If Only You'd Used That Sneaky Brain Elsewhere...

"Huh? Did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it break already?"

Vulcan paused mid-swing, blinking in surprise as he carved through the giant bats whose combat prowess had plummeted now that their sonic attacks were nullified. He was still plugging his ears, yet Tud's nagging voice rang clear in his head.

- You idiot. Our souls are already linked. We're not talking through sound—it's soul resonance. That's why no one else can hear!

"Ah, you should've said so sooner!"

Come to think of it, he'd heard Tud earlier too, though he'd brushed it off without a second thought. Good thing the earplugs weren't busted. Their conversations weren't sound-based anyway, so it made no difference.

'Wait, does that mean this works too?'

…….

A strange idea struck him then. Did that mean he didn't need to speak out loud either?

But Tud showed no reaction.

'Can't hear me, huh? Then the chocolate cake I accidentally ruined earlier...'

Pow! Pow! Pow!!

The moment he thought it, Tud's tail whipped furiously, bashing Vulcan's head repeatedly.

"I knew you could hear! Why pretend you couldn't?!"

- It's my prerogative. You're the enemy of this chocolate cake!!

"Ugh! It was a joke... Hey!"

Still, speaking out loud felt more natural. Mental talk might be handy for urgent or stealthy chats, but with their awkward dynamic, he ended up yelling aloud anyway—and chucked the chocolate cake to shake Tud off.

"Grr. Can't even curse under my breath now."

Vulcan pouted as Tud lunged like a puppy after a frisbee, devouring the cake. Meanwhile, the charging giant bats were diced into exp chunks.

"Boss down, and we're basically done with this dump."

The Cave of Screams plunged deep, untouched for ages, teeming with giant bats. Vulcan's exp bar was filling fast. Sonic attacks? Useless. Physical assaults? Bounced off his sky-high defense. They were just flying bonus bags.

Gobble those bonuses, and how could he not level? He'd already blown past 60, and with the boss toast, 61 or 62 seemed a safe bet. That many bats piled up here.

"Just gotta clear it out."

Once the Cave of Screams was wiped, mining ops would kick off. That streamer who snuck in and bagged the boss? Dungeon reset, no changes. But Vulcan had a quest—things would differ. Soldiers would pour in, turning it into a proper mine with no respawns. High odds.

"Eh, doesn't matter if not."

Worst case, he had a fix. Giant bats were scary, but sans sonic mind games, even basic soldiers could handle them—no knights needed. Sure, his Blacksmith earplugs were class-locked, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Vulcan had another play: alchemy Deafness Potions.

They cursed you temporarily deaf, but here? Perfect counter. Hell, he could hawk them to the lord for profit. Grinning at the thought, Vulcan cleaved onward, storming the depths.

Finally, the field dungeon's boss.

- Hmph. You sure about this? Earplugs won't faze that thing.

Three times the size of regulars, this beast spewed flames over sonics—a bad matchup for Vulcan. Magic damage ignored defense; no sonics meant useless plugs; and its speed belied its bulk, hard to track visually.

Worse, yank the plugs? It summoned giant bats nonstop. Instant mind-screw.

"Got a plan."

Vulcan stayed chill. He knew this was the final boss. Not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rocking flame resist gear, though—too pricey for elemental stuff.

'Let's roll.'

Inventory open, he charged.

"Kieeeek!!!"

They spotted him. Summoned bats wailed sonics—fizzled. They body-slammed; Vulcan slashed them down.

"Kueeeek!!!"

Whoosh!!!

Five down in sequence, the Fire Bat guarding the rear from afar unleashed its signature flame breath.

"Tamp, tamp, tamp!!"

Perfectly timed, Vulcan dove behind pre-piled dirt, activating Tamp to pack it solid. Meant for compacting building foundations, but dirt was dirt.

A earthen wall rose, halting the blaze.

'Nice.'

The breath's physical force was weak—just a burner. Miss direct? Harmless. Vulcan's wall was peak efficiency.

Slight heat seeped through, but he had Flame Resistance. Boss wasn't hot stuff level-wise; indirect warmth just fueled him up.

Proficiency ticked up, HP dip minimal.

Gulp gulp.

Tiny HP loss from the breath's tail end? One Lowest-Grade Stamina Potion fixed it clean.

"Ready? Time to grind."

As expected. Flames died; Vulcan bolted, drawing aggro. Stiffness post-breath? Easy hits, but why bother? He moved only to spare his walls—not scared of a scrap.

"Kiet!"

New giant bats spawned, replacing the fallen.

Rinse and repeat. Five bats per wave, culled for exp. Summon trash? No drops, but for exp-starved Vulcan? Gold.

Bonus sauna session. Back roasting against the wall pumped proficiency to rank-up. More levels? Duh. Summons gave full exp—endless farm, minus loot.

His walls fooled the echo-locating bats perfectly. Hide back there? They played dumb, letting him toy with them.

- Gonna goof off forever?

Tud griped mid-grind; Vulcan tossed chocolate snacks to shut him up.

"Time to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wrap?"

Hours of infinity farm later, Vulcan seized a window, slashing the Fire Bat's wing joint, kicking it down, and stabbing finish.

Not boredom—diminishing returns. Post-levels, bat exp meh; post-rank-up, proficiency crawl.

Utility tapped, cleanup done. Items tumbled: key and fire pouch. Both Uncommon. No glow on the corpse.

"Rare and up glows, huh?"

Confirmed: Dragon Eye flags Rare+ minimum. His Berserker Longsword was top Uncommon, but oh well. Rare+ carriers rare? Knowing alone was busted.

Vulcan scooped 'em, eyeing the three boss-clear chests.

"Which... one... to... pick."

Classic gacha: one key, one shot. Rare dungeon staple—jackpot or junk.

"Lemme... guess..."

Save the key? Nah—matches that run's chests only. Old keys trash. Common sense: use now.

'Wait, these are items too?'

Odd thought—two hypotheses.

"Show me, show me, show me...!"

First: X-ray. Spots Rare+ mobs? Why not chests?

Others tried skills or smashing—low odds. But Legendary skill? Dragon Eye already broke rules.

"...Holy shit."

Blinked, and chests glowed. Grades clear as day.

"Two of 'em?"

Two Rares amid the trio. Insane.

"Jackpot if this works too."

Second hypothesis time.

Flash!

"...It does?!"

Key as item? Craftable? Boom—recipe popped: Treasure Chest Key blueprint.