The Level-Up Junkie Gets Frustrated

"Phew~…"

I scooped up the magic stones the Thief and Warrior had left, dropped them into the rucksack, and let out a long breath.

Beat them.

Without taking a single hit, on top of that.

Burning 4 《HP》 on 《Battle Aura》 isn't great for round-trip efficiency, but 《HP》 recovers over time — call it within tolerances.

Once I'd settled, I pulled up the Status to check the EXP I'd just gained.

That single fight had netted me… 200 EXP.

EXP from monsters works out by the following formula:

Race-EXP × Level × Class Modifier = EXP gained

Race-EXP is 10 for Goblins, 5 for Slimes. For Normal Goblins, you just multiply by Level. Monsters with a specific class on top — Thief, Warrior, etc. — also get a Class Modifier multiplied in.

The Thief and Warrior I just fought were probably both Lv.4. So:

• Thief: 10 × 4 × 2 = 80
• Warrior: 10 × 4 × 3 = 120

On Floor 2, even a 3-Goblin pack maxed out around 70 EXP per fight. Down here on Floor 3, two Goblins net you that. The grind efficiency is a different game.

Granted, the Goblins are correspondingly stronger… but the bigger reason for the result is that I'm stronger.

According to the Modern Dungeon Strategy Wiki, the recommended level for Floor 3 is 7–8. Provided you're in a Party with at least as many people as the enemy, mind.

I don't know what the recommended level is for solo, but at least against a 2-pack, I'm clearly past it. Probably. I think.

"Bit nervous about what happens when I do eat a hit… eh, I should be fine."

Plus, I didn't take damage in that one, so we're cruising, gahaha!

I pressed on, hunting more EXP.

●○●

"— that was close!! I really almost died…!!"

The staircase between Floor 2 and Floor 3.

I retreated all the way back to that safe zone, shoulders heaving, breath in a mess, and let out the words.

What? What happened, you ask?

Goblins! A pack of Goblins!!

Some time after the last fight, I'd run into a 3-pack. Composition: one Thief, one Warrior, one Swordsman.

I beat them. Just. Burned 8 《HP》 on 《Battle Aura》 and ate a hit from the Swordsman, but I won.

When the sword carved across my torso I really thought ohh I'm dead for an instant — but it turned out the blade only got through clothes and skin, and didn't reach the muscle.

A Lv.4 Goblin Swordsman's 《STR》 is, frankly, on par with a top-tier athlete's. And it has actual swordsman's technique on top. Even with that crude blade, a hit like that should normally have my organs on the floor.

But my belly isn't that catastrophically wounded.

Why? It has to be the effect of 《HP》 and 《VIT》. As long as you've got 《HP》, damage to your body is mitigated using your 《VIT》 and 《MND》 values.

The annoying part is — 《HP》 doesn't take the damage on your body's behalf in full. It mitigates.

Meaning: if you out-damage your target the way I did with the Thief and Warrior earlier, you can drop them in one stroke. And conversely, even if your 《HP》 still has a buffer left, take a hit to a vital point — say, the neck — and you can absolutely still die from blood loss.

Anyway, my current HP:

《HP》16 / 45

《Battle Aura》 had cost me 12 of those. Subtract that and remaining HP would be 33. I only ate one hit, the Swordsman's. So damage was 17.

I wasn't really able to defend against it, so maybe it counted as a critical.

The Swordsman's also the highest-damage monster on this floor.

Even granting all that, it's bad. My base 《VIT》 is low, but with 《Battle Aura》 it'd been bumped to 21.

One more level.

If I level up just one more time, this should get much easier.

In the low-level / low-stats range, damage-multiplier skills give a bigger payoff — which is why I'd been prioritising 《Goblin Killer》 — but right now I'd be better off raising 《Battle Aura》.

I have a feeling that with higher AGI, I'll start being able to dodge the hits.

"Damn it, was solo a reckless call after all…!?"

Frustrated, I peeled off the leather breastplate and pulled off my shirt. I dug out the disinfectant I'd had the foresight to pack, sterilised the wound on my flank, then dressed it with the gauze and bandages I'd packed for the same reason.

Got the shirt and breastplate back on, sat on the staircase, and took an early lunch.

I worked through six convenience-store rice balls, washed down with tea, and rested for an hour. 《HP》 had recovered most of the way back.

《HP》39 / 45

"4-packs, I run. And… maybe 《Berserk》 is overkill."

I'd thought it through during the break: if I hadn't used 《Berserk》, the damage I took would've been a touch lower. And 《Battle Aura》 alone bumps 《STR》 to 42 — plenty.

With damage-multiplier skills layered in, 《Battle Aura》 alone should be enough to one-shot…

"Right… let's give it another go."

I shook it off and went back to fighting on Floor 3.

●○●

Cautiously, holding my breath, I explored Floor 3.

Encounters of four — I ran. Even without 《Battle Aura》 my AGI is now past what a Thief can keep up with, so getting away wasn't difficult.

Two — no problem. As predicted, I could one-shot them with just 《Battle Aura》 — no 《Berserk》 — and take no hits.

The problem was three.

The Swordsman has the highest raw damage, but the Warrior is the real headache. Having your hits stopped by a shield is just a pain. And worse — bog down on the Warrior, and the other Goblins flank you and start landing hits.

So you have to do what I did the first time: knock the Warrior away on the opening exchange, then kill the Thief or the Swordsman in the gap.

Except — while you're killing one, the other one will get a hit on you.

Smart positioning only does so much. The Goblins on this floor know how to fight in a unit. They'll always surround, or work around to your back. Solo, I don't have a way to stop them landing hits.

So I committed: I'd take one hit, every fight, and accept it.

In practice, after eating that Swordsman strike, I'd learned: as long as 《HP》 has plenty of headroom, a non-vital hit isn't likely to be lethal. The HP barrier holds.

The Swordsman's hits are too painful to absorb on purpose, though — so if I'm taking one, it'll be from the Thief or, failing that, the Warrior.

Every 3-pack has at least one Warrior. Knock the Warrior away first; if there's a Swordsman, kill it on the opening tempo.

Roughly that beat is when the third one's hit lands. From a Thief, with good vital-point evasion, max damage 6. From a Warrior, max 10.

After eating that hit, knock the attacker back, knock the re-charging Warrior away again, kill whichever of Thief-or-second-Warrior is still up in that gap, then finish off the last Warrior.

On 3-packs with two Swordsmen, I run.

End result: HP burn per 3-pack fight, around 20.

But every fight, I have to retreat to the stairs to bandage and recover.

Combat count is way down compared to yesterday. Two-pack streaks are great, but a single 3-pack costs me an hour of forced rest.

I considered just going only after 2-packs and running from everything else, but that doesn't work either.

Run too many times in a maze-like Dungeon and your odds of getting lost climb fast. I couldn't get far from the staircase anymore.

Yesterday, I'd been averaging eight encounters an hour. Today: one or two an hour, on average (escapes don't count).

Compared to the EXP per fight, the time efficiency is dismal.

But I didn't go back to Floor 2. Even at this terrible pace, EXP per hour on Floor 3 was just edging Floor 2 out.

Doesn't make the frustration go away.

The amount of EXP I'm getting nowhere near offsets the stress this is putting me through.

The Mr Goblins I used to love so much — I might be starting to hate them.

Probably because of all the cuts and nicks, today's stamina also tapped out around 4 p.m. I went up to Floor 1 to recover 《HP》, then went home.

Didn't level up today.

————————————————————————

【Level】『9』   To next level: EXP 『7,265』

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Like this, I can't even get high…