Entering the Dungeon again.
This time, Genichi's mindset was completely different.
With Apparition as a lifesaving spell in his pocket, he no longer needed to creep around like before. As long as his Mana wasn't drained, as long as his reactions were fast enough, he could slip out of any battlefield the instant danger struck.
More importantly, he didn't have much time left.
Dionysus had noticed him.
Genichi didn't know how much that mad god had figured out, or why he would take an interest in a Level 2 rookie. But he understood one thing clearly:
His time was running out.
Dionysus could make his move at any moment.
The creature, that Level 7 monster, could appear in front of him at any moment.
And when that happened, if he still didn't have enough strength…
There would be only one outcome.
Death.
Of course, Genichi wasn't without an escape route.
He could leave the DanMachi world and return to the DxD world, or even go back to that original crossover world.
He could wait until he was strong enough, then come back.
But he didn't want to do that.
Or rather, until he was forced into a corner, he didn't want to.
Not even daring to draw his sword, turning into a turtle that hides the moment trouble shows up…
He couldn't stomach that kind of shame.
Besides, if he ran the second danger appeared, what was the point of getting stronger at all?
He might as well find a safe hole from the beginning and cling to life like a coward.
But he wasn't that kind of person.
He wanted to grow stronger.
To, in this world and across the countless worlds beyond it, climb step by step to the very top.
So he chose to stay.
To face it.
To fight.
To burn everything he had, and in the shortest time possible, force himself to become strong enough.
Once he entered the Dungeon, Genichi went all-out immediately.
No probing.
No hesitation.
No stopping.
He pushed straight toward the deeper levels, and every monster he met along the way became a corpse under his blade.
The sword he'd bought from Mei Kobrand revealed terrifying power in real combat.
That dark-gray blade looked unremarkable, but its sharpness was monstrous.
Those Level 2 monsters couldn't even mount a real counterattack against him.
One slash.
Dead.
Genichi was like a tireless killing machine, cutting from the upper floors down into the middle.
In the end, he broke into the sixteenth floor.
The respawn rate down here was just right, enough to keep him fighting almost without pause.
From morning to night, twenty-four hours a day, Genichi spent sixteen hours locked in battle with monsters.
The remaining time was for eating, taking care of bodily needs, and sleeping.
Thankfully, with Apparition, he didn't need to waste time traveling back and forth.
Every time his Mana was close to running dry, or whenever he needed to rest, he would teleport straight back to the Demeter Familia's room.
Once he'd recovered and his Mana was back, he would teleport right back in and keep fighting.
It saved him an insane amount of time.
Seven days.
Just seven days.
Genichi refreshed all his stats back to SSS 1499.
From Level 1 to Level 2 had taken him seven days.
From Level 2 to Level 3 took him only one.
Subtract the five days he'd lost to collapsing from his split-body state, buying a weapon, and getting used to Apparition, and it still meant this:
He spent seven days, once again, pushing every stat up to SSS 1499.
If other adventurers heard that, their jaws would hit the floor.
A normal adventurer going from Level 2 to Level 3 took years at minimum, decades at worst.
Even the gifted geniuses needed a year or two.
Genichi did it in seven days.
Of course, only he knew what those seven days really cost.
Sixteen hours of high-intensity combat every day, squeezing out every last drop of stamina.
Every swing, every dodge, every moment brushing past death carved deep marks into both body and mind.
But he endured.
On the evening of the seventh day, Genichi teleported back to the Demeter Familia drenched in blood.
His body was smeared with monster gore, some of it his, but far more of it the enemy's.
Black, dried stains clung to the dark-gray blade, reeking of iron and slaughter.
When Demeter saw him like that, she hurt so much she nearly cried.
But she didn't say anything.
She simply prepared hot water and clean clothes in silence, then took out the tools for updating his Blessing and waited for him to finish cleaning up.
After Genichi bathed and changed, he lay down in front of Demeter.
Demeter placed her hand on his back, closed her eyes, and began to update his Blessing.
A moment later, she opened her eyes again. A complicated emotion flickered through those amber irises.
"Genichi…"
Her voice carried a quiet awe.
"Your abilities… all of them have reached SSS 1499."
Genichi gave a small nod, his face calm, not the slightest bit surprised.
He'd expected this result.
After seven days of near-sleepless fighting, if he couldn't max out his stats, that would have been the strange part.
"Now, you need to choose a new Development Ability."
Demeter flipped open her records and read out the options.
"Hunter."
"Healing Power."
"Mixing."
"Blacksmith."
She lifted her head and looked at Genichi.
"Which one do you want to take?"
Genichi fell silent for a moment, weighing the pros and cons at lightning speed.
In the end, he chose Mixing.
Mixing let him produce consumables like potions and medicinal brews.
And Genichi knew exactly what he lacked most right now.
Sustain.
The ability to keep fighting without constantly returning to the surface to restock supplies.
Even with Sloth from the Seven Deadly Sins boosting recovery, it still couldn't keep up with his consumption. He still needed potions to recover.
So if he had Mixing, he could make his own Mana recovery potions, stamina recovery potions, even buff potions that could temporarily raise combat power.
When that happened, he could treat the Dungeon like his home and fight for ten days, half a month, without needing to come out.
To him, that was worth far more than any other Development Ability.
Genichi raised his head and looked at Demeter.
"I choose Mixing."
Demeter nodded, without hesitation and without offering advice.
She trusted his judgment.
If he chose it, there was a reason.
She picked up the engraving needle and lightly carved the new pattern into Genichi's back.
Mixing.
A moment later, the engraving was complete.
Demeter put her tools away and gently patted his shoulder.
"All done."
Genichi opened his eyes, stood, and rolled his shoulders as he tested his body.
"Demeter, help me gather the materials for making potions. I want to try brewing them myself."
He turned to look at her.
Demeter nodded, her amber eyes full of warmth.
"Mm."
(End of Chapter)
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