“Ooooo!”


  “Troooo!”


  Sieg’s active progress in the dungeon was interrupted when ogres and trolls periodically began to appear.

  However, I boldly jumped into battle using Hero V anyway.

  Of course, I had no intention of committing suicide. Before getting down to business, I carefully looked around.

  The ceiling was low, and our surroundings were dark.

  There could be dozens of traps here.

  I could use bright lights to suddenly blind them or fire poison arrows from the shadows above us.

  Or both at the same time.

  Alternatively, I could easily crush the opponents by collapsing the ceiling or installing a thin but very sharp thread in the passage where the enemy’s throat would most likely be. What would happen if he ran and accidentally collided against it was obvious…


  Besides…


  “Hey, go check.”


  “Kuku?!”


  I grabbed Passing Orc A by the neck and flung him in the direction where I suspected there might be a trap.

  As a result, he was neatly cut like pork in a slaughterhouse.

  Three horizontal and four vertical blades sliced his body apart.

  Now that I saw the essence of the trap, everything became simple.

  “Behind me.”


  I ran to the blade trap, which cut Orc A to pieces.

  There might be more blades since the traps were set diligently, but heroic improvisation could deal with such trivial variables.

  “Troooo?”


  “Gwooooooh!”


  They were in no hurry to chase me. However, due to the monsters propping them up from behind, they had no choice but to move forward.

  Not long after, they were cut into pieces.

  The stronger ones among their ranks, such as the ogres, destroyed the traps, but there weren’t as many of them as the goblins and orcs.

  Soon enough, my time came.

  Bam! Bang! Boo!

  I diligently delivered finishing blows to the monsters caught by the cunning mechanisms.

  The experience distribution system was programmed to give the highest amount of experience points to the one who struck the decisive blow. In this case, however, they were distributed among all those participating in the battle.

  If there was no one to share the experience points with, then everything went to me.

  “Poopu?!”


  I didn’t give time for the orcs to recover. Within seconds, their heads were chopped off.

  “Umiagghh?!”


  The minotaur that rushed at me ducked but didn’t see the blade that was about to hit him at the back of his head.

  “Hoooooghhh!”


  “Begone.”


  “Gob?!”


  I threw a goblin away for trying to enter my comfort zone, causing his body to be slashed in half.

  Moreover…


  Taunt E → Taunt C

  Recklessness F → Recklessness B

  Hunt B → Hunt A

  …


  My proficiency and skill ranks were increasing pretty quickly.

  If I kept hunting monsters like this, most of my skills would reach SS rank or higher within a year.

  If only I knew that skills could rise above MAX-rank in my first round, I would’ve acted more efficiently.

  There was no point in thinking about that now, though.

  “Woroooog…”


  “Trwoooo…”


  The surviving monsters began to recover from their injuries.

  “Come at me.”


  I hoped they would entertain me a little more, so I wouldn’t get lost in bitter memories.

  ***

  Thanks to my trap companions’ sacrifice, I was able to clear more than half of the monsters in the dungeon.

  I could have exterminated them all, but doing so became difficult because the monsters who feared me started spreading bad rumors.

  As a result, the rest of them scattered away whenever they saw me.

  Why were they doing that?

  That wasn’t fair.

  “Hey, Sieg.”


  “Yes?”


  “I showed you how to work with traps. Think you can do it?”


  “I-I don’t think so.”


  “Haha! Don’t worry and try it for yourself. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. If you lose a finger, Green Cake will sew it back on you. Just take care of your head and spine, and don’t forget about your eyes. Oh! I almost forgot. If you want to date girls, take care of your groin too. Even the Saintesses have problems restoring one of man’s most important organs…”


  “…”


  “Hmmm! You seem completely morose. You’re a hero. Even if you lose a few of your fingers, thanks to your experience multiplier, your Resilience skill will increase dramatically. Soon, you’ll be able to ignore most traps. You are as much of a hero as I am, Sieg. You can handle it.”


  “This is not how I imagined a hero should be…”


  Sieg was in disarray.

  Sighing, I lifted the troll guts that were on the ground.

  Luckily, Trolls often left behind their blood and hearts when they returned to nature. Their tendons, skin, and bones less frequently remained.

  Their guts and brains were the rarest, however.

  “Here you go.”


  “…What do I need it for? I know troll tendons are great material for a quality bowstring, but what are guts for?”


  “They can be used as life jackets. Fill them with air and wrap them around your body.”


  “Oh!”


  “And they can also be used as boots in dungeons.”


  “… What?”


  “You know that clothes are expendable, right? Suppose you don’t know. If you find yourself in dire need of clothes due to your last battle destroying the ones you’re wearing, you can just pull troll intestines over your feet. They have good elasticity, so they are much better than regular leather products.

  “That is too much…”


  Sieg’s condition only worsened.

  While I was teaching Sieg enthusiastically, Green Cake arrived, diligently collecting the remains of the monsters.

  “This is amazing. This is 23 times more than all the loot collected by Sir Sieg before. If you sell all this, you’ll gain impressive profits.”


  “How’s that? We can just pay for weapon rentals while you have no Holy Sword. Good job.”


  “Hehe…”


  “But it’s still too early to do the calculations. The boss of the dungeon is still alive, after all. Sieg will be the one to fight him. Give him a good beating, Hero.”


  If I dealt with the boss, it would be overkill.

  Sieg should be the one to do it to ensure Disco wouldn’t consider it over-intrusive.

  That being said…


  “Is there a problem?”


  “… No. Your wounds. You’re an android, not a human. An ordinary person wouldn’t notice this, but my eyes can’t be fooled.”


  “Yes, my real body died long ago.”


  I didn’t deny it but used a prepared answer instead.

  It looks like I got a little scratched as I dodged the traps.

  My wounds healed quick enough to not reveal my mechanical body, but it seemed that even that short interval was enough for her to notice.

  Divine power was probably helping her observation.

  Oh! No.

  Disco was an employee of Mollansoft, the leading android maker in the universe. It was only natural for her to be an expert in this field.

  “This is amazing. You move so well despite your cheap frame and drivetrain. I’m thrilled.”


  “Keep your cynicism to yourself.”


  “I’m praising you!”


  “If you say so.”


  “Your skills are impressive, but your personality leaves much to be desired.”


  Although she complained, she didn’t seem to have revealed it to me.

  Her gaze at Hero V was a little annoying, but it didn’t matter.

  I returned my attention to the topic at hand.

  “Sieg, as you can already see, I am a robot, so my strength has a limit. However, you’re different. If you fully master my teachings, it will open up unlimited possibilities for you. That includes relationships with girls.”


  “Senior…”


  “Forward! Go and show the dungeon boss the determination of the True Hero!”


  “Yes!”


  “… so, what are you still standing around here for?”


  “I’m looking for a guide for this boss in my mollanphone.

  “I see.”


  That, of course, wasn’t the best way for training, but the day would surely come when Sieg would be able to cope without guides!

  BOOM!

  But that day was still far away.

  Challenging the boss after reading a stupid guide, Sieg survived only thanks to the effect of his Male Strength skill, which had risen almost to the level of a God.

  It was still pointless, though, since the dragon simply pinned him to the ground with his paw, never letting go of Sieg.

  ? Race: Bone Dragon

  ? Level: 999+

  ? Job: Celestial Lord of the Dead (Tomb → Dead ↑)

  ? Skills: Ghost Z, Skeleton Z, Strong Bones MAX, Curse MAX, Black Magic MAX…


  ? Status: Dead, Rage, Void

  Its skills had low ranks, but that didn’t mean it was weak.

  In the primary education course of the 4th curriculum, the Demon Lord was the only one who possessed two transcendental skills.

  “This is a very intense fight.”


  “In what way?!”


  Disco disagreed with my analysis of the battle.

  “Almost a day has passed, but neither the dragon nor the Hero has given up.”


  “That’s only because his skill won’t let him die!”


  “No, that’s the reason why he’ll win.”


  This was a very common occurrence in manga and novels.

  The protagonist was beaten so badly that he was about to lose, which gave readers a sense of tension, but then they would suddenly turn the tide of the battle.

  … It was hard to expect this in a real battle, but Sieg could do it.

  Because…


  ? Type: Skill

  ? Name: Male Strength

  ? Rank: ZZZ

  ? G:?

  ? ZZZ: Ability to pretend to be cool in front of women.

  ? ZZ: Ability to pretend to be innocent in front of women.

  ? Z: Possibility to pretend to be strong in front of women.

  ? SSS: Cannot be interrupted.

  ? SS: Fatigue is rendered nullified.

  ? S: Energy never runs out.

  ? A: Causes jealousy in men.

  ? B: Stimulates women’s sense of taste.

  ? C: Stimulates women’s sense of touch.

  ? D: Stimulates women’s sense of smell.

  ? E: Stimulates women’s sense of sight.

  ? F: Masculine energy increases.

  Starting from its transcendental ranks, the skill owner received a boost simply by having a woman nearby.

  And it wasn’t just a pretense.

  Sieg didn’t pass out for hours because he was “pretending to be strong.” His entire body was torn apart ceaselessly, but he didn’t die and continued to stand up anyway.

  This situation would’ve been different if the Bone Dragon had high combat power, but the reality of it was that it couldn’t finish him off.

  However, it would end eventually.

  Fortitude B → Fortitude SS

  Strength S → Strength SSS

  Recovery D → Recovery A

  …


  Thanks to the Hero’s perk that granted him 500% experience gain, his skills ranked up rapidly.

  Fortunately, it was a stupid, brainless dragon. Otherwise, it would have felt something was wrong and attacked us instead.

  However, despite its opponent’s inability to die due to the women around him, it still focused all of its attention on him.

  “Green Cake, let’s set up camp here and wait until Sieg achieves victory.”


  “Yes, father— elder brother!”


  We stayed in the same place for way too long. I might have overestimated him.

  Sieg, whose skills had grown steadily, was able to win only after struggling for 20 days.

  “Good job. I’ve always believed my junior would win!”


  “Senior! Can I start a proper relationship now?!” Sieg asked impatiently despite becoming a little more mature.

  That was funny.

  “If the boss hadn’t committed suicide due to osteoporosis, you would never have won.”


  “…”


  “Listen carefully, Sieg. You’re still clearly not enough. You’re not a protagonist who grows stronger just by holding a woman’s hand.”


  “Senior! Isn’t that too harsh a comparison? You treat me like a baby!”


  “Apologize to all babies in the world for 20 whole days— Hmm? Baby?”


  “What’s the matter?”


  “… Nothing important. I seem to have forgotten something insignificant.”


  But one day, I would surely remember.