4 Chapter Four

After informing Hestia that I would be doing something called "Grinding", which she seemed confused about, I told her that I would be gone for a couple of days.

I dodged a terraformed weapon, that was a glorified stick in my eyes, I brought the weapon I got from the guild, a simple sword, and stabbed the humanoid bull in the eye, pushing it further into the brain.

The Fifth and the last minotaur dropped dead, the glow in its eye dimming as it did so. Looking around, I observed the fifteenth floor. the plus side of knowing how to use Mana is that you could suppress your hunger without suffering side effects for a few days.

The high-level Mana control technique required concentration, which was detrimental in battle but required if the battle got prolonged.

There was supposed to be a "Monster Rex" two floors down, which should give me a substantial amount of Excellia, which would level me up, but as it was the third day of adventuring, it would be a hassle to deal with what would come with it.

"If I counted right, it should be getting dark outside..."

Murmuring, I continued my stroll through what seemed like a cave system, though it looked more like a mountainous zone with jagged rocks, high ledges, and annoying wolves that could shoot fire.

Like that one.

Taking one arrow out of my quiver, I sent it toward the mutt's head before it could charge the fireball attack.

My backpack was opened, and the magic stones that were ripped out of the chests of monsters flew into it.

My magic "élenchos" meant control, I used a variant of it to control my throwing daggers for surprise attacks and to control parts of my body and my main weapons before coming here, but now, it has more uses than before.

It was easy to counter at first because if someone had a coating of mana around their body, the magic wouldn't work, here however... well.

The necks of Hellhounds snapped, their bodies dropping to the ground and dissipating into dust as soon as the magic stones left their bodies.

Considering my calculations... I have no idea what my stats will look like after the update.

Fucking hell, at least I knew what amount they gave last time.

Reaching the stairs, I started walking up.

___

Ever wonder what it's like to be disappointed?

Well, I discovered that the Loki Familia kills the monster rex most of the time it spawns... This one is one of those times.

Sighing, I shoved my hands and entered the guild. For three days I was there. Hestia must be worried for her prized child and the other one...

"Bell! Where have you been!?"

There she was.

Honestly, her concern would be nice, but at this point, I didn't really care. Her Motto "Adventurers don't go on adventures" and following every damn guideline would burn away at any fuse.

What if something unexpected happened? What would your guidelines do then?

"In the dungeon."

Answering simply with a blank expression, I watched her deflate slightly before frowning again as she walked over.

"For three days?!"

What was her problem? This is my fucking life, if I want to die then it's none of her business.

"...Yes. Is there a problem?"

She seemed to get angrier at my words and I lamented on agreeing to take an advisor in the first place. Blend in my ass, this woman is making me stand out more and more.

"And how far did you go?"

I lowered my head, narrowing my eyes and glaring at the half-elf.

"Scream like that one more time and I will rip out your vocal cords."

My whisper reached her ears, making her pause, eyes growing in horrification.

"You don't seem to understand your position. You are an advisor, not my mother, not my commander, not my god. You advise, and it's up to me if I take it into consideration or not. You are an acquaintance at best and your opinion matters little to me."

She deflated fully, looking down at the ground and I motioned to a set of couches that were used to take the reports, not waiting for her response as I walked over.

Sitting down on the admittedly soft couch, I crossed a leg and let my head rest on my knuckles as Eina sat down in front of me.

... Did she have mood swings? She seemed so meek right now that I almost felt bad... Pfft, no I did not.

The hands that held the papers for the report were trembling slightly, making a perfect imitation of a scared deer and I waited for her to compose herself.

The backpack was uncomfortable on my back as the stones and the drop items pressed and dug into my back but I ignored it.

Now, what can I pull out of my ass for this one?

___

It turned out well.

_

Bell Cranel

Level: 1

•Strength: S-951.

•Endurance: S-949.

•Dexterity: S-958.

•Agility: S-954.

•Magic: S-955.

Magic: élenchos.

Skill: Black hole.

_

"Wh-W-w-w-w-w-w-"

Ah, Hestia malfunctioned.

Rolling my eyes, I rolled up the paper which I would burn later, and put it in my pocket, I would burn this later.

"How did you get so strong so fast?!"

Why do women keep shouting at me?

"The black hole."

I answered truthfully, with a shrug, mortals couldn't lie to gods... Pfft, yeah right. Can't lie my ass. People just haven't tried hard enough.

"Your skill? What does that have to do with anything?"

I just shrugged. I didn't have to explain shit. It's my skill, not hers. It has been my skill for years.

"By the way, what's the maximum amount of stats that an adventurer can get?"

She furrowed her eyebrows at the fact that I didn't really answer her question but responded nonetheless.

"It's S, or 999 which is something you are really close to..."

She pointed out plainly, and I ignored her raised eyebrows.

"Has it been surpassed? Or did someone get just below one thousand and decided that it was max like they were the developer?"

Hestia put a finger on her chin, looking at me with curious eyes.

"I... I don't know... But anyway! You can Level up! Want to do it right now?!"

So the limit wasn't S. Why should I not max out my stats before going up a level and boosting my overall strength? The fifteenth floor seems to be an adequate location, but I should go deeper when I level up.

Since the skill won't let me party up with anyone, I will primarily be a solo play, so there shouldn't be any problem.

A sudden thought hit me, the smith! If that guy has been waiting for me for the past three days I would look like a complete asshole.