At the entrance of the dungeon, we showed the permit issued by the guild to one of the four gatekeepers, and entered. 

If we move carefully in the 1st Floor, we can avoid battling monsters without having to use Darkness Fog, and reach the 2nd Floor. 

Of course, it is fine to fight. 

“For now, let’s confirm our battle power. Also, how we are going to be fighting together.” (Hikaru)

If this were a brute force party of 3 warriors, it might have been a different story, but it is completely different here. 

-The Dark Spirit User who has trash direct combat power capabilities. 

-The strong warrior that waves around a greatsword and can use Light Spirit Abilities.

-A scout that can’t fight.

That’s the party composition.

In other words, in terms of damage, we will be mostly relying on Rifreya.

“For now, we will have Grapefull find enemies, I will distract them, and Rifreya defeats them. Something along those lines I guess.” (Hikaru)

“I don’t really mind that, but…what do we do about the Spirit Abilities?” (Rifreya)

“What Light Spirit Abilities do you have?” (Hikaru)

When I asked this, she hung her head down slightly and muttered ‘I can only use 2’.

“The Light I saw before, and…what about the other one?” (Hikaru)

“Cure Glow. An ability that heals wounds.” (Rifreya)

“Nice.” (Hikaru)

Having healing abilities is a great help. We won’t be able to avoid small wounds, so there would be no end if I had to buy potions with Crystals at every instance. 

“Now that I think about it, my abilities are dark element… Is it going to be okay?” (Hikaru)

“Okay…as in what?” (Rifreya)

“I heard that the people around here don’t use that, you see.” (Hikaru)

“I don’t really get what you are trying to ask me here, but there’s no way there would be a problem in using the abilities which are the divine blessing of a Great Spirit-sama, you know? It is true that there aren’t many Dark Spirit Users, but that’s only because there’s no church of the Great Dark Spirit-sama here.” (Rifreya)

“I see. That’s fine then.” (Hikaru)

I am relieved. 

It is darkness, so I thought they had a bad reputation, but it seems like all Great Spirits of any element are respected.

“Also, uhm…can I ask how many abilities you can use, Hikaru? Could it be that you can use all the way to the 5th one…? No way that’s the case, huh.” (Rifreya)

“I can use 8.” (Hikaru)

“E-Eight…?!” (Rifreya)

Rifreya raised a shocked voice.

Well, all elements most likely have 8.

The last special ability I learned was from the dark element.

“Well, the 8th is a bit special, so I can’t use it much though.” (Hikaru)

“W-Wait a moment please… Did I hear correctly…? Not 7 but 8…?” (Rifreya)

Was it foolish to be honest here? 

…No, we will be fighting with our lives on the line here, so hiding our cards is not good. 

“8. But there aren’t many offensive abilities in my Dark Spirit Abilities, so I might not be able to match your expectations.” (Hikaru)

“No…I saw you using a number of abilities at that time, so I knew that you were an amazing ability user, but…8, huh…” (Rifreya)

Rifreya was practically absentminded here. 

She is a light templar apprentice and even she can only use 2, so 8 might be outside the common. 

Looks like this is information that I shouldn’t be divulging much.

“Is 8 that rare?” (Hikaru)

“Rather than rare….even the highest of ability users can only use 7. The Great Spirit-samas say there’s an 8th, so there must be, but it is practically a legend…that’s the kind of perception it has. I myself thought it wasn’t possible for a human to use it.” (Rifreya)

“I see… Looks like it would be better to keep the 8th a secret.” (Hikaru)

Whichever the case, the 8th one is summoning undead which gives off a pretty dangerous scent. If I were to use it, it might create unnecessary misunderstandings.

It is on a different spectrum from the normal summoning ability that is Summon Night Bug, or like, the potency is just different…

“Ah, I will say this beforehand to avoid any misunderstandings, but my abilities itself are low tier. I may have a lot, but they aren’t that big of a deal. Only Darkness Fog…the one that brings dark fog is a bit high in tier, but the others are just 1 or 2.” (Hikaru)

“Tiers…they are going up…? The abilities…?” (Rifreya)

“Well, yeah…” (Hikaru)

Eh, did I say something weird here? 

It works with proficiency, so of course it would go up if you use them.

“This is just for reference, but what’s the Tier of that highest ability?” (Rifreya)

“4.” (Hikaru)

“F-F-F-F-F-F-Four?!” (Rifreya)

Rifreya raises an even louder voice of disbelief. 

It is pretty hard to raise once it reaches this level, and even though Darkness Fog is an ability I use pretty often, it hasn’t reached Tier 5.

“By 4, does that mean that it has become a higher ability…?” (Rifreya)

“Eh, yeah. It turned from Dark Mist to Darkness Fog when it reached 3. When it was mist, I think you could faintly see from the outside, but fog is practically complete darkness, so it became easier to use.” (Hikaru)

“Haah~, that’s impressive, Hikaru… Is this what’s called a genius…? As for me, I can only use 2, and they are both still in Tier 1…” (Rifreya)

“It isn’t really that big of a deal though.” (Hikaru)

These are my honest thoughts. I even feel bad about it. 

I am by no means a genius. I am simply getting the benefits of the skills I received from God. In the eyes of the natives, this would literally be a cheat. 

By the way, the current status of my Dark Spirit Abilities are like this. 

—–

[Dark Spirit Ability]

Tier 1 Ability

・Falsehood of Darkness [Shade Shift] Proficiency 62

・Casket of Darkness [Shadow Bind] Proficiency 49

・Call of Darkness [Summon: Night Bug] Proficiency 55

Tier 2 Ability 

・View of Darkness [Dark Vision] Proficiency 82

・Transformation of Darkness [Shadow Runner] Proficiency 76

・Deposition of Darkness [Shadow Bag] Proficiency 69

Tier 4 Ability 

・Revelation of Darkness [Darkness Fog] Proficiency 43

Special Technique

・Return of Darkness [Create: Undead] Proficiency 1

—–

My proficiency isn’t going up as fast as I want it to. 

I understand Darkness Fog being hard to increase because it is Tier 4, but I have been using Shadow Bind and Summon Night Bug, and yet, they are still at 1.

The proficiency of abilities you learn later are most likely harder to raise.

However, the 3 abilities that are in Tier 2 are close to Tier 3.

Just like how Dark Mist became Darkness Fog, there should be a change to a higher ability. 

“And so, uhm…Hikaru, how many can you use in a day…?” (Rifreya)

“I have never counted it, but I think I am fine using them for around 100 times… Are you okay? You look pale.” (Hikaru)

Her white face grew even whiter, and her lips were trembling.

I am also aware that my number of uses is slightly weird. 

“Hikaru, you were a Loved One…?” (Rifreya)

“L-Loved…?! What’s that?” (Hikaru)

I would say I am a hated one.

I am by no means something embarrassing like a loved one. 

“R-Right… There’s no way you would be a Loved One…huh. Then that means you have incredible Spirit Ability talent… Wow…” (Rifreya)

“I must have the affinity. The Spirits have been helping me out a lot.” (Hikaru)

I managed to escape from that forest exactly because of this affinity…the thing called the Affection of Spirits. 

Even so, I couldn’t use Spirit Abilities consecutively on the day, so it was most likely a combination of it being night and the dungeon. Especially in the 2nd Floor that’s darker than the 1st, darkness has quite a lot of advantages. 

“Now then, let’s wrap up the talk here. Let’s adjust our battle style in actual combat. Let’s begin with goblins or orcs first.” (Hikaru)

No matter how much we talk with words, it is not like we have fought together. 

We won’t be able to tell unless we do it.

We will secure a margin of safety, but there’s the need for a certain degree of boldness.

That should be more enjoyable for the viewers.

• Chapter 053: Party Exploration and the Specialty of Darkness

“2 Ogres. Both with weapons. Can you do it-nya?” (Grapefull)

Grapefull came back from her scouting. 

Ogres are the strongest monsters of the 2nd Floor if we exclude the mantis. Moreover, having weapons makes them even stronger.

“Rifreya, can you defeat them if it were one on one?” (Hikaru)

“I can.” (Rifreya)

“Alright. Then, I will lure one to you. [Darkness Fog].” (Hikaru)

I blend into the darkness, approach them, and sink one into the darkness.

The monsters that get swallowed in darkness take time to process what’s happening, so you can incapacitate them for a while.

In that time, I lure the other one with Shadow Runner to Rifreya.

“[Summon Night Bug].” (Hikaru)

I have been fighting while trying to use Call of Darkness as much as possible…

This is the only ability I have that can deal direct damage. 

It can deal a decent amount of damage even against an ogre. 

The ogre was being bitten away by the bugs inside the darkness, and it was swinging around its weapon wildly. 

It is not something I would want to approach directly. 

I have gotten physical strength level 1, and my body can move a whole lot better as if I had become someone else. The dagger feels light now. I am sure my individual strength has increased to incomparable levels to before. 

Even so, taking an attack of an ogre with a dagger. It isn’t impossible, but it is an action that has barely any safety to it. 

It would be better to leave the final hit to Rifreya.

Rifreya is swinging her crazy big sword and is slashing the ogre. 

A big sword with the length of the blade being 120cm and width being 20cm. She was swinging that gigantic sword, that would take my all to even lift up, freely. 

“[Shadow Bind].” (Hikaru)

In this situation where Rifreya was in the superior position, dark tentacles create a slight opening. 

The ogre had its limbs tied up and lost its balance.

With just that alone, Rifreya managed to easily cut its head off. 

For the 2nd Floor monsters that are mostly humanoid, Shadow Bind is practically fatal. 

Looks like Rifreya still has leeway here .

“Counting on you, Rifreya!” (Hikaru)

“Okay!” (Rifreya)

I move the Darkness Fog and bring the remaining ogre out from the darkness.

Rifreya dashed there as we previously arranged and she ended the ogre with a sweeping slash.

The ogre that came out from the darkness couldn’t deal with the slash.

More so when it was being annoyed by Night Bugs. 

“Alright, good work. Are you injured, Rifreya?” (Hikaru)

“No, it was mostly one-sided after all.” (Rifreya)

“Then, let’s go to the next one.” (Hikaru)

We did several more battles after that. 

Honestly speaking, with these members, hunting in the 2nd Floor is relatively easy. 

We probably should be challenging the 3rd and 4th Floor, but this is our first day. We decided on adjusting our teamwork between party members in the 2nd Floor.

Thinking about the viewers, I should be living more on the edge…show battles of life or death, but I can’t just suddenly push Rifreya and Grapefull into danger. 

The Viewer Count Race lasts 2 weeks.

“Uhm, aren’t you tired, Hikaru? You have been casting abilities one after the other.” (Rifreya)

“Not at all. I am only using 3-4 per battle after all.” (Hikaru)

“Wow…” (Rifreya)

Also, if I don’t use them, my proficiency won’t increase.

When the time requires it, I will use Crystals to buy spirit energy potions. 

More importantly, right now it is battling. 

Gotta earn money, and the way to get viewers fast really is battling. The reality is that the viewer count is increasing more and more, and it is maintaining 300 million people. 

But it is lacking when it comes to taking 1st place. My closest objective right now is a billion viewers. 

“There’s a group of orcs there. 8. Half half with weapons and barehanded.” (Grapefull)

“Alright, let’s do this.” (Hikaru)

I unsheathe my dagger. 

When fighting groups of orcs and goblins, we managed with almost the same strategy. 

Or more like, orcs and goblins are enemies that Rifreya can obviously defeat without any problems, but I as well can.

I hide myself with Darkness Fog and run.

I keep only the enemies Rifreya is fighting outside of the darkness, and we defeat them in order. 

I hunt the lives of the orcs, that I dragged into the darkness and were confused, one by one with my dagger. 

With the effects of physical strength doing its work too, I swung my dagger crisply and systematically. 

Rifreya also has no problems dealing with something like orcs. 

They are being cut down like paper with just one stroke. 

We managed to wipe out a group of 8 in basically 1 minute. 

“It is going well. Full’s enemy detection is also meshing well.” (Hikaru)

“Yeah, she is pretty skilled.” (Rifreya)

I haven’t worked together with a lynx before, but if Rifreya, who has hired many scouts before says so, then it must be true.

This is a connection I managed to make, so I want Grapefull to become a full-fledged explorer. 

“There’s one orc there. Want to ignore it-nya?” (Grapefull)

“Want to try defeating it, Full?” (Hikaru)

“Eh? But an orc is too much for me…” (Grapefull)

“It is okay. I will assist you.” (Hikaru)

You can take in the spirit energy of monsters you defeat in the dungeon and power yourself up, but no matter if it is in a party, this only applies to the one that defeated the monster. 

In other words, a scout doesn’t ever get stronger -because they don’t fight after all.

There’s one orc around the corner. 

Fortunately, it is a barehanded one. An orc without a weapon is a monster that is below a goblin that has a weapon.

Honestly speaking, it is a monster that’s just right for training. 

“I will assist you here, so just go straight for the neck with that sword. [Darkness Fog].” (Hikaru)

I guide Grapefull as we advance in the darkness.

The orc couldn’t understand what was going on and was crying ‘puki puki’ the whole time.

We move to the back of the orc and adjust the aim to the spine of the orc with the blade of Grapefull.

“Here! Stab with all your strength!” (Hikaru)

“Nya!” (Grapefull)

The blade was stabbed into the base of the neck of the monster with one smooth motion and the orc turned into a spirit stone. 

I undo Darkness Fog. 

“Good job. Looks like we will be able to increase your level like this too, Full.” (Hikaru)

“Fuuh… Something is entering my body-nya… Is this spirit enyergy…?” (Grapefull)

“That’s right. Well, I don’t think there will be much change with one orc, but I am sure it will be different as you stack the numbers.” (Hikaru)

Honestly speaking, I myself don’t feel much change in this Tier increase thing. 

No…there’s some slight feeling of it, but it is hard to tell whether this is because I am getting used to fighting or because of the leveling up.

According to the Status Board, it is still 1:00pm.

After eating some preserved food, we continued fighting. 

The number of viewers is definitely increasing. I can do this…

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