Chapter 47 – Skill Training.

“What’s going on? Who opened the chest?”

Asked an angry-looking man while going through the empty goblin encampment. The adventurers, fresh from their skirmish with the goblins, had returned expecting to find loot and spoils of their battle. Instead, they were met with barren goblin huts and no chest that should have been there.

“Did someone beat us to it?”

Another adventurer, a young woman with a bow, speculated, looking around suspiciously.

“There were goblins here just moments ago, and now the place is empty.”

“It’s obvious, some bastard must have snuck in here while we were luring out those goblins, they could even still be nearby…”

The adventurers gripped their weapons tightly at the thought of being attacked. While they were in monster-filled dungeons, they weren’t the only ones hunting for treasure and glory. Rivals and opportunistic thieves often lurked in the shadows, ready to pounce on any chance to steal hard-earned loot.

“Stay sharp, everyone.”

“…”

“I don’t think anyone is coming…”

The adventurers looked around, but even after waiting for several moments, they were not attacked. They were greeted with nothing but silence and soon realized that whoever had looted everything here had already escaped. The one responsible was long gone and did not intend to test his luck. His goal here was completed and his inventory was filled with explosive potions.

Rusty, the one responsible for the adventurers’ annoyance, was already moving towards the sixth floor. He had stayed close enough to hear their complaints but moved away almost immediately after. There was no reason to engage with a whole group of crafty adventurers. Even though his elemental darkness worked well on them, he would quickly run out of magical energy without the mana crystals in his possession. It was better to limit the use of high MP costing skills in the future and for that, he also needed to further his other skills.

While moving, he reviewed his weapon proficiency skills. Basic Swordsmanship was his highest skill, while the others lagged behind. During his dungeon travels, he had tested a few theories, and after asking the hero for confirmation, he learned that certain laws governed skill leveling. This also meant that there was an optimal way of leveling up.

First, he knew that he needed to be holding a specific weapon to target the associated skills. Killing monsters with that weapon would eventually increase the skill level, but the process was still somewhat slow. It took him several monster encounters to gain a single level, and it also helped if the monsters were of a higher level for the skills to improve. However, he needed to get stronger faster, and his progress was too slow for his liking.

“There has to be a better way than this… I’ve regained all of my MP, I should ask Alexander for some advice.”

Rusty had the memories of both the demon king and the hero who defeated him. Though these memories were riddled with holes like Swiss cheese, they revealed that the hero had reached the epitome of this world’s power. He had done it with the help of the soul forge and in record time. If anyone could shed light on this dilemma, it was probably the hero, who seemed to have extensive experience in leveling. The demon king, on the other hand, had been born into a powerful race and was naturally strong from birth.

“Rusty, is there something you need?”

After finding a secluded corner of the dungeon with no monsters and adventurers around, he activated his skill. Aleksander the hero appeared in his ball of light and his form illuminated the darkness around them.

“I need your advice on something.”

“Sure? What do you need?”

The late hero seemed a bit more chipper today as usually he seemed annoyed when asked for help. However, Rusty did not really notice the change of tone as his metallic mind was focused on getting stronger and saving Gleam.
“Is there a better way to level up my skills? Fighting monsters normally is too slow, I don’t think I’ll be able to get strong in a month like this.”

Alexander floated closer, his light pulsing as if to indicate that he was thinking.

“Leveling up skills efficiently? That’s a tricky one. You’re right; normal grinding can be tedious. But there are some strategies you can try to speed up the process.”

Rusty’s metal frame creaked slightly as he leaned in, eager to hear the hero’s advice.

“Go on.”

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“Alright, you probably know that your skills will level up naturally when used against monsters.”

‘Yes.”

He nodded with his helmet while Alexander continued.

“But did you know, that you don’t need to kill the monsters themselves for those skills to level up?”