My Goddess is a Tsundere

Bane stood alert, his hand resting on the hilt of his short sword.

Squelch.

Thud.

His first opponent was approaching. Bane heard a moist squish echoing from around the corner, growing louder and louder until the creature revealed itself. Its blue, gelatinous exterior jiggled as it slowly hopped toward him.

'A slime,' Bane thought, his eyes narrowing as he studied the gelatinous mass before him. He squinted, sizing up the slime.

The creature had no notable features aside from its vibrant color and a small, glinting stone embedded within its body—the energy crystal. This was the very reason Bane had come here. He drew his sword, but before he could act, another holographic box materialized before him:

[Skill Acquired!]

[Threat Analysis: LV1]

Bane swallowed, maintaining his composure, and quickly opened the skill's description:

Threat Analysis: A useful skill for anyone, granting the ability to analyze opponents for bits of information and critical points.

After reading the description, Bane focused his gaze on the slime, causing a blue box to appear:

Threat Analysis:

Blue Slime: A common enemy on the first floor of the dungeon, also one of the weakest. The slime's entire body is its critical point—one slash should do the trick.

Bane almost laughed at the simplicity of the analysis, but he couldn't deny its accuracy. Even in large groups, slimes were barely a threat, capable of causing only minimal damage at best.

He dismissed the text boxes and raised his sword, ready to strike.

'Slimes are so weak; I should be able to kill a few and get out quickly,' Bane thought.

"Ah!" Bane yelled, charging toward the slime with a battle cry.

"Eeh!" Despite lacking a mouth, the slime somehow emitted a sound of fear. It tried to backtrack, bouncing the way it had come, but Bane was too fast. With a sharp shing, he sliced the gelatinous mass in two. The remains disintegrated into ash, leaving only the crystal behind.

Bane moved to retrieve the crystal but was immediately bombarded by a flurry of new notifications. The first one he noticed was a summary of the slime's drops:

Blue Slime Defeated:

1 XS-Energy Crystal

+20 XP

The inner workings of the God's blessing were a mystery to most. Few who received it were ever told how it functioned, but everyone understood the basics: kill enemies, gain experience, and grow stronger. Bane closed the box, accepting this fundamental truth, and turned his attention to the next notifications.

[Title Gained!]

[Slimey Slayer LV1]

[Grants additional damage against slimes]

[Progress to LV 2: 1/100 Slimes Slain]

'A new title?' Bane gazed at the box in surprise. Titles weren't unique to him—every adventurer would likely earn one at some point in their career. But earning one so quickly was unexpected. He closed the box and picked up the crystal the slime had dropped.

From a distance, the crystal appeared to be an ordinary rock, but as Bane grasped it, a faint purple light pulsed from within. The value of crystals was determined by their color. For Bane, the more purple the crystal, the higher its price. On later floors, the colors could change entirely, potentially leading to even greater profits.

Bane squeezed the cold crystal and shoved it into his pocket, the semi-tight cloth armor securing it as he removed his hand. He quickly realized that carrying many crystals this way would be impractical. Shaking his head, he continued down the dark path, ready to face more slimes.

Large groups of adventurers entering the dungeon were commonly referred to as packs. These groups typically included a variety of roles: adventurers, gatherers, and healers. Some members could fulfill multiple roles—adventurers with healing magic or healers who could gather. This formation solved the very problem Bane now faced: carrying dropped items.

With his current capacity, Bane could carry only a few dozen crystals. But in a pack with gatherers, parties could carry thousands. As he walked, Bane imagined a future where he could join a pack, earning enough money for himself and Eir.

Moments later, another slime appeared, this one a cool green color. Bane examined it, and his Threat Analysis skill triggered:

Threat Analysis:

Green Slime: A slightly stronger version of the blue slime, commonly found on the first floor. This slime can harden its body to protect itself and attack. 

Bane closed the window, understanding the threat. Like before, he drew his sword with a sharp shing. 

Bane's sword technique was far from graceful. He spent his time before becoming an adventure trying his best to stay in the best shape he could, training for the day he could become an adventurer. However, it seemed to not be enough.

'The sword is heavy,' he thought, his malnourished body offering little strength. Ignoring his sore arms, he let out another battle cry and charged at the slime.

"Aaah!" Bane roared, raising his sword. To his surprise, the slime didn't retreat.

"Mee!" the slime screeched, hardening the front of its gelatinous body into a spiky, crystalline surface. As Bane charged, the slime leaped at him with surprising speed.

Bane dodged the slime's attack and struck its crystalline surface with his sword. However, his inexperience showed—the impact reverberated through the blade, stinging his hands. Bane gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and turned to face the slime, which had landed behind him.

The slime was unharmed and hopped around, turning its hardened side toward Bane once more.

"Tch." Bane clicked his tongue. If he wasn't careful, the slime could defeat him.

He racked his brain and decided on a new approach. With another war cry, he charged again.

"Aaah!" Bane shouted, holding the blade parallel to the ground, its tip aimed at the slime. The slime launched itself at Bane's head, but this time, Bane stepped to the left, meeting the slime with the tip of his sword.

A loud crunch echoed as the sword pierced the hardened outer layer, followed by a burst of slime juice, as if Bane had popped a water balloon. The crystal dropped from the sludge, and Bane was once again bombarded with text boxes:

Green Slime Defeated:

1 XS-Energy Crystal

+25 XP

Bane closed the box and knelt to pick up the slightly more vibrant crystal. He stuffed it into his pocket and continued through the tunnel, pulling up his status to check his progress. A small progress bar appeared below his name:

[Bane of the Slums]

[LV 1: 45/100 XP]

'Only 55 more XP,' Bane thought. Then he would level up. The highest level one could achieve was 600. By maxing out all attributes—strength, dexterity, and others—to level one hundred, an adventurer could become one of the strongest in Gren.

Bane had heard rumors of adventurers "ascending" beyond this mark, becoming even more powerful, but he dismissed it as slum gossip.

He closed his status and continued hunting slimes. After defeating three more green slimes, a notification appeared in the form of a small blue exclamation point.

'Level up?' Bane opened his status and noticed he had one skill point to allocate. He was understandably confused—attributes were usually randomly applied, favoring the most needed or used ones. But now, he could choose where to invest the point.

'Since I'm a close-up swordsman, I'll put it into strength,' Bane decided, applying his first skill point to strength. Though the increase was marginal, he felt a newfound confidence.

With this boost, Bane continued hunting. He clumsily swung his sword, swish, slash. He made quick work of every slime that approached, side from a few green slimes with the harden ability. Bane fought about a dozen more slimes on the first floor with relative ease.

He stuffed his pockets, both his pants pockets held four while two of his upper armor held four, spread into various pockets. He hoped he had at least a thousand in crystals, with no more space to hold them, he sheathed his sword and began his journey back, checking his status one last time:

[Bane of the Slums]: LV 2 (210/300)

[Title]: Slimey Slayer LV 1 (16/100)

[Strength]: LV 2

[Dexterity]: LV 1

[Mind]: LV 1

[Agility]: LV 1

[Fortitude]: LV 1

[Magic]: LV 1

[Skills]: Appraisal LV 1, Threat Analysis LV 1

Bane's status was filling out nicely. He looked upon it with pride. In just one day, he felt he had accomplished so much: joining a god's faction, acquiring armor and a weapon, venturing into the dungeon for the first time, and leveling up. Bane almost got emotional, but quickly stopped himself.

'I am here,' Bane thought, a genuine grin spreading across his face. His dream was beginning to become a reality. No longer was he a poor old slum rat, he had a way in life, a faction to fight for. His dream was in the grasp of his hands, he thought back to the people who laughed at him. Now he was the one laughing, it was a surreal moment for Bane as he walked back to the entrance of the dungeon.