Morning comes, we make plans to go drink together once we’re done exploring, and say goodbye.
Yes, they seem nice. At least five of them.
They told me they’re having trouble getting to the thirtieth floor. It’s been half a year, and it’s stressing them out.
If you’re going to lead a normal life, hunting and harvesting on the twenty-first floor is enough. But people who want more try to make it past the thirtieth floor.
And the fact that they’re young means they want to check their potential too.
I hope that doesn’t lead them to their graves.
◇ ◇ ◇
The twenty-fourth floor.
I’m cutting orcs apart, taking down silent condors, and kicking around imps as I advance.
I’ve walked quite a bit, but I still haven’t found the staircase to the twenty-fifth floor.
Maybe I could follow other seekers if I found them, but no such luck.
An imp fires magic at me, but I block with my shield and fire earth bullets in return.
I thought it’d go down, but it flies down dodges.
I’m impressed. And the earth bullets hit a green slime clinging to a tree.
I parry the tentacles it stretches towards me with my battleaxe, and quickly close the distance to destroy its core. And I finish off the imp.
I’ve gotten used to fighting green slimes. If I watch out for their first move, it’s not that hard to read the trajectory of their tentacles.
Their speed still makes them hard to dodge, and since they have the power to cause an instant kill, I still need to be cautious.
I go through a few branched paths, always picking the wider one, because I’m assuming the path that leads to the next floor will be the most traversed. And when there isn’t much of a difference, I make my decision by knocking over a stick.
So basically, it’s down to luck.
My luck eventually takes me to a big lake.
I can just barely see the shore on the other side, so this is pretty big.
There’s a small island in the center, with a small shrine. Could the staircase be there?
I get naked again, put everything in my Storage Space, and dive in.
The water is just as nice as the river on the twenty-third floor, but it’s deep enough that I can’t see the bottom. It’s like the darkness is sucking me in.
It’s a little scary, so I start aggressively kicking.
When I reach the shrine, I see it has a drawing of a big tree and letters I’ve never seen.
Yep, I can’t read this.
I sigh, thinking this was a waste of time, and dive again to swim to the other shore.
And then I find the staircase.
◇ ◇ ◇
The twenty-fifth floor.
Suddenly, a tree starts moving and stretches its branches to attack me.
I make use of Physical Strengthening, drop my posture, and block, parry, and cut branches with my tyrant battleaxe.
These trent monsters attack with their branches like this, but they’re so many that it’s hard to block them all. If possible, the ideal way to deal with them is to attack with fire magic from afar.
That ruins their materials, but it minimizes danger.
Once all the branches have been cut, the trent loses its method of attack, and tries to crush me with its body.
It’s big, but this slow attack isn’t going to hit me. I dodge, and swing my battleaxe as hard as I can, bisecting the trent.
I put several of its branches in my Storage Magic, and try the fruit that’s attached to one of them.
It tastes like apple, but I’ve never had one with such a rich flavor.
These fruits are called random fruits, because you never know what they’ll taste like until you try. I got an apple this time, but there’s mandarin orange, peach, and many others.
They have quite a few fans, because regardless of what you end up with, it’s going to be the best of its kind. If I take it back, I can sell it for a nice sum.
The branches can also be used to make staves for mages, and their prices have soared because of the boom of new seekers.
◇ ◇ ◇
I keep taking down monsters, including trent, as I advance, but it’s getting to be around that time when I need to find somewhere to camp.
Imps are active during the night, so if possible, I want a place where I can stay hidden.
I have monster repellent, and I think I’ll be fine if I also rest in my magic mirror armor, but I don’t want my sleep to be disturbed, so I go around looking for a good place.
I can’t find any. There’s no water, or any place where I can hide.
Then I guess I’ll make one.
I dig with Earth Magic, and cut down nearby trees to make this place harder to find.
I don’t know how effective this will be with monsters, but it’s worth a shot.
With a place to rest for today secured, I explore the area around here.
I can’t tell trents apart from regular trees, so I cut them a bit to check.
After hunting some monsters, I go back to my spot and see an orc in the hole.
…What are you doing?
The hole is just big enough to fit the orc, and it looks like it’s stuck and can’t move.
Ahh… I make the hole wider with Earth Magic so it can get out.
Hn? Whatever, just be careful.
The orc starts going fugofugo like it’s thanking me, and after saying goodbye, I turn the hole back to the size it was.
I didn’t think this would trap a monster.
Oh well, these things happen, so I have dinner, practice embroidery, and go to sleep.
And I can’t sleep because a whole bunch of orcs attack me.
ーーー
Haruto Tanaka (24)
Level: 17
Skills: Earth Magic, Trace, Healing Magic, Spatial Grasp, Toughness, Magic Energy Control, Physical Strengthening, Poison Resistance, Storage Space, See Through, Parallel Thinking, Sewing, Limit Break, Dismantling
Equipment: Agility bracelet, tyrant battleaxe, divine bird boots, safeguard necklace, magic mirror armor
Status: Fat (All abilities boosted)
ーーー
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
