Chapter 34 - The system that ruins a story.

When I woke up the next day, I looked at Hephaestus beside me. I turned to her and ran my hand through her hair. Her eyes slowly opened.

"Good morning~~," she said with a smile.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I slept very well." Hephaestus hugged me and then kissed me. "Are you leaving already? Let's stay here a little longer, cuddling. You're so warm," she said as she pressed her body against mine.

We were both naked, so our skin exchanged warmth.

I embraced Hephaestus, and we stayed like that for several minutes before finally getting up. We went to the bathroom together and took a hot shower before leaving the room to head to the dining hall.

As we sat down to eat, Hephaestus asked, "Are you continuing your training today? Unfortunately, I can't help you since I have work during the day."

"Don't worry, you've already helped me enough. The tips you gave me were really useful."

"I'm glad I could help. But about that armor… Are you going to use it in the dungeon? I can get you a better one if you'd like."

"I told you before, didn't I? I like using what I forge. It's fine. That armor is good enough."

"Then please, don't go too deep into the dungeon. I don't want you getting hurt."

"It's okay." I smiled confidently at Hephaestus. "But speaking of the dungeon, I think starting some proper training would be a good idea. I feel useless when fighting monsters."

"Training, huh? Hmmm..." Hephaestus chewed her food as she thought. "I told you about Tsubaki before, right? I can ask her to help you with your training. I'm sure she'll agree."

"As long as it's not a bother."

I thought I could improve my skills alone... and maybe the system would help me. But that doesn't seem to be the case. I need someone who knows how to wield a sword to train me.

I'm good at learning, so I can pick things up quickly if someone teaches me.

####

I went to the training room where my armor and the sword I had left there were. I'm now confident that no one would steal the things I forged in this place, so I started using storage for them.

"Alright, let's do this."

With some difficulty, I put on my armor by myself.

After equipping it, I picked up my sword, which I had affectionately named "Savior." The reason? Because its ability to enhance my magic saved me.

Without it, I couldn't use "Lightning Lv2" frequently, nor could I inject magic into the sword whenever I wanted without worrying. I placed the sword in an elegant sheath and left the training room.

As I walked through the corridors, I encountered some Familia members.

They no longer looked at me with disdain as they used to—instead, they greeted me with smiles. Everyone who passed by even acknowledged me. Before, I doubted they even knew my name, but now they acted as if we were friends.

It felt like I was in a new world.

Hephaestus had told me not everyone hated me, but now it seemed like everyone suddenly liked me… or treated me with respect. Maybe news of my growth had spread through the Familia?

Perhaps Hephaestus, Mikari, or Tsubaki had talked about it, and now the entire Familia knew of my progress.

And these people admire competence.

'Or maybe they're just pretending because of the Goddess.'

Well, who cares?

I left the house and headed for the tower. When I reached the entrance, I took a deep breath.

'Hephaestus is probably talking to Tsubaki right now. My training should begin soon. Let's see how far I can go without proper training.'

####

I entered the dungeon and advanced quickly through the first and second floors without using skills or magic. After my Falna's evolution, getting through these floors had become much easier.

Before I knew it, I had already reached the fourth floor.

Slash~~

I cut off the head of a Dungeon Lizard that had approached me.

Then, I grabbed the water flask at my waist and took a sip. Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I decided to sit down for a moment to rest. I opened the map to check if there were any metals nearby.

"There are a lot of red dots around here. Gathering metals is good for earning points, but walking around searching for them is incredibly boring."

I only do it for the points since I've realized that the metal I find in the dungeon isn't of superior quality.

"It could be useful for making money, but… I'm part of the Hephaestus Familia. Why would I gather metals to sell them? That makes no sense."

The system probably added this metal-gathering mechanic to help me earn points because earning them solely through forging is extremely difficult.

"Alright, time to get some points."

Having rested enough, I started heading toward the red dots on the map. While collecting many metals and dealing with the annoying monsters that appeared along the way, I saw my points rise rapidly.

Before I realized it, more than two hours had passed.

Many monsters had been slain, and I had gathered many points and metals.

[445/10000]

####

"Should I do this?"

I was already tired of collecting metals. I was so bored that I wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"But things might get more interesting if I go to the 5th floor."

Without thinking twice, I descended to the fifth floor of the dungeon.

Feeling excited, I took my first steps onto the 5th floor. But something felt off. The dungeon walls suddenly began to change. Before, there were many paths, but as I kept walking, fewer and fewer routes remained.

It was as if I was being forced to follow a single path.

My heart pounded, and I started feeling nervous.

I looked back and to my surprise…

"What the hell…?"

It was just a straight line. At the end of the long corridor, the darkness seemed endless. Every hair on my body stood on end.

Was this the system again?

I opened the map to check if any monsters were nearby, but I was met with an unpleasant surprise.

The map, now nearly empty, showed only a single route.

I looked ahead and saw a single turn—to the right.

Following it led to a long corridor, and at the end of it, there was an enormous red dot. A dot bigger than normal.

"Is it some kind of special metal?"

No… this eerie feeling I'm getting…

Something is off.

"Should I go forward, or should I turn back?"

I strongly felt there would be no turning back if I moved forward. Either I did what the system wanted, or I would somehow end up dead.

"Damn it!"

So, I decided to turn back.

Quickening my pace, I started running.

However, after nearly ten minutes of running toward the darkness, it felt like I was still in the same place.

"No… I'm not moving. What the hell is this?"

I opened the map and was still in the same spot.

I was being forced to move forward!

"I don't like this. This kind of system... A system that forces the protagonist to do things… That's what ruins a story! I've seen so many people complain about this.

Is my system… the same?"

Is this damn thing trying to lead me to my death?

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Read more chapters on my patr eon: patr eon.com/parodygirl

Next chapters: Chapter 35 - Boss. / Chapter 36 - That relationship was shit. / Chapter 37 - I have no memories, but my subconscious loves her. / Chapter 38 - Testing a new sword. / Chapter 39 - Dinner with members of the Loki Familia. / Chapter 40 - Advertising. / Chapter 41 - You're incredible. Legendary sword.