10-10. Labyrinth Exploration (4)
Satou's here. When I'm engrossed with something, I often forget the time. Like when an MMO got a new version, I stockpiled two days worth of food and engrossed myself with the game.
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"Nana! Endure it for a while. Pochi, Tama, use Magic Edge! Let's settle it in one go."
"You ivy! Are you a plant or an animal, be clear about it, so I complain!"
"Magic Edge~" "Go~ nanodesu!"
With Nana's provocation, the Thorn Foot rushes by crawling with its octopus-like ivies toward Nana, and entangles her body. She quickly cuts the ivies with her nature magic Sharp Edge-strengthened magic sword, so the ivies don't have any chance to twine around her. Geez, I'd have liked if it was a bit more erotic.
While my mind is in another place, Pochi and Tama cuts the main ivy that's connected to a giant thorn with their magic edged magic swords.
Arisa pierced the bump part of the Thorn Foot's head with her [<>], severing half of the bump.
Lulu who's beside her fires a big caliber magic bullet from her magic gun, completely blowing away the half-torn bump of the Thorn Foot.
There, Mia demonstrates the effect of [<>], shredding the monster's rind by making use of the body fluids that flow on its surface.
Lastly, Liza drives her magic edged Spiral Spear Attack on the legs-like ivies of the Thorn Foot, finishing it off.
"Big victory~?" "Nanodesu!"
I clean everyone who's raising cheers of victory with life magic and heal them in one go with [Aqua Heal]. I leave it to Mia to heal injuries during battles, but it's my job to heal injuries after the battle is over.
They were fighting against a level 30 Thorn Foot this time, but they were able to reliably beat it.
This is the area 1-4-9-17 that's overflowing with plant-type monsters. The name seems to be like this since the place you end up in can differ even if you're in the same area depending on the course you've passed through. Since it's long, let's just call it area 17. In here, plant roots that are hanging on every room emit light so it's bright. I tried cutting those plant roots before since I was curious, there were light fiber-like things in its cross-section. The natural light fiber roots and stalks must have brought the light from outside.
Due to that reason, there are a lot of plant-type monsters in this area. Various enemies have attacked us, like the walking ivy monster like before, a big tree monster which fires durian-sized acorns from its cannon-like part, a walking corn monster that rapidly fires its thumb-sized kernels like a machine-gun, or carnivorous plants that send out their slime-like mucus feelers to predate upon us. Any one of them is around level 20-30.
One interesting monster is called [Walking Bamboo (Ugi)], they look exactly like a bamboo. You can extract green-tea colored sugar by processing the fiber of this monster's main body. Furthermore, its leaves are raw material for potion stabilizer. The ivy of this Walking Bamboo (Ugi) and the Thorn Foot that we've just hunted now are material for making intermediate potion. Since the ivy would start to contain toxic after it's left to decompose for a few days, I compounded it by following the instruction on the documents of the elf alchemist.
I can see demi-goblins and herbivore monsters sometimes, but since low-leveled monsters are just a hindrance, I exterminate them with Remote Arrows.
There is no one in this area besides us, partly because area 9 is infested with small insect monsters and slime monsters that especially use poison, disease and paralyze inducing attacks, on top of the area being a traps heaven. It seems that even for the past explorers, hardly any have come to this area, there are only around 20% of the sign monument compared to the other areas.
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"Alrighttt! I did it! I've leveled up to 27 from just now!"
"Nyahaha~?"
"Did it nodesu!"
"Self-conceit is prohibited. This is the result of master being here."
"Affirmative. It is thanks to master."
"Of course I feel thankful. Other enemies don't come when we're hunting one, and convenient enemies quickly come right after the break, it's a program that will even freak out an efficiency freak."
I take no notice to Arisa's subtly impolite praise.
We walked slightly further in since the enemies were too weak in area 1-4 where we fight the ant in the beginning as it wouldn't have become a training for everyone. Thanks to the suitably strong enemies in this area 17, it has become an efficient level up training. I'm concerned with Arisa who was lacking in stamina, but according to the person herself, it was because she had raised her stat to be oriented toward being a magician. During the (stat) adjustment on level up, she had raised (her other stats) to be at standard level so she had somehow resolved it. I'm quite envious that she can arbitrary allocate her stat points.
Since this place (the labyrinth) has night and day cycle, and the ground looks like bare soil, it doesn't feel like underground. Moreover, there are water sources, and the air don't get muddied even if we cook since there are air vents high on the ceiling. It's probably the best place for camping and hunting.
Since I could easily split groups of monsters by using earth magic to control the bare soil, it was easy to make only one monster could fought everyone at a time. The reason why Arisa didn't use her space magic to split monsters was because it seemed hard for her to use space attack magic while fighting against higher-leveled enemies.
"Come to think of it, a few days have passed already, is it alright for us not to return to the city yet?"
"We have a lot of water and food, so it's fine isn't it?"
Four days have already passed. We've only raised 2-3 levels each day, but since we've leveled more than 10 levels since our entry, the result is quite good.
The big one is particularly Lulu who has gained life magic and nature magic skills, and Mia who has acquired Spirit magic skill.
Arisa has also acquired fire magic skill when she's gotten her space magic skill to level 8. Apparently, the required point to level up to level 9 and more was too large, it almost made her heart broke she got something else. She picked fire magic that's good in battle since she could use advanced level magic the way she is now.
According to Arisa, body reinforcement magic of fire magic creates the energy by burning fat in your body, so it's good for diet. She boasted that it was something that the elves had taught her.
As far as my analysis goes, it uses nothing but magic power so the body fat things must be the elves' joke. I failed to mention it to her since she looked too happy, but I have to tell Arisa before she begin overeating.
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Since we had already annihilated all the enemies in this hall, we went toward the log house that we had been using for the last four days in order for having dinner.
The log house that was made from plant-type monster materials originally only had a living room, but it was added with more rooms and got improved little by little every day. Right now it has become like a villa which has a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a workshop.
We're growing tomatoes and medicinal plants on the patch of soil in front of the villa. Let's plant all sort of plants like flowers, soy beans and potatoes the next time we come here.
This hall is located in a place where there are watering hole and air holes, gushing holes can't be formed here. There are three passages on this hall, but I've put up doors with magic keys on each end of the passages, and left threefold traps there. Since even Tama has given up canceling the traps halfway through it, it's probably enough for preventing crime. I've made it to be able to be unsealed with authentication magic tools and passwords since it would be troublesome to go in-and-out otherwise. I've included simple version of barrier pillars on the doors in order to prevent bodiless-type monsters intrude.
"I'm home."
We enter the log house while unanimously saying so. This log house is installed with scarecrow series surveillance mechanism that will send alarm [Signal] when they discover an intruder. There are abundance of mana in the labyrinth, so I made use of the jellyfish's feelers to gather mana for the magic power needed to power the surveillance and alarm mechanisms.
I think the doors and the traps from earlier are enough, but just in case.
"The hot water have been boiled."
"Yeah, I'm going."
Since Arisa has called, I put the blueprints of the bronze Living Armor for guarding this villa on top of the sheet, and head to the bathroom.
Recently, Arisa who has learned the fire magic does the heating. At first the bathroom was partially destroyed by fire since she made a mistake during the heating adjustment, but she's become able to reliably do it now.
"Everyone is already waiting, undress quick quick~"
Since it was troublesome to make the changing room, undressing is done in the living room. Everyone will get caught up in Arisa's bad influence if I'm too tardy, so I use quickdress to change into waist coiled with towel style and enter the bathroom.
Everyone who's in one-piece yukata like Arisa's wearing is waiting in front of the bathtub that's made of cypress-like wood. I don't think that I must be the first one to enter, but since Liza and Nana were insisting, "The first bath is for master.", me entering first has become the custom.
After Liza and Nana pour hot water from both of my sides, I set foot into the bathtub. I slowly lean my back on the bathtub's edge, and relax my mind and body with the hot water that feels just right.
There are a lot of spirits in the watering hole here. I don't know whether it's because they're the prey of the monsters, or simply because it's the gushing point of an earth vein. Just by submerging in the hot water, I feel that my body feels light like it's being massaged, the spirits might be massaging me unexpectedly.
While I warm my body, I'm washing the back and hair of the youth troupe besides Arisa. I also washed Lulu and Arisa before, but Lulu had become so red it looked like she was going to faint, and Arisa was too excited she got a nosebleed and fainted, so they get left out.
Since Mia who has won the janken for the first player is already waiting with a shampoo hat, I quickly bubble her hair with the shampoo soap. This shampoo soap is something from the recipe I've learned from the elf hometown alchemist, Tsuya-shi. It's not as good as the shampoo from my former world, but it produces more bubbles than a normal soap and it's tender for scalps. I made the shampoo hat for Pochi, but for some reason, Mia and Nana also have become to like it.
After washing the hair of the little girls in turn, I warm up my chilly body in the hot water and count to 100 with Pochi and the others, and then we get out of the bath. I tried not to be captivated by Nana who had her yukata become slightly transparent from the hot water, but it was quite hard.
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"I'm thinking of going back to the above ground tomorrow morning."
"Eh~, let's get back after we've leveled up to 30."
"I'd very much like to, but I've only paid the inn for five days, so if we don't go back tomorrow, our carriage and horses would be sold off you know."
I persuade Arisa, the only person who's complaining, by telling her the reason to go back. Putting aside the carriage, I feel sorry if the horses get sold off. The horses are our companions who have accompanied us in the long journey after all.
"Moreover, we can instantly go back here if we leave the carved seal board right?"
That words seemed to be the decisive factor, succeeded persuading Arisa.
Before we go back, I choose the booty we're going to take above ground.
Among the magic cores, I decided to put the large quantity of deep red magic cores acquired from area 17 inside the Magic Bag <>, and left it in the log house. I've already used large amount of the small whitish magic cores from the ants and small fries for making diluted magic potions, but there are still more than 100 of it remaining. I put only these magic cores into a small bag and bring them along.
Since everyone will look at us dubiously instead if we don't bring any monster material, I've decided to bring 10 of the ant's breast shells, carapaces and claws each that are in acceptable conditions, and also some labyrinth frog meat. Every one of them had been in the purchase list of the guild.
I remembered something and decided to bring some yellow lizard meat that weren't in the purchase list. They were strange lizards that looked like an iguana with feelers, but they were delicious with chicken-like taste and little fatness.
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With [Return] magic, we return to the hidden room in area 1-4 that we've found. Of course I had made sure that there were no monsters or explorers in the room beforehand with [Clairvoyance] magic. Making sure of the situation ahead for teleporting is simpler with this magic, so I use it often recently.
Since I discovered around 30 lost thieves that were approaching like they were enclosing us when we were in a junction of the first area, I dealt with them with three consecutive [Remote Stuns] before they were even in our field of visions. They probably won't die, but since I hit them with 2-5 shoots each, they're probably going to be fainting in agony for a while.
Since I took some detours by using some small passages along the way, we safely got out of the labyrinth without even encountering the fainted lost thieves.
We were meet with a surprise outside of the labyrinth, but the surprising vector seemed to be slightly different than what Arisa had expected.
They seem to be living comfortably in the labyrinth.
The following skills changes are tentative. I might delete them when I make character glossary for chapter 10 later.
●Main Characters Levels and Skills Changes
Arisa...Level 27
Skills:
[Never Give Up]
[Over Boost]
[Self Status]
[Status Check]
[Hide Skill]
[Item Box]
[Space Magic (Lv8)]
[Fire Magic (Lv1)]
Liza....Level 27
Skills:
[Spear]
[Thrusting]
[Heavy Blow]
[Magic Edge]
[Magic Edge Cannon] (new)
[Spiral Spear Attack] (new)
[Flickering Movement] (new)
[Dismantling]
[Cooking]
Tama....Level 27
Skills:
[Short Sword]
[Throwing]
[Two-Swords Style] (new)
[Magic Edge] (new)
[Enemy Search]
[Unlocking] (new)
[Trap Cancel] (new)
[Trap Discovery] (new)
[Horseback Riding]
[Dismantling]
[Gathering]
Pochi....Level 27
Skills:
[Short Sword]
[Heavy Blow]
[Helm Splitter] (new)
[Magic Edge] (new)
[Shooting]
[Throwing]
[Enemy Search]
[Dismantling]
[Flickering Movement] (new)
Lulu....Level 26
Skills:
[Shooting]
[Sniping]
[Self-Protection] (new)
[Life Magic] (new)
[Nature Magic] (new)
[Chanting]
[Marshalling]
[Etiquette]
[Cooking]
[Compounding]
[Service] (new)
Mia....Level 20
Skills:
[Short Sword]
[Bow]
[Water Magic]
[Spirit Seer]
[Horseback Riding]
[Spirit Magic] (new)
[Self-Protection] (new)
Nana....Level 27
Skills:
[One-handed Sword]
[Shield]
[Parrying]
[Provocation]
[Horseback Riding]
[Nature Magic]
[Abduction] (new)
[Capture] (new)
Nature magic:
[Magic Arrow]
[Short Stun]
[Shield]
[Light Boost]
[Signal]
[Sonar]
[Fence]
[<>]
[Sense Magic]
[Sharp Edge]
[Shelter]
[Protector] (new)
[Fake Patch] (new)
[Magic Shelter] (new)
[(Blank)] (new)
[(Blank)] (new)
[(Blank)] (new)
――――――――――――――――――――――
Name: Satou Pendragon
Race: Human
Level: 34
Affiliation: Shiga Kingdom Barondom of Muno
Occupation: Apprentice Explorer
Rank: Chevalier
Title: Magician of Dining Table
Skill:
[One-Handed Sword] (new)
[Life Magic] (new)
[Nature Magic]
[Evasion]
[Alchemy]
[Blacksmith]
[Woodwork]
[Cooking]
[Arithmetic]
[Estimation]
[Society]
[Heraldry]
Rewards and Punishments:
[Muno Barondom Medal of Blue Gleam]
[Muno Barondom Army Medal of First-class]
[Oyugock Dukedom Medal of Blue Flame]
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[Muno City People Medal of Honor]
[Gururian City People Medal of Honor]
[Puta Town People Medal of Honor]
※ Satou's stat is from the exchange column for public status. His original status is concealed.