I continued exploring the first floor of the dungeon while Nano mapped the entire area. I killed a few monsters along the way—just goblins and kobolds, which gave me an average of 20 Excelia each.
After a few hours, the entire first floor had been mapped.
I asked Nano what time it was, and she said it was already close to 7 a.m. I started to notice an increase in the number of adventurers. Running into them became common.
Whenever I encountered them, they looked down on me as if I were a piece of trash—probably because of my sloppy appearance. Not my physical features, but my clothes.
In fact, my physical appearance is quite good. My body has changed a lot: toned muscles, very healthy skin thanks to cultivation, my eyes seem to have become lighter for some reason, and my long hair looks great.
It even looks like I take very good care of my hair, but in reality, I only wash it every three days.
'I need new clothes.'
I asked Nano to turn off the "projector" that was displaying the first floor in 3D and let out a sigh.
One thing I noticed is that other people can't see the things projected by Nano, even though they appear to come from my eye. Only I can see them. Nano said the only thing other humans might notice is a change in my eyes.
She explained that whenever I use her, my eyes glow a light blue. That is something others can notice.
I asked if Loki or Finn had noticed it during the interrogation, but she said no.
When she speaks to me or responds in my head, my eyes don't glow. They only glow when I check my status or actively use her abilities.
'I've already accumulated over 300 Excelia. I need 1,000 to reach the next "level." If I keep hunting here on the first floor, it'll take at least 12 to 13 hours to gather all of that.'
Those were Nano's calculations. She said the pace would slow down because of the presence of other adventurers. The number of monsters would decrease. If I wanted to increase the speed of my Excelia gains, I would have to go to the lower floors.
Nano said I'm strong enough to explore up to the 10th floor without any problems—maybe even deeper.
And that's without "leveling up."
That got me excited, but before going down, I need to get food and water.
I collected some magic stones and even two items. I stored them in my now full pockets. I'll even have to leave some things behind because I can't carry everything.
'I'll have to go there, sell these items, and buy a bag or something. I'll also take the opportunity to buy food and water.'
But seriously, this money is way too little.
"Nano, can't you help me create money somehow? If you help me, I won't have to worry about money."
[Negative. It is not possible to create Valis legitimately.]
[Artificially generating currency would result in detectable physical inconsistencies, as well as a high risk of being tracked by external entities, including the Guild.]
[However, I can maximize your efficiency in acquiring wealth.]
[Optimized suggestions:
— Locate routes with a high concentration of monsters, increasing the collection of magic stones and items
— Identify rare items overlooked by common adventurers
— Map safe points for continuous gathering]
It was just a casual question, but Nano answered seriously. 'Your suggestions are good, Nano. Could you give me a good hunting route on the first floor? One without too many adventurers.'
With the entire first floor mapped, that should be easy.
However, Nano replied that there are no good routes on the first floor. I would have to explore the lower floors.
'I see.'
After letting out a long sigh, I opened the map of the first floor and decided to head toward the exit.
As I walked, I started to feel a bit concerned about the possibility of members of the Loki Familia coming after me. So I decided to ask something I should have asked Nano a long time ago.
"Nano, can you change my physical features? I want to hide for a while."
[Your body has already been partially adapted. I can perform controlled physical alterations using muscle reorganization, minor bone adjustment, and circulation manipulation.]
[Limitations:
— Extreme changes are not recommended at this time
— Alterations must remain within plausible human variations
— Continuous maintenance consumes energy]
[Available options:
— Alter facial features (face structure, eyes, jaw)
— Modify hair and eye color
— Adjust height on a small scale
— Alter posture and body shape]
[Estimated time: 2 to 5 minutes for full transformation.]
[Conclusion: I can create a completely different visual identity. Do you want a subtle change or something unrecognizable?]
'That's interesting. But what do you mean by "continuous maintenance consumes energy"?'
[Physical alterations are not entirely permanent at the current stage.]
[To maintain the new appearance, I must sustain cellular and muscular reorganization in real time, which consumes magical energy and a small amount of Excelia.]
[Estimated consumption:
— Moderate alteration: low continuous consumption
— Extreme alteration: significant constant consumption]
[If the energy supply is interrupted, your body will gradually return to its original form.]
[Conclusion: The more different the chosen appearance, the higher the cost to maintain it.]
'I see. I don't want to change my appearance that much. Since I'm Asian, it would be good to slightly alter my facial structure and also change my hair and eye color. I don't think it's necessary to change my height or body structure.'
After explaining all the changes I wanted, I asked Nano if it would cause any pain. She said it wouldn't. Feeling more at ease, I went to a more secluded area and asked her to make the changes.
I could feel my face changing in real time—it was a very strange sensation.
In less than five minutes, my appearance had completely changed.
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