Chapter 54
There were even more Skeleton Warriors on the second underground floor.
As soon as we came down, we had the chance to watch a party of veteran adventurers hunting; they divided their roles precisely,
and took down a group of as many as five Skeleton Warriors in an instant.
Faces I had never seen at the Guild. Were they adventurers who had gathered from all over to hunt the Lich, just as Wabid had said?
Joining forces to conquer a difficult dungeon. It was the textbook definition of a textbook strategy.
"Oppa. Let's not fall behind!"
"Yeah."
Karen and I finally fought together, combining our strength even in the cramped indoor space.
At first, Karen had to hold off the Skeleton Warriors one-sidedly all by herself, and my offensive support was inefficient.
Next, by extinguishing the lights and using the Veil of Concealment, I took down a Skeleton Warrior alone, but this too was hard to call an ideal method.
But now, as if we had realized how we should fight, we weren't flustered.
Even when we encountered a group of five Skeleton Warriors like the party just now.
"I'll take two on this side."
Karen spoke first and took her stance.
"I'll take the three on the opposite side."
Our Spirit Cores vigorously orbited around our bodies as if reflecting a fiercely concentrated state of mind.
Exhibiting all our abilities, we elevated each other's strength.
This was the ideal formation.
Using the artifact
Karen, who was familiar with close combat, fought well even with just this. In urgent situations, she received the spirit's protection.
With this, there was nothing to fear.
I deflected a Skeleton Warrior's attack at close range before planting an overcharged Fire Arrow.
When the opponent swung wildly, Karen ruthlessly struck its weak joints with her sword to neutralize it.
(Your affinity has increased.)
"We did it!"
"You learned fast?"
"I learned by watching you, Oppa!"
Karen quickly mastered the way of protecting her body with spirit magic.
I don't know about her skill proficiency, but her instincts were better than mine. Looking at it this way, Karen was a girl overflowing with talent, more than qualified to be a hero candidate.
What about me? Perhaps because of my memories of living in the modern world, I found it so hard to accept the fact that a spirit was protecting my body that I ended up just glaring at an orc for a while.
Well, that's all in the past now.
"Let the spirits rest a bit, refill the Veil of Concealment. Then let's advance."
"Okay!"
Our spirits had grown greatly compared to when we first received them through Spatial Leap training, but they couldn't overcome the inherent weakness of the wind spirit itself.
Indoors, their power weakened and they tired faster than us, so we absolutely had to give them breaks.
If we didn't, we wouldn't be able to use Spatial Leap when it was truly critical.
Didn't they say spirits grow as you catch monsters?
The moment we fought by entrusting our bodies to the spirits, my affinity with the spirit rose.
"Come to think of it, it's like the four of us are fighting together."
Karen burst out laughing at my silly remark.
"You're right. Even though we spent so much time together at the castle, it never even occurred to us to fight together."
"It's fine as long as we know while we're still alive."
"Oppa, you're more optimistic than I thought."
"When you're as young as you are, anything you learn becomes potential. Later on, you'll become much stronger than me."
"Will I really?"
"No, you're already stronger than me. If you rushed at me, wouldn't I be the one losing?"
"Can you not describe me like a bear?"
Karen grumbled as if she were sulking.
"Oppa, you just don't have any close-combat-type skills. Your sense for handling skills is far better than mine.
If we become hero candidates together……. Ah."
"I don't know about that."
"Why don't you at least try the entrance exam? I'm sure you'd get in with the highest marks, Oppa."
"No way."
Even if I am an agent who received a blessing, just looking at Noah and Estie, you can tell there are plenty of formidable people in the kingdom.
And it's a place that only accepts students who passed an exam of this difficulty; it must be crawling with monsters.
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Let's finish the additional exam first, then think about it. You haven't forgotten that both of us could fail side by side, right?"
"Of course not! ……But what does counting your chickens before they hatch mean?"
"……."
"Oppa. I'm asking what it means."
"It's a thing……. Just understand the nuance."
I felt embarrassed for no reason.
We explored the second underground floor of the Bordeaux Dungeon, taking breaks intermittently.
Countless Skeleton Warriors gave us a welcoming reception, but now Karen and I were surpassing veteran adventurer parties with just the two of us.
I, who had never fought clashing directly with monsters, was growing in the true sense.
My movements, judgment, and reflexes—which couldn't be measured numerically—were improving.
I could feel that my physical abilities were better than when I was in the modern world; I just hadn't been able to make use of them until now.
They'd get even better as my level rises, right?
The qualification of 「Agent of the Goddess」 didn't just help with reading and interpreting languages; it greatly increased the efficiency of my stat application.
Most simply, my strength would increase, and furthermore, my stamina would improve, my ability to endure attacks, and the speed at which my body reacted when moving would also improve.
……Wouldn't my virility have improved too?
I would obtain more women in the future.
I don't want to get tired even while embracing attractive women who scrape up every last drop of semen from my balls.
Until now, I've prided myself on living without issues with the physical abilities of an average adult man, but…….
Karen, Estie, and Bella elevate masculine arousal too much.
Even after ejaculating once, I feel like my soul might leave my body; they drain me completely.
Truly, it's as if they are succubi themselves.
While continuously leveling up, the sudden change came when I entered the third underground floor of the Bordeaux Dungeon with Karen.
(Your Strength has increased by one stage.)
(Your Magic has increased by one stage.)
(Your Stamina has increased by one stage.)
(Your Agility has increased by one stage.)
What? An incredible vigor surged through my body.
I had killed countless Skeleton Warriors upstairs and raised my level, but…….
Should I check?
"Karen. Let's let the spirits rest for a moment before going."
"Okay!"
I checked my status.
Name: Dekal
Lv : 151
Status
[HP] 10757/10999
[MP] 3441/12381
Stats
Strength 1 Magic 1 Stamina 1 Agility 1
Blessing of Bellereira《True》
「A blessing that bestows the authority to rule over fire among the elemental attributes. Only a true comprehender of the goddess may receive this blessing.」
(Fire damage immunity, fire magic power increase, all skill proficiency increase.)
Agent of the Goddess
「Communicate in all languages, read all texts. A qualification to traverse worlds, proof of being chosen by the gods.」
(Skill acquisition rate increase, EXP increase, stat application multiplier increased 5x)
Wind Spirit (+3)
「A spirit called the freest of all, changing the flow of the atmosphere and commanding the wind.」
Skills
Fireball (★★) - Intermediate fire magic of great power. Burns the target down to the bone.
Fire Enchant (★★★) - Magic that imbues all manner of objects with the fire attribute.
Search (★★☆) - A technique that discovers and analyzes traces by carefully observing and watching.
Spatial Leap (★) - A unique elven skill. A top-tier movement technique only usable when sufficient resonance with the wind spirit is achieved.
Veil of Concealment - Concealment magic only usable when wearing the [Ring of the Innocent]. Can pull forth a concealing veil that covers the body to hide.
What. My stats are weird.
Haven't they actually decreased? I hadn't checked every time I leveled up, but I thought they were around eight or nine hundred.
By my own senses, I felt that my physical condition was much stronger now than when I had first entered the dungeon.
Even in the dark dungeon, my concentration flashed like a keenly honed blade.
I feel like even if I were lost in other thoughts, I would never miss a monster now.
I clenched and unclenched my hand while pondering, then became certain.
The unit has changed.
The stats all surpassed 1000 and became 1.
There was no other way to explain it.
Just like how Fire Arrow's proficiency reached its maximum and was replaced by a different skill.
The existing 1,000 stat is displayed as 1.
I suddenly grew curious. Did this happen to others too?
"Karen. Do your stat numbers change measurement units when they surpass 1000?"
"Units? How?"
"Like what was 1000 starting to appear as 1."
"……?"
Karen shook her head as if this were the first she had ever heard of it.
"I've never heard of such a thing. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose? Everyone's stats would be displayed as 1, 2, 3, so there'd be no way to differentiate……."
"Right."
That would mean someone with a Strength stat of 1900 and someone with 1001 would both look like 1.
Why did this happen?
The concept of a status wasn't exactly familiar to me in the first place, so I wasn't sure.
Perhaps these were stats based on the standard of a god.
If so, did that mean I had only barely taken a single step?
What if it were based on humans?
Judging by Karen's reaction, it seemed like reaching a stat of 1,000 raised your stage, but didn't improve the display.
If that was the case, then this was special growth that only an Agent of the Goddess possessed…….
This was huge. I wanted to test it out quickly.
"Are Skeleton Warriors really hard?"
"……I really don’t understand what you’ve been getting at with these questions, oppa."
"I want to try punching one."
"Puhah!"
Karen burst out laughing.
"What’s with you? Did you suddenly decide you want to become a martial artist? You’ll hurt your hand doing that."
"There’s one over there by itself. Should I try?"
I picked up a pebble from the ground and lightly struck the Skeleton Warrior on the head with it.
"You’re seriously going to punch it? It’s going to hurt a lot. They’re harder than they look."
I’m sure they are.
Even if it weren’t some resurrected monster skeleton, bones were hard to begin with.
But there was no test easier to understand than this. All I needed was to clearly determine whether my strength had increased or decreased.
Without casting any magic, I used spirit arts to receive the Skeleton Warrior’s blade, then—
I swung my fist with all my might.
The Skeleton Warrior seemed to lift slightly off the ground before being shoved backward.
"……Doesn’t your hand hurt?"
Karen watched with her mouth hanging open.
"It’s fine. Did my toughness go up too?"
My skin had reddened a little, but it was bearable.
Still, perhaps because it was the kind of thing that could withstand a Fire Arrow, I couldn’t take it down with a single punch.
The Skeleton Warrior charged at me again.
Like Karen, I tried shoving the Warrior back with my shoulder, punching it, and directly contesting it with strength.
It was as simple as handling a child.
"Hup!"
I hurled the Skeleton Warrior with brute force and slammed it to the ground.
Had I punched it about eight times?
The Skeleton Warrior stopped moving and returned to dirt.
"That settles it."
My physical abilities had improved even further.
To the point that, against something on the level of a Skeleton Warrior, close-quarters grappling had become a viable option.
"……I’m supposed to be able to get stronger than you, oppa?"
Karen was staring at me as if dumbfounded.
"Is that so strange?"
"Of course it’s strange! I’ve been trained as a warrior since I was little.
You’re like a hero chosen by the gods, oppa……."
"……."
Karen flinched.
In truth, I was practically a hero. Huh? Then did Karen’s dream come true?
I wasn’t the hero who had helped young Karen, so it was nothing more than wordplay, though.
"…No, right? It makes no sense for two heroes to appear."
"What kind of delusion is that? Me, a hero? Do I look like one?"
"It’s just that I’ve never seen anyone as amazing as you, who can do anything once he sets his mind to it."
It felt nice to be seen that way.
Talent really was terrifying. No, in this case, was it talent, or connections? Since I had the foundation of being the goddess’s proxy, I benefited this much from raw stats.
Not connections, but divine connections…… Hm. That wasn’t funny, so I decided not to say it out loud.
"That’s enough rest. Shall we head farther down?"
"Yeah."
Each of us kept a spirit core at our side as we went farther down, deeper within.
And then, in what I had known as the final room of the third floor—
There stood a massive golden door I had never seen before. As if announcing that this place was the halfway point, adventurer parties had gathered in front of it.
Since everyone was grouped in parties of four or more, Wabid stood out, alone as he was.
The groups of adventurers did greet Wabid when they passed near him, but to my eyes, they seemed to be keeping him at a distance.
The fact that Wabid was on the side that monitored adventurers… that might have been what made people uncomfortable.
It was similar to how, even if you hadn’t committed a crime, the older you got, the more reluctant you became to go to a police station.
Wabid recognized us and approached first.
"I thought you would arrive soon, Lord Dekal."
"There was a bit of trial and error."
"……Something."
Wabid stared intently at me, then said,
"Something about your air has changed."
"I hope that’s a compliment."
"Yes. I meant it in a good way."
I was surprised by how accurate his eye was.
His powers of observation were considerable.
"Beyond this is the Lich’s altar. If you’re aiming for the Lich, you’d best hurry. Quite a few people have already gone in."
I looked at the door.
"Are you not going, Lord Wabid?"