I wake up in the morning, scoop up some ant queen honey with a spoon, and fire myself up as I prepare like I always do.
I bought everything I need yesterday, so now I just need to cook what I’ll eat during my exploration and put it in my Storage Space.
I could’ve cooked yesterday, but this has become part of my morning routine when I go explore for multiple days in a row.
The weather is nice today, and the news says there is a zero percent chance of rain.
But once I leave, it starts raining like crazy.
Hey, weather report! Get it together!
I get my umbrella and head to the dungeon, but the wind is too strong and breaks it.
I tremble at the power of zero percent chance of rain, but this isn’t enough to deter me. I run through the rain to the station.
For once, I’m by myself on the platform, and listen to the rain as I wait for the train.
When the train eventually arrives, I find I’m once again the only person here.
Could it be that I wandered into a world inhabited by only me? When the train leaves, I see the city through the window, and breathe a sigh of relief when I see people and cars.
The weather has cleared up too, like it never even rained. It was just a passing rain, I tell myself.
And when I get off at the station closest to the dungeon, it starts pouring again.
This is blessed rain. It’s blessing me!
Yes! That has to be it!
I force myself to get excited, and run through the rain.
◇ ◇ ◇
The twenty-third floor.
I put my wet clothes on top of portacool to dry, and change into my defensive equipment to start the exploration.
After receiving the blessing of the rain, my excitement levels are back down to normal, and I advance with tyrant battleaxe in hand.
I cut down an orc with a stroke of my weapon, and crush a silent condor by enveloping it with sand.
I feel like my magic has been activating faster lately.
Ever since I started using magic circles, it’s like I can focus on Magic Energy Control, and my use of magic itself has become better.
I activate the Speed Up and Double magic circles, and shoot an earth bullet just to check. I hear a small flicking sound, and then a tree goes down.
That’s quite the power, but I also suddenly lost a quarter of my magic energy. Although that’s still better than Explosion and Break.
The amount of magic energy spent really does depend on the magic circle.
Maybe it’s because I keep tracing magic circles, but I’m getting used to it to the point where my head doesn’t hurt even if I use Trace on two.
Again, it depends on the type, but I call that progress.
◇ ◇ ◇
I reach the river where I usually camp and set up my tent.
After checking to see if there’s anything at the bottom of the river and seeing it’s clean, I get down to my birthday suit as always and jump in to wash away today’s sweat.
After I do, little fish come towards me, and it tickles.
Do you like me that much, or is it my dirt…
I’ve never seen seekers fish in this river, but if they did, I’d definitely want some sashimi. I’m sure it’d be nice.
◇ ◇ ◇
I exit the river feeling refreshed, and while there aren’t any monsters by the tent, there is a green slime on portacool.
It won’t attack if I don’t attack it, so I’m leaving it be, It will jump into the river eventually.
I take out some food from the Storage Space near the tent, and heat it with a portable stove.
Today’s dinner is the stew I once ate with Toufu and the others. It’s only for one, so it’s hot in no time and I eat it with bread.
I’m used to eating alone, but eating this and remembering having it to the tune of people chatting gets me feeling sentimental.
It’s evening, and even here in the dungeon the area around me is painted red.
When it gets to be this time, I tend to remember nostalgic childhood memories, and that combined with the food makes me feel melancholic.
I exhale, trying to clear my head, and put the tableware away as I patrol to check if the area is safe.
And then I see a mountain of green slimes on portacool.
…What’s this all about?
That bunch of green slimes leaves me baffled.
I can only see steamed buns when I look at them painted by the evening glow, but that’s not a problem.
What’s worrying is that if this many green slimes get violent, the portacool underneath them will break for sure.
They asked me to use it, but I don’t want to break it and have to pay for it.
I don’t know how much it costs, but it can’t be cheap.
I look on, because it’s the only thing I can do. Eventually I sit on a chair near the tent and observe.
If they move at all, I’ll rush towards the portacool and put it in my Storage Space… That could work.
I’m impressed by my intelligence after this brilliant idea.
I immediately put it into action. I approach the portacool, put it in the Storage Space, and the green slimes fall to the ground.
I turn back after a job well done, and I’m flung away by a tentacle approaching me from behind very fast.
I fall in the river, and get back up wondering what happened. And I see the bloodthirsty green slimes.
I get it.
They decided that falling like that was an attack.
“…Limit Break.”
I grab the tyrant battleaxe, thinking that in the end, it has to be this way.
◇ ◇ ◇
The twenty-fourth floor.
I block an imp’s attack with my magic mirror armor, and swing the tyrant battle axe down at it.
It’s surprised to see me move after being hit with magic, and it’s bisected with that surprised expression still on its face.
The magic mirror armor means imps’ magic is not really a threat. I could even use Reflect, but imps aren’t worth it.
I kick around monsters that I encounter in the thick fog as I go.
I wanted to camp in the cave on the twenty-fifth floor, but since it’s gone, I have to look for another place.
Well, I’ll think about it when I get to the twenty-fifth floor. Visibility is poor here because of the fog, so I’m advancing slower than usual.
As I struggle to advance, someone next to me points and I thank the orc and head in that direction.
Then it suddenly gets dark around me. I look up, wondering if I got tricked by a monster, and see the big huge enormous silhouette of a tree in the fog.
I’m wary not just because of this big tree shadow that suddenly appeared, but also the strong monsters. Then a strong wind blows away the fog and nothing’s left.
So I really was tricked by a monster. I go around the lake where the shadow of the tree was, and head to the twenty-fifth floor.
◇ ◇ ◇
The twenty-seventh floor.
I looked for the cave again on the twenty-fifth floor, to no avail.
Was it really a seismic shift? Doesn’t it make sense for the dungeon to change its shape on its own? I heard that when people mine on the eleventh to twentieth floors, holes periodically fill themselves. The dungeon is full of mysteries.
I still don’t like the amount of monsters on the twenty-sixth floor, but I mowed everything down while munching on trent fruit.
I experienced a monster flood before, and after deciding to give it my all against killer bees, I started taking down monsters a lot faster.
The frame of mind really is vital in battle.
Like the effect of the greatsword of fortitude, if I focus on the battle, my performance shoots up.
This also means I lost a lot of magic energy, but I’m compensating for it by having Magic Energy Circulation work to its fullest.
My stamina is also on par with monsters because of Consumption Reduction (Stamina) and the safeguard necklace. I’d still get tired if I ran for hours, but that’s not going to happen. Surely.
◇ ◇ ◇
I evade a wood golem’s fist, and cut off the arm that passes over me. I then cut the other, and destroy the core before it can regenerate.
Vines fall to the ground after the wood golem loses its core, and disappear as if sucked into the ground.
Wood golems are strong, but I get nothing from them.
They rarely drop amber, but I’ve never seen one. There’s no way they’re worth that much anyway, so this monster has a terrible cost effectiveness.
◇ ◇ ◇
As I head to the twenty-eighth floor, I find an open area. There are signs that people camped here not too long ago.
They probably left this morning.
I also decide to camp here, so I stop portacool and take out my tent.
◇ ◇ ◇
The twenty-eighth floor.
I’m being chased by a lot of killer bees.
I was going to get honey from that hive from the last exploration, but it’s been restored with many killer bees flying around it.
This isn’t right, I think as I run with portacool in my Storage Space.
And I’m surrounded.
I was supposed to be running away, but it looks like I went around and came back to the hive.
Dammit. I raise dust with Earth Magic to envelop and crush the killer bees. But I only get a few dozens, leaving hundreds to a thousand.
I might die here.
Is something I don’t think as I throw myself into the fight to survive.
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