Chapter 50

"Looks like we found my weapon right away! All that's left is to hunt a few Smiles, level up, and collect items, right?"

As they made their way through the cave, Luze held the <Black Steel Knife> tightly, looking delighted.

"Yeah... First, I want to hunt about ten Smiles to level up and collect items. After that, we'll consider the decrease in HP and potions, and adjust our strategy accordingly."

"Ten, ten of them!?! It's true that we were able to defeat the previous Smile without taking any damage... but it looked like Elma was having a tough time. Are you sure it's okay?"

It did look tough... Indeed, it might seem a bit busy to keep chasing them into a corner and repeatedly hit them with a shield to immobilize them.

However, there's almost no risk to life, and the movements of the Smiles are quite predictable, so it's not that difficult to read them. Compared to the Embryo or Maris battles, it's almost like an assembly line. It might even feel a bit unsatisfying.

"The market value of a single Black Steel equipment is about four million gold. Collecting four of them will barely match the value of a <Shining Lanna's Decorative Sword>. And it's not a guaranteed drop, so I want to take down at least ten of them."

"At the very least, we need to earn enough to match the value of two <Shining Lanna's Decorative Swords> to make the move to the adventurer city of Lakorina worthwhile."

"... Isn't it that the <Shining Lanna's Decorative Sword> is ridiculously expensive, rather than the Black Steel equipment being cheap?"

"Even so, a significant decrease in profit compared to the last exploration is a bit disappointing."

I know the last exploration went exceptionally well, but it's still a bit bitter to see the profit drop despite leveling up. I want to set high goals and actively aim for drop items.

"Um... Isn't Elma's sense of money a bit off?"

"As your level increases, the value of the items you handle also increases exponentially. Once you become a higher-level adventurer, trading items worth tens of millions of gold will become commonplace."

"For what purpose do you need so much money...?"

What is Luze talking about now? The answer is obvious.

"Because we need money to get stronger."

It goes without saying that having expensive weapons gives you an advantage as an adventurer. Ideally, you should have several weapons to use depending on the situation. Additionally, having high-value potions for recovery and magic stones for casting spells can serve as insurance in emergencies. The more valuable the items, the better.

The same goes for <Skill Books>. In a sense, they are even more important than equipment. That's why I used fifty million gold worth of items at the <Tattered Magic Bookstore> to purchase <Smoldering Fang>.

It was an outrageous price, but even if <Smoldering Fang> had been ten times more expensive, I wouldn't have given up on buying it. In <Magic World>, there are countless ways to spend money, and you can never have too much.

"Aren't your means and ends getting reversed...?"

Luze said this with a slightly strained face. I cleared my throat to cover it up.

"Anyway, the Smiles themselves aren't that tough. It's not that difficult to take down a number of them. Their movements are predictable, so it's easy to neutralize their strengths and immobilize them."

Just chase them into a corner and immobilize them with a shield. Repeat this for ten of them, and that will meet our quota.

"Unless they come in a group and surround us, they won't be a tough opponent. Smiles don't have a tendency to cluster, so there's no real cause for concern..."

Suddenly, a series of thuds—thud, thud, thud, thud—came from ahead. Four Smiles rolled down the corridor.

"They're coming right as we speak!? They're clearly clustering!!"

"...That's unusual. Smiles clustering together is rare."

"Isn't it quite dangerous? Shouldn't we run...?"

"No, Smiles have <Acceleration>. It's better to face them head-on."

We could escape, but running while being targeted by multiple Smiles from behind is more dangerous than fighting.

"Besides... This level of enemy is the most challenging. Hunting Smiles one by one is good, but I was feeling a bit unsatisfied. Let's take this opportunity to level up and collect items quickly."

I pointed my sword at the group of Smiles. Luze's weapon had just been enhanced.

"Luze, use <Dice Thrust> from here. The priority is to quickly reduce their numbers."

"Y-Yes!"

If Smiles, which usually don't cluster, are doing so, there must be a reason. I examined each of their faces and noticed that one of them had a different eye tilt.

While normal Smiles have a smiling face, this one had extremely drooping eyes, almost like a crying face. This wasn't a Smile but a rare species called a Cry, which has the ability to gather and command Smiles that don't usually cluster.

I had considered the possibility when the Smiles appeared in a group, but now that I had confirmation, a smile naturally came to my face. Cries have a low drop rate but drop rare items with high probability.

The level of luck affects the appearance rate of rare monsters. The appearance of a Cry is likely due to the increase in Luze's <Great Luck> effect.

"Thanks to Luze."

"M-Maybe that cluster is because of me!?"

Luze, misunderstanding my words, raised her voice in confusion.

"No, it is because of you, but not exactly..."