Succeed or Die

[Dark Spirit, swiftly manifest Triple Arrow and strike the ones who scout us.]

"..."

When Falan suddenly attacked out the window, Soma merely watched quietly.

After all, where were they? This was the residence of His Soma Familia.

Even though it was currently being rebuilt, and the adventurers within were merely lv1s and lv2s,

He, Soma, was still a high god being watched and scouted by a group of adventurers.

Though He did not particularly care in His capacity as a god, it was still somewhat unpleasant.

Thus, Falan's attack did not go against His wishes. In fact, He even wanted to praise him.

"Very good magic. It seems your understanding of Mage has deepened."

"Yes. Just as I said, it is different from before. I now understand that the words of magic themselves possess power."

"In the past, I always wondered why a spell that could be released with just one word needed such a long chant. But now I understand that communicating with the 'spirits' and 'weaving' with appropriate words allows the 'spirits' to better understand what is required of the magic.

[Dark Spirit] is the opening phrase of the spell, and it is also meant to focus the 'spirits' attention on me.

[Swiftly manifest Triple Arrow] is the request. 'Swiftly' demands the speed at which the magic is cast, 'triple' specifies the amount of magic required, and 'arrow' shapes the form of the spell. This is the essence of Mage.

[And strike the ones who scout us] is an advanced request for the spell. By communicating with the 'spirits,' I have them assist the magic in tracking and striking those scouting adventurers. Lord Soma, am I wrong?"

"..." Soma fell silent. Falan had only obtained Mage not long ago, and He had never expected this.

Falan had developed such a deep understanding of Mage so quickly. Soma had even planned to call in a few favors to help His most promising child improve, but now it seemed Falan's talent surpassed even His expectations. There was no need for that anymore.

"Though I am a god, I do not understand everything. For example, magic? I know nothing about it. Magic and divine power exist on entirely different levels. No matter how deeply I understand divine power, I truly cannot help you with magic."

"However, from my experience as a god, I believe your understanding of magic is profound—deeper even than that of some veteran adventurers. I cannot help you in this regard, and neither can the adventurers of Orario."

"Your Child of the Dark Elf is as though you were born with a deep understanding of magic, only now you have unearthed it. Otherwise, you could never have achieved Free Chant, something none of Orario's current adventurers can do."

"..." Falan fell silent at those words. He had spoken with Soma intending to ask Him for guidance.

Yet he had never expected this outcome. Soma was a high god, yet even He understood magic less than Falan did? Even the adventurers of Orario understood magic on a shallower level than him?

By then, it was already late at night. Falan had left the Familia residence still undergoing reconstruction and headed for the Dungeon.

The adventurers at the Dungeon entrance had no intention of stopping Falan.

After all, this was Orario. Even at night, adventurers chose to enter the Dungeon to explore.

Quite a few even lived inside the Dungeon. The most famous example was the Safe Zone on the 18th Floor.

Naturally, none of that had anything to do with Falan. He had entered the Dungeon only to properly test his magic.

The simplest test was Clear and the first woven chant he had created.

[Dark Spirit, shrouded in mystery, wipe everything out for me! Clear!] and Clear.

Throughout that night, the chants echoed endlessly through the Dungeon. Every monster Falan encountered was destroyed. When morning arrived and Falan felt the speed of his magic recovery slow, he finally stopped.

"The advantage of Clear is that it casts quickly, but without a complete chant, although it can still communicate with the 'spirits,' it consumes a great deal of magic power. The advantage of a woven chant is that it clearly defines the spell's requirements when communicating with the 'spirits.'"

"It is more powerful, consumes less magic power, and even grants greater control over the spell."

Falan could not help admiring his own approach. Perhaps the development ability Dark was better suited to him, but so what?

What he needed now was an understanding of magic—the ability to use spells beyond his current level, allowing him to threaten adventurers on a higher level. After all, in Orario, great power was everything.

Falan naturally understood the meaning behind Soma's suggestion that he wait until the next expedition before leveling up, but he had no intention of going along with it. In the current situation, he was meat on the chopping block. In Falan's eyes, without sufficient strength to protect himself, everything else was empty.

Rather than build a stronger foundation, he chose to gain power first—power that would allow him to protect himself in Orario, even establish a foothold there.

"Mage is what can provide me with that help..."

After all, it had been said before that Mage's advantage was explosive magic offense. Given a sufficient safety margin, such as in Adventurer Guild records, an lv3 adventurer with Mage had once cast a spell capable of threatening an lv5 first-class adventurer. This showed just how extraordinary Mage was.

And Falan was unlike other lv2 adventurers. When he had leveled up from lv1, his attributes had all been SSS. If he improved quickly enough, then even if he could not reach lv3 in the short term, he could still seize control of his own fate.

With that thought, he cast spells faster and faster. What did it matter that he lacked the doubled magic recovery speed of nighttime? From the very beginning, he had come to the Dungeon prepared to gamble with his life, even at the cost of overdraining his magic power.

Perhaps Soma's assessment of him had been right. Falan truly was somewhat insane. Succeed or die—if his madness could not raise him to a level that made Orario's adventurers fear him, then he might as well die in the Dungeon.

Falan also knew that his current thinking was somewhat extreme, but he had no other choice. The environment had forced him into this. In his previous life, he had lived in a peaceful, safe world where his life was never threatened, so naturally he had obediently remained a shut-in working man.

But what about now? This world had adventurers, monsters, and even gods. An ordinary person's strength was simply too weak. If he were caught up in the remnants of the Evils someday, he would not even be able to die in peace. Rather than worry about this and that all day long,

Falan chose to gain power and use his own strength to protect himself. That had been his purpose in becoming an adventurer after working three years at the Golden Ring. But he had discovered that once he chose this road, there was no turning back.

Perhaps he regretted it somewhat. An adventurer's life was far more colorful than working at the Golden Ring, but it was also far more dangerous. Monsters in the Dungeon threatened his life, and beyond that, adventurers themselves had set their sights on him.

But everything had already been decided. Either he gained the strength to earn others' respect as quickly as possible, or he would become a complete puppet, able only to serve as some large Familia's Big Backpack on expeditions every day.