Chapter 15

There is a grotesque expression.

Kurozaki Karen (18) Gender: Female

Skill Points: 6

Evaluation: Mallet User

- Vitality

Stamina 0

Natural Recovery 0

- Strength

Strength 0

- Magic

Magic 0

Magic Aptitude 0

Magic Control 0

- Agility

Burst 0

Dexterity 0

- Technique

Weapon Proficiency

Blunt Weapon 0

Light Armor 0

- Intuition

Detection 0

- Special

Luck 0

There's even a magic category!!

Suddenly, Seiki's body felt a sweet heat.

The abilities that adventurers have longed for are now right in front of him...

He wants to verify what kind of power it is!

Seiki's thirst for knowledge is tingling.

But how should he ask her?

There is no information about magic at the moment.

This means she hasn't made it public.

She will surely be swarmed by adventurers the moment she makes it public.

She will undoubtedly be used.

If she joins a good team, they might treat her well.

If she joins a bad team, she will be used and then discarded.

It's the same as Seiki's skill board.

New adventurers don't have the power to ward off malice.

The disadvantages of revealing unknown information far outweigh the benefits.

Seiki opened his mouth, pretending to be casual.

"Karen, can you use magic?"

"—!"

Karen, who was behind him, reacted excessively.

It seems she does have the ability to use magic.

"Why do you ask such a question?"

Perhaps he was too direct.

Karen asked with a clear sense of caution.

"The mace was such a rare equipment. And the armor was a robe. I thought you looked like a magical girl."

"Magical girls wear dresses."

"Is that so?"

Seiki's small joke seemed to ease Karen's caution.

She chuckled.

"Since the dungeon appeared, hasn't there been a lot of discussion about magic on 'Narou'? Since there are magical devices, it should be possible to use magic. I think it's about time for information about magic to start coming out."

"Even if you can use it, I don't think anyone other than high-level adventurers would make it public, right?"

"Why?"

"Because it's dangerous, isn't it?"

Indeed, she seems to be worried about the possibility of being crushed.

Perhaps she asked other adventurers to help her level up so she could use this power without it being noticed, and to quickly go solo to a less crowded hunting ground.

If she uses magic in a crowded floor, her existence will be immediately exposed.

If they keep acting suspiciously, it will raise suspicion.

Seiki quickly finished the dissection.

During that time, he allocated 4 skill points to her.

Skill Points: 6 → 2

- Magic

Magic 0 → 1

Magic Aptitude 0 → 1

Magic Control 0 → 1

He hesitated to allocate points to a status that suddenly changes in performance.

If so, it's better to choose a category that isn't used much, like magic.

If he is ever cornered into a situation where he has to use magic, he expects this 1 point to come in handy.

When he allocated points to the magic category, the skill board's evaluation changed.

Evaluation: Mallet User → Precision User

"It changes so easily, huh?"

It seems the evaluation changes with the increase in skills.

Does the front represent what they are good at, and the back represent their strength?

Seiki is a sword user. The old man Takahiro is a mallet user.

Masatsugu's "Long Sword Shield Holy Warrior Emperor Level <Shield Slasher>" also seems to have the front representing what he is good at, and the back representing his strength.

"But magic is precision...?"

He thought it would be 'magic', but then it would become 'Magic User', right?

He doesn't think the skill board considers such things.

The remaining 1 point was allocated to luck.

He did this half out of interest and half as a bet.

She is probably very lucky.

She was saved by Seiki even when left in the Monster Parade.

She was also saved by Masatsugu when attacked by the shielded man.

Or perhaps it could be called bad luck.

But with this category, it's certain that she has the potential for good luck.

- Special

Luck 0 → 1 (Increase Luck) MAX 5

This skill will surely be useful in situations where strength alone isn't enough.

One concern is that the skill is named 'Luck'.

Why is it not 'Good Luck' or 'Bad Luck', but simply 'Luck'?

The description doesn't specify what kind of luck it is.

It's quite suspicious.

Perhaps it can be either good or bad depending on the situation.

At least it's not bad luck.

It's hard to imagine a skill having a disadvantage.

Otherwise, if he allocated 1 point to strength, his muscles would shrink, which he definitely doesn't want.

The remaining 2 points are kept for emergencies.

In a dungeon, it's better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.

"Huh?"

While taking a break, a slight vibration was felt in the dungeon.

"Earthquake?"

It seems Karen also noticed.

The two of them looked around curiously.

An unpleasant feeling crept up their spines.

Perhaps it was because they both fell silent.

"Let's get out. I have a bad feeling."

Seiki, who was feeling increasingly uneasy, suggested this.

Karen immediately agreed.

The shaking continued.

Additionally, the sound of something hard being crushed could be heard.

Could it be the Monster Parade?

Even if they are non-lethal monsters, it would be bad if they appear in large numbers.

If caught in the middle, being trampled to death is a possibility.

Imagining being crushed by the Monster Parade, Seiki's running speed increased.

The light of the surface could be seen.

At that moment,

a monster appeared, blocking their path.

A long body with a hundred or more long legs.

A developed jaw that could split a human torso in two.

"Damn, a centipede!"

Seiki immediately drew his short sword.

The centipede is different from the Monster Parade. It's a highly lethal monster.

Additionally, it has poison.

Centipedes usually appear much deeper in the dungeon.

Why is it here...?

It's about 1 meter long.

Its black body with a red head turned towards them.

Centipedes have a well-developed sense of smell rather than sight.

So it probably detected their presence by smell.

The centipede moved its legs and approached them.

"It's fast!"

Its movements are agile, faster than the Monster Parade or Kilrabbit.

Seiki tried to launch a preemptive attack but the centipede didn't react to him.

"Damn! Karen, fall back!"

The centipede reacts to smell.

It's Karen's sweat!

"Damn, a high-level one!"

He made a joke to ease the tension.

He rushed forward with all his might and slashed at the antennae.

But it was shallow.

Additionally, the resistance was hard.

The blade didn't penetrate, but Seiki didn't panic.

He had experienced this when fighting the Monster Parade.

So it was within his expectations.

Centipedes are usually found in the middle floors.

Adventurers hunting on floors 3 or 4 can't deal with them properly.

So why is it here?

Seiki immediately knew the answer.

It's a rare variant!

"Karen, fall back while being cautious of attacks from behind!"

"But—"

"It's a rare variant. It's targeting you. Fall back!"

The word "rare variant" made Karen gasp.

Her face turned pale as she slowly backed away.

Rare variants, as the name suggests, are monsters that rarely appear.

They are usually a different species from the monsters on that floor—like a fox or wolf for dogs, or a leopard for cats.

Perhaps, like cancer or albinism, a mutation occurs during the process of spawning the monsters.

For adventurers, it's a real nuisance.

Some can be stronger than bosses.

He slashed at the centipede three times with his short sword but couldn't deal proper damage.

Damn! If I had more points, I could allocate them to strength or technique.

But there's nothing he can do about it.

Then how can he get through this?

"Gah!?"

He was distracted by his thoughts, and the centipede's attack grazed his body.

No good.

Focus.

Observe.

Analyze.

Understand!

He brought his thoughts back to the battle and increased his concentration.

He observed, analyzed, understood, and predicted the centipede's slight movements.

He analyzed, compared, tried, and improved his own attacks.

The centipede, which had been trying to pass by, turned its hatred towards Seiki due to the continuous attacks.

Suddenly, the difficulty of avoiding attacks increased.

He dodged the jaw attack,

and slashed at the legs with his short sword.

The blade, which didn't penetrate earlier, cleanly cut off a leg.

His repeated self-analysis and trials had improved his technique.

"Alright!"

This way, he can defeat the centipede!

But how much he had been relying on brute force...

It's understandable why his previous short sword broke so easily.

Thinking about this was a mistake.

The tail, which approached from Seiki's blind spot, made contact with his body.

"Gah—!"

Seiki rolled on the ground like a kicked ball.

His body was fine.

No bones were broken.

He stood up immediately.

But,

"—?!"

The centipede was already above Seiki, its jaw wide open.

It's fast.

Can't avoid it.

Can't escape it.

He slightly turned his body and thrust his short sword.

It was a slight resistance.

His arm was quickly swallowed and torn off.

He predicted this future.

"—!"

A high-pitched scream was heard, and a gust of wind hit Seiki's cheek.

The next moment,

a slight impact,

a crushing sound.

The centipede's head swayed to the side.

"Gah—!!"

With a shout, Seiki thrust his short sword into the centipede's thin armor.

He cut through the throat and kicked it over.

The centipede's legs thrashed and its body twisted.

It kicked Seiki, who was restraining it, multiple times.

But ignoring the attacks, Seiki repeatedly stabbed the centipede with his short sword.

He had to kill it quickly or be reversed.

If that happened, he would die this time!!

Stabbing, piercing, cutting, slashing, tearing, breaking.

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab.

He repeatedly struck with his short sword, but the hard head wouldn't break.

He stomped on the bottom of the legs.

Kicking, kicking, kicking, kicking,

Stomping, stomping, stomping, stomping, stomping!!

Seiki suddenly came to his senses, feeling the pain in his throat.

His rough breathing had dried out his throat, making it hoarse.

The centipede... didn't move at all.

Of course not.

The centipede's head was completely crushed under Seiki's foot.

"Ha... ha... ha..."

His breath escaped like a laugh.

...No, Seiki was laughing.

Not because it was fun.

But because he survived by a hair's breadth.

Laughing in such a situation...

(Am I losing my mind?)

This time, it was indeed dangerous.

He barely survived.

He exhaled deeply to calm himself down.

At that moment, a fierce heat surged through his body.

It was the dizziness from leveling up.

Standing was difficult, so Seiki staggered to the corner of the passage and sat down.

Karen, who was a distance away, also seemed to be suffering from the dizziness of leveling up, as she was squatting and holding her head.

When the dizziness subsided, Seiki began to dissect the centipede.

The carapace was smaller than the Monster Parade but hard and heavy.

He thought he was used to it from the Monster Parade, but it was difficult to handle.

The meat was too tough, and the knife blade wouldn't penetrate as he wanted.

Still, he forcibly peeled off the carapace.

The meat was pink, resembling the breast meat of a bird.

But the centipede had poison. He didn't have the courage to taste it.

As he checked if there were any other parts to peel off, he felt a lump in the centipede's abdomen.

Seiki quickly cut open the abdomen and looked inside.

Then—

"Oh?!"

Inside the centipede's abdomen, there was a small pouch-like object.

Could this be a magic bag!?

He had seen an article on a 'Narou' blog about obtaining a magical device after defeating a monster.

But he didn't expect it to drop like this...

When he picked it up with his hand, the oval-shaped pouch left a trail of slime.

"It looks like a magic bag, but what should we do?"

"...Ugh"

Karen covered her mouth and vomited.

"It might be usable if we wash it."

"Ugh... ugh"

"The smell... yeah, it doesn't seem to have a smell—"

"—!!"

Karen, with a pale face and teary eyes, glared at Seiki.

...Yeah.

Let's talk about the pochette later.

Slime...