Chapter 5 OOG Vol. 1 Chapter 2 Part 3

The other F-class dungeon was in a forest a little ways away from the town.

Following the marks carved into trees, I found a giant tree that looked like multiple trees twisted together, with a large hollow opening in its trunk. It was a strange sight, but apparently, all dungeon entrances are like that.

Several parties should be here as well, but there was no sign of the early group. I checked my equipment and entered the dungeon.

The walls of the dungeon had a bark-like texture, unlike the Boulder Dungeon. It’s interesting how the texture changes depending on the location.

Proceeding along the route according to the map, my [Presence Sense] reacted. There was a loud buzzing sound, so it was likely a ‘Killer Bee,’ one of the trash mobs of this dungeon.

What appeared was a large bee about the size of a crow. At the tip of its abdomen shone a needle with a barb, looking painful just to look at.

Upon confirming me, it swayed slightly left and right, then flew straight toward me. It obviously intended to sting its prey with that needle.

Squish!

However, my [Kinetic Vision], [Reflexes], and [Agility] skills handled the movement with ease. I slammed my mace into it as a counter, and the Killer Bee was blown away in pieces.

“Its movement is fast, but it’s just F-class after all.”

What dropped was a magic stone and an object that looked like a swollen water balloon. When I lifted it, there was liquid inside. Surprisingly, it was honey. In this world, sweets are actually quite developed.

I put the honey-filled water balloon into a dedicated bag and walked deeper into the dungeon.

In the end, I advanced to the fourth floor above ground and turned back today (the Giant Tree Dungeon was the climbing type).

As for trash mobs, besides the Killer Bee, a giant mantis called a ‘Killer Mantis’ appeared.

Its fast scythe attacks were annoying and I struggled a bit, but once I realized it was an easy win if I broke its scythes with a counter when it attacked, it turned into trash just the same.

In any case, even though it’s the same F-class, the Giant Tree Dungeon seems to be slightly higher difficulty than the Boulder Dungeon. If skills like [Reflexes] aren’t developed, one would probably struggle.

“Okuno-san, you started the Forest Dungeon today?”

When I asked for a buyout at the Guild, Kisara confirmed upon seeing the honey bags lined up on the table.

“Yes, I want to obtain many special skills as early as possible.”

“I understand that, but isn’t it too soon to go to the next one? And haven’t you been going without rest?”

“Ah, well, that is true, but…”

Watching Keim and his group, they seem to operate on a schedule of one day in the dungeon, two days off.

Since it’s life-threatening manual labor, that’s probably normal, but honestly, I have nothing else to do, and getting stronger is my anti-aging measure, so I end up going to the dungeon.

Still, I don’t really understand why I don’t have a sense of aversion to life-threatening combat…

“But if you’re seeking power that much, once you clear the Forest Dungeon, you’ll go to another town, won’t you? That’s a little sad.”

“Thank you. Well, that’s still a ways off. Besides, once I become D-rank, I’ll probably come back.”

“Ah, that’s right. But for that, you first have to rise to E-rank. Actually, you’re almost there, so please do your best.”

Mm, being told that makes me want to go boss hunting tomorrow. Kisara probably didn’t think her encouragement would result in provoking me.

The next day, I dove into the Giant Tree Dungeon again.

When I climbed to the fourth floor, I encountered a trash mob I hadn’t seen yesterday, the ‘Killer Worm.’

It was an earthworm-type monster, three meters long and about twenty centimeters thick. At its tip, a mouth with teeth lined up in a circle opened—gross enough to make some people faint just by looking at it.

It inched closer slowly, then momentarily compressed its body to about half size before leaping out, extending rapidly.

Of course, movement of that level could be handled easily with my [Kinetic Vision] and [Reflexes] skills.

I dodged instantly, regained my stance, and crushed the middle of its torso with my mace.

Gyuuu!

The Killer Worm let out a cry. Before its head could turn back toward me, I smashed it, mouth and all, with my mace. The Killer Worm lost its strength and was sucked into the dungeon floor.

I collected the remaining magic stone and a fist-sized lump of metal. Why does an earthworm drop metal? Thinking about it surely wouldn’t yield an answer.

When I climbed to the fifth floor, two Killer Worms started appearing at the same time, but as long as I maneuvered well to make it one-on-one, there was no problem. If I circled into their blind spot and crushed their torso, they weakened blatantly, so for a party, they would likely be an easy win.

So, after all that, I arrived in front of a large wooden door. Needless to say, the boss room was beyond.

“Don’t tell me it’s another Rare Boss…”

I started to say “No way,” but stopped because it felt like I was setting a flag. I didn’t think I had that much good (or bad) luck, but superstitiousness is important in battle.

I checked my equipment and opened the door. The inside was the same as the Boulder Dungeon, a boss room about the size of a basketball court.

The door closed behind me, and black mist welled up in the back. Up to here was the same as before but… isn’t there a lot of mist?

From within the mist, which was double the amount of last time, appeared a Killer Bee with a torso the size of a medium-sized dog—commonly known as a ‘Killer Bee Soldier.’ Of course, it wasn’t a rare boss but a normal boss, but…

“Why are there two of them?”

Yes, what appeared were two Killer Bee Soldiers.

I hadn’t heard anything about this. Does that mean this might be a first, too?

“Anyway, I have no choice but to do it.”

I dropped my backpack and readied my mace and buckler.

The number had doubled, but the boss itself was normal. The attack method should be as per the information.

As I slowly closed the distance, the two Killer Bee Soldiers split left and right, each taking distance from me. Then, both of them arched their abdomens high and swung them down vigorously.

Hyun!

With a cutting wind sound, poison needles from their abdomens flew toward me. A projectile weapon designed to kill first-timers.

I leaped sideways to dodge and immediately closed in on one Killer Bee Soldier. I knew they couldn’t rapid-fire.

However, catching a Killer Bee Soldier that was focused on evasion was difficult. My mace cut through the air repeatedly, and in that time, the poison needle in the Killer Bee Soldier’s abdomen was reloaded.

The second poison needle attack. I dodged this easily too. Since the firing motion was large, honestly, it wasn’t much of a threat once you knew the timing. It’s just that my attacks weren’t hitting either.

Dodge the needle. Mace cuts air. Dodge the needle. Mace cuts air.

Did we repeat this seven or eight times? This is no good; it’s going to be an infinite loop.

“If they came for a direct attack like normal Killer Bees, I could counter them.”

Just as I grumbled that, I had a flash of inspiration. If they won’t come, I just have to force a counter myself.

I looked and saw they had just completed reloading their poison needles. They should retreat to fire again.

I aimed at one and slowly closed the distance. The Killer Bee Soldier raised its abdomen. Now. I dashed furiously. They become defenseless the moment they fire the needle, so I aimed for that.

The Killer Bee Soldier swung its abdomen. The needle flew. My buckler deflected it. And my mace… cut through the air.

“Ugh!”

A needle was stuck in my thigh. Because of that, my step-in was dulled for a split second.

Did the other Killer Bee Soldier read my movements? Otherwise, it couldn’t have hit.

I forcibly pulled out the needle, which was about as thick as a pencil. Pain welled up from my thigh. So this is the poison.

I fumbled for the pouch at my waist. Naturally, I had an antidote potion ready. But at that moment, the two Killer Bee Soldiers approached rapidly. The grating clicking sound was coming from their giant mandibles.

—They saw a chance to win and came to bite. Annoying bastards.

My vision turned red. Blood? No, wrong. This is… the [Excitement] skill?

“Oooooh!”

Screaming, I swung my mace down on one Killer Bee Soldier. Its head shattered as if it had exploded.

In that opening, the other one bit into my right arm. Tremendous biting force. A level that crushes not just meat but bone.

“Get crushed, you bug!”

I didn’t try to pull my arm out; instead, I forcibly pushed it in. I slammed the Killer Bee Soldier onto the floor just like that. Again and again, until its head was flattened and crushed.

When I came to, the two Killer Bee Soldiers had disappeared into the dungeon floor, leaving behind only magic stones and bags filled with high-grade honey.

“Hah… whew… [Excitement] skill is amazing.”

It seems I was shouting things the normal me would absolutely never say… but if I was excited, it can’t be helped.

I felt languor and chills throughout my body and hurriedly downed the antidote potion. The wounds on my arm and thigh were already starting to regenerate.

“Now then, since it was an irregularity, I assume I’ll get a good skill.”

Standing there for a while, I felt the sensation of knowledge entering my brain.

“Let’s see… this is the [Stability] skill, huh.”

The rarity isn’t that high, but it’s a skill I was curious about. Apparently, it’s a skill that stabilizes your footing while ignoring the laws of physics.

However, for all that trouble, it feels kind of ordinary… Just as I thought that, knowledge slipped into my brain again.

“[Steel Body] skill… I didn’t expect to get two special skills at once. This is lucky.”

[Steel Body], as the name suggests, is a skill that makes the body tough like steel. It’s easy to understand if you say ‘defense up.’ The rarity here is decent too, but I’m grateful that, along with [Regeneration], it enhances my survivability.

I collected the materials and left the Giant Tree Dungeon in high spirits. Of course, it goes without saying that I trained happily with the remaining time.