Absolute Cheat: I Clear Dungeons Alone

Chapter 2: The Desperate Boy

I made my way home, cradling my injured left arm. Since I didn't have any healing potions, I wrapped it tightly with a strip of cloth to at least provide some basic first aid.

"Elerate… I’m really sorry."

And there I was, crying as I apologized to my little sister, my only family.

"I got kicked out of the party. At a rate like this, I don’t think I’ll be able to make any money…"

I couldn’t think of any job that would hire someone like me—a minor with no family to rely on. Being an adventurer was my only way to earn some money, but that hope had vanished now that I’d been kicked out of the party.

"I swore I’d support you with the money I earned…"

I’m talking to my sister like this, but she doesn’t say a word.

That’s because she’s in a coma.

Until a year ago, the three of us—my sister, my father, and I—lived in this house. It was a perfect life.

But one day, my father died.

My father was an adventurer too. It seems he lost his life while clearing a dungeon. That’s not particularly unusual for an adventurer.

From that day on, even though I was only 12 and a minor, I had to start working to earn money.

I immediately went to the temple to receive my stats.

You can’t become an adventurer without receiving your stats—nothing starts until then.

But the stats I received were far too meager.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

Dom Crete, 12 years old, Male, Level: 1

MP: 90

Attack: 10

Defense: 50

Intelligence: 60

Resistance: 60

Agility: 150

Skill:

◇◇◇◇◇◇

When I first saw these stats, I couldn’t believe my eyes. First of all, how low they all were.

Generally, even at Level 1, each stat is usually around 100, but in my case, almost all of them were significantly below 100, and that was so bad.

On top of that, my Attack was 10.

Everyone agreed that they’d never seen such low numbers before.

Only my Agility was above average, but even that wasn’t particularly high.

On top of that, while adventurers are generally expected to acquire three skills, I had only one.

And the skill I’d acquired was "Evasion"—a useless skill.

After all, you can dodge a monster's attack simply by moving out of the way. On top of that, the higher your Agility, the easier it becomes to avoid incoming attacks. Because of that, most people considered using a skill like "Evasion" solely to dodge monster attacks a complete waste of MP.

As a result, my embarrassingly low stats became the talk of the town.

Still, to make ends meet, I had to become an adventurer. The only party that would accept me was the one led by Guillermo.

But Guillermo and his party had only taken me in as a joke.

They teased me every day, and if I didn’t please them, they’d punch and kick me.

I was often used as bait for monsters and had close calls with death over and over.

Still, to make a living, I kept pushing through until today.

And yet, here I am, expelled from the party.

And what hurts me more is that my little sister has fallen into a coma.

She’s always been frail and spent a lot of time sleeping. Even so, she was still conscious.

Guillermo took most of my earnings, leaving me with only a pittance.

Because of that, I couldn’t provide my sister with enough food, and now she hasn’t woken up.

◆

The next day, I woke up early and went around bowing my head to various adventurers, begging them to let me join their party.

But no adventurer would take me in.

The reasons they turned me down were that my stats were too weak, and that if they let me join their party, they’d draw Guillermo’s attention.

Guillermo’s party is notorious even among adventurers.

If they accepted someone like me—who had been expelled—they would undoubtedly be harassed by Guillermo and his crew. So, it was only natural that everyone turned me down.

In the end, I had no choice but to go solo.

The Fassil Dungeon.

It’s rated F-class, the lowest difficulty level.

It’s known as the easiest dungeon in the area, and it’s the first place new, rookie adventurers head to.

"Someone, help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!"

I was running like hell for my life inside the dungeon.

"Garuuuuu!"

Just then, a wolf came charging after me from behind.

"I knew being an adventurer was just too much for me!"

I shouted that through my tears.

Even though it’s a dungeon for beginners, there’s no way it could be easy enough for a Level 1 like me to clear solo.

It’s also known as the "Beginner Killer," and countless careless beginners have lost their lives in this dungeon.

Still, for my little sister’s sake, I have to venture into this dungeon.

Or so I thought just a few minutes ago.

Just a moment ago.

"Grrrrrrrrrr!"

I’d barely entered the dungeon when I came face-to-face with a monster. Standing right in front of me, it was a wolf—a monster that makes up a large portion of the Fassil Dungeon.

I drew my knife like a true adventurer.

Although wolves are considered a weak type of monster, if I let my guard down, I’ll be killed.

"Gaurrr!"

The wolf howled as it lunged at me.

It’s okay. I can easily anticipate this attack.

My Agility stat—150, my only real strength—and the experience I gained dodging monster attacks countless times while in Guillermo’s party gave me that confidence.

With the bare minimum of movement, I dodged the wolf’s attack.

As a result, the wolf’s side was completely exposed.

It was a good thing I’d been injured on my left arm—my non-dominant hand.

Shiit... The wound on my left arm hadn’t healed yet, so I couldn’t move it properly.

But my right arm was still in good shape.

I raised my right arm, gripping the knife, and stabbed the wolf with all my might.

Clang!

It sounded just like stabbing a stone with a blade.

"Why isn’t this working even though I stabbed it with a knife?!"

I cried at the sheer absurdity of it all.

Because my attack power was a mere 10, no matter how hard I attacked, I couldn’t even scratch the wolf.

It was a fatal flaw.

I remember experiencing the exact same thing a year ago, right after I first received my stats.

I’d gambled on a slim chance and swung my knife at the wolf, but the result was the same.

Well, I guess that makes sense.

I’m exactly the same as I was a year ago, nothing changed.

Since I’m still at Level 1, there’s no way the outcome would be any different.

"Growl."

The wolf must have thought for sure it was injured. It’s glaring at me with a confused look.

Since my attack power is only 10, no matter how many times I attack, I can’t inflict any damage on monsters.

The only way to increase my attack power is to earn experience points and level up.

You can earn experience points by defeating monsters.

That’s right. Since I can’t defeat monsters, I can’t earn any experience points.

"Eternal Level 1."

The adventurers have given me this nickname to mock me.

But since it’s true, I can’t even argue with it.

"I shouldn’t have come to this dungeon after allllllllll!"

I let out a bloodcurdling scream and started running away from the wolf.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t defeat it, so my only option is to run away.

Fortunately, thanks to my Agility of 150, I managed to outrun the wolf