Chapter 4: Preliminary Dungeon Exploration
Having prepared for the Dungeon adventure in advance, Liam's current assets – perhaps "assets" is too formal a word. There was the healing potion gifted by Amid, the captain of the Dian Cecht Familia.
And Hestia's adventure gift for him: a sharp, refined iron single-handed broadsword, and the cloak to cover the abnormality of his left hand.
Looking at the girlish figure sleeping on the sofa, he knew she had worked late at her part-time job last night. He had no intention of disturbing her rest.
"I'm heading out."
"."
The early morning sun splashed onto his body, its warmth gradually dispelling the chill. Liam resolutely strode towards the city center.
Towards Babel, the entrance to the Dungeon.
Along the way, he bought a "poor man's meal" from a street vendor – filling, but definitely not tasty – as his adventure provisions.
He hadn't yet acquired other "Sword Soul" skills.
He was currently quite proficient in using the Secret Sword Art. If it was just Goblins, Kobolds, and Dungeon Lizards on floors 1-3.
They shouldn't pose a threat.
On the way to Babel, he briefly planned his adventure for the day.
Many adventurers set out to explore the Dungeon in the early morning, and Liam naturally blended in. After all, from a purely attire perspective.
A cloak was practically standard adventurer gear.
And the towering Babel in the distance, even under a cloudless morning sky, its top couldn't be seen when one looked up.
"Almost at the destination!"
Arriving at the central plaza in front of Babel, a vast number of adventurers from various Familias had already gathered.
The most conspicuous were the Supporters with giant backpacks, patiently waiting to be hired.
When they noticed Liam exploring alone, some Supporters, like sharks smelling blood, proactively asked if he needed help.
All of them were rejected by him.
Setting aside the help they might offer, he was only operating in the upper levels and had no need for deep exploration. Hiring a Supporter would just be a waste of money.
After he clearly refused, they didn't pester him.
After all, during the busiest times for adventurers, members of the Ganesha Familia's guard, who maintained the city's peace, were present to keep order.
This included verifying adventurers' identities at Babel.
He passed smoothly.
Looking at the wide staircase spiraling down into the earth, Liam couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation, resolutely taking his first steps on the path to conquering the Dungeon.
Following other adventurers through the Dungeon's "Starting Road" safe zone, the surroundings were a typical cave environment.
Illuminated by lantern fruit growing on the walls, the overall visibility was barely passable.
However, upon truly stepping into the dangerous areas of the Dungeon, the complex tunnels greatly dispersed the adventurers, even muffling the sound of footsteps.
Liam carefully observed his surroundings and drew the single-handed broadsword slung at his waist.
Unlike the Asura class, which possessed Wave Perception, he needed to rely on his vision and reaction time to identify dangers around him.
Preparing in advance could avoid many dangers.
His footsteps echoed briefly as they landed on the ground; the deep,幽 (gloomy/secluded) environment didn't bring him any sense of oppression.
On the contrary, without having to deliberately hide his demonic hand, his movements were much freer.
As Liam continued his systematic search, several monster figures came into view around a bend in the tunnel ahead.
Goblins, with deep green skin all over, long pointed ears, short and exceptionally ugly statures, wielding wooden clubs.
They were no different from the Goblins in the DNF game.
Killing them had a chance to drop the material "Goblin Fang," which was an additional source of income for adventurers beyond magic stones.
"Finally encountered them."
"I just don't know if there's experience after killing them!"
There was no panic upon encountering the monsters. Incorporating actual combat into his Secret Sword Art training added a sharp killing intent to Liam's eyes.
Stepping forward to attack, he gripped the broadsword in both hands, and the opening stance of Secret Sword Art had already reached the Goblins.
A clean, horizontal slash directly decapitated a Goblin.
Instant death, it didn't even manage to let out a cry. Blood splattered onto the cave wall, and its corpse dissolved into black smoke.
A small magic stone dropped to the ground with a crisp sound.
Maintaining his concentration, when his peripheral vision caught the movement of a Goblin beside him, his body reacted instinctively.
Side-stepping to dodge the club's strike, Liam's broadsword swept upwards in a reverse grip, and in an instant, the Goblin's body was torn in half.
As for the last Goblin.
In the gap as it leaped to attack, he directly pierced its skull with the tip of his sword!
His movements were crisp and decisive.
It was just applying the training techniques of Secret Sword Art, setting the targets as moving dummies. He bent down to pick up the magic stones that had fallen to the ground.
And the white, sharp "Goblin Fangs."
Although their value wasn't high, Liam understood the simple principle that even a mosquito, however small, was still meat. His gaze scanned the surroundings. Confirming there were no threats nearby, he opened the Sword Soul template again.
「Exp +10」
「Exp +11」
「Exp +9」
Gaining experience points after killing Goblins undoubtedly motivated Liam for battle; the overall amounts weren't high.
He hadn't expected high returns from low-level monsters, but the progress bar still showed a significant change.
「Experience: 60%」
"The efficiency is passable."
"Leveling up in the early stages should be faster than I imagined."
In the game, the experience required for early level-ups was minimal, but in the later stages, it often reached tens of millions, and after updates, each level required over a hundred million.
This experience system was clearly not applicable in the DanMachi world.
The "Sword Soul Template," without a quest system, was naturally simplified, and the experience required to level up was significantly reduced.
Even so.
He still needed to endure the difficult novice fatigue stage. He had to reach level 15 to comprehend skills like Triple Slash and Backstep Cut.
Liam withdrew his gaze from the Sword Soul template. The monsters in the upper levels were generally weak and could be dealt with using Secret Sword Art.
But there was also a side effect: increased stamina consumption.
Before mastering new skills, his exploration area absolutely could not exceed the 5th floor.
"Still have to keep grinding."
"."
Readjusting his mood, Liam chose to continue searching for experience packs nearby. He didn't encounter any other adventurers during this time.
Instead, he encountered quite a few Goblins.
These low-level monsters wielding clubs as weapons, facing him who had mastered Secret Sword Art and used a sharp weapon...
It was simply a dimensional takedown in every sense of the word!
Continuously gaining experience points after kills, his level quickly rose to Lv2. Liam didn't choose to stay and continued his exploration.
The process was very smooth.
It was just that his mood wasn't particularly joyful. The Sword Soul template was purely the Sword Soul class; it didn't even have skills like Ghost Slash or Wave Wheel Slasher.
If he had more means at his disposal, he reckoned his efficiency could increase linearly!
Finally, after dispatching a Kobold, whose appearance was as ugly as its name, the high-intensity stamina consumption had brought a slight sense of fatigue.
He chose to return to the safe zone.
Liam leaned against the wall, took down the waterskin hanging from his waist, and while recovering his stamina, opened his cheat, the "Sword Soul Template," to observe the changes.
「Liam Moon」
「Level: 2」
「Experience: 63%」
「Skill: Secret Sword Art (+)」
「SP: 10」
The plus sign appearing next to Secret Sword Art made Liam's brows furrow slightly, discovering a blind spot he had subconsciously ignored.
In the DNF game, once the level requirement was met, the Sword Soul class would directly master skills.
No learning was required.
Subsequently, SP couldn't be used to increase their level; one could only rely on fashion items, weapon effects, or set bonuses to increase the mastery level cap.
Placed in the Sword Soul template, it seemed he had to manually add points!
"Forget it."
"SP doesn't have any other use at the moment. Maybe after increasing its level, the attack damage will also increase?"
There was still a long way to go in terms of level progression before he could comprehend new skills.
This was currently his most effective combat means. Liam felt that even consuming 10 SP wouldn't be a loss.
「Consume 10 SP」
「Secret Sword Art upgraded to Secret Sword Art (Mastery)」
As the skill points were deducted, looking at the skill nickname that completely coincided with the Sword Soul class from his previous life, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
After a short rest.
Liam set off towards the deeper levels. Higher-level skills in the game could increase dungeon clearing speed. He just didn't know what kind of improvement Secret Sword Art (Mastery) would have in reality.
(End of this chapter)