Killer Ants.
And a lot of them.
The Guild rates each floor's difficulty. Any Level 1 adventurer with F-tier stats can make a safe round trip through this zone.
After yesterday's status update, several of Keyaru's stats had already broken past F. With the combat experience he'd forged, even faced with a swarm of Killer Ants, he kept a cool head.
He glanced back at his supporter, Lili. She already had her hand crossbow up, no sign of retreat—fully ready to assist.
"I'll handle it."
Stats are like a different kind of EXP bar—numbers tied to each capability. Keyaru's current flaw was simple: he had a Healer's derivatives, but his numbers hadn't climbed enough. If he wanted a full, balanced rise in stats, he needed fights that actually put him under pressure.
And here it was: another "rookie killer," and a lot of them. The Dungeon had basically set the stage for him.
"Mm." Lili nodded hard.
She'd joined his party with an agenda of her own. Once she realized normal means wouldn't get her out of the Soma Familia, her only real option was… to trust Keyaru?
But that bone-deep distrust of adventurers doesn't vanish overnight. She needed to see it with her own eyes.
The early floors had gone smoothly. He'd shown zero strain against the common monsters, cutting them down with technique alone. Plenty of same-rank adventurers can manage that, though.
This mass of Killer Ants would be a better test of Keyaru's real strength.
She fell back to a safe distance and watched. What she saw next made even Lili stare in disbelief.
…
Giving a monster "a chance" is just disrespecting your own life.
Keyaru agreed. Keeping it steady, he triggered Transformation; once his body was synced with the all-around boost, he took in the battlefield at a glance.
They were fully plated in heavy armor. Could his blade chew straight through? Only one way to find out.
Two hands on the short sword, a full-power side cut—so fast the eye caught only afterimages—power blooming through the edge.
Target: the sharp hook-claws on the ant's back.
Crack—armor splintered with a crisp report.
That shut down its main offensive tool, but didn't stop the push. As the mandibles lunged for his thigh, Keyaru popped back to open space, then flipped his grip and drove the point in with a thrust, ramming through the thinly armored mouth and into the head—then twisting hard, like stirring a pot.
With its motor nerves shredded, even that heavy armor didn't matter. The ant dissolved into gray dust.
"Playing it smart is playing it right."
Technique isn't about butting heads with a monster's strengths.
Find the weak spot fast, kill with the least effort—that's the essence of craft. He'd hammered that in while training with Mikoto.
Dispatching the first ant cleanly, Keyaru shifted targets. Using his speed, he wove through the swarm. If he couldn't end them quickly, he changed plans—attacking the weak joints where the body segments met, restricting movement.
Once he'd done that, the ants were lambs to the slaughter; he finished them with minimal effort.
The fight ended before Transformation even wore off.
He looked around. The hole in the wall they'd poured from had already sealed over; all that remained were deep-purple magic stones where the ants had turned to dust.
"Not as bad as I thought… With Transformation at this level, pushing to Floor 10 shouldn't be a problem."
…
Watching the whole—yes, downright showy—battle, Lili couldn't help feeling a rush.
Thinking back on her past work as a supporter: even some Level 2s didn't handle Killer Ants this easily.
She hadn't naively assumed a rookie could see through her secret; even less so that he'd have this level of live combat.
Whatever he was—if he wasn't Level 2 yet, he wasn't far off.
Which meant that if she staked everything on Keyaru, she might really escape the Soma Familia mud pit she loathed.
"Pay any price… If it's just money, or working as a supporter, those both sound… workable."
She hadn't forgotten her job. Lili briskly collected the ants' magic stones—no funny business—tallying them in a separate pouch.
When she'd finished, she looked up at Keyaru, her expression deadly serious.
"Mr. Keyaru. About what you said—being ready to 'pay any price'… could you be more specific? Do you mean valis, or… something else?"
…
She'd gone straight for it. Keyaru hadn't settled on an exact line yet. A supporter doesn't exactly need power-up training, and reusing that "Setsuna speech" felt ridiculous even in his head.
Lili's goal was to leave the Soma Familia. He weighed how to nudge her, gently, toward seizing the future—when approaching footsteps cut his thoughts short.
Each floor of the Dungeon sprawls, a maze of passages. Running into other parties here is rare.
He shot Lili a look; her blank confusion told him nothing. He focused on the sound's direction.
The steps grew nearer. In the dim lantern-fruit glow, the faces finally came into view—and gave him a jolt of déjà vu.
The Soma Familia crest was unmistakable.
Looked like… the same drunks who'd shaken Lili down yesterday?
The lead adventurer's oily smile slid into place, matching yesterday's face. For a moment Keyaru wondered if Lili had set him up—but their opening line dispelled the doubt.
"Liliruca," the burly one said, eyes greedy. "Heard you've saved up to leave the Familia. As your senior, I've hit a rough patch."
"Lend me a little money, won't you?"
Same old Dungeon, same old dialogue—but today was different. With Keyaru and Lili teamed up, he was inevitably pulled into the storm.