Ossan Saikyō Chapter 1 Part 06
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Adventurer Level 2
Weapon Skills
【Mace】Lv.4
【Dagger】Lv.2
Defense Skills
【Buckler】Lv.3
Physical Skills
【Vitality】Lv.3
【Strength】Lv.4
【Speed】Lv.3
【Surge】Lv.4
【Reflex】Lv.3
Sensory Skills
【Vision】Lv.3
【Hearing】Lv.2
【Scent】Lv.2
【Touch】Lv.2
【Dynamic Acuity】Lv.3
【Presence Detection】Lv.3
Mental Skills
【Composure】Lv.2
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The next day, I headed to the Great Rock Dungeon again from the morning.
I waited a bit after the leading parties entered before going in myself.
Advancing to the first fork, I started with the left route leading to the dead end.
The goblin spawn rate was about the same as the first time I entered yesterday. It seems the spawn rate resets after a certain amount of time.
After defeating six goblins, I returned to the fork and this time took the main route to the right.
Since the earlier parties had already gone through, I thought the spawn rate might be lower, but before reaching the slope leading to the second underground floor, around twenty goblins appeared.
Of course, the distance was more than twice that of the left route to the dead end.
But honestly, goblins are no longer a challenge at all. Even if three appear at once, I can completely overpower them. In fact, I could probably take down three in a single swing.
(E/N: RIP to those poor goblin bas*ards…)
By the way, combining yesterday and today, I’ve defeated over fifty goblins, and only now has my adventurer level reached 3, or so I felt. Which makes goblins feel even more unsatisfying.
…Wait, was I always this combative?
Anyway, out of curiosity, I decided to head down to the second underground floor.
By the way, when I asked that young man in the dining hall, his party mainly fights on the lowest level, the fifth underground floor. Other parties also seem to earn their money on the fourth and fifth floors.
The second floor had the same general atmosphere as the first. I checked my position with the map as I moved forward.
After encountering goblins a few more times, I finally came across a monster I hadn’t seen before.
It was a lizard about the size of a small crocodile, with rock-like skin, a “Rock Lizard”.
Its means of attack are biting and tail strikes.
The Rock Lizard came running at me with a “Shaka-Shaka!” hissing sound. Right in front of me, it opened its mouth wide and lunged to bite.
Gush!
I struck its side with a counter-like swing of my mace. My【Reflex】and【Dynamic Acuity】skills made that kind of advanced attack possible.
The Rock Lizard was blown sideways and struggled on its flipped back. The fact that it endured that blow suggests its defense is higher than a goblin’s.
I approached and brought the mace down onto its white belly. It let out a dying cry;
Guek!
And went still.
What remained were a mana stone and its hide. The mana stone is fine, but the hide is bulky. Still, I’ll take it for now.
Since it seemed manageable, I continued forward. There were times when two Rock Lizards appeared at once, but since they weren’t very fast, I could handle them without issue.
After defeating about twenty goblins and twenty Rock Lizards, I reached the slope leading to the third underground floor.
That’s enough for today. I shouldn’t push my luck.
Just as I turned to head back, a presence approached from deeper down the slope.
“Oh, it’s you, old man. Don’t go down to the third floor. You can’t handle it alone.”
It was that young man’s party coming up.
“Yeah, I wasn’t planning to. This is about my limit for now.”
“Well, that’s good. Though honestly, coming this far alone is already pretty reckless.”
“Maybe so. By the way, did you go down to the fifth floor again today?”
At that, the young man shook his head.
“No, there were more Boar Wolves than usual, so we called it a day. Without someone with an【Item Box】, we can’t carry all the materials. Still, it’s enough for three days’ earnings, so no problem.”
“I see… By the way, that【Item Box】, that’s a skill, right?”
“You don’t know? It’s a skill that lets you carry a huge amount of stuff. It's like a magic skill, basically. Apparently, every party above C-rank has at least one person with it. At that level, you get massive materials, after all.”
“I see… that’s hard to even imagine.”
“Well, yeah. To be honest, scraping by on a low rank isn’t all that bad. They say you’d need more lives than you’ve got to survive the higher-level dungeons. Of course, even here, if you let your guard down, you’ll end up in the afterlife. Do take care, then.”
“Thanks, I will.”
“Yeah, see ya.”
With that, the young man and his party left. After talking with him a few times, I’ve realized he’s the talkative, meddlesome type.
Still,【Item Box】, huh.
Basically a skill that lets you carry an impossible amount of items, just like in games. As for how to obtain such a skill… I already know.
You have to defeat a dungeon boss. Apparently, defeating a boss grants one random special skill. So if you’re lucky…
Putting that aside, I now understand a bit why they’re in this lowest-rank dungeon. “Making a living at a low rank”. I see, adventurers are allowed that kind of laid-back lifestyle too.
So what should I do?
For now, it looks like I’ll be diving into the dungeon while thinking about that.
◇◆◇
“Wait, Mr. Okuno, you’ve already gone to the second floor? And you defeated these many Rock Lizards?”
When I lined up the materials at the guild counter, the usual receptionist widened her eyes. By the way, her name is Kisara. A cute young woman with pink twin tails.
“Is it really that surprising?”
“If you were E-rank and somewhat experienced, it’d be understandable, but someone who’s only been an adventurer for five days doing this is unusual. Are you pushing yourself too hard?”
“Well… I don’t think I’m overdoing it.”
“Maybe you’re just naturally suited for combat. You might actually become a really strong adventurer.”
“Haha, that would be nice. Still a long way to go.”
“That’s true. Even reaching D-rank seems pretty difficult. For you, Mr. Okuno, the first step would be forming a party.”
“I’d need to get stronger first. And since it’s rare to awaken at my age, there probably aren’t many people willing to team up with me.”
“That part is a bit strange, isn’t it? My father was relieved thinking he’d already lost the chance to Awaken.”
“I'm quite surprised to hear that, too.”
Comparing me to her father really makes me realize how abnormal my situation is.
Forming a party seems difficult after all. Younger people usually team up with other young people. Even in a company, juniors don’t usually invite veterans out for meals.
Well, being alone is easier anyway… Thinking back on my life, I received nearly 50,000 Rom and left the guild.
◇◆◇
I bought three meat skewers from a stall and thought while eating.
Diving to the second floor of an F-class dungeon earns about 50,000 Rom per day.
In Japanese terms, that’s like earning 50,000 yen a day. Normally, that’s not bad, no, it’s actually quite high-paying.
However, food prices here feel about two to three times higher than in Japan, so it’s not as comfortable as it sounds.
There’s also the ongoing cost of lodging. My current inn is 6,000 Rom per night, but honestly, I don’t want to stay here forever. The other inn in town (for D-rank adventurers) costs 20,000 Rom per night.
Another issue is that adventurer equipment and tools are extremely expensive.
Weapons and armor naturally get damaged with heavy use and require constant maintenance. Even clothes wear out quickly.
Potions are also expensive; even the lowest grade costs 15,000 Rom. As Kisara mentioned earlier, a serious injury would cost 450,000 Rom to treat.
Considering how powerful they are compared to medicine in my old world, they might actually be cheap… but still.
All things considered, earning 50,000 Rom a day is quite tight, especially considering I’m risking my life.
According to Kisara, the purchase price of mana stones increases dramatically with higher-rank monsters.
In other words, if you want to live well as an adventurer, you inevitably have to aim for a higher rank and fight stronger monsters.
In the end, it’s about where you draw the line between risk and reward. Nothing new, it’s the same as in my previous world.
By the time I reached the inn, I had finished all three skewers. I noticed it yesterday too, but there’s a strange sensation of the nutrients from the meat spreading through my body almost instantly.
Maybe that’s also an effect of Awakening. Would training after eating make it even more effective? I should try it for a while.
That night, I tried bodyweight training in my room, but I realized it didn’t have much effect on my current body. I should ask a blacksmith to make some dumbbells later.
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E/N:
Item Box would be so convenient! We're now nearing the infamous dumbbells!
Stay tuned!
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