Absolute Cheat: I Clear Dungeons Alone

Chapter 7: First-clear Reward

And so, I succeeded once again in passing through the wall into the reward area.

However, it’s a fixed rule that rewards after the first clear are inferior compared to the initial clear reward.

Because of that, adventurers don’t repeatedly defeat the same boss just for the clear reward. If there are adventurers who fight the same boss over and over, their goal isn’t the clear reward but rather the drop items the boss leaves behind.

That said, since I can’t defeat monsters, the clear reward is my only way to make money. I have no choice but to gratefully accept it.

With that in mind, I opened the treasure chest without much expectation.

“Huh?”

Inside was a sword that looked very similar to the one I saw yesterday.

Just to be sure, I checked the sword’s stats.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

〈Sword of Departure〉

Attack Power: +100

◇◇◇◇◇◇

Sure enough, it was the first-clear reward, the 〈Sword of Departure〉.

Strange. I’d heard that the 〈Sword of Departure〉 could only be obtained on the first clear.

But since I had it in my hands now, that must mean the 〈Sword of Departure〉 can also appear as a reward on subsequent clears.

And the 〈Sword of Departure〉 is a weapon that sells for a high price.

Though I was confused, maybe I should just be happy about it.

◆

“Hm? Isn’t that the kid from yesterday?”

I went to the same exchange counter as yesterday. The same tough-looking man was there.

“Um, please exchange this…”

Still uncertain, I handed him the 〈Sword of Departure〉.

As expected, he tilted his head and looked at the sword.

“I’m sure I exchanged a 〈Sword of Departure〉 yesterday. Kid, how did you get this one?”

“Well, when I defeated the boss of the Fassil Dungeon, it dropped.”

Strictly speaking, I hadn’t defeated the boss, but I thought it best to keep quiet about passing through the wall, so that’s what I said.

“That’s odd. The 〈Sword of Departure〉 should only be a first-clear reward…”

The man frowned.

“It does seem strange, doesn’t it…”

I voiced my own thoughts.

“But you know, rewards after the first clear are chosen randomly from a pool of items. Maybe, even though the chance is ridiculously low, the 〈Sword of Departure〉 can still appear as a reward.”

Hearing him speak as if he’d convinced himself, I also nodded in agreement.

In other words—

“Kid, you got lucky.”

That’s what it meant.

In the end, I received the same amount of money as yesterday and left the exchange counter.

Even though I should have been happy to get so much money, I couldn’t shake a vague unease.

Even if it was coincidence, it felt far too convenient.

The next day, I headed once again to the same Fassil Dungeon.

My goal was to reach the boss’s room, pass through the wall, and obtain the clear reward.

With an attack power of only 10, I couldn’t properly defeat monsters. This was the only way I could earn money.

At first, I had been terrified and trembling, but since this was my third time, I was able to proceed smoothly.

Clang! The moment I blocked the werewolf’s claws with my knife, the knife shattered. Incidentally, this was the new knife I had bought yesterday.

It seemed knives simply couldn’t withstand the werewolf’s attacks.

And then, I was blown away—

“〈Evasion〉.”

I activated the skill.

As expected, for some reason my body passed through the wall and arrived in the reward area.

I opened the treasure chest that held the clear reward.

“…Th-this is strange.”

Inside was the 〈Sword of Departure〉, which should have been only a first-clear reward.

Had I just hit an unbelievably lucky chance?

Thinking that, I went to the exchange counter and had the 〈Sword of Departure〉 exchanged.

Just in case, I went to a different exchange counter than yesterday. If I exchanged the 〈Sword of Departure〉 at the same place three days in a row, they might start to get suspicious.

And then, the next day, I headed to the Fassil Dungeon again. My goal, of course, was the clear reward.

“…N-no way.”

Seeing the 〈Sword of Departure〉 inside the treasure chest, I muttered those words.

With the sword appearing this many times in a row, I started to think maybe it was normal for the 〈Sword of Departure〉 to appear even after the first clear.

But if that were true, other adventurers would surely flock to this dungeon.

Yet the adventurers I had seen here so far were only beginners who hadn’t cleared the dungeon before.

I exchanged the 〈Sword of Departure〉 at yet another different counter.

And then, the next day.

It was my fifth day in a row visiting the Fassil Dungeon.

Once again, without defeating the boss, I passed through the wall into the reward area.

I opened the treasure chest.

Inside was the 〈Sword of Departure〉.

“This can’t just be explained as luck anymore…”

By now, with the sword appearing so many times consecutively, I had no choice but to suspect something beyond mere luck.

“Could it be that since I’ve never actually defeated the boss, the dungeon doesn’t count me as having cleared it…?”

That was the only explanation that made sense.

Normally, clear rewards are obtained after defeating the boss.

But I was receiving the reward without defeating the boss. If the condition for switching to second-clear rewards was defeating the boss…

Then maybe I could keep receiving the first-clear reward endlessly—?

A chill ran down my spine.

There were many other dungeons out there. And every dungeon had its own first-clear reward.

In the Fassil Dungeon, the benefit was simply being able to repeatedly obtain the 〈Sword of Departure〉, which sold for a high price. But the harder the dungeon, the more valuable its first-clear reward would be.

If I could obtain those rewards over and over…

“I could make money easily—”

Yes, if I kept selling first-clear rewards, I could become rich.

Amazing!

I was thrilled.

To think that the skill I had believed to be useless, 〈Evasion〉, held such a secret.

From that day on, I repeatedly dove into the Fassil Dungeon, obtained the 〈Sword of Departure〉, and exchanged it for money.

And then, one day—

“Hey, Dom. I hear you’ve been living pretty well lately.”

I was on my way to the exchange counter, carrying yet another 〈Sword of Departure〉.

Standing before me was Guillermo—the man who had kicked me out of his party.