A Middle-Aged Man Becomes the Strongest in Another World: The Physical Specialized Awakener - Chapter 12

“What?! Wait, what?! Okuno-san, did you seriously defeat the dungeon boss by yourself?!”

When I went to sell the materials I’d collected, the receptionist, Kisara, suddenly shouted in shock, making me jump a little. 

“Yes, I did. Was that… a problem?”

“Ah, sorry! It’s not that it’s a problem. It’s just that almost no one challenges a dungeon boss solo.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, especially not at F-Rank. And when they do, well… they usually don’t come back.”

“…I see.”

“Well, in that case, congratulations! That’s a huge step toward E-Rank!”

“I remember reading that defeating a boss is one of the requirements for promotion. Is that usually the toughest part?”

“Yeah, kind of. Although if you’re in a party, F-Rank dungeon bosses aren’t too bad. But bosses in higher-ranked dungeons? They’re a whole different story.”

“There’s a D-Rank dungeon in this town, right? I’m guessing that one’s a lot harder?”

“It is. These days it’s not as bad, but back in the day, there were times entire parties went in and not a single person came back…”

“That’s… terrifying.”

The dungeon guides at this guild are actually pretty detailed, including info on bosses. Apparently, the guides were only put together recently. Someone high up in the guild who’s really capable gave the order to create them. As a newbie, I’m incredibly grateful for that.

“Huh? Okuno-san, are these boss materials?” Kisara was holding the two large horns I brought back.

“Yeah, the boss had horns. Wasn’t mentioned in the guide, so it caught me off guard.”

“Wait, hold on, could that have been a rare boss?”

“I don’t know… Is that like a boss that shows up only occasionally?”

“Exactly! If that’s true, this would be the first rare boss encounter ever recorded in that dungeon. I’ll need to get a detailed report from you, would that be alright?”

So it was a rare boss. And the first ever, no less? Did I really get that lucky? …Or maybe unlucky, if it means the fight was harder. That would make more sense. “Of course, I’d be happy to help. That guide’s been a huge help to me, after all.”

And with that, I was shown into a back room again. The horns needed to be sent to headquarters for verification, so the buyout was going to be delayed a bit.

As for the special skill I got, Regeneration, turns out it’s pretty rare. Makes sense that a rare boss would drop a rare skill.

Huh… So I was lucky after all? Well, if this is a sign of good things to come, I’ll take it.

Adventurer Level: 6

Weapon Skills

• Mace: Lv. 8

• Dagger: Lv. 4

• Unarmed Combat: Lv. 4

Armor Skills

• Buckler: Lv. 7

Physical Abilities

• Stamina: Lv. 8

• Strength: Lv. 9

• Speed: Lv. 8

• Agility: Lv. 9

• Reflexes: Lv. 7

Senses

• Vision: Lv. 6

• Hearing: Lv. 5

• Smell: Lv. 3

• Touch: Lv. 3

• Dynamic Vision: Lv. 7

• Aura Sense: Lv. 6

Mental Skills

• Calm Mind: Lv. 5

• Sharp Mind: Lv. 4

• Berserker: Lv. 1 (new)

Special Skills

• Regeneration: Lv. 1 (new)

Lying on the inn bed, I sorted through all the new info in my head.

The new skill Berserker seems to be from that boss fight, probably the one that kicked in when I went into a frenzy. From what I can tell, it boosts attack power when I’m hyped up or in danger. Regeneration is exactly what it sounds like. Thinking about it now, this skill also saves on potions, which makes it a very cost-effective and practical ability. Definitely a keeper.

Now, the big question, what’s next? I already beat the Boulder Dungeon boss, so naturally, I should head to the other F-Rank dungeon in the area. There’s a rule: you can only get one special skill per dungeon. So if I want to keep growing stronger, I need to clear as many dungeons as I can.

Of course, the lower the dungeon’s rank, the less rare the skills you’ll find. The Regeneration skill I got is usually only found in D-Rank or higher dungeons, and even then, it has a low drop rate. I really got lucky.

Anyway, I already looked up the next F-Rank dungeon in the guide. I also plan to ask Kaim about it, but we missed each other at dinner today. Still, even if I go tomorrow, I don’t plan to rush straight to the boss room.

By the way, the boss fight left my clothes in tatters. The shirt I brought from my old life finally gave out. It’s strange, letting go of that shirt kind of makes me feel like I’ve truly become a part of this world. Which, honestly, might not be a bad thing.

As I mulled over all that, I drifted off to sleep.

The other F-Rank dungeon was in a forest a bit outside of town. Following the marks carved into trees, I eventually found a massive tree with a hollow trunk large enough to walk through. It was an eerie, magical sight, but I’ve heard dungeon entrances are always like this.

There were probably a few other parties inside already, but I didn’t see anyone at the entrance. I double-checked my gear and stepped in.

Unlike the rocky walls of the Boulder Dungeon, the walls here looked like tree bark. The variation in textures between dungeons was actually kind of fascinating.

As I followed the map deeper in, my Aura Sense went off. I heard a loud buzzing sound, it had to be a Killer Bee, one of the dungeon’s common monsters. A massive bee the size of a crow appeared. It had a nasty-looking stinger at the end of its abdomen, complete with backward-facing barbs. It definitely looked painful.

It spotted me, wobbled slightly left and right, then flew straight at me, probably going for a sting.

“SPLAT.”

But with Dynamic Vision, Reflexes, and Agility all boosted, I had no trouble responding. I countered with a swing of my mace and blew the bee to pieces.

“It’s fast, but yeah… still F-Rank.”

It dropped a magic stone and a weird balloon-like sack. When I picked it up, it sloshed with liquid, it turned out to be honey. Apparently, sweet stuff is pretty common in this world. I put the honey balloon in a special pouch and headed deeper into the dungeon.

In the end, I made it to the fourth floor above ground and then turned back (this dungeon was the climbing type).

Besides Killer Bees, I also ran into Killer Scissors, giant mantis monsters. They were trickier to deal with, but once I realized I could just break their scythe arms with a counterattack, they quickly stopped being a threat.

All in all, this “Great Tree Dungeon” seems a bit harder than the Boulder Dungeon. Without solid stats in things like Reflexes, you’d probably struggle here.

“You’ve moved on to the Forest Dungeon, huh, Okuno-san?”

Back in town, I stopped by the guild to sell my loot. Kisara noticed the honey sacks I lined up on the table. “Yeah. I want to get as many special skills as I can early on.”

“I get that, but aren’t you rushing a bit? And haven’t you been going nonstop without a break?”

“Well, yeah… I guess I have…”

Kaim and the others seemed to follow a pattern of one day in the dungeon, then two days of rest. Makes sense, this is physically demanding, life-or-death work.

But to be honest, I don’t really have anything else to do. And part of the reason I want to get stronger is, well… to deal with getting older. That kind of motivation keeps me diving back in. Still, I wonder why I don’t feel any fear about risking my life like this.

“If you’re this focused on getting stronger, I guess that means you’ll leave town after clearing the Forest Dungeon. That’s a little sad.”

“Thanks. But it won’t be for a while yet. And I’ll probably be back once I hit D-Rank.”

“Oh, that’s true! But to get to D-Rank, you’ll need to reach E-Rank first. Actually, you’re really close now, so good luck!”

Well, now I feel like charging into the boss room tomorrow. Kisara probably didn’t realize her encouragement would fire me up this much.