"Always maintain a cautious attitude toward Soulslike monsters."
Ron did exactly that.
Rather than charging in like a green rookie and fighting monsters over initiative, he relied on technique and his familiarity with their mechanics to execute focused, single-point breakthroughs.
He restricted his methods of attack.
Making use of weapon diversity, he hammered relentlessly at the Goblin Knight's weaknesses.
The results were, of course, excellent.
After updating his ability values and seeing improvements across the board, elite monsters that would previously have been extremely troublesome could now be killed without taking a single hit.
"Feels like…"
"Moves like the slide tackle can't be used too often."
Ron reflected on the details of the fight. If the mutated kobold had reacted in time, his earlier move would undoubtedly have been the equivalent of delivering himself straight to the monster's dinner table.
He could have fully exploited the range advantage of the dwarven hand crossbow to kite instead.
He committed these techniques to memory, then shifted his attention to the Goblin Knight's drops. This haul was not limited to magic stones alone.
There was, instead, an unexpected surprise.
A complete set of Goblin Knight armor—somewhat old and worn, with the shoulder area pierced through by a rapier—but it would probably still be worth at least a bit of Valis.
As for how to fence the goods?
The beautiful face of Hephaestus surfaced in Ron's mind. He took down the pack tied to his back and bundled the knight's armor inside.
Along with it, the dark-purple magic stone that slid down along the armor was naturally not overlooked.
[Soul Shards +3]
Added to the previous dungeon explorations, the total number of Soul Shards collected had already reached twelve.
For his current stage as a rookie adventurer, the "Random Character Panel"—which might be the one with the highest potential for improving strength—had already met the conditions for its first draw.
This was a skill that still could not be used properly.
Ron felt extremely expectant inside, but he also understood clearly—without Hestia helping to update his ability values, there was no way to grasp how to use the character panel skill.
He did not rush to draw it, instead thinking about the matters that needed to be handled at present.
"Not a bad haul…"
In Orario, party-based dungeon exploration distributes profits according to party roles: the main combatants take the larger share, while supporters receive a smaller portion.
Considering that Mikoto was also struggling with tight finances, he did not hesitate and said decisively, "As for the dungeon exploration gains—drops like these—I have a dedicated channel to handle them. As for the specific profits…"
"We split them fifty–fifty."
"As for the magic stones, I'll probably have to trouble you to take them to the Adventurers' Guild for exchange."
"This is your dungeon harvest." Being able to party with Ron and fight these monsters she had never seen before was already enough to satisfy the girl.
But she had never expected—that Ron, whose familia had just been established, whose economic conditions were clearly worse and who urgently needed Valis for development, would be willing to share the dungeon exploration gains with her.
"We're teammates."
"Even if we belong to different familias, as long as we're in the dungeon, we're partners!"
The free safety net was certainly tempting.
But if a relationship was to be properly maintained, Ron felt one could not be stingy—when real danger arose, it was worth consuming one of his own "Revival" charges.
The monsters were still guarding the corpse.
He could not possibly wait until a moment like this to finally understand the meaning of companions, could he?
"I have plenty of ways to make money."
"And besides, when there are no supporters, isn't splitting things evenly the customary arrangement?"
It was a very straightforward statement.
The girl could even sense the matter-of-fact certainty in Ron's tone. She did not know how to respond, but the smile blooming on her face had already given the answer.
"Alright."
"Then—shall we continue?"
Perhaps Ron's influence was simply too strong, or perhaps it was because she had clearly realized that the dungeon they were exploring together was far harsher than she had imagined.
In terms of exploration style, Mikoto was unconsciously beginning to align herself with the boy at her side.
Cautious.
Constantly observing the surroundings—this included, but was not limited to, front and back, left and right, stairway corners, and any dark nook capable of concealing monsters.
To be honest...
The sense of immersion was extremely strong; the girl even recalled the difficult period when she had first arrived in Orario.
By the time they reached the intersection ahead, several Goblin Knights riding mutated kobolds appeared once more. She looked toward Ron at her side, only to see—that at some point unknown to her, monsters had already maneuvered to the rear, cutting off their retreat.
All of them were Goblin Knights. Compared to monsters fought one-on-one, Goblin Knights operating as a group exerted a clearly stronger sense of pressure.
Dungeon exploration, sure enough, could never be that smooth.
Just as Mikoto was about to ask about the concrete countermeasures, she heard the boy explain in a voice full of anticipation: "You handle the ones in front; I'll take care of the ones coming around from behind."
"Next up—it's the battle-feels-good segment!"
"Alright."
She had no objections to Ron's arrangement, but when she heard that last line, the girl's expression stiffened involuntarily, and she was just about to remind him to be careful—when she saw Ron raise his hand crossbow.
Mm.
This guy was actually even more steady than she had imagined!
I should have this kind of resolve too.
The number of monsters was sufficiently large, and all of them were special existences she had never seen before. Mikoto decisively drew the katana at her waist, her eyes filled with fighting spirit.
The girl's agile figure burst forward from where she stood.
Incredibly fast.
Dust scattered across the ground was even kicked up. She did not forget Ron's reminder and clearly remembered that Goblin Knights possessed the technique of "shield counter."
And Mikoto's target was likewise to deal with the mutated kobolds first.
She aimed to restrict the Goblin Knights' movement, but merely reaching the level of a slide tackle was clearly not enough. Gripping the sword with both hands, she swung with full force in a horizontal slash that appeared to be aimed at the goblin—yet at the moment the monster raised its shield and prepared to counterattack, the girl twisted her wrist. The blade's gleam instead traced a falling arc like a drifting leaf. When it made contact with the mutated kobold, it was as effortless as slicing through paper.
She cut straight through the monster's body.
Bang!
Black dust continued to disperse.
The sudden sensation of falling caused the Goblin Knight who took the impact first to crash to the ground. She seized the moment and cleanly severed the monster's head.
"Five left."
Drawn by the slaughter, the surrounding Goblin Knights swarmed in.
They raised the broad-headed spears in their hands high, charging power, intending to seal off all movement and completely annihilate the human before them—but what they were left with was only—the girl's lightly leaping silhouette.
And a counteroffensive born purely of martial skill, crushing and unstoppable, utterly different from Ron's combat style!
…
What does "battle-feels-good" even mean?
Of course, it means facing the encirclement of numerous elite Goblin Knight cavalry. Even though, on paper, one's strength was far inferior to the monsters that had to be confronted—in Ron's view, this was precisely the must-have scenario of a Soulslike!
"Defeating the strong with the weak."
"The courage and resolve to achieve great deeds with a mortal body."
There was nothing that could compare to the sense of fulfillment gained from being tempered through countless battles, finally—after great hardship—becoming a numbers monster and setting foot on the path of the Lord of Cinder.
That was how he saw it.
With a level of focus never before displayed, even when facing a crowd of Goblin Knights—even like a moth flying into a flame, Ron showed not the slightest hesitation. After firing every bolt from the dwarven hand crossbow, he dual-wielded a rapier and a short sword.
"Even though you're enemies, you're honestly pretty average!"
"Crap."
"Yamato-senpai, save me!"
Mikoto: …?
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