Chapter 49

The rock monster, Smile.

Indeed, it is the same level as Maris [Lv: 45], but there is a significant difference between a monster and a human.

Depending on the monster, humans generally have more skills, higher intelligence, and can use weapons and items.

Especially with Smile, since it only performs monotonous movements, it cannot be treated as an equal to the Sword Saint Maris just because they are the same level.

I step forward and approach Smile.

When Smile spots me, it rolls quickly to increase its speed.

Smile basically aims to boost the damage of its <Charge> by using <Acceleration>.

It sometimes attacks with earth magic, but the power is not particularly high.

"First, I need to get close and block with my shield before Smile can fully boost the power of its <Charge>...!"

I block Smile's charge with my shield and jump back to avoid the impact.

I quickly approach the slowed-down Smile again, position myself in the center of the corridor, and corner Smile against the wall.

I use <Shadow Step> to restrict its movement range.

"By restricting its movement range like this, Smile won't be able to boost the power of its <Charge>."

While saying this, I strike Smile with <Disarm>.

Both Smile and I are defensive types, with low attack power.

Without <Acceleration>, we can only engage in a mud fight.

With the attack power reduction effect of <Disarm>, I can keep the damage to almost zero by blocking with my shield and skillfully dodging the impact.

There's a bit of a knack to reducing the damage by dodging the impact when using a shield.

The timing is critical and varies depending on the attack pattern.

However, I've practiced this movement extensively in my previous life.

I wasn't just a top candidate player in <Magic World> for nothing.

"Using <Raging Dragon> to boost attack power would make it easier, but I don't want to sacrifice HP right at the start of exploring the <Dream Hole>."

Especially now, I have few skills to support <Raging Dragon>, and the performance of my armor is not particularly good.

What's at stake here is not a penalty but my life.

It's best to be cautious.

I use <Shield Bash> to stop Smile's initial movement as it tries to gain distance by passing by me.

Even while using <Shadow Step>, it can still move a couple of meters.

The best thing is to prevent it from escaping from the wall.

"From here, I just need to... steadily whittle it down!"

Luce uses <Acrobatic Step> to run along the wall and attacks Smile with <Iron Piercer>.

The blade cuts into Smile's body.

Luce quickly flies in from the opposite side and slashes at Smile, which is trying to break free from the situation.

I block and completely seal off Smile's movements with my shield.

Luce's fourth slash cuts into Smile.

Finally, Smile's expression changes, and the rock mass shatters.

[You have gained 689 experience points.]

[Your level has increased from 41 to 43.]

[You have gained 2 skill points.]

Good... this is going smoothly.

At this pace, we might be able to aim for the <Dream Lord> if everything goes well.

The <Dream Lord> in the <Centipede Tunnel> drops good items.

"Phew... It's a good thing we didn't use <Dice Thrust>, right?"

"Yeah, it's a matter of stats. Even if we rolled a six with <Dice Thrust>, we couldn't take it down in one hit. It's more stable to just attack normally. It took four of Luce's normal attacks to take down Smile."

If we need two hits even with a successful <Dice Thrust>, it's better to just attack normally.

"That's true... <Dice Thrust> misses a six about half the time..."

One in six...?

I don't think it would be that extreme, but I estimate the probability of rolling a six is around 40% at this point.

Still, that's quite unusual.

"An earth attribute magic stone and... Ah! It's here! It was worth boosting <Good Luck> before coming here to get <Angel of Happiness>!"

Luce exclaims and picks up a knife from Smile's remains.

It has a black sheen.

A sudden drop... and it's a knife.

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<Black Steel Knife> [Recommended Equipment Level: 45]

[Attack Power: +13]

[Market Value: 4.3 million gold]

A black steel knife.

It has a simple performance but is relatively easy to obtain, so many adventurers use black steel equipment.

Whether it is above or below black steel is one of the indicators of equipment quality.

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"4 million!? T-This needs to be handled carefully...! I gripped it carelessly!"

Luce gently holds the blade and tries to hand it to me.

"To get a 4 million gold knife so easily..."

"No, Luce should keep it. With the recommended level, you can handle it, and it should deal much more damage than <Iron Piercer>."

The monsters here have high defense, so <Iron Piercer> is effective, but they are not as extremely defensive as Rich Larna.

The quality of the equipment is too different.

It's better to switch to this.

With the <Black Steel Knife>, it should only take three hits to take down Smile.

"R-Really? Using such an expensive item...!"

Luce excitedly waves the knife around.

In terms of item value, we earned about 60 million gold from the <Angel's Toy Box>.

Even as a temporary measure, it feels a bit wrong to let her use a 4 million gold weapon.

...However, Luce's <Good Luck> is truly powerful.

I thought that with her luck, she would get black steel equipment in one go since it drops relatively easily.

But I didn't expect to get a knife right away.

This will make exploring the <Centipede Tunnel> much easier.

While the type of equipment that drops from Smile shouldn't be related to luck, perhaps the range of luck's effects has expanded during the transition from the game to the real world.