Chapter 22

While resting in the shade of a tree, exhausted from the dungeon, I was unexpectedly asked if I was a scout.

What on earth is he talking about?

As I pondered this, the man, mistaking my silence for a yes, continued excitedly.

"Excuse me, but may I ask which guild's scout you are? And, if I may ask, what kind of skills are considered excellent?"

I see. I finally understood what he was getting at. He must have mistaken me for a scout from some guild.

Since the appearance of dungeons in this world, various changes have occurred, one of which is the establishment of adventurer guilds. As the name suggests, these are organizations formed by adventurers, ranging from famous guilds to smaller ones. In a sense, they are like companies that adventurers belong to.

Joining a famous guild is considered more valuable than joining a major corporation. That's why many adventurers try to showcase their talents and aim to join famous guilds.

The scouts he mentioned are those who try to discover promising adventurers early on. Some mechanically recruit those with excellent skills, while others seem to quickly recognize and recruit talents that can't be discerned from stats alone.

Given these circumstances, they must have hoped I would recognize their talents, mistaking me for a scout.

But unfortunately, I am not a scout.

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm just an adventurer. I'm not a scout."

"Oh, is that so? I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood."

"Well, that's fine. But why did you think I was a scout in the first place?"

"You were observing us adventurers from a distance, and your expression. You looked quite tired. Even if you're affiliated with a guild, scouts are like salarymen, right? And salarymen always look like they're about to die. So, I just assumed..."

What a prejudice. You should apologize to all the salarymen in Japan.

What, wait a minute. Am I really looking that dead right now?

That hurts a little.

Anyway, once they realized their mistake, they returned to the dungeon. I should probably get back to it too.

It's very regrettable, but that conversation actually gave me a bit of motivation. I won't let myself look like I'm about to die again.

With renewed determination, I started the dungeon again. In the end, I did the same 40 laps as yesterday—40 level-ups.

**DAY 5**

And finally, the moment arrived.

190 times in these five days.

Including the old ones, a total of 200 times.

"You have completed the required number of laps in this dungeon."

"Bonus reward: Your level has increased by 15."

"From now on, you will not receive any rewards for completing this dungeon."

"Finally!"

Overjoyed, I let out a full-throated roar.

"Finally, I've cleared the second dungeon. Let's see, my level is now 679... Wow, I've leveled up quite a bit. Well, considering I've done nearly 200 laps, it's only natural. And the crucial SP is..."

The number written there was 2310.

Now, the question is how to allocate this.

Usually, I would pour it all into dungeon teleportation without hesitation.

"...No, that's not right."

For a certain reason, I decided to choose a different skill. While continuing to do laps in low-level dungeons is fine, I thought it was time to challenge a dungeon that matches my level. No matter how much I increase my level and stats, it's meaningless if I can't control them freely.

So, I picked out some candidates from the skill list.

"What should I choose...?"

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**Owned Skills:**

- Dungeon Teleportation LV12 → LV13 (Required SP: 1500)

- Body Reinforcement LV10 (MAX)

- High-Speed Movement LV3 → LV4 (Required SP: 400)

- Basic Magic LV3 → LV4 (Required SP: 40)

- Magic Recovery LV1 → LV2 (Required SP: 400)

- Magic Increase LV1 → LV2 (Required SP: 400)

- Appraisal LV1 → LV2 (Required SP: 400)

- Item Box LV1 → LV2 (Required SP: 400)

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**New Skills:**

- Swordsmanship LV1 (Required SP: 100)

- Dagger Mastery LV1 (Required SP: 100)

- Strength LV1 (Required SP: 100)

- Endurance LV1 (Required SP: 100)

- Detection LV1 (Required SP: 100)

- Stealth LV1 (Required SP: 100)

- Status Resistance LV1 (Required SP: 100)

- etc.

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