Chapter 15

Boom!

The tyrant squirrel's charge once again grazed past Carpé.

Its large front teeth collided with the cave wall, and with a loud noise, stone fragments flew up.

“Squeee!”

Perhaps in frustration, the squirrel let out an incomprehensible cry and stomped its feet.

Blood trickled from the small wounds etched all over its body. Needless to say, they were all Carpé's doing.

“Damn, what kind of squirrel is this? It's like a wild boar.”

—You're dodging well, even while grumbling.

“Humans are creatures of adaptation.”

After being taken aback by the first encounter with a beast-type monster, Carpé quickly adapted.

To be honest, the attack pattern was so simple that it was easy to adapt to.

Carpé was confident that even if the fight lasted over an hour, he wouldn't take a single hit.

“Dodging isn't the problem... but the damage isn't enough. I thought I hit it pretty hard, but it doesn't even flinch.”

—It's a Legendary Dungeon. The enhancements aren't just in attack power and speed.

The defense and health of the monsters here far surpass those of regular dungeon monsters.

If even one of these squirrels were to appear in the field, the beginner city would soon turn into a city of death.

Boom!

The squirrel once again grazed past Carpé. At the same time, Carpé's sword slashed across the squirrel's body, and a thin line of blood spurted into the air.

“I can safely take it down if I keep hitting and retreating.”

—But it will take a long time. At this rate, we won't be able to time it with the guerrilla quest, right?

“That's not an option. It's a quest with a cooldown of at least a week.”

There's no way to miss the guerrilla quest, even if it means giving up on the dungeon. Carpé furrowed his brow.

“Hmm. Is there no other way?”

—Huh. Do you think I brought you here without considering that? Don't worry. If the damage isn't enough, the common weakness of these rodents is...

“Bro, wait a moment.”

—What?

“Let me try it out. If it doesn't work, I'll ask for your help then.”

—Huh?

The centaur raised his eyes as if to say, "What the hell is this nonsense?" The Carpé he knew wouldn't say such things.

“Cheats should be used in moderation to make it fun. If everything is solved too easily, it's no good. Trials make a person grow.”

—...It's a valid point, but why does it sound so ridiculous coming from you?

“It's because your mind is twisted. What did you think of me?”

—What did I think of you...

A shameless freeloader, or the most conscientious player in Lase.

...These words almost slipped out, but the centaur held back and forced a smile. Well, why ruin the moment when he's finally saying something commendable?

—Good attitude. Let's see the skills of the second-ranked player.

“I'll definitely change the image you have of me in your head. Here I go!”

Swish!

Carpé kicked off the ground and charged at the tyrant squirrel.

“Squeak?”

The squirrel, which had been provoking the human by dodging, let out a cry of surprise as he suddenly charged.

But that was only for a moment.

“Squeee!”

The squirrel soon let out a cry of anger and swung its large front paws.

Carpé ducked as if he had been waiting for it.

Whoosh!

The squirrel's claws grazed past his head, and a few strands of hair fluttered in the air.

—Oh?

Carpé's conclusion was very simple.

If the back or legs don't deal enough damage, then hit where it will.

With minimal movement, Carpé dodged the attack and dove into the squirrel's embrace. The large squirrel's face was clearly visible in front of him.

Yes, the face. The vital point for most living beings, including humans.

Carpé thrust his sword at the squirrel's eyes with all his might!

“Squeak!”

However, the Legendary squirrel was an absurdly powerful creature. It managed to dodge the perfectly timed attack.

Swish!

Carpé's sword sliced deeply into the squirrel's eye area. The squirrel, which almost lost its eye, let out a scream.

[The Tyrant Squirrel uses the skill 'Rage'.]

[Attack power and agility increase. Defense decreases.]

Feeling the threat to its life, the beast-type monster's unique skill activated. The tyrant squirrel charged at Carpé, trying to bite his head with its steel-like front teeth.

“Hmph!”

But Carpé, as if he had anticipated this, didn't panic at all.

Instead of retracting his right hand that had just thrust the sword, he extended his left hand into the squirrel's mouth. In his left hand was a small katana he had obtained from defeating One-Punch.

Thud.

“Squeeeek!!”

Carpé positioned his sword vertically at the moment the squirrel bit down, and the small katana plunged deep into the squirrel's palate.

[Critical Hit! The Tyrant Squirrel is confused for 3 seconds!]

That was it. Carpé plunged his sword accurately into the neck of the thrashing squirrel.

Ding.

[You have defeated the Tyrant Squirrel.]

[Level Up! Bonus points have been awarded.]

“Phew. That was close.”

Carpé let out a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground. What kind of game is this, to be this intense from the first day?

“Wait, it's a beginner city, right? Why is the difficulty so high? Are you trying to make new players quit the game?!”

—Lase is known for its difficulty, but in this case, it's your own doing.

In fact, to enter the 'King Squirrel Nest' dungeon properly, two conditions were necessary.

First, the player's level must be 5 or below. Second, the player must max out the affection with the ranch owner NPC in the starting city.

Once the affection condition is met, the player can receive a quest from the ranch owner, which provides information on how to enter the dungeon and the weaknesses of the squirrel monsters.

—This dungeon isn't designed to be brute-forced. You need to exploit the weaknesses, but you're trying to take it head-on, so the difficulty naturally skyrockets.

The centaur looked at Carpé with a stunned expression.

How could this be a level 5 fight? It was a bloodbath.

“Phew. Still...”

—What?

“Still, it's really fun. I should have started earlier. I've lost half my life.”

—Stop joking. Anyway, are you going to keep doing this? You look pretty exhausted.

“Phew. I'm fine. I've got the hang of it. From now on, I can progress much faster.”

—Hmm. Well, if you say so.

If he could grasp the knack just by defeating one, wouldn't anyone in the world be able to do it? The centaur looked at him with a worried expression. But ultimately, it turned out to be a meaningless worry.

Boom!

[Level Up! Bonus stats have been awarded.]

After defeating the first squirrel, Carpé successfully hunted three more tyrant squirrels.

—Unbelievable. Is this even possible?

Carpé's declaration that he had the knack was not a lie. The next squirrel took 5 minutes, the one after that 3 minutes, and the one he just encountered took less than 2 minutes to defeat. He even leveled up once.

“Most things in life are about knack, knack.”

—...Let's go with that.

The centaur gave up on understanding. Well, with a player who can regress and possess NPCs, a game genius who defies understanding is a minor issue.

“By the way, is the drop rate increase working? Why are they all dropping acorns... Oh?”

At that moment.

As Carpé defeated another tyrant squirrel and turned a corner in the dungeon, he discovered something he hadn't seen before.

A rectangular object about a meter long. In an RPG and dungeon combination, it was none other than this.

“A treasure chest?”

—A chest? What color is it?

“Color?”

Confused by the centaur's question, Carpé observed the treasure chest again.

It was a typical treasure chest, the kind that would make anyone think of a treasure chest. A faint yellow aura emanated from the surface of the chest.

“I guess you're talking about this. It's yellow.”

—Yellow means it's rare. Just like items have grades, dungeon chests also have grades.

“Ah.”

According to the centaur's explanation, the chests in the dungeon come in different colors based on their grade.

Common grade is colorless, Magic grade is blue, Rare is yellow, Hero is purple, Unique is violet, and Legendary is deep orange.

“What about Epic and Mythic?”

—They don't exist. The highest grade for dungeon treasure chests is Legendary. There might be higher grades, but I've never seen them.

“I see.”

If even a veteran player doesn't know, it's safe to assume they don't exist. Carpé approached the treasure chest.

“Great! Then I'll get a Rare item...”

—It would be nice, but no. The chest grade is an upper limit. Opening a Rare chest will yield items of Rare grade or lower.

“What's the probability of getting an item of the same grade as the chest color?”