46 Up to 45.24 layers.txt (1/2)

''--this is what I mean. If it's magic that doesn't fit your size, you'll soon run out of MP. The bottom line is that you don't have enough succession ability, Maria.

Rustyala explains the points that she will reflect on this time to Maria, who is sitting as a girl, out of breath.

By the way, the place is in front of the 20 layers of magic 《Connection》.

''Haha, haha ....... It looks like that's the case ....... It seems to be no good .......''

Maria agrees, drooping her head in a paragraph.

She is painfully aware of what Rustyala is saying with her own body. There is no such thing as a rebuttal.

Then, Maria slowly stands up and continues to speak while laughing.

''Since it still (...) seems to be no good, I'll be leaving today. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you ....... I'm sorry.'

His expression is a smile.

But the smile that sticks to the pallor is eerie. I don't know what kind of emotion Maria is smiling with, .......

When I'm unsure of what to say in return, Rustyala responds instead.

'Yes, I'll see you (...) ...... Maria, I want to have a meat dish today. It's a good idea to have a large, commonplace, big flavored, hearty meal.

Hmm. Yes, I see. I'll be waiting for you to make a delicious meal.

Rustyala and Maria laughed at each other and decided on the dishes for tonight.

At the end of that conversation, Maria went back home through the magic 《Connection》.

Only me and Rustyala are left on the 20th layer.

Rustyala stretches lightly and as she stretches, she asks me.

'Huh. That was quite interesting...

...... I was in a cold sweat, though.

''With that sword-like fire magic, Maria could be safe from being approached by 21 layers of monsters, so she felt safer than before, right?

'It's scarier to have a means of attack halfway through. I felt safer watching it when I couldn't do anything about it. ......

Even though she got powerful magic, Maria's status was not suitable for the 21st level.

Maria couldn't keep up with Fury's speed, her attacks wouldn't be able to take it, and naturally, one mistake would lead to death. There was no way I could feel safe watching that.

I take a breath and step forward towards the stairs to the 21st level.

Rustyala follows along with me, confirming my future goals.

''So, are we going to aim for the 24th layer today as well?''

'No, ...... if I could, I'd love to hunt monsters endlessly on layer 21.

What, so strong that you need to level up?

Not really: ......

I certainly don't feel like I have a problem with the strength of the enemy.

For what it's worth, I haven't gotten any decent attacks (clean hits) all the time.

'If we're going to level up, let's wait until we're a little further along. It's easier to level up after we have an idea of the level of the next target enemy, right?

'Yes, but ....... Things are as they should be: ......

Rastiala would just want to move deeper.

I can see that he's trying to somehow make a reason to go deeper.

However, I give in to Rastiara's enthusiasm and shake my head. I'm certain that there are no enemies in danger yet.

' ...... Okay. Let's go ahead for a bit.

That's the way it should be.

Me and Rastiara descend to the 21st level and go deeper into the labyrinth.

◆◆◆◆◆ ...

There was nothing unusual on the road from layer 20 to 23.

It was a layer with a small number of monster types, so he was able to proceed on the 'right path' without any problems, without running into any new monsters.

The enemies were avoided as much as possible as they proceeded.

This was to leave us with the extra power to explore the 23 layers of the example.

And although we began exploring the 23rd layer with a considerable amount of spare energy, we were unable to find the stairs leading to the 24th layer.

'--Nah, no ......'

'No ....... Ah, the frustrating .......

Since this was my second time exploring, I expected to find the stairs to the 24th level soon, but it didn't work out as well as I thought it would.

It had been two hours since they started walking around, but there was no sign of finding the stairs at all.

Rastiara's frustration at such a situation was growing.

Numbed out, Rustyala shouted.

'Christ!　Let the sensory magic fly farther afield!

Hmmm... ......

It's a method I want to avoid if possible, so I snarl.

Right now my magic 《Dimension》 is only deployed to a few meters around. In some cases, it's even cut off. I only use the wide range of sensing only to check the monsters around me at regular intervals.

There's also the reason of saving MP, but I don't think this state of being lost is a bad thing either.

Even though I'm lost, the 'map' is filling up nicely, and I'm continuing to fight reasonably handy monsters. Although it's eating up my time, I'm not complaining because I'm getting experience and funding.

However, that's not the case with Rastiara.

My frustration is about to reach its peak in the sweltering heat of the 23 layers.

'What a waste of time!

It's a waste of MP over here. Come on, just walk around. We've got the map, we'll get there.

Or rather, in the first place!　Really, Christ can memorize the way you've been going!

Yeah, that's for sure.

I didn't give Rastiara any details about the 'mapping' system. All he said was, ”Once you've walked the path, you never forget it,” so it seems that Rastiara has doubts about my mapping abilities.

There were a few heavy battles along the way. And yet, he may not believe me when I tell him that I can remember it accurately.

If I tell them about the ”map” system in detail, they will be convinced, but I'm not going to tell them everything.

Even if they don't believe me right now, if I repeat the process for a few days, one day they will be convinced of the accuracy of my mapping abilities.

'Are you sure?　Really, really?

Yeah.

However, Rastiara is skeptical and repeatedly asks me for confirmation.

If possible, my desire to quickly go to the next level with my magic ”Dimension” is hidden in plain sight.

''Are you sure you'll be able to get to the stairs one day, really, really, really?''

I'm sure of it.

I assure him.

I look straight back into Rustyala's doubtful eyes.

Haha ....... If you go that far, I'll believe you. ...... A little bit of water.

Okay.

Rastiara gives up on the magic prompting and switches to the water prompting.

I take the water out of my ”belongings” and hand it to Rustyala.

The temperature of the 23 layers is high, but the water in my ”possessions” is cold. But it's not as cold as a refrigerator by modern standards. But it's a helpful coldness in the high temperature 23rd layer. I'm thankful that the inside of my ”possessions” is not affected by the temperature outside.

Then I thought about my ”possessions”.

I have been using this system without thinking about it, but now that we are starting to apply it to combat, it is necessary to understand it better.

First of all, the inside of this ”possession” is not affected by the outside temperature.

From this, we can see that it is an isolated space.

And there is no need to groping when taking out of the 'belongings'. It's a natural way to grab something that reflects my thoughts.

That feeling is different from reaching for a specific object in a large space. It's as if every tool has its own space, and when I think about a particular thing, it connects me to that particular space.

From this, we can see that The Possessions is not a large room, but is made up of a myriad of small rooms.

We have come to understand the laws of the 'possessions' space in various ways.

I thought that the laws of physics were being ignored because it is a different space, but that is not the case. Time is also flowing within the space - for example, if you leave a bloody sword unattended, it will rust. Likewise, even water will rot.

It's not a panacea, but it's capable.

That's how I feel at the moment.

Depending on how you use it, it can be used for more than just storage.

While walking through the 23rd layer, I proceeded to examine how to get my ”belongings” in and out of the storage room.

As I did so, I detected a group of monsters.

The Red Element, an indeterminate monster that appears on the 23rd layer, is gathering in one place in large numbers. The Red Element is like the Shadow Hang's flame attribute from layer 5, a monster that is resistant to physical attacks.

They are a troublesome opponent for the two of us, as we have to slash them to crush their nukes or use magic attacks.

I decide to avoid the swarm and observe the movements of the red elements, and I find a large red element in the center of it.

'Ah, there's the boss,'

In the meantime, I'm going to report that to Rastiara.

For me, boss hunting is preferable to advancing to the deeper levels.

Although the risk is higher, it's not as risky as advancing to the depths. And yet, it has a solid return.

'What, boss!　Really?

Then, Rastiara's eyes sparkled as she instantly lifted the tension that had dropped.

''There's that wavering flame monster, the Red Element's boss figure, isn't there? It looks like we've entered the Red Element area before I knew it. No wonder it was getting hotter.

It seems that because he was walking through the labyrinth without a purpose, he had wandered into an area controlled by the boss.

This kind of situation would increase from the 23rd level, where there was no 'correct path'.

Alright. Let's take that guy down.

It's gonna get hotter as we get closer, okay?

Wouldn't it be cooler if we took it down?

Rastiara seems to take the fun over the heat.

We decide to beat the boss, and begin to decide on a plan for the boss fight.

However, the strategy is a simple one. We don't create explosive power by working together, so we simply spread out and attack at the same time. We've decided to fight mainly with magical attacks based on the enemy's characteristics.

I told Rastiara the direction of the boss and said, ”Charge in a minute. I'll be charging from a different direction,” he said, and went to find a different assault position than Rastiara.