Chapter 15 : Grinding

Satou Kazuma

Level: 1

Strength : G 300 -> F 307

Defense : H 250 -> G 254

Dexterity : F 500 -> D 506

Agility : E 600 -> C 606

Magic : G 650 -> C 657

......

"HAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

Kazuma burst out laughing loudly. His laughter sounded like a demon laughter who had just pulled off some evil scheme.

Seeing his status rise after absorbing the magic stones gave him a glimmer of hope.

"Kazuma, why are you being so noisy just because your status went up a little?" Aqua asked.

"Aqua, what's wrong with you?? With this, I can raise my status quickly!"

"Tch, you can only do that because you're using the skills from that disgusting undead!"

"I don't care. I'm going to find even more magic stones!"

Not long after, Kazuma returned to the guild alone. At first, he thought about asking his party members to go to the dungeon, but after reconsidering, he realized it wouldn't be an efficient way to gather a large number of magic stones in a short amount of time.

The place with the most magic stones had to be the guild—the spot where all adventurers sold the magic stones they collected from dungeons. As long as he had money, of course, the guild wouldn't mind selling their stock of magic stones to him.

There's a saying from wise men: "Money can solve all problems in this world. If your problem can't be solved with money, it just means you don't have enough money."

When Kazuma arrived at the guild lobby, he looked around for Eina. He spotted her talking with Bell.

Without hesitation, Kazuma approached them and greeted them.

"Hello, Eina-san, and you too, Bell. Do you both have business at the guild?"

"Ka-Kazuma-san, I was looking for you! Where have you been?"

Bell greeted Kazuma with a hint of panic in his voice.

"Huh, you were looking for me? Why?"

"What do you mean, why? Of course, I feel guilty. Because of me, the Loki Familia challenged your Familia to a War Game!"

"Bell, you don't need to worry about that."

Kazuma sat down next to Bell and patted his shoulder to calm him down.

"But... they're the Loki Familia. If you don't mind, I'll go meet them and apologize so they cancel the War Game."

"Bell, you're worrying too much. Relax, I can handle this."

"But..."

Bell tried to argue again but stopped himself.

"Alright then... if you need any help, please let me know. I'll definitely help."

"In that case, I won't hesitate to ask for your help in the future."

"By the way, Kazuma-san, why did you come back to the guild?"

Sensing that the conversation between Kazuma and Bell had ended, Eina took the initiative to ask Kazuma.

"Eina-san, there's something I want to ask."

"What is it, Kazuma-san? Is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually, I need a lot of magic stones to prepare for the War Game against the Loki Familia. Can I buy them from the guild?"

"Of course, you can. However, we generally only sell them to Familias we have contracts with. Since Kazuma-san doesn't have a contract with us, we can only sell you magic stones from weaker monsters."

"That's fine. I'd like to buy 500,000 valis worth of magic stones."

Kazuma said this as he handed over the magic card Eina had given him yesterday.

"Eh? That many? Are you sure, Kazuma-san? That amount of money is enough to buy a small house in Orario!"

"Yes. Just give me 500,000 valis worth of magic stones."

"In that case, please wait a moment. I'll bring them right away."

Bell, who had been watching the conversation between Kazuma and Eina, could only remain silent in shock.

To Bell, 500,000 valis was an enormous amount of money. As a rookie adventurer, earning more than 2,000 valis required him to fight with all his strength. Yet here was Kazuma, casually spending 500,000 valis like it was nothing.

Not long after, Eina returned with two guild workers, each carrying large bags filled with magic stones.

"Eina-san, don't tell me I have to carry all these magic stones in bags?"

"Hmm? Isn't that normal?"

Eina tilted her head, unable to figure out what Kazuma was thinking by asking such a question.

"No, what I mean is, isn't there a magical tool that can store a large number of items? You know, like a magic ring that has a space inside it? When the ring is activated, it can move items into that space, allowing the user to carry a lot of item without any trouble?"

"There's no magic tool like that. If there were, the role of a supporter wouldn't exist."

"Eh? Really?"

Kazuma's mouth fell open in disbelief; he couldn't believe that in this world filled with gods, magic, and miracles, there was nothing like that.

"Yes! Your imagination is way too high."

Kazuma turned his gaze to the side and looked at Bell.

"Bell, it seems I need your help now."

"Alright, I'll help you carry them."

With that, Kazuma and Bell made their way back to the inn, each shouldering a large bag filled with magic stones.

As they walked, all the women looked at Kazuma and Bell in fear.

Especially the young women, who immediately took a step back, clearing a path for them.

"Hey, look at him!"

"Isn't he the one, the underwear-stealing demon?!"

"Hiiiii, that's really scary!"

"I heard he stole a pair of underwear from an adventurer in the Loki Familia and then proudly showed it off in public."

...

Kazuma and Bell overheard all their conversation. How could they not? They were speaking loudly enough for everyone on the street to hear them.

"Ka-Kazuma-san..."

Bell tried to say something to Kazuma, but Kazuma cut him off.

"Ignore them, Bell."

Kazuma said that with a poker face, but inside, he felt a bit embarrassed.

'Damn it, I've only been in this city for 3 days, and my reputation is already in ruins.'

Kazuma quickened his pace to reach the inn. Bell used all his strength to keep up with Kazuma.

After walking for several minutes, they finally arrived at the inn rented by the Aqua Familia.

"Thank you so much, Bell, for helping me carry all this."

"No problem. This is the least I can do to help you."

"By the way, I'm sorry, but we might not be able to join you in the dungeon for a while because we still have things to sort out with the Loki Familia."

"Ah, yeah, that's okay. I wouldn't want to trouble you in a situation like this. I think I'll just go back to my usual way of adventuring alone in the dungeon."

...

...

...

All the magic stones Kazuma bought were neatly arranged. For an entire day, Kazuma relentlessly used the Drain Touch skill to absorb all the magic stones he had purchased. In the midst of this absorption process, Kazuma realized several important things.

First, the status he received after absorbing the magic stones was random.

Second, different magic stones had different values. For example, a magic stone from a goblin could only add 1 status point, while magic stones from stronger monsters, like War Shadows, could add 3 status points for each stone.

Third, magic stones had a numerical limit that they couldn't surpass. For example, magic stones from goblins could only increase a status up to 699. No matter how many goblin magic stones Kazuma absorbed, that status who reached 699 wouldn't increase anymore. Additionally, because the statuses he gained were random, Kazuma ended up wasting magic stones when the statuses he received pointed to those that had already reached 699.

From these three points, Kazuma concluded that if he wanted higher statuses, he couldn't keep relying on magic stones from weak monsters. He needed magic stones from stronger monsters.

The next day, Kazuma returned to the guild to buy another 500,000 valis worth of magic stones. This time, however, Kazuma requested magic stones from stronger monsters, even though he would receive fewer stones in return. However, he was only allowed to purchase magic stones from monsters on floors 1 to 10.

After the War Game was over, Kazuma decided to make a contract with the Guild so he could buy magic stones from stronger monsters. But for now, he had to settle for purchasing magic stones from weak monsters.

Today, Kazuma repeated the same process, spending the entire day absorbing all the magic stones he had.

Once Kazuma had finished with the magic stones, he asked Aqua to update his status.

.....

Satou Kazuma

Level 1

Strength : S 999

Defense : S 999

Dexterity : S 999

Agility : S 999

Magic : S 999

Magic

Advanced Magic :

• Inferno (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Tornado (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Crystal Prison (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Temporary Appearance (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Lightning Strike (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Energy Ignition (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Bottomless Swamp (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Light of Saber (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Light of Reflection (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Silent (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Call of Thunderstorm (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Thousand Needles (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Control of Weather (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

• Explosion (LOCKED) -> (UNLOCKED)

...

"WOAAAHH!!!"

Kazuma can't help but scream after saw his updated status.

All the advanced magic that had been locked was now unlocked. Although there were still some spells locked, such as Cursed Magic, Holy Magic, Support Magic, and Random Teleport, Kazuma felt satisfied for the moment.

"Haaah… just as I suspected. Magic stones from weak monsters can only get me this far."

Next to Kazuma, there were still magic stones he could no longer use. These magic stones from weak monsters could only raise his status to 999. After that, when Kazuma tried to absorb these stones using Drain Touch, they would only serve to replenish the magical energy in his body.

After confirming that he couldn't raise his status any further, Kazuma asked Aqua to level him up.

"Aqua, I'm ready to rank up to level 2. Please help me."

"Aaaghhh, fine, come here then."

Aqua replied while yawning; she was very sleepy after accompanying Kazuma for the past two days as he absorbed magic stones and updated his status periodically. Despite her fatigue, Aqua still raised Kazuma's level.

The rank-up process was generally not much different from updating a status.

Aqua dripped her blood onto Kazuma's back, processing the high-rank excelia stored in his body and converting it into power for the rank-up.

Finally, Kazuma leveled up to level 2 after postponing his rank increase for several days.

Once the rank-up was complete, Aqua handed Kazuma his status sheet without looking at it and immediately returned to her bed.

....

Satou Kazuma

Level 2

Strength : S 999 -> I 0

Defense : S 999 -> I 0

Dexterity : S 999 -> I 0

Agility : S 999 -> I 0

Magic : S 999 -> I 0

Development Abilites

• Luck

• Tactical Mind

• Jack of All Trades, Master of None

• Gender Equality

• Mystery : Allows the user to activate a miracle and create magic items.

(To be Continued)