Shoes or clothes, new things always feel uncomfortable at first—much more so for weapons and equipment. That feeling fades over time with use.
If it's your own body, that's even more obvious.
In earlier battles, Fron had just meant to rush in front of the monster, but his body didn't obey—he unleashed an unexpectedly strong blow.
He could have ended the fight cleanly with a decapitation, but instead, due to the excessive force, he severed the monster's arm along with its neck, wasting a lot of stamina.
This was the awkward mismatch between body and mind, and the difference in combat technique.
-----------------------------------------------
"Another troublesome thing again."
Thinking about his current predicament, he shook his head in frustration.
This—was truly a blessed kind of trouble. Who else had the side effect of such rapid stat growth?
After collecting the magic stones, Fron walked to the end of the passage.
"Is this the passage to the second floor? Let's go take a look."
Considering the battles he'd experienced, which were all above the danger threshold, he entered the second floor without hesitation.
In the dungeon, the respawn rate and number of monsters per floor increased. In other words, as long as it remained within bearable limits, the increased rate meant faster money-making.
Not only that, it was also very helpful for gaining combat experience and skill.
Sure enough.
After reaching the second floor, the number of monsters per spawn increased to four.
"Hah, bring it on!"
...
...
Rapid white light wove cold patterns, blooming across the monsters' bodies.
One, two, three, four.
Taking advantage of his agility, he constantly pulled and disrupted the monsters' formation. This way, he wouldn't get surrounded—being attacked from both front and back is the greatest fear when soloing a dungeon.
So fighting while moving, pulling them apart, and using the narrow corners of the passage to take out the monsters one by one as they lunged forward was a very wise choice.
In less than a day, he had found a few tricks.
Was this talent?
No, not at all.
He knew just how much his talent was. What truly played a decisive role in finding the right approach so quickly was his experience from living two lives.
As a gaming expert, he'd cleared countless dungeons—pulling monsters, kiting them, grouping them, using terrain for positioning, setting traps, even circling around pillars, breaking line of sight, baiting interrupts, reading enemy moves—Fron could do it all effortlessly.
With only ordinary human strength, none of this would be possible. But thanks to the potential developed by the "God's Blessing / Falna" and the stat transformation, all of it became achievable.
Facing Lv.1 monsters with potential abilities, with overwhelming stat superiority, as long as he kept distance and took them down one by one, he could avoid injury and prolong the battle.
"Boom—"
The last monster was skewered through the head by his sword, caught by a cunning line-of-sight trap.
"Hah—, a little tired."
Taking deep breaths of the slightly stuffy dungeon air, he began to clean up the battlefield.
"Hmm, kobold teeth. A 'drop item,' huh? This piece could fetch 2,000 vali."
He was lucky—the monster had dropped a "drop item."
Generally, materials dropped directly by monsters were valuable.
They could be used to make weapons, armor, potions, tools, even magical items. Almost all shops in Orario recycled them. As for the price—that was another topic.
Picking up the last piece of magic stone, Fron weighed the magic stone pouch in his hand, a smile appearing on his face.
"Making this much in a day, life is finally looking up!"
Chuckling slyly to himself, he put away his valuable spoils and prepared to return to the surface.
This was the 5th floor—no, the entrance to the passage leading to the 6th floor.
With his stat levels, reaching this point was only natural after adapting to the rhythm of battle.
Whether it was strength, endurance, dexterity, or agility, all were comprehensively above the monster's. Even with rough, clumsy, and slightly comical techniques, he could still overwhelm enemies through sheer force.
Stats fully capable of Level Up were a merciless crush to small-type monsters.
"Thud—"
"?"
A heavy tremor came from the passage ahead, accompanied by footsteps.
A sense of foreboding swept over him.
"Hey hey hey, this is my first day in the dungeon, don't mess with me—"
He held his sword horizontally in front of him, tensed his whole body, bit his lip with a complex expression, and prepared for battle.
The footsteps grew closer, and now came with terrifying screams.
"Help—help—help—meeeeeeeeeeeee!"
—?
They were dressed like beggars, their armor shattered, bodies covered in blood, and one of them was even missing an arm—seriously injured adventurers burst out of the passage.
They opened their mouths, but couldn't speak a word—
The owner of the thunderous "thud, thud, thud" footsteps barged into his sight, rude and unreasonable.
"ROAR ROAR ROAR ROAR ROAR ROAR ROAR—!"
Seeing a new enemy, "that thing" first vented its fury at having lost its prey, then directly targeted the enemy protecting the prey and launched its attack.
"This is a saber-toothed tiger, it must be a saber-toothed tiger???"
Fron's forehead was drenched in cold sweat, and his scalp tingled.
The monster's massive body, over three meters tall, and terrifying fangs made it easy to imagine being strung up like a skewer.
"N—No doubt about it!!! An elite-class monster, with potential approaching Lv.2, a rare monster that only appears on the 11th floor! Why, why is it showing up on the 6th floor!"
"This is clearly an 11th-floor monster aaaaaaaaah——"
"——"
Fron's mind was also a bit scrambled, but the situation was still within control. Thanks to his overly cautious nature, even after a whole day of exploration, he had no major injuries—just a slightly dirty and messy cloak and clothes.
Lunch had only been two fried potato balls, and after a day of physical and mental combat, he was running on half his stamina. Overall, his combat ability was at the brink.
To fight a monster whose potential nearly reached Lv.2 in this state was frankly a joke.
So he planned to use his trump card and finish it quickly.
"Huff, you guys—wait—?"
He had been kindly advising those guys to run, but before he could finish, they had already disappeared around the corner behind him.
"They lured the monster to me? WTF, I earned the achievement 'Offering to a Monster' on my first day???"
After a full day of battle, he was no longer that rookie.
To still be able to laugh in a desperate situation—one could only say his stress resistance was impressive.
"Forget it. After steamrolling everything today, a well-matched fight like this is rare. For today's final act, let's have an all-out duel!"
Firming up his resolve, he became somewhat excited—
Then—he began chanting his incantation.
"[Meet your end! (Ragnarok)]"
——!
Crackling——
Dark red lightning entwined with black flames suddenly surged up around Fron, burning fiercely.
His golden short hair was lifted by the rising air currents, dancing along with the black flames.
In his same-colored eyes, a ring of hollow blue brilliance flowed, completely elevating Fron's presence.
The erupting pressure even easily cracked and melted the ground beneath his feet.
In the corridor, the temperature began to rise unnaturally, and the view distorted from the heat.
The magic of Fron Argon was activated in the face of a powerful enemy.
'Surtr'
· Enchantment Magic
· Destruction Attribute
'Chant': "——Meet your end! (Ragnarok)"
This was the miracle shaped by the potential of Fron Argon, guided by the "God's Blessing / Falna" and magnified by his golden finger.
"ROARRROARRROARRROARRROARR——"
It didn't give him any time to think. The tiger's eyes glowed blood-red, its body curved into a graceful arc, and its massive form suddenly lunged at Fron with terrifying power.
The five-meter gap felt nonexistent—it closed the distance in an instant.
——Its chilling fangs tore through the wind, aiming to strike him.
Faced with the threat to his life, instinct took over. He quickly raised his right hand, tightly gripping the [Jungle Dagger], and accurately blocked the fatal blow.
His "Agility" and "Dexterity" stats kicked in.
But the violent impact still sent his body sliding backward.
"——Screeech!"
The 1600-Vali [Jungle Dagger] let out a painful shriek, unable to withstand the enemy's heavy blow.
Fron's body went slightly numb from the immense force transferred through his right arm, and he frowned in shock.
"This—is this really just Lv.2-level potential? Impossible! With my magic activated, my stats are a whole tier higher."
He suddenly looked up, locking eyes with the enemy's red gaze—and then—he was horrified to discover a faint glimmer of something called intelligence in them.
A bolt of lightning tore through his consciousness.
"Enhanced Species!"