1,000,000 [Stardust]

BOOM--!

The magical explosion echoed incessantly through the corridor.

Bell stared at his right hand in disbelief, a faint trace of starlight still lingering on his fingertips.

I actually learned magic!!

Just then, the surrounding walls cracked once more as the Dungeon spat out even more Goblins.

Thor's voice rang out: "Bell, let's try to reach the fifth floor today."

"Yes! Lord Thor!" Bell shouted in response. He drew his small knife, and specks of starlight gathered in his palm once again, coating the blade.

He charged toward the newly emerged group of Goblins.

Under Thor's watchful gaze, Bell dove into the fray. This time, he chose close-quarters combat, his blade slicing through the Goblins' throats or piercing their vitals.

Though less efficient than magic, it had the advantage of conserving mental energy, and one by one, the Goblins fell before him.

Thor followed behind Bell, briefly acting as a supporter; he picked up the dropped Magic Stone from the ground, preparing to refine it into Stardust later.

He did not interfere with Bell's combat, merely ensuring no Magic Stone went to waste.

Bell felt the power surging within his body, the novelty of using magic for the first time overshadowing the exhaustion of battle.

Even though the number of Goblins far exceeded the norm, he felt nothing but high spirits.

"Star Burst!"

Thor followed closely behind, the two of them clearing monsters along the way without pausing their pace.

Thanks to this high morale and the enhancement of stellar power, Bell maintained his offensive rhythm. It took them only about two hours to successfully clear the first three floors and arrive at the fourth floor of the Dungeon.

The space within the Dungeon expanded with each floor.

The fourth floor was already quite vast, covering an area roughly equivalent to ten standard soccer fields.

The variety of monsters had also increased, and they were far more dangerous.

Bell had been fighting continuously for two hours and was now almost completely drained.

The long period of intense mental focus required to combat the monsters, combined with his several attempts at using the Star Burst magic—even on a small scale—left his head throbbing with pain.

The two stopped in a relatively safe corner to catch their breath.

Bell noticed Thor using his small knife to damage the nearby rock wall.

"Lord Thor?" Bell asked, panting. "What are you doing?"

Thor did not turn back, continuing his work as he explained: "The Dungeon has a consciousness. When faced with the choice of spawning new monsters or repairing its own damage, it prioritizes repairing the damage."

"Damaging the rock wall forces it to temporarily divert its 'resources' and 'attention' toward repairs, thereby reducing the risk of us encountering new monsters in the vicinity and buying us some breathing room."

Bell suddenly understood. Though he was exhausted, he took his knife and joined Thor in damaging the Dungeon wall.

As he worked, he couldn't help but think, Lord Thor is truly knowledgeable indeed...

After only a moment, Thor cleared a relatively safe resting spot. He took out two Potato Croquette he had bought for 60 Valis and handed half to Bell.

"Let's rest here for a while. Once your magic power recovers, we'll try to delve into the next floor."

"Yes!" Bell took the Potato Croquette and sat cross-legged on the ground, devouring it.

Bell's gaze swept over the cloth bag at Thor's waist containing the Magic Stone, and he asked the question he was most curious about: "Lord Thor, is all your [Stardust] refined from Magic Stone? How much Stardust do I need to collect for you to regain your former greatness?"

Thor casually took a Magic Stone the size of a fingernail from the bag and laughed.

"While these lower-world Magic Stone can become the most important energy source for Orario, it is pure delusion to think they can become [Stardust]. I collect Magic Stone simply because they can assist me in accelerating the refinement of Stardust."

To demonstrate the process to Bell, Thor grabbed about 100 Magic Stone from the bag, held them in his palm, and squeezed hard.

Crack!

All the Magic Stone shattered simultaneously, the energy contained within them bursting forth instantly.

Thor blew a light breath onto his palm, and the escaping energy was immediately constrained by an invisible force, beginning to swirl and compress violently.

In just a moment, the chaotic, leaking energy was forcibly gathered and condensed, finally transforming in his palm into a glowing, slowly rotating, tangible particle—

A true piece of [Stardust]!

Bell's eyes widened, staring fixedly at the newly born [Stardust]!

His eyes were filled with undisguised worship and intense longing; it was dazzlingly beautiful!

Lord Thor's Stardust is truly incomparably beautiful.

Thor then continued his explanation: "I can condense Stardust on my own, but the speed is much slower; it takes about three days to condense one. If I were to accumulate the 1 million pieces of Stardust required for my power to fully recover, a rough estimate suggests it would take 9,000 years."

He paused, clarifying further: "1 million pieces of Stardust is merely a necessary starting quantity. Only by reaching 1 million can I trigger a stellar-like fusion reaction in my power and reclaim my former greatness."

Using the modern knowledge from his second life to explain it, it was like a nuclear reactor. A nuclear reactor can produce massive amounts of energy, but the prerequisite is having sufficient material.

For him, accumulating 1 million pieces of Stardust meant satisfying the most basic material conditions; only then would his unique "nuclear reaction" formula be complete.

At that point, those 1 million pieces of Stardust would expand rapidly, potentially generating a terrifying quantity of tens of billions in a single day, allowing him to reclaim the power to create stars once more.

1 million pieces!

The specific amount gave Bell a very clear goal.

He calculated in his mind that the Magic Stone of one hundred Goblins could help his Goddess condense one [Stardust]. Counting his own rate of hunting 100 Goblins a day, plus the one [Stardust] his Goddess could condense herself each day...

Did he really need at least 6,000 years of not eating or drinking just to help his Goddess restore her strength?

Bell made up his mind. He sat up straight and promised with a solemn expression, "Goddess! I will work hard!"

"I believe in you."

The [Star Blessing] he bestowed upon Bell was different from the blessings of other gods; it contained a small feedback mechanism. The stronger his familia became, the faster he could condense Stardust himself.

For instance, he currently condensed one every three days, but if Bell could reach Level 2, his Stardust condensation rate might increase to one per day.

As his familia grew larger and stronger in the future, his own speed of condensing Stardust would only accelerate. In terms of pure efficiency, cultivating his familia was the most stable and effective method.

Thor finished the [Potato Croquette] in his hand in a few bites and said to Bell, "Perfect. While we have this moment to rest, I'll update your [Status]."

"Yes!" Bell hurriedly finished his own [Potato Croquette] and turned his back to Thor, revealing the blessing that looked like a tattoo on his back.

The [Blessing] bestowed by a god does not update in real-time. It isn't as if you finish training in the morning and receive an increase in ability that same morning; one must update their [Status] to actually gain those improvements.

This was one of the benefits of having a god accompany you into the [Dungeon]: the ability to increase combat power at any time.

Thor skillfully dripped a drop of divine blood, and Bell's status panel appeared once more. The numbers on it jumped with abnormal speed, and in the skill section, a brand-new skill had even appeared.

Seeing this, even Thor was somewhat surprised.

"Hmm? [Longing for the Stars]? What kind of skill is this?"