Genocide Reality

The second underground floor. This level is ruled by Kobolds, warriors covered in dog-like fur.

These guys are easy, if you show them the “Orc Lord’s Fang,” they stop attacking.

Orcs and Kobolds are set up to be in conflict. Showing proof of defeating their enemy boss makes you their ally.

To open the third basement floor door, you need the item from defeating the boss on either the first or second floor.

In other words, the usual path would be to bypass the second floor and open the door to the third floor, but I’m going to defeat the Kobold Lord as well.

Before going to the boss room, I went to a large room where there were red poisonous insects with stone shells called “Rock Pile”.

This thing has a hermit crab-like ecology, walking around the labyrinth and defending itself by sticking a lot of rocks on its back.

“Wow, there are so many of them.”

I lure them out one by one and beat them to a pulp.

You could use a weapon to strike them, but when you hit the stone mass with a blade, the edge dulls quickly. Even a Samurai Sword is just a cheap blade that you can buy in town, after all.

Thinking it was to strengthen my fists, I beat them down with my bare hands as hard as possible. The skin on my hands eventually peels and aches, but shallow wounds like those heal quickly after I drink a beginner’s health potion, so I continue without fear.

I keep punching until my fists bleed, then recover when I reach my limit. If I repeat this process enough times, my fists gradually become tougher.

I remember when I did karate training. I was perpetually bored, and no matter what martial arts I tried, I could not persevere until the end.

I tried kendo, judo, self-defense, and other forms of martial arts, but eventually, I got bored and stopped.

The only thing I managed to keep up was my morning jog. Running is an action that, strangely enough, I never grew bored of. Perhaps it is because it is one of the movements that humans do naturally.

So, all the martial arts I’ve learned are somewhat half-baked, but because I’ve thoroughly trained in the fundamentals from the start, I can handle the basics of defensive moves that mitigate strikes and body maneuvers well.

I think I can endure troublesome training if I can do it in the world of GenoReal. In this world, I might be able to become an expert in a few things.

I’m a gamer, so I’m good at games.

Facing the slow-moving venomous creature that is essentially a lump of stone, I just relentlessly swing my fists. When my arms go numb and become immobile, I start kicking fiercely.

Training in barehanded combat essentially raises one’s rank in Acrobat.

I hit harder and harder, the skin of my knuckles tearing, flesh creaking, and bones shattering. I swing my limbs again and again while enduring the intense pain.

I continue my bloody training, which is akin to self-harm.

“Ugh…”

The phrase “As tough as nails” is quite fitting.

Getting bitten means dealing with poison, and to defeat it, I have to be prepared to keep pounding, even if it means crushing my fists.

But no matter how much I damage my body, I can heal it with Health Potions.

In this short period, I’ve experienced training that would take a martial artist years to undergo. I use super recovery where I break my fists, heal them, and grow stronger.

It’s not just about training the body, I can also train my Priest rank by creating potions that restore health and stamina. By repeatedly taking weak poison from these insects and detoxifying them, I can even build up my resistance to poison. It’s truly an ideal training ground.

I continue to pummel the Rock Piles relentlessly until my sense of pain becomes completely numb, and I become too drowsy to stand.

By the time all the Rock Piles in the room are shattered and annihilated, I am dazed.

The intense bone-crushing pain no longer seems to be able to keep me awake. My vision distorted, and my footing became unsteady.

“Huh… Guess I’m at my limit.”

If I had more mana stored up, I could cheat the effects of the drowsiness with potions and move on, but it would be better to get some rest.

I shut myself in a room with a door that closes with a switch.

This is a perfect resting place, and there is even a water fountain. Water is a necessity for survival.

GenoReal, which is always trying to kill you, doesn’t seem to be trying to kill you with dehydration, so they regularly provide water fountains.

Perhaps underground water is circulating in the dungeon. Of course, since the water is used by the creatures living underground, there is no poison in it.

With unbearable thirst, I sip water from the spring with a flask.

“Phew, I feel alive again.”

The water is lukewarm and has a slippery feel, but right now, it’s like nectar. After quenching my thirst for a while, I feel satisfied.

I slumped down and slept like a log.

“Okay….”

Just when I think I’m asleep, I wake up with a start.

I must have slept so deeply that I didn’t even dream.

My mind is incredibly clear, like a freshly cleaned computer, and my consciousness is sharp as a tack.

I didn’t feel any muscle pain despite sleeping on the stone floor with my backpack as a pillow. My leg and arm muscles felt tense and toned. It’s as if I’m in a different body.

“This must be the result of leveling up.”

I headed back to the room where I had defeated the Rock Piles earlier and started filling my backpack with stones.

When I tried to lift it, it was quite heavy.

“Phew, Let’s go!”

I know I sound like an old man, but a backpack full of rocks is a lot of weight. The sturdy backpack straps for adventurers dig into my shoulders, creaking and squeaking as I walk.

It is not light, but I feel the weight on my shoulders comfortably. It may have only been a day or two of training, but it was quite a workout.

“Haah, haah, I can carry this much weight in one go.”

I made my way to the large room before the boss on the second floor and threw the backpack toward the far side of the pit. It landed with a heavy thud, raising a cloud of dust.

Then I, too, jumped over the pit. I turned the backpack upside down in the corner of the room and scattered the rocks. I went back to packing the stones and repeated the process of scattering them.

I enjoy simple tasks and preparations like this and did it in silence.

Each time I carried it, fatigue accumulated in my shoulders and lower back, but with Stamina Potions, my physical limits increased as I recovered.

The preparations are finally complete when I build a few small piles of stones in front of the room where the Kobold Lord is. Finally, it is time to declare war on the boss.

I walked up to the boss’s room and pelted the defenseless dog-headed Kobold Lord with the stones in my grip with all my might.

“Hoo!”

The Kobold Lord, who had instantly identified me as an enemy after my attack, didn’t scream when he took the blow to his defenseless head. Not like the Orc Lord, not even a shrill roar.

He swung his sword, Scramasax, at me swiftly, threateningly with a low grunt. I narrowly dodged its sharp strikes and retreated.

Almost the same size as the Orc Lord, he is armed with a scramasax and a small iron shield.

As the boss of the second floor, he is a quicker and more formidable foe than the apparently slow and sluggish Orc Lord.

I quickly and unhurriedly dashed to the large room in front of me and jumped over the pit.

The act of jumping over this pit was something that couldn’t normally be done in GenoReal.

So this is also a bit of a cheat.

In one corner of this large room, whether it was an accidental oversight or intentionally designed this way, there was a point that could be used as a sort of trap for the enemy.

Surrounded by pitfalls and trapdoors, you couldn’t cross to the other side without a ladder or rope to jump over the pitfall, as is typical in games. But now, I could simply jump across to reach the safety zone.

Since I wasn’t bound by the game’s mechanics, I had an advantage over the enemy monsters who could only make predetermined moves.

The Kobold Lord, stuck in a corner surrounded by traps, aimed at me but couldn’t cross the traps. It just wandered around, emitting frustrated growls like “Shh! Shh!”

Jumping over pitfalls and crossing in this modest cheating manner became an absolute advantage on the lower floors.

The multitude of deadly traps on the first and second floors became nothing more than tools in my hands once I memorized their positions.

In this situation, all the Kobold Lord could do was glare at me or, if it dared, come over to this side while risking the powerful traps below that could shatter its leg bones.

I casually picked up one of the stones from the pile and threw it with all my might toward the Kobold Lord.

“Take this!”

The stone hit with a clatter. Of course, one hit would only be a mosquito’s bite to a strong monster.

I continued to hurl the stones I had prepared in rapid succession, putting all my strength into each throw, with the intention of making each one a critical hit.

My training with Professor Rock Pile must have improved my acrobat skills considerably. I marveled at my incredible physical strength. The stone flew through the air and hit the Kobold Lord directly on the head.

I could feel the increase in both the speed and control of my stone throws, perhaps due to the experience of straining my arm muscles to the limit.

I feel as if I were a pitcher at Koshien. No, even an ace pitcher cannot throw a heavy stone so many times in a row. Even a big leaguer’s shoulder would break.

It is truly superhuman strength, and this is what it must be like to have one’s throwing skills increased in GenoReal.

“Well, it’s only natural, I guess.”

This is a game where you have to fight against enormous dragons and fierce demon monsters the size of small mountains.

In line with the hardness of the game, it is only natural that training in GenoReal will give you power far beyond that of the ordinary human level. Otherwise, there is no way to conquer this dungeon.

“But really, it won’t run away, and it won’t jump over traps.”

It would be better if it just ran away. Despite being pelted with countless stones and covered in wounds, the Kobold Lord just continues to bark at me.

Its face has swollen terribly from the direct hits of the stones. Perhaps due to its focus on agility or the fact that it’s only wearing cloth clothes over its dog fur, the damage seems to get through easily. It’s covered in blood from head to toe.

I kept throwing stones until my shoulder was swollen.

The Kobold Lord couldn’t even avoid the sharp stone throws and continued to take the hits.

It would try to defend itself by holding up a small iron shield, but of course, I avoided hitting it. If it guarded its head, I would hit its legs, and if it guarded its legs, I would hit its head, and so on and so forth, in an amusing way.

Even if the power of a single stone is insignificant, it will continue to steadily chip away at the enemy’s health. If accumulated, it is a fatal blow.

“I still have some stones left, but that’s enough.”

Thanks to the stubborn Kobold Lord’s company, I feel another bout of gain in rank.

After restoring my stamina with a stamina potion, I jumped over the pit, clutching my Samurai Sword.

“Hey, I’m here!”

“Grrrrrrr!”

The dog-like creature swings its large cleaver toward me while growling.

However, either due to being hit by countless stones and being wounded, or simply because of its sluggishness, its movements are slow and lackluster.

I easily dodge its sluggish attack and swiftly strike it down with a burst of energy. There’s a snap sound as its neck bone breaks.

As I cut through flesh and shatter bone, as my arm tingles from the impact. Blood splatters generously from the Kobold Lord’s neck.

“How’s that!”

“Gaaaaaah!”

It wasn’t so much that my slash was strong, but rather that it was already ragged. The Kobold Lord let out a final scream and fell to the floor.

I think it’s already dead, but just to be sure, I swing my sword one more time, smashing its head open. The skull splits open, and fresh blood and pale brown brains scatter around.

“Phew…”

And just to be sure, I stab him through the heart as well. A little too cautious, eh?

Even though I’ve steeled myself for fighting and killing, I still have lingering fear when facing formidable enemies. I haven’t fully embraced the role of a Killer.

“Well, I suppose that’s part of the training.”

Getting used to both fighting and killing is probably a process. Even the mind can be trained.

I rummaged through the boss’s treasure chest and got what I needed, and immediately after feeling relieved, I felt a stabbing hunger in my stomach. I had been drinking a lot of water and hadn’t eaten at all.

I went to the boss’s room to see if I could find something to eat. There’s a nicely roasted piece of meat by the still-burning campfire.

It was the kind of meat Kobolds eat. The only meat you can find on the second floor of the dungeon is from the Giant Rats.

“I guess I’ll have to get used to living in this dungeon.”

I gather my courage and take a bite of the rat meat.

The musky scent of the animal is strong, and it has a distinctive flavor, but it’s not necessarily bad. Perhaps the Kobolds properly prepare and cook it, even going as far as removing the blood.

In fact, this taste could be considered a treat. When you’re hungry, anything tastes good.

The meat, with plenty of fat, captures my attention as I enthusiastically gnaw it down to the bone.

“However, it could use more salt.”

The fat content was sufficient, but the lack of salt made it a bit bland. Well, I suppose I’ll get used to that too.

After tossing the bones aside, I headed towards the gate leading to the third underground floor.

There are two racks that have been hollowed out of the wall. I can put either the “Orc Lord’s Fang” or the “Kobold Lord’s Snout” on the rack to open the gate, but I put both of them in.

The gate creaks open with a heavy sound, and simultaneously, another small shelf opens on the wall next to the gate.

On the hidden shelf is a small scroll.

I picked it up and read through it.

“Hmm, so that’s how it works.”

This scroll is a rare item called ‘Rank-Up Scroll.’ It’s used to raise your rank by one level for your profession, either three levels for lower-tier professions or one level for higher-tier professions.

It may seem advantageous to use it early, but in fact, it is more difficult to advance one higher rank than to advance three lower ranks.

That’s why, ideally, it would have been more advantageous to grow further and reach a higher-tier profession before using it, considering experience points. However, in this adventure, our lives are at stake.

In situations like this, items that can be used should be used immediately.

I chose “Samurai” from the occupations listed on the scroll.

I pressed my finger on the characters, and the scroll immediately shone and disappeared into thin air.

“Oooohhhh!”

In an instant, I advanced three ranks, from ‘Medium Fighter’ to ‘Swordsman,’ ‘Magic Swordsman,’ and ‘Samurai.’

My heart burned with excitement at the sudden rise in rank, and I involuntarily let out a yell.

With this, I’ve moved up to a higher-tier profession, a Samurai.

I intentionally bought and used the Samurai Sword in anticipation of this moment.

‘Samurai’ is the initial rank for the higher-tier profession of the Warrior line.

By the way, the ranks above it go from ‘Sword Expert’ to ‘Sword Master,’ ‘Sword Saint,’ and ‘Sword God.’

The Samurai class benefits from a significant positive modifier to Sword Skills. If their weapon is a katana, its power is doubled.

The Katana, a specialized weapon that maximizes the power of the Samurai, is available as a number of individual rare weapons, making the Samurai class highly favored.

Furthermore, GenoReal’s samurai are treated as magic swordsmen, entitling them to a bonus in the Magician rank. This ensures they won’t face mana shortages despite being a frontline class.

The Samurai is the second-best profession after the Ninja, which even has the Thief skill, if you want to take the time to develop a versatile type.

I wielded the samurai sword in my hand to test it out.

With a “whoosh” that made the air tremble, the white blade left a trail of white effects in its slashing path. It was clear that the weapon’s power had greatly increased.

It came with a unique skill name, “Samurai Blast”.

It is a passive skill that is deployed at all times. At the time GenoReal was created, however, there was no such terminology in the game.

The Samurai Sword is of moderate length and can be wielded without difficulty even in the narrow passages of the labyrinth.

It can be carried with the sheath attached to the waist. Drawing the sword from its sheath and approaching the enemy without them sensing your presence, silently striking at the right moment – this weapon allows for such tactics.

It is a weapon with a good balance of offensive and defensive functions and an exceptionally rational functional beauty.

Above all, it has an elegance to it.

“Not bad. A man should use a sword, after all.”

I went down the stairs to the third floor, itching to try out the sword on my enemies.