When we reach 100 Power Stones, there will be a bonus chapter!
***
It all began with a small change. Or so I thought at the time. But now...
Out-of-control dungeon. Killer ant horde. Overflowing chaos.
It was all my fault.
It wasn't like I wished this to happen. It wasn't like I wanted things to end this way. But still, the truth doesn't change. Yes, it is my fault.
The dungeon was not what it was supposed to be. I knew from the moment I arrived in this world that everything hadn't gone as planned. I knew that.
The dungeon that everyone in this world knew, the same one they knew until a week ago, was now a much more dangerous maze. And that took me back to what I was doing before I came here. The changes I had made. It really shouldn't be that big of a deal. They were minor tweaks that I never thought would cause so much chaos. But what's done is done. I won't make excuses.
While the boss was beating the crap out of me, taking almost all of my HP, that fact kept screwing with my head. That boss shouldn't exist. This swarm shouldn't exist. Maybe from now on, there would be a lot of monsters that shouldn't exist.
None of this was supposed to happen.
Because I was the one who changed the rules of Genkai.
Because I... I had sacrificed something great. Something irreplaceable. And to get what I wanted, to achieve Apotheosis, I did what I had to do. To get something, you always have to sacrifice something else.
And that choice had altered the dungeon.
The point I'm getting at in telling you this is that, being buried in the stone wall with only about 20% of my HP was a consequence of my own actions.
A message flashed in my vision, pulling me out of my whirlwind of thoughts:
[An enemy threatening Eithan's life has been detected!]
[A Time-limited mission has been unleashed!]
―Mission―
Title: Fight Against Death
Type: Time-limited mission
Reward: Random Skill Rune.
Requirements: Survive and kill the "Lethal Ant" Miniboss.
---
...
"Ah, really?"
Shouldn't you at least give me a bonus?! Well, whatever.
Notifications always come at the worst possible time. A random skill rune... I should be happy, but with twenty percent HP, the last thing I want is a lottery.
In my last life, Gacha games made me so tired that just thinking about them made my head hurt. Still, I clung to that little spark of motivation because, honestly, it was better than nothing.
My fingers sank into the stone as I pushed my body out of the crevice. My muscles were so stiff that every movement felt like I was tearing myself from the grave, and for a second I wasn't so sure that wasn't exactly what it was.
With my vision blurred, all I could see was an angry red as I shook the dust off the rubble. I managed to focus my eyes forward.
It didn't matter if I saw them or not, with the strong smell of wet ants, it was enough to realize that there were dozens of them surrounding me.
I looked at my Chain Sword that was under one of the ants. I made a movement with my hand, and at the same time it disappeared from there and was projected between my fingers. From another perspective, it was as if the weapon materialized out of thin air.
Courtesy of inventory. I could store and retrieve items that belonged to me anytime and anywhere, even if they had been stolen from me.
Those useless facts aside, I downed a HP potion in one gulp. The taste was as horrible as ever, but the relief it brought was like a breath of fresh air after drowning. I wiped the corners of my lips with my sleeve, and for the first time in my life, I smiled at an enemy. Without fear.
"Let's see what my stats can do."
And I lunged forward.
Chain Sword came to life in my hand. Not literally, of course. I felt it more connected to my hand, as if it had been waiting for this moment. The blade sliced through the air with a sharp sound, spinning in a wide arc that hit the smaller ants with ease. Each time it spun, it ended with one of those things falling to the ground and turning to dust.
Ah! I forgot! My money!
Well... to hell with the money.
My high Perception allowed me to see every movement around me, as if the environment had slowed down for a moment. In that place―the direction of the ants' legs, the flicker of their bloodshot eyes, the sound of their mandibles―it was all information that my mind was processing as my body acted.
If I were in a video game, or at least had the ability to visualize it, I would see a lot of words above their heads right now: Critical hit!
I didn't miss a single one. Each hit penetrated where their exoskeletons couldn't protect, shattering their Magic Stones from underneath.
"Too easy, did someone lower the difficulty?"
Admittedly, I found it odd that a novice like me would be able to master such a difficult weapon like the chain sword so quickly. . But I wasn't going to delve into it at that time.
An ant lunged at me from the right, but before it could touch me, the chain wrapped around my waist and the blade plunged into its neck with a wet sound. But it wasn't all these insects. The real problem was in front of me.
The miniboss.
The monster let out a scream of rage that echoed off the dungeon walls, and threw a claw as big as my body at me. With less than 400 HP, I'd be finished if it connected.
But I wasn't here to be crushed this time. I twisted my body at the last second, and instead of dodging completely, I let the claw pass by my chest. I felt my body crumple under the blow, as if it were made of rubber, and used the momentum to my advantage. It threw me backwards, but not uncontrollably. I controlled the fall, rolling on the floor before leaping to my feet.
"Wow, that was quite a push! Umu. I feel like there's a deeper connection with my body. Is it because of my agility and dexterity that my movement flows more easily? It's a nice feeling."
I envied the level 2 adventurers a little. They should always feel this way. If I defeat this miniboss, will I be able to reach level 10?
Before the miniboss could even comprehend what had just happened, I lunged at it again. The chain sword created a dark blur between me and the monster. It struck its head with a heavy blow, and although it failed to pierce its thick exoskeleton, it distracted it enough to send it reeling to the side.
Just then, I saw a green bubbling jet shoot out of the miniboss' mouth. You've surprised me before. Not this time, big guy.
Dodging back and forth as if dancing between attacks, each drop of acid landed on the ground at my feet, melting stone and creating small craters.
Even I was surprised by the speed of my movements. I wished I could reach this Stat soon without the Title bonuses.
With each step, I swung the chain sword back and forth. No matter which way the sword moved, it claimed the lives of the smaller ants. The boss was still spitting acid, but its attacks were becoming more predictable.
Perhaps my ability to study attack patterns and quickly adapt to them was also due to my high Perception.
***
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