The Level-Up Junkie Takes On Floor 3

[Author's foreword: Chapter 12 is short, so today's update is a double — this is the second. Please don't skip it.]

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March 20.

Today, like every day, I'd come to Shinjuku Dungeon first thing in the morning.

People had probably been watching that older brother's stream — even in the changing room, while I was getting kitted out, I caught odd looks. But no one actually spoke to me. I changed into Dungeon gear and went down to Floor 1.

"Travel time might be heavy today — let me hustle a bit."

I muttered, pulled up the Modern Dungeon Strategy Wiki's Shinjuku Dungeon map on my phone, and broke into a half-jog along the shortest path.

On the way, dropping the usual run of Slimes and Goblins, I made it to the staircase down to Floor 3 in about two hours.

Even running into Floor 2 Goblin packs gave me no trouble today.

It really seems the Skills I picked up and levelled at the end of yesterday are doing the heavy lifting.

《Battle Aura》 burns 《HP》, so I only used it once — but just boosting three stats including 《STR》 is huge.

Bigger than that, though — in Shinjuku Dungeon, where Goblins dominate, 《Goblin Killer》 hit like a truck.

Unconditional ×1.6 damage, after all. With Lv.9 stats on top, I could just bull the sword down through their cudgels and end them in a single stroke.

By now, even a three-pack of Floor 2 Goblins isn't going to land a hit on me.

But — that's also exactly why I'm done with Floor 2. With Tutorial behind me, Floor 2 monsters give way too little EXP.

"Right… should be fine. With my current stats, Floor 3 monsters should also go down…!!"

I stopped at the Floor 3 staircase and swallowed.

Tense, of course — might die is on the table.

When I went from Floor 1 to Floor 2, monster levels rose and the spawn-count per encounter went up. Combat difficulty took a real jump.

Same is true going Floor 2 to Floor 3.

In modern Dungeons, monster strength and combat difficulty change a lot per floor.

Specifically, here in Shinjuku Dungeon Floor 3: monsters are Lv.4–5, and encounter packs are 2 to 4.

Slimes and Goblins stop spawning. New monsters take their place.

…well — those new monsters are still Goblin-type.

Goblin Thieves, Goblin Swordsmen, Goblin Warriors.

Unlike the Normal Goblins so far, these are higher-tier Goblin variants. And every single one of them — carries blades.

I shouldn't have to spell out the danger.

Compared to fighting Goblins armed with crude cudgels, fighting enemies with bladed weapons dramatically raises both your odds of getting badly hurt and your odds of dying.

— A shudder ran through me.

Fear — of dying.

"Should I really push on…? Wouldn't I be better off staying on Floor 2 a bit longer, even if it's slower…?"

I went back and forth with myself.

Weighed it up internally.

Safety. Versus mountains of EXP.

BAM!!!

"Right, in we go!"

EXP wins!

I stepped forward, onto the staircase down to Floor 3.

●○●

Not far down the corridor on Floor 3, I spotted a moving silhouette in the dim distance.

Part of the silhouette caught the light from a wall candle and gleamed.

Mr Goblins. Two of them.

Even I wasn't going to do my usual cheery "Mr Goblin~!" charge here.

I drew my sword from the sheath in silence.

Whether it was the snick of the draw or the glint reflecting from the blade that caught their attention, the Goblins clocked me.

"……" "……"

The two Goblins quietly fixed their eyes on me.

No bloodlust-soaked war cries like the Floor 1 and Floor 2 Goblins. It wasn't that there was no killing intent — the moment their eyes settled on me, every hair on my arms rose, and a chill ran straight through me.

Quiet killing intent.

This might be the air a battle-hardened soldier carries when he's about to kill an enemy. A coiled, oppressive intent that wraps around you and locks your body up.

These two had bigger frames than the Normal Goblins so far.

If a Normal Goblin is the height of a younger primary-schooler, these were taller — older primary-schoolers, maybe.

One held a knife; the other a one-handed sword and a shield. They were also wearing leather breastplates.

Goblin Thief. Goblin Warrior.

The two of them slid into a quiet run. Warrior in front; Thief tucked behind it. Formation.

The whole shape of it was nothing like the Normal Goblins. If a Normal Goblin is an amateur whose only edge is bloodlust, these were trained soldiers.

Killing intent under perfect control.

"Bring it…!!"

No room to be careless with opponents like this.

I activated two Skills from the start — bring everything to bear.

《Berserk Lv.1》 and 《Battle Aura Lv.2》.

A 《Battle Aura》 thing: the moment it activates, a red aura pours off your whole body, and 《HP》 drops 2 in that instant. In return, three stats rise.

————————————————————————

《STR》48 (+18)

《VIT》21 (+6)

《INT》5 (-1)

《MND》12

《AGI》38 (+11)

《DEX》19

————————————————————————

Worth noting: when stat-boost Skills overlap, the boosts add.

Specifically here, both 《Berserk》 and 《Battle Aura》 are buffing 《STR》 — but the calculation isn't 1.2 × 1.4. It's +20% + +40% = +60%.

Anyway — my stats with 《Berserk》 and 《Battle Aura》 stacked, as above.

"Hngh —!!"

Riding the burst of agility, I lunged at the front Goblin Warrior.

Both of us were closing distance, and both were moving at a speed beyond what an ordinary human can manage. I had the Warrior in sword range almost instantly.

Carrying the full momentum of the run, I brought the sword down.

DOGAN!!

A monstrous impact rang out.

"GUGAH!?"

The Warrior had, of course, raised its shield to take my swing — but the impact picked it up off its feet and threw it.

In the same instant, the Thief, trailing behind it like a shadow, burst out from cover with the knife levelled at me.

Fast. Goblin Thieves are AGI-and-DEX specialists. The me of yesterday morning wouldn't have been able to react.

But —

"I see it!!"

AGI 38 isn't just a number.

The Thief's knife was coming for my throat. I caught it with the sword on the way up —

"EXP-haaa!!"

"!?"

— and brought the same sword crashing down with everything I had.

Two Skills here — 《Bladed Weapon Damage Up Lv.Max》 and 《Goblin Killer Lv.3》 — unlike the stat-boost ones, when they overlap, damage multipliers compound.

So that's ×2.0 × ×1.6 = ×3.2 damage.

A ×3.2 strike off STR 48 cleaved cleanly through the Goblin Thief — leather breastplate and all — in a single kesa-giri slash.

"GUGAH!"

"Tch!!"

But "Thief down" doesn't buy you a breath. The Warrior I'd thrown earlier had closed back in during the Thief fight, and was now stabbing at me with the one-handed sword.

I leapt backwards to dodge, landed, recovered my stance, and faced him.

The Warrior showed not a flicker of disturbance at his partner's death. He kept the round shield extended in front, body hidden behind it, and started inching the distance shut — measured, methodical.

I'd assumed dropping to one enemy would make this easier. It absolutely was not. With a shield held that solidly, you can feel how hard it'll be to break.

"— !?"

— And: ten seconds had passed since combat opened, and 《Battle Aura》 ticked, taking another 2 《HP》.

Dragging this out is bad strategy.

I made up my mind, raised the sword, and charged.

"OOOOOOOOH!!!"

"——"

With a battle yell, I brought the sword down on the braced shield.

Steeling for the impact, the Warrior dropped his hips and flexed every muscle in his body.

— Tap.

"!?"

He'd been bracing for a heavy strike like the first one. Instead, the absurdly light tap froze his expression. A single instant of mental blank. The force he'd locked into his joints to absorb a blow was now slowing his reaction.

I slipped past his side, came around behind him, and as he was finally turning to face me — I swept the sword across his neck with everything I had.

The Goblin's head went into the air.