arc01 · 003-ep3
Episode 3: Surprisingly Manageable Once You Get Used to It
My first dive done, I made it home in one piece. I'd topped out at level 2 for the day, and with my steel pipe threatening to give out on me entirely, I'd beaten a hasty retreat.
"The payout was nothing special either, so buying a real weapon is still a good ways off…"
And given how today went, spares are probably a smart idea. I'll need to buy another steel pipe, too.
From what I saw today, it's not quite at the "no combat skill, absolutely impossible!" level of hopeless. Normally, someone without a combat skill gives up, joins a party, drops serious money on a good weapon, or gets power-leveled by someone stronger. A skill-less ordinary person going solo adventurer is straight-up insane. But thanks to my reincarnation advantage, I've got a body trained far harder than anyone else my age. I never felt an ounce of talent, but keep training from childhood for over ten years, and that alone puts you well into the upper crust.
So tomorrow, the dungeon dives continue. Whatever it takes, I'm going to be the strongest adventurer.
Too wound up to sleep, I decided to spend the night reading up on dungeons all over again.
『Dungeons』
Mysterious structures (?) that appeared all over the world roughly fifty years ago. The entrances genuinely have the feel of ancient ruins, but the further in you go, the more it becomes raw rock-walled caverns. They're home to monsters called 【monsters】—creatures that never existed on Earth to begin with. Whether they hold some deep hostility toward humanity or what, they attack the instant they spot you. Kill one and it dissolves into motes of light, leaving behind a 【magic stone】 plus that monster's own unique 【drop items】. Magic stones drop every single time, but item drops seem to be chance-based. All of it has become one very tasty resource for mankind. Incidentally, defeating monsters also earns 【experience points】, letting adventurers level up. Leveling up raises your physical abilities, so the benefit is beyond measure.
The more I read, the more game-like the explanations of dungeons feel. Monsters dissolving into particles of light after death especially gives off that vibe. Maybe because dungeons existed in this world long before RPGs were ever invented, nowadays nobody questions any of it—it's taken root as common sense: that's just how things are. To me, a reincarnate, this whole world feels like a game. But the pain is real, and the dead don't come back to life. An awfully strange sensation, honestly.
『Floors 1–3』
By regulation, freshly registered E-rank adventurers may not go beyond these floors. For safety reasons, reaching level 10 earns you D-rank certification and permission to push deeper.
The only monsters on these floors are 【Horned Rabbits】 and 【Giant Centipedes】. Both are threats to ordinary people and beginners, but they have no hard-to-deal-with attacks, and even if you do take a hit, one blow won't kill you. One member can hold a shield and run around drawing aggro while the rest of the party attacks, letting you hunt them safely. Even solo, decent weapons and armor make them easy to handle. With an attack skill, there'd be few moments of real struggle. Incidentally, more than a few people have quit the adventurer path over the visceral disgust of the 【Giant Centipede】's looks.
I charged in with high stats and still had a rough time, so I'd like to file a complaint about that write-up… but apparently if your gear is solid, even a solo player gets through these floors without any trouble. That part's rough on broke middle and high schoolers, though. My family's an ordinary household, and my parents already find me creepy and keep me at arm's length as it is. I'm grateful they're even paying for my living alone. Everything else, I have to earn myself. I'll level as much as I can over spring break before high school starts, save up, and buy a real weapon.
Between browsing beginner threads and the dungeon strategy wiki, drowsiness finally crept up on me. I had another dive tomorrow, so I made sure to get proper sleep.
◇
A week went by.
I hit the dungeon every single day, killing monsters like my life depended on it, and finally made it to level 5. The levels gave me some breathing room, and the money's been piling up nicely, but my weapon is still a steel pipe (my sixth), and a proper gear upgrade remains out of reach. So, what do my stats look like now? Well—
【Name】 Kobayakawa Takeru
【Level】 5
【Status】
・HP: 180 / 180
・MP: 28 / 28
・STR: 31
・VIT: 31
・AGI: 43
・DEX: 31
・INT: 27
・LUK: 4
【Skills】
・Plunder
【SP】 5
Looking pretty good, wouldn't you say? From what I've researched, my growth rate beats other adventurers across the board. Probably because I'm constantly moving solo. My AGI growth in particular is insane—on par with an average level-10 adventurer. Thanks to that, I've been taking far fewer hits lately. Not that I can afford to let my guard down.
The frustrating part is how slowly the SP I need to learn new skills is stacking up. SP drops by chance when you defeat enemies, but between the naturally low odds and my low LUK, I've barely earned any. At this rate I'll be lucky to have 10 SP even once I hit level 10. And with around 10 SP, I doubt I could get my hands on anything all that powerful… It's a dilemma.
Eh, whatever—I'll shelve it for now and think about it once I actually reach level 10.
Anyway, today's another day of dungeon diving. Starting today, I'll center my runs on floor 2.
I ran straight through floor 1 and started down the stairs to floor 2. These shallow floors are basically one long corridor—you won't get lost. Apparently it grows wider and more complicated the deeper you go.
Floor 1 enemies seem locked at levels 3–5, a total cakewalk for me now. For leveling efficiency, pushing ahead and fighting stronger enemies is the way to go. The monster species themselves stay the same, but they scale up floor by floor—levels 6–8 on floor 2, levels 9–11 on floor 3. So I hurried down to floor 2 and made leveling my priority.
"…And there one is."
The basic routine doesn't change. Confirm no other enemies are around, close in on the target, dodge its attacks, and go for the vitals with the steel pipe.
"Fshaaah!!!"
A horned rabbit caught sight of me and charged. I've long since grown used to their attack patterns. As long as you stay calm, dodging is easy. I put my high AGI to flawless use, slipping around to the rabbit's flank.
"Oraah!"
With a heavy thud, the steel pipe landed a vicious blow right around the rabbit's neck. It didn't die in one hit, but I followed up while it was down, and the horned rabbit broke apart into motes of light.
"All right, perfect! Rabbits are nothing to me now."
I scooped up the magic stone and immediately set off in search of my next prey.
One way or another, I'd gotten used to this, and the smooth run drew a natural smile out of me.