A Middle-Aged Man Becomes the Strongest in Another World: The Physical Specialized Awakener - Chapter 7

The next morning, I headed into Big Boulder Dungeon like it was the most natural thing in the world. I reached the entrance to the third basement floor without any issues.

Along the way, it seemed like I’d leveled up again, now Adventurer Level 4. I can take down Rock Lizards with a single hit, and even when two of them show up at once, I end the fight in seconds.

“Maybe I’ll go down just a little…”

Last night, I bought the young man a drink and got some more info from him. According to him, the third floor has the same monsters, just more of them. Rock Lizards and Goblins show up in groups of four or five, but nothing too different otherwise.

Of course, fighting alone means that even small groups are a much bigger risk. But honestly, I’m pretty confident I can handle up to five at once. That’s because while I was fighting groups today and consciously thinking about movement and positioning, I felt my mind go sharper. Like I gained a skill, probably something like Sharp Mind.

I double-checked my gear and descended to the third basement floor. 

The corridors on the third floor were about twice as wide as the ones above. I moved along the path while checking my map when my Aura Sense picked something up, five goblins.

They moved to surround me, trying to box me in. If I’d just stood still, I’d have been beaten to a pulp. Instead, I charged forward with my buckler held out front, slamming into the middle goblin with full force. It flew backward, already dead from the impact. With a large enough weight difference, a body slam can be a finishing blow.

I spun around and struck the remaining goblins as they scrambled to regroup. My mace is now strong enough to crush a goblin’s head in one hit. Things got a little messy, and I took two or three blows from their wooden clubs, but I managed to finish them all off in under 30 seconds.

“Ow… That’s gonna bruise.”

I rolled up my sleeve. The spot where I’d been hit was already turning purple and throbbing. It hurt, so even though it felt wasteful, I used a potion. Apparently, once you unseal a potion, it starts to degrade, so you’re meant to use it all in one go.

Fighting groups is tougher than I thought. Honestly, soloing against a mob isn’t normal. I figured I could manage with good movement, but monsters just rush you head-on, so it turns into a brawl pretty quickly. If they’d been Rock Lizards, one of them probably would’ve sunk its teeth into me.

“I definitely need to come up with a better strategy.”

So I turned back and left the dungeon. It was still early, so of course I spent the rest of the time doing a solid training session at my usual “makeshift gym.”

On the way back, I brainstormed how to handle group fights.

Basically, my only options are: level up and get better gear to brute-force through, and change weapons and adjust my fighting style. Of course, the most obvious solution is “form a party,” but I’m leaving that off the table for now.

For leveling up, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing: physical training and real combat experience. Pretty much the same method I learned back in high school sports club. So that leaves “changing weapons” as the next thing to consider.

The mace is easy to handle and great in close-range fights, but the short reach is a big drawback. That means using a long weapon could be a good idea, even if narrow hallways make it tricky sometimes.

Actually, the blacksmith had recommended a spear when I first came in, but I couldn’t afford one at the time. Just to confirm, I stopped by the weapon shop before going to the guild.

“Hey there! Oh, it’s you again. What’s up? Did you already break that mace?” The shopkeeper, a guy around my age, greeted me. He also works as a blacksmith, so he’s got a strong, burly frame.

“Hey. No, the mace is fine. I’m just thinking about weapons for fighting groups.”

“Groups? You mean you’re trying to take on a bunch of enemies by yourself?”

“Yeah. The mace gets too chaotic in group fights. I was thinking maybe a longer weapon to keep some distance.”

“Well, first off, you should really find some teammates… but I get it, sometimes that’s not an option. If you’re not going with bows or anything ranged, then yeah, a spear’s probably your best bet. Halberds and glaives are hard to handle and not great in tight spaces.”

He’s right. Glaives are basically Japanese naginata, and halberds are like a spear-axe hybrid.

“Yeah, I figured.”

“But adventurer spears are made entirely from metal, so they’re pricey. The cheapest one I’ve got is 280,000 rom.” He pointed at a sleek, black, two-meter-long spear leaning against the wall.

Apparently, adventurer weapons are full metal because wooden shafts can’t handle the power of Awakened users.

“Still out of my price range. I’ll save up and come back.”

“Alright. So were those group fights on the second floor? Or does that happen on the first too?”

“Nope, it was the third floor. Five goblins at once was too much.”

“You went down to the third floor alone?! Damn, you’re bold. Seriously, be careful. You’re the only guy I’ve seen start adventuring at our age. Try not to get yourself killed, okay?”

“Thanks. Oh right, aside from weapons, I’m also looking for some kind of training equipment.”

“Training gear? Like what?”

“Well… basically just heavy weights. Preferably shaped so I can hold them like this…”

I described the shape of a dumbbell. The shopkeeper tilted his head a bit, then said, “So basically you just want a heavy metal bar you can grip? Hold on.”

He went into the back and returned with a thick metal rod, about 5 cm in diameter and 50 cm long. Well, ‘returned’ isn’t quite right. He wheeled it out on a cart. “How about this? Try lifting it. Fair warning, it’s way heavier than it looks.”

I picked it up and was shocked, it was unbelievably heavy. Easily over 50 kilos, maybe even close to 100. It definitely didn’t feel like normal iron. Does a metal this dense even exist?

“That’s Dark Metal. Super heavy stuff. But it’s got weird properties, weak to shock and doesn’t mix with other metals, so we can’t use it for weapons. Makes a good training weight though. Sounds like just what you need.”

“Yeah, this’ll be great for strength training.”

“It’s kind of rare, so… how about 80,000 rom? That’s just a little profit on top of what I paid for it.”

Not exactly cheap. But I get the feeling this’ll really help my training. Sure, I need to save for a spear too, but increasing my strength and skills might give me more flexibility overall.

“I’ll take it.” And just like that, I left the shop with a ridiculously heavy rod.

Now that my adventurer life here has finally settled into a routine, I found myself lying on the inn bed, thinking about my old life.

My parents are still alive, and I’ve got a younger brother and sister, so they’ll probably be okay. I do feel bad for my brother, he’s probably stuck taking care of our parents now. But my heart must’ve stopped, so there’s not much I can do about that.

As for my ex-wife… she already had a new partner, so I really don’t care.

Work-wise, I was the project lead on something new, but someone else will fill in. Jobs at a company can always be done by someone else.

Huh… maybe it’s not something I need to dwell on after all. My family and a few close friends will mourn me, sure, but that’s about it. Of course I feel a bit of sadness, but at my age, emotions don’t last long. I’ll just focus on living out the rest of my life, however strange it may look now.

Speaking of which, Kisara said something odd the other day. Apparently, Awakened people age slower… but only if they keep fighting strong monsters. If you stick to weak ones, you’ll age normally. Basically, if you want to live longer, you have to keep risking your life.

What a messed-up system.

If that’s the case, starting middle-aged means I have to get stronger and fight tougher monsters just to extend what’s left of my life? Man… what kind of trash game is this?

I guess I can’t afford to stay stuck in an F-rank dungeon forever. Time to ramp up training, earn more money. So in the end, even in this world, I’m stuck living a life of endless quotas. Typical.