After returning to town, I entered the Adventurers' Guild building once more.
I needed the guild to buy the materials from the Killing Bear I had defeated earlier.
Even though I had gained new abilities for Instant Death Magic, my strength was still nowhere near that of S-rank adventurers like Allen or Balzaak.
To grow stronger from here, I needed to defeat far more monsters and raise my skill level.
My current abilities were not yet reliable enough to head to other places.
So where was a place with many monsters?
A dungeon.
Near the adventurer town of Boltana, several dungeons teemed with monsters.
Clearing them and defeating the creatures inside would be the fastest way forward.
However, entering a dungeon required preparation, and that cost money.
I headed straight to the counter.
"I'd like to sell materials."
"Oh? You're the one from earlier…"
While speaking to the receptionist, I used my new ability, Coffin of the Dead, and made the Killing Bear appear on the guild floor.
"—Eh?"
In that instant, the receptionist's face filled with shock.
She seemed unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"Wh-what was that!? And this is… a Killing Bear!? How did you defeat a monster like this!?"
"I killed it. My Instant Death Magic happened to work."
My words caused the adventurers in the guild to start murmuring.
"Hey, isn't that the weakest guy in humanity? But he took down a Killing Bear…?"
"And didn't a monster corpse just appear out of nowhere on the floor?"
"Level 1 beating a B-rank monster? You've got to be kidding."
"For now, I'd appreciate it if you could buy the materials."
I urged the stunned receptionist to do her job.
"Ah—yes! Everyone! B-rank materials incoming—help out!"
Snapping back to herself, the receptionist called out, and other staff members carried the Killing Bear to the back.
After waiting a while, a male staff member returned from the rear.
He spoke briefly to the receptionist, then handed her a heavy leather pouch.
She slowly extended the pouch toward me.
"Th-this is the payment for the materials: one hundred gold coins. Most of the parts were in excellent condition, so we've added a bonus according to guild appraisal standards."
"Thank you."
I took the leather pouch and quickly left the guild.
The reward from the materials came to one hundred gold coins.
That was a considerable sum—enough to cover food and other needs for quite some time.
(But from now on, I should probably stop using the Adventurers' Guild…)
Because the guild still saw me as level-cap-1 trash.
If someone like me kept bringing in materials from monsters far beyond my supposed strength, people would definitely suspect something was wrong.
Adventurers usually formed parties to act together, but I could not join one.
No one would want to party with a level 1 in the first place, and more importantly, I did not want others to learn the details of my Instant Death Magic.
(For now, let's prepare to enter the dungeon.)
With enough money in hand, I moved on to the next step.
The main street outside the guild was lined with various shops.
In an adventurer hub like Boltana, stores catering to adventurers were naturally plentiful.
I went to a general store and bought the necessities.
Several potions for emergencies.
Torches to light the darkness.
Water and portable rations.
And a map.
I bought only one day's worth of water and food.
Today was just a test run.
Carrying too much would weigh me down, and with my current stats, heavy armor was out of the question.
Coffin of the Dead only stored targets defeated by Instant Death Magic.
Normal luggage still had to be carried by hand.
But perhaps I could disguise that somehow. I would test the idea once inside the dungeon.
The dungeon entrance was near town.
The closest one lay about an hour's walk east through the forest.
I checked the map and headed there.
After leaving town and walking for a while, the atmosphere suddenly turned damp and oppressive.
(…This is the entrance.)
Before me stretched a massive cave leading underground.
The dungeon entrance.
From what I had heard, dungeons were divided into layers, each with vastly different scenery.
The deeper the layer, the stronger the monsters and the greater the danger—but also the more valuable the treasures sleeping within.
Many adventurers challenged such dungeons, gaining wealth and fame from monster materials and loot.
But none of that mattered to me.
My only goal was to defeat the monsters crawling through this dungeon and become stronger.
As I stepped into the cave, a dry wind blew from somewhere inside.
The uppermost area, called the "upper layer," closest to the surface, supposedly did not spawn particularly vicious monsters.
It was the perfect place to test my improved Instant Death Magic.
I advanced deeper into the dim dungeon.
『Gii! Gigiii!!』
From the darkness ahead came something like a cry.
What emerged was a green-skinned, small-statured monster—a goblin.
About ten of them.
Each carried a tattered sword or shield.
Goblins were E-rank monsters like slimes, but they acted in groups, wielded weapons, and possessed a degree of intelligence, making them far more dangerous if underestimated.
Goblins lived in forests and dungeons like this, attacking nearby people.
To them, a lone person walking through the dungeon must have looked like easy prey.
The goblins raised their swords and daggers and charged without hesitation, intent on taking my life.
But that was fine.
It made it easier for me to fight without reservation.
""Death""
Keeping the effective range in mind, I waited until they closed in enough, then unleashed "Death" at the lead goblin.
『Gieeeeh!!』
The jet-black wave struck the first one.
Just like with the Killing Bear, it let out a death scream and collapsed, motionless.
『Gigigi!?』
The remaining goblins froze for a moment, perhaps from fear at their companion's sudden fall.
Then they surrounded me.
""Death""
Without pause, I fired the next Instant Death Magic.
『Gyaiii!!』
The second goblin fell helplessly to the ground.
『Gi!』
A goblin right behind me swung its sword, but I easily dodged.
With each goblin defeated, my body felt lighter, power surging through me.
I grabbed one goblin by the face and activated the magic.
""Death""
The third "Death"—which my original mana should never have allowed—fired successfully.
Just as expected.
『Gigi…』
The third goblin crumpled to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.
""Death", "Death", "Death", "Death""
Dodging attacks, I fired repeatedly.
""Death", "Death", "Death""
Before I knew it, every goblin around me lay motionless on the ground.
"As expected, no skill level up this time."
Perhaps because I had jumped so far after killing the Killing Bear, these goblins did not provide enough experience.
But there were gains.
"Status."
At my voice, the semi-transparent board appeared.
======================================
[Basic Status]
Name: Ark
Class: Magician
Level: 1
HP: 215/215
MP: 10/60
Attack: 42
Defense: 54
Stamina: 44
Speed: 43
Intelligence: 33
[Owned Skill]
・Instant Death Magic Lv20
[Owned Abilities]
・Mana Consumption Halved Lv1
・Effective Range Up Lv1
・Success Rate Up Lv2
・Coffin of the Dead
・Soul Collection
======================================
Defeating the goblins had activated Soul Collection, raising my stats.
That allowed me to fire ten "Death" spells in quick succession.
The Success Rate Up effect seemed substantial—I had not felt a single failure yet.
If needed, I could drink a mana recovery potion, but at this rate, I could advance while restoring mana along the way.
I used Coffin of the Dead to store the goblins.
When I held out my hand, their equipment vanished along with them. It seemed the ability recognized gear as part of the body.
With that done, I began walking deeper into the dungeon once more.