Minori calmly observed the shifting figures on his status screen.
After days of brutal battles, his primary class — Sword Saint — had finally reached its maximum level.
Now—
His next priority was to raise his secondary class, Genius, to level 10.Once he achieved that, he would fulfill the basic prerequisites he had planned.
"The experience point requirement has already climbed to 5000," Minori muttered, swallowing a mouthful of roasted wild boar meat.
"As the level increases, the experience curve steepens."
There was no helping it.
—
Minori had been quietly worrying about one thing:As he climbed into higher levels, would there be enough monsters left to sustain his growth?
He shook his head lightly.
"That's not a problem I need to solve yet."
Suddenly—
His eyes sharpened.
Justice Value: +3
The indicator had shifted.
—
Minori frowned slightly, deep in thought.
"After killing so many goblins, the Justice Value shifted positively.So... this value is determined from the perspective of one's own race?"
He examined the numbers quietly.
In YGGDRASIL, the Justice Value was a crucial hidden stat.
It wasn't just about racial alignment—it affected:
Available classes and equipment,
Some skills and magic effects,
Even access to certain hidden content.
For example:
The eighth-tier spell Moral Distortion could forcibly corrupt beings with high Justice Values.
The tenth-tier Divine Flame became stronger the higher the user's Justice Value was.But if Justice was negative, the same spell's power dropped dramatically—sometimes weaker than a first-tier spell.
In Minori's mind—
Having a Justice Value that was too high or too low was dangerous.
In YGGDRASIL, many skills specifically targeted it.
"If my race, class, and equipment don't require it, keeping Justice at zero is best."
Minori nodded slightly to himself.
Neutrality was safety.
—
He drank another mouthful of water, his eyes drifting to the cracked iron sword lying beside him.
It was at its limit.
Fortunately, he had prepared ten replacement swords in advance.He wouldn't be left unarmed.
Minori tightened the straps of his leather armor, quietly analyzing.
"Mid-tier classes usually grant better stat growth than low-tier ones," he mused.
"With Sword Saint at max level, my Attack stat should be roughly equivalent to a level 17 adventurer from this world."
Maybe not a vast difference—but enough.
If he combined it with his skill Quick Slash and passive boosts, which allowed him to deal 120% attack strength,his effective combat power would spike by at least another level.
—
Rustle!
Rustle, rustle—
Minori froze.
His eyes darted sharply toward the nearby brush, from which the faint sounds of movement emanated.
Bang!
The heavy stomp of a massive foot crushed the forest undergrowth.
Pushing through the bushes—a giant, dark-yellow-skinned figure emerged into view.
An ogre.
—
Minori's expression remained calm.
"Ogres, huh?"
He smiled slightly.
"It was strange there were so many goblins in this colony without a few ogres lurking around."
But—
The next second—
The faint smile stiffened on his face.
Another ogre appeared behind the first.
Two.
Rustle—rustle—rustle—
Branches snapped all around.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the trees.
Minori's body tensed.
From all directions, ogres began emerging from the forest.
Surrounding him.
—
"Six...?"
He muttered, the air suddenly turning grim.
Minori slowly rose to his feet, sword in hand.
Handling one ogre would be no trouble.Handling two would be manageable.
But six?
That was a different matter entirely.
—
"This isn't just bad luck."
His eyes flickered coldly.
Ogres were known for their stupidity.
To coordinate an ambush with six individuals—that was unlikely.
Something was wrong.
Still, there was no time to think.
The ogres had spotted him.
They bellowed:
"Human!!"
"Roooaar!!"
"DIE!!"
Six massive figures charged.
The ground shook with their pounding steps.Branches snapped like twigs under their feet.
Their two-meter-tall bodies churned the forest air into an invisible wall of pressure.
—
Can't get surrounded.
The thought struck Minori instantly.
He shifted his position, seeking to keep as many ogres within his field of vision as possible.
Then—
His sharp gaze locked onto one target:
An ogre slightly farther from the rest, creating a gap in the tightening net.
"Magic Arrow!"
He didn't hesitate.
Now wasn't the time to conserve mana.
Three glowing magic arrows formed in the air and shot forward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The projectiles struck the targeted ogre in the chest, tearing three fist-sized wounds into its tough hide.
The beast roared in pain.
But—
As Minori expected, this was nowhere near enough to bring it down.
His Magic Attack stat was still low—around 13 points.
Magic at this level could only create an opening.
Not kill.
Still—
The wounded ogre faltered, slowing for an instant.
And that instant was enough.
Minori sprinted forward, moving like a shadow.
—
The ogre swung its crude club horizontally.
Whoosh!
Minori ducked low, the heavy weapon whistling just over his head.
He dashed through the gap, breaking free of the encirclement.
"Playtime's over," he muttered coldly.
Without even looking back, Minori fled into the depths of the forest.
However—
The ogres were not willing to let him go.
With unified, thunderous roars, they gave chase.
Bang—Bang—Bang—
Their massive strides pounded the earth, sending tremors through the soil.
Branches and shrubs that Minori carefully weaved around were smashed apart by their reckless charge.
The forest itself seemed to groan under their pursuit.