"Finally, I can unlock the store! Let's see what good stuff is in there..."
Natsuki Subaru excitedly rubbed his hands together, then summoned the translucent system interface. The brand-new store icon was flashing with an enticing golden light, as if inviting him to click it.
"Open store." Natsuki Subaru let out a light breath, his heart filled with the kind of anticipation one feels when opening a blind box, and mentally clicked on the item list.
Potion Category:
[Unique Healing Potion]
Price: 100 Gold
Effect: Restores a minor amount of HP.
"A Unique Healing Potion, huh..." Natsuki Subaru looked at the healing potion, pondering. "Although the recovery amount isn't high, its advantage is that it's cheap. If I buy a dozen or so to keep on hand, I won't even need to bother Emilia for minor injuries..."
Then, his gaze scanned downwards.
[Sacred Healing Potion]
Price: 500 Gold
Effect: Restores a medium amount of HP.
[Legendary Healing Potion]
Price: 1000 Gold
Effect: Instantly restores all HP.
"Huh... a Legendary Healing Potion, instantly restores all HP! This is practically a second life!" Natsuki Subaru's eyes lit up. "Although it's a bit expensive, it can be life-saving at critical moments. I need to prepare one or two just in case."
His gaze continued downwards; the mana potion series was similarly divided into three tiers.
[Unique Mana Potion]
Price: 100 Gold
Effect: Restores a minor amount of MP.
[Sacred Mana Potion]
Price: 500 Gold
Effect: Restores a medium amount of MP.
[Legendary Mana Potion]
Price: 1000 Gold
Effect: Instantly restores all MP.
[Potion of Heroic Blessing]
Price: 500 Gold
Effect: Increases fighting will, Strength +20, lasts for 10 minutes.
[Potion of Sacred Blessing]
Price: 500 Gold
Effect: Removes all negative statuses.
"The items in the store are all very practical. Looks like I'll have to plan my gold usage carefully." Natsuki Subaru stroked his chin. The value of these potions far exceeded his imagination; not only could they save his life in battle, but they could also significantly increase his leveling efficiency.
So, Natsuki Subaru began to calculate which supplies to prioritize. The store interface scrolled continuously under his operation, and more items gradually came into view.
Equipment Category:
[Advanced Refined Steel Breastplate]3000 Gold
Defense +50
Physical Damage: -5%
Agility: -1%.
[Knight Killer Dagger]5000 Gold
Attack Power +35
Special Effect: Damage to Knight-type Mabeasts +100%
Comes with armor-piercing attribute...
"So it seems the system store is mainly divided into three categories: potions, equipment, and weapons. It's exactly like a supply station in a game." Natsuki Subaru muttered to himself, stroking his chin, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the items in the store. "The practicality of these healing and mana potions is beyond imagination."
"I'll buy a few bottles to try." Natsuki Subaru lightly tapped his finger, selecting several healing potions of different grades.
[You have purchased: Unique Healing Potion x5, Sacred Healing Potion x5, Legendary Healing Potion x2]
Following the purchase confirmation sound, several potions glowing with a soft light appeared out of thin air in his system inventory.
"Healing potions, although they can be life-saving at critical moments, in actual combat, when would I have the chance to slowly drink a potion..." Natsuki Subaru looked at the red-glowing healing potions in his system inventory, his mind involuntarily flashing back to that fierce battle with the Kasaka Venom Fang Lord. Back then, even a 0.1-second lapse in concentration had almost resulted in his throat being pierced by a venomous fang.
"When strong opponents clash, even blinking is a luxury, let alone freeing up a hand to drink a potion..." Thinking this, Natsuki Subaru shook his head again. "Compared to relying on these consumables that require time to use, the status recovery ability is indeed more reliable."
Just as this thought flashed through his mind, another idea struck him like lightning: "Wait... can these healing potions be used on others?" If he could give healing potions to Emilia and Rem, their safety would have an extra layer of assurance.
His fingers flew across the interface as Natsuki Subaru brought up the item details and repeatedly checked them. "The description doesn't explicitly forbid it... so does that mean I can try?" Natsuki Subaru's eyes lit up, and he immediately added several more high-grade healing potions to his shopping list.
"Next is equipment. Speaking of which... I don't think I've ever worn proper armor like this." Natsuki Subaru's gaze shifted to the equipment section. The [Advanced Refined Steel Breastplate] was slowly rotating in a 3D projection. The metal plates reflected a cold glint as they turned, the intricate construction of the joints clearly visible.
"A 50-point defense bonus, and it reduces physical damage by five percent. This armor looks pretty good. Paired with my current 92 Agility, it shouldn't affect my flexibility too much..." Thinking this, Natsuki Subaru lightly tapped the purchase option for the [Advanced Refined Steel Breastplate].
A set of silver-grey breastplate, gleaming with a cold light, appeared out of thin air and fitted itself precisely onto his body.
"This fit... it's like it was custom-made." Natsuki Subaru was surprised to find that every joint of the armor perfectly conformed to his body's curves, not hindering his movement in the slightest.
"All in all, the equipment is not bad... In that case..."
Just as Natsuki Subaru was about to close the system store, his gaze was attracted by equipment for other body parts:
Refined Steel Forehead Protector: Defense +30 (3000 Gold)
Light Steel Armguards: Defense +20 (2500 Gold)
Reinforced Greaves: Defense +25 (3000 Gold)
"Since I'm buying, might as well get a full set." Thinking this, Natsuki Subaru continuously tapped the purchase options. Gold flowed away like water; in the blink of an eye, another ten thousand plus gold coins were gone.
With a mental command, the head, chest, arm, waist, and leg armor pieces were equipped one after another. In an instant, Natsuki Subaru transformed into a heavily armored knight, completely encased in steel.
But in the next second, this equipment began to gradually turn transparent, eventually becoming completely invisible, only showing as equipped in the system's equipment slot.
"I see, physical equipment but with an invisible appearance. This system is quite thoughtful." Natsuki Subaru looked at his equipped gear, then moved his limbs, performing a few difficult acrobatic maneuvers. Apart from a subtle sense of weight, his movement was completely unimpeded.
"This is so convenient! It's completely unnoticeable on the outside and doesn't affect movement at all." Clenching his fist, Natsuki Subaru felt the change in his strength; he could clearly sense the improvement in his defense.
"This has far exceeded expectations! Over ten thousand gold coins well spent!" Although his outward appearance remained that of casual wear, Natsuki Subaru could feel an invisible protective field surrounding him.
Then, Natsuki Subaru pricked his arm with his dagger. The tip of the blade was stopped by a translucent silver light membrane about three centimeters from his skin, emitting a crisp sound of metal colliding.
"I don't need to change weapons for now. The special effects of the Kasaka's Venom Fang dagger are irreplaceable... Well then, let's continue forward."
After closing the system store interface, Natsuki Subaru's fingertips lightly brushed over the spine of the Kasaka's dagger, the sinister green venom patterns glowing faintly in the darkness. "A single sword is enough. The dual effects of paralysis and bleeding are more practical than any other weapon in this environment."
With these words, Natsuki Subaru strode towards the deeper darkness of the dungeon, his boots crushing some unknown skeleton underfoot.
As he ventured deeper, the stench of rotting flesh began to permeate the air. The glowing moss on the walls also became sparse, leaving only a few scattered points of eerie blue light.
Suddenly, a 'kaka' sound of bones rubbing together came from around a corner ahead. Three [Rotten Zombies] with orange markers above their heads shambled out. Maggots crawled over their exposed muscle tissue, and green will-o'-the-wisps danced in their empty eye sockets.
"Orange level... a bit stronger than the previous trash mobs..." Natsuki Subaru instantly lowered his center of gravity, holding the Kasaka's dagger horizontally in front of his chest.
The first zombie suddenly lunged forward with accelerated speed, its rotten claws aiming straight for his throat.
"Zombies... are faster than I expected!" His super-high agility attribute made Natsuki Subaru's body act before his mind could.
Swish!
A sidestep evasion, and the dagger simultaneously thrust into the zombie's temple. The paralysis effect took hold instantly, and the monster froze on the spot.
Puchi!
The blade spun, precisely severing the knee tendons of the second zombie. Foul black blood spurted out, but the bleeding effect had already begun to work, and more pus and blood continued to gush from the wound.
"Get lost!" When the third zombie lunged from his blind spot, Natsuki Subaru had already predicted the attack from the vibrations in the ground. His right leg shot out like a maximally compressed spring, striking squarely on the zombie's caved-in chest.
—Bang!
Amidst the muffled sound of rotting flesh bursting, Natsuki Subaru used the recoil to perform a backflip, his dagger drawing a perfect arc in the air. The sinister green glint of the blade bloomed like a crescent moon, simultaneously slashing across the necks of all three zombies.
[Notification: Experience +1523]
[Notification: Experience +1363]
[Notification: Experience +1500]
[Notification: Level Up]
"Leveled up... This feeling of full-status revival is really nice..." Feeling the new power surging within him, Natsuki Subaru flicked the putrid fluids off his blade. This seemingly long battle had actually, from his first move to its end, lasted less than two breaths.
"But orange-level Mabeasts are indeed a tier stronger than white-level trash mobs," Natsuki Subaru thought to himself. "With the Kasaka's Venom Fang dagger's paralysis for crowd control, and the considerable bleed damage, it was quite easy to deal with them."
"Let's see what dropped." Squatting down, Natsuki Subaru used the tip of his dagger to pick open the rotten chest cavity of a zombie. Three finger bones, wreathed in black mist, were emitting an eerie light. A system prompt immediately popped up:
[Obtained: Cursed Finger Bones x3]
[Quality: Common]
[Description: Bones tainted with undead resentment]
[Recycle Value: 50 Gold/each]
"Tsk... this stuff is truly disgusting..." After a moment's hesitation, Natsuki Subaru still chose to recycle them. As the finger bones dissipated into points of light, another 150 gold coins were added to his system account.
"Every little bit helps, it all adds up..." With these words, Natsuki Subaru continued deeper into the dungeon.
With the dual effects of the Kasaka's dagger and his constantly increasing level attributes, he consistently maintained absolute dominance. Of course, as he ventured deeper, the Mabeasts he encountered all had orange markers above their heads—Poisonous Centipedes, Shadow Werewolves, Vampires... The strength of these Mabeasts had clearly risen by a tier.
By now, Natsuki Subaru had been fighting continuously in the solo dungeon instance for several hours, consuming 7 healing potions and leveling up multiple times during this period.
"My level has unknowingly reached 30..." Natsuki Subaru clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him, a satisfied smile on his face. "As expected, grinding monsters in a dungeon is the fastest way to level up. The current me can easily crush the me from when I first entered."
Until—
"...Huh?" After passing through a wide cavern filled with stalactites, Natsuki Subaru suddenly shivered all over. Even having reached level 30, the oppressive aura washing over him still made his heart pound violently, as if gripped by an invisible giant hand.
"This oppressive feeling... it's exactly like prey being targeted by a natural predator. It's on a completely different level from the Mabeasts I've encountered before. Could it be... the Lord?"
As if in response to Natsuki Subaru's guess, a system notification sound suddenly rang out:
[Notification: You have entered the Lord's Room]
The sight before him was horrifying. The entire cavern seemed to have been pushed open from the inside by some giant creature, forming a perfect spherical space.
Countless silvery-grey spider webs, like living things, squirmed on the rock walls, woven into overlapping curtains of death. Each sticky web nest contained constantly twitching egg sacs, and beneath the translucent egg membranes, distorted spider hatchlings could be vaguely seen.
The smallest egg sacs were the size of a child, while the largest were even comparable to an adult's height.
And on the spiderweb throne in the very center of the cavern...
"Scree—kaa!"
Accompanied by a teeth-grinding sound of chitinous limbs rubbing together, eight crimson compound eyes lit up simultaneously. A giant spider body, exceeding ten meters in diameter, slowly turned, its black exoskeleton covered in bizarre blood-red patterns.
Its front two pairs of scythe-like legs waved casually, plowing deep furrows into the ground. Liquid dripping from its venom fangs corroded the rocks with a 'sizzling' sound, giving off puffs of acrid white smoke.
Above the Mabeast's head, a dark red system marker was as glaring as fresh blood:
[Spider Queen Arachne!]
"Also a dark red marker, but this oppressive feeling is much stronger than Blue Venom Fang Kasaka's..." Natsuki Subaru calmly gazed at the behemoth before him, surprisingly finding himself feeling no fear whatsoever.
Recalling his pathetic state when he last encountered the Lord, Blue Venom Fang Kasaka, the current him was a world apart.
"Level 30 attributes and skills, plus a full set of refined steel armor, and the combat experience gained during this period." Natsuki Subaru tightened his grip on the Kasaka's dagger. The venom patterns on its blade seemed to sense their master's fighting spirit and began to glow with a sinister green light.
"Come on, big spider!"
"Let me see..."
"Just how much I've grown—"
A confident arc lifted the corners of Natsuki Subaru's lips. He slightly lowered his center of gravity, his right foot stepping back half a pace, the Kasaka's dagger held diagonally towards the ground at the most convenient angle.
"Scree—kaa—!"
The instant the last syllable fell, countless thousands of egg sacs burst simultaneously. Innumerable fist-sized spiderlings rained down like a black deluge. And Queen Arachne, her ten-meter-long body launched itself with unnatural speed, its sharp forelimbs tearing through the air with a piercing shriek!
The battle officially began.
___
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