In Danmachi with My System

When we reach 100 Power Stones, there will be a bonus chapter!

***

At first I tried to run away. Who wouldn't when more than 50 killer ants were born right before you? It's easy to run when you know you can't win. But every time I moved away, more monsters spawned―in front of me, behind me, to the sides, from above, or from the ground.

Though I hated to admit it, it felt like the dungeon hated me deeply and had decided I couldn't escape.

I was clearly not a god, but this existence treated me as if I were.

"Well, it's my fault..." I smiled wryly.

So I had to fight and accept this fact. Accept that from now on, every time I was in the dungeon, it would treat me as if a god itself had decided to walk its corridors.

And to be honest, I came very close to death a few times. Without the HP potions, I would have disintegrated into light particles like you see when your avatar dies in a video game. That said, I also had some help from good friends.

No, they didn't do it because they wanted to, but because I used the adventurers I met along the way as bait to distract the ants. Those guys wanted to do the same to me. When they tried to use me as bait, I cut their tendons and threw them to the ants.

You either live or you die. It wasn't much more than that.

Since it was my first time killing someone, I obviously didn't feel good about what I had done, but what choice did I have?

Besides, those assholes were the same ones who were harassing Liliruca. If you ask me, they deserved it.

While they faced the horde and tried to survive, I snuck further in.

But I thank the Killer Ants for not failing to stop throwing themselves at me, and even though they almost killed me, I'm grateful. Because...

―Congratulations, you have reached level 9!―

---

[Level Bonus]

― HP: +100

― MP: +50

― Stats Increase: +5 to all Stats

― Stat Points gained: +5

---

[Progress to next level]

―Exp: 0 / 1000

---

I went up to Level 9! In this battle, which lasted almost an hour, I went up two levels.

(After distributing the 15 Points)

Level: 9

―Hp: 1000 / 1000

―Mp: 500 / 500

---

―Race: Human

―Class: None

―Title: None

---

―Stats―

Strength: 68 (+15) = 83

Endurance: 55

Dexterity: 70 (+10) = 80

Agility: 75 (+10) = 85

Perception: 85 (+10) = 95 +3% = 97.85

×××

At that moment, the walls shook. Truth be told, this time I felt it was worse than before. Dust fell from the ceiling, fissures spider-webbed across the stones before me, and suddenly huge chunks of rock began to crumble. Something was moving. Something much bigger than ordinary ants. I saw those red eyes before everything else came into view. Eyes bigger than my head.

Damn... You've got to be kidding me!

A boss. A bloody boss!

As the little ants surrounded me, the boss forced its way through the wall's debris. It was the size of a fucking battle tank, with claws the size of swords. Its exoskeleton glowed in the dim light, and just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it opened its maw. A jet-green acid shot out, hitting the ground and melting the stone like butter.

"Since when do these shits spit acid?!"

The smaller ants moved around me. They weren't a threat individually, but in a group, they could overwhelm anyone. And if that wasn't enough, now I had the red-eyed boss trying to tear me apart.

"Think, Eithan, think!"

I backed up a few steps, narrowly avoiding being hit by one of the acid jets. The boss seemed to be testing my patience, spewing its green spittle as the smaller ants screeched and began to close in. If I didn't kill them soon, they would corner me. And once that happened...

I didn't want to think about it.

"So, the smaller ones first. The boss is too strong."

Because gaming had taught me that if you rush the boss without clearing the lesser mobs first, you're dead. And if I didn't want to join the list of dumb players who died, I had to follow the script.

"Okay... priorities."

However, it almost seemed like the boss was aware of my strategy of kicking its minions first.

The boss roared―or whatever those things did―and charged at me. The ground shook beneath its paws, as if it would give way at any moment. Its claws flashed as it split the air with a -swoosh!

Swords. Claws the size of swords.

―Clank!

I raised my chain sword and parried its claws. For a few brief seconds, sparks peppered my face before my body was thrown back.

I stopped, ignoring the pain, and my eyes quickly swept over the smaller ants... I needed to reduce their numbers before facing the real monster.

With a metallic clang of my weapon, I lunged at the next one.

The first ant fell easily. But for every one I killed, two more took its place. It was as if they knew they couldn't beat me individually, but relied on their numbers to wear me down. As I moved, cutting one after another, I began to notice the pattern.

They moved in a coordinated fashion, like little war machines following the thoughts of their creator.

"Is the boss capable of such a thing?"

This thought hit the mark. After testing my strength and apparently concluding that I was too weak, the Boss had retreated behind the smaller ants and decided to look at me with disdain.

Turning on my heels, I kicked an ant that was lunging at me while throwing a lunge at another. After reaching level 9 and distributing all my stat points, killing enemies in one or two hits was no longer a problem.

Nevertheless, I couldn't afford to miss a beat. If I got hit by just one of them and it caused me to lose focus, the others would find an opening to finish me off.

"Where did so many come from?"

As I killed them, more would appear. They appeared like endless waves. At the same time, they were relentless and their attacks became more aggressive.

The chain sword whistled through the air. With each turn, it cut an ant and sent it flying backwards. Round and round it spun, slashing and tearing, until a message appeared in front of my face.

[You have killed +100 Killer Ants!]

[You have obtained a Title!]

Title obtained: Insect Killer

Title description: You have killed over 100 Killer Ants, earning the hatred of the insect world.

Title Effect:

―Increased Stats: +25% to all stats when fighting insect-type enemies.

―Doubled Exp: Experience gained from killing insect-type enemies is doubled.

---

Really? I couldn't help the smile peeking through my lips. This title... 25% increase in all my stats when battling insects. And double the experience.

I won't lie, it came in handy.

Then... I felt my strength, speed, and all my stats increase.

Current stats (with title effects applied)

Strength: 83 + 25% = 103.75

Endurance: 55 + 25% = 68.75

Dexterity: 80 + 25% = 100

Agility: 85 + 25% = 106.25

Perception: 95 +3% + 25% = 122.31

---

With my newly acquired Title, the smaller ants dropped like flies. Every time one came close, a blast from my chain sword would destroy it in seconds. But the real problem wasn't really them, it was the boss behind them.

I had a feeling that if I didn't defeat it, the waves of killer ants would be endless.

Until then, that monster was looking at me as if I were an insect, but when it saw that my strength was suddenly increasing and realized that its minions were nothing to me, it moved. Its body blurred for a second and before I knew it, it was standing in front of me.

"How fast!"

I didn't have time to react. I was in the air, having jumped to gain some leverage, and in the blink of an eye, the boss was right underneath me, its jaws open and its front claws tearing through the air.

"I can't dodge it... Shit!"

[-850 HP]

***

The wiring in my house is finally fixed and I have power again.

***

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