Magical★Explorer

The Academy Dungeon 4

As is often the case with online games, I personally believe that the most important aspect to raise your level efficiently is[The time required]. The time it took for one battle, the time until you encounter a monster, the time for your character to recover after the battle. You have to take everything into your calculation and go to the most efficient place accordingly. Well, depending on the drop items you can change your hunting ground too.

However, there’s a little different when you are doing RTA. Since you already knew the route you have to take to get to the end, you have to take the most optimal action to get there.

In reality, this method of RTA was also used in places like factories. Since you know what your finished product is, the rest is just to think about how to increase your efficiency.

Well, there are so many uncertainties so you will have to take measures to ensure your safety margin though.

My goal this time is to beat the fortieth floor within a week and join the three committees.

I considered that as my top priority so I put in a lot of money to prepare for this and done all the special training that I can think of to capture this place. Above all, it was for this dungeon that I sacrificed all those panties for.

One of the things I must do while capturing the fortieth floor is to gather the magic elements. Since the treants started to appear after the twenty-first floor I seriously want to hunt them! Or so I thought but there are also poison toads there. With that said, I can just start hunting on the twenty-fourth floor where the toad doesn’t sp.a.w.n.

That is the place I want to go but there’s no treant sp.a.w.ning after the twenty-fourth floor either. The monster that sp.a.w.ning there are the imps so the developer must have known that this would happen. If you can shoot them down with light attribute magic or sniping them like Nanami then the imps are also a good source of income but if they fled to the sky then my only option is to use battle magic stone, it’s bad for my heart. I can also lure them to fight in the hallway as well but that would take too much time.

“So I basically have to run away after all…….”

There is also a new type of goblin sp.a.w.ning on this floor, it is a higher species called [Hobgoblin]. They wield weapons like clubs, swords, bow, and wand. Depending on its weapon, its attack pattern will change but they are still easy to deal with. Like in the game, they are trash mobs.

However, even if they’re easy to defeat, unfortunately, the experience points they provide are poor when compared to the treants. Well, it can’t be helped since they are weak.

The Hobgoblin that appeared just now is wielding a bow. However, its power is very different when compared to Nanami. Seriously, it’s like I got punched by a child. Aside from the fear of the arrow flying at me like a bullet, there’s nothing to it.

If they come out as a group then they will be more troublesome than the treants but they are not usually grouping up like that and if there are many of them then there might be some accidents happening too (Hitting each other with missed attack).

I have a relatively large number of spare recovery items but I don’t want to use them now since I planned to use it after the thirtieth floor.

I ran after I knocked down a hobgoblin. If there are two hobgoblins then I will fight, if there are three or more or if there’s an imp among them then I will run.

With luck, I will keep going like this until I reach the twenty-seventh floor.

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“I just thought about it but I already made it to the twenty-seventh floor huh.”

Since I rushed through it faster than I did on the previous floors I arrived here in a blink of an eye. But it can’t be helped

After all, this floor is one of the most important places that can decide my future. This floor is the floor that the sp.a.w.ning monster started to change again and it is the floor that I can earn more experience points than all the previous floors

Also, it can be said that the dungeon’s atmosphere has changed a little on this floor, it is this floor specific feature. Rather, since the atmosphere has changed, you could say that the monsters also changed accordingly.

“But from this point on I will have to be careful of surprise attacks.”

I sigh at the sight of the waterway on the side.

The changes that occur on this floor are the addition of waterways and ponds to the jungle ruin. As a result, the water type monster will start appearing from now on.

As I move in a little further, a monster appeared from a big pool of water.

It has an eye-catching huge pincer. On its back is a huge sh.e.l.l with two feelers. Even so, it’s so big. Its height should be around that of an elementary schooles or a middle schooler? However, its width is around that of six to seven people, and that pincer is abnormally huge. Rather, the pincer itself is so big that it destroyed its balance.

“But its bad balance is as expected of the Kariyado huh.”

Kariyado is a monster with its base design of Yadokari (Hermit Crab) equipped with a huge pincer. Its name is just a play on Yadokari so the gentlemen immediately made that connection, it’s even called a Yadokari officially too. There were a lot of wordplay and puns in Magiero huh.

Now, I think that Kariyados have the best compatibility with me. It’s not that fast, it’s strong against slash damage but weak to blunt.

Moreover, as Mizumori-sempai said [You can cut its joints easily enough, and with Takioto’s arm then you would have enough strength to cut its sh.e.l.l in the first place, right?] if she says that then I should be able to do it. Come to think of it, when I perform a critical hit with a bladed weapon in the game, the damage also go through right? Was it because I cut the joints? Well, my best weapon is still my stole so I can just punch it. I don’t really have to stick to slashing them.

However, there are some points to note.

The Kariyado is walking toward me while making *GagiGagi* sound. It is moving a little faster than I expected.

The Kariyado swing its pincer down toward me. Aren’t you going to snap it at me? I used third-hand to parry while thinking so.

The thing that you have to be careful against the kariyado is its huge pincer. It doesn’t possess the sharpness to cut things but if you are caught inside that ridiculous pincer then it will break your bones for sure.

I kicked the pincer away from me after I used body enhancement on my leg, the kariyado tilted greatly to the side. I immediately followed up with a blow to its face.

*Bagin*, the kariyado turns over with the sound of something broken. However, since it still doesn’t turn into magic elements so I tried to do immediately follow up with another attack but that doesn’t connect. No, it’s better to say that I couldn’t do it.

*BubBubBub* bubbles are overflowing from the kariyado. Its face is now full of bubbles, it’s like the kariyado has grown a beard.

Since it is not a poison monster, I don’t think there will be any problem if I am bathed in it but..

“It’s hard to close the distance……”

It might be because of its small size or simply its large number but it looks so gross.

With that said, I still have to fight it. In the first place, leaving aside the twenty-seventh floor, I planned to finish running from the twenty-first floor to the thirtieth floor within only a few hours and spend one whole day on the twenty-seventh floor.

I planned to stay here and hunt for a long time so just by considering its grossness I already waste my precious time.

“Alright, Hmph.”

I shut off my mind and punched its face. Then more bubbles spill from its mouth, it started to convulse, its legs collapse making its sh.e.l.l touch the ground. Then it slowly turns into magic elements.

The hermit crab has the image of the sea but can it live on with freshwater alone? I think about such meaningless things while picking up the magic stone but I have to immediately raise my body and kick the magic stone away as not to let it interfere with the battle.

“Like a moth flying to a flame huh.”

The thing that appeared was the target monster that I plan to spend one whole day to hunt on this floor.

It is a monster that has a figure of a child wielding a big hammer. It has an androgynous body and a very cute appearance. However, it is walking while dragging along a hammer that’s taller than its height, its appearance is obviously strange.

It is a fairy type monster called the Knocker.

The knocker may look like a child but its strength doesn’t match its appearance. Above all, the thing that I have to be careful about is not its big hammer.

“So you finally appeared!?”

I directed third-hand at the magic circle that appeared in front of the knocker. Then besides the usual reinforcement I gave to the stole, I add in a water enchantment as well.

At the same time, a fireball flew toward me from the magic circle.

The most troublesome thing about this fairy monster is its fire attack using fire magic stone. I immediately close the distance while parrying the attack with my stole. However, as if it was expecting me to charge in, it swung down its hammer at me. I guard it with fourth hand and tried to use Iai to finish it off but the attack doesn’t connect.

The knocker used the impact from its hammer to widen the distance.

I almost said *What!?* There.

It is very acrobatic. If I add this to a video-sharing site it would definitely garner a lot of popularity from the Shota category.

Immediately after it widened the distance, it activates the magic stone again. Then at the same time, it also readied its hammer and approach me.

But unfortunately……

I had asked sempai, Ludi and Claris-san to help me train against the two-way attacks already. Since I knew that there would be multiple instances of enemies in the dungeons so I trained as much as possible to counter it. That choice seems to be correct.

I parry the attack with third hand and used fourth hand to block the hammer. However, this time there’s something different about the fourth hand. The moment the fourth hand touched the hammer, *puff* the sounds that rang out was like the hammer hitting the cloth, the hammer is now wrapped inside fourth hand. Just how long it took me to master this delicate hardening technique. (TLN: ( ° ͜ʖ °))

“Now, strengthen it then harden.”

The knocker was unable to pull out its hammer that is currently wrapped inside the hardened stole leaving its stomach defenseless.

Using Iai, I bisected the knocker. It soon turned into magic elements, magic stone, and a red jewel. I was surprised to see it.

“Ha? Y, you are kidding, right? How? And I only defeated one too!?”

I ended up looking at it twice. Rather than rejoicing, I am more puzzled.

It was not only because of the experience points that the knockers provided. Actually, they are hard to hunt down and there are better places I can grind but the reason I decided to hunt here was the drop item.

Unfortunately, that item has a very low chance to drop; Even the drop rate from those s.h.i.tty gacha in smartphone games is better. But as long as you have money, you can still get it.

That’s not the case with this thing.

With that said, if I can buy it then I will. However, it would be too expensive even for my pocket money (New salaryman’s annual income cla.s.s). Since it would make me unable to buy other things I would have to cut it. As I already obtained it, I might be able to cut down the total capture time by one day. Well, my family seems like the one that will give me extra money if I asked for it though.

Now then, there’s an additional magic stone that dropped from the knocker.

When I was streaming my RTA, someone said that I have a [Trash luck] but I ended up getting it to drop after one try. What a happy thing!

I pick it up and take a close look at its shape. Yup, it’s like when you appreciate the value of products in a store. This is the same, I’m sure of it.

It is a [fire battle magic stone, intermediate]

Even so, it’s still strange. Why is it that the knocker which usually uses low-level magic stones dropped an intermediate-level one? Well, they do drop the low-level one too though. It should use the intermediate-level magic stone without holding back. Even if the opponents looked weak it shouldn’t underestimate them. Well, whatever.

“Well, since I already got the magic stone.”

Saying so, I put the magic stone I from the kariyado I kicked away into my bag. I can’t stop smiling.

“Let’s hunt four more!”

The targeted (ambition) time is twelve hours. Let’s hunt as much as I can!

………….It’s the beginning of h.e.l.l.