Murder Ants.
And a massive number of Murder Ants.
The Adventurer's Guild has rated the difficulty of each floor, and as long as an Adventurer with an F-rated ability value at Lv1 can safely travel to and from this area.
And through yesterday's ability value update.
Keare had already broken through the F-rating in some attributes, and the combat experience he had honed allowed him to remain calm even when facing a large number of Murder Ant monsters.
He noticed Liliruca, his Supporter, behind him, already holding a crossbow, showing no signs of retreat, and fully prepared to assist in combat.
"I'll handle it."
Ability values are like an alternative experience bar, corresponding to the numerical values of various abilities.
Currently, Keare's weakness is that while he possesses the means of a Healer, his numerical values have not been effectively improved; to fully enhance his values,
he needs battles that make him feel pressured!
Encountering so many Murder Ants, also known as "rookie killers," the Dungeon undoubtedly presented him with a stage for improvement.
"Mm."
Liliruca nodded seriously.
She joined Keare's Dungeon exploration party with selfish motives, truly realizing that conventional methods wouldn't allow her to leave Soma Familia.
The only method she could choose was to trust Keare?
But the inherent suspicion she held towards Adventurers couldn't be dispelled in a short time; only by witnessing it with her own eyes could she get the answer.
The previous Dungeon exploration had been very smooth.
Facing numerous monsters, Keare showed no pressure at all, easily crushing them with combat techniques, but Adventurers of the same level...
they could also achieve this level!
And the massive number of Murder Ant monsters before them was just right to test Keare's strength.
After pulling back to a safe distance, as an observer of this battle, the scene that unfolded before Liliruca's eyes filled her with disbelief.
"…"
Giving monsters a chance is disrespecting one's own life!
Keare certainly thought this way, and with a steady mindset, he decisively used the 'Optimization' skill; after adapting to the all-around improvement of his ability values,
he quickly surveyed the battlefield as numerous Murder Ants surged forward like a tide.
The monsters were covered in thick armor; whether he could break through it directly with the sharpness of his weapon was still an unknown to him.
But only by trying could he get the accurate answer.
Keare gripped the hilt of his short sword with both hands; his full-force side-slash was a blur to the naked eye, and power blossomed through the blade.
His target was the sharp hook-claws on the Murder Ant's back.
"Bang!"
A violent collision, accompanied by the crisp sound of carapace shattering.
This directly restricted the monster's attack method but failed to effectively stop the Murder Ant's advance; seeing the sharp mouthparts biting towards his thigh,
Keare leaped backward to create distance.
He then swiftly used a pushing sword stance, aiming for the monster's vulnerable mouth area, and plunged it fiercely into the Murder Ant's head, like a stirring rod.
He rotated the sword hilt forcefully.
After crushing the monster's control nerves, even with its thick armor, the Murder Ant still turned into gray dust and completely vanished before his eyes.
"Being clever is the right way."
Practical combat skills.
Of course, it's not about clashing head-on with a monster's strengths.
Quickly finding the Murder Ant's weak point and killing the monster in the easiest way possible is the essence of skill.
This realization was honed during training with Yamato Mikoto.
After decisively dealing with the monster before him, Keare immediately changed targets, relying on his superior speed to move through the Murder Ant swarm.
If he couldn't solve them quickly,
he would change his strategy, attacking the weak points where the monster's torso connected, restricting the Murder Ant's movement.
And once Keare had done these things, the monsters before him were like lambs to the slaughter, easily dispatched with the least effort.
The battle ended.
He didn't even exceed the duration of the 'Optimization' skill's buff.
He looked around; the wall passage from which the Murder Ant swarm had emerged was already repaired, and the monsters that had vanished into gray dust left behind only dark purple magic stones.
"It wasn't as difficult as I imagined…"
"According to the 'Optimization' skill's boost, pushing to at least the 10th floor shouldn't be a problem."
"…"
And having witnessed this entire… undoubtedly magnificent battle, Liliruca, the observer, was undoubtedly thrilled at this moment.
Recalling her past experiences as a Supporter.
Even Lv2 Adventurers might not have dealt with Murder Ants as easily as Keare!
She wasn't foolish enough to think that a rookie Adventurer could uncover her secret, especially one with such exquisite practical combat skills.
And Keare's true strength, even if he wasn't Lv2 yet?
He wouldn't be far from breaking through!
This also meant that as long as she relied on Keare, she would definitely have a chance to successfully escape the mire of Soma Familia, which she so despised.
"Pay any price…"
"If it's just about money, or being a Supporter helping out, those seem like good options?"
Not forgetting her Supporter duties.
Liliruca actively collected the magic stones dropped by the Murder Ants, with no ulterior motives, using a separate collection bag for accounting.
After she finished these tasks,
the girl looked up at Keare, her expression incredibly serious:
"Keare-san."
"I'd like to ask, regarding what you said… the resolve to pay any price, could you explain it more specifically? For example, valis, or something else?"
"…"
The conversation started very directly.
Keare hadn't even thought of a specific explanation yet; after all, Supporters didn't have a need to improve their strength, so could he really continue using the same line as Setsuna?
It would sound ridiculous.
And Liliruca's demand was to leave Soma Familia.
He pondered carefully, thinking about how to subtly guide the girl towards her future, when continuous footsteps from behind completely interrupted his thoughts.
The area of each Dungeon floor was quite vast.
In such a complex network of passages, encountering fellow Adventurers was extremely rare.
Keare subtly looked at Liliruca, and after noticing the girl's bewildered expression, he immediately focused his attention on the direction from which the footsteps came.
The distance was constantly closing.
Aided by the faint illumination of the wall lanterns, the Adventurer's face that finally came into view gave him a sense of déjà vu, as if he had met them somewhere before.
But the emblem symbolizing Soma Familia was particularly conspicuous.
It seemed to be…
the group of addicts who had taken advantage of Liliruca yesterday?
And as the leading Adventurer's hypocritical smile gradually overlapped with yesterday's face, Keare internally wondered if Liliruca was setting him up.
The subsequent conversation gradually dispelled his doubts.
"Liliruca."
The burly Adventurer's smile was full of greed: "I heard you've saved enough money to leave the Familia. As your senior, I've run into some trouble recently."
"I'm here to borrow some money from you; you wouldn't mind, would you?"
The familiar Dungeon environment.
Even the dialogue was very Japanese, but today's situation was different: Keare, who was teamed up with Liliruca, was inevitably drawn into this conflict.
"Isn't this ridiculous…"