Chapter 10

Indeed, he was well aware that entering the dungeon wearing only a cloth outfit was a foolish thing to do.

But there was no other choice.

Sora had no funds to buy armor.

Most of his money had been spent on living expenses, and besides, weapons and armor were for strong adventurers. If an F-rank adventurer were to wear them, they would just be taken by other adventurers.

—Just like Sora during the day.

"..."

The pain from the punch, which had already been healed by a healing spell, made his cheek tingle.

"If I had left the house without a weapon today..."

Sora shook his head vigorously, as if to prevent himself from falling into a dark place.

It was pointless to regret what had already happened.

It would be wiser to think about what to do next.

Sora collected his clothes and took out the "Leather Chestguard +".

"Hmm. It doesn’t look much different?"

It didn’t look much different from what was sold in stores.

He tapped the chestguard with his fist. It made a good sound.

It seemed to be a bit harder than the store-bought items.

He equipped the "Leather Chestguard +".

It was a little big, but within the adjustment range.

By adjusting the shoulder straps, the chestguard fit snugly against his body.

"The usability... seems good. It’s much better than nothing... Ouch!"

When he moved his body, the chest where the hobgoblin had attacked him throbbed with pain.

Sora groaned and crouched down.

He had forgotten about it in the excitement of defeating the mid-boss, but Sora was now slightly injured.

When he noticed his injuries, he realized that his entire body was in pain.

"Of course. I did fight such a strong monster..."

Still, it was surprising that he had only sustained minor injuries (considering his past).

Next, Sora took out the "Hobgoblin’s Club".

However, it was very heavy, and even lifting it was difficult.

"Wow, how did they swing this thing around..."

It made him realize the strength of the hobgoblin’s arms.

He was afraid that the hobgoblin’s grudge might transfer to him if he held it for too long.

Sora quickly stored the club and then took out the "Shortsword +".

This was almost identical to what was sold in stores.

He drew it from the sheath and swung it lightly.

"Wow, this might be good?"

The shortsword felt very comfortable in Sora’s hand.

It felt much better than the longsword that had been taken from him.

"Given my current level, this shortsword might be more suitable than that longsword."

He swung it a few times and put it back in the sheath.

Sora thought for a moment and then stored the shortsword and the leather chestguard in his inventory.

"Well, then."

It was finally time for the long-awaited enhancement.

Sora rubbed his hands and peeked into his inventory.

He had 39 refinement stones. In total, he could refine dungeon weapons 39 times.

He had already decided which weapons to enhance.

The leather chestguard and the shortsword.

Unless you were a shield user or a support role, the adventurer’s common sense was "if in doubt, prioritize firepower."

So he decided to use the refinement stones on the shortsword first.

"Wow, you can refine directly from the inventory."

When he tapped the refinement stone, a window appeared asking, "Refine? Y/N."

Pressing Y brought up the next screen to choose the target for refinement.

Selecting the shortsword brought up another Y/N screen.

Pressing Y completed the refinement of the shortsword.

Name: Shortsword + Rank: UC

Attack Power: +14 → 16 Refinement Level: — → 1

Equipment Requirement: None → AGI +5

"Wow, the attack power has increased quite a bit!"

Sora’s eyes sparkled.

He immediately took the shortsword out of his inventory and equipped it.

The feel of the grip was the same as before, but the blade felt colder.

Even a light touch felt sharp.

"The attack power has increased, but it seems that refinement adds equipment requirements."

After just one refinement, the AGI requirement was now +5.

"If one refinement increases it by 5, then up to 2 should be fine?"

Sora refined the shortsword again.

Name: Shortsword + Rank: UC

Attack Power: +16 → 18 Refinement Level: 1 → 2

Equipment Requirement: AGI +5 → AGI +10

"Sure enough, it increases by 5 each time. That’s quite a high requirement."

Each refinement increased the requirement by about 5 levels.

At first, Sora had thought about refining it to the maximum in one go.

But seeing this, he changed his mind.

There’s no point in refining it to the maximum if he can’t use it.

"Hmm, but I’m curious what happens when it reaches the maximum."

He could refine two more items, including the shortsword.

The chestguard and the club.

He planned to use the chestguard, but he had no intention of using the club.

If he wanted to check the maximum refinement, the club would be the best choice.

Sora tapped the screen and kept refining the club.

>> Refinement successful

>> Refinement successful

>> Refinement successful

As he continued to refine mindlessly, the refinement stone suddenly stopped reacting to the club.

The refinement level could no longer increase.

Name: Hobgoblin’s Club Rank: R → S

Attack Power: +25 → 45 Refinement Level: — → 10

Equipment Requirement: STR +30 → STR +80

"Wow, this is amazing..."

The attack power had nearly doubled.

At refinement level 10, the club’s rank increased.

It had become a very powerful weapon.

But in exchange, the STR requirement had risen to 80.

"Who can equip this?"

Only a gorilla could equip it, he thought.

Perhaps a high-rank, power-type adventurer might be able to equip it.

"That’s it!"

With the increased attack power, the appearance might have changed.

Thinking this, Sora took the club out of his inventory.

That’s when it happened.

"---Whoa!?"