A full day had passed since Adrian since he split ways with Neel and the others, staying behind in the Silk Mines on his own. Navigating these tunnels alone was far more dangerous than traversing it with a group. Even with [Inferior Sneak] and [Savage Instincts], completely avoiding battles with monsters far above his level like with the crystal rats or giant worms was impossible. Fortunately, he was always able to escape by running away as fast as he could. Otherwise, he would die.

The Silk Mines was a dangerous place, after all. And yet, he had opted to voluntarily to remain down here. The reason he had given Neel was because he was going to investigate the bottom floors, searching for the broodmother of the jewel spiders. However, the reason he gave himself was because he needed to prepare himself for the inevitability of his confrontation with the elves who were hunting him down.

But there was another reason, which Adrian knew deep in his heart.

Shaking his head, Adrian focused on the group of creatures standing before him. A dozen crustcrawlers. Each of them was around Level 15, and they posed no real threat to him, even if they could hurt him badly with just a touch. Because he was far faster than them.

They hissed and leapt at him, but Adrain easily evaded their attacks. As he did, he sliced them down one after another. Even when he was only Level 15, wielding the fangs of the dead monsters he had previously slain, killing them was easy because of their weak defenses. But now, at Level 22, and with a dagger that was made of platinum, it was even easier, tearing these monsters apart.

Adrian cut down the crustcrawlers until there were only four of them left. But they didn’t back down, surrounding him from all sides. His eyes flickered, before he charged straight them, despite being flanked.. And as they lashed out at him, he countered with a [Quadruple Stab]. All four of them fell at once as he drew back, covered in their blood.

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Crustcrawler - Level 19] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Crustcrawler - Level 16] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

…

*Ding!*

Your Class [Rogue] has reached Level 23! — You have gained +1 to all Essences, and you have gained 1 Essence Points!

*Ding!*

You have upgraded the Skill [Passive - Nimble Legs] -> [Passive - Agile Body]!

Adrian looked up as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. [Agile Body], huh? So not only can I run faster now, but I can attack quicker too. Interesting…

It was only the start of the second day down here alone in the Silk Mines, and already, Adrian had leveled up again. Even though he had only focused on hunting monsters that were lower-leveled than him, he had reached Level 23. He was certain that by the end of tomorrow, he’d already be higher-leveled than Chavi had been.

And she had been one of the higher-leveled members of the expedition.

Adrian almost wondered why more people didn’t just spend more time down here in the Silk Mines, gaining levels on their own. But he logically understood the risks. And the dangers of lurking down here made itself more clear to him after another three hours passed of wandering the Dungeon.

Coming to a halt, Adrian stared down at the lifeless eyes of a pair of Delvers. Their bodies were mangled, ripped open at the stomach. But their pale faces had been left untouched. One was a male dwarf, and the other was a female dwarf, and they lay next to each other, almost like they were lovers.

Adrian didn’t recognize either of their faces, so he knew they weren’t from his expedition down into the Silk Mines. They must have been with another group— or they might have been alone— before they were caught up in the sudden surge of monsters coming from the lower floors.

Seeing their corpses made Adrian sick. And while it wasn’t the first time he had seen death since arriving in this world, even now, his stomach twisted at the sight. He closed their eyes, offering them a final rest, before he turned away and left their bodies behind.

He knew the only reason why he hadn’t died yet was because of his extremely high Agility, and his stealth Skills. And with every level he gained, his chances of dying down here decreased, not just because he got stronger, but because he’d always expend his Essence Points to his Agility, making him even faster, so he could escape most precarious situations.

Meanwhile, when he saw the opportunity to fight weaker monsters—

Looking up as he strode through the tunnels, he caught a glimpse of a group of half a dozen silver mites up ahead. They spotted him too. And they poured his way as he raised his dagger and sliced them apart.

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Silver Mite - Level 13] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Silver Mite - Level 14] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

…

When Adrian saw the opportunity to fight weaker monsters, he was always quick to eliminate them thanks to his speed, before the sounds of fighting could attract too much attention. And thanks to his [Spatial Storage], storing their corpses to sell for later was easy too.

However, despite his relative fast rate of growth compared to others— at least, that he had seen— the concern that he was still growing too slow leaked into his mind. After all, the Dark Wizard had claimed that Ragna and his fellow elven hunters would have been able to quickly and easily track down the otherworlder.

That meant that they must have already found Adrian at the City of Dorn by now. And thanks to King Rhavin Dorn the Third’s offer of protection, the elves weren’t able to do anything… yet.

Eventually, they’ll find a way to get to me, Adrian thought as he looked down and flexed a hand. So I need to get stronger— faster.

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Adrian perked up as he heard a popping sound coming from up ahead. He must have lingered in the same spot for too long after killing those silver mites, due to being lost in thought. His eyes narrowed as he spotted a pair of large creatures crawling his way from up ahead.

[Giant Worm - Level 27]

[Giant Worm - Level 25]

Maybe it’s time to take more risks, Adrian thought as he vanished into the shadows with a [Stealth Step]. After all, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

And he waited for the first giant worm to pass him by as he held his breath. It was the higher-leveled of the pair, so it would have been harder to bring it down. Having killed a giant worm before— albeit injured by other members of his expedition— Adrian was confident he could at least badly injure the second and weaker giant worm of the pair with a [Fatal Backstab].

That was what he thought, at the very least.

But when Adrian lashed out, tearing into the second giant worm’s flesh, it recoiled and screeched. But it didn’t fall dead, nor did it feel from the wound it suffered. And it was a deep wound too.

Instead, the second giant worm thrashed with its body in a panic, knocking Adrian back. He was barely able to move with the attack, dampening the damage he received. But the real problem came when he steadied himself and saw the two giant worms spinning around to face him. Their eyeless gazes bore deep into him as he gritted his teeth.

They’re more durable than I thought. Time to disengage and repeat this process— the thought crossed his mind.

But the first giant worm opened its mouth and spit. Instinctively, Adrian dodged out of the way from the yellow goo that shot his way. And as it landed where he was standing, he heard a sizzling.

Looking down, Adrian watched as the rocky ground partially melted away.

Acid? Adrian’s gaze snapped back towards the two giant worms. The injured giant worm opened its mouth too, and Adrian immediately knew what was coming next.

He wanted to turn around and run. But if the giant worms hit their mark even once…

Adrian didn’t even think about what would happen to him if the acid touched his skin. Instead, he dashed forward, unleashing a [Quadruple Stab] at the injured giant worm faster than it could spit at him, thanks to his brand new boost in attack speed from [Agile Body].

His attack was strong enough to make it recoil once again. And that made its spit completely miss him, splashing all over the ceiling.

The first giant worm spat at him once again. But the acid splashed against its friend as he ran behind the injured giant worm. As expected, their acid didn’t burn through each other’s flesh, so Adrian was safe.

Although a few droplets of acid rained down on his side, making him wince and corroding small sections of his clothes.

But before the injured giant worm could regain bearing of its surroundings, Adrian drew a paralyzing fang and dug deep into its already-open wound.

That made the monster’s movements even more sluggish as it tried to thrash where it lay. Adrian nodded at himself, seeing just how slow it was now. He could very easily dodge its every attack.

So then he turned his attention to the first giant worm, still uninjured. It was the greater threat at the moment. So Adrian rushed at it, striking at its side. His attack drew its blood, even if it was not a severe wound, he knew he still hurt it.

And before the first giant worm could spit at him, he retreated back towards the second. Adrian hid behind the second giant worm as the oncoming acid splashed all over it, protecting him almost completely.

Apart from the occasional small droplets of acid this splashed out, of course.

Adrian rushed out again in that brief moment where the first giant worm was preparing to spit at him, striking it, before repeating the same process and using its friend as a meat shield.

Sure, the injured giant worm tried to attack him too. But other than landing a few grazing strikes with its thrashing body as he got close, it couldn’t contribute much to the battle. Eventually, Adrian regained his [Quadruple Stab] and his [Fatal Backstab]. Then he finished off the injured giant worm, and continued whittling down the first giant worm.

After a minute passed, doing the same thing over and over again, but this time using the dead giant worm as a meat shield, which only made it easier for Adrian, the battle was finally over.

He had won.

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Giant Worm - Level 25] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Giant Worm - Level 27] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

*Ding!*

Your Class [Rogue] has reached Level 24! — You have gained +1 to all Essences, and you have gained 1 Essence Points!

*Ding!*

Your Class [Rogue] has reached Level 25! — You have gained +1 to all Essences, and you have gained 1 Essence Points!

Two level ups. That makes it four levels in two days. Adrian dismissed the blue boxes, before looking towards the dead giant worms.

While neither of them had been able to land a direct hit on him, the splash from their acid that landed on him did hurt. Adrian wasn’t tired, but he was panting. And it was from the stinging pain that covered his body, partially eating at his flesh.

He looked down at the various tiny holes that were scattered across his shirt. Underneath, his skin was a bright red. There was some blood leaking through.

That’s enough for today, Adrian told himself as he shook his head. He needed to rest and recover for tomorrow. But before that—

This will be useful for the future. Adrian placed a hand on the giant worms, making their body disappear into his [Spatial Inventory]. He was going to try to harvest their acid somehowc so he could mix it with his venom and his paralyzing toxin in combat.

Adrian paused as he closed his eyes. Everything for combat, huh? That’s really all I can think about ever since arriving into this world…

It was strange. Never in his past life did Adrian think he would be as obsessed with fighting as he was now. Things like leveling up in video games never truly appealed to him, and he was more of a fan of going the pacifist route whenever he could in RPGs.

But talking is not an option, Adrian reminded himself as he recalled the elves capturing the woman at the edge of the forest. Unfortunately, this is reality, and sometimes, violence is the only way out.

***

Adrian returned to the very same alcove he had found with Neel and the others to rest for the night, recovering some of his wounds, before setting off to explore the Silk Mines again as soon as he woke up and ate some rations.

But as he scoured the tunnels nearby, all he found were the occasional small groups of silver mites. And they were the weakest of the monsters here in the Dungeon.

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Silver Mite - Level 15] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Silver Mite - Level 11] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

…

So half the day elapsed as Adrian gained not a single level from these encounters, and a frustration grew within him. Thus far, he had been cautious, choosing to stick within the first floor of the Silk Mines.

And perhaps it was due to the lack of progress he experienced that day, but he decided to take an even bigger risk.

Adrian searched for a way to go even further down.

It took him over an hour, and he marked the walls so he would not get lost. But he eventually found his way to a tunnel that led further down.

The veins of glowstone that almost seemed to grow out of the walls were more numerous down in the second floor, so Adrian could see what was waiting for him down there.

And what he saw made him pause. He winced as he covered his ears, hearing a grating sound. Right ahead of him, halfway down to the second floor, a giant spider was dragging a dead crystal rat further down into the Silk Mines.

The giant spider almost looked familiar. Except compared to what Adrian remembered, it was covered in more wounds and cuts than before. And when he eyed it with [Basic Identification], he confirmed that it was same monster he had seen just a few days prior.

[Sapphire Spider - Level 40]

And seeing it there, only a single thought crossed Adrian’s mind. If I defeat it, I’ll level up multiple tikes for sure… but is it worth the risk?

And even as he asked himself the question, he already knew the answer in his heart.