Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
You guys must have noticed the countdown already, I guess. By the way, it’s gonna be 3rd November here in about three hours. Just saying.
Oh and enjoy the chapter.
Emphasis on Experience
After making strengthening pills on 13th floor of Quratar’s labyrinth, my Herbalist job has leveled up to Lv6. I haven’t removed the job just yet. Miria’s Diver job is now Lv20.
The speed of leveling up is quite fast. It may be due to higher value of gained experience on higher floors. Or perhaps the value of gained experience increased only after 12th floor? Whichever the case is, we are gaining experience quickly.
I have to level my Explorer job up to Lv50 as soon as possible to acquire Adventurer job. I can’t move freely until then.
12th floor was the reason why those thieves had set up ambush there. I, however, killed those thieves on that very 12th floor. If I turn in their Intelligence Cards to the order of Harz duchy knights, I’ll surely be asked as to how I was able to kill those thieves on 12th floor.
Rather than moving to Haruba’s labyrinth, it’s better to explore 13th and 14th floors here. If someone finds me there, it may get complicated. What was a person, who’s exploring 14th floor, doing on 12th floor? I’m being unnecessarily worried.
I should carry on hunting in Quratar’s labyrinth. However, Quratar is not completely safe either for there are a lot of people here. I may encounter someone who’s connected to the Duke of Harz. But the chance is remote that I’ll encounter such a person in Quratar’s labyrinth.
I open Character Reset interface. I set Required Experience to 1/20th and Gained Experience to 20x. My emphasis is on experience now.
I have a total of 135 bonus points because my Explorer job is Lv37. Required Experience 1/20th requires 63 points, so does Gained Experience 20x. I can’t deselect Character Reset option. After allocating 7 points toward fourth job, I’m left with 1 point.
Should I make do with three jobs? Hero, Wizard and Explorer? But Monk is needed for emergency situations. In the end, I leave it at four jobs and allocate 1 point toward Short Incantation.
“Sherry, which monster appears on 14th floor?” “The monster native to 14th floor of Quratar is Hat Bat. It’s quite small in size, therefore, hitting it is not that easy. It can bypa.s.s the frontline, so those in the backline have to be cautious. It’s generally weak against magic attacks, especially water, wind and earth magic.”
It’s troublesome for someone like me who stands in the back. Under Roxanne’s guidance, we come across a Hat Bat.
Hat Bat is a black bat. It’s difficult to see it clearly in the dark. When it stops flapping its wings, it looks like a black bowler hat.
“Water Ball.”
Ugh! Although I had closed some distance before attacking, it still managed to dodge it. The Hat Bat suddenly changes its alt.i.tude.
For second attack, I use wind spell but it dodges again. Its movement is quick. Third attack, Earth Ball, hits successfully.
Roxanne is standing in the front. Sherry and Miria are surrounding the bat from the sides. I position myself diagonal with Roxanne. So that I can keep my allies out of the line of my magic attacks.
Fourth attack hits as well. The Hat Bat cuts in and approaches quickly. Roxanne parries it with her s.h.i.+eld. The moment the bat comes to a halt, I cast fifth spell.
The Hat Bat collapses. Five spells huh? Even Durandal might have taken five to six strikes.
“Umm… why did you call out the spell names?”
Why, you ask? Because I don’t have enough points to select Skip Incantation. But I can’t say that to Roxanne, so I’ll have to come up with an acceptable excuse. I can’t say that I have chuunibyou.
“Because it’s difficult to hit Hat Bat, I thought it’s a good opportunity for us to practice coordinated attacks.” “Indeed. I understand.” “Th-Then I’ll have to ask of you to search for groups.”
I’m not completely at ease but… But against a group of monsters, I can use area of effect attacks. I won’t have to worry about missed hits if I use area of effect attacks.
Three Hat Bats and a Fly Trap appear. I take out Hat Bats in five Breeze Storms. After three more Fireb.a.l.l.s, the Fly Trap drops down as well. What annoys me is that Hat Bat is weak against magic of three attributes, yet fire isn’t one of those three. Hat Bat is a nuisance.
“Try to look for groups of either carnivorous plants or bats.” “It’ll be difficult but I’ll try.” “If you’re unable to find such groups, find those wherein not more than one monster differs from the rest.”
If it’s just one monster that remains, it’ll be Roxanne to take it on from the front. She’s reliable.
Under Roxanne’s guidance, we carry on hunting. As I asked of her, she finds groups of either four same monsters, or three-one and two-one composition. Because Hat Bat is small in size, its movement is quick, and its attack is difficult to dodge. Sherry and Miria are struggling.
Because I have used too much of my MP, I pull Durandal out. I remove Gained Experience 20x and select 6th-tier weapon. Because I still don’t fully understand as to how decreasing Required Experience really works, I opt to keep it.
I decrease jobs to three and select Skip Incantation. Whenever I use Durandal, I move to the frontline. Because only Roxanne and I will be receiving attacks from monsters, Monk isn’t required. Even if I receive damage, I have HP Absorption Skill of Durandal.
Holding Durandal, I approach a Hat Bat. I keep an eye on the bat’s movement. I can’t possibly think of landing an attack just like that when even Sherry and Miria are having hard time. While I was thinking so, the bat hurls itself on me.
I invoke Overwhelming. I connect one strike straight away and slash once more after maneuvering my body. That second strike was cool, wasn’t it? Under the effect of Overwhelming, I feel I can dodge just like Roxanne. When the bat approaches me again, I invoke Overwhelming again. I move Durandal only slightly and try to connect third strike after having hit twice. That’s great. I can land three consecutive strikes.
The Hat Bat collapses. I charge toward next one. With Overwhelming, Hat Bat looks just like a punching bag. Since I’m recovering more MP than I’m expending, there’s no problem in that regard as well.
“Wow, desu!”
Miria praises me. Praise be upon Overwhelming.
I recover my MP through Durandal. It’s not efficient to use Overwhelming so sparingly but it can’t be helped. After recovering fully, I ask of Roxanne to search for groups of Hat Bats and carnivorous plants again.
I had 4 points to spend after decreasing jobs from four to three. Of 4 points, I used 2 to upgrade Short Incantation to Skip Incantation, 1 to increase Gained Experience and 1 to select Meteor Crash. I use Meteor Crash on a group of monsters.
Hat Bats are weak against earth magic while carnivorous plants are weak against fire magic. I’ll confirm then if Meteor Crash is a fire spell or not. Both Fly traps and Hat Bats drop down in just one Meteor Crash.
Does it even have any attribute? Because I have upgraded my cane to rod, that’s probably why I was able to one-shot both Hat Bats and Fly Traps. I can’t go back and equip weaker weapon just to confirm this notion.
It’s actually better if I can take monsters out like this. It’s not a problem in any way. It was worth the effort because Miria is amazed after seeing this spell for the first time.
We carry on hunting. We are doing just fine. We can fight on 14th floor without much trouble.
“Sherry, do you know about the boss of Quratar’s 14th floor.”
When we take a break from the labyrinth in the afternoon, I ask Sherry.
“Hat Bat boss is called Pat Bat. Pat Bat is basically strengthened Hat Bat. It’s not strong in offense. However, its attack inflicts paralysis. You can’t heal yourself or take pills until it wears off. That’s the only noteworthy feature of Pat Bat.” “I have anti-paralysis pills but only two.” “Unlike poison, you do not lose HP over time, so there’s no risk of death. Also, it’s not impossible to break free of it.”
So it’ll be alright? We have to advance to the next floor as quickly as possible in order to increase our leveling up speed. Still, is it a good idea to clear 14th floor and move on to 15th so quickly?
“Should we proceed to 15th floor?” “I don’t see any issue.” “We will do fine, I think.”
Roxanne and Sherry accede. But I have never seen them rejecting any of my proposal. Roxanne, of course, won’t find it difficult. But what about Sherry? Will she be fine? Was it rational of her to consent to it?
“Okay, desu.”
When Roxanne translates it to Miria, she nods as well. Is it really gonna be alright? This att.i.tude seems to be natural for the people of this world. On the contrary, I may seem excessively cautious to them.
Still, I’m afraid of advancing to higher floors so quickly. I’m afraid but I can’t help it.
In the afternoon, we enter Quratar’s labyrinth again and move to 14th floor. I decide to keep one anti-paralysis pill and pa.s.s the second one to Sherry. We proceed per map. After having Miria confirm that there are no people inside, we enter the boss room.
“I’ll take the small fry out, you three engage the boss in the meantime.”
One Pat Bat and one Hat Bat appear. Both are bats huh? No Sarracenia or Fly Trap? Great!
I’m not saying that it’s luxury. Still, I couldn’t help but think so when I saw them. I invoke Overwhelming and take a hack at the Hat Bat.
“Here it comes.”
Before I could finish the Hat Bat off, Roxanne’s voice reaches my ears. It’s activating skill. I must not let it activate the skill.
I invoke Overwhelming again and slash at the boss. I made it somehow. I was able to connect Durandal with the boss before it could finish incantation.
I’m back against the Hat Bat. I invoke Overwhelming again and take it out. I close in on the boss.
I can see our winning streak extending. It’s difficult to connect strikes because it’s flying up high but I use Overwhelming whenever it approaches me to attack and shave its HP. I use Overwhelming again and take a hack at it. The boss finally collapses.
“Sherry, which monster appears on 15th floor?” “The monster native to 15th floor of Quratar’s labyrinth is Gra.s.s Bee.” “Gra.s.s Bee? Then we don’t have to waste time on trying to fight against one. Roxanne, find groups.” “Understood.”
We proceed to 15th floor and encounter a group of monsters. Two Gra.s.s Bees and two Hat Bats.
“Breeze Storm.”
I take them out in six wind spells. Six spells huh? They’ll obviously grow stronger with every level. Although higher floors are more difficult, I can’t stay on lower floors. I have to level up quickly.
I have no support from party jobs either. Roxanne is beast warrior, Sherry is master smith, Miria is diver. None of their jobs has ‘Increase in Intelligence’ effect. If there was an ‘Increase in Intelligence’ effect in party jobs, wouldn’t it become easier?
Should I change Sherry’s job to Monk or Shrine Maiden? If I do that, however, it’ll become difficult when I use Durandal. Isn’t there a two-in-one job? Because I have to be in close quarters to use Durandal, I can’t afford to prolong battles.
I carry on as is. In the next battle, both Sherry and Miria receive attacks. They received hits because battles have now become protracted.
“Since battles are now taking longer to end, you may receive attacks. Will you be fine? Heal.”
I ask while casting Heal.
“I’ll be fine.” “Are you sure? Heal.” “Yes, I’ll be fine.” “Okay.” “Alright. Heal.”
Both Sherry and Miria a.s.sert that they’ll be fine.
“I’m fine now.” “Alright. Miria, it’s your turn now. Because I’m in the back anyway, you take my Poison Resistant Hard Leather Cap, Sherry. Heal.” “Are you sure about this?” “You’ll be taking on Gra.s.s Bees from the front, so it’ll be of more use to you. Heal.”
Sherry and Miria both have recovered fully. Without Skip Incantation, I feel like I’m a different person.
At the moment, we have only one equipment that has Poison Resistance skill. Roxanne has tremendous ability to dodge. Although Miria fights energetically, I’m still concerned about her. But there’s only one, so it can’t be helped. I exhange caps with Sherry.
We have yet to encounter a group with three or more Gra.s.s Bees. Miria receives an attack.
“Aaaagh!”
Miria groans. It’s poison. Because I have been through this, I know. I bring out antidote pill.
“Roxanne, I’ll entrust her to you.” “Yes.”
I cast fifth Breeze Storm and put the antidote pill in my mouth. I pull Miria into my embrace. And put my lips on hers. I shove my tongue in to open her mouth.
I push the antidote pill into her mouth Miria’s tongue is trembling. I gently entwine my tongue with hers.
I keep my tongue entwined with Miria’s. It moves. For the first time, Miria moves her tongue pa.s.sionately.
I want her to do that from now on but I’m afraid to say that out loud. While Miria was in my embrace, a Gra.s.s Bee hurls itself on me. If I get hit with its needle, I may receive poison as well.
“Breeze Storm.”
I separate my mouth from Miria’s and cast sixth spell.
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