I tried to hurry to see if I could find Hephaestus on the way, but I didn't. I arrived near the tower and took a look at the amount of water and food I had brought with me.
I plan to stay inside the tower for quite a while today. Besides gathering a large amount of minerals, I also intend to reach the 10th floor. At least the 9th floor. I'm not sure if I'll face the boss today.
I don't know if I'm ready.
'Two bottles full of water and a bag full of sandwiches I bought on the way. That should be enough to stay in there for a few hours. Maybe even a few days. I think I bought too much food.'
Speaking of which, I'm running out of money again.
I should start selling swords and armor soon.
'I can't keep asking Hephaestus for money.'
I took a few steps and entered the tower. Some people were entering with me, so I let them go ahead. They descended the spiral staircase, and I followed right behind. Finally, I reached the first floor.
I separated from the group, and it didn't take long before I encountered some monsters.
Goblins and kobolds. These are the monsters I've killed the most since arriving in this world, as I've only been exploring the first five floors every day. They appear in large numbers here.
Fortunately, they weren't very strong, and my agility was far superior thanks to my sword. Killing them wasn't difficult. Even the monsters on the fifth floor haven't been a problem for a long time.
That's why today I want to go deeper.
I opened the map and checked where the minerals were located. I continued walking through every path on the first floor, collecting all the minerals. I always do this. I take every mineral I find on the floor.
When I leave and re-enter the dungeon, the minerals will respawn.
And they always appear in the same places.
It's like a plant that you cut, and it grows back. As if there were mineral roots throughout the dungeon. It's incredible.
"First floor: Cleared," I said after finishing gathering all the minerals on the first floor.
In total, I collected 52 Mithril and 47 Orichalcum. Oh, and I also started receiving iron. Normally, iron is just a bonus.
Whenever I mine Mithril or Orichalcum, I also get some iron. Overall, I collected more than 100 iron minerals just from the first floor. Luckily, the system's inventory has plenty of space.
But something made me think… I didn't find any minerals besides these three.
"Could it be that there's no gold or other types of minerals here?" Well, maybe I'll start finding them in the future.
Then, I moved on to the second floor.
I did the same thing—killed monsters and cleared the floor, gathering all the minerals.
I repeated this process on the 3rd floor.
And the 4th floor.
When I reached the 5th floor, where I had previously defeated the first boss, the amount of ores decreased, but they were still present.
"I've been exploring non-stop for hours. I should take a break."
One of my water bottles was nearly empty.
I sat down, ate two sandwiches, and drank some water. I stayed there for about twenty minutes before gathering the motivation to continue exploring.
"I wonder if I'll start encountering different monsters from here on."
####
Upon reaching the 6th floor, I moved more cautiously while collecting minerals. I approached a red marker and crouched down.
[Do you wish to extract Orichalcum x6?]
"Yes."
[Orichalcum x6 has been added to your inventory]
[Points +20]
"Oh? I'm earning more points now. Is it because I passed the 5th floor? Maybe the deeper I go, the more points I'll gain! That's exciting."
Feeling quite motivated, I continued walking while collecting minerals and points. Several minutes passed without encountering a single monster. I expected the number of monsters here to be higher, but that didn't seem to be the case.
"Here." I crouched down to extract more minerals.
Step~~
Step~~
That's when I started hearing footsteps behind me.
A chill ran down my spine.
I quickly turned around, pointing my sword toward the sound.
The moment I raised my sword, I saw something black closing in on me in an instant. I felt a powerful impact against my weapon and was thrown backward. My hand went numb as I braced myself for the next attack.
I lifted my sword and prepared myself.
A loud sound echoed as my blade clashed against three long claws—each as sharp as a dagger.
Finally, I managed to calm down and take a good look at what was attacking me.
It was a humanoid monster, completely black from head to toe. It was as if its entire body was covered in dark magic, just like that sword had tried to do to me before. Its entire form was pure darkness.
It had two long arms that moved rapidly, and at the tips of those arms were three blade-like claws.
A single strike from those could slice me in half.
I took a few steps back, and the monster, which seemed more intelligent than the others, didn't attack immediately—it was calculating my next move.
I infused my sword with magic, and with speed beyond normal, I lunged at the monster. A frontal attack, without hesitation. My glowing blade sliced through the air, aiming directly for the creature's neck.
Even though my speed was extremely high, for some reason, my blade didn't hit.
It dodged!
Then, it was its turn to strike.
The monster swung both of its long arms simultaneously in an X-shaped motion. If I got hit, I would be sliced into multiple pieces. But fortunately, I could follow its movements.
Smirking, I tightened my grip on my sword.
"There's no way you're faster than me."
My speed is so high that it surprises even Tsubaki. It doesn't make sense.
"Maybe it's because I'm nervous?" My hand is shaking a little.
It must be because this is the first time I've encountered this monster… And it's strong—not weak.
"Alright, I'll finish you in three seconds," I said, and the monster seemed to understand my words, as it grew agitated.
"One." I kicked off the ground, instantly closing the distance between us.
"Two." I slid across the floor, its attack, and reached its back.
"Three." I spun my body and swung my sword as fast as I could, creating an arc of light that slashed through the monster's neck.
As I expected, I just needed to focus a little.
It wasn't that strong after all.
####
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Next chapters: Chapter 59 - Fight with the giant frog. / Chapter 60 - Simple Plan / Chapter 61 - Danger. / Chapter 62 - My leg! / Chapter 63 - Freya Familia. / Chapter 64 - I'll worry about you many times in the future. / Chapter 65 - New skill. / Chapter 66 - Items. / Chapter 67 - New hammer and rings.