"Grahh!"

Instinctively, my body shuddered at the scream of a monster.

Short in stature and green in color.

Large nose with sharp teeth peeking out of its grinning mouth.

An expression that lacked intelligence.

The monster's hand held a stick.

It was the first time I had faced a monster.

With the dagger the adventurer's guild granted me, I squeezed with my fingers.

The goblin approached me.

Its speed was equivalent to an average human's, so I struggled to dodge it.

My sweaty hands struck the monster's body.

"Grahhh!"

My dagger met resistance in the goblin's flesh and bones.

I struck my hand, forcibly driving the blade of my dagger into the green monster's heart.

Blood stained my hand as I withdrew my dagger.

The goblin's body lost its strength and fell to the ground.

My stomach churned in disgust, and I felt food rise in my throat.

I clutched my throbbing chest and sighed a couple of times, managing to calm down quickly.

The goblin's body lit up, and two spheres materialized.

A white glow shot out from the goblin, and it stabbed into me.

<<You have absorbed the <Excelia> of a goblin>>

<+7 Strength>

<+5 Dexterity>

<+5 Endurance>

<+4 Agility>

"What?!"

I was pleasantly surprised by the notification in front of me.

It should be known that the < Status> of adventurers could only increase after the gods of the respective <Familia>decided to upgrade the <Status> of their members.

That my basic ability points would automatically go up was beyond my expectations.

With my thoughts softened, I opened the < Status>.

<<Status>>

— Tooru

— Level: 1

<<Basic Abilities>>

Strength: 7 | Stamina: 5 | Dexterity: 5 | Agility: 4 | Magic: 0.

<<Abilities>> 

[Goccia d'anima]: Condenses the souls of those who have died at your hands into a random item —depending on the strength of the being, these may condense into several items or a single, higher quality item; however, the weaker the enemies are at your current level, the less likely an item is to drop.

[Anima affamata]: A portion of the soul you kill becomes <Excelia>, which fuels basic abilities —Share the soul with the <Goccia d'anima> skill so that the total gains are split regardless of the soul's strength. —The more souls of the same level you absorb, the less <Excelia> is granted.

[Gaia's Blessing]: One minute of meditation equals one day of rest. Your mind always maintains serenity in desperate situations. —While you are unconscious or while you sleep, the ability regenerates all physical and mental wounds. —All potions consumed are 100% more effective in a shorter time.

<<Acquired skills>>

[ ]

.

.

.

I quickly calmed down and picked up the two fist-sized spheres.

Both were grayish.

Were these the objects?

I scratched my face in bewilderment.

<<Item>>

Soul sphere

<<Grade>>

No grade

<<Description>>

Result of the materialization of a soul.

When the sphere breaks, it gives rise to a random ítem corresponding to the rank of the soul sphere.

.

.

.

Oh, so it worked that way.

I didn't expect another transparent thing to appear, a panel.

But thanks to that, I can understand how these two spheres worked.

They were both of the same grades, but I wanted to know if the ítem inside would be similar or if it would vary.

Well, let's check it out.

I clenched my fists, and with a —Crack— the sphere shattered into pieces.

A bright light almost blinded me.

I felt the sphere being replaced by a heavy material.

I looked at the object in my hand.

My lips pursed as I saw that it was a sword made of some material resembling a monster's fangs.

However, it was a battered and rusty sword.

The blade was dull and cracked in places.

It would be of no use to me.

I clutched the other sphere.

It was a dagger that, like the sword, was made of the same material, with the only difference being that it was in better condition.

<<You have obtained a <Fang Dagger> by breaking the sphere>>

<<Item>>.

Fang Dagger

<<Grade>>

No grade

<<Attributes>>

Strength: 5 | Dexterity: 7         

<<Abilities>>

[No abilities]

<<Description>>

A dagger fashioned from the fangs of a goblin.

<<Equip>>

.

.

.

That was what was written on the blue panel.

I looked at the dagger the guild had granted me.

I wanted to compare the state of the dagger I got from the goblin with this metal dagger.

If possible, I wanted to draw a rough conclusion of the effectiveness of the items I obtained from killing monsters.

Status.

Whenever I thought about knowing the Status of an object, I was shown a panel.

As expected, it appeared.

<<Item>>

Novice dagger

<<Grade>>

No grade

<<Attributes>>

Strength: 10 | Dexterity: 15     

<<Abilities>>

[No Abilities]

<<Description>>

A metal dagger grants the <Adventurer's Guild> to novices who venture into the Dungeon.

.

.

.

Ahh, it's much better than the goblin fang dagger.

But this was the second floor; it was obvious that the items would be weak.

Plus, there was the fact that every time I killed the same monster, I was less likely to get items.

I was expecting too much, but with this, I can conclude that the <Upper Floors> would not give me a special item.

Tossing the dagger and useless sword aside, I crouched down in front of the dead goblin.

"<Magic Stones>. It's a bit annoying to poke around looking for them."

I regretted not having read the book for novice adventurers.

Everything one needed to know about monsters was explained in detail there.

When I get out of here, reading will be the first thing I'll do.

I stabbed the goblin's chest thoroughly, but not roughly.

—Clink!—

My dagger met something hard, producing a slight clink.

I made a slash across the monster's chest, and out came a purple stone.

This was the <Magic Stone> that was embedded in the monsters of the < Dungeon>.

The <Magic Stones> have several utilities besides exchanging them for <Valis>—the money of this city.

It could also create some mechanisms, such as the source of electrical energy.

The one he had now was the size of a walnut.

It could not really be considered a <Magic Stone>; it was a mere fragment.

The good thing about it was that it could still be sold for a reasonable price within the guild.

I opened the leather pouch hanging from my waist and left the <Magic Stone> inside.

I needed to kill a large number of monsters to get more.

I want more <Valis> to make Kami-sama happy.

Also, I said that tonight I would visit the pub where Syr worked.

It wouldn't do to go back on my own words.

.

.

.

Walking through the corridors, and after a few minutes, I encountered two goblins.

I wasn't sure if I could kill them, but I plucked up my courage.

Maybe the effect of <Gaia's Blessing> was working.

I hid in a puff of the walls and picked up a stone.

I threw it with all the force I could muster, and with a slight sound, the goblin's head was hit.

—Grahhh!—

The goblin was furious and headed in my direction.

The other had a goofy look as it walked down the halls.

Excellent.

It occurred to me to assassinate the first one and then confront the other.

As the goblin walked past, I stuck out my leg, and the goblin stumbled.

Its nose, now crooked, scraped magnificently on the hard floor.

Before the little goblin reached its feet, I delivered a killing blow.

I, who was being splattered with blood, plunged my dagger deep into the green neck; thus, the monster lost its head.

A <soul sphere> of the same color as the previous one fell to the ground, and a white ball entered me.

<<You have absorbed the <Excelia> of a goblin>>

<+3 Dexterity>

<+2 Endurance>

<+1 Strength>

<+1 Agility>

—Grahhh!—

I didn't check my Status —not that it was necessary to keep an eye on it with every <Excelia> absorbed.

The last goblin used short legs to run towards me.

Indeed it was aware of my presence from the earlier noise.

I waited for it to approach and set off.

Dodging them became easy; I don't know if it was because my strength increased or because the goblins were dumb, but the goblin's movements were predictable.

I plunged the dagger into the monster's side, but it wasn't enough to kill it.

The monster was already wounded: its movements became more clumsy.

I slid next to the monster and plunged the dagger into its skull.

<<You have absorbed the <Excelia> of a goblin>>

<+1 Strength>

<+1 Endurance>