Chapter 126 First Fight but Almost a Digest
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Right, ojisan. I have something to ask,” I said.
”Well? What is it, Tatara-kun? And why is this golem (magic puppet) talking? They don’t usually speak, right?” Albard-san asked.
”I can’t answer that part because I don’t know. Anyway, I want to ask if you can help me with a small test,” I said.
”A test?” he repeated.
I wanted Albard-san to help me try something. I needed a report after he used the thing I made before. Without real feedback from the field, I couldn’t make it better. I tried to keep the use simple, but that was only by my own sense, so I couldn’t be sure.
”We can’t do scholar work like you, Tatara-kun,” he said.
”No, I only want simple thoughts like if it is easy to use or if you want one more small feature,” I explained.
”I see… so, what do you want us to try?” he asked.
Happily, as he seemed a bit ready to help, I made a small fist in my heart. I took out a Magic Device from my Inventory. It looked like a fridge. There was a window of strong glass on the door, and I could see many wire shelves inside.
”This is a food dryer Magic Device. I want you to help with a test run,” I said.
”Help!?”
”Anna, Nina, stay,” Clord said at once.
Both Anna-chan and Nina-chan had cried out loudly, and Clord scolded them. I didn’t know why they reacted to the word “help” like that.
”What does this Magic Device do?” Albard-san asked.
”It keeps the heat and the wetness inside at one level, close to drying food under the sun. With this, the food inside becomes dry, so you can make dry food in a safe and steady way,” I said.
”That is…” he whispered, eyes wide.
Albard-san looked shocked. I heard that when they got fruits and veggies with bad shapes, they ate them themselves, but a lot still remained. Some they planted back in the field as food for the soil, but even then, some went to waste.
Their fields were big, so the harvest was big, but that also meant many odd-shaped veggies. The Kara house had no safe place to dry them. I hoped this food dryer could fix some of that.
”But… is it okay?” he asked.
”What do you mean?” I said.
”To leave something so expensive with us.”
It was true it sounded expensive, but it wasn’t that special. Inside, it had a heat control Spell Formula, a small fan for air, and a spray to control wetness. Only the fan used strong copper. It didn’t use Magic Metal or core stones, so it was a normal model for daily people. It only had a magic condenser so it could work at night.
”It’s still a test piece, so please don’t worry. Even if sold, it will be at most fifty man,” I said.
”Fifty man is still very high, you know?” he said.
His words hit me. My money sense might be broken. Yes, fifty man was a high price. Lately, my sales were often over three digits of man, so I had lost the feeling.
By the way, I also designed a high-end model with fire, water, and wind core stones and with mithril for better mana use. That one would only stay in my house. If I sold it, the City Mayor might go crazy again.
”So, please send a report once a week. I will pay you,” I said.
Albard-san’s face turned a bit mixed. It must feel strange to take a job from a child the same age as his son.
I waved to Sunny-chan in Rachel’s arms, and Ethelena and the rest of our party said bye as we left the Kara house. On the way, we met Rachel-san, who had come back from shopping, and greeted her before we headed to the dungeon.
”Will we clear the 50th Floor today?” someone asked.
”We can, but from Floor 45 and up, we will need Dahlia a lot,” I said.
”I’m fine with that,” Dahlia said.
”To reach the condition for Existence Ascension, I must hit my level cap. If we beat Floor 60 without that, it will waste time, right?” I said.
Also, I wanted to max my status before Existence Ascension. After it, the new status would take power from the old one. The first time kept twenty percent, then plus twenty each time, and the fifth time gave a full one hundred percent. Only the Skill Slot reset to five, but up to the fifth time, one slot was added each ascension, and I could choose a special skill like “Early Bloom” each time. As a human, I needed to raise “Early Bloom” and also get another must-have rebirth skill, so it was hard.
”So, if we ascend, our battle power will drop a lot, right?” Ethelena asked.
”In skills, yes. But in this party, we have a way to cover it,” I said.
Even if our status fell right after rebirth, we could make up a bit because we could get items that raised status.
”If we look ahead, for example, Ethelena could get the ‘Physical Attack Boost’ skill,” I said.
”Eh, why?” she asked.
”‘Gloriosa’ and ‘Elingium’ need Physical Attack to use, right?” I said.
”Oh… true.”
With her max status, after ascension Ethelena would not be able to use Gloriosa. In the game days, players hit this wall if they forgot to get skills. My armor had no limits, so it was less trouble now, but some strong armor needed high physical or magic defense to wear.
”In that case, Tatara-dono has it easy. With that Arcane Armor, you could begin from Floor 20,” Tatia said.
”It is good for level up,” I said.
I felt a bit happy as Tatia praised my Genbu (turtle shield) model armor. Like in the old game, if we beat an enemy ten levels above us, we got one level up for sure. To use brute status to win, ‘Physical Attack Boost’ and ‘Magic Attack Increase’ were key. Well, my job was to make gear that broke those rules.
”Master, what do we get from Existence Ascension?” someone asked.
”More level cap, more status cap, up to five more skill slots… and we unlock special skills,” I said.
”I answered Dahlia’s question. With each Existence Ascension, the max status rose by twenty percent. When we unlocked level one hundred, our starting status would be set to twice the first one.
”If you choose a skill at Existence Ascension, I think ‘Early Bloom’ is the best,” I said.
”Hm… is it that good?” she asked.
”It gives twenty percent more experience. When it ranks up, the effect grows. So each time you ascend, your level goes up faster,” I said.
”I see. Tatara needs it most,” Yohira said.
Her calm voice made me feel safe. If she had called me unfair, I might have felt a bit hurt. Still, without it, I could not even stand with this group, maybe not even close.
”We are near the dungeon reception. Let’s stop talking here,” I said.
”Yes. If others hear us, they may say something,” Yohira said.
”And if someone sticks to us, our exploration may slow down,” Dahlia added.
This kind of talk should be at home, our base. But the road from the Kara house to the dungeon was long, so we had talked on the way. Even if someone heard, after the 50th Floor the difficulty became strange, so only a few in this city passed level sixty. My parents could have done Existence Ascension too, but they said the trouble of raising levels again was not worth it. If they had done it… would they have come home alive?
We reached the place, finished the check-in, and entered the dungeon. We began our run like always. We cleared Goblin, Orc, and Ogre groups one after another and reached the 20th Floor. I felt a bit annoyed watching Ethelena hug Muumin again, but we now had many status up items, so it was time to think about using them.
”Shall we start using items for everyone?” I asked.
”Yes. We must tune up for the 50th Floor,” Yohira said.
She thought about my words and agreed. Now, what should we do? We had a lot of items that raised status. The list was:
HP +82
Mana +62
Skill Power +100
Physical Attack +63
Physical Defense +54
Magic Attack +96
Magic Defense +42
Speed +26
Luck +87
Movement +52
We had too many Skill Power and Magic Attack. Also, Movement did not change with Existence Ascension, so why did we get so many?
”Should we give all of them to Tatara?” Yohira asked.
”No way. Even if Movement goes up, I can’t use it that well,” I said.
Also, if we used them, we should use the least number needed. It was enough to fill any missing status at level max. Speed and Magic Defense would still not be enough, though. I also wanted to save Luck for Ethelena after her Existence Ascension.
”What about filling the missing points when you reach level sixty?” Dahlia asked.
”Well, that works,” I said.
”But the number that goes up changes each time, right?” she asked.
”No. I only grow by one each level, so I can see the final max. I will be short by fifty-one,” I said.
”Then we can use that amount,” Yohira said.
It felt like I had been caught. The others pushed me, and in the end, we set the items so that my status would reach max at level sixty.
Level 38/60
HP 490 (600)
Mana 238 (360) +67
Skill Power 276 (360)
Physical Attack 98 (120) +32
Physical Defense 98 (120)
Magic Attack 98 (120) +32
Magic Defense 89 (120)
Speed 73 (120) +32
Luck 78 (100)
Movement 15 (99)
This became my status. It was too high. Even after using all that, some parts were still short, so the others said they would “steal” more later.
For the rest, I first thought to give them to Tatia, since her growth was like mine. But Yohira spoke up, saying we should give them to Ethelena because her starting status was low and still not high even now. It was true. Ethelena and I shared HP, Mana, and Skill Power, so if we gave her more HP, she would be harder to kill. Though it would only add twenty-two.
We also set everyone’s base Movement to fifteen, including Dahlia. With skills and gear added, Ethelena and Tatia passed twenty-five. Maybe we went too far, but for Tatia, with her charge skill, more Movement meant more power, so it was needed.
”For Tatara, I will try to steal more Magic Defense and Speed items!” Ethelena said.
”You say it like it’s normal, but it’s crazy,” I said.
Even in the lower floors, status up items were rare. How did we get over three digits of them in the mid floors? The luck of this party was not normal.
With my status higher, our run became smooth. Without even using full power to punch an Ogre, we cleared Golems by breaking the mark on their heads, then went into undead floors. Against the undead king, we did not even need special moves. And with more Luck, we got many one-hit wins with element hits. I later found that my total attack was five higher than Yohira’s, and that gave me a small headache.
Still, even with this, if we met the Immortal King, we could die.
We reached the 35th Floor and kept killing undead. I made five hundred Special Ability bullets for Ethelena, so she was happy and beat vampires fast. The level gap gave big experience, so she cheered at each level up… In the past, we would have drained them until they died. Yohira and I also beat vampires and reached level forty. Tatia also rose well and would hit forty soon. The whole party grew strong, and we were very happy.
”Tatara, I want to ask something,” Yohira said.
”Yeah? What is it?”
”My Skill Slot grew. What skill should I take to raise my attack?” she asked.
Yohira’s question was not easy. If we only wanted more power, ‘Physical Attack Boost’ was fine. But for someone like Yohira, who already had high Physical Attack as a close fighter, there was another good choice.
”Then how about taking ‘Tsubame Gaeshi’?” I said.
”‘Tsubame Gaeshi’? Hm?”
”‘Tsubame Gaeshi’ cuts some attack power at first, but adds extra hits equal to the skill rank. The lost power comes back bit by bit as the skill levels, and when complete, it gives five hits at full power. The worst part? It also works with attack skills. A single strong move hitting five times is almost cheating. Since Yohira also had ‘Ambush’, she could even reach ten hits, though it would eat a lot of mana.
”Oh… is that not too strong?” she asked.
”It sounds good, but if your Physical Attack drops by half, you’ll see less damage on Golems,” I said.
Yohira frowned, thinking. With ‘Temari-bana’, her attack was around 260. Half would be about 130. Still high, but against Mithril Golems or Orichalcum Golems it would drop to about fifty or thirty. Against living enemies, though, she hit for sure, ignored defense, and always crit, so there was no real loss. In the old game, Floors 5 to 49 had mixed monsters, and Floor 51 to the boss had more with element rules, so if we picked our fights, it was fine.
”But in the end, my normal power comes back, right? Then I will take ‘Tsubame Gaeshi’,” she said.
She opened her status screen and followed my idea. She once said she wanted to be “colored by me”, and seeing it happen made me feel shy.
”Tatara, should I take it too? Will it make me stronger?” Ethelena asked.
”It won’t fit you. Your gun has a set ammo count, and it would eat your mana fast. You would not last in a long fight,” I said.
In this world, we could pass normal body rules, but magic rules did not bend that much. With a magic sword it was fine, but Ethelena used a gun, so this talk ended here.
”Tatara-dono, would that skill suit me?” Tatia asked.
”It would not be bad. With your aura skill, it would help a lot,” I said.
”I see. I will keep it as a choice,” she said.
Still, she had two defense skills to learn first, so it would be later. It was better after she got ‘Early Bloom’ at Existence Ascension to level skills faster.
Now, what about me? I reached level forty and had an empty Skill Slot. Maybe I should take something to support the team.
”Tatara, you’re level forty now, right?” someone asked.
”I hit forty on the last floor. I was thinking to take ‘Trap Disarm’,” I said.
”Wait, Tatara. Raise your defense first,” Yohira said.
”Yes. Tatara-dono should do anything to stay alive,” Dahlia said.
Wow, the pressure was strong.
”I will take ‘Trap Disarm’ next. Tatara, you take ‘Physical Defense Boost’ now,” Ethelena said.
”No one will say no. Last time, you almost died from a stab in your back,” Yohira said.
”I agree. And next time, take ‘Magic Defense Boost’,” Dahlia added.
”Agreed,” they all said.
Their eyes all shone at me. If I said no, they would not kill me… but they would drain me.
”Fine, I’ll take ‘Physical Defense Boost’,” I said.
Everyone let out a long breath. Good thing I agreed.
”All right, we are ready. Let’s move on,” I said.
The party nodded, and we went down to the new 41st Floor.
We saw rock walls, vines, and tree branches. It looked like the 11th Floor with many leaves, but if that was a wet jungle, then this was like a windy cliffside forest. The feeling was different.
”It feels dry here,” Dahlia said.
”We meet Harpies here, so the wind feels nice. It’s strange to have wind in a closed dungeon,” I said.
The others seemed confused by that. But dungeon things never made sense anyway.
We let Ethelena lead. As always, she moved without sound. She peeked around a corner and jumped back at once. Something had rushed down from the ceiling at the spot she just left.
It had soft blue hair that waved like water, a vine crown like thorns, and wide red wings. It was slim for flight, with bird-like backward legs with claws. Its face was fine and pretty, but red lines like blood tears ran from its eyes.
It was a rare Harpy on the 41st Floor: the Harpy Queen.
”Ethelena!” I shouted.
Before Ethelena could aim her mana gun, the Queen rushed again. She only looked at Ethelena… and for some reason, I felt she was aiming at Ethelena’s chest.
I looked at the Queen again. Her chest was maybe C to D. Normal to a bit big. Maybe she was jealous of Ethelena’s huge chest?
Then the red lines on her face did look like blood tears from jealousy. The thought almost made me laugh, but now was not the time. Helping Ethelena came first.
Tatia charged at the Queen faster than me. With her new Movement, she closed the gap in a flash. Right before her spear Andrea hit, I used Appraisal on the Queen.
Harpy Queen
HP 120/120
Mana 180/180
Skill Power 50/50
Physical Attack 44
Physical Defense 16
Magic Attack 35
Magic Defense 28
Speed 77
Movement 6
No status trouble
Special Ability: Song, Wind
No gear
She was weaker than I thought. One hit would finish it. At that moment, a bullet from Ethelena’s Gloriosa pierced the slim body, and Tatia’s thrust ran through the Queen.
The Queen turned to dust, and a big mana stone and a drop item fell.
”…Do we even get a turn?” Yohira asked.
”You will, but I won’t… No, with this Magic Defense, I can handle a magic blast,” I said.
”I don’t need to do anything either,” Dahlia said.
I answered Yohira’s sigh, and Dahlia also looked unsure. Without a way to fly or attack from far, what was I supposed to do here?
”Tatara, I stole this,” Ethelena said.
”Oh, thanks,” I said.
She handed me the rare drop, the Queen’s Wind Feather. With this and normal Harpy parts, I could make a monster equipment leg armor called Talaria. It had low defense, but gave +2 Movement and Flight, which was very strong. No one in our party would use it, though. If we got more, maybe I could add it to Yohira’s armor so she could fly?
”…Tatara, are you thinking something strange?” Yohira asked.
”No, I was not thinking to put it on your armor so you can fly,” I said.
”You just said it,” she replied with a sigh.
She was right. Her Temari-bana could cut at thirty meters, so she did not need Flight for now. Maybe it would help if we got a map full of cliffs later.
”Then next time, let’s join the fight if we can,” I said.
”Yes. Tatara must level up,” Yohira said.
With our status and gear now, Floors 51 and up would be easier. We had element attacks and high base status.
But from Floor 51, enemy numbers jumped. In the old game, it felt like double. It was easy to level, but we got tired fighting too many. At least if we equipped the Eggs for two minutes after each floor, our HP, Mana, and Skill Power would fill, so only items would run out.
We walked on with Ethelena in front. She found a ore spot, and Appraisal showed Orichalcum. I mined it with my mithril pick. I planned to use it to make a better aura item for Tatia.
Later, Ethelena stopped us. We moved quietly and peeked. Six Harpy Queens were fighting each other. It looked like a territory fight.
”…A queen match?” I whispered.
”The wild life is very hard,” Yohira said.
”Guess we take the easy gain,” Tatia said.
All six were hurt. If we hit them now, we would get sweet experience. Ethelena changed her Gloriosa ammo to use blast shells. But if they were this hurt, one artillery hit from me could end it.
”Hey, can I try artillery?” I asked.
The others nodded. If I wiped them out together, I might level up.
”Start artillery sequence,” I said.
I called the artillery program. The shoulder shield opened, and small missiles showed. A space display appeared before me, locking on each Queen. The last time, I dropped mini-missiles around each target. This time, up to thirty-six targets could get a direct hit.
”Fire,” I said.
Thirty-six small missiles flew at the six Queens. Each Queen got six hits. They faced each other, ready to strike, when the missiles fell.
The hit and power checks flashed through my mind, then a level-up jingle rang. Well, if I took out stronger enemies at once, it made sense.
”Yes, I leveled up,” I said.
”This artillery is amazing. Master, can you make a weapon set with missile containers all over the body?” Dahlia asked.
”No,” I said at once.
I refused right away. Each shot cost close to forty man. I also used six per Queen. That was too much. And I had not even tuned the fuel mix based on the jet engine tests. If I did, the power would jump. The Immortal King would love it if I used it on him.
”From now on, if they group, Tatara uses artillery. If not, we do the rest,” Yohira said.
”I want to learn Steal and reach ‘Rob’ before using it. Taking drops from all at once would be fun,” I said.
We talked like that while moving with Ethelena in front. As planned, if enemies were grouped, I used artillery. If spread, the others cleaned up. On a break before going down a floor, I added a new Spell Formula to the Genbu model armor. Before, when I locked on many, it fired all missiles. Now it could fire only one at one target to avoid waste.
Once, we met forty Queens at once. I hit most of them with artillery, and the others finished the rest. We kept a fast pace, and the whole party leveled well.
We reached the 45th Floor, and the view changed again. But from here, it got a bit tricky.
”From here, we face Spirits, right?” Tatia asked.
”Yes, that’s right,” I said.
I checked the walls. The color was full of green. The wall color showed the Spirit type for that floor. Green meant wind. And when there was only one color, it meant a rare Spirit King was here.
”Before we go on, can we review?” I asked.
”Review?” the others echoed.
I smiled at their confusion and continued.
”From this floor on, Spirits appear. Each one has a weak element. Other attacks barely work. Dahlia’s crazy Magic Attack can still hit normal Spirits, but Spirit Kings ignore everything except their weak element.”
When Dahlia dove alone and somehow met every Spirit type without meeting a Spirit King, it was half a miracle. Thanks to that, we learned elemental attacks.
”First, we meet Wind Spirits here,” I said.
”You know for sure?” Yohira asked.
”Yes. Look at the walls. Green means wind,” I said.
”I see. And it is one clear color,” Tatia noted.
”Normally, it doesn’t go one color.”
Because Rare types rarely spawned—that was why they were rare. For us, they felt common, but that was not normal.
”Usually, the walls are mixed colors like marble. When a Spirit King appears, the floor becomes one color,” I explained.
”So, the King’s presence controls the whole floor?” Tatia asked.
”That’s a good way to put it.”
In the game, maybe my luck affected it, but whenever a Spirit King spawned, I only saw one color. I wondered if Tatia’s skill might cause multi-element Kings someday, but for now it seemed fine.
”The colors are: green for wind, red for fire, blue for water, yellow for earth, white for lightning, and light blue for ice,” I said.
”Lightning and ice sound troublesome,” Yohira said.
”Ice is worse. It blizzards, and you can’t see.”
In the game, when the Ice King appeared, the whole screen went white with wind SFX. You couldn’t find the enemy.
”But let’s talk about element matchups,” I said.
Spirits followed a strict cycle: wind < fire < water < earth < wind. The four base elements always countered one another. You could even use this to block magic. If Magic Attack was close, element advantage decided it.
”So for this floor, they’re wind. Our current gear works well. If another element appears, either I or Ethelena will tag it once, and if needed, Dahlia finishes it,” I said.
Dahlia nodded. With Lantana’s power, even a Spirit King would feel it.
”If we can, we kill them ourselves to level. If not, Dahlia finishes and we collect the materials. That’s the plan.”
Everyone agreed. We let Ethelena scout again.
”Enemy found. Size suggests a Spirit King,” she sent through mind-talk.
We peeked. About two meters tall. A soft, blurred, androgynous humanoid shape. Its skin pale green like the walls. It stood alone at the center of the room. The Wind Spirit King—Djinn.
”It’s weak to fire, so all our attacks work. How do we do this?” I asked mentally.
”Our goal is your level-up. Ethelena’s first strike, then your follow-up to see its strength,” Tatia suggested.
”We move after that. What should we watch for?” Yohira asked.
”Mid-tier magic and lower Spirit summons,” I said.
Near Floor 49, the best leveling trick was to use null-element gear to force a Spirit King to spam summons and farm them forever. For now, we were here to gather materials for that gear.
”So defeating it right away is not the best?” Yohira asked.
”You got it. But for now, we just need to beat it. If we get a King Orb, we boost our element defenses, then make element-attack gear with the extra,” I said.
She understood the infinite-farm idea. But this time, leveling and gathering were the goals. King Orbs were used in armor to go past nullification into absorption. We wanted them.
”Let’s start. Ethelena, open,” I said.
”Okay. Here I go!” she replied.
She vanished. In the next instant, she was behind the Djinn. Four shots fired. I used Appraisal while running—but it was useless.
The Djinn vanished before my eyes. Ethelena’s Lonisera hit harder than I expected. Fire + back attack + stealth combo… yeah, instant kill was possible.
”…We won’t get turns, will we?” Yohira muttered.
”Maybe not. Ethelena might solo this floor,” I replied.
Lonisera’s fire power was much higher than I thought.
”Tatara, it was weaker than I expected,” Ethelena said.
No—you’re too strong. And of course, it dropped a Wind King Orb. If we could get one per member on this floor, that would be great.
”And this too,” she said.
She handed me the Wind King Orb. With this, not only armor—maybe weapons too.
Notes:
• Anna – Shy, warm-hearted female researcher in magical medicine. Gratefully benefits from Tatara’s hospitality and investment, indirectly aiding Rachel financially.
• Clord – Adults Anna/Nina’s guardian; enforces manners.
• Nina – A female companion who joins Ethelena in whispered remarks, questioning the Mayor’s personal life.
• Rachel – Female character agreeing with Albert’s praise of Tatara’s father. Happy to join Tatara’s close-knit group. Sunny’s mother—grateful guest, financially struggling but resilient.
• Sunny – Cheerful, artistic young girl under Rachel’s care. Bonds with Mother-in-law through drawing; admired by Tatia as symbol of the town’s hopeful future.
• Dahlia – The automaton.
• Yohira – Torakuma’s first name. Oni warrior.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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