Chapter 155

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Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~ 155

Let’s Feel the Real Value of Skills!

“…I didn’t realize.”

Haruki hadn’t realized precisely because he had let his guard down.

Even then, he was still inside the dungeon, so to some extent he had still been on alert.

The monster was simply able to erase its own presence to the point where it managed to bypass Haruki’s vigilance.

“…I see, so it’s an owl.”

The monster that had been cut in half by a single blow of Van’s ax was a huge owl-like monster.

Taking its wings into account, it was larger than Haruki in size.

It had the same “eyebrows” that the regular owls that live in Hokkaido had, and also had a striped pattern on its body.

“It looks like a Blakiston’s fish owl, right?”

“Its official name is Bloody Owl.”

“Ah! So this is the rumored…”

“Do you know about this monster, Karaboshi?”

“Yeah. It’s a formidable monster I once read about in a forum post.”

Bloody Owl was an outstandingly stealthy monster.

Hiding in the forest, it would silently approach and attack unsuspecting adventurers.

Its high stealth ability was thanks to the structure of its wings.

Its wings were built in such a way that they reduced wind noise to almost zero.

The owls found in nature were so good at hunting by surprise attacks that they were normally referred to as “the forest’s hunters”.

This monster was named Bloody Owl after one ended up being completely dyed red with the blood of an adventurer it attacked.

“It’s unlikely, but it can also attack by shooting its feathers…”

Haruki noticed that he had been speaking a lot so far, and immediately focused on increasing the range and accuracy of his Detection skill.

As he began to pay attention to it, he noticed that there were signs of several Bloody Owls scattered all over the forest.

In the first place, Van could feel its presence even with his Detection skill level of 1.

And even then, Haruki hadn’t noticed it had been there with his own level 5 Detection skill.

So why was Van able to realize the Bloody Owl was there before Haruki?

Almost as if he could read that question written in Haruki’s head…

“…It’s a highly dangerous place. Don’t let your guard down.”

“…Umm, a highly dangerous place?”

“Yeah…”

Haruki understood what Van was trying to say from his few words.

So that’s it.

The reason why he noticed it and I didn’t was a matter of fundamental experience.

Haruki had been an adventurer for 4 months.

On the other hand, Van had been an adventurer for about 4 or 5 years.

Van was overwhelmingly more experienced with being constantly vigilant while in a dungeon.

By accumulating experience on enemies’ attacks, it would be possible to roughly predict when and where from an attack would come.

(Advanced adventurers are really something else…)

That was the sheer ability that came with the experience of an advanced adventurer, which couldn’t be measured by “skill” alone.

Just as it took time for Karen to control her magic, and for Haruki to control his energy.

Even if a skill’s level was high, whether or not the skill could be handled to perfection in the first place was a completely different matter.

It was dangerous to judge one’s strength based on skill level alone.

Haruki carved this event into his chest as a lesson.

(Though…)

At the same time, Haruki felt a sudden question appear in his head.

(How come someone as amazing as him could consider himself weak?)

He didn’t have a Divine Protection nor a Safeguard.

Not having any of those skills could make one feel a difference in strength compared to others who do have either.

But to Haruki, Van looked like an adventurer strong enough to fight on the front lines.

(I’m not getting anywhere with this…)

It didn’t seem to be a matter of simply manifesting a Divine Protection or a Safeguard.

What exactly was the strength that Van was after?

Haruki had no idea at all.

＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊

Ever since he got that magic weapon found on the 18th floor, Van’s logging speed had visibly increased.

While Haruki was hunting on the 19th floor, Van quickly stacked timber in the vacant lot.

Van had already collected far more wood than the amount of Dark Giant Tree wood that Haruki had.

However, he kept on chopping trees down.

He was also collecting wood to further repair his own house.

While Van gathered wood, Haruki and the others worked hard to defeat Bloody Owls on the 19th floor.

At first, it took more time than expected to deal with the silent Owls, but thanks to his high Detection skill, he soon became more aware of their approach.

Neither Rhea, Esta, nor Karen, were able to notice the Owls’ approach.

It seemed that it wasn’t something that one could do simply with a Detection skill of 1 or 2.

“Should I improve my Detection level?”

“…No. We should keep at it for a little longer. I have a feeling we might start to be able to notice them.”

Van had noticed an Owl with his Detection skill level of 1.

Karen’s Detection skill, on the other hand, was level 2.

The important thing was to fully master the skills they had acquired.

If she managed to make full use of her Detection level 2, she should be able to be aware of the Owls’ approach.

Kurosaki Karen (18)　Gender: Female

Skill Points: 4 → 8

Class: Spirit Hammer Master

Divine Protection: Thunder God <Okikurumi>

－Vitality ＜－＞

├ Stamina 3

└ Natural Recovery 1

－Strength ＜－＞

└ Strength 2

－Energy ＜－＞

├ Energy Power 1 → 2

├ Energy Capacity 3

└ Energy Manipulation 0

－Magic Power ＜+3＞

├ Magic Power 5

├ Magic Compatibility 5

└ Magic Manipulation 5

├ Change <Thunder> 4

└ Change <Wind Blades> 0 → 2

－Agility ＜－＞

├ Quickness 1

└ Dexterity 3

－Technique ＜－＞

└  Equipment Mastery

├ Blunt Weapons 2

└ Light Armor Mastery 2

－Intuition ＜－＞

└ Detection 2

－Special

├ Luck 2

└ Divine Protection MAX

Before reaching this floor, Karen’s Energy Capacity had increased by 1, and her Wind Blades by 2.

She also had accumulated quite a lot of skill points.

However, Karen was reluctant to use her points unless it became extremely necessary.

She wasn’t trying to avoid using the Skill Board.

It was just a sign of her enthusiasm for doing things on her own as much as she could.

At this point, there weren’t any monsters that would prove to be a hard fight for them.

But that still didn’t mean that the monsters were too weak for them.

The 19th floor was the best place to settle down for a while and improve their basic skills.

Just like Karen, Haruki had refrained from allocating his skill points for some time.

After fighting Masatsugu, a slight change in his fighting style began to appear.

That change hadn’t been conscious or unconscious, or even psychological.

Karaboshi Haruki (27)　Gender: Male

Skill Points: 9 → 13

Class: Hidden Sword King

Divine Protection: Overthrowing God <Medjed>

－Vitality ＜－＞

├ Stamina 4

└ Natural Recovery 2 → 3

－Strength ＜－＞

└ Strength 5

－Energy ＜－＞

├ Energy Power 2

├ Energy Compatibility 5

├ Energy Manipulation 1 → 2

└ Exhaustion Resistance MAX

－Agility ＜+ 2＞

├ Quickness 6

└ Dexterity 5

－Technique ＜－＞

├ Equipment Mastery

│├ One-handed Sword 5

│├ Throwing 2

│└ Light Armor Mastery 5

├ Kicking 2 → 4

├ Stealth 5

└ Imitation 3 → 4

－Intuition ＜－＞

└ Detection 5

└ Weakness Exploit　MAX

－Special

├ Growth Acceleration MAX

├ Taming 2

├ Divine Protection MAX

└ Divine Energy MAX

His skills had been naturally improving.

Especially Kicking. This skill, which he hadn’t improved much until that point, had improved by two in a short period of time.

From this, it was evident that Haruki’s fighting style had changed significantly.

He had yet to decide what kind of battle style he would have, but it wouldn’t be too long until a battle style started to take shape.

He would allocate his skill points only after he decided which style he was going to use, so it wasn’t too late to think about what his style needed.

Besides, since his skills had already come a long way in a natural manner, Haruki also wanted to raise his skills as much as possible without spending his points.

He then swiped to the next screen.

Esta (0)　Gender: Male

Skill Points: 5 → 9

Class: Hard Shell Emperor

Divine Protection: God of Extermination (Shinchu)

－Vitality ＜－＞

├ Stamina 2

├ Natural Recovery 2

└ Quarantine 1

－Strength ＜＋4＞

└ Strength 3

└ Damage Reduction 7

－Energy ＜－＞

├ Energy Power 0 → 1

├ Energy Capacity  0

└ Energy Manipulation 0

└ Change < Battlecloth > 0 → 1

－Agility ＜－＞

├ Quickness 5

└ Dexterity 2

－Technique ＜－＞

└ Equipment Mastery

└ Carapace 7

－Intuition ＜－＞

└ Detection 1

－Special

├ Armor Break 4

└ Divine Protection MAX

Upon reaching this floor, Esta’s Energy Power and Battlecloth had increased by 1.

However, Haruki didn’t feel that he hadn’t gotten any stronger. He found himself a bit concerned about him.

Would it look like he had gotten any stronger if his skills went up a little more?

“…Hmm? Do you want me to increase something for you?”

*Shake shake, wiggle wiggle*

This, this, and this.

Esta looked at the screen and pointed at what he wanted to have increased using his feelers.

“Got it. I’ll be using all of your points then.”

*Squirm squirm*

Esta (0)　Gender: Male

Skill Points: 9 → 0

Class: Hard Shell Emperor

Divine Protection: God of Extermination (Shinchu)

－Vitality ＜－＞

├ Stamina 2

├ Natural Recovery 2

└ Quarantine 1

－Strength ＜＋4＞ → ＜＋5＞

└ Strength 3

└ Damage Reduction 7

－Energy ＜－＞ → ＜＋1＞

├ Energy Power 1

├ Energy Capacity  0 → 1

└ Energy Manipulation 0 → 1

└ Change < Battlecloth > 1

－Agility ＜－＞

├ Quickness 5

└ Dexterity 2

－Technique ＜－＞

└ Equipment Mastery

└ Carapace 7

－Intuition ＜－＞

└ Detection 1 → 2

－Special

├ Armor Break 4

└ Divine Protection MAX

Esta’s Strength and Energy trees were enhanced, and his Energy Capacity and Manipulation were increased by 1.

He also wanted to increase his Detection to 2 in order to be able to notice the Owls, but…

Feeling a slight impact on his abdomen, Haruki raised his face from the board.

He could see a flame colored bolt moving at the corner of his eyes.

Esta then landed on the floor.

He then dug a little hole using his feet on the spot.

Shortly after that, an earthworm appeared from under the soil.

*Wriggle wriggle!*

Esta lifted his feelers, facing Haruki as if trying to say “So, what do you think!?”

It seemed that now that his Detection was stronger, he was now able to find earthworms hidden underground without having to search the ground through his sense of touch.

“…Umm, yeah… That’s great, Esta…”

Haruki wondered if it hadn’t been just a waste of skill points, but then he realized that, for Esta, searching for earthworms was a survival activity.

Raising his Detection skill would be very important for him.

Seeing her little brother (or rather, his junior), Rhea grinded her leaves against one another.

She started anxiously patting Haruki on the shoulder as if begging him to increase her skills as well.

“…Okay, okay.”

Haruki smiled and swiped the Skill Board to display Rhea’s skills.

Rhea quickly pointed out the skills she wanted to raise with one of her leaves.

Rhea (1)　Gender: Female

Skill Points: 9 → 0

Class: Dual Wielding Leaf Empress

Divine Protection: Guardian Deity of Underground Treasures <Ptah>

－Vitality ＜－＞

├ Stamina 2

└ Natural Recovery 1

－Strength ＜－＞

└ Strength 5

－Energy ＜－＞ → ＜＋1＞

├ Energy Power 3

├ Energy Capacity 1

└ Energy Manipulation 0

－Agility ＜－＞

├ Quickness 2

└ Dexterity 3

－Technique ＜+3＞ → ＜＋4＞

└ Equipment Mastery

└Throw 5

└Double Throw 4

－Intuition ＜－＞

└ Detection 1 → 4

－Special

├ Treasure Chest 2

├ Divine Protection MAX

└ Camouflage 3

Rhea also increased her Energy tree, and in order to deliver more powerful attacks, also increased her Technique tree.

Then she added 3 points to her Detection in order to be able to notice where Bloody Owls were hiding, so she could snipe them from a safe distance.

Rhea had enough firepower to deal with almost any opponent, other than those that were already out of her league.

For that reason, she opted to increase her support skills rather than her attack power.

“I-I would like to improve some skills too!”

“…”

Hmm? Did I hear anything?

Haruki looked around and shrugged.

“Must have been my imagination.”

“It wasn’t your imagination! Here! Here!”

“…”

After showing her face from out of Karen’s pocket, she started protesting while slapping the pocket’s rim.

Not surprisingly, Haruki was well aware of who had been trying to get his attention.

But improving Chep’s skills wouldn’t give them any kind of edge in combat.

Haruki wanted to pretend he was imagining things for as long as he could, but eventually gave up.

With a long sigh, he shrugged again and swiped through the Skill Board.

Chep (0)　Gender: Female

Skill Points: 9 → 0

Class: Cursed Fish

Safeguard: Hero God <Samaikuru>

－Vitality ＜－＞

├ Stamina 0

└ Natural Recovery 1

－Strength ＜－＞

└ Strength 0

－Energy ＜－＞ → ＜＋1＞

├ Energy Power 0

├ Energy Capacity 1

└ Energy Manipulation 3

－Shamanism ＜＋2＞ → ＜＋4＞

├ Shamanism 6

├ Shamanism Compatibility 7

└ Shamanism Manipulation 7

－Agility ＜－＞

├ Quickness 0

└ Dexterity 0

－Technique ＜－＞

└  Equipment Mastery

├ Fillet 1

└ Fish Scales 1

－Intuition ＜－＞

└ Detection 0

－Special

├ Princess 1 → 2

├ Safeguard MAX

└ Spirit　NONE

Almost without watching, Haruki raised her Energy tree by 1 level, and her Shamanism tree by 2 levels.

The Special skill Princess had increased naturally on its own.

Haruki was extremely confused as to why it had increased.

Had she done anything princess-like recently?

“Whaaaa!? Why did you allocate my points without my permission!? I wanted to increase my Princess skill!!”

“…If you work your share, then I’ll think about it.”

“Work my share!? I’ll have you know I do work my share!?”

It was certainly taking her some effort to sound convincing enough.

Haruki stared right into her eyes, and Chep quickly looked away.

“Haah…”

“Karaboshi, I… I’m sorry.”

Haruki sighed again, and Karen had a bitter smile on her face.

Karen hadn’t done anything wrong. If anyone was to blame, it was that fish.

“In a sense, you’re a victim as well, Karen, so we should better say the things we must.”

“Yes. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll throw this bracelet into the river…”

“Hyoooo!?”

Since Chep was bound to that bracelet, she had to remain within a certain range of it. So if the bracelet were to be thrown away, she wouldn’t be stuck, unable to roam farther than the area where it was thrown.

Imagining herself in the immense crisis that Karen had laid out before her, Chep gulped.