Volume 2 - CH 8

We continued from the eleventh floor of the dungeon, but the monsters that came on this floor are now more powerful, and the terrain has transformed into a forest. Because of this, the trees in the dungeon often make it hard to use magic, which isn't the case on the plains, where there aren't any obstacles.

Teto found it easier to get close and swing her sword than to try to use magic. After all, most monsters would die with just one blow from her sword...

“En. From here on out, it's a forest, so I'm wondering if there's a better way to use magic.”

Using fire magic to make a wildfire was scary, but using wind and water magic would also be ineffective. The light in my mana would be too powerful, and I couldn't also use an earth magic because it would overlap with Teto's element.

“Darkness…the image of a shadow and the like without substance is too strong and it's hard to attack with darkness..."

No, maybe I could make half-materialized shadows by using magic power and I could also attack by manipulating my own shadow and the like. However, the physical damage would be a bit… weak. Even so, it was an effective attribute for opponents like spirits.

“Wind, wind…kamaitachi, gust, typhoon, lightning!”

(T/N: A kamaitachi generally refers to either a youkai or the events it causes. They cut using sickle-like nails that cause sharp, painless wounds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamaitachi)

If I used that, I could put it to practical use by adjusting the power.

“Let’s start with, ——[Thunder Bolt]!”

I used enough magic power to make a bolt of lightning that hit a nearby tree and split it all the way down to the roots.

“Hmm… The power is a bit much. Maybe using a bit lower might be good”

After adjusting the power, I found out that a lightning bolt with a magical power of 50 could defeat a D-rank monster in one blow. The monster was electrocuted, but when the lightning bolt hit it, its body wasn't too badly damaged, so it could be used to secure dungeon materials.

Also, even though the wind blade was almost in a straight line, I could control where the lightning went from where I shot it. This made it very accurate because I could weave it between the trees.

"If you take away a little more of the power, it can be used to capture other people. En, it's a really good idea to train in the dungeon, where there are always monsters to practice with."

Having said that, we continued our journey in the dungeon. It only took 10 bolts to stun the gatekeeper on the 15th floor, so Teto could cut off its head with her magic sword.

At the time, I thought that if the other side kept its charge, an electric current would flow to Teto. However, Teto was no longer a golem, so there was no danger of a friendly fire.

Then, from the 16th floor, it seemed that the area would expand while keeping the forest area the same.

"From here, I get the sense that the map's reliability has gone down."

“Majo-sama, what should we do?”

"For now, let's quickly mark the transfer circle at the spring of the nearby safe zone and then go home."

From tomorrow on, it might take about one level per day to explore the dungeon. So, we left the dungeon and came back the next day to keep exploring.

"This forest area has a lot of herbs, mushrooms, and food."

It seems that the stairs to the next floor would open if you collected drop items limited to defeated monsters in various areas of the dungeon instead of taking the shortest route. So, we would need to use the map to find the right monsters and kill them.

“If you pay attention to the poor visibility and ambushes in the trees in this area, you can keep a constant amount of strength. Oh, herbs again”

"You can keep your strength steady in this area if you pay attention to the trees and the fact that it is hard to see. Oh, herbs once more"

We were picking up herbs along the way because it was taking longer to walk around the dungeon level.

I might make a potion when I get back and sell it to the guild. As I thought about that, a pack of Gray Wolves came into view.

It looks like the leader of the group has an item that lets them move on to the next level, but I don't know who the leader is.

“I’ll leave it to you this time, Teto.”

“Yes, nanodesu!”

Using wind magic to float myself, I observed Teto’s battle from a suspended point of view. Teto cut down the monster that attacked her, and when another took the chance to attack from her blind spot, she turned around and shot a backhand chop to defeat it, then kicked the two bodies away with a roundhouse kick.

Using swordsmanship and martial arts to kill the wolves, the entire herd had become corpses and dropped items within a matter of minutes.

“Fuu, this is getting harder to gather. I wonder if there's a magic spell I could use for that. Hmm, is it different from suction? Pick up, attract. —[Apport]”

(T/N: アボート Apport being from the same root as apparition. Think of a poltergeist.)

I think that this is convenient, but even if I pick them up, my palm is still considerably small and the dropped items fall out. It's better than walking around and looking for them, but I still had to pick them up with Teto in the end.

With that in mind, we continued exploring the dungeon, making it to the 17th floor after going through the 16th.

“Apparently once you’ve cleared a floor, you can pass through the next.”

“Majo-sama? What should we do? Continue nanodesu?”

“Hmm. It might be good to try out dungeon accommodations in this dungeon once.”

The last dungeon we cleared was like a cave, and the safe area was surrounded by walls, so the only way to keep an eye on what was going on was the entrance. This time, however, it was necessary to use other adventurers to determine the difference between that and in open dungeons such as plains and forests.

“How about dinner then?”

“Yes, I want to eat meat nodesu!”

“Aah, that reminds me, there was some good meat dropped”

A short time after entering the forest floor, a wild boar monster appeared. Defeating it, we got a magic stone and a block of meat. It gave off an impression similar to pork loin.

“En. That being the case, should I make pork steak?”

Another name for it would be tonteki.

I placed a frying pan on a camping pole, applied some cooking oil created by [Creation Magic], and cut some vegetables I had taken out of the item box. Then, I stir-fried them in the oil, laid it out on a plate, cut the meat of the wild boar monster into slices, and put it on the frying pan.

Once again, I used [Creation Magic] to create [Garlic Soy Sauce-style Steak Sauce (For Business Use)] and covered the steak in it. If you put the cooked pork steak on top of the stir-fried vegetables, the fat from the steak and the sauces from the steak would permeate into the vegetables underneath.

I set out the dishes on a rock table that Teto had made by putting a tablecloth over it.

It was a complicated meal for camping, but the garlic soy sauce made it smell and taste incredibly good.

"What should a girl do if her breath smells like garlic? I wonder if it will go away with the magic of [Clean]...Ah, it disappeared”

“Majo-sama~, The bath is ready nodesu~”

“Got it. Let’s enter, then.”

Teto manipulated the ground of the dungeon to create a bathtub, and I created hot water to fill it.

It’s too nice for a camp, and when night time came, we slept in our tent and sleeping bags. Morning came without any problems, and we kept working on taking over the dungeon.

"Okay, let's go."

“I’ll do my best today too, nodesu!”

As the high-spirited Teto said, once we got used to the annoying way of collecting things on yesterday's floor, it immediately came to an end. However, we searched around this floor for a while more to find and collect materials because the ones here had been requested by the guild.

“Ah, a treasure chest”

“Did someone overlooked this one nanodesu?”

“I don’t think so. It might be a new one that appeared.”

We cautiously approached the treasure chest we found in the dungeon.

Then, I cast a barrier on Teto and asked her to open the treasure chest.

——Hyun, Pshu—.

“Oh, that surprised me nodesu!”

"It was a trap made of poisonous needles and fog. I ’m glad I put up the barrier magic.”

Well, although Teto’s body looks like a human’s it’s in fact a body composed of mud, so even if it was pierced it wouldn't matter as long as it didn’t damage the core. Besides, poisons that could hurt a human body wouldn’t hurt a body made of mud.

“Majo-sama~, there’s a treasure nanodesu!”

“Wait, Teto, don’t touch it! I going to appraise it now…oh”

From the gauntlet and jewelry that Teto was holding in her hands, the jewelry shined suspiciously, and when it tried to wrap itself around Teto’s neck, it sudddenly fell to the ground with a snap.

“Huwaa, I got surprised again nodesu~”

“Te-Teto, are you alright?!”

I quickly ran to Teto to make sure she was okay, and then I took out my appraisal monocle to look at the necklace that had tried to wrap around Teto.

[Necklace of Strangulation]

It used to be a necklace-shaped magic tool that worked well, but in the dungeon, it was changed and cursed inside the dungeon.

When a person picks it up, it wraps around their neck and tries to choke them.

While Teto is strong against physical-type abnormal conditions, her mental resistance to things like curses might be about average. However, since she had been wearing the [Amulet of Reciprocal Curse] as an advance countermeasure, it was able to prevent her from being strangled by the cursed equipment. Even so, the amulet she hid under her clothes that could only be used once has broken.

“Teto, here’s a new replacement for [Amulet of Reciprocal Curse]. It’s dangerous to put it back on or leave it as is, so make a stone box.”

“Yes, nanodesu”

I lifted the cursed necklace that had fallen to the ground with floating magic and wrapped it in the cloth I made with [Creation Magic]. Then, I put the cloth-wrapped necklace in the stone box that Teto had made, tied the box shut with a rope, and put it in the item box.

“Yosh, this is good. And this gauntlet is…oh, it’s pretty good”

[Earth’s Hand] — The magic power of the earth was soaked into the gauntlet. When you use this gauntlet, you will only feel half the weight of whatever you are carrying.

“It's armor for warriors. In addition, it seems to always be active. Do you want it, Teto?”

“Ehh, I don’t need it nodesu”

Teto is a golem that uses magic to make its body incredibly strong. Because of this, it is very easy for it to kill enemies. At this point, making it slightly easier through the use of equipment is meaningless.

“Because if I put on such a gauntlet, when I try to hug Majo-sama the sharp parts will hit Majo-sama nodesu.”

“That’s your reason for not wanting it? Well, I don’t fit the size, so maybe I’ll sell it.”

It's a valuable item for an adventurer who uses a great sword, but it doesn't seem to be useful for us. Still, now that I know there is such a magic tool, I can make it with [Creation Magic] using a lot of magic power.

"Let's leave now"

“Yes, nanodesu”

We collected a sufficient amount of material on this floor, so we moved on to the next.

On the 20th floor, we encountered a gatekeeper, also known as the Land Dragon. It is a type of earth dragon that is lower in rank than B-class. Usually, if it were C-rank adventurers, a few of them would pin it down and use magic from a distance to deal damage. However, we're different...

“Teto!”

“Yes nanodesu!”

Teto, who jumped out without guarding me as a witch, slashed the leg of the earth dragon with her magic sword while running past. And I was suspended in the sky with floating magic…

"I wonder how it feels to use [Thunder Bolt] against a dragon."

A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, and the land dragon's cry could be heard. But it wasn't enough to make it weak, as expected from a drake's strength.

(T/N: Author used “sub-dragon” here, while using what I translated as “earth dragon” before. My guess is that dragons that can’t fly are lesser dragons, so I’ll be referring to them as drakes wheneven “sub-dragon” is used)

“One more shot——[Thunder Bolt]!”

Using a 1,000 magic power for one more bolt of lightning, I struck down the land dragon once more.

Even though it was a strong foe that needed two lightning strikes to defeat, it was easy to do so because it didn't have the unique ability of a hydra to heal itself.

Then, the Land Dragon's burned body vanished, leaving behind a magic stone befitting a B-rank monster and a reddish-black liquid in a vial.

"This is the blood of the Land Dragon."

Dragon blood was apparently traded for a lot of money because it was often used to make medicines. The Land Dragon is about as smart as a wyvern among dragons, but the power of its blood was very strong.

But if the lightning strikes burned it black and made its blood boil, why did a drop of it’s fresh blood fall? Where did the bottles come from?

"It doesn't make sense to think about it, does it? Well, sometimes you just have to accept things as they are. Let's just go to the 21st floor and go home."

“Agreed nanodesu! I want to eat at a nearby restaurant nodesu!”

Teto and I proceeded to the 21st floor. The way the area was built changed again, and this time it led us to a cave area we knew. Arsus-san and the other top adventurers in this town would also be on the floors around here.

"For now, since we can't see a map from here, let's figure it out piece by piece and look for a safe place."

“Understood nodesu”

With Teto in the lead, we proceeded through the cave and drew up the map by walking.

The cave's paths were fairly wide, and the size of the area was based on the 20th floor. This made it seem much harder to draw the map than the first dungeon we went into. Still, we found the safe zone's fountain on the 21st floor before it got dark, we eventually registered on the transfer circle there, and left the dungeon.

“Hmm. I'm tired, and we'll miss dinner if we go to the guild right now, so let's do it tomorrow.”

"Understood nodesu!"

After I left the dungeon, I decided to go to the guild later because there were no urgent reports or requests. I went back to my apartment and hugged Teto for the first time in a long time as I slept in bed.