Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 8:

The pain is tolerable.

　However, if you think about it, losing 5 HP after just one hit from a goblin might be a problem.

　If I keep taking attacks like this, I’ll be unable to fight in no time. In that case, it might be more efficient to fight the goblins on the first floor.

“…No, I’m used to it now, I’m sure I can kill him better next time.”

　But from the last battle, I was able to grasp the strength of the goblins on this floor. I feel like next time I can move around a little more to avoid being attacked.

　However, if it takes multiple attacks to defeat them, you’ll likely end up surrounded by goblins.

　It’s a problem that can be solved if you level up a little more…

“Let’s try it.”

　He unexpectedly obtained a new skill – “Madness.”

　The effect of this skill is to increase Strength but reduce Intelligence, and also increase damage taken by 1.2 times, so the downside is greater, but since I don’t have any magic skills to begin with, the loss of Intelligence isn’t a downside.

　Even though the damage would increase, with my current skill level, it would only increase by 20%. Even with the previous attack, the damage would only go from 5 to 6.

　…Well, right now my strength only increases by 4, but an increase of 4 is still quite a big deal, isn’t it?

　Another good thing about Madness is that it doesn’t consume HP or MP. Many skills consume these to activate, but the fact that it doesn’t consume anything is an advantage.

“Okay, let’s give it a try. If it doesn’t work, we can just go back to the first floor.”

　So, I decided to try out the Madness effect in combat and move forward down the passage.

　If possible, a group of two goblins would be good.

　As he continued with these thoughts, it seemed as if his wish had been answered by the heavens, as he encountered a horde of goblins.

“Gugya!” “Gugyaahh!!” “Gyarrrrrrrr!!!”

　However, there were only three goblins.

“Tch, you cowards…!!”

　”You can’t do anything unless you gather in large numbers!” I wanted to curse at them. I’m alone. I wish they’d learn from the goblins on the first floor.

　Should I run away? I thought, but if I ran away now, I wouldn’t be able to fight against the monsters that were in groups of 3 or more.

　If I leveled up a couple more times, I’d be able to fight three goblins on this floor. But on the lower floors, there were more powerful monsters appearing in larger numbers. If I ran away here, I’d have to run away every time I encountered them.

　And most importantly, running away multiple times is inefficient in terms of leveling up.

“–I’ll kill you!!!”

　I braced myself and shouted.

　At the same time, he activates the 《Madness》 skill.

　I quickly checked my status and saw that my Strength had increased from 20 to 24, and my Intelligence had decreased from 6 to 5. It seemed like the increase or decrease in ability scores was just rounded up or down to the nearest whole number. Or maybe it was just omitted? There was no change in my HP or MP values.

　According to the skill description, the damage received should be increased, but that doesn’t matter if it doesn’t hit me!!

“Ohhhhhhhhhh!!”

“Guuuuuuuuuuuhhh!!”

　As the goblins came sprinting at an incredible speed, I closed the distance.

　Without losing momentum, he slammed his sword into the lead goblin.

“Gugh!?”

　The goblin tried to block with his club, but I was far superior in both strength and weight. I couldn’t stop the force of the sword, and it threw him off balance.

　Taking advantage of that opportunity, I slammed my sword down with all my might.

“Ola, olaaaaahh!!”

　Two hits.

　Previously, it took about three attacks to defeat it, but this time, I was able to defeat it in two.

　It seemed the effects of 《Madness Enhancement》 were working without any problems.

　Glancing at the goblin as it fell and disintegrated into particles of light, he turned to face the next goblinーー,

“Okay! Next―Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!?”

　Naturally, the goblins circling him beat him to death with their clubs.

　Because he quickly blocked the blow with his arms and shoulders, it wasn’t as painful as the attack on his side earlier. However, if he continued to receive attacks like this, his HP would inevitably run out in no time.

　Thenーー,

“Strategic retreat!!”

“Gugh!?”

　I turned on my heels, turned my back on the goblins, and started running.

“Guuuuh!!”

“Gugyarrrrrrrrrr!!”

　From behind, the goblins were yelling in anger and chasing after me.

“You idiot! It’s a lie that I’m running away!”

“Gugh!?”

　I just wanted to start over.

　I stopped in my tracks, turned around, and with a cry of “Hmph!!” slammed my sword down on one of the goblins, knocking him flying.

　Taking advantage of the opportunity, he attacks the other goblin.

　There were two enemies. It was the same as the previous battle. I slammed my sword with all my might into the club that was raised defensively, and aimed for the moment that it lost its balance!

　This time too, I took down the goblin with two hits, then I got myself in position and approached the goblin, who was about to slam his club at me, but I somehow managed to block his blow with my sword.

“You’re the only one left now, huh…?”

“G-g …

　And then he spoke to the last goblin.

　If there’s only one goblin, the goblins on this floor won’t be a hard fight.

“Let’s become experience points!!”

“Guh, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

　And so, I quickly defeated the last goblin.

　Immediately afterwards.

“Haaah, haaah — ahhh!?”

　As I steadied my ragged breathing, a mysterious power ran through my entire body.

　And then there’s a voice that seems to speak directly to your brain.

　–Your level has increased.

　Here it comes…!! Here it comes!!!

“Ngh, it’s sooo bad!!!!!!”

　Jump jump!!

　I felt good for a while–,

“Phew…! (Sage time)”

　Once things had calmed down, I picked up the goblins’ magic stones and started allocating status points.

　Looking at his status, his HP had dropped from 27 to 17 in the current battle. In other words, the damage he’d received was 10. He’d only received 3 attacks, so each hit only brought about 3-4 damage.

　Judging from the experience points I gained, one of them was a level 3 goblin, so even if I use Madness, the damage I’ll take from the level 2 goblin is only “3”. I’m not sure if it’s increased or not.

　But if that’s the case, then what was the point of receiving the “5” damage in the previous battle?

　Maybe that was a critical hit.

　Anyway, with this little damage, you can use “Madness” without feeling any drawbacks.

　However, even though it was a group of three, taking that much damage each time was a problem. I had to consider that when allocating stats.

　So, this is what happened.

————————————————–

[Name] Takeo Samejima

[Level] 『4』 Experience points to next level 『245』

《HP》17/37 (5up!)

《MP》18/18

Strength: 25 (5 up!)

Sturdy: 12

Intelligence: 6

《Spirit》12

Agility: 17

Dexterity 12

[STP] 『0』

[SP] 『0』

[Skills] 《Increased damage when equipped with swords Lv.4》 《Madness Lv.1》

[Title] 《Madman》

《Damage Increase when equipped with swords Lv. 4》–When attacking with a sword, damage inflicted on the enemy is increased by 1.8 times. Attacks with weapons other than swords have no effect.

————————————————–

　Well, there’s probably no point in trying to increase Toughness a little. I prioritized increasing Strength instead. Attack is the best defense.

　However, there might be some problems if I increase this, so I think I’ll increase Dexterity next.EndMuscle strength

　In any case, with this, shouldn’t it be possible to defeat a level 2 goblin with one hit?

　After all, if I use Madness, my Strength will become 30, and I’ve also increased the level of Increased Damage When Equipped with Swords, so my attack power should have increased considerably.

　If I can kill them with one hit, there’s nothing to be afraid of even encountering a group of three.

　I search for a goblin to test the benefits of leveling up.

　Then, I soon found a goblin walking alone.

Activating 《Madness》, he rushes over, waving his hands.

“Mr. Goblin!!”

“Guuuh? Guuuuuuuuuuuh!!”

“–Die, oraaaaah!!”

Perhaps because his Agility value remained the same, the first blow was blocked by the club as usual, but he was able to push the club in and slash through the shoulder.

　And the next hit will win.

　Judging by the response, it looks like I can kill them with the first hit if they don’t block. The battle time is also getting shorter, so I should be able to fight up to two of them at the same time without getting attacked.

“Okay, let’s go…!!”

　Gaining confidence that I could make it through the second floor without any problems, I picked up some magic stones and began to advance through the dungeon in high spirits.