Chapter 5

Thank you very much for reading this far.

As I continued walking a bit further, another monster appeared from deeper inside.

“Gubuuu…”

It was larger than a goblin, slightly taller than a human with a protruding belly, and fangs jutting out from both sides of its mouth.

The one that approached with a slow, steady gait was an orc.

The strength of an orc is ranked D, which is above the E rank of a goblin, making it stronger.

While not as formidable alone, they tend to move in groups and wield powerful blows with their preferred clubs and axes.

The orc in front of me was no exception, and I could see that it was already grouped with about five others.

(It seems that the deeper I go, the stronger the monsters become.)

“Gugooooo!!”

The orcs charged at me faster than I had anticipated.

But, my actions remained unchanged.

“*Death*”

The instant death magic I cast was absorbed into the orc’s body and disappeared.

“Gubu!!”

And the first orc died.

“Goooh!! Gooooh!!”

The remaining orcs charged forward without a moment’s hesitation, not even pausing to check on their fallen comrade.

Unlike the goblins, they didn’t hesitate.

As they approached, they swung their clubs down mercilessly.

I leaped backward to dodge.

(My body is reacting to the movements.)

Even though orcs are D rank, their club strikes should be quite fast from my level 1 perspective.

But, I could clearly see their movements.

Thanks to the *Soul Collection* ability, I gained the stats from the ten goblins and the orc I just killed with *Death*, which increased my speed.

“*Death*”

“Gauooooo!!”

Now, I just keep killing.

“*Death*”

“Guaa!!”

Because that’s the only thing I can do.

“*Death*”

“Guuuuuuu…”

“*Death*”

“Gubu!!”

The last orc in the group, now on its knees, stopped moving.

“…It’s over.”

But, my skill level still hasn’t increased.

The killing bear I killed is a B-rank monster.

It seems that killing a few E or D rank monsters isn’t enough to raise my skill level by even one point.

I don’t know what kind of monsters will appear in the upper levels of this dungeon, but I might encounter stronger beings if I go deeper.

For now, I’ll store all the orcs I’ve killed in the *Coffin of the Dead*.

Orc meat is apparently quite delicious, and adventurers often sell it to merchants.

When I return to town, I’ll sell it to a merchant rather than the guild.

I started walking again through the unchanging dungeon.

After descending a few staircases and walking for a while, the scenery suddenly changed.

I emerged into a large cavern, which was covered in lush vegetation.

Despite being underground, it was a complete forest.

Crystals protruding from the ground and walls glowed, making the space as bright as a sunny day outside.

“This is amazing…”

After seeing nothing but dull brown ground for so long, I was overwhelmed by the strange and beautiful underground space.

“Huh?”

I suddenly noticed a few people in an open area ahead, waving at me.

“Hey! Over here!”

They were sitting on the ground, where the grass was thick and lush, and seemed to be an adventurer party.

There were three of them: a man in iron armor, a woman in a white robe, and a man in leather armor.

From their appearances, they seemed to be a swordsman, a priest, and a thief.

I raised my hand to show that I wasn’t hostile and approached them.

“Hey! Are you okay!?”

I was taken aback by the armored man’s sudden question and couldn’t respond.

“Hey, hey! You came all this way alone, and you’re asking ‘what?’? And what’s with that outfit!”

The thief was right; I wasn’t wearing any armor and was still in my travel clothes.

In contrast, the adventurers in front of me were well-equipped.

I was also alone.

It’s almost unheard of for an adventurer to enter a dungeon without a party unless they are extremely skilled.

It would be strange to think otherwise.

(If it’s difficult to enter a dungeon alone, that’s a problem.)

“No, actually, I heard this place is very beautiful, and I really wanted to see it.”

“Tsk… This isn’t a place to come for that reason!”

I couldn’t tell them that I had been fighting with instant death magic all the way here.

So, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, and the three of them looked at me with exasperation.

“The lady priest said, “We’re about to head back to the surface. Would you like to come with us?”

The other two nodded in agreement.

“We came here to collect orc meat. It’s valuable, and it helps us level up. If things get tough, we can retreat here.”

The thief showed me a bag stuffed with meat.

“True, it’s safe here because no monsters can enter, but we can’t stay forever. We’ll take you back to town this time.”

“Can’t enter? The monsters?”

Surprised by the strange statement, I asked for clarification.

“Yes. The reason is still unknown, but the upper-level monsters don’t enter here. That’s why we were resting here and about to head back to town.”

It seems that there are safe zones even in the dungeon.

There might be other mechanisms as well.

If I can use them effectively, they might help me level up my skills.

“Alright, let’s get going… Hey, hey! What’s wrong!?”

Suddenly, the swordsman panicked and ran deeper into the cavern.

“Ugh…”

In front of us appeared a group of four adventurers.

They were covered in wounds, and one of them was being supported by the other two.

“P-please help… us…”

“Stay with us! We need to heal you immediately!”

“T-there’s a huge skeleton… up ahead… that’s why…”

The adventurers’ faces turned pale at the words.

“A skeleton!?”

“Hey, hey! A skeleton is a C-rank monster! Why is it in the upper levels of this dungeon!?”

A skeleton.

It is an undead monster made from the bones of those who have fallen in the dungeon.

These skeletal beings, transformed into monstrous forms, continue to move until their bodies are shattered.

“T-this is bad… It might come here. We need to get to the surface—”

As the man spoke, the atmosphere around us changed.

In the direction the adventurers had fled, a monster appeared.

A body composed entirely of bones.

But it was larger than a goblin or an orc and had four arms.

“T-this isn’t just a skeleton… It’s an ogre skeleton!!”