With an F-rank adventurer tag hanging from my neck, I stepped into the "Forest of Goblins" again.
At the guild shop I bought basic leather armor and a rusty short sword. Price tag: 25,000 yen. Almost all of yesterday's earnings gone, but this was necessary overhead.
I didn't know how to swing a sword, but at least it was a charm for emergencies.
Now then, today's goal was to go deeper, and earn more efficiently.
I immediately started my specialty: "inventory check." I walked every corner of the floor, hammering the traps' types and positions into the map in my head.
"Hm, this floor has a lot of [Sticky Floor Traps]. And some wall-arrow traps too."
It was like memorizing a client list at a new branch office. This kind of steady work suited me.
Once I grasped the map, I began searching for monster groups.
Before long, I found a pack of orcs in a clearing. Pig-faced, bigger than goblins. Five of them.
Nearby, a party of young adventurers was locked in a fierce battle with another orc. Swords and magic flying, metal clashing loud.
I took position a safe distance away from the herd.
"Alright then."
I folded my arms, comparing my mental map with the scene before me.
Five orcs, all huddled together. Taking them one by one with traps would be inefficient.
Then there was only one answer.
I recalled a nasty trap near the dungeon entrance. A [Deadly Poison Swamp Trap] that spread a wide cloud of toxic gas. Adventurers' most hated: an area-of-effect, lingering damage trap.
So what if I dropped that right in the middle of the orc pack?
I grinned and activated [Skill: Rearrangement (Change)].
I pictured the ground beneath the orcs and the [Deadly Poison Swamp Trap] from memory.
Swap.
In the next instant—
The soil under the orcs turned into a sickly purple swamp. A poisonous mist rose, visibly toxic.
The orcs panicked, thrashing to escape. But the swamp clung to their legs, slowing them down. The poisonous mist steadily drained their strength.
Their death screams dragged on for minutes.
Finally, all five collapsed, sinking into the swamp.
I waited until the mist cleared completely before strolling up.
Once the swamp faded, five [magic stone]s and some broken fangs lay scattered.
Battle time: essentially zero. Stamina spent: almost none.
This was my no-combat strategy.
In my head, the dungeon map was nothing but a giant puzzle board. "Where" to put "what" for the easiest, safest clear. That was the whole game.
* * *
That single day, I earned nearly half my old monthly salary.
Day by day, my bank account balance grew. Each time I checked the ATM numbers, I felt my lost confidence—and my dignity as a father—return bit by bit.
No longer would Misaki feel lonely because of money worries.
That fact alone strengthened my heart more than anything.
Every time the numbers printed higher in my passbook, I whispered at the dungeon entrance:
"With this, I can feed Misaki something good again."
With only that thought, I kept diving into the dungeon each day, alone and unnoticed.