Chapter 9

"Ha... ha..."

After making sure that the opponent was dead, Sora let go of the hobgoblin.

This battle had been a close call.

Without any weapons or armor, it was nothing short of a miracle that Sora could fight the mid-boss on equal terms.

Sitting on the ground, Sora summoned the status board.

Name: Sora Tensui

Lv: 10 → 13 Rank: E

SP: 0 → 15 Job: Intermediate Porter

STR: 17 VIT: 11

AGI: 16 MAG: 0 SEN: 10

Ability: [Accelerated Growth] +

Skills: [Complete Drop], [Limit Break], [Inventory]

Equipment (Effects): ---

"Just by defeating one mid-boss, I've leveled up three times..."

The hobgoblin must have been that strong.

Sora realized again that it was a miracle he could defeat it bare-handed.

After the hobgoblin was swallowed by the dungeon, Sora carefully checked the surrounding ground.

"That's strange... There's nothing dropped."

Could it have disappeared while I was fighting?

Sora tilted his head.

"Ah! That's right, I had it set to auto-pickup..."

Recalling the setting, he immediately summoned the board.

Checking the inventory, he found that the goblin's junk magic stone was securely stored.

"That's a relief. I was worried I might have missed it."

Even a junk magic stone is still a magic stone. It's a valuable source of income for low-level adventurers.

Sora heaved a sigh of relief.

"Hmm, what's this?"

He discovered an unfamiliar item in the inventory.

"Hobgoblin's Club"

"Short Sword +"

"Leather Chestplate +"

"Could these be boss drops?"

When a boss-level monster is defeated, it occasionally drops weapons or items.

While mid-bosses can drop boss items, the probability is said to be very low.

Despite this, Sora had obtained three types of weapons from this hobgoblin.

"Could this be the effect of the Complete Drop skill?"

When he first saw it, Sora couldn't imagine what [Complete Drop] meant, but now, seeing the results, it made sense.

[Complete Drop] is a skill that ensures all items a monster can drop are actually dropped when it is defeated.

Whether this 'complete' means 100% or 'all items the boss has' is still unclear...

"Boss drops are something you can only get after weeks of grinding..."

If Sora's guess is correct, this is an incredible skill.

With this skill alone, major guilds would go to great lengths to get Sora.

After all, it allows them to target dungeon weapons and rare items.

Just having Sora would enable a guild to generate enormous revenue.

Moreover, the guaranteed acquisition of boss drops would strengthen the guild's military power.

It could lead to a bloody conflict, with large sums of money changing hands.

While competition among guilds is one thing, there's a risk that someone might try to kill Sora to quell the conflict.

"...I should keep this quiet for a while."

It's easy to predict that announcing [Complete Drop] would lead to nothing good.

For the time being, he should be careful not to let anyone know about this skill.

There's another reason he can't talk about [Complete Drop], and it's in his inventory.

"Refinement Stones × 39"

"...This is bad."

These refinement stones are items that drop from regular monsters and are used to enhance dungeon-produced weapons.

However, the drop rate is incredibly low, estimated at one in ten thousand or even one in a hundred thousand.

There was a survey conducted by volunteers on the internet, but after killing six thousand monsters, they got zero drops.

Incidentally, the site hasn't been updated since then.

Did they get tired of the survey, or did they die in the dungeon? Sora hopes it's the former.

In any case, getting 39 refinement stones in this short time is significant.

If he were to announce [Complete Drop], it could lead to a bloody conflict.

He must absolutely not let anyone find out.

Shaking, Sora resolved to keep it a secret.

Refinement stones are traded at very high prices, but selling them would expose him.

He must never sell them.

However, keeping them would be a waste.

"Since I have them, I might as well use them myself."

With that decision made, he needed to choose which items to use.

Sora checked the items he had obtained.

Tapping the icons in the inventory, the item descriptions popped up.

Name: Leather Chestplate + Rank: UC

Defense: +10 Refinement: --

Equip Requirements: None

Description: A chestplate made of leather. It has low defense. While it may not be sufficient for battling monsters, it doesn't hinder the wearer's movement.

Name: Short Sword + Rank: UC

Attack: +14 Refinement: --

Equip Requirements: None

Description: A 40 cm iron knife. It has low attack power. It's somewhat lacking as a weapon.

Name: Hobgoblin's Club Rank: R

Attack: +25 Refinement: --

Equip Requirements: STR +30

Description: The club equipped by the hobgoblin. It is stained with the blood of goblins massacred by the tyrant. It's just a heavy weapon, but in the hands of a strong user, it becomes a powerful tool.

"Hmm, hmm...? It has attack and defense stats, but how good are they?"

To test, Sora put the shirt he was wearing into the inventory and displayed its description.

Name: Cloth Clothing Rank: N

Defense: +0

Equip Requirements: None

Description: Just a piece of clothing made of cloth. Its defense is as good as paper. Anyone who enters the dungeon with just this is underestimating the monsters.

It was not very helpful.

Worse, the description mocked Sora for not wearing any armor.

"Ugh..."

Sora was aware that entering the dungeon in just a cloth shirt was a foolish thing to do.