ZhangYe
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Chapter 7 - Second floor.
🕑 Added 2025-04-05 01:08:10 +0000 UTCI went straight to Welf's shop, and when I got there, it was open. I felt relieved and stepped inside. As soon as I entered, I ran into Welf, who was organizing a few things in his shop.
When he saw me, he let out a sigh.
“So you're back. I thought you were dead. Glad to see you're okay.”
“I told you I’d be back. So, did you prepare a better sword for me? I told you before, didn’t I? I want a better sword.”
“What happened?” Welf noticed something was off and asked.
“I lost my sword and armor. Don’t ask how—I don’t want to talk about it.”
“What?” Welf couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “How does someone lose a sword and armor that fast? Be honest, you must’ve been robbed before even getting into the dungeon.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’m some idiot who’d let someone rob him?”
“...” Welf didn’t say anything at first. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “I didn’t prepare anything for you, but I’ve got some swords and armor you can check out. They’re more expensive than the last one.”
“I don’t care about the price. Oh, by the way, how about taking this as payment?”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few magic stones from my inventory. I had a lot of them.
Since all the magic stones and items my clone collects are automatically sent to my inventory, I’m loaded with this stuff.
When Welf saw the magic stones, he said,
“So you actually went into the dungeon… and made it out alive. That’s a surprise.”
“...”
“But why are you trying to pay me with this? Why don’t you take them to the Guild and get some money for them? I bet you’ve got a lot of items too.”
“I haven’t joined a Familia yet.”
“Still? What are you waiting for, you idiot?”
“I’m just not in the mood to join one right now. I need to think about it more.”
“Fine, fine. Come with me.”
Welf led me to the back of his shop and showed me some swords and armor. They all looked pretty similar, so I just picked one at random. I paid more than last time, but not enough to bother me.
I put the armor on right there, and Welf smiled.
“You look good in that armor.”
“Thanks.”
“Heading to the dungeon now?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a goal to reach.”
“Goal?”
“Better not to talk about it. See you later. I might come back to buy more stuff.”
“Right…” Welf looked at me with suspicion, and I left the shop.
It was time to level up my skill.
Name: Zane
Level: 4 (EXP: 375/400)
Rank: G
Clones: 1/1
Strength: 9
Endurance: 8
Agility: 8
Dexterity: 8
Magic: 8
Points: 14
####
I arrived at the dungeon and entered right away. Once I was alone on the first floor, I summoned my clone. He appeared wearing the same armor as me, holding a sword in his hand.
“Perfect. Now go hunt monsters. I need to level up fast.”
At my command, the clone took off running to hunt monsters.
I didn’t even bother to try hard myself—I knew my clone would kill enough monsters quickly. And just as I expected, system messages started popping up:
[ EXP +5 ]
[ EXP +5 ]
[ EXP +5 ]
He probably killed a group of three monsters. I opened my inventory and saw three new magic stones added, along with two items—from goblins.
‘I really need to figure out how to start selling this stuff. Otherwise, I’ll have to throw it away.’
My money isn’t infinite, so I’ll need to find a way to earn some. But without a Familia, that’s impossible.
Unless… I start selling things cheaper to other shops? I’m not sure if that would even work.
[ EXP +5 ]
“Just one more monster.”
As I waited eagerly for my clone’s next kill, a monster suddenly appeared behind me—a kobold. As it charged at me with empty hands, I laughed.
It’s like a rabid dog.
But a dog that isn’t scary.
The kobold leapt at me, but I easily plunged my sword into its stomach and killed it. Its body vanished into light particles, and a magic stone dropped on the ground along with an item.
I stored them in my inventory and received a system message:
[ You’ve reached Level 5! ]
[ +5 Points ]
[ All Stats +1 ]
"Yes! Leveled up again!"
I opened my status window and noticed I had 19 points, not 20.
“…I forgot… I needed 6 points, not 5…”
I let out a bitter laugh and looked at my level.
[ EXP +5 ]
[ EXP +5 ]
Level: 5 (EXP: 10/500)
“I need to earn 500 more EXP! Doing that on this floor is impossible—I need to kill stronger monsters. If I head down to the second floor, the EXP gain should increase, right?”
I left my clone farming on the first floor and headed to the second.
Once I get there, I’ll bring him down with me. He can keep farming for a while.
####
Some time passed and I reached the second floor. Even knowing it would be harder, I didn’t feel nervous. Actually, I was pretty confident! I felt like I could farm on this floor with no problem.
Maybe I could even handle the third floor!
I was just about to dismiss my clone and summon him again when suddenly, a monster ambushed me from behind a wall. It was like it had been hiding, waiting for a distraction to strike.
It caught me off guard, but I managed to dodge its attack.
It is a goblin.
I couldn’t tell any difference. It still looked weak.
So, I attacked!
My sword flew toward the goblin’s neck at high speed. It was holding a knife, probably stolen from an adventurer. The goblin blocked my attack, and the knife flew out of its hand.
I took the opportunity to swing my sword downwards, striking the middle of its head.
My blade sliced through its jaw and split its head in two.
The goblin died instantly.
[ EXP +10 ]
Just by reaching the second floor, the EXP gain increased by 5!
I should’ve come down here sooner!
