In this Second Chance at Life, where I can see skills as clear as day, everything feels like a breeze. And to make it even better, I’m spending my days joyfully with my First Love. - Chapter 13

As I crushed the goblin underfoot and briefly checked my status, a triumphant fanfare echoed in my mind.

“The first level-up in this world has been confirmed. As a reward, you have been granted the skill: [Experience Boost Lv. 1].”

What? Confused by the sudden announcement, I hesitated for only a moment before continuing into the strange hole that had appeared at the earthquake’s epicenter.

Then, as soon as I stepped inside, another fanfare rang out in my head.

“The first dungeon entry in this world has been confirmed. As a reward, you have been granted the skills: [Appraisal Lv. 1] and [Item Box Lv. 1].”

“Error: The skill [Appraisal Lv. 1] cannot coexist with the effect of the unique skill [Skill Duplication]. Therefore, [Appraisal Lv. 1] has been integrated into [Appraisal Lv. 24], upgrading it to [Appraisal Lv. 26].”

It was a voice I’d never heard before.

And yet, there was something oddly familiar about it. A strange sense of nostalgia accompanied its tone, like a faint memory from my past. On further reflection, I realized the familiarity might stem from how similar it sounded to the synthetic voice of Siri, a companion I had relied on often in my previous life.

With those thoughts in mind, I became the first-ever intruder of this world’s dungeon. I stepped into the mysterious hole that had suddenly appeared at the epicenter.

◇

Within the dungeon, creatures like “Goblin,” “Kobold,” and “Slime” awaited me.

Their levels ranged from 3 to 7. Even the weakest among them, a level-3 slime, had higher stats than my father. Using [Magic Intimidation] to render them unconscious and [Magic Hardening] to crush them, I annihilated every monster on the floor.

They vanished into smoke, leaving behind what appeared to be drop items.

It was overwhelming, a display of sheer domination—so much so that “rampage” might be too kind a word to describe it.

I leisurely strolled through the dungeon, collecting scattered red gems left behind by the fallen monsters. My [Appraisal] skill identified them as “Magic Stones.”

As I continued picking up the stones, I was reminded of something from my past life.

When I was five years old, my kindergarten held a sweet potato harvesting event. It had been a fun and memorable experience for me. Encouraged by my enjoyment, my parents once had me help out on their farm, calling it “potato digging.”

But it wasn’t really digging. My father used a hoe to unearth the sweet potatoes, and my task was simply to gather them up—over and over again.

At first, I had been disappointed. It wasn’t the fun digging activity I’d expected. But once I started, I realized it wasn’t so bad. Sure, my back ached from bending over constantly, but there was a sort of peace in the monotony. My mind would go blank, and I’d stop thinking about anything.

Looking back, that might have been the moment I discovered my odd love for repetitive tasks.

Lost in nostalgia, I finished collecting the magic stones and proceeded to the next floor.

Here, I encountered “Slime,” “Goblin,” and “Orc.”

Species: Orc
Name: None
HP: 323/332
Strength: 312
Magic: 12
Agility: 28 ▲
Level: 14
Occupation: None
Skills: None

An orc with a level as high as 14. It was strong—so strong, in fact, that even five of my fathers working together would likely be defeated. However, its magic power was pitifully low.

Using [Magic Intimidation], I incapacitated every monster on the second floor and crushed them with raw magical force.

It was systematic annihilation, efficient and precise.

I wasn’t sure how many floors this dungeon had, but picking up magic stones one by one was getting tedious. It also caused significant time loss.

If possible, I wanted to return to my grandparents’ house before morning so I wouldn’t worry them.

Not that worrying people was entirely out of character for me—after all, I’m the kind of person who runs until I pass out. Even so, I’d rather not cause unnecessary concern.

Still, leaving the magic stones behind didn’t sit right with me.

With that in mind, I decided to try something.

I softened the hardened magic power I had been using and let it flow around the magic stones. Then, I formed a thin, membrane-like layer close to the dungeon floor. After ensuring the stones were inside the membrane, I solidified the magic again, enclosing the stones in a magical net.

It worked! Using this magical membrane, I successfully encapsulated the magic stones and stored them in my [Item Box].

At level 1, I hadn’t expected much from the [Item Box], but when I analyzed it more closely, I discovered its capacity was determined by my magic power. The formula seemed to be: magic power × level ÷ 10 m³.

Given my magic power of 1,346,400, that meant my storage capacity was about 130 million liters. Not infinite, but close enough that it could probably hold an entire school building.

While the [Item Box] itself was impressive, the real absurdity lay in my magic power.

Thanks to this ridiculous stat, my first dungeon exploration had become little more than a series of repetitive tasks: intimidate with [Magic Intimidation], crush with magic, and collect stones. Hardly the thrilling adventure one might expect.

Shaking off deeper thoughts, I decided to keep moving forward. To make it slightly more engaging, I incorporated magical resistance training into my routine as I progressed.

From the third floor to the tenth floor, I encountered monsters with levels creeping into the 30s. Despite their increasing strength, not a single one managed to withstand [Magic Intimidation].

Well, almost. A few monsters with the [Magic Resistance] skill avoided being knocked unconscious. But they, along with the rest, were ultimately crushed under my hardened magic.

The result was the same—total annihilation. Looking back, there wasn’t much point in intimidating them in the first place.

Eventually, I reached the eleventh floor.

The atmosphere here was entirely different. A massive door loomed before me, bearing the image of a lion-like beast with a serpent’s tail. Its imposing presence made me catch my breath as I cautiously opened it.

Species: Chimera
Name: None
HP: 27,255 / 27,452
Strength: 28,990
Magic: 5,500
Agility: 720 ▲
Level: 60
Occupation: King of Beasts
Skills:

• • [Claw Mastery Lv. 15]

• • [Health Boost Lv. 25]

• • [Strength Boost Lv. 17]

• • [Magic Boost Lv. 8]

• • [Agility Boost Lv. 4]

• • [Magic Resistance Lv. 9]

Unique Skills:

• • [Automatic Health Recovery]

• • [Muscle Intimidation]

• • [Mental Complete Resistance]

There it was—the lion-like beast with a serpent’s tail, just as depicted on the door.

A level 60 monster!? And its health and strength stats were unbelievably high.

If this thing got out, it wouldn’t just devastate Niigata Prefecture—neighboring regions might be destroyed as well. Considering Niigata is Japan’s top rice producer, with near-perfect food self-sufficiency, such devastation would impact the entire country.

But despite its overwhelming stats, I felt surprisingly calm.

Why? Because this chimera’s magic power was less than 1/100th of mine. Smirking, I unleashed [Magic Intimidation]. No matter how strong it was, knocking it out would render all its strength meaningless.

Yet the chimera didn’t collapse. Instead, it growled lowly, completely unaffected by my magic.

That’s when I noticed one of its unique skills: [Mental Complete Resistance].

It could withstand the mental pressure caused by [Magic Intimidation], avoiding unconsciousness entirely.

If I couldn’t knock it out, this fight would have to take a different approach.

“I can’t let this thing get out… no matter what!” I muttered.

I had trained relentlessly, simply because I enjoyed it. For me, training had never been about necessity or purpose—it was purely a hobby. And I doubted it would ever mean anything more.

But now, faced with this chimera, I realized something.

If I couldn’t defeat it here, then all my training had been meaningless.