forepaw, but it was already too late.
It spewed blood like a fountain, then could no longer support its massive body and collapsed, turning into black ash.
“Haa... haa... damn... I almost died.”
I dragged in ragged breaths and barely managed to stand.
My whole body throbbed, and my head felt like it was about to split open.
But at the same time, I felt the thrill of having discovered a new way to use my Skill in an extreme situation.
I collected the Magic Stone and picked up the broken dagger fragments.
I’d be able to use these again someday.
That was enough for today.
Without lingering, I left the Dungeon.
When I exchanged the Magic Stones at the Guild, I came away with a huge sum of 150,000 valis.
It was a much larger haul than yesterday.
Though considering I’d nearly died, it almost felt a little too small...
When I returned to the clock tower, Lady Istarot was waiting for me.
“Nia! You’re late today. I was worried! ...Oh my, those injuries!”
Seeing my battered state, she gasped in shock and rushed over to me.
“I’m fine, Goddess. I just rolled around a bit.”
I showed her the money I’d earned today to reassure her.
She looked back and forth between the coin pouch and my injuries, 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 41 → G 255
Endurance I 33 → G 231
Agility H 105 → F 388
Finesse G 227 → E 491
Magic H 192 → F 396
Development Ability
《Magic》
【Enchant】
• Chanting style: “Let fate be bestowed.”
• Enchantment magic
• Permanently bestows random effects on equipment
• By consuming additional Mind, a desired effect can be fixed in place
• By consuming additional Mind, effect rank can be increased
《Skill》
【Master of Arms】
• Rules over weapons
────────────────
“My goodness... Nia! Your Finesse... your Finesse has reached E-rank!”
The goddess was stunned beyond words.
I, too, couldn’t help staring at the numbers written on the parchment in disbelief.
My other abilities had also grown explosively, but my Finesse had jumped straight past F-rank and reached E-rank in one go.
In the face of death, I had simultaneously and precisely controlled dozens of weapon fragments.
That act had driven my Finesse up dramatically.
“Th-this growth rate...”
Lady Istarot could only stare at me, unable to finish her sentence.
Her golden eyes were filled with awe.
I grinned.
At this rate, reaching S wouldn’t be all that far off.
If I was going to fill it out, I might as well fill it all the way to S before leveling up.
After all, a solid foundation matters.
“But Nia, don’t rush too much. Your safety comes first.”
“I know, Goddess.”
I smiled to reassure her.
As expected, our goddess really was the best.
What?! Infinity in Level 1? There's a reason why Infinity is in the higher end of the Enchantment in Minecraft because it is just that OP. You should definitely enchant your bow with infinity