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 14

In the deepest part of the dungeon stood the chimera—a lion with the tail of a snake.

The chimera shrugged off my [Magic Intimidation] entirely. Its strength was more than double my pre-dungeon stats for health and muscle power, a truly monstrous figure. If the chimera were to escape, it would undoubtedly wreak havoc—not just in Niigata Prefecture, where the dungeon appeared, but likely in the surrounding regions as well.

This was a fight I absolutely couldn’t lose. Yet, in the end, the battle was shockingly anticlimactic.

I created a wall using [Magic Hardening] and dropped it on top of the chimera, following up with a punch. That was all it took—the chimera was flattened and vanished without a trace.

The chimera’s stats were certainly formidable. If I had fought it before entering the dungeon, it would have been a grueling battle.

However, I had faced numerous enemies with higher levels than mine throughout this dungeon. As a result, I had grown significantly stronger.

For reference, here were my stats just before the battle at the imposing door that led to the chimera:

Name: Yasushi Sashima
HP: 551,240 / 551,250
Strength: 367,500
Magic: 13,043,250
Agility: 285,000 ▲
Level: 25
Occupation: None
Skills: ▼

• • [Appraisal Lv. 26], [Agility Boost Lv. 74], [Health Boost Lv. 96], [Strength Boost Lv. 82], [Super Recovery Lv. MAX], [Super Regeneration Lv. 5], [Parallel Thinking Lv. 7], [Magic Boost Lv. MAX], [Magic Boost Lv. 64], [Farming Lv. 11], [Teaching Lv. 12], [Flexibility Lv. 42], [Damage Reduction Lv. 52], [Magic Efficiency Boost Lv. 63], [Swimming Lv. 50], [Magic Strengthening Lv. 31], [Stealth Lv. 22], [Health Strengthening Lv. 9], [Agility Strengthening Lv. 6], [Strength Strengthening Lv. 7], [Experience Boost Lv. 4], [Item Box Lv. 2], [Experience Boost Lv. 10]

Unique Skills:

• • [Complete Mental Resistance], [Swift Feet], [Herculean Strength], [Automatic Health Recovery], [Magic Manipulation], [Magic Absorption], [Complete Magic Resistance], [Magic Unleashing], [Magic Intimidation], [Super Calculation], [Complete Physical Resistance], [Instant Step], [Ground Shrinking], [Godspeed], [Acceleration], [Health Absorption], [Health Storage], [Keen Eye], [Enhanced Joint Mobility], [Adamantine Strength], [Muscle Hardening], [Muscle Intimidation], [Asura], [Skill Duplication]

Exclusive Skill:

• • [Trial and Error]

Take my strength, for example. It was 20 times higher than the chimera’s—twenty times! The disparity between us was comparable to that of a human and a mouse.

When I first started out, my base stats were 50 in each category. From levels 1 to 9, each level-up increased all stats (except magic) by 25. Levels 10 to 19 added 50 per level, level 20 granted 100, and levels 21 to 25 added 75 each. This brought my base stats to 1,250. For some reason—perhaps due to my frequent use—my magic stat was double that at 2,500.

On top of these base stats, bonuses from skills like [Boost] and [Strengthening] further increased my power with every level-up. Even without these boosts, my base stats alone were enough to overpower a bear in hand-to-hand combat.

By the time I reached the chimera, my agility stat had fallen slightly behind my strength stat, likely due to the lack of space to sprint in the dungeon. Still, 285,000 was a massive leap from my pre-dungeon stat of 6,500. Back then, even with a body weighing only 39 kilograms at age 10, I could run faster than the speed of sound.

Now? With 20 times that agility, I could likely reach Mach 20. The numbers felt almost absurd—like I’d stepped into the world of some overpowered fiction.

And then there was my magic power—13 million. To put it into perspective, my [Magic Intimidation] alone had been enough to make me lose consciousness before entering the dungeon.

At this level, I could easily knock out everyone in Japan with [Magic Intimidation] alone. If I aimed it just right, I might even reach China. Russia, however, might be a bit too vast for my range.

With my boosted stats from skills, level-ups, and relentless training, I had attained absurd levels of power in magic, health, strength, and agility. Against a chimera whose stats were 1/20th of mine, losing was simply not an option.

While stats alone aren’t always absolute—differences in weight and physical size could make up for disparities up to three times—twenty times was a gap that could be overcome with brute stats alone.

And so, I became the first conqueror of this dungeon.

In just a few seconds, the chimera was crushed. As I watched its body dissolve into glowing particles, the same fanfare I’d heard when entering the dungeon rang in my mind, though this time slightly delayed.

“The defeat of the chimera has been confirmed. The first dungeon clearance in the world has been detected. All monsters within the dungeon have been defeated. The dungeon was cleared within 120 minutes.”

The mechanical voice, familiar and emotionless, continued to announce one message after another.

“As a reward, all base stats have been increased by +1000. The title ‘Ravager’ has been granted.”

Base stats increased by +1000? And a title? I didn’t fully understand what either of those meant.

However, just as I was about to check my updated stats and the meaning of the title, a terrible, oppressive aura filled the air. It felt unnatural, heavy, and suffocating.

“The conditions for the Conqueror have been met.
The Extra Boss ‘Nightmare Knight’ will now appear.”

What emerged was pure darkness—thick, overwhelming darkness. It looked like a small black hole, an ominous void that sucked the light from the space around it.

From that void, a massive figure appeared, standing at least twice my height. It was clad in pitch-black armor, and its silhouette resembled that of a knight.

I couldn’t tell if it was a human or a monster.

But one thing was clear—it was an enemy.

I held my breath, trying to calm the tension rising in me, and used [Appraisal] to analyze the being.

Species: Nightmare Knight
Name: Duran
HP: 57,255 / 57,459
Strength: 87,990
Magic: 1,599,000
Agility: 67,890 ▲
Level: 75
Occupation: Knight of Nightmares
Skills:

• • [Swordsmanship Lv. MAX]

• • [Health Boost Lv. 35]

• • [Strength Boost Lv. 47]

• • [Magic Boost Lv. 82]

• • [Agility Boost Lv. 38]

• • [Magic Resistance Lv. 9]

• • [Physical Resistance Lv. 8]

Unique Skills:

• • [Automatic Health Recovery]

• • [Muscle Intimidation]

• • [Magic Intimidation]

• • [Magic Reflection]

“Ah…”

Its stats were undeniably impressive.

But even before defeating the chimera, I would have been more than capable of handling it.

Since the chimera’s defeat, I had likely leveled up several times. On top of that, my reward had increased all of my base stats by 1000. And because these were base stat increases, the effects of my skills amplified the boost even further, far beyond just +1000.

The outcome was obvious. The so-called extra boss, the Nightmare Knight, didn’t stand a chance. It was obliterated with a single blow.

**“The defeat of the Extra Boss has been confirmed. The conqueror’s stats exceed those of the Extra Boss by more than 100 times. As a reward, base stats (excluding magic) have been increased by +2000, and magic has been increased by +5000. All skill levels have been increased by +10.

Additionally, the title ‘Brute Force of Numbers’ has been granted.”**

In that moment, I could almost swear the mechanical voice sounded as if it were laughing dryly.