Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 13

March 20th.

　Today, like every other day, I came to Shinjuku Dungeon from early in the morning.

　Maybe they had been watching my brother’s live stream from yesterday, because while I was getting changed in the dressing room, people around me were staring at me strangely, but no one spoke to me. I changed into my dungeon exploration gear and headed down to the first floor.

“It might take some time to get there, so let’s hurry up a bit.”

　He muttered, then with his smartphone in hand, he loaded up the map of the Shinjuku dungeon from the Modern Dungeon Strategy Wiki and took the shortest route possible, at a slightly faster pace.

　Although we defeated many slimes and goblins along the way as usual, we managed to reach the stairs leading to the third floor in about two hours.

　Even though I encountered a horde of goblins on the second floor, I had no trouble today.

　As expected, the skills I acquired and leveled up yesterday on my way home seem to have had a big effect.

Although I only used “Fighting Spirit” once because it consumed HP, the fact that it simply increased three stats, including “Strength”, was strong.

　But more than that, in the Shinjuku dungeon where many goblins appear, the power of “Goblin Killer” was immense.

　After all, it deals 1.6 times the damage unconditionally. And since I’m level 9, even if I slammed the sword down on top of the club, it was only a single hit.

　Now, even if I face three goblins on the second floor, I won’t take any damage.

　But that’s why I’ve already graduated from the second floor. For me, who has already finished the tutorial, the monsters on the second floor give me too little experience.

“It should be fine. With my current status, I should be able to defeat monsters on the third floor…!!”

　He stopped in front of the stairs leading to the third floor and swallowed.

　Of course, it’s natural to be nervous if you know you might die.

　When moving from the first floor to the second floor, not only did the monsters’ levels increase, but the number of monsters that appeared at once also increased, meaning that the difficulty of battles increased significantly.

　The same is true when moving from layer 2 to layer 3.

　In modern dungeons, the strength of the monsters that appear on each floor and the difficulty of the battles vary greatly.

　Here, on the 3rd floor of the Shinjuku Dungeon, the monsters that appear will be level 4 to 5, and the number you encounter at one time will increase to 2 to 4.

　And instead of slimes and goblins appearing, new monsters will start appearing.

　That being said, the monster in question is a goblin.

　Goblin Thief, Goblin Swordsman, Goblin Warrior.

　Unlike the normal goblins we’ve seen so far, these are high-ranking goblin monsters. And they all carry bladed weapons.

　The dangers involved go without saying.

　Compared to the goblins we’ve faced so far, who only had crude clubs, when fighting enemies wielding blades, the chances of being seriously injured or even killed are much higher.

　–He shivered.

　The fear that I might die.

“Is it okay to continue like this…? Even if it takes time, shouldn’t we try to level up a bit more on the second floor…?”

　Ask yourself questions.

　Weigh it in your mind.

“Safety” and “lots of experience points”…

　Bang!!!

“Okay, let’s go!”

　Experience points win!

　I stepped onto the stairs leading to the third floor.

　●◯●

　After descending to the third floor and proceeding down the corridor, I soon spotted a wriggling shadow at the end of the dimly lit passage.

　Part of the shadow reflects the candlelight illuminating the passageway and sparkles.

　They are goblins. There are two of them.

　Even I, as expected, didn’t run up to him with a smile and shout, “Hey Goblin!” like usual.

　He quietly pulled the sword out of its sheath.

　Perhaps hearing the sound, or perhaps noticing the light reflected off the blade, the goblins suddenly noticed us.

“…”

　The two goblins looked towards me silently.

　Unlike the goblins on the first and second floors, they didn’t let out murderous roars, but that didn’t mean they had no murderous intent towards humans, and the moment they looked at me, I felt a chill run down my spine.

　Quite murderous intent.

　For example, when a soldier used to the battlefield kills an enemy soldier, he may have this kind of air around him. The murderous intent wraps around his whole body, making him tremble with pressure.

　The two goblins facing me were larger than the normal goblins I had encountered so far.

　If normal goblins were about the size of a lower-grade elementary school student, the goblins in front of me were probably about the size of an upper-grade elementary school student.

　One held a knife in one hand, the other a one-handed sword and a shield in each hand, and they both wore leather breastplates for protection.

　Goblin Thief and Goblin Warrior.

　The two of them ran off silently, the warrior in front and the thief hiding behind him.

　From their appearance, they were very different from normal goblins. If normal goblins were amateurs controlled by murderous intent, these guys were well-trained soldiers.

　He has perfect control over his murderous intent.

“Excellent…!!”

　There’s no way you can let your guard down against such an opponent.

　To use my full power from the start, I activated two skills.

“Madness Level 1” and “Fighting Spirit Level 2”.

　This was the effect of the 《Fighting Spirit》 skill, and when it was activated, a red aura was emitted from his entire body, instantly draining two HP, but in return, three ability values ​​increased.

————————————————–

Strength 48 (+18)

Sturdy 21 (+6)

Intelligence 5 (-1)

《Spirit》12

《Agility》38 (+11)

Dexterity 19

————————————————–

　By the way, if ability-increasing skills overlap, the effects will be added together.

　In this case, Strength was doubly strengthened by Madness and Fighting Spirit, but the formula for calculating the ability value was not 1.2 x 1.4, but 20% + 40%, which means a 60% increase.

　Anyway, my ability values, strengthened by 《Madness》 and 《Fighting Spirit》, are as you can see.

“Shh–!!”

　Taking advantage of my suddenly increased agility, I charged towards the Goblin Warrior in front of me.

　They were closing the distance between them, and their movement speeds surpassed normal human common sense. It only took an instant for them to catch the warrior within sword range.

　He used the momentum of his running charge to slam down his sword.

　*BOOM* An incredible sound of impact resounded.

“Gugh?!”

　The warrior naturally aimed his shield at the sword strike, but was blown away by the tremendous impact.

　However, just before that, the thief, who had been following the warrior like a shadow, jumped out from behind the warrior and approached him with a knife at the ready.

　Its movements were swift. Goblin Thieves are monsters that specialize in agility and dexterity. If it had been me yesterday morning, I probably wouldn’t have been able to even react.

　Howeverーー,

“I can see it!!”

　An agility value of 38 is not just for show.

　He raised his sword to block the blow of the knife aimed at his neck–

“Experience points!!”

“Huh?!”

　He raised his sword and swung it down with all his might.

The two skills, “Damage Increase Lv. Max When Equipped with Swords” and “Goblin Killer Lv. 3”, are different from ability score increase skills in that if they overlap, the damage will be multiplied.

　In other words, 2.0x plus 1.6x equals 3.2x damage.

　A slash with a strength value of 48 dealt 3.2 times the damage and easily cut the Goblin Thief in half, along with his crude leather breastplate.

“Gugh!”

“Tch!!”

　However, there was no time to catch his breath after defeating the thief. The warrior who had been blown away by the first blow approached the thief during the battle and thrust out a one-handed sword.

　I dodged it by jumping backwards, and as I landed, I adjusted my position to face it.

　The warrior was not shaken in the slightest by the death of his comrade. He hid his body behind the round shield he had thrust out in front of him, and slowly closed the distance.

　I thought it would be easier now that there was only one enemy, but that wasn’t the case. When the enemy puts up a solid shield, I realized how difficult it is to break through it.

“–!?”

　And, 10 seconds had passed since the start of the battle, and the active 《Fighting Spirit》 skill was consuming a further 2 HP.

　It’s not worth taking your time.

　With determination, I raised my sword and charged at the warrior.

“Wooooooooohhh!!”

“――――”

　With a roar of determination, he swung his sword down at the ready shield.

　As if preparing for the impact, the warrior lowered his hips and tensed his whole body.

　– Bang!

“!?”

　He had probably expected a heavy blow like the one before. However, contrary to his expectations, the impact was far too light, and the Warrior’s expression stiffened. For a moment, his consciousness was blank. In preparation for the impact, the strength that had been building up in his entire body stiffened his joints, slowing his reaction time.

　I slipped past the warrior and got behind him, and just as he was finally turning towards me, I slashed at his neck with all my might with my sword.

　The goblin’s head flew into the air.