Chapter 93 

Sprinting along the shortest path toward the lower levels.

Along the way, if other adventurers were in combat and seemed to be struggling, he’d give the monster a swift kick and pass right by.
If a monster was just standing there idly, he’d kick it and make it vanish.

Amazing. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown stronger, but even non-gel monsters are dying instantly from a flying kick now.

“Hmm… I probably should’ve used [Appraisal Eye] before defeating them.”

So far, he’d taken down gel monsters, dog-like monsters, and what seemed to be humanoid, goblin-type enemies.
According to Melt, unless you defeat a variety of monster types, your growth potential remains limited. But maybe he’s developed a bit after all?

“I guess the monsters on the first floor are just that weak, huh…”

He’d run quite a distance. By his estimation, it felt like the same length as the walk from Lindblum’s south gate to the central guild.
Honestly, despite being a dungeon, it felt surprisingly open thanks to its sheer size and flat terrain. It was even easier to fight here than outside.

“Alright… let’s just hurry down already.”

With that, he cleared the first floor in record time and began descending the staircase to the second.

“What the heck was that… that kid just now?”

“He blasted through here like a rocket…”

“Yeah… kicked the crap out of a goblin on the way, too.”

For the veterans, the first floor was just a warm-up zone. It was routine—systematically checking the spots where the staircase to the lower level might appear.

But then, a young man, clearly a beginner, charged through at breakneck speed, scattering monsters as he went.
The impact of that display was too strong to ignore.

“He’s no ordinary rookie… with that speed, he must have some kind of blessing, or maybe he’s just filled with monster power… looked like he was solo too. If we see him again, let’s talk to him.”

“Whoa, are we finally recruiting a newbie into our party?”

“Honestly, I want someone like that—a weirdo. Let’s hurry to the lower levels ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Shizuma was tearing through the second floor at the same insane speed.

Though the scenery hadn’t changed much, the layout was clearly different. He continued selecting the correct paths as he moved forward.

But then—

“So, each floor has different monsters, huh… this is great.”

Just as he’d suspected from the high ceiling, flying-type monsters existed—even indoors.

They looked almost identical to the Dive Condor that Sheele had previously defeated, though a bit smaller.
From a distance, Shizuma observed the monsters circling like predators in the air.

“Hmm… yep, [Appraisal Eye] really is handy.”

Falling Pigeon

A bird-type monster that circles midair and stays in a fixed location.

Though small, it travels in flocks and launches surprise group attacks on targets within range.

It had similar traits to the Dive Condor.
However, Shizuma judged it to behave more like a trap.

Why? Because many explorers were clearly giving the monsters a wide berth, traveling quickly along routes outside their detection range.
The floor was broad, making it easy to avoid them—like an “obvious trap” sitting in plain sight.

But to Shizuma, they were nothing more than “free XP.”
He strolled right underneath them without hesitation.

“Alright, c’mon down!!”

As if responding to his taunt, countless Falling Pigeons suddenly divebombed toward him.

Though small, they could easily gouge flesh if they hit just right.

But—

“…‘Raging Blade.’”

He unleashed the move he had practiced earlier that morning with fallen leaves—this time against actual monsters.

Despite this being his first time facing them, his timing and judgment were flawless.

He thought of himself only as a “hardcore MMO addict.”
But in truth, he was something more.

MMO addicts—so-called “gaming degenerates”—aren’t just players with lots of playtime or those who beat tough content.
They are people who give up everything else to master a single game. It’s not a title of honor—it’s more of a grim badge of obsession.

So that raises a question:

“Can someone who maintains perfect grades at a prep school—with a special curriculum to focus on college entrance exams—while also earning money through part-time work for in-game purchases, and still grinding MMOs hard enough to join elite groups, really be considered ‘ordinary’?”

He had:

• Multitasking ability
• Exceptional memory
• Precision control
• A perfect internal clock
• Sharp reflexes
• Vitality
• Blazing-fast thinking
• Lightning reaction speed

All the skills needed not just for games, but for life in general.

Shizuma was fundamentally beyond normal—though he never realized it himself.

He consistently ranked well at a high-level school, without even studying—all for the sake of gaming.
Anyone who can go that far for games is no “average person.”

“Tch! There’s more of them than I thought!”

They weren’t as easy as leaves.
The other monsters sensed what was happening and joined the attack from all sides.

But Shizuma cut them all down using the trait of his skill that allowed consecutive use.
His blade moved faster and faster, like a storm, as if he were surrounded by an invisible barrier.

A whirlwind of slashes tore through the falling monsters, disintegrating them.
Dungeon monsters leave no bodies behind when they die.

“Hell yeah! That’s the last of ’em, right?!”

He had weathered the whole assault.

But just as he lowered his sword, one final bird dived at him, as if waiting for the perfect moment—like it was seeking revenge for its fallen kin.

But—

“Whoa. Huh, this one really is tiny.”

He twisted his body just slightly, dodged the attack, and casually caught the monster with one hand—without even looking.

“Now that’s the real end, right?”

He then slammed it hard into the ground, finishing it off.

The entire sequence was no longer something anyone could call “rookie-level.”
It was polished—overly polished—combat.

“Whoo! Even the small fry drop some good stuff!”

Still grinning like a kid his age, Shizuma’s eyes sparkled as he picked up the scattered loot.
He gathered it all into his item sack, face beaming with excitement.

“Ooh… is this some kind of gem or what?”

“Small Ruby Rough”
A deep red ruby sometimes referred to as ‘Pigeon Blood’
It’s so small that it holds little value on its own, but it’s still highly regarded.

Using his Observation Eye, Shizuma examined the details and, happy to discover that a gem is a gem no matter the size, eagerly resumed his dungeon exploration.

“Hey, that kid just now—wasn’t he kind of insane…?”
“He’s definitely not a beginner. It’s the first time I’ve seen him here, but still.”
“He’s probably trained at some swordsmanship dojo or in a mercenary group or something. You see kids like that once in a while… like that girl from Kill Crawler.”
“Ohhh, right. I wonder if he’ll end up joining a big-name clan? Or maybe he already has…”

A group of adventurers who had avoided the Falling Pigeon trap were observing Shizuma’s battle from a distance.
Each of them speculated on his strength and the oddity of his abilities—

“No, that kid isn’t one of ours,”

—said a voice from a party who had spotted Shizuma earlier on the first floor.

“Oh hey, speak of the devil. You’re with Kill Crawler, aren’t you?”
“Well, we’re the Third Raid Team—basically backup. But that kid isn’t part of our clan. I figured we might scout him for recruitment. Our rules let whoever recruits someone assign them to their own party. He’s strong—not quite at the level of our First Team leader, but with polishing, he could get there.”

“Ah… so even the big clans are eyeing him. I was thinking of scouting him for my party if he was still freelance.”
“Ha! You never know—maybe he’ll go with you. He’s at that age where getting invited to an older-sister-type party might sound fun.”

“Ehh? Well, maybe I’ll give it a shot if I see him again. Can’t hurt to try.”

More and more people who witnessed him began to notice his unusual nature.
Just how much attention would Shizuma gather before reaching today’s goal: the fifth floor?

He gets so absorbed that he loses sight of everything else.
That bad habit was on full display here in the dungeon—

To be honest, things were going really smoothly.
Well, considering this was an artificial dungeon and collecting dungeon core fragments served as one of the nation’s financial sources, I didn’t expect it to be especially difficult to begin with.
Still, it was going better than expected.

“Is this… lucky?”

I had arrived at the fifth floor without resistance on the descent from the fourth, which probably meant I was the first one here today—no other explorers had preceded me.
I was expecting a mid-boss to appear, but instead, I found a vast, empty floor.
In the center were only a return sigil and a staircase.

“Hmmm… Feels a bit early to head back.”

It had taken me just under two hours to get this far.
The effects of [Gourmet] still had over two hours remaining.

Maybe I should aim for the tenth floor where the next return sigil is?

“Alright! It’s still before noon—let’s keep going until evening!”

Luckily, I had plenty of ingredients and prepared dishes stored in the menu for reactivating [Gourmet].
As long as I made it back by evening so Melt wouldn’t worry… I still had a solid six hours left!

With that, I decided to skip the fifth floor—since no guardian monster appeared—and head straight to the sixth.

“…The scenery changed…”

To my surprise, from the sixth floor onward, the environment shifted dramatically.
Gone was the mysteriously bright, enclosed stone-temple-like space.
Now I was in a vast, inexplicably illuminated cave with no artificial structures in sight.
Why it was so well-lit remained a mystery…

“What kind of monsters show up here…? Ah, I see—these must be higher-tier versions of the ones I saw earlier.”

[Soldier Gob]

• An upper-tier goblin that fights in tandem with Monofangs
• Physically comparable to adult human males but lacks skill
• Uses clubs and scavenged weapons, so you can’t underestimate them
• Also capable of basic coordinated attacks with Monofangs

[Monofang]

• A one-eyed, wolf-like monster—an inferior variant of the “Wulfang”
• Has weaker senses than standard types but low intelligence means they never retreat
• In terms of ferocity, they might even surpass the original species
• Due to their low intelligence, they’re easily tamed by similarly dull-minded monsters

So from this point forward, even monsters will start coordinating with each other.
Their sheer strength is also on a whole different level compared to what I’ve seen up to the fourth floor.

“But coordination means nothing if…”

If they don’t have the reflexes or perception to match my speed, then it’s over in an instant.
I took a moment to observe this time, but against enemies like these, I could probably strike them down just by running past and landing a single blow.

Using my usual speed-focused skill combination, I vanished from their sight in a flash.
This time, I added a three-dimensional element—striking from above with a powerful downward slash.

This wasn’t a technique or anything refined.
I just wanted to see what would happen if I swung my sword with everything I had.

“Raaaah!!”

I spotted a goblin below, looking around for the vanished me, and swung my sword down from above with full force.

As a result, its body was slashed from the top of its head to its groin, killing it in a single blow.

Upon landing, my thrusting sword pierced the dog-like monster next to it, taking it down in one continuous motion.

“Alright… the sword doesn’t feel like it’ll slip out of my hand anymore.”

In truth, back when I was hunting a ton of gels on the first day, my grip strength couldn’t keep up with the increased swing speed that came with my enhanced physical strength.

I barely managed to stop the sword from flying out of my hand, and since then, I had been relying on a Skill that automatically adjusted the sword speed and form to match my current balance—so I had been fighting with that.

But now, it looks like I can fight freely with my sword. My arms don’t get tired, and the balance between strength and grip is perfect.

Maybe I should start practicing sword swings using my own power soon.

“Alright… let’s keep heading downward in the shortest path possible.”

Most likely, this artificial dungeon is also meant to function as a “training facility for explorers”—basically a tutorial dungeon in game terms.

It was probably created by a king of old as an upfront investment to train people who could one day conquer natural dungeons.

If that’s the case, then for someone like me—who has inherited the abilities of many who are already capable of clearing natural dungeons—this might just be too easy.

Continuing on, I mowed down monsters along the way, practically bulldozing through them, heading steadily toward the lower levels.

Probably the most unfair part of this is the “Dungeon Analysis” ability. The benefits it provides are massive.

At the very least, in this dungeon, knowing the layout and exits lets me rush straight toward the lowest floor at lightning speed.

After that, I dashed through the cave at top speed, sticking to the shortest path. I followed a routine of landing a kick on any monster in my way as I passed, and stabbing them with my sword while they flinched—defeating them one by one as I pushed through each cave level.

I’m no longer using that exp-farming gear from the Green Gel hunt, but this sword still has some minor boost to gains, so I’d like to believe it’s helping.

Well, not that I even know if this world’s “monster power” is being counted as experience points, anyway.

Still, I’ve defeated a few new types of monsters in this cave-like area.

I haven’t checked my status yet—saving that fun for later—but I’ll definitely check how things have changed once I leave the dungeon!

“Ahh… there’s nothing more fun than this… fighting and growing stronger…”

I can say this now: I’m really glad I asked that dungeon master—what was his name again?—to make me into my MMORPG character.

But now that I think about it, I still wonder: why did he limit it to ten characters?

Also… the people of Golda said something about performing a ritual similar to a “Hero Summoning” by offering sacrifices to a dungeon.

If that’s true, maybe there are other dungeons where such summoning rituals are being performed.

“…Once I stop the classmates working behind the scenes and end the conflict with Golda… what should I do next? Even if I want to live freely, I need a purpose or something I want to do.”

While I was thinking a little about the future, I saw the staircase leading to the lower levels up ahead.

Currently, I’m on the 9th floor. In other words, the next floor should be a massive area with a mid-boss-like enemy waiting.

But I could see a group of people gathered and standing around in front of that staircase.

Huh… did something happen? Actually, I’m more surprised that there are other people who’ve already made it this far, considering I entered the dungeon around 8 a.m.

I decided to approach the group that had stopped in front of the stairs.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter