After that, I waited for the battle below to end. Before the next two could even step onto the platform, I leapt high into the air and landed smack in the middle of the arena with a loud thud. Strangely enough, even though my physical stats were insanely high, the ground didn't budge an inch—proving Meradis was right. This place really is something else.
Putting that aside, every single Goblin and Orc now had their eyes wide open, staring at me in utter shock.
Heh heh...
I struck a cool, commanding pose and shouted at the top of my lungs:
"The challenger has arrived!"
No one responded. The only sound was Meradis clapping from afar.
Oh geez, she's making this even more embarrassing...
After a moment of silence, the Goblins and Orcs suddenly roared in unison. Though… they seemed a little too excited?
Not exactly the reaction I imagined… I thought they'd be stunned, or intimidated at least.
Oh well. This works too.
Without any sort of announcement or formal procedure, a Goblin casually hopped onto the arena, ready to fight. It looked small and scrawny, wielding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other—both pitifully low-quality gear.
I tried using [Appraisal] to check its stats, and… they didn't even hit three digits?
Are you kidding me??
I came here for a proper fight!
Another Goblin stepped forward and made a few gestures that seemed to signal the start of the match.
A bit disappointing, but whatever. If I keep winning, maybe the stronger ones will finally show up.
And so the match began.
The Goblin raised its spear and threw it at me. I simply dodged to the side. It used that moment to rush forward, attempting to bash me with its shield—but I took a step back and it missed.
It kept swinging away, but I just moved around with the bare minimum of effort.
This is kinda fun… but time's up.
Actually, is it okay if I kill it? Will they hold a grudge?
"Don't worry about it, Shiraori. They don't care," Meradis's voice echoed to me.
Alright then. No holding back.
The Goblin thrust its spear once more, but I gently pushed it forward, causing the weapon to skewer its own wielder.
Just like that, the referee Goblin declared the match over.
Immediately afterward, an Orc stepped up, but just like the last one, its stats were hardly any better than the previous Goblin's—so I ended it right away.
Third match...
Fourth match...
Fifth match...
Still just low-level creeps not even worth remembering.
I want a real opponent to fight!
Sixth match...
Seventh...
...
Twenty-first...
Twenty-fifth...
The enemies were getting slightly better, with stats now exceeding 500. Honestly, that would be enough to count as a mutant on the upper floors, but compared to me? They're still trash.
It's weird though… why are they so weak despite having such high stats?
Wait, no… they're definitely mutants, but something feels different compared to the ones I scouted earlier.
Maybe it's the orderliness? The structured combat?
Either way, the good news is, my opponents are getting stronger. I might finally get a proper fight.
Let's keep going.
Thirtieth match...
Thirty-second...
Thirty-sixth...
Fortieth...
Now we're talking—my opponents finally have four-digit stat totals. This is the first time I've fought something with over a thousand in any stat. The highest I saw on the other floors was maybe seven or eight hundred at best.
And yet... they still can't take even a single hit from me?
Sigh… how boring.
Let's just move on…
Forty-second match...
Forty-fourth...
Forty-seventh...
Wait, this is the fiftieth match already?
Halfway through?
And still no real challenge in sight.
The Goblins and Orcs had stopped cheering by now. Their expressions had turned grim.
Well, I suppose this is the first time they've seen an outsider win so many matches in a row.
They must be getting irritated. But hey, if they start losing their temper, that works out even better for me!
Suddenly, a massive Goblin jumped onto the stage, shaking the arena with its landing. Though of course, it was nowhere near the impact of my earlier jump.
Still, this thing... is that even a Goblin?
Its body was as huge as any Orc.
<
HP: 600/600
MP: 500/500
SP: 700/700
Attack: 4829
Defense: 4835
Magic: 3240
Speed: 4924
Whoa. The results from [Appraisal] were actually surprising.
Definitely the strongest opponent I've seen so far.
It wasn't even called a Goblin anymore—it had evolved into a High Ogre. So this is what comes after becoming a mutant?
And of course, it's a mutant itself, but it's exponentially stronger than any of the previous ones. How is there such a huge gap between mutants of the same kind?
I didn't have much time to think—because the match had begun.
It's still way weaker than me, but I wanted to see what it could do.
This one also used a spear and had pretty solid technique, knowing how to move and strike properly. It couldn't land a hit on me, but credit where it's due.
Then it suddenly threw its spear.
I dodged easily—but then it lunged forward and grabbed me.
Hey! Touching a girl without asking is rude!
Being caught off guard like that, I instinctively struck back with full force. The poor thing got blown out of the arena and didn't survive.
Oops!
<
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<
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Okay, so I leveled up—but that's not what I wanted!
Still too weak.
Next!
From here on out, my opponents had stats over 2000. Occasionally, a mutant would show up with stats exceeding 5000, but in the end, they were still just punching bags.
I really don't get it—why are the monsters on this floor so absurdly strong?
Their stats aren't just high—they're hundreds of times higher than those in the nine previous layers. Even among the mutants here, there's a huge difference in power between individuals.
Hmph...
I still don't really understand how many times a species can evolve or what their names are at each stage. As far as I know, there are three main stages: Mutant, Half-King, and King. But I don't know how many evolutions it takes to reach those levels.
I'll have to ask Meradis once this is all over.
She's from the outside world, so she's bound to know more than I do. Exc might know too… but as usual, I have no clue where that guy even is.
Oh yeah, I think Meradis once mentioned that the Goblin leader here is incredibly strong… Could that be a Half-King?
If I end up fighting that thing… could I win?
It'll definitely be a tough battle. But if I get the chance, I'd love to try.
Back in the arena, nothing stronger than that High Ogre has shown up, so I changed my approach: fight while training my skills. Basically, I let them attack me while I dodged or blocked using my skills, just to build up proficiency.
What I need most right now is for [Prediction] to level up—but it seems that fighting just one-on-one isn't cutting it.
If I could battle against a group while using [Prediction], the effectiveness would go up a lot.
<
Take this!
And this!
Hahaa!
Right now, I'm rolling up my spider silk into little balls and throwing them at my enemies to block their vision. Then I leap in and give them a light kick.
I'm being careful not to use too much force—I'm just trying to level up [Spider Silk].
After all, I'm a spider.
Being able to use silk properly is essential in battle. From my recent fights, I've noticed my threads are useless against stronger enemies—they break way too easily.
The skills I started with are beginning to fall behind in actual combat. So I thought, what if I evolve them? Maybe they'd become useful again.
Take this!
Hahaa!
Watching the Goblins and Orcs flail around trying to rip the threads off themselves while I bounce around kicking them left and right is honestly hilarious.
Fighting seriously has its merits, sure—but this kind of fun is what I'm really after in battle. These guys also have pretty high Poison Resistance, so I've been spreading [Poison Mist] around not to kill them, but to rack up proficiency.
And it's working pretty well.
<
While playing around like that, I suddenly realized—I've already won ninety matches!
Just ten more to go, and I'll complete the win streak!
But these last ten opponents...
Yeah, they really made me work for it.