Volume 9 Chapter 2 Part 1 (2/2)
”Anyway, jokes at a time like this?”
”This much wouldn't shake you, would it s.h.i.+n? Besides it helped you relax, right?”
”Even if I had been nervous, I don't think this would have helped.”
”Filma, don't trouble s.h.i.+n too much.”
Maybe tired of the exchange, s.h.i.+baid lightly rebuked Filma.
Even while joking, neither s.h.i.+n nor Filma neglected to be wary of their surroundings.
”You're surprisingly relaxed even in this situation. No, I suppose it's normal for s.h.i.+n's party to be like this.”
”Having a sense of tension is important, though. We just entered into the dungeon. If we were tense all the time, we wouldn't last until the end.”
After the start of the Death Game, s.h.i.+n explored dungeons alone most of the time.
Compared to that, having Schnee and the others with him made the current situation much easier to handle. At the very least, he felt relaxed enough to roll his eyes at Filma's jokes.
”Okay then, looks like we have to welcome our first guest soon.”
s.h.i.+n detected an enemy presence and announced it to Munechika and the others. The simple map displayed 5 red markers.
Parts of the cave's walls and ceiling were red hot, so illumination was guaranteed to a degree, but they could not at all say that there was enough visibility.
s.h.i.+n used a magic skill for lighting and prepared to confront the enemy.
”As expected, they're fire-elemental.”
Appearing before s.h.i.+n's party was a group of large monsters and smaller ones.
The first type were 2 roughly 4-mel tall golems which looked like they had been made with the cave's boulders, named Sledge Heat. The second, 3 large spiders about 1-mel large, with hair like flames, were called Molten Spider.
The Sledge Heats were walking closer, shaking the ground with their steps. Above them, the Molten Spiders were looking down at s.h.i.+n's group while crawling on the ceiling.
The Sledge Heats' levels were 434 and 422, the Molten Spiders 369, 366 and 361.
”A small test to start with I guess. Let's do it!”
Following s.h.i.+n's call, s.h.i.+baid, Filma, and Munechika stepped forward.
The all-rounders s.h.i.+n and Schnee could have gone forward too, but the frontlines would have become too crowded, so this time they stayed with Tiera in the rear guard, which lacked numbers. Kagerou was Tiera's exclusive protector.
”We're going to suppress them first. s.h.i.+baid, everyone, take care of any monster that sneaks through!”
After giving his commands, s.h.i.+n used the water-type magic skill Ice Bullet.
The magic skill caused several ice shards the size of a fist to appear around s.h.i.+n and Schnee.
Using the shards, floating thanks to their emissions of cold air, s.h.i.+n aimed at the Heat Sledges, while Schnee sniped the Molten Spiders.
The shards, flying at a speed exceeding Tiera's arrows, pelted the Heat Sledges and Molten Spiders like bullets from a machine gun.
Their offensive power was too high for the monsters: the Sledge Heats broke down in pieces, while the Molten Spiders retained little of their original form.
”.listen, you two. If you don't hold back a little, we won't have anything to do here.”
”No wait, they were too frail, seriously. I thought that monsters in a secret dungeon would have a bit more backbone.”
”Well, I guess this is the obvious result though.”
”Master's and s.h.i.+n's magic power is so high that the monsters became nothing but shooting targets. Normally Ice Bullet doesn't have this kind of power either”
Tiera put away the arrows she had prepared and commented while looking at the frozen and shattered monsters.
Once squeezed, the fragments broke down in small crystals. They were completely frozen and became brittle too.
”Anyway, did it have the effect of freezing the opponent?”
”It should have, at least a little. High magic power can amplify added effects. Depending on the opponent, wouldn't it be the same even if Filma or I had shot them?”
”s.h.i.+n and Schnee's stats are high all around, after all. As we just saw very clearly.”
s.h.i.+baid suggested an answer to Tiera's doubts about the magic's power.
In the end, that result had been caused by the difference in stats with the opponents. Golems like the Sledge Heats have low resistance to magic. The Molten Spiders were just completely inferior opponents for s.h.i.+n and Schnee.
Inversely, it would have been absurd if a clean hit from s.h.i.+n and Schnee didn't kill them on the spot.
”How very reliable.”
Witnessing the group proceeding while instantly sweeping away any monster they came across, Munechika laughed wryly.
Maybe because the rule of ”weaker monsters appear in the beginning of the dungeon” remained, all monsters appearing were under level 500.
Monsters of that level would fall after one hit of s.h.i.+n and Schnee's magic.
Rarely, some monsters would escape their magic attacks, albeit never unscathed: they would then fall prey to Tiera's arrows.
”I don't even feel like I'm fighting, but my level keeps going up”
”They're all low-level units for us after all. By the way, how are your stats?”
s.h.i.+n inquired to the surprised Tiera.
Schnee and Filma had already reached the upper limit and their levels wouldn't increase anymore.
But Tiera was different. Leveling up increased her stats further.
Her parameters' values did not increase greatly, but she was undoubtedly growing stronger.
”Hmm, when I absorbed that light I told you that each parameter grew by about 200, right? Since then, I grew 11 levels, my status'decks? (DEX) andants? (INT) grew by about 40, the rest by about 20. I also learned some skills. But is it normal to learn them so easily?”
In the mysterious place where s.h.i.+n's party reunited with Filma, Schnee and everyone else received a stat increase. On the other hand, only Tiera can level up.
”Seriously? Your growth rate increased too. Your skills as well.”
Apart from the boost granted by the resurrection bonus, level up boosts were not as big as players believed. The increases Tiera reported, however, were much larger than what s.h.i.+n knew.
In addition, Tiera had received the largest among the boosts granted by the light all members had absorbed.
”That's true. I wonder if we have been influenced somehow as well.”
”Schnee and the others can't level up anymore after all. It's not a bad effect though, so isn't it fine like this? To become stronger at a faster rate than normal is a good thing, I think.”
s.h.i.+n did not absorb the light, but he felt that Tiera's absorption of one of the lights, despite her not being one of his support characters, must have had some meaning.
The world was infested with powerful monsters. There was nothing to lose in becoming stronger.
”Well, becoming stronger is a good thing, of course. It's just a little scary that we don't know what that was. I know it sounds ungrateful since I'm enjoying the bonuses that light granted me.”
”Hmm, judging from your words, haven't you simply received the Ley lines' blessing?”
Munechika, who had been silent until now, suddenly voiced her opinion.
”The Ley lines' blessing?”
”Yes. Their size may vary, but Ley lines are spread throughout most of the world. People, monsters, plants, animals, all sorts of creaturestheir magic power and things like fragments of their consciousness seep into those Ley lines. Maybe because of this, the so-called heroes or saviors of each species sometimes are granted boons by the Ley lines. We call that ”Blessing of the Ley lines”.”
”Who knew something like that existedbut looking at Schnee and s.h.i.+baid, I can see that.”
s.h.i.+n was surprised to learn something completely new to him. But he could agree with part of the explanation.
”I can see why too, related to master and the others, who are in a High Human's service. I don't understand why I would be blessed, though.”
”I do not know that either. As Kagutsuchi said, blessings are not given only following people's will. Tiera, your species is Elf, thus animals' and plants' will might be related as well. It is not something bad. It is a precious blessing, it will not hurt you to accept it.”
”I understand. But in that case, I'd think s.h.i.+n would have been blessed too.”
”In my case, being someone from the distant past, maybe I was grouped together with the other players?”
s.h.i.+n knew that High Humans were partly treated as a myth, so the thought that he hadn't been treated as an individual, or was outside the circle eligible for blessings. The definition of blessing was ambiguous too, so he decided not to think too deeply about it.
”OK, looks like we can't take it easy anymore.”
s.h.i.+n spoke looking forward, as to signal the end of the conversation. Tiera followed him, raised her head, then, dumbfounded, whispered.
”What isthat?”
Before Tiera's eyes flowed a stream of lava. The cave was wider still, so a path was present, but an even fiercer heat awaited Tiera and the party.
”If s.h.i.+n hadn't given us those braceletsI get cold sweats just thinking about it.”
”Without fire resistance, just going closer to this would kill you.”
Tiera swallowed her breath, and s.h.i.+n agreed with her statement. In the game era HP would just decrease at fixed intervals, something that seemed an extremely small obstacle now.
Around s.h.i.+n and the group the temperature was kept at the level that would make one sweat a bit after doing some exercise.
Though, that was all due to the Enra Bracelet. The temperature reached by hot steam was nothing compared to lava.
s.h.i.+n knew well that they were proceeding at a distance that, in reality, would be prohibitive without heat-resisting clothing.
Once again, s.h.i.+n felt how incredible items were.
”By the way, what would happen if we fell into the lava?”
The doubt suddenly surfaced in s.h.i.+n's mind. In the game, status permitting, it was possible to dive in poisonous swamps or lava pools, something absolutely impossible in reality.
”If we equipped gear protecting the whole body, we could move freely until the endurance points last, I think.”
”Wait a second, don't tell me that someone tried it?”
s.h.i.+n had just mumbled his doubt, but Schnee heard and replied about what would happen. Hearing the answer, s.h.i.+n couldn't help but being surprised at the recklessness of whoever provided this piece of information.
”That person was wearing full-body Legend-grade armor. Maybe because of the magic power, no lava penetrated inside the armor, apparently. It started melting after 30 minutes or so though.”
”Was that person alright?”
”It was a Chosen One with high defensive power, if I recall correctly. In your case, s.h.i.+n, you'll be OK even if it touches your skin, I think. After all, you have higher defense than a dragon with its scales.”
”Even if I know that it'd be OK, I definitely don't want to try it.”
s.h.i.+n shook his head firmly: touching lava with his bare hands was something he would never want to do.
At the same time, he thought that he was well beyond human limits. It wasn't just a matter of high defense.
”Does that mean that Chosen Ones like us wouldn't be cut even if sliced by a blade?”
s.h.i.+n asked the question to Schnee as they were crossing the lava stream.
Ever since coming into that world, s.h.i.+n hadn't received any real damage. Even when he faced Girard, an attack pierced his armor and caused damage, but he hadn't sustained any actual wounds.
”It depends, but generally that's correct. Even if a blade is pressed against the skin, people of our level wouldn't be injured by a normal blade. It wouldn't even cut a little. If we did so with the intent of cutting, we would be able to, though.”
”Oh, so that's why the needle pierced when I made the guild card.”
s.h.i.+n remembered when he bled in order to create his guild card. If his high defensive power prevented him from being injured, a powerful weapon would be needed to make him spill blood.
”Well, let's continue this conversation later. Looks like there's a monster inside the lava.”
s.h.i.+n detected a presence while walking over the lava and directed the party's attention to it.
”Eh, are you serious?”
Tiera's question was born out of her difficulty of believing s.h.i.+n's words, as nothing but molten rocks floated before her.
”It's probably protecting its body with magic power, or something similar. Monsters don't always fit the ”animal” definition, after all.”
Creatures that would never exist in reality or defy the laws of physics often appear in games. These monsters are born from the mysterious energy called ”magic”.
s.h.i.+n and Schnee are used to such beings, and did not show any particular surprise. The less knowledgeable and experienced Munechika and Tiera couldn't help being somewhat nervous.