A Middle-Aged Man Becomes the Strongest in Another World: The Physical Specialized Awakener - Chapter 6

Adventurer Level: 2

Weapon Skills

• Mace: Lv. 4

• Dagger: Lv. 2

Defense Skills

• Buckler: Lv. 3

Physical Abilities

• Stamina: Lv. 3

• Strength: Lv. 4

• Speed: Lv. 3

• Agility: Lv. 4

• Reflexes: Lv. 3

Sensory Skills

• Vision: Lv. 3

• Hearing: Lv. 2

• Smell: Lv. 2

• Touch: Lv. 2

• Dynamic Vision: Lv. 3

• Aura Sense: Lv. 3

Mental Skills

• Calm Mind: Lv. 2

The next morning, I went back to Big Boulder Dungeon, same as usual. I waited a bit after the earlier adventuring parties went in before following them inside. Just like yesterday, I started with the left path, the dead-end route from the first fork.

Goblin spawn rates seemed about the same as the first time I came in. I guess after some time passes, the monster appearance rate resets. I wiped out six goblins, returned to the fork, and this time went down the right path, the main route.

I figured there’d be fewer enemies since other parties had already passed through, but before I even reached the slope leading to the second floor, I ended up fighting around 20 goblins. Then again, the distance was much longer than the left path.

Still, goblins aren’t even a challenge anymore. Even when three show up at once, I can overpower them easily, heck, I can take all three down with a single swing now.

Including yesterday, I’ve defeated over 50 goblins. Finally, my Adventurer Level hit 3. Honestly, though, goblins aren’t cutting it for me anymore.

‘Wait, was I always this battle-hungry?’

Anyway, curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to head down to the second basement floor. I’d heard from that young guy in the cafeteria that his party mostly fights on the fifth floor, the very bottom of the dungeon. Apparently, the other parties hang around floors four and five too.

The second floor looked a lot like the first one. I kept checking my position on the map as I moved forward. After encountering a few more goblins, I finally came across a new monster.

A lizard, about the size of a small crocodile, with rocky, armored skin, Rock Lizard. Its attacks were mainly biting and whipping with its tail. It came at me with a scratchy, skittering sound, then opened its mouth wide to bite. “WHAM!”

I countered with a sideways swing of my mace right to its face. Thanks to Reflexes and Dynamic Vision, I was able to pull off that kind of precision strike. The Rock Lizard was knocked flat and thrashed on its back. It survived the hit though, so it must have more defense than a goblin.

I walked up and slammed my mace into its exposed white belly. It let out a pained screech and died. It left behind a magic stone and some hide. The stone’s great, but the hide’s bulky, still, I picked it up anyway.

I kept going, it seemed like I could handle these things. Sometimes two would show up at once, but since they’re not that fast, I could handle them just fine. After killing about 20 goblins and 20 Rock Lizards, I reached the slope down to the third basement floor. That was enough for today. No need to push my luck.

Just as I turned to leave, I sensed someone approaching from further down the slope.

“Hey, it’s the old guy. Don’t go to the third floor, you’ll get wrecked solo.” Coming up the slope was that young guy and his party.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning to. Just getting here was already a handful.”

“If you say so. Still, it’s kinda crazy you made it this far alone.”

“Yeah, maybe. By the way, did you guys make it to the fifth floor today?”

He shook his head. “Nah, we ran into a bunch of Boarwolves, so we called it early. Without someone who has an Item Box, we can’t carry all the materials anyway. Still made three days’ worth of money though, so no complaints.”

“I see… so, Item Box is a skill, right?”

“You didn’t know? It’s a skill that lets you carry tons of stuff. Kind of like magic. Most C-rank or higher parties have at least one person with it. Monsters at that level drop huge materials, after all.”

“Huh… sounds like a whole different world.”

“Yeah. Honestly, just making a living at the lower levels isn’t so bad. I’ve heard higher-rank dungeons eat through your lives like nothing. Not that this one’s safe either, let your guard down and you’re dead. So keep your head on straight.”

“Thanks. I’ll be careful.”

“Alright, see ya.”

With that, the party walked off. After a few chats, I was starting to get a read on the guy. Seems like a talkative, well-meaning type. Still, that Item Box skill, it’s probably like a game feature, carry way more than you realistically should. I already know how to get one.

You beat a dungeon boss. Supposedly, defeating one gives you a random special skill. If I get lucky, I might land the Item Box myself.

Also, his comment earlier helped me understand why they’re still in this beginner dungeon. “Making a daily living at low rank,” so that kind of laid-back adventuring lifestyle is possible too. That made me wonder, what kind of path am I going to take? I guess I’ll be figuring that out as I keep diving deeper.

“Wait, Mr. Okuno, you already made it to the second floor? And took down this many Rock Lizards?” Back at the guild, when I laid out the materials I’d gathered, the usual receptionist, Kisara, stared in surprise. She’s the pink-haired girl in pigtails, cute and surprisingly capable.

“Is that really so surprising?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be for someone who’s already E-rank. But for someone who’s only been an adventurer for five days? That’s rare. Are you sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard?”

“I don’t think I’m overdoing it.”

“You sure you’re not already used to fighting? You might actually become a top-tier adventurer, Mr. Okuno.”

“Haha, well, that’d be nice, but there’s still a long road ahead.”

“True. Even reaching D-rank is pretty tough. I guess the first step for you would be finding a party.”

“Not likely until I get stronger. People say it’s rare to Awaken at my age, so I doubt many would want to team up with me.”

“Yeah, that part is kind of odd. My dad said he was relieved he’d passed the age where Awakening was possible.”

“Trust me, I was just as shocked when it happened.”

Being compared to Kisara’s dad definitely made me feel how weird my situation is. Forming a party probably is going to be hard. Young adventurers usually group up with others their age. It’s kind of like work, young employees rarely invite veterans out for dinner, right?

Then again, I’ve always done things solo. Thinking back on my life, that just feels right. I took my payment, nearly 50,000 rom, and left the guild.

I bought three skewers from a food stall and munched on them as I walked. 

Diving to the second floor of an F-rank dungeon nets me 50,000 rom a day. That’s like earning 50,000 yen daily in Japan. By any measure, not bad actually, pretty high pay. Then again, food in this world seems two to three times more expensive than in Japan, so it doesn’t go as far.

And I still have to pay for lodging. The current inn I’m staying at costs 6,000 rom per night, but I really don’t want to keep living there. The only other inn in town, meant for D-rank adventurers, costs 20,000 rom a night.

What’s worse is how insanely expensive adventurer gear is.

Weapons and armor take damage with regular use, and maintenance is a constant. Even the clothes I wear will fall apart quickly. And potions? The lowest tier, rank 5, costs 15,000 rom. As Kisara said earlier, if you get seriously injured, treatment can cost 450,000 rom. That’s pricey, but considering how powerful potions are, maybe it’s not that unreasonable.

Still, all that adds up. Even 50,000 rom a day, while risking your life, barely covers things.

Kisara mentioned that magic stones get more valuable as the monster rank goes up. So if I want to actually live well as an adventurer, I’ll eventually have to move up the ranks and fight stronger monsters.

In the end, it’s all about choosing where to strike the balance between risk and reward. Honestly, it’s just like life back in my old world.

I finished off all three meat skewers before I reached the inn. I noticed it again today, right after eating, I feel like the nutrients spread through my body instantly.

Could that be another effect of Awakening? Maybe if I work out afterward, I’ll see better gains. Might as well experiment.

That night, I tried doing bodyweight training in my room but with how strong my body is now, it didn’t seem to do much. I guess I’ll ask the blacksmith to make me some dumbbells or something later.