Chapter 4

I was surprised to be on the ranking.

I am truly grateful to everyone.

Thank you so much.

After returning to town, I entered the Adventurer's Guild building again.

I did so to have the guild buy the materials from the Killing Bear I had just defeated.

Even though I obtained a new ability with the instant death magic, my strength is still far from that of S-rank adventurers like Allen and Balzak.

To become even stronger from here, I need to defeat more monsters and level up my skills.

Even if I were to go to other places, my current abilities are still not reliable enough.

So, where are there many monsters?

It's the dungeon.

Near this town of Voltana, known as the Adventurer's Town, there are several dungeons where many monsters live.

Circling these dungeons and defeating the monsters would be the quickest way.

However, to delve into a dungeon, I need to prepare, and that requires a certain amount of money.

I headed to the counter.

"I want to sell the materials."

"Oh? You're the one from earlier..."

While talking to the receptionist, I used the ability I had just obtained, 'Coffin of the Dead,' to make the Killing Bear appear on the guild's floor.

"–Huh?"

At that moment, the receptionist's face showed shock.

She seemed unable to understand what had happened.

"W-What was that!? And this is... a Killing Bear!? How did you defeat such a monster!?"

"I defeated it. It seems the instant death magic worked by chance."

At my words, the adventurers in the guild began to murmur.

"Hey, isn't that the guy who's supposed to be the weakest human? But he killed a Killing Bear..."

"Did you see that? The monster's body just appeared on the floor, right?"

"Are you saying a Level 1 adventurer killed a B-rank monster? No way, right?"

"Anyway, it would help if you could process the sale."

I urged the stunned receptionist to do her job.

"Y-Yes! Everyone! We have B-rank materials, so please help!"

The receptionist, regaining her composure, called out, and other staff members carried the Killing Bear to the back.

After waiting for a while, a male staff member returned from the back.

The staff member spoke to the receptionist and then handed her a heavy leather bag.

The receptionist slowly extended the leather bag to me.

"H-Here is the amount for the materials, one hundred gold coins. Since most of the materials were in good condition, we added to the price according to the guild's evaluation standards."

"Thank you."

I grabbed the leather bag and immediately left the guild.

The reward for the materials was one hundred gold coins.

With this considerable amount, I wouldn't have to worry about food for a while.

(But, it might be better to avoid using the Adventurer's Guild in the future...)

This is because the guild recognizes me as a Level 1 trash.

What would they think if I, who is considered a Level 1, brought in materials from monsters that don't match my strength multiple times?

They would undoubtedly suspect something was wrong.

Also, adventurers generally form parties, but I can't team up with other adventurers.

I doubt anyone would form a party with me, a Level 1, and more importantly, I don't think it's a good idea for others to know about my instant death magic.

(For now, I'll finish the preparations to enter the dungeon.)

With enough money, I decided to move on to my next action.

The main street of the town, which spreads out from the guild, is lined with various shops.

In Voltana, where many adventurers gather, there are naturally many shops that do business with them.

I went to a tool shop and gathered the necessary equipment.

Several potions for emergencies.

Torches to light the darkness.

Water and portable food.

And a map.

I only took a day's worth of water and food.

Today, I only intended to do a preliminary check.

If I bought too many items, my luggage would become bulky, and with my current stats, armor would be too heavy.

The 'Coffin of the Dead' ability is only for storing targets killed with the instant death magic.

So, I would need to carry regular items by hand.

However, there might be a way to hide this. I'll try it once I enter the dungeon.

The entrance to the dungeon is near this town.

The closest location is in a forest about an hour's walk east of Voltana.

I headed there while looking at the map.

After walking out of town for a while, the atmosphere suddenly changed to a damp and gloomy one.

(...This is the entrance.)

In front of me was a huge cave leading underground.

The entrance to the dungeon.

From what I've heard, the dungeon is divided into areas called floors, and the scenery changes significantly with each floor.

The deeper you go, the stronger the monsters become and the more dangerous it gets, but it's also said that valuable treasures sleep there.

Many adventurers challenge such dungeons and gain wealth and fame from the materials and treasures obtained from the defeated monsters.

But for me, those things have no meaning.

My goal is to defeat the monsters that infest this dungeon and become stronger.

As I stepped into the cave, a dry wind blew from somewhere.

In the 'upper floor,' the area closest to the surface, not many vicious monsters appear.

It's perfect for testing my improved instant death magic.

I proceeded deeper into the dimly lit dungeon.

"Kee! Keeeek!!"

Suddenly, a sound like a cry came from the darkness ahead.

Emerging from the darkness were green-skinned, small-statured monsters, Goblins.

There were about ten of them, each holding broken swords and shields.

Goblins, like Slimes, are E-rank monsters, but they are dangerous because they act in groups and have the intelligence to use weapons.

Goblins live in forests and such dungeons and attack people living nearby.

To them, I, walking alone in the dungeon, must look like an easy target.

The Goblins, wielding swords and daggers, charged at me without hesitation, ready to take my life.

But that was fine.

That's why I can fight without hesitation.

"Death"

Aiming at the Goblins, I cast 'Death' when they were close enough, keeping the effective range of the instant death magic in mind.

"Keeeek!!"

The jet of black energy hit the leading Goblin.

Like the Killing Bear, the Goblin let out a death cry and fell, motionless.

"Kee!?"

The remaining Goblins, perhaps terrified by the sudden fall of their comrade, stopped moving for a moment.

Then, they surrounded me.

"Death"

Without hesitation, I cast the next instant death magic.

"Kyeek!!"

The second Goblin also fell to the ground, unable to do anything.

"Kee!"

A Goblin behind me swung its sword, but I easily dodged it.

Each time I defeated a Goblin, my body felt lighter, and my strength surged.

I grabbed a Goblin's face and activated the magic.

"Death"

The third 'Death' was cast, which should have been impossible with my original magic power.

As expected.

"Kee..."

The third Goblin collapsed like a broken string.

"Death, Death, Death, Death"

I cast the magic multiple times while dodging attacks.

"Death, Death, Death"

Before I knew it, all the Goblins around me had fallen to the ground, lifeless.

"Seems like the skill level didn't go up."

Perhaps because I gained a lot of experience from defeating the Killing Bear, the Goblins didn't provide enough experience points.

But there was a gain.

"Status"

As I spoke, a semi-transparent board appeared.

======================================

【Basic Status】

Name: Arc

Job: Mage

Level: 1

HP: 215/215

MP: 10/60

Attack: 42

Defense: 54

Vitality: 44

Speed: 43

Intelligence: 33

【Owned Skills】

- Instant Death Magic Lv20

【Owned Abilities】

- Magic Consumption Halved Lv1

- Extended Range Lv1

- Increased Success Rate Lv2

- Coffin of the Dead

- Soul Recovery

======================================

The 'Soul Recovery' ability activated after defeating the Goblins, increasing my stats.

This allowed me to immediately cast ten 'Death' spells.

The effect of the increased success rate seems significant, as I haven't failed yet.

If necessary, I plan to drink a potion to recover my magic power, but at this rate, I can continue advancing while recovering my magic power.

Using the 'Coffin of the Dead' ability, I collected the Goblins.

When I placed my hand over them, the equipment they were holding also disappeared, as it seems to be recognized as part of their bodies.

With that, I started walking deeper into the dungeon again.