Demeter slowly withdrew her finger, her expression focused and stern.
Then she presented the updated Status on a fresh sheet of parchment and handed it to Genichi, who had already pulled his shirt back on.
Genichi took it and calmly scanned the most critical lines.
Genichi
Lv.1
Strength: I0 → H197
Endurance: I0 → H108
Dexterity: I0 → H166
Agility: I0 → H113
Magic: I0 → H182
…
Something flickered in Genichi's black eyes, a faint, sharp glint that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
In the Dungeon world, parameter ranks had clear standards:
I 0-99
H 100-199
G 200-299
F 300-399
E 400-499
D 500-599
C 600-699
B 700-799
A 800-899
S 900-999
SS 1000-1199
SSS 1200-…
Just one day.
Just on the safest First Floor. Just by repeatedly killing the weakest goblins, he'd rocketed from an all-I0 baseline to Strength H197, Dexterity H166, Magic H182, with Endurance and Agility both crossing into H rank as well.
A rough tally put today's total gains at over 700 points.
If other adventurers knew that number, jaws would hit the floor.
Most Lv.1s, on their first day in the Dungeon, were considered competent, even impressive, if they adapted safely, killed a few monsters, and gained anywhere from a handful to a few dozen points.
Even the gifted "new stars" trained by strong Familias, with guidance and deeper risk, were labeled geniuses if they gained a hundred-something points in a day.
And Genichi, using a combination that was essentially cheating, direct plunder from Greed plus the massive growth-efficiency boosts from Demon and the Ascension, had ground out nearly 700 points in the First Floor, in a way that looked like raw EXP farming.
And that was only goblin efficiency.
If he targeted stronger monsters, that efficiency could rise even further.
Demeter stood to the side, her amber eyes glued to the parchment too, her face full of amazement.
Genichi had already told her his plan: use Greed's nature to grind basic parameters on the First Floor by killing low-tier monsters in bulk.
But seeing the day-one results with her own eyes still hit far harder than she'd expected.
"This efficiency is… unbelievable," Demeter murmured. "One day equals months, maybe longer, for normal adventurers. It looks like your plan works."
Genichi didn't show even a hint of pride.
His brows drew together slightly as if he was thinking. His gaze dropped to the adventurer's pack resting on the floor.
"Goddess Demeter, please wait a moment."
He walked over, crouched, and pulled out a small cloth pouch.
He untied it and poured everything onto the clean floor.
A light clatter followed.
Magic stones.
Dozens of fingernail-sized, cloudy, dull crystals with faint magical fluctuation. The lowest-grade magic stones, the kind goblins dropped.
To ordinary adventurers, they were basic currency and, in some cases, fuel for certain magic tools. Low value, but they added up.
But Genichi stared at them with a thoughtful light in his eyes.
His Skill Devour was described as devouring souls to raise his parameters.
Did Dungeon monsters have souls?
They turned into ash and magic stones when killed. They didn't seem like living creatures in the conventional sense.
But these stones, the crystals formed at death… did they contain part of the monster's soul?
If Devour targeted souls, or something close to that essence, then would these stones…
A bold hypothesis took shape.
He didn't hesitate. He picked up a single goblin magic stone and closed his hand around it.
He focused his will.
Devour, activate.
The first few seconds, nothing happened.
The stone sat cold and hard in his palm.
Then Genichi felt it. A strange sensation he couldn't properly describe.
As if the hard crystal was beginning to melt and break down from his palm outward, like frost under a harsh sun.
Not physical melting. More like something deeper was being stripped away and drawn into him.
He opened his hand.
The cloudy, fingernail-sized stone was shrinking at a visible pace, its color rapidly dulling, its surface turning rough, as if it were losing all luster and energy.
In barely a dozen seconds, it collapsed into nothing in his palm, leaving only a trace of gray, dustlike residue.
It worked.
A sharp gleam flashed in Genichi's eyes.
His guess had been right.
Devour didn't only work on living souls. It also worked on the magic stones left behind by Dungeon monsters.
Magic stones contained something of the monster's essence that Devour could directly absorb and convert into nourishment for parameter growth.
A goblin stone's yield was tiny, almost negligible, even less than what he plundered by killing the goblin via Greed.
But…
Genichi looked at the pile of remaining stones on the floor.
Enough small amounts became a large one.
And this was only the worst goblin stones.
What about higher-quality magic stones from stronger monsters?
What about the massive magic stones dropped by floor bosses?
The idea opened up like a door kicked off its hinges.
Genichi didn't waste time. He scooped all the goblin stones into his hands and clasped them together.
He pushed Devour to full output.
This time the sensation was unmistakable.
Dozens of stones were drained at once. His palms buzzed with a strange mix of cool and warm. He could feel thin threads of energy, like tiny streams, flowing into his body.
A moment later, he opened his hands.
Only a pinch of gray powder remained.
All the magic stones were gone.
Genichi lifted his head and looked at Demeter, whose amber eyes were now wide and round with shock.
"Goddess Demeter. Please update my Status again."
Demeter snapped back to herself, staring at Genichi, then at the powder in his palm, her gaze filled with stunned disbelief.
Devouring magic stones?
Absorbing their energy directly to increase parameters?
What kind of unheard-of ability was that?
How many more things in his Falna existed purely to shatter common sense?
But she didn't ask. She forced down the turmoil and did it immediately.
Finger pierced, divine blood fell, resonance surged, imprinting completed.
A new sheet of Status parchment went into Genichi's hands.
Genichi
Lv.1
Strength: H197 → H198
Endurance: H108 → H109
Dexterity: H166 → H167
Agility: H113 → H114
Magic: H182 → H183
Every parameter had risen by exactly one point.
Five points total.
Compared to the nearly 700 points he'd gained today through Greed, it was a rounding error.
But what it meant…
Demeter sucked in a breath. A chill raced up her spine, mixed with raw shock that shot straight to her scalp.
"Th-This…"
She stared at the tiny +1 increases, then jerked her gaze back up to Genichi's calm face. Her amber eyes were filled with such intense astonishment it was like she was seeing him clearly for the first time.
Those were goblin stones.
The worst trash.
Each one contained so little. Hundreds together had only nudged each parameter up by one point.
But if…
If it was high-quality stones from mid-level or upper-level monsters…
If it was a floor boss's massive magic stone, worth tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of valis, brimming with enormous energy…
How much would Genichi gain after devouring something like that?
Demeter couldn't even bring herself to picture it.
This wasn't just "fast growth" anymore.
This was a new path entirely, a terrifying channel where magic stones could be exchanged directly for strength.
With enough quantity and enough quality, he could theoretically stack parameters to an absurd level in an extremely short time.
And when combined with Greed, which could plunder efficiently even through routine grinding…
Demeter's gaze on Genichi changed completely.
It was the look someone gave a walking anomaly, something with infinite growth potential, something outside the rules.
A monster.
The room fell into dead silence.
Only Genichi moved, folding the Status sheets neatly, methodical down to the last edge.
His face held no extra expression at all.
Only in the depths of his black eyes, something like a deep whirlpool turned slowly, swallowing light and emotion alike.
(End of Chapter)
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