Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Stat Breakthrough
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There were even more Skeleton Warriors on the second underground floor.
As soon as we descended, we got a chance to watch a skilled adventurer party hunting them. They divided their roles perfectly and took down five Skeleton Warriors in the blink of an eye.
They were faces I hadn't seen at the guild. Were they adventurers gathered from all over, aiming for the Lich like Wabid had said?
Pooling their strength to conquer a tough dungeon. Textbook stuff.
"Brother. Don't hold back!"
"Got it."
Karen and I were finally fighting side by side, even in these tight quarters.
At first, Karen had to block the Skeleton Warriors all by herself while my attacks provided inefficient support.
Next, by dousing the lights and using the Veil of Concealment, I took one down solo—but that wasn't ideal either.
Now, though, we knew exactly how to fight together. No more panicking.
Even when we ran into a group of five, just like that other party.
"I'll take these two."
Karen spoke first and took her stance.
"I'll handle the three on the other side."
Our spirit cores swirled energetically around us, as if mirroring our intense focus.
We brought out every ounce of our abilities, amplifying each other's strengths.
This was the perfect setup.
I activated the artifact's Veil of Concealment, making it hard for the Skeleton Warriors to lock onto us.
Karen, who was used to close-quarters brawls, fought beautifully with just that. In dire moments, she had the spirits' protection.
Nothing to fear now.
I parried a Skeleton Warrior's attack up close, then slammed an overcharged Fire Arrow into it.
Whenever Karen's opponent whiffed, she smashed its weak joints with her sword, disabling it.
(Intimacy has increased.)
"We did it!"
"You're picking it up fast."
"I learned by watching you, brother!"
Karen had quickly mastered how to let the spirits shield her body.
I didn't know about skill levels, but her instincts were sharper than mine. In moments like this, she seemed like a prodigy heroine candidate through and through.
What about me? Maybe because of my memories from modern life, I had a hard time accepting that spirits could protect my body—I just glared at that orc for ages.
Anyway, that's all in the past.
"Let the spirits rest a bit, refresh the Veil of Concealment. Then we push forward."
"Okay!"
Our spirits had grown a lot since their first Space Leap training, but they still couldn't overcome their inherent weakness as wind spirits.
Indoors, they weakened and tired faster than we did, so we had to give them breaks.
Otherwise, we couldn't count on Space Leap in a real pinch.
They said spirits grow by hunting monsters too, right?
The moment we fought by entrusting our bodies to them, our intimacy with the spirits rose.
"Come to think of it, it's like we're fighting as a group of four."
Karen burst out laughing at my silly remark.
"Yeah. We spent so much time together at the castle, but it never occurred to me we'd fight as a team."
"Better late than never."
"You're more optimistic than I thought, brother."
"At your age, anything you learn has potential. You'll end up way stronger than me someday."
"You think so?"
"Well, you might already be stronger. If you tackled me, I might not hold up."
"Stop describing me like a bear!"
Karen pouted like she was offended.
"You're just lacking close-combat skills, brother. Your skill handling sense is way better than mine.
If we both became heroine candidates... Ah."
"I dunno."
"Why not try the entrance exam? You'd ace it with top scores."
"No way."
Even with blessings, just looking at Noah or Esty showed how many top-tier people the kingdom had.
And this was a school that only accepted students who passed a tough exam. It'd be crawling with monsters.
"Let's not count our chickens. We pass the extra test first, then talk. You didn't forget we could both flop, right?"
"Of course! ...But what's 'counting our chickens'?"
"..."
"Brother. What does it mean?"
"It's a... nuance thing. Get the vibe."
I felt embarrassed for no reason.
We explored the second underground floor of Bordo Dungeon, taking breaks as needed.
Countless Skeleton Warriors gave us a warm welcome, but now Karen and I were outpacing even those skilled adventurer parties as a duo.
For me, who'd never tangled directly with monsters before, this was true growth.
Things like movement, judgment, reflexes—stuff numbers couldn't measure—were sharpening.
I could feel my physical abilities improving beyond what they'd been in the modern world, even if I hadn't tapped them fully till now.
Leveling up would make it even better, right?
The "Goddess's Proxy" qualification didn't just help with reading and translation—it massively boosted the efficiency of my stat applications.
Simply put, I'd get stronger. Then tougher, better endurance when hit, quicker reactions when moving.
...And maybe better stamina down there?
I planned to claim more women ahead.
I didn't want to tire out while embracing these alluring ladies who drained every last drop from my balls.
I'd prided myself on normal adult male performance so far, but...
Karen, Esty, Bella—they stirred up too much male urge.
Even one release felt soul-draining, like they'd taken everything.
It was like they were succubi or something.
We kept leveling up, and then a sudden change hit when Karen and I entered the third underground floor of Bordo Dungeon.
(Strength has increased by one stage.)
(Mana has increased by one stage.)
(Vitality has increased by one stage.)
(Agility has increased by one stage.)
What the? An incredible surge of vitality flooded my body.
Sure, I'd killed countless Skeleton Warriors upstairs and leveled up, but...
Maybe I should check.
"Karen. Let's give the spirits a break for a sec."
"Okay!"
I checked my status.
Name: Decal
Lv: 151
Status
[HP] 10757/10999
[MP] 3441/12381
Stats
Strength 1 Mana 1 Vitality 1 Agility 1
Veleira's Blessing《True》
"A blessing that grants authority over fire among the elemental attributes. Only the goddess's true devotee can receive it."
(Fire damage immunity, increased fire magic power, increased proficiency for all skills.)
Goddess's Proxy
"Communicate in all languages, read all scripts. Qualification to traverse worlds, proof of divine selection."
(Increased skill acquisition rate, increased EXP gain, 5x stat application multiplier)
Wind Spirit(+3)
"Called the freest spirit, it alters air currents and commands the winds."
Skills
Fireball(★★) - Mid-tier fire magic with great power. Burns targets to the bone.
Fire Enchant(★★★) - Magic that imbues objects with fire attributes.
Search(★★☆) - Skill to discover and analyze traces through careful observation.
Space Leap(★) - Unique elf skill. Highest-tier movement technique, usable only with sufficient rapport with wind spirit.
Veil of Concealment - Concealment magic usable only when wearing [Ring of the Innocent]. Draws forth a curtain of concealment to hide the body.
What the hell. My stats look weird.
Didn't they go down? I hadn't checked every level up, but I thought they were around 800-900.
Subjectively, my body felt way tougher now than when we entered the dungeon.
Even in this dim dungeon, my focus was sharp as a honed blade.
No way I'd miss a monster while lost in thought right now.
I clenched and unclenched my fist, pondering, then it hit me.
The units changed.
Once stats hit 1000, they rolled over to 1.
No other explanation.
Just like how Fire Arrow got replaced when its proficiency maxed out.
My old 1000 stats now show as 1.
I suddenly wondered. Did others get this too?
"Karen. Do stats change units after hitting 1000?"
"Units? How?"
"Like, 1000 suddenly shows as 1."
"...?"
Karen shook her head like she'd never heard of it.
"Never heard that. It'd make them meaningless, right? Everyone's stats showing 1, 2, 3—no way to differentiate..."
"Exactly."
Someone with 1900 Strength and 1001 would both show 1.
Why was this happening?
Status windows weren't familiar to me anyway, so who knows.
Maybe stats were scaled to gods.
If so, I'd barely taken my first step?
What if scaled to humans?
From Karen's reaction, hitting 1000 Strength didn't trigger any upgrades.
So this was special growth for the Goddess's Proxy...
Oh crap. I wanted to test it now.
"Pretty tough, these Skeleton Warriors?"
"...I've got no idea what you're getting at with these questions."
"Just wanna punch one barehanded."
"Pfft!"
Karen cracked up.
"What's with you? Wanna be a brawler now? You'll hurt your hand."
"Perfect. There's a lone one over there. Shall I?"
I picked up a pebble from the floor and chucked it at a Skeleton Warrior's head.
"You're seriously gonna punch it? It'll hurt like hell. Tougher than they look."
Yeah, probably.
Even normal bones are hard, undead monster or not.
But no better test. Just see if my strength went up or down.
No magic. I blocked its blade with spirit arts.
Then swung my fist with all my might.
The Skeleton Warrior floated slightly before getting shoved back.
"...Hand okay?"
Karen watched with her mouth agape.
"Feels fine. Tougher skin too?"
Skin was a bit red, but bearable.
Tough enough to tank Fire Arrows, though—not down in one punch.
It charged again.
Like Karen, I shouldered it aside, punched, grappled directly.
Felt like handling a kid.
"Hup!"
I hurled the Skeleton Warrior by raw power.
Landed about eight punches?
It crumbled to dust, motionless.
"Confirmed."
My physical abilities had definitely improved.
Skeleton Warriors were now viable for straight brawling.
"...Me getting stronger than you?"
Karen stared at me in disbelief.
"That weird?"
"Super weird! I've trained as a warrior since I was little.
You seem like one of those divinely chosen heroes..."
"..."
Karen paused.
I mean, I basically was one. Wait—did that fulfill Karen's dream?
Not the hero who helped kid Karen, so just wordplay.
"...Nah. Two heroes showing up doesn't make sense."
"What kinda fantasy is that? Me, a hero?"
"First time seeing someone who can do anything if they set their mind to it."
Felt good hearing that.
Talent's scary. Or in my case, connections? The Goddess's Proxy foundation let stats boost me this hard.
Divine connections... Nah, too lame to say aloud.
"Break time over. Deeper?"
"Yeah."
We kept our spirit cores close and delved further down.
To the last room on the third floor—or so I'd thought.
There stood a massive golden door I'd never seen. Like a midpoint marker, adventurer parties were gathered before it.
All in groups of four-plus, so lone Wabid stood out.
Parties nodded at him passing by, but it felt wary to me.
Maybe because he seemed like he was watching the adventurers...
Like avoiding the cops even if innocent—the bigger you get, the sketchier it feels.
Wabid spotted us and approached first.
"Figured you'd make good time, Mr. Decal."
"Some trial and error along the way."
"...Something."
Wabid stared right through me, then said,
"You seem different somehow."
"Hope that's a compliment."
"Yes. Definitely a good change."
Sharp observation. Impressive.
"This leads to the Lich's altar. If you're after it, hurry. Quite a few have gone in already."
I eyed the door.
"You staying behind, Mr. Wabid?"