The effects of the mana depletion seemed a little weaker today.
It was too soon for my mana reserves to have increased, and I could confirm that there was no noticeable change from looking at the menus, but still...
I felt more motivated and light. Maybe the increase in strength was responsible for this, but if I'm being honest, the excitement about yesterday was probably the one to blame.
Even then, I tried not to overdo anything and took it easy before going to the Dungeon.
I tidied things up a little in the house, and when the agreed time for our party to meet up was near, I left my home to visit the Dungeon.
Roy and Sam had not brought any new equipment, which was comprehensive considering yesterday's pay.
Before investing heavily, they probably wanted to clear this floor and discover whether they can reliably climb up. Also... Thanks to our recent increase in ability, we shouldn't face too much danger unless we ventured deep into the first floor.
I could feel an air of confidence coming from them, which I felt was a little funny, but I couldn't blame them for it.
We had only taken one or two steps forward in what can be a decade or lifelong journey for some.
Many never reach the top or even close to it...
It's obviously too soon to be proud, but... It's never a bad thing to be happy about achievements.
Even the small ones.
In the back of everyone's mind, we believed today would go smoothly, and there was good reason for this, considering how our weaker selves performed before.
Still, I tend to be a little reserved with things like this... Confidence is important, but it can lead to bad results, so I kept reminding myself that moderation was key, even as my heart raced more than usual.
In the end, the most recurrent factor that separates those who live from those who die is how much they kept up their guard.
Even if humanity has adapted to this world, we might never learn everything there is about it.
Especially since now, logic-defying phenomena are the norm. When you can't predict anything, the best you can do is prepare yourself for everything... Or as much as you can, at the very least.
These thoughts permeated my mind, but I knew better than to be a killjoy, so after greeting the two of them with my best attempt at a confident smile, we entered the Dungeon Gate to start our second raid.
This time, with hopes for even more progress.
Quickly, the difference between levels one and two became apparent to us.
Before, almost any enemy in the Dungeon, even the weaker slimes, were a danger that could claim our lives if we were too careless.
Every encounter made us anxious, knowing it would be a battle even if we had the numerical advantage.
But that changed a little. Our wiggle room was bigger; when clashing against an enemy, we could overpower them without nearly as much difficulty.
One thing I didn't account for was Roy's injury. It had affected his performance from early on in the raid, so now that it was healed and he had a little bit of combat experience, he became much more effective, with most enemies not being a problem for him to deal with.
Interestingly, the same was true for Sam.
She was already capable, but it felt like the gap between us had grown.
Our stats were basically the same, but watching her perform, I couldn't help but think she was doing a lot.
Even though I could overpower her for five seconds using [Physical Prowess], I definitely couldn't defeat her in that time frame, so in my opinion, she still held the title of the strongest in our party.
Thankfully, she was an ally to count on, so any idea of confronting her was just a way for me to measure both of us and better visualize our strength.
During this expedition, we earned a little more combat experience, but when it came to our levels...
It was lacking a little.
We had focused on staying close to the settlement and the gate leading out, far enough for hunting, but still within reach of help or a quick escape if needed.
The problem was that by going deeper, we risked encountering monsters that had survived longer. And since they, like us, could grow stronger and level up over time, they often gave more experience when killed.
The risks increase proportionally, with each encounter tougher than the last, but as we moved through the Dungeon quicker than yesterday, we were bound to reach the area we had left off at previously, and soon, we had to make a decision.
It was a greedy move, but ultimately, we decided to do it, feeling we had what it took to deal with more powerful monsters.
We also had the option of challenging the boss of this floor, but while that would reward us way more, practically guaranteeing a level-up, the danger was... A deal breaker for me.
This Dungeon is considered easy because of the low level cap for monsters and adventurers and its small increase in levels from floor to floor. Its monsters are also quite weak on the first few floors, but...
The boss is a different story.
It's one of the more challenging ones for a first floor in an "easy" Dungeon, and it's said that for someone at level one, without an amazing Gift, challenging it alone is suicide.
At this level, at least five people are necessary, but the odds would hardly be on their side.
With the boss standing at the level cap of three, and four other goblins in the room, two of them being just one level below the cap, without numerical parity and level advantage against the weaker enemies, a good Gift or skill is necessary.
Our party is decent in that regard, the three of us having higher than average combat ability for our level, but...
The way I see it, our best shot would be to have Sam distract the boss while Roy and I took on two goblins each.
We'd definitely get injured, but Sam should be able to avoid the boss for long enough for us to assemble and kill it.
So, yes, we have a chance of winning.
It's just that... It's too much of a close call, and to me, it feels unnecessary.
Thankfully, when we passed by the door leading to the Boss Room, everyone silently gazed upon it, and we carefully made our way, not a single comment suggesting we enter it.
Still... This was a challenge we would have to face soon.
A Dungeon caps every level to the maximum of that floor. On this floor, that meant that even if one had a skill or was himself at a higher level, the cap would reduce everything to, at most, level three.
This also includes stats, which enables some people to farm levels in Dungeons with higher caps, spreading their stats to maintain them below the cap and then revisiting the Dungeon where they are capped, hopefully being able to advance to the next floor and being able to farm more levels there.
Although this strategy of hopping from Dungeon to Dungeon is costly, long, and tiresome.
It also causes the adventurers who do it to end up weaker than they could be since their balanced builds don't allow them to focus on something as much as they could.
It's useful, but ultimately, it's almost like admitting defeat.
The strongest parties always have designated roles, and while they can use some people with balanced stats too, they never build with that in mind, making it hard for these people to find a spot...
In any case, we kept our guards up as much as we could when hunting near the Boss Room since even if we didn't want to face the boss yet, there's no telling when a Boss Rush might happen.
They are one of the rarest and most mysterious events in the Dungeon, but also one of the most dreadful, always causing several casualties when they happen in lower floors.
They enable the boss to leave their room and roam freely in the Dungeon, often finding their way to the exit gate.
And sometimes, a special Boss Rush happens...
A boss from a lower floor takes the place of the current one and leaves the room.
And although its level is capped...
The difficulty is not something anyone can prepare for.
Even veterans can only retreat or accept their fate when this happens.
There are many stories of parties almost totally wiped out to give a single member a chance to escape and notify as many people as possible so that a subjugation request can be issued, so that teams can be formed with the sole purpose of killing the boss, inside, or outside the Dungeon.
Usually, high and top-tier adventurers are called for these jobs, since although their level and skills are capped, they are the only ones who can keep up a fair fight.
I believe this explains why people tend to avoid staying near the Boss Room, and why we were unwilling to remain close to it more than necessary.
However, our only two options were to delve deeper or retreat closer to the settlement...
After a while, the signals of how deep we were started to appear.
The maps we had started being unreliable, often mistaken.
Slimes, the weakest monster of the floor, had become so rare that we killed 13 consecutive goblins.
They were also grouping up more than at the settlement due to their increased numbers and fewer humans roaming.
One of those groups gave us a bit of a problem.
There were three in number, standing a few feet away from us.
Like yesterday, one of them carried a club, and while the other two appeared unarmed, one wore a cloak made of thorn cloth.
Roy: "You guys wanna do this as a group or would you prefer to isolate them in one-on-one battles?"
...I wasn't feeling too confident about this. The cloaked goblin especially seemed a little too suspicious for my liking, but retreating from here would lead us back to the boss room, so...
Miwen: "Isolating the battles would be better, I think."
Group battles can be chaotic when we aren't ganging up with a numerical advantage.
In this dark and confined environment, it was easy to get in each other's way and cause an incident.
It's a little ironic and tragic, but we were the biggest risk to one another.
Our group lacked coordination and experience to do this correctly, so it was better for everyone to focus on themselves.
Sam: "I can probably take one really quickly and then help you guys. Only if you ask nicely though~"
Roy: "I see, I'll facilitate your job then, I'll get the shady one with the robe, Miwen can deal with the one carrying the club since he already has experience dealing with that. Fair?"
Right...
Somehow, I became the guy to deal with the armed ones.
I couldn't complain too much, but I still was a little worried.
I think Sam also thought of the cloaked one as the most dangerous.
It was the first time we saw one like this, so Roy must've been aware too.
Either he was trying to show off, make up for his last mistake, or... He genuinely was the type of person to jump into danger first, either as a way to prevent the rest from getting hurt or due to confidence.
Sam: "Fine by me."
Miwen: "Be careful."
Frankly, while not very gentleman-like of me, I'd rather have Sam deal with the cloaked one, but having her deal with the potentially weakest one was good in its own way too.
As she boasted, she could probably deal with hers fast, which should give her ample opportunity to help us if needed.
To take advantage of this, we also had her jump first at her enemy, starting her battle early, confusing the enemies, and giving Roy and me a chance to take them by surprise.
Although I was a little slower than him, I knew already that being careful was key when dealing with a goblin such as this one.
My plan was pretty simple.
Wait for him to swing the club, smash his head, or cut his neck.
If the opportunity window is too narrow, create distance, force him to come after me, tire him, and wait for a good enough chance.
Goblins are not very smart. They see red.
However, monsters as they might be, these creatures are still capable of thought.
If I take too long, it might develop a counter strategy.
Repeating the same pattern over and over was not an option.
So, I took a deep breath and focused as much as possible.
This one was stronger than the last, he had an easier time swinging the club against me.
He wasn't tiring nearly as fast either...
Still, his body had to have a limit.
As the monster divided its attention, using what little brain cells it had to figure out how to kill me, I, who came with a strategy in mind, took the momentum when it made too large a swing.
A side step was all it took. Just enough to get out of danger, but still close enough to look at it in its eyes.
This swing used too much force. He lost the balance, and he couldn't recover in time.
A slash later, blood poured out of his neck, and the eyes that stared at me with hate and ferocity became lifeless.
It was a little... Grotesque.
I was paying so much attention that every moment felt like an eternity, and I could see its death so much more in detail than any other monster I had killed before.
It briefly stomped me, but I didn't have time to dwell on it, worry, or celebrate.
Sam: "Roy!"
The eternal silence of the few seconds it took for the monster's corpse and its club to hit the ground was bound to be broken when they reached the cold ground.
I waited as I watched it, but to my surprise, Sam's shout completely muffled the sound I anticipated.
Following the sounds, I instinctively looked at her first, and then, in a second, tried to locate Roy.
He was on the ground, wrestling with the goblin he was supposed to deal with.
Sam, done with her opponent, quickly jumped to help him, and I followed.
Her punches got the goblin off from Roy, and as it fell next to me, squirming on the ground, without thinking much, I stabbed his chest multiple times, not really trying to find the heart or any organs, just hoping that with enough tries, one was bound to be the killing blow.
I couldn't tell what happened to Roy. Frankly, I was too focused on my own battle.
However, I knew even a level 3 goblin would struggle against him, so I didn't take any chances with this one.
I was more violent, and this was more gruesome than any other encounter.
Even my earlier battle felt merciful in comparison.
But there was no other way around it. The moment my eyes landed on him, I had already decided not to take any chances.
Sam: "You okay? There's a cut in your leg, you're bleeding, you-"
Roy: "Y-yeah I'm fine-ish... It's Gift... It caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting a goblin to be able to launch a wind blade. I tried to react, but I wasn't fast enough, so... This was the result."
Sam: "We're calling today off. We need to take you out of here."
Roy: "Sure. Sorry."
Sam: "Don't worry. You coming too, right, Miwen?"
Miwen: "Yeah, just a second."
I fully agreed with Sam's decision.
Although her nerves were a little all over the place, and she rushed things a little, I believe her reaction was actually way more natural than mine...
I stopped to grab the stones the monsters dropped. The cloaked one had dropped a green orb, which was not a monster core like the one dropped by one with a club.
After that, I quickly rushed to give Roy a shoulder as we headed out of the Dungeon.
Sam was clearing the way for us to the best of her ability, but we tried to avoid battles.
Thankfully, we didn't find any groups or troublesome opponents.
By the time we got to the settlement close to the exit gate, we were pretty worn out, but at least, we made it alive.
The cut on Roy's leg wasn't fatal or anything close to it, but it was much worse than the injury from yesterday.
He definitely needed magic, a potion, or a doctor.
Thankfully, he said he had a neighbor who was good at healing magic, so it wouldn't impede him from coming tomorrow, too.
I was relieved by this, but I also got a little worried.
He might've said this, however, he could be overexerting himself.
After leaving the Dungeon, we passed by the office to trade the monster cores and the orb we had obtained.
Instead of calling dibs for the last blow against the goblin, I felt it would be fair and decent practice to divide the earnings with everyone, since I only had an easy time thanks to them.
It's not like it was worth too much either. This was a Wind Mana Orb from a level two goblin, selling for $12.
We also got $6 from the Monster Cores dropped, so... Albeit not a lot, it was better than yesterday.
Although I wasn't too worried about it since the tendency is for it to keep rising.
Still, after saying goodbye to everyone, my second day as an adventurer ended.
I couldn't say I was entirely happy with how things turned out due to Roy's situation, but... While it might be a little selfish, I felt like I had plenty of things to be excited about.
We were growing, improving in many aspects...
And I still had today's gacha to look forward to.