Chương 9: Growth and a New Skill

After turning the goblins' Magic Stones over in his hand a few times, Cael put them into the small pouch at his waist. Magic Stones were guaranteed drops after killing monsters. In Orario, Magic Stones were all-purpose trade goods. Forging weapons, making potions, and many other crafts required them. Merchants sold Orario's specialty products across the world. Adventurers who extracted these drops from the Dungeon were truly part of one of the most profitable professions in the world.

"Next, keep going." Cael took a deep breath, excitement rising in his chest. After killing monsters, his fear of them had completely disappeared. The rush that came after victory slowly filled him. That feeling was called excitement. He continued exploring deeper into the first floor. Along the way, he encountered goblins and red-eyed rabbits several times. One law of adventuring was simple. Never clash head-on with a monster if you could avoid it. Any attack that could be dodged should not be blocked.

Fighting monsters was different from fighting people. Monsters attacked with full force and charged straight in. They had no schemes, no feints, and no real technique. People were different. People used tricks, strategy, and skill. But with monsters, once he became familiar with their attack patterns, he could dodge their strikes and deliver a fatal blow during the brief opening before they attacked again. His first fight had been ugly.

His body had barely obeyed, and he had only survived because of passive Skill effects. By the second fight, he could already judge the direction of a monster's attack and kill it with ease. Every time he swung his sword, the stiffness in his body and the awkwardness in his movements lessened. After killing at least twenty goblins, Cael felt that raising and swinging his sword had become smooth. The earlier resistance was gone. He was changing.

Little by little, he was turning from an indoor dreamer who knew nothing about combat into a fledgling swordsman. Several white flashes cut through the air. A Dungeon Lizard, three meters long and half as tall as a person, burst into ash with a dull pop. A thumb-sized Magic Stone rolled to Cael's feet. He picked it up and put it into the pouch at his waist. Then he raised his sword and saw several small chips along the edge.

"The edge is rolled. Even with the sharpness greatly enhanced, it will still be damaged if the material itself does not change." Then his eyes brightened.

"Right. My speed, strength, and reactions are increasing so quickly. It feels like I can see myself getting stronger. Falna is incredible." Whether he swung his sword, ran, or leapt, every movement felt lighter and smoother. His Basic Abilities had grown so quickly that his mind and limbs were almost a little out of sync. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Once he received a god's Falna and the locks on his potential opened, his growth became almost unimaginable for an ordinary person. The effect of Bravery, which doubled his Basic Abilities when acting alone, was probably involved as well. Otherwise, he would not feel the change so clearly. His Basic Abilities should have all passed ten by now. With the doubling effect, that meant twenty. If he reached five hundred, the doubled value would pass one thousand.

At nine hundred ninety-nine, it would nearly reach two thousand. That was almost twice the normal limit of an adventurer's Basic Abilities. As expected of a Skill from Heracles. It was absurd.

"My will to fight is no longer a problem. What I lack now is technique and experience." After that, goblins and Dungeon Lizards became enemies he could kill with a single strike. They no longer posed any difficulty.

"I will go to the second floor." Cael wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a drink from his waterskin, and looked toward the dark cave leading down to the second floor. Inside was a spiral stone stairway. The glow from the stone walls was brighter here, making it easy to see the bottom of the stairs. A few wandering goblins were on the path.

When they heard movement, they started climbing toward the upper floor, but before they could move far, several sudden white flashes cut across their hunched bodies and turned them into ash.

"According to the adventurer handbook, from the first to the third floor, the only monsters are goblins, Dungeon Lizards, and harmless red-eyed rabbits. The difference is that the spawn rate doubles and then triples." The second floor's spawn rate was twice that of the first. Based on his experience on the first floor, even if monsters appeared more often, he could still kill them in one strike. That was not because his technique was particularly good. It was simply because his Skills were too strong.

And the more he swung his sword, the more he could feel the sword's rhythm. It was almost as if the sword were alive. In that battle state, his combat sense and experience grew rapidly. Clear Sword Mind was a Skill born from the Heroic Spirit Okita Soji. It could turn someone who wielded a sword into a swordsman at astonishing speed. Even without formal technique, he would naturally comprehend sword skills by constantly swinging. Before he realized it, eight hours of fighting had passed.

He was no longer a complete novice. At the very least, he had become a qualified rookie adventurer. While cutting through goblins and Dungeon Lizards, Cael reached the third floor without noticing. The third floor was not difficult either, so he simply continued to the fourth. From the fourth to the sixth floor, demon wolves, War Shadows, and wolf-headed monsters began to appear one after another. Demon wolves usually moved in groups of three to five, sometimes in packs of more than ten.

Their speed was several times that of ordinary adults. For a rookie adventurer to reach the fourth floor on the first day was no different from seeking death. But Cael's combined stats and Skills were overwhelming against individual monsters from the first six floors. In open ground, a wolf pack would be terrifying. In a narrow cave, however, there was no space for them to sprint. Their speed was suppressed to the lowest point.

If he dodged their pounce in an instant, he could end the fight by cutting into their necks. Three demon wolves turned to ash amid the humming vibration of the sword. Cael happily collected their Magic Stones. While rejoicing over the day's income, he noticed a serious problem. His small waist pouch was full. He had killed too many goblins and lizards on the first three floors. The pouch had barely been large enough for a water flask in the first place, and now it could not hold any more drops.

Should he throw away the goblin Magic Stones? At that moment, Cael understood how important supporters were. The light armor Eina had given him was covered in scratches. The clothes he had brought from his original world had been torn open in several places during battle, which made him feel a little regretful.

"I really need to thank Miss Eina for this equipment. Without it, I would already be injured. I should recover some strength, then leave the Dungeon and get back before sunset at six. Otherwise, Lady Hestia might think I despised her poverty and secretly ran away." Cael glanced at the mechanical watch on his wrist. The hour hand had reached four. He took two potato puffs from another pouch and prepared to fill his growling stomach with them and the little water he had left. Hum.

At that instant, a cool, pleasant sensation passed through his soul. Cael's mind shook, and joy surged through him. He immediately closed his eyes. On the crystal sapling that resembled a young World Tree, one leaf began to shine with brilliant light.