The status condition demonstration was so intense, that I had to take multiple days off. It did show how naive I was, but… I feel like I’ve been taking a lot of breaks recently. Did I get into a bad habit because of our vacation? I’m a little worried.
Well, I do understand that I needed that training, and I would worry the girls if I put it off, so I won’t worry about it too much.
During this time off, we were supposedly checking for aftereffects of petrification, and I was told to focus on resting my body and mind. I’ve been doing that, because I wasn’t doing too well mentally, but that means that despite the other four taking a break too, they worked quite a bit.
They were the ones who handled the news coverage of Enki, because the status condition training left me unable to do so. Staring blankly at the TV in the living room and watching them really amazed me.
…I really am no match for them.
By the way, River and the other golem cores were swapped back to the base versions, so now I’m once again recovering more magic energy than I spend. I don’t get sick while using Hawk Eye either.
And now that we know I can safely swap their cores, we did it to see what changes.
It’s mostly about their power. Basically, their stats change. I confirmed that Physical Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Agility do. I could confirm that the max amount of Magic Energy changed with a different numbered core. I don’t have any spare magic skills, so we couldn’t test Intelligence either. But I assume those also go up.
In any case, I understand that Enki won’t get stronger without higher level of skills and a better core. I tried compressing a hundred base cores the other day, and it didn’t work. I’m going to have to get a core higher than V the old fashion way eventually.
‘Goh! Goh!’
Enki is now small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, and it’s waving on a table in front of me.
“Hn? What is it?”
“Geez Shouta. Are you listening?”
“Eh? Ah, sorry.”
Yes, we’re in the same conference room as always, talking about the fourth floor.
“Well then. There are two types of regular monsters that appear on the fourth floor. Goblins and orcs. The goblins’ nature is close to the ones in the high rank dungeon, and many different types appear. There are fighter goblins, ranger goblins, archer goblins, healer goblins, mage goblins, knight goblins, and general goblins there. And here, there are fighter goblins, ranger goblins, knight goblins, and general goblins.”
“Oh? Aren’t there goblin healers?”
I heard there were ones that dropped Healing Magic…
“Not as regular monsters. The ones that drop it spawn with rare monsters.”
“Spawn with them… So do they appear with them, or are summoned?”
“They come as a set.”
“Ooh!”
That’s new. All the others spawned alone, and then spawned minions if needed. But these ones have minions with them from the start.
“Ah, I’m getting excited.”
“This really is the best medicine for you, darling.”
“I am pleased to see you are doing well.”
‘Goh.’
They laugh at my reaction, but I continue.
“What about the orcs?”
“There are reports of orc rare monsters, but nothing of note. Only that both rare monsters on the fourth floor have low levels. They might be a little higher than the regular ones on the second floor, but I assume Orochi on the third was stronger.”
“Oh? Then is the third floor just hard in terms of rare monsters?”
“It’s strange. Normally, monsters become stronger and the fields tougher as you go along, but the third floor of the beginner dungeon is an abnormality.”
“Eh… That’s interesting, but we need to conquer the fourth floor first. I understand the monsters, but is there anything else of note?”
“Yes. The path to the fourth floor is long. A one-way trip takes an hour and a half. This is also because of the third floor. The path is rugged, and taking a shortcut puts people in the boundaries where three types of monsters exist. Everyone simply follows the border line.”
“Hm…”
That leaves about four or five hours to hunt. Even if we dash there, it will only give us a bit more time, so it’s better to preserve our energy.
“Then we should camp like the other teams.”
“Eh? Camp?”
“Yes. We already used camping equipment in the Heart Dungeon, so all we need is food. We should aim for three days and two nights at first.”
Camping… I think Shuu does it too. Maybe we’ll meet there.
“Of course, I will stay in the same tent as you, darling.”
“What do you mean of course? It’s a dungeon, so we need separate…”
“That will not do. We need to keep watch, and sleeping separately will only increase the burden.”
“It’s all right, we will only be sleeping, so…”
“…Really?”
“…Hum, yes really?”
Look at me when you say that.
‘Gogo!’
“Are you saying you’ll keep watch?”
“Ah, you’re so reliable, Enki.”
‘Goh!’
Normally we would take turns keeping watch, but apparently golems don’t need to sleep. They have an energy saving mode, where they stop moving and conserve energy, but that’s it.
I guess if it’s just sitting down and not fighting, I don’t have to worry about running out of Magic Energy during the night.
Still, staying in the dungeon… I didn’t even consider it. I’m kind of looking forward to it.
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Thanks for the treat.