Freya Has Her Eye on Me in DanMachi!

Goliath's abdomen was violently torn open by the Inverted Spear of Heaven. Blood gushed from the wound like a fountain, and the writhing flesh inside was even visible through it.

ROAR—

Having suffered such a "fatal" attack, Goliath flew into a rage.

Under the threat of death, Goliath let out a furious roar. Every monster on this floor and the nearby floors was drawn in by it.

Rumble—

At the same time, a massive monster riot broke out on the eighteenth floor.

As if drawn by something, they swarmed toward the seventeenth floor.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"The monsters are rioting, but instead of attacking Rivira Town, they're heading upward. That's strange."

"No, someone's fighting the floor boss."

"Fighting the floor boss? Seriously?"

"Whether it's true or not, we still need to clear out these monsters. Since they've all come out, we won't have to wait for them to attack us next time. Boys, get them! Take these bastards down!"

"OOOH—"

Led by Bors, the adventurers began attacking the monsters as well.

They did not care who was fighting the floor boss. Right now was simply the best time to attack these monsters. They were all single-mindedly rushing toward the seventeenth floor, making them ridiculously easy to kill.

Rumble—

"Hmm? A monster horde?"

Tsubaki, who had been watching the battle on the seventeenth floor, heard the commotion and saw a huge number of monsters pouring in from the eighteenth floor.

Then she glanced at Cao Ye, who was fighting Goliath, and sighed helplessly.

Shing—

She drew the blade at her waist. It was already difficult enough for an Lv. 1 to fight a floor boss. If these monsters joined in too, that would be a disaster.

"What a pain. Why are you idiots here causing trouble?!"

Slash—

With a flash of her blade, the monster at the front was killed instantly, split cleanly in two from head to tail.

That single slash displayed overwhelming strength.

Tsubaki Collbrande, known as the One-Eyed Giant Smith, was an Lv. 5 adventurer.

Cao Ye saw this and immediately smiled. Luckily, he had brought Tsubaki along to cover him. Otherwise, if those monsters had reached him, things really would have become troublesome.

Goliath's recovery speed was not slow. If it had been given time to recover, all his previous efforts would have been wasted.

ROAR—

However, Goliath had not lost its ability to fight yet.

Cao Ye was inside Goliath's abdomen, preparing to deliver the final blow, when he suddenly sensed danger. Following his instincts, he leaped upward.

Boom—

The next second, Goliath's "Roar" followed close behind. It grazed Cao Ye's clothes and directly destroyed the distant wall.

Seeing this, Cao Ye was certain that if he had been even one second slower, he would have taken that hit.

"Worthy of a floor boss. But this time, the goddess of luck is on my side. Goodbye—"

Crack—

Cao Ye tightened his grip on the Inverted Spear of Heaven and flipped downward.

The next second, the Inverted Spear of Heaven pierced straight through Goliath's body and embedded itself in the enormous magic stone within its body.

ROAR—

Its core had been attacked, and Goliath immediately flew into a rage, trying to kill Cao Ye.

Gurgle—

However, at that moment, the "evil" within the Inverted Spear of Heaven began to seep out. Reforged by All the World's Evil and turned into an "evil cursed tool," the Inverted Spear of Heaven bared its fangs.

Bang—

Invaded by All the World's Evil, Goliath's magic stone instantly collapsed.

It was like a spark falling into a pile of gunpowder, igniting all of it in an instant.

[Achievement: Floor Boss Subjugation: Kill your first floor boss!]

[Reward: 200 Diamonds!]

With Goliath's death, an achievement was completed.

Not only that, Cao Ye had just saved up 100 Diamonds today and was planning to pull from the gacha after returning. He had not expected to accidentally complete another achievement and receive another 200 Diamonds.

[Name: Cao Ye]

[Current Banner: Fate]

[Diamonds: 300]

Three hundred Diamonds meant thirty pulls. He was rich again.

The thought made Cao Ye incredibly excited, to the point that even the thrill of defeating Goliath was somewhat overshadowed.

And with Goliath's death, the monsters that had continuously come to the seventeenth floor in response to its summons gradually "recovered" as well. They no longer stubbornly pushed toward the seventeenth floor.

"He really defeated Goliath, that kid..."

When the monster horde retreated, Tsubaki's gaze settled on Cao Ye in the distance.

Tsubaki, the Rich Lady! ### Looking at the fallen Goliath, Tsubaki did not know what to say.

A newcomer who had only arrived in Orario a little over a month ago, merely an Lv. 1, had actually defeated a floor boss. If word got out, probably no one would believe it. It was simply too unbelievable.

Meanwhile, Cao Ye was in an excited mood.

After all, defeating Goliath had completed a new achievement and earned him 200 Diamonds. That was a solid twenty pulls. For a gambling addict, it was an unexpected delight.

If the situation had not been so unsuitable, he would have been unable to stop himself from pulling immediately.

"To be honest, I really doubt you're an Lv. 1."

Tsubaki looked at Cao Ye and spoke jokingly.

"Genuine, no fakes~"

Cao Ye glanced at Tsubaki and replied with a smile.

This time, Tsubaki had blocked quite a few of the monsters that rushed over, which had helped him a great deal.

Otherwise, if a large number of monsters had gathered and given Goliath time to recover, he would have needed to put in much more effort.

"What's this...?"

Not far away, Goliath's corpse turned into a huge cloud of black smoke and completely vanished.

Even the magic stone representing its "core" had shattered along with it. After all, Cao Ye had killed Goliath by using the Inverted Spear of Heaven to directly destroy its magic stone.

However, at the place where Goliath died, there was a massive piece of black hide over two meters tall.

"Goliath hide? This is good stuff~"

Seeing such a huge piece of hide, Tsubaki's eyes immediately lit up. For a smith, this was a rare and valuable material.

As a floor boss, Goliath possessed extremely high defense and magic resistance. If made into equipment, this much hide would be enough for more than a dozen sets, while even the scraps could be used to make bracers, greaves, and the like.

But as Cao Ye looked at Goliath's hide, other thoughts arose in his mind.

From the Jujutsu Kaisen banner, Cao Ye had obtained two different "techniques": Cursed Corpse Manipulation and Ratio Technique.

Ratio Technique had now brought Cao Ye a tremendous boost in strength. His ability to defeat Goliath this time was also thanks to Ratio Technique's ability to forcibly create weak points to strike.

Of course, the Inverted Spear of Heaven had also played a part. Aside from its anti-magic property, the Inverted Spear of Heaven itself was immensely powerful as a special-grade cursed tool.

In comparison, the Cursed Corpse Manipulation he had obtained first had progressed slowly.

Especially Charmander, the cursed corpse. Although it had become passable after Cao Ye's constant modifications, it was still far from his goal.

This gave Cao Ye the idea of making more cursed corpses, and Goliath's hide was the perfect material.

"For this piece of Goliath hide, I'm willing to buy it at a price above market value."

"Hmm?"

Hearing Tsubaki's words, Cao Ye's thoughts paused as he looked at her in surprise.

If it had been anyone else, Cao Ye would not have paid those words any attention. But Tsubaki was different. He had never forgotten that she had saved his life.

"Alright. Since Miss Tsubaki needs it, then take it."

"On the market, a piece of Goliath hide usually goes for around five to eight million Valis. I'll offer ten million Valis directly. What do you think?"

"Uh, no—"

"Don't tell me you don't want money. You haven't been in Orario long, so you probably don't have much on hand, right? I'm different. I've been in Orario for so many years. I lack everything except money."

Hearing Tsubaki's incredibly lavish tone, Cao Ye did not know what to say.

In Orario, leaving aside everything else, a good weapon was already worth a fortune. Not to mention a master smith like Tsubaki, who would never lack business.

Just as she said, after spending so many years in Orario, she truly did not lack money.

She earned at least several million from a single job, while larger commissions bringing in tens of millions were common. Like before, someone had commissioned her to forge a first-class weapon, and the commission fee alone had reached ten million.

On top of that, many of her works were sold at the Hephaestus Weapons Shop, and every weapon sold brought in a huge amount of Valis.

Furthermore, she had no hobbies in her spare time. She only liked devoting herself to the study of smithing. Over the years, the Valis she had accumulated had long become an astronomical figure.

Looking at such a extravagant Tsubaki, Cao Ye could only smile. He had not expected that one day he would be the one getting flaunted at with wealth.

"Alright then. Since Miss Tsubaki has said so, I'll shamelessly accept this 'huge sum.'"

"Don't say that. With such a large piece of hide, I can make more than a dozen sets of equipment. I'll only earn even more after selling them."

"That's Miss Tsubaki's own skill. It has nothing to do with me."

Smiths earned their living through skill. If you were capable and your craftsmanship was good, naturally you would not lack money.

The floor boss had been defeated, so this trip's objective had been accomplished. Cao Ye's Falna had already become difficult to improve earlier, having reached its limit. That was why he had risked challenging the floor boss in order to achieve the feat needed to level up.

Now that his goal had been achieved, and with 300 Diamonds waiting for him, he naturally could not stay in the Dungeon any longer. He needed to hurry back and pull from the gacha.

Soon, Cao Ye and Tsubaki left the Dungeon together. On the way back, Tsubaki carried a piece of hide two or three times bigger than herself, and the smile never left her face. For a smith, good materials were the most important thing.

After leaving the Dungeon, Tsubaki impatiently returned to her forging workshop.

She had finally gotten such good material, so she could not resist. Naturally, she had to try using it as soon as possible.

Watching Tsubaki's hurriedly departing figure, Cao Ye could not help but laugh.

Knock, knock—

"Come in~"

After knocking on the door and hearing the goddess's response, Cao Ye pushed it open.

Freya was the same as usual today, looking down at Orario through the floor-to-ceiling window from on high. She held a glass of wine in her hand, and the entire room was filled with its rich fragrance.

"Hmm? Why are you back so early today?"

Freya was a little surprised when she saw Cao Ye.

Over the past few days, Cao Ye had been leaving early and returning late. In the morning, he would go to the Loki Familia and receive Finn's guidance, then head to the Dungeon. He would not return until evening, or even late at night, before repeating the routine the next day.

"Lady Freya, I feel like I should be able to level up today, so I came back early."

"Level up? Have you achieved your feat?"

"I think it's about time."

"It's only been a few days. Feats aren't experience points. They aren't so easy to obtain."