Pitch black darkness loomed over the entrance of the dungeon and when you look at it from the outside, it would seem as if this darkness was endless. And if you stare into the abyss long enough, it would stare back at you.
ーOr so how it should be according to novels.
But, all I see in front of me is a normal cavern with no eerie vives, no endless abyss, no nothing. The cavern also isn't deep enough that sunlight wouldn't reach it.
Is this even considered a dungeon? Well my 『Appraisal』did confirm it, but still... I guess there's only one way to find out.
Without any fear, hesitation, and whatnot, I entered the dungeon.
After entering the dungeon, one would already notice the amazing rock formations which looked like it took hundreds of millennia to form. And within the walls of the caves are a myriad of crystals and ores.
The moment I reached deep enough, the crystals started glowing in succession, creating a beautiful cascade of light before me.
I wonder what these crystals are.
「『Appraisal』」Grey
-----------------------------------
[〔Mineral〕]
[Name]Dungeon Torchstone
[Mana Capacity]450~
[Description]
A crystal typically found in dungeons. These crystals are the lightsource of the dungeons and will activate as soon as someone is within range. The crystals' color changes depending on the time of the day and is used by adventurers to tell the time.
-----------------------------------
It's basically a clock with a built-in lighting system, fantasy worlds sure are amazing. I wonder if I can pluck these ouー
Puchi Puchi Puchi
A squishy sound echoed throughout the whole dungeon and when I searched for the source of the sound... there it was, a staple monster in a fantasy world!
Often considered as the weakest of the weak in video games and anime alike, a monster whose purpose in existence is to serve as exp for players. A monster with a cute and squishy appearance...
It's a slime!
They really do exist, wow～. I wonder what they drop..
But before that, 『Appraisal』!
-----------------------------------
[〔Monster〕]
[Species]Slime
[Status]Healthy
[Type]Special
[Ability]Merge
[Mana Capacity]63 [Mana Quality]H
[Combat Power]4 [Threat Level]H
[Attribute]Null [Magic Control]0%
[Physical Enhancement]10%
[Corruptive Prowess]0
-----------------------------------
Ooohhh!! A combat power of 4!
Even children in Merusia have a combat power of 6, as expected of a slime! It's really weak! And as for me, I have a combat power of 10!!
Hahaha! Bow before me, you puny slime! Hahahahaー
Puchi Puchi Puchi
While I was having my monologue, the slime was approaching with all it's might but...
Wow, you're really slow aren't you? You barely moved a single meter, no wonder even kids are stronger than you.
Since combat power is exponential, even if my combat power is just two and a half times higher than a slime's, my overall strength would still be about 15 times higher than it.
The only problem with slimes is that they have an ability. But that ability is useless without other slimes around.
There's also this [Corruptive Prowess]. I wonder what it means,『Appraisal』.
-----------------------------------
[〔Attibute〕]
[Name]Corruptive Prowess
[Description]
Monsters are creatures born out of malevolent mana and as they wander through the world, they will destroy the world from the inside. Corruptive prowess is the monster's ability to disrupt the environment, where the higher it's value is, the faster and worse the disruption is.
-----------------------------------
I knew that monsters can disrupt the environment from my 『Memory』, but I didn't know that different monsters have different degrees of effects.
But the slime's corruptive prowess is 0 so that means they can't disrupt the environment. Slimes are really weak after all.
And since I know that I'm immensely more powerful than it, there's only one thing left to do.
「Come on, slime! You want a fight? Then I'll give you one!」Grey
Puchi Puchi Puchi
It was as if the dungeon became more quiet and the crickets started chirping the moment I said that line. And on top of that, I shouted those words with great vigor and with a chuunibyou pose.
It was a moment that I don't want to remember ever again! It was also the moment that I realized something.
Slimes are freaking slow!!!
Seriously, should I really be the one approaching the challenger!? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around!!
Extremely embarrassed by what I just did, I hastily approached the slime and vented out all my frustration into a single punch.
Damnit, it's all because of you!!
Before releasing the punch, a warm sensation flowed inside of my body and concentrated in my right fist.
The punch landed directly into the slime and blasted it into smithereens, The slime's body pieces scattered throughout the dungeon with no signs of life left in them.
Eh? Ehhh～!!!
What was that!? What did I just do!? I knew that I was immensely more powerful than that slime but I still shouldn't be able to finish it in one hit!
This doesn't make any senー unless...
「『Appraisal!』」Grey
-----------------------------------
[〔Anthronoid〕]
[Name]Grey Silverdrake
[Race]Human
[Sex]Male
[Age]13
[Status]Healthy
[Mana Capacity]144 [Mana Quality]H
[Combat Power]11 [Threat Level]H
[Attribute]Wind [Spell Proficiency]0%
[Class]Brawler [Art Proficiency]1%
[Physical Enhancement]10%
[Ability]『Memory』『Appraisal』『Storage』
-----------------------------------
Where is it? Where is it? There!
[Art Proficiency]1%
I knew it! It was magic!
And since my [Art Proficiency]went up then that means it's the power of a brawler!
Magic is amazing!
But what was that warm sensation I felt earlier? Was that the flow of mana? But since mana is basically energy that means some of my mana must have used up.
But... I couldn't really tell since my status only shows my mana capacity.
I wonder if it would work if I focus my appraisal on my current wellbeing? Hmm... let's give it a shot. 『Appraisal』.
-----------------------------------
[Name]Grey Silverdrake
[Status]Healthy
[Mana Capacity]144 / 144
-----------------------------------
Oh, it worked!
You're the best, Appraisal-sensei!
And now that I have confirmed my theory...
Puchi Puchi Puchi
... it's time for slaughter!
With great vigor, I destroyed slimes here and there without mercy. All it took was a single punch and they're dead. Sometimes, I almost feel pity for them.
Surprisingly, even though their own kin is one-sidedly slaughtered before them, none of them tried to escape. I don't think it's because they don't have eyes since they know where I am after all. I guess they only act on instinct, that or they're just insanely stupid to realize their powerlessness.
The slaughter continued and more slimes were sent to meet their creator.
It took me some time to realize, but I noticed that even though my mana was still fine, the same can't be said to my stamina. Since I need to approach a slime in order to kill it, fighting a large number of slimes would take quite a toll on my stamina.
Only if there's a way to hit them without moving, I would've done it alreaー wait there is way! A spell!
Wind... air... visualize the air being compressed into a tiny sphere...
Just like when releasing my punches, a warm sensation flowed into my palm and on top of it, air started to gather and condense into a tiny sphere like how visualized it.
Wahhh～ it really compressed to a tiny sphere. I was nervous that it would go wrong at first but thanks to the knowledge that got imprinted on my『Memory』, I managed to pull it off. Thank you, God! Thank you, Memory-sensei!
Now all that's left is to release it.
「"Air Bullet"!」Grey
The tiny sphere flew off like a real bullet and hit a slime about 10 meters away. The slime's body exploded like a balloon that was pricked by a needle and only remnants of what was once a slime was left.
That was amazing! It's just as powerful as my punches!
And like a kid who just got a new toy, I spammed "Air Bullet"here and there like a madman.
Armed with an iron fist and wind magic, the merciless massacre of slimes continued. Without resistance, each slime was wiped out of existence as if they were never there to begin with.
This day will be known in history as the "The Great Demise of the Slimes", but that's a story for another day.
After killing slimes continuously, I took a short break outside to restore my mana and had a long-awaited lunch.
When I went back in, just like the other time, the dungeon torchstones started glowing one by one until the whole dungeon was dimly lit.
I was waiting for slime to respawn when...
Kieeekk Kiek Kek Kieek
... another staple monster started spawning.
「『Appraisal』!」Grey
-----------------------------------
[〔Monster〕]
[Species]Goblin
[Status]Healthy
[Type]Warrior
[Mana Capacity]146 [Mana Quality]H
[Combat Power]10 [Threat Level]H
[Attribute]Null [Magic Control]0%
[Physical Enhancement]10%
[Corruptive Prowess]0
-----------------------------------
Goblins? Wasn't it supposed to be slimes?
I just walked out of the dungeon and when I came back, there were goblins alread... Oh, so that's how it works. It measures my combat power when I enter and spawns monsters that I can beat within my level.
Hahaha... it really is a dungeon designed for me to grow.
「Now, this is exciting.」Grey
I readied both my body and mind to battle, with my fist armed with a pair of platinum-colored gauntlets and my mana in full capacity, I started yet another massacre, only that this time, it's for goblins.
The massacre went on for a long time and before I knew it, it was nightfall already. I exited the dungeon, ate dinner, and used the tent God sent for shelter. The next morning, I entered the dungeon and did a repeat of yesterday.
This pattern went on for a long time with my enemies changing from kobolds to orcs then ogres and so on. There are times that I get injuries but nothing fatal yet since the dungeon despawns monsters when I sustain enough damage.
I was wondering where all the corpses that I killed went, but it turns out that monsters turn back into mana after getting killed. It sure was convenient since I won't need to clean up after.
After some time, I decided to build a proper house. I also hunted animals and foraged fruits and berries for food. The more days passed, the more I got used to living alone in the wild and surprisingly, the "Tips on how to survive in the wild" book set came in handy.
And just like that, a year and 9 months have passed since I came to this world.
During the time I lived in the forest, I noticed that my mind adapted to my body. I became more childlike and energetic like a teenager should be. I actually didn't think that having a young body would affect my mind, but I don't think it's a bad thing.
Well, for that year and 9 months that passed, that's about what I had observed and experienced.
Hmm... I should probably start talking about the present. I wouldn't be able to change the past anyways...
Currently, I am hiding inside a bush a few hundred meters from the dungeon, waiting to ambush my prey for today.
Buhiiiii Hngok Hngok
And here it is!
「"Wind Cutter"!」Grey
A thin blade of compressed wind emerged from my palm and lunged straight into the wild boar's neck, cutting it off cleanly.
「Yosh! Another great catch!」Grey
These past 1 year and 9 months, my strength has grown absurdly high. It was as if the me before was just an illusion.
「I really became stronger, I wonder how my status looks like now. It has been quite some time since I checked so... 『Appraisal』!」Grey
-----------------------------------
[〔Anthronoid〕]
[Name]Grey Silverdrake
[Race]Human
[Sex]Male
[Age]14
[Status]Healthy
[Mana Capacity]1,881 [Mana Quality]C
[Combat Power]2,439 [Threat Level]B
[Attribute]Wind [Spell Proficiency]62%
[Class]Brawler [Art Proficiency]59%
[Physical Enhancement]66%
[Ability]『Memory』『Appraisal』『Storage』
-----------------------------------
Yup, my strength is nothing to scoff at now.
From what I know from my 『Memory』, I should be ranked amongst the top 100 most powerful people in Merusia by now.
Now then, what should I do with this meaー
While pondering about what dish to prepare using the wild boar, a large shadow loomed over where I stood, as if a large cloud covered the sun.
「What the hecー Eh? Ehhh? Ehhhhhh!? What the heck is that!?」Grey
CHAPTER 3 END
***
Author's note:
For reference sake, here are the threat levels with their corresponding combat power minimum threshold.
H-rank = 1
G-rank = 20
F-rank = 50
E-rank = 100
D-rank = 250
C-rank = 500
B-rank = 1,000
A-rank = 2,500
S-rank = 5,000
Calamity Class = 10,000
Disaster Class = 20,000
Catastrophe Class = 50,000