Chapter 4 - Loki is out of the question. (Patreon)

The moment I asked the System, a status screen appeared floating before my eyes, just like in a Korean manhwa or one of those Japanese stories with game-like systems.

I was amazed.

Level: 3

Strength (STR): C 645

Endurance (END): C 612

Dexterity (DEX): B 718

Agility (AGI): B 752

Magic (MAG): D 541

But the displayed status was incredibly... normal?

I knew how levels worked in Danmachi, and a Level 3 adventurer was considered strong, but still far from the level of a Level 4 or Level 5 adventurer.

The gap was huge.

'I can be considered strong, but not a high-level adventurer who have everyone's respect. Well, at least I didn't start from scratch. If I'd started at Level 1, things would have been difficult.'

As for the goblins, I had definitely overdone it, just as Tiona said.

"What are you doing staring into space? Let's go."

Tiona called out to me, and I noticed that the others had already moved ahead.

I quickened my pace and caught up with them while keeping my status screen open.

'My skills...'

[Calm Lv.1]

[Pugilist Lv.5]

[Kick Lv.6]

[Boost Lv.5]

'I don't have that many skills. As they said, I specialize in hand-to-hand combat. Pugilist and Kick prove that. But what exactly is this Boost skill?'

[Temporarily increases Strength and Agility.]

'Hm, I see. The higher the level, the stronger the effect.'

I closed my status screen and smiled.

Not bad at all.

And now, with the System, I could definitely become much stronger.

The problem was that, to grow stronger, I needed to "conquer" a Goddess...

But how was I supposed to do that?

I'm part of the Loki Familia, and trying to get close to that Goddess is completely out of the question.

Besides, she prefers women.

Actually, I think she only likes women. She's completely obsessed with Ais.

What a perverted goddess.

And of course, I can't force her into a relationship with me. That's disgusting, and it would go against the rules of this world.

'Even if I'm part of the Loki Familia, I'll have to pursue another Goddess.'

Well, maybe I can go after a "normal" women before I start targeting goddesses.

Perhaps I can still evolve by sleeping with "normal" women.

I'll think about that after leaving the Dungeon.

Right now, I need to focus.

####

I continued following the girls since I had no idea how to reach the second floor on my own.

They probably had every floor memorized.

Along the way, monsters appeared, but they killed all of them effortlessly.

They killed the monsters efficiently, without making a mess, and collected their magic stones.

Eventually, we reached the second floor.

Goblins and Kobolds still appeared here.

I don't think there are any other monsters on this floor besides those two.

After a while, I started feeling bored and asked,

"Can I lead and kill the monsters?

"Are you going to make another mess?" Tiona asked with a grin.

"I'm just bored and feel like having a little fun."

"Oh? That's unusual. You normally don't like putting in effort."

"Well, today I feel like having some fun."

I took a step forward after saying that.

The problem was that I had no idea where we were supposed to go.

So I immediately stepped back and said that I didn't like leading the group.

Still, I made one thing clear:

If any monsters appeared, I'd deal with them.

'Fortunately, my memory is really good, so I'll be able to build a map of the first and second floors in my head.'

A few minutes passed before monsters finally appeared.

But unlike what I expected, it wasn't a Goblin or a Kobold.

Instead, it was a large lizard-like monster with a sturdy appearance.

'I completely forgot about those monsters.'

Smiling, I cracked my knuckles.

"Alright, I'll make this quick."

The moment I said that, my body practically moved on its own.

I closed the distance and activated [Boost]

Then I threw a single punch.

Once again, I failed to properly control my strength.

The lizard was launched several meters through the air.

It slammed into a wall far ahead and died instantly.

I turned around.

All of them were looking at me.

Actually, they didn't seem to care all that much.

They simply continued walking as if nothing had happened.

I followed behind them.

And so, the exploration continued.

####

Pov: Third-Person

Ais's group advanced rapidly through the floors with Rui leading the way, killing practically every monster that appeared.

Tiona, who knew Rui better than anyone else, couldn't understand what she was seeing.

Rui wasn't someone who enjoyed fighting.

He never had.

Because of that, despite his enormous potential, he was still only Level 3.

He was the weakest adventurer in their group.

His lack of commitment had nearly gotten him expelled from the Familia by Loki herself.

The only reason it hadn't happened was because Tiona intervened, and even Ais had asked Loki not to do it.

'But now he's fighting with so much enthusiasm...' Tiona smiled.

It was the first time she had seen Rui smiling while fighting.

His body moved swiftly as he delivered precise punches and kicks, instantly killing monsters.

Since it had been so long since Tiona had paid close attention to Rui while he fought, she had forgotten just how graceful his movements were.

'Even though his movements are fast and he uses tremendous force, they're somehow... beautiful.'

'Maybe it's because Rui is so handsome?' Tiona thought as she felt her face growing warm.

She immediately coughed and pushed those unnecessary thoughts away.

"Alright, I'm done."

Rui looked back.

His eyes met Tiona's.

She froze for several seconds.

She only managed to breathe again after Rui looked away.

'His eyes... Why?'

Tiona took a deep breath.

Rui then picked up the magic stones from the ground and handed them to her.

Their hands touched.

Rui didn't seem to care.

Tiona, however, certainly did.

Tione noticed immediately and jabbed Tiona in the waist with her elbow.

"Ow!"

"Focus."

Her sister's voice was cold and direct.