Another day passed.
The blacksmith shop owner still hadn't shown up.
Noah couldn't help but wonder if the man had gone into the Dungeon and died inside.
He spread out today's earnings before him and counted them briefly.
"Eighteen thousand valis."
This wasn't even his blacksmith shop.
But the head chef had said all the earnings would belong to him, so he shouldn't feel burdened or anything.
"With yesterday's earnings, that makes twenty-five thousand valis total. That's quite a substantial amount. Maybe I should go get some materials."
Since he'd made up his mind, he decided to close early today.
After maintaining the final weapon, Noah handed the sword back to its owner.
"That'll be 2,000 valis."
After he quoted the price, the sword's owner remained standing still without moving.
It was a man who appeared to be around thirty years old, level Lv1, currently examining the sword repeatedly.
Watching the man's pretentious posture, Noah's gaze shifted slightly, but he didn't say anything immediately, simply observing the other party.
After a moment, the man suddenly changed his expression and shouted.
"Hey, can you guarantee this sword has actually been restored to its sharpness?"
Noah: "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said, kid. You're the one who repaired this sword, right? There's nobody else here, is there?"
'This guy..... he's clearely looking for trouble.'
"So what?"
"Hey now, seriously? Kids these days really don't know how to respect adults. How could a brat like you possibly fix my sword properly? You might have even left some hidden damage in my sword."
The man wore a mocking expression.
Noah's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his gauntleted fingers flexed a few times.
"Whether it's sharp or not, you can test it yourself. How about trying it on your own neck? Or you could use it to shred that foul-smelling mouth of yours."
"What did you say, you little brat!"
The man pointed the blade at Noah while sneering. "You want me to test it? Fine, I'll test whether this sword is sharp enough on you!"
Whoosh—
"Enough."
Noah remembered he had other matters to attend to and didn't intend to waste any more time with this idiot.
"No need to pay."
Hearing his "compromise," the man's eyes lit up, but he showed no intention of stopping there.
"Heh, but I still—"
"Just be more careful in your next life." Noah directly cut off the man's words.
'Next...'
'What?'
The man thought he must have misheard him, freezing completely in place.
Noah had already vaulted over from the blacksmith shop, his gauntleted hand reaching directly for the man's face.
No matter how degraded he was, he was still technically an adventurer.
The man reacted immediately.
He first took a step back, then gripped the sword hilt with both hands.
Noah watched the man's movements expressionlessly.
'Weight shifted.'
'Next would be a heavy slash at a 32-degree downward angle.'
Because he had triggered the Truth Seeker effect while repairing that sword, he had already seen through all of the man's combat style and habits.
As if predicting the future, Noah began his evasion nearly half a second in advance, easily dodging the attack.
Then, taking advantage of the opening, he grabbed the man's head and slammed his face into the ground with brutal force.
"Gravity Interference!"
During the descent, Noah activated the Spellweaver skill, manipulating the surrounding gravity to concentrate excessive force on the man's head.
Crack!
It was unclear whether the sound came from the pavement or the man's facial bones shattering.
The man's face completely collapsed, shattered bones piercing through the skin and protruding outward.
He had completely lost consciousness.
"Broke, huh? Tch, I'll make do with this sword then."
Even such a cheap sword would be wasted in that man's hands.
Since he didn't currently have a weapon, he'd use this sword as a temporary replacement - this was for the sword's own happiness too.
Having absorbed numerous insights into swordsmanship, he could now be considered a self-taught swordsman.
Compared to that man, this sword should undoubtedly prefer to be wielded by him instead.
"Feels like most of my daily stress has been released all at once. Really, it's been so long since I've felt this refreshed."
...
After arriving at Adventurer Street, Noah's recently improved mood immediately plummeted.
'60,000 valis.'
'200,000 valis.'
'1.5 million valis.'
'Were materials really this expensive?'
'A single nail for 2,000 valis?'
'What could this little thing possibly do? It would look tacky even as a necklace charm.'
Blue Copper Ore.
'Now this was good stuff.'
It could adapt to both heat and cold, was lightweight, and would make perfect material for tactical boot soles.
The price... 110,000 valis.
For just this small piece? Two failed attempts and it would be gone, yet it cost 110,000 valis!
'Tch.'
'Damn it.'
'Why don't I have any money!'
'No.'
'Wait.'
Blue Copper Ore is a product of the Dungeon.
Obtaining it is indeed dangerous, but more importantly, it largely depends on luck.
The laws within the Dungeon differ from the outside world, making conventional mining knowledge useless.
Whether you encounter it or not depends entirely on fortune.
But he was different.
The Truth Seeker's appraisal skill allowed him to detect rare resources from a distance, even from hidden locations.
'So it really does come down to entering the Dungeon after all.'
'But just the upper floors - if i join a party, there should be almost no danger.'
If he joined someone else's party as a supporter, he wouldn't even need to participate in combat.
If he played it extra safe, he could even be the first to escape if any danger arose.
...
That night, while updating his status, Noah asked if there were any parties in the Familia currently exploring the upper floors.
He received an affirmative answer.
"Eh? There actually are?"
"Ah, of course. Though it's nothing to be proud of, the blacksmiths in our Familia don't focus much on leveling up. Most are still around Level 2. Of course, that level is sufficient for the upper floors."
"Thank you, Lady Hephaestus."
"Mmm, since it's your first time in the Dungeon, just focus on your supporter duties. As for combat... there might be people from other Familias joining, they'll handle that."
Other Familias?
A joint expedition?
Does this happen even on the upper floors?
No, this must be because it's the Hephaestus Familia.
He could probably guess which Familia they might be from.