Looking at the fallen Goliath, Tsubaki didn't know what to say.
A newcomer who had only arrived in Orario just over a month ago, still only Level 1, had actually defeated a Floor Boss.
If this news spread, almost nobody would believe it.
It was simply too unbelievable.
Meanwhile, Cao Ye was in an extremely excited mood.
After defeating Goliath, he unlocked a new achievement and gained 200 diamonds.
That meant 20 gacha pulls.
For a gambling addict like him, it was an unexpected jackpot.
If the situation weren't so inappropriate right now, he would have already started pulling immediately.
"To be honest," Tsubaki said jokingly,
"I'm starting to doubt whether you're really just Level 1."
Cao Ye glanced at her and smiled.
"Absolutely genuine."
This time, Tsubaki had helped him block a large number of monsters rushing toward them.
She had helped him a lot.
Otherwise, if a monster swarm had gathered and given Goliath time to recover, defeating it would have been far more troublesome.
"Hmm?"
Not far away, Goliath's corpse began dissolving into a massive cloud of black smoke.
It disappeared completely.
Even the magic stone core shattered.
After all, Cao Ye had killed Goliath by destroying its magic stone directly with the Inverted Spear of Heaven.
However—
Something remained where Goliath had died.
A huge black hide, over two meters tall.
"Goliath's hide? That's good stuff!"
Tsubaki's eyes immediately lit up.
For a blacksmith, this was top-tier material.
Goliath possessed extremely high defense and magical resistance.
If crafted into equipment, a hide this large could produce over a dozen armor sets, and even the leftover scraps could be made into armguards or greaves.
But Cao Ye had other ideas.
From the Jujutsu Kaisen gacha banner, he had obtained two techniques:
Cursed Corpse ManipulationRatio Technique (7:3)
The Ratio Technique had drastically increased his combat power.
This victory against Goliath was largely thanks to its ability to force a weak point into existence.
Of course, the Inverted Spear of Heaven also played a huge role.
Aside from its anti-magic property, it was itself an extremely powerful special-grade cursed tool.
However—
His first ability, Cursed Corpse Manipulation, had progressed slowly.
Especially the puppet Little Fire Dragon.
Even after countless modifications, it had only barely reached a usable level.
It was still far from Cao Ye's ideal design.
Because of this, he had begun thinking about creating more cursed corpses.
And now—
Goliath's hide was a perfect material.
"I'm willing to buy this Goliath hide for above market price."
"Hmm?"
Cao Ye snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Tsubaki.
If someone else had said that, he might not have cared.
But Tsubaki was different.
She had once saved his life, and he hadn't forgotten that.
"If Miss Tsubaki needs it, then just take it."
Tsubaki shook her head.
"On the market, Goliath hides sell for 5 to 8 million valis."
"I'll give you 10 million valis."
"What?"
Cao Ye was stunned.
"Don't say you don't need money," Tsubaki interrupted.
"You've only been in Orario for a short time."
"You probably don't have much money."
"I'm different."
"I've been here for years."
"I lack many things, but money isn't one of them."
Hearing her confident tone, Cao Ye didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
In Orario, weapons were extremely expensive.
And master blacksmiths like Tsubaki were never short on work.
As she said—
After years in the city, she had accumulated a massive fortune.
One commission could earn millions of valis.
Large orders could easily bring tens of millions.
Previously someone had even commissioned her to forge a First-Class Weapon, paying over ten million valis in crafting fees alone.
Not to mention her weapons sold in the Hephaestus Weapon Shop.
Every sale brought huge profits.
And since she had almost no hobbies except forging, she had saved an astronomical amount of money.
Seeing such a wealthy Tsubaki, Cao Ye couldn't help laughing.
He never expected that one day someone would flex their wealth in front of him.
"Alright then."
"Since Miss Tsubaki insists, I'll shamelessly accept this huge sum."
Tsubaki waved her hand.
"Don't put it that way."
"With a hide this big, I can craft over a dozen pieces of equipment."
"I'll earn even more after selling them."
"That's your skill," Cao Ye said.
"It has nothing to do with me."
Blacksmiths earned money through their craftsmanship.
The better their skills, the more money they made.
With the Floor Boss defeated, Cao Ye had achieved his goal.
His Falna stats had already reached their limit, making further growth impossible.
To level up, he needed to accomplish a great feat.
And defeating a Floor Boss was exactly that.
Now that his objective was complete—and with 300 diamonds waiting—
There was no way he could stay in the dungeon any longer.
He had to hurry back.
There were gacha pulls waiting.
Soon, Cao Ye and Tsubaki left the dungeon together.
On the way back, Tsubaki carried the enormous hide, nearly two or three times her own size.
Her smile never faded.
For a blacksmith, good materials were priceless.
After exiting the dungeon, Tsubaki rushed straight back to her forging workshop.
She had finally obtained such incredible material.
She couldn't wait to test it.
Watching her hurried figure disappear, Cao Ye chuckled.
Knock knock.
"Come in."
After hearing the goddess's response, Cao Ye pushed open the door.
Freya stood by the large window as usual, looking down over Orario.
She held a glass of wine.
The entire room was filled with the rich scent of alcohol.
"Oh?"
"You're back early today."
Freya looked slightly surprised.
Recently Cao Ye had been extremely busy.
Morning training with Finn in the Loki Familia.
Then straight to the dungeon.
He usually returned late at night.
"Lady Freya," Cao Ye said,
"I think I should be able to level up today, so I came back early."
"Level up?"
"You've already completed your great feat?"
"I think so."
Freya looked at him and spoke in a slightly lecturing tone.
"It's only been a few days."
"A great feat isn't like experience points."
"It's not something you obtain that easily."
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