Translator: Cryus
I"ve arrived at the entrance to the forest dungeon.
I don"t think anyone else has been here besides us.
I had Volff confirm it just to be sure.
It"s still morning, so we"ll have plenty of time.
I"d like to finish this as much as possible, but there are some things that I won"t be able to take into account.
Things that don"t go according to plan.
There"s also the fact that Adele and Irina are here.
We form a party in the entrance and head straight inside.
We"re saving MP by summoning only 1 monster each.
After entering the dungeon, Volff and I leave the party.
We"re forming a『Union』and summoning all our monsters.
In addition to Volff, I"m summoning Jericho the Wood Golem and Jean the Bat.
Adele is summoning her wolf, U-chan.
Irina is summoning Toggle.
It"s the same party as yesterday.
It"s reliable, and we get the job done.
Also, we don"t really have much of a choice.
If I did, maybe I would swap out Jean with Obsidian.
Personally, I don"t care either way, but I just want to Level up Jean because he"s still at Level 2.
The mushrooms and Branch Golems will be attacking us from the ground and behind the walls.
Obsidian"s and Jean"s scouting ability aren"t very useful here.
But Jean is effective in small s.p.a.ces here.
There"s one major change since yesterday.
I"m not using Flashlight to move around the dungeon today.
Instead, I"m using Night Vision.
The pa.s.sageways here aren"t completely dark during the day.
There"s some light coming in.
With this party, we can move around normally without having to rely on Light Magic.
The only ones who need light are me, Adele, and Irina, as well as Jericho.
Thankfully, there are slightly fewer monster encounters.
But we fought 4 mushrooms on the way to the first hall, and also encountered 3 Branch Golems in the hall.
I"m moving on in the dungeon without wasting any spells, although there"s probably not much difference to my MP.
Now, for the path we"re on…
On the top of this octagonal dungeon is a hall. There"s also another hall in the center.
There are 8 outer pa.s.sageways, and 8 other pa.s.sageways connected to the central hall.
We need to go in one direction in the outer pa.s.sageways.
From a bird"s eye view, we need to go either clockwise or counterclockwise.
And we need to go in a one-way direction for all of them.
But we can go through them as many times as we want.
After internally processing all the information, I"ve concluded that we can satisfy the conditions by going through 21 pa.s.sageways before reaching the central hall.
21.
There"s also the fact that we"ll pa.s.s through the first hall twice. Just how many monsters will we be fighting?
It"s not a small number.
I want to keep our battles to a minimum.
There are 4 ghosts leading to the exits in the hall.
They"re probably situated in the north, south, east, and west.
From the middle of the first hall, the ghost on the east side is blue; the one to the north is black, the one to the west is white, and the one to the south is red.
It seems that each of the ghosts are reflecting the color of the halls they"re indicating.
This is our route.
The first blue hall leads to the central hall.
We turn left immediately into a pa.s.sageway that leads to a hall in the southeast.
From here, we"re going counterclockwise through 3 pa.s.sageways.
Now we"re in the black hall in the north.
We"re going left again through the pa.s.sageway into another hall on the way to the central hall.
From here, we"re going counterclockwise through 3 pa.s.sageways.
We continue repeating the process.
Doing this 4 times takes us back to the first blue hall.
Now we should be able to head to the central hall.
It"s long.
Really long.
We went through 11 pa.s.sageways yesterday, and used up quite a bit of MP.
I thought about escaping the battles, but defeating the monsters helps us level up, and I can"t help but feeling that avoiding fights is a waste.
I"ll fight in moderation, conserving as much MP as possible.
It"s what I really think, although it"s a little selfish.
We just have to try.
We"ve only encountered 3 mushrooms in the pa.s.sageways leading to the central hall.
We"ve also encountered a Rush Fungus.
I"m using Jericho as a tank while dividing the monsters to eliminate them.
As usual, I"m ripping out the cap from the Rush Fungus and tearing it apart.
I don"t like the fact that I"m getting used to it.
I think I look like a savage fiend to anyone looking from the sides.
What I"m doing is very inhuman.
We"re going through the pa.s.sageway from the central hall into the outer hall in the southeast.
We didn"t encounter any monsters.
I was surprised to find out that there were monsters when I used the Call Monster spell.
It seems that Flashlight draws the monsters towards us.
I"m perplexed. How are mushrooms and Branch Golems able to sense light?
I need to stop myself.
This is a game. It"s stupid to get hung up on every little detail.
From here, we just need to go through 3 outer pa.s.sageways, pa.s.sing through the blue hall before reaching the black hall.
I dislike long and tedious work, but I should be patient.
「We"re finally here.」
「That"s 35 Mushrooms and 6 Rush Fungi.」
「We"ve also defeated 37 Branch Golems.」
「That really is a lot.」
We end up going back to the first blue hall.
I"m mainly using potions to recover HP while conserving MP as much as possible.
I"m burning as many Branch Golems as I can. I wonder if this is the right choice.
As a result of burning them, we"re collecting charcoal instead of logs.
I wonder how effective Night Vision has been so far.
I can"t really tell until I compare it over a long span of time.
I asked Adele and Irina to keep a count of the number of monsters. Compared to earlier, there are much fewer now.
I"d like to think that it"s helping me save MP.
Naturally, the reward for defeating so many monsters has been great.
Each of Adele"s and Irina"s monster summons have leveled up.
Adele"s tiger, Mii-chan, is at level 3, while her wolf, U-chan, is at level 2.
As for Irina, her snake Toggle is at level 3, while her tiger Calico is at level 2.
My monster summons have leveled up too.
All 3 of them - Volff, Jean, and Jericho.
Volff Wolf Lv4→Lv5（↑1）
DEX 11（↑1）
AGI 25
INT 12
STR 12
VIT 17（↑1）
SPI 10
Skills
Bite Dash Threaten Listen Sense Danger Pursue（New！）
Jean Bat Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 15
AGI 18
INT 11
STR 9（↑1）
VIT 9
SPI 11（↑1）
Skills
Bite Flight Echolocation Evade Ambush Suck Blood
Jericho Wood Golem Lv1→Lv2（↑1）
DEX 4
AGI 4
INT 4
STR 33（↑1）
VIT 32（↑1）
SPI 4
Skills
Punch Kick Magical Resistance [Slight] Self-Repair [Slight] Block
I want to even out the stats, but the automatic allocation isn"t helping.
Well, leaving that aside…
Volff has gained a skill called Pursue.
Is he becoming a police dog?
No, it should be natural for him as a hunter.
It feels like it"s getting easier to understand him as he"s getting stronger.
We"re heading to the central hall.
We should have met all the requirements.
I wonder what will happen now.
While feeling excited, I"m taking down all the mushrooms in our way.
We"ve reached the central hall.
We"ve been here so many times, but it looks like something"s different.
There"s a yellow ghost sitting in the center.
Adele and Irina are supposed to be right behind me, but they"ve suddenly disappeared.
I don"t see their monster summons either.
But my monster summons are with me.
It looks as if the surroundings are changing.
It"s becoming unnaturally bright.
What"s happening?
《These art the Lost Woods.》
《Thou hast gained the right to challenge me.》
《If thy wish is to head north, there shalt be even more paths that await thee in the tallest of mountains.》
《If thy wish is to head west, thou shalt find hope within the clouds of dust.》
《If thy wish is to head south, and travel across the burning land, thou shalt gain a wealth of treasures.》
《However…》
《Thou shalt defeat me in order to fulfil your wishes.》
《Challenge me.》
《Fight me.》
《Show me.》
《Show me thy power.》
The ground is shining.
It resembles the magic circle that appears when I use Summon Monster.
It looks like something is about to appear.
Branch Golems?
No, it looks bigger than a Branch Golem.
It looks like a wooden golem.
It resembles Jericho"s grim appearance.
It"s about as big as he is too.
But the exterior looks different.
It looks like something has wet its skin.
And it looks like something is growing out of its entire body.
Are they… mushrooms?
I"ll try using【Identify】.
Plant Golem Lv.???
Event Monster ???
《Let us begin.》
The battle has started.
It"s crashing straight into Jericho, who"s my tank.
It"s strong enough to stand against Jericho.
It"s pushing him back.
Despite that, Jericho is the first to deal damage.
It"s a direct hit to the chest, but there"s only a slight decrease in the monster"s HP.
In comparison…
The monster counterattacks, hitting Jericho"s body. His HP has been reduced by about 10%.
This is bad.
It won"t stand a chance in 1v1.
「Physical Enchant: Earth!」
I cast the spell to increase Jericho"s defense, and proceed to select the next spell.
Jericho is the one and only linchpin for this battle.
Obviously, I have to prioritize on strengthening him.
Volff and Jean are trying to create a diversion by attacking, but the monster doesn"t pay any attention to them.
「Physical Enchant: Fire!」
I"ve raised Jericho"s attack power.
Now, I"m casting my next spell.
But something"s happening.
There are Fungi right in front of me.
They weren"t there just now.
I"ll just have to kick the mushrooms and topple them.
I"ll let Volff finish them off.
Where did these mushrooms come from?
I didn"t see them coming at all.
Jericho"s attack grazes the monster.
Pieces of wood from both golems are falling onto the ground.
The Plant Golem"s wood pieces are transforming into a giant Fungi.
What the h.e.l.l?
No, it wasn"t just wood pieces that fell.
The mushrooms was there, covering the surface of the Plant Golem.
Did they enlarge themselves when they fell onto the ground?
「Physical Enchant: Wind!」
I"m enhancing Jericho, but now I"m at a loss for the next spell.
Something is wrong.
I"m missing something.
I"m sure of it.
I"m using a spell I"ve never used before against the Fungus.
For some reason, I know I have to do this.
The spellcasting doesn"t take long at all, and the spell takes effect immediately.
「Sense Magic!」
Now I"m able to see the radiance coming from magical energy.
I can see Jericho"s body covered in several colors.
I can also see the light in the monsters.
Is there some kind of magic that was cast on it beforehand?
Wait. On closer inspection, it"s not the entire body of the golem that"s glowing with magical energy.
It"s the mushrooms.
The magical energy is coming from the mushrooms.
I"ll let Volff deal with these Fungi that I toppled.
I"ll let Jean attack the mushrooms on the skin of the Plant Golem.
I"m casting healing spells to help Jericho recover.
Jean is biting into the mushrooms.
But it doesn"t look like it"s working.
The surface of the Plant Golem isn"t peeling off either.
This isn"t good.
No, there has to be a way.
The first thing I can think of is Dispel Magic.
But it"s too dangerous to interfere when Jericho and the Plant Golem are fighting.
I"ll use another method.
「Earth Heal!」
Jericho"s HP recovers to about 90%. I"m casting my next spell.
The one I should be enhancing right now…
…is Jean.
I"m beckoning Jean towards my hand while kicking away the mushrooms that appeared again.
Jean is waiting on my left shoulder while I"m casting the spell.
Volff and I have each defeated a Fungus at the same time.
Meanwhile, more Fungi are appearing again. There"s no end to them.
「Enchanted Weapon!」
I can see Jean"s fangs shining brightly with magical energy.
His target is the mushrooms. If he can eradicate the mushrooms in the skin of the Plant Golem, then I"ll be able to focus on providing support to Jericho.
Jean is flying up and attacking the Plant Golem.
He"s biting the mushrooms. I wonder how it turned out.
With their magical radiance gone, the mushrooms are peeled off and falling onto the ground.
There"s no sign of any Fungi appearing.
Bingo.
Can we keep this up?
The mushrooms aren"t completely annihilated.
I"m starting to enhance Jericho again. I"m casting my next spell.
At the same time, I"m preventing another Fungus from attacking Volff, who"s having trouble with the Fungus he"s fighting.
Volff is biting the Fungus and ripping its head into two.
We still can"t let our guard down.
There are 2 more Fungi coming straight at us.
Volff and I are facing each of them alone.
I quickly close the distance and topple the Fungus.
I"ll let Volff handle it later.
「Physical Enchant: Aqua!」
I"ve raised Jericho"s. .h.i.t rate. Now it"s Volff"s turn.
Because it"s been a tough battle, his HP had been reduced considerably.
How much MP do I have?
I have almost half remaining.
What about the monster"s HP?
It still has about 70% of its HP remaining.
It looks like it"ll be a close fight.
「Light Heal!」
Volff is almost fully recovered.
Next.
If this goes on, it"s going to be disadvantageous to us.
Even though Jean is trying to stop them from multiplying, he may not be able to keep up if he"s alone.
I"m casting my next spell.
I should make a bold move if I"m going to get through this.
I made my way behind the Plant Golem the moment I finished casting the spell.
I"ll release the spell right in its lower back.
「Dispel Magic!」
The glowing spots of magical energy are disappearing from the Plant Golem.
It"s going according to plan so far.
Right after I hit it with the spell, the monster kicked me and sent me flying.
I blocked the attack by crossing my arms in front of me, but it"s really painful.
It feels like I"m about to black out, but I manage to endure the pain.
d.a.m.n this guy.
Now he"s done it.
I"m healing myself with a spell while unleashing my anger on the remaining Fungi.
My HP has been decreased by more than half with that single attack.
I guess I"m lucky that I didn"t get a penalty from suffering a heavy blow.
After finishing off the Fungus right in front of him, Volff is coming here to finish off the last remaining Fungus.
「Earth Heal!」
Now I only have about 30% of my MP remaining.
My options are limited.
Should I provide support to Volff?
Or should I prioritize healing Jericho?
My worries seemed needless after all.
All of a sudden, Jean is charging straight into the monster"s head, doing some slight damage.
The monster is leaving a wide opening.
Jericho is attacking it straight on.
The monster is falling so quickly that I thought its head would roll right off its body.
Jericho is standing on the monster and pinning it onto the ground.
Now he"s just pounding on it, causing its HP to drop continuously.
His last blow creates a large hole in its body.
The Plant Golem stops moving. I can hear the mysterious voice in my head.
《Thou hast justly proven thy strength.》
《I shall allow thee to proceed.》
The voice ceases, and the room reverts to normal.
It looks like it"s over.
《【Block】Level Up!》
《【Wind Magic】Level Up!》
《You have obtained the t.i.tle【Guardian of the Forest】!》
Nice, I"ve leveled up some skills.
It was a really tough battle.
I guess it was worth it.
Honestly, I thought I couldn"t make it.
「Keith!」
「Are you alright?」
「You suddenly disappeared. We were really worried!」
「There was an event trigger, right? I can see the remains of a monster.」
「Don"t worry about me.」
It looks like they didn"t see the fight at all.
And it looks like the『Union』was forcefully disbanded.
It really looks like you can"t proceed without having a t.i.tle.
I"m letting the girls take the item drops from the mushrooms while sticking my own Survival Knife into the Plant Golem.
I wonder what item drops there are.
【Material】Magic Mushroom Raw Material Grade C Rarity 3 Weight 0+
A mushroom that causes hallucenogenic effects. Used as a poison and medicine, although not widely distributed.
Handle with care.
Welp.
It"s unexpectedly dangerous.
And I"ve just gotten 9 of them at once.
What should I do?
Protagonist Keith
Race Human Male Racial Lv6
Job Summoner Lv5
Bonus Points Remaining 22
Skill Sets
Staff Lv4 Punch Lv3 Kick Lv3 Joint Lock Lv3 Throw Lv3
Evade Lv3 Block Lv3（↑1）Summon Magic Lv6
Light Magic Lv3 Wind Magic Lv4（↑1）Earth Magic Lv3 Water Magic Lv3
Fire Magic Lv2 Dark Magic Lv1
Alchemy Lv3 Pharmacy Lv3 Gla.s.smaking Lv3
Cooperation Lv5 Appraise Lv5 Identify Lv5 Cold Resistance Lv2 Grab Lv4
Horsemanship Lv4 Precise Manipulation Lv4 Jump Lv1 Heat Resistance Lv3
Equipment Kaya Wood Rod Wild Rabbit Breastplate+ Series Snow Ape Armguard
Wild Horse Boots+ Snow Ape Leather Cap Rucksack
Item Box ×2
Items Survival Knife
t.i.tles Old Summoner"s Temporary Pupil, Guardian of the Forest (New!), Man of the Middle Path
Monster Summons
Volff Wolf Lv4→Lv5（↑1）
DEX 11（↑1）
AGI 25
INT 12
STR 12
VIT 17（↑1）
SPI 10
Skills
Bite Dash Threaten Listen Sense Danger Pursue（New!）
Zangetsu Horse Lv3 Resting
Helix Hawk Lv3 Resting
Obsidian Owl Lv3 Resting
Jean Bat Lv2→Lv3（↑1）
DEX 15
AGI 18
INT 11
STR 9（↑1）
VIT 9
SPI 11（↑1）
Skills
Bite Flight Echolocation Evade Ambush Suck Blood
Jericho Wood Golem Lv1→Lv2（↑1）
DEX 4
AGI 4
INT 4
STR 33（↑1）
VIT 32（↑1）
SPI 4
Skills
Punch Kick Magical Resistance [Slight] Self-Repair [Slight] Block
Companions
Adele & Mii-chan & U-chan
Irina & Calico & Toggle
Can"t wait to see more? Want to show your support? to be a patron and get additional chapters ahead of time!