Chapter 32

"What kind of skill is this?"

I can roughly understand "Increase Item Drop Rate." It probably increases the chance of dropping magic stones or drop boxes.

"What should I do now?"

The match is only four days away. I calculated that the recent drop box appearance rate is one for every 100 enemies defeated.

This is the same rate I heard from Salome. If I use this skill, the drop box appearance rate will likely increase, but that would mean more trips back and forth, and I might not have enough time to level up.

"Should I discard the ingots and only collect the lighter drop items?"

If I leave the items from the drop box on the ground, the dungeon will absorb them after a while and they will disappear. Some of the items that appear on this fourth floor might be useful for the upcoming match, so I want to secure them.

"Should I try leveling it up for now...?"

I increased the level of "Increase Item Drop Rate."

"My skill points decreased by 50..."

As a result, my accumulated skill points dropped from 532 to 482.

"Let's think about it the other way. The more useful the skill, the more points it consumes."

Fortunately, I had saved up points in case I needed them, so they won't run out immediately.

"However, what should I do with the other skill...?"

Judging from the name, it seems to have a similar feel to drop boxes. It might be a useful skill...

"Should I try leveling it up just once?"

I nervously operated the status screen.

"Whoa! My skill points decreased by 100!"

I couldn't help but exclaim at the unexpected reduction.

"Ah, well, there's no helping it now... 'Item Box'"

I immediately tried using the skill.

"Whoa!"

The next moment, a treasure chest appeared in front of me. If the drop box is a simple box, this one is a luxurious chest.

"Is this the Item Box...? Could there be something good inside?"

Thinking it might be a skill to get legendary rare items, I excitedly opened the box.

"There's nothing inside...?"

Is this a useless skill?

I felt a cold sweat.

I had to find some usefulness, so I observed it and noticed that the inside of the box was divided into compartments.

"These compartments... they seem to be able to hold magic stones."

Wishing for something to happen, I placed a magic stone into the Item Box.

"Huh? It just disappeared from my hand..."

When I brought the magic stone close to the Item Box, it vanished, and something changed in the top-left compartment.

"Is this a magic stone? It seems much smaller..."

Is this the magic stone I just put in?

As I watched, something like the status screen appeared, and text was displayed.

"Warrior Kobold's Magic Stone"

It seems to be the magic stone I just put in.

"Can I take it out?"

I casually reached out to try and take out the magic stone...

"I can take it out."

I suddenly felt the weight of the magic stone in my hand.

"Could this be a box that stores items?"

I put the magic stone back in. This time, I added another one.

"Sure enough, it's in there."

The compartments from left to right read "Warrior Kobold's Magic Stone" and "Warrior Goblin's Magic Stone."

"How do I make this treasure chest disappear?"

After a moment of thought, I tried closing the lid.

"Whoa! It disappeared..."

The Item Box vanished from in front of me.

"Item Box"

Saying this, the treasure chest reappeared.

When I opened it, the magic stones I had put in were still there.

"It seems to be working as intended..."

I used 100 skill points, so I was relieved that it had a significant effect. With this, I can reduce my inventory by storing certain levels of magic stones. I was thinking about that...

"Wait a minute?"

Right now, the Item Box is displaying magic stones that fit snugly into the compartments, but they are not actually embedded. Instead, the magic stones are collected and displayed in the front.

"Could it hold larger items?"

I had an idea and took out an ingot from my inventory and brought it close to the Item Box.

"It really went in..."

I looked at the Item Box in amazement, and the third compartment read "Ingot."

"Is this even possible...? This skill could revolutionize the norms of adventuring."

Until now, adventurers had to carry drop items and magic stones themselves, and when their carrying capacity was full, they had to return to store them.

But if I can use this skill as I'm thinking, I can gain a significant advantage over other adventurers.

"I won't have to worry about handling potions, and I can carry more."

As a solo adventurer, I want to bring as many items as possible to ensure safety. With this skill, I can do that.

For now, I started putting ingots, scrolls, and potions into the Item Box one by one.

"Ah, it won't go in anymore..."

I was having fun putting things in, but eventually, there were no more changes.

"Are all the compartments full?"

Counting them, it seems I can only store up to 100 items.

"What should I do?"

Feeling the liberation of being light and free, I thought about what to do next. According to the star display, I can level it up to level 6, but using it now would consume a lot of skill points.

"...If I level up Scout to 25, I will get 161 skill points..."

It's worth investing here. I can make up for it by focusing on the skills I want to learn.

"This is the moment to take a bold step!"

Name: Tim

Age: 16

Occupation: Scout Level 2

Strength: 246

Agility: 200 + 4

Stamina: 269 + 2

Magic: 224

Spirit: 202

Dexterity: 200 + 2

Luck: 436

Status Points: 4

Skill Points: 182

Unique Skills: "Status Manipulation"

Skills: "Swordsmanship Level 6", "Bash Level 6", "Healing Level 6", "Skill Point Increase Level 5", "Status Point Increase Level 5", "Experience Increase Level 5", "Light", "Trap Detection Level 5", "Trap Disarm Level 5", "Backstep Level 5", "Item Appraisal Level 6", "Dagger Mastery Level 5", "Fire Arrow Level 6", "Ice Arrow Level 6", "Wind Arrow Level 6", "Rapid Shot Level 6", "Meditation Level 6", "Wall Level 6", "Burst Level 6", "Magic Focus Level 6", "Bless Level 6", "Cure Level 6", "High Healing Level 6", "Safety Wall Level 6", "Speed Up Level 6", "Stamina Up Level 6", "Item Drop Rate Increase Level 1", "Item Box Level 3"

"...I did it."

In front of me are three Item Boxes. It seems the number of boxes increases with the skill level.

"There's still a lot I don't understand about this skill. I need to do some experiments when I get back to town."

With my inventory lightened by storing items, I returned from the dungeon, thinking about how to use this skill in the future.