Why Are You So Skilled?!

Yes, back when playing the original game, while most players focused their energy on campus life and romance routes with the heroines—rarely willing to set aside the lovely daily events to grind day and night in dark, dangerous dungeons—most would still end up clearing at least the first few dungeon layers as the plot progressed, whether to obtain key materials, complete specific quests, or simply challenge higher difficulties.

Because of this, Greg knew the attack patterns, skill wind-ups, behavioral logic, and even the hidden weak spots of the three monsters before him like the back of his hand.

This foresight, born from game experience, was an advantage no local adventurer could ever hope to match.

The only downside was that his current repertoire of usable attacks was sparse. He could only openly cast the most basic water spell, Water Gun, and fire spell, Fireball.

Both had limited power and short range.

Yet it was far from hopeless.

With Silvia's Light-attribute buffs reinforcing him, combined with his talent—which was nothing short of broken under the right conditions:

【Dungeon Explorer: When inside a dungeon, damage dealt to any entity increases by 20%】

—even his basic spells could deal respectable damage.

At worst, it would just take a bit more time and effort, turning the fight into a war of attrition that tested his patience and skill.

“Kaaah!”

The Spine-back Lizard, having broken free first, was the most aggressive. It kicked off its hind legs and lunged forward, dark green poisonous light flickering on its front claws.

Greg didn't dodge immediately. Only when the sharp claws were inches away did he shift his footwork, sidestepping by an impossibly narrow margin. At the same time, the Water Gun already gathered in his left hand blasted directly at the gap between the lighter-colored scales under the lizard's neck—a vulnerable spot bound to be exposed mid-lunge.

That was its relatively soft throat.

The jet of water hit. Though it failed to pierce the thick hide, the sheer force of the high-pressure current and the mana within made the Spine-back Lizard screech in pain, its movement stuttering.

Almost the instant he fired the Water Gun, Greg swept his right hand back, hurling a scorching Fireball with a sharp whistle.

However, he didn't aim for the nearby Spine-back Lizard. Instead, the Fireball curved through the air and slammed into the Moss-rock Golem, which was lumbering forward while swinging a stone fist from the flank.

The Fireball struck squarely against a raised, moss-covered lump on the golem's chest that was visibly darker than the surrounding stone.

That lump was the core node through which it absorbed leyline energy to sustain itself—and one of its fatal weaknesses.

The Fireball erupted. The searing flames and explosive impact brought the golem's charge to a sudden halt. The moss on its chest core turned to ash, emitting a pungent stench as the creature let out a muffled roar of fury and pain.

Meanwhile, the deadliest threat, the Shadow-eater Beast, had silently crept into the shadows behind Greg's flank. Its form blurred and distorted, preparing to launch an insubstantial shadow strike.

Yet Greg acted as if he had eyes in the back of his head. The moment his right hand released the Fireball, he spun his body to the other side and executed a swift reverse kick—not at the Shadow-eater Beast itself, but at a sharp stone resting by his foot.

The stone whistled through the exact trajectory where the Shadow-eater Beast was about to manifest. Though it caused no real physical damage, it cleanly interrupted the wind-up of the monster's ready-to-launch 【Shadow Strike】, forcing it to let out an annoyed screech and reform its body.

This fluid sequence of dodges, predictions, targeted strikes, and skill interrupts not only halted the three monsters' offensive, but also left the three onlookers and Silvia utterly spellbound.

H-How does he seem to know these monsters so well?!

The doubts in Alvin's and Leonard's minds began to crumble, replaced by intense shock.

This near-prophetic reading of the monsters' attack patterns and precise striking of their weak points was far beyond what luck could explain.

Silvia's pink eyes shone with admiration, her reverence for Greg nearly overflowing.

The battle that followed turned into a masterclass in personal skill for Greg.

He was like a dancer on the edge of a blade, avoiding bites, claw swipes, venom sprays, and shadow strikes at the last possible second with minimal movement.

Every single counterattack, whether a Water Gun or a Fireball, landed precisely on a monster's weakness or caught them during a skill cooldown. Though individual hits dealt minor damage, the cumulative effect was devastating.

Wounds multiplied across the three monsters' bodies, their movements growing sluggish and clumsy from their injuries and the constant Weakness debuffs.

Throughout the fight, Greg felt his mastery over the two basic spells growing sharper. His mana flowed smoother, and his spell-form construction became faster and more stable.

Suddenly, two system notifications flashed in his mind:

【Water Gun proficiency increased from LV2 to LV3.】

【Fireball proficiency increased from LV1 to LV2.】

“Proficiency leveled up? That's going to save me a lot of trouble!”

Although basic magic proficiency capped out at LV5, the stat boosts per level were far from negligible.

When he cast Water Gun again, it was no longer a simple jet of high-pressure water, but a dense, sharp Water Arrow shimmering with a pale blue magic aura around its edges. Its speed and armor penetration were noticeably enhanced, leaving visible gashes when it struck the Spine-back Lizard.

Meanwhile, the Fireball expanded in size, its color shifting from dark red to a bright, vibrant orange-red with tumbling flames swirling inside.

When it struck the Moss-rock Golem, the explosion and lingering burn effect were far more intense, causing the rocky skin on its surface to crackle and pop loudly.

With increased attack power backing his relentless strikes on their weak points, the scales of battle tipped rapidly.

An enhanced Water Arrow caught the Spine-back Lizard right as a leap missed and its momentum stalled, driving straight into its eye socket.

The lizard let out a shrill, agonizing shriek before its massive frame crashed to the ground, twitching violently.

Another larger Fireball slammed onto the charred core of the Moss-rock Golem's chest, shattering it completely this time.

The golem froze mid-motion. The stone skin across its body swiftly lost its dull luster, crumbling and collapsing into a heap of rubble.

With two of its allies dead, the remaining Shadow-eater Beast lost most of its ferocity and attempted to melt into the shadows to flee.

Greg was already prepared. He called out for Silvia to cast a Holy Light Bullet, then closed the distance rapidly. Three Water Arrows fired in a triangular formation to seal off its escape paths, and a final enhanced Fireball struck squarely in the center of its semi-insubstantial torso just as it tried to force its way through while moving at high speed.

“Wuuu—!”

The Shadow-eater Beast emitted a brief, piteous wail. Its body twisted violently like a popped bubble before dissolving into a cloud of dark smoke, leaving behind nothing but a tiny, dim Shadow Crystal.

The battle was over.

Nothing remained in the cavern save for Greg's slightly heavy breathing and the stunned, wide-eyed stares of the four people standing a short distance away.