Chapter 61.1

61 Part 1

Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~ 61

Let’s Step Into The 11th Floor!

The next day, Haruki and Karen went back to the 10th floor together.

It was Saturday, so Akane -Karen’s personal trainer- couldn’t leave the store.

It was a good chance.

Haruki took out the Status Board so as to answer some of the questions that had been floating on his head for some time.

“Hey, Karen. Was that magic from yesterday Thunder?”

“Umm… I guess so.”

“Since when have you been able to use it?”

“Not too long ago. I’ve been practicing a lot, though.”

“Hmm…”

Haruki rubbed his chin with his right hand.

He had thought it must’ve had something to do with her Divine Protection…

“Ever since that Divine Protection appeared, I’ve been able to use magic outside of the dungeon. So after trying several things out while at the hotel, I became able to use that lightning.”

“Ah, those are great news!”

Karen was now able to use magic outside. With that alone, the disadvantages of her magic were virtually eliminated.

That was indeed a wonderful change.

“So… Why did you show Akane your magic?”

“Ah, that…”

Karen seemed hesitant to answer Haruki’s question.

Something must have gone wrong.

Karen seemed distressed.

Then, she whispered into Haruki’s ear:

“Can we… just leave it as a secret?”

Something definitely happened.

Something that forced Karen, who never used her magic in public, to suddenly do so in front of someone else.

But that issue seemed to have been long forgotten and forgiven.

Still, if she were to begin to explain what happened, she might be reminded of that problem.

That’s why she preferred to keep silent.

Haruki made a wild guess judging from Karen’s bitter smile.

There was no need to press her any further.

“Got it.”

Haruki nodded, deciding not to pry into the matter anymore.

Even if they are fellow team members, that doesn’t mean they need to tell each other everything.

It was okay to keep a few secrets.

Haruki swiped on his Skill Board, displaying Karen’s tree.

Kurosaki Karen (18)　Gender: Female

Skill Points: 4

Class: Hammer-wielding Spirit Master

Divine Protection: Human One <?????>

－Vitality

Stamina 1

Natural Recovery 1

－Strength

Strength 1

－Magic Power

Magic Power 3

Magic Compatibility 2

Magic Manipulation 3

Change <Thunder> 0 → 1 　NEW

－Agility

Quickness 0

Dexterity 1 → 2

－Technology

Equipment Mastery

Blunt Weapons 1

Light Armor 1

－Intuition

Detection 1

－Special

Luck 1

Divine Protection 1

“Oh… So it did change.”

With that, Karen’s magic was confirmed to be Thunder.

The name of the skill “Change” must be so because the magic changes into thunder when using it.

“By the way, Karen. Increasing your Divine Protection will make you stronger. Shall I do that for you?”

“Is that so…?”

Karen’s eyes were opened wide in surprise.

However…

“I’m sorry, but could I stay like this for a while longer?”

Haruki had expected her to agree, but her refusal had confused him.

“Can I ask you why?”

“I’d just like to get stronger by myself, by using my own power, at least for a bit. Though I might end up asking you to take care of it with that Skill Board of yours sooner than later…”

“But if I use my Board, you’ll get stronger instantly.”

“I’ll never know how hard it would be to get that much power through effort if I don’t actually make an effort to grow stronger myself. Besides, if I get too comfortable now, I won’t be able to make that effort later. It might be too late for that then.”

The light in Karen’s eyes shone stronger than ever.

Seeing that, Haruki nodded once again.

“I see.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t worry about it. Just let me know if you ever want me to increase your skills.”

“Thanks!”

She had truly changed.

She wanted to grow stronger by herself, through her own efforts.

That being said, her eagerness for leveling up hadn’t changed at all.

What had changed was how she pursued that strength.

Did she change after fighting together against the 9th floor’s boss?

Or was it because Akane had made her a sponsor candidate?

By increasing her Divine Protection score with the Skill Board, Karen would undoubtedly become way stronger.

That would be the shortest route to do it, too.

But the experience of being cornered or having a great obstacle in front of you is also very useful.

That way, you will never misunderstand how much power you truly have.

Though Karen’s reply was unexpected, her intention was more than welcome.

Haruki received her determination with a smile.

“Well then, let’s see those efforts of yours at once! Come on!”

“–Eeek!”

Karen squealed from the back of her throat as Haruki moved about swiftly while having Rhea shoot her potato bullets at the oncoming army of spoon worms.

Even so, she still seemed to be able to use her magic in rapid succession, unable to run away because of Haruki being there.

Haruki was fundamentally stronger than Karen. Even so, the one who ended up dealing with the most spoon worms was her.

Walking together with Karen, who still had tears across her face, Haruki looked for the stairs leading to the 11th floor.

The location of the stairs varies from dungeon to dungeon.

They could be near a wall, or in the center of the floor.

Besides, not all floors in a dungeon are a single huge room.

After all, even in middle-tier dungeons such as this one, the best way to go through its floors was by mapping them.

Haruki expected the stairs to be close to the walls, so he hugged them as he searched for them, but couldn’t find them.

It seemed that the stairs going down were somewhere else on the floor.

Since the vegetation was rather thick, he couldn’t just try to see the stairs from a distance.

Haruki went on walking through the tall grass, which reached as high as his waist.

As he carried on while defeating more spoon worms, he ended up finding a huge spoon worm under a big tree.

It was about 5 meters long.

And approximately 1 meter wide.

“It’s almost like a boss, huh?”

“Phew…”

Karen felt discouraged as soon as she saw that monster.

She didn’t want to see another spoon worm.

She even almost complained about it.

Karen had worked very hard so far.

Haruki decided to give her a rest and take care of the boss by himself.