Beyond the slaughter corridor lay a cavern so vast that Yuuto could hardly see its ceiling. The walls shimmered with pale blue moss, its glow painting the hollow space like a starless night sky. For a long breath, he simply stared, silent and small beneath the impossible height.
A still lake stretched at the center, its surface smooth as glass. On its shore, strange mushrooms clustered together, their shapes twisting like things halfway between plant and creature. This had to be one of the deepest zones of the Goblin Cave.
He reached out with his Sort skill—no signs of monsters. Still, he couldn't relax. Yuuto sat by the water, drank from his flask, and bit into a nutrition bar. The potion had restored his MP, but not his mood. In the quiet, loneliness pressed down on him like cold air.
He had no one. In the office, at least there had been noise—chatter, complaints, even the dull irritation of his boss or the cocky voice of a junior. He had hated it then. Now, it felt almost warm in memory. That was connection, even if it was messy.
He had been laid off and became an explorer, but here there were no coworkers, no friends. Every choice, every mistake, every scar was his alone.
He sighed. 'Not the time for self-pity,' he told himself, forcing his thoughts to align like a system reboot. Hunting slimes already made him more money than his old salary. With stable drops and a careful method, he could stay in the safer layers forever. It sounded reasonable. Profitable, even.
But then the engineer inside him whispered: is it really stable?
His mind listed risks like error logs. What if the dungeon closed? What if slime materials crashed in price? What if he fell sick or injured? His entire income depended on one fragile node—the Goblin Cave. It was like storing every file on a single hard drive without backup.
The real enemy wasn't monsters. It was regression—returning to that powerless version of himself. He thought of Suzuki (M) and his crew, predators who fed on weaker solo explorers. A chill ran through his spine.
'Stability,' he realized, 'is just a word for comfort before collapse.' What he needed was not safety, but strength. Strength no one could steal, wealth no one could seize. To survive any change, he would need a foundation that could not break.
He clenched his fists. He had to grow stronger. Earn more. Push deeper.
The decision crystallized in him like code compiled to perfection. The dungeon's silence no longer felt lonely—it felt alive with purpose. Solitude wasn't weakness. It was the freedom to calculate the perfect path.
Then, the lake erupted.
A roar of water split the still air as a massive shadow rose from the depths—a creature like a giant frog, its slick green body covered in dark blotches, long tendrils writhing from its back.
'Giant Toad...!' Yuuto's mind flashed to the image he had once seen on a strategy site. A mid-tier monster, far beyond this area's normal difficulty.
"Gugeeeeh!" It screamed, tongue snapping out like a whip.
He threw himself sideways. The strike shattered the rock where he'd been sitting, sending shards flying. One hit would have ended him.
Escape? Impossible. The monster's speed far outmatched his own. If he turned his back, he'd be swallowed whole.
'Then I fight,' he thought, eyes narrowing. 'There's no other way.'
Yuuto drew his iron dagger and steadied his breath. Sentiment had no place here. What waited before him was simple—kill or be killed. And if he could overcome this beast, it would be his first step toward the strength he had sworn to gain.
The Giant Toad lashed out again. Yuuto watched its movement, dodged by the narrowest margin, and closed the distance in a heartbeat. The creature's size gave it power but stole its agility. That, he realized, was his only window.
He slid low under its belly and drove his dagger into one thick leg. The blade met only rubbery resistance. Too hard. The wound didn't even bleed.
The monster bellowed and stomped, trying to crush him. Yuuto rolled aside, dirt and stones scattering under his palms. 'Its hide's like armor... this won't work,' he thought, retreating to rethink.
Then his Sort skill flickered to life. Symbols lit up on the toad's body—soft spots beneath its belly, the exposed eyes, and the roots of the tendrils on its back. Weak points.
He needed a plan. The eyes were too high, the belly too dangerous. That left the tendrils.
He exhaled, heart hammering, and made a reckless choice. Drawing the monster's focus, he left a false opening. The toad lunged, tongue whipping out. This time, Yuuto didn't dodge. He sprinted toward it—and jumped.
His boots struck the slimy tongue, using it as a springboard. The surface quivered under him as he ran upward, leaping toward the creature's head and twisting in midair to land hard on its back.
The monster croaked in panic. Yuuto didn't hesitate. He aimed for the roots of the tendrils—soft, pale flesh—and drove his dagger deep.
The Giant Toad screamed, its body convulsing. It bucked wildly, but Yuuto clung tight, twisting the blade until his wrist ached. MP drained fast; his body trembled from exhaustion. He grabbed a blue potion from his pack and swallowed, feeling power rush back into him.
'Not enough... need to finish this.'
He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Break!" Magic flared through the blade, pouring into the wound. The monster's body resisted—then cracked. Flesh blistered, skin melted, the stench of decay filling the air. The creature's massive frame collapsed from within, turning to sludge as its final cry faded.
A soft chime echoed in the silence: [Giant Toad defeated]. [300 experience gained]. Warm light wrapped around him.
[Level up: 4]. [Status increased]. [Skill Point +1]. [Title acquired: Slayer of the Strong].
Yuuto fell to his knees, gasping. Mud, sweat, and blood covered him, but the exhaustion in his chest was almost sweet. He looked at the dark heap that had once been the toad and smiled.
Then the new data scrolled before his eyes:
Name: Tajima Yuuto|Rank: E|Level: 4
HP: 130/130 (+25) |MP: 75/75 (+20)
STR: 17 (+2)|VIT: 24 (+4)|DEX: 36 (+4)
AGI: 29 (+5)|INT: 40 (+5)|LUK: 10 (+0)
Skills: Sort Lv.1, Keep Lv.1, Break Lv.3
Skill Points: 2
Titles: Solo Challenger, Slayer of the Strong
His stats had jumped again—VIT, AGI, and INT most of all. The man who had once trembled at the dungeon's edge was gone.
Yuuto stood, gazing down at the steaming remains. The loneliness that had haunted him only hours ago felt distant now.
'I can do this,' he thought. 'Even alone.'
With his mind, his skills, and the courage to face fear head-on, he could survive anything. Today proved it. Solitude wasn't a curse—it was proof of his strength. When a person stops depending on others and stands on their own, that's when true growth begins.
Yuuto pressed a hand to his chest, sealing the new resolve within him. The hunt for real power had just begun.