Exerting all his strength, seeing through the elite goblin's fast–slow blade feints, and successfully defeating the gate-blocking monster—he had not expected there to still be a despicable sneak attacker hiding in a dark corner.
Helplessly, he fell.
Never underestimate the malice of a Souls-type Dungeon toward players.
After picking up the short sword, Ron quickly rose to his feet. His gaze caught the goblin that had once again raised its bow, preparing to shoot, and he had no intention of lingering.
The number of uses of "Revival" had already been exhausted.
At this point, if he were to suffer another fatal injury, he would probably be completely finished in the Dungeon!
"Damn it, why is there still another rat bastard?"
However...
After he found a place to take cover, he discovered a black-haired girl standing in the distance.
Judging from the purple kimono of the Far East that she wore, the red armor adorning it, and her delicate appearance, the girl's identity was already obvious.
Yamato Mikoto.
Why was she here?
Wouldn't that mean that his fight with the goblin just now—including using the "Revival" skill to resurrect—had all been seen by her?
But Ron could not concern himself with that.
Noticing the goblin archer that had lost its target and was slowly shifting its aim toward the girl, he shouted, "Quick, dodge! This monster's next target is you!"
"…"
The girl moved very swiftly.
More precisely—this was the strength a Lv.2 adventurer ought to have. With a distance of twenty meters from the goblin archer, in the blink of an eye she had sprinted right up in front of it.
Mikoto skillfully used her katana to deflect the incoming arrow, then followed up with a clean, decisive sliding slash, completely severing the head of the monster before her.
The goblin that had lost all vitality instantly turned into black dust and dispersed.
A dark-colored magic stone fell to the ground, producing a crisp sound. As Mikoto sheathed her katana and bent down to collect the spoils, she noticed something unusual.
In terms of size, it was even larger than some monsters from the middle floors.
'Is this another mutated monster?'
The girl's heart was filled with deep confusion. Compared to that, she was even more curious about the miracle that had appeared on Ron.
'Able to revive after death.'
If she had not seen it with her own eyes, it would have been hard to imagine such a thing happening.
Carrying these doubts, Mikoto took the initiative to look toward Ron. The crack where the arrow had pierced through his chest armor was clearly visible, yet there was no sign of any blood flowing out.
"Um…"
"Ron, your body… is it all right?"
"It's nothing serious."
Before absolute strength, even a mutated goblin monster could not pose a threat.
This was exactly what Ron longed for.
Most importantly, without Mikoto stepping in, at his current level of equipment, dealing with this goblin archer would definitely have required paying some price.
At the end of the day, his combat methods were still extremely lacking.
After Ron picked up the magic stone dropped earlier by the elite goblin, the instant he touched it, a strand of black energy—visible only to him—was absorbed.
[Soul Shards +1]
Only by truly approaching death can one clearly understand the value of Soul Shards.
There was still a very long distance to go before reaching the amount needed to exchange for additional "Revival" uses, let alone saving up enough Soul Shards to draw character cards that could rapidly increase one's strength.
As for the girl's hesitant expression—
Ron could guess the reason even with his eyes closed, yet he had no intention of explaining anything.
"Senior Yamato, are you also here to explore the Dungeon?"
"Yes."
"I didn't expect to run into you here either."
The refined-looking boy before her was shrouded in a layer of mystery.
Mikoto very much wanted to ask—but she realized that she did not know from what angle, or in what capacity, she should try to understand the secrets surrounding Ron, who was also an adventurer.
She could only extend an invitation instead: "Are you planning to continue exploring the Dungeon?"
"That's it for today."
Ron decisively shook his head in refusal.
Continuing to explore left no margin for error. He could not place safety issues on Mikoto, even though her strength was indeed sufficient.
"Summarize the problems, continue training."
"Only then can Dungeon exploration go further."
The girl did not persist. She merely watched Ron's back as it disappeared into the floor passage, until only her own figure remained on the current floor.
She once again took out the magic stone dropped by the goblin archer she had slain.
Perhaps it was simply a matter of probability?
Mikoto did not dwell on it. Following the original plan, she headed toward the deeper reaches of the Dungeon.
As it turned out, she had not gone far.
Just as she reached a bend in the cave, the faint rustling sounds reaching her ears instantly made the girl realize that there were monsters in the area ahead.
She drew the katana she had just returned to its scabbard.
However, once she clearly saw what the monster looked like, her interest immediately waned.
The monster appearing not far ahead was still a goblin, but there was a clear disparity in size. It wore tattered rags and held a stone axe, looking utterly shabby.
It was completely on a different level from the "giant goblin" that had fought Ron earlier.
"An incidental occurrence?"
At this level, the girl did not even feel the urge to clear the monster.
And what followed—Dungeon exploration just like usual, without any changes—only caused the confusion deep in her heart to grow even stronger.
Could it be that encountering special monsters was Ron's exclusive experience?
If that were truly the case.
Mikoto could more or less understand—why Ron's Dungeon exploration had been so difficult!
When rookie adventurers encountered monsters of that level, whether they could even return alive was uncertain, yet she dismissed the thought almost as soon as it arose.
"How could Orario possibly have something this bizarre?"
...
"I really think you should explain yourself."
"Why is your equipment getting damaged so… frequently? If other adventurers found out, they would probably think our products are defective."
Inside the office.
Ron looked toward the god wearing a white shirt that perfectly outlined her sexy figure, a slightly serious expression paired with a mature, intelligent face.
She indeed had a rather distinctive charm.
But at this moment, he had no mood to appreciate it. Faced with the question, he hesitated as he answered: "Mainly because… the monsters I encounter in the Dungeon are all rather special. Some monsters' sneak attacks leave me unable to react in time, and my armor just shatters instantly."
While explaining this, he did not notice that Hephaestus was doing her best to maintain a serious expression.
She cleared her throat and asked with a hint of curiosity, "Then would it be convenient for you to share which floor of the Dungeon you are currently conducting your daily exploration on?"
"Floor 1…"
"?"
That was indeed very difficult.
If he were encountering monsters at the level of War Shadow, the so-called "rookie killer," combined with the effect of "Dungeon hatred," shattering armor and equipment—
Hephaestus could understand that.
But if what Ron said was accurate, then it meant that the dangers he encountered during his routine Dungeon exploration far exceeded those faced by the vast majority of adventurers.
Very interesting.
What the gods came to Orario to seek was precisely the unknown hidden within the children.
Even though Hephaestus was more curious about strange and unusual weapons, that did not prevent her from developing an interest in the new familia member recruited by her close friend.
"Then have you summarized the problems?"
"Yes."
"I think the main issue is that my combat methods are relatively single-minded, and I have no way to deal with sudden situations. If I could set up several tactical systems, it would be much better."
The boy's tone was firm.
This was also something his own goddess had instructed him in—so long as his skin was thick enough, he could always scrape a bit of benefit from Hephaestus!