Chapter 87

《You have obtained the solo first defeat title [Changer of the Environment]》

《You have obtained the solo first defeat reward [White Staff]》

《Announcement: The dungeon's 20th floor boss [Seedor Sea Dorn] has been defeated in a solo battle》

《You have obtained 5 strands of Seedor Sea Dorn's sticky silk》

《You have obtained 5 Seedor Sea Dorn cocoon orbs》

《You have obtained Seedor Sea Dorn's short sword》

《You have obtained Seedor Sea Dorn's magic stone》

《You have obtained 10 strands of steel silk》

《You have obtained a +3 Anti-Poison Ring》

《You have obtained Seedor Sea Dorn's [Strong Poison]》

Recalling the subtle fact that I have the best compatibility with the Goddess of Misfortune, I paused in my movements. Meanwhile, Galahad and the others continued their relentless attacks without a break. When I came to my senses and rejoined the fight, the boss soon fell unexpectedly.

The title [Changer of the Environment] mitigates the effects of environmental conditions that affect your health, such as scorching heat, extreme cold, and high humidity. It has a similar effect to the [All-Weather Resistance] on the Fal White Underwear and the [All-Climate Resistance] on the purple pants, but it also affects toxic swamps, making it superior. However, it only mitigates the effects, so it might be a bit subtle. You won't know until you actually go to a harsh environment, but it affects not only you but also your surroundings. The closer you are to the title holder, the more effective it is, and the further away you are, the less effective it becomes.

The [White Staff] is a beautiful, slender staff that is pure white, despite showing no signs of being dyed. It increases MID and enhances the effects of healing, holy, and divine magic.

Now, speaking of a break, it's time for a meal.

After defeating the ogre, I couldn't take a proper break due to my own mistake, but this time it's fine.

"Wow, eating at a table in a dungeon is quite surreal, isn't it?"

"Oh, it's fine."

"Well, there's no one else around, after all."

"Sometimes it's nice to eat quickly on the stairs, but it's a bit dull."

I've come to the dungeon a few times, and it felt good to have that sense of being in the dungeon. However, it's dark, unsettling, and hard to eat, so I only did it while moving. At the very least, I want to eat normally in a room with a teleportation array.

So, it's time for the familiar cat-foot table to make an appearance.

Ruby Berry chilled fruit water, a baguette with butter, a goulash-like soup made by simmering deer meat with vegetables and spices, and a soup that's more like a stew because the meat is so big. It seems my preference for meat has been influenced by Shin. Fried potatoes with melted cheese and gravy, and tea and biscuits for dessert.

"It's nice to have a warm meal."

Camilla tore a piece of the baguette with her slender fingers, making a crisp sound, and spread butter on it. The freshly baked baguette quickly melted the butter and absorbed it.

"I didn't expect to see knives and forks."

Eagle, who is usually rough and ready like Galahad, was elegantly cutting the meat from the shallow bowl of soup with a knife. Perhaps it's the contrast with Galahad, who was eating roughly without using a knife next to him.

"This baguette is delicious."

"The deer meat is good too."

"I want to drink alcohol!"

Galahad shouted while drinking the fruit water.

"I understand how you feel, but let's wait until we get back."

"During the dungeon, I always thought, 'I want to get back quickly and eat something delicious and drink alcohol,' but I never thought about drinking in the dungeon."

These three seem to treat meals in the dungeon as a form of nutrition, but they equate meals with alcohol.

"Ugh, this is a scam without any alcohol!!"

Ignoring Galahad's shout, we finished our meal and break and returned to the dungeon.

The dungeon has branching routes at floors 25, 35, 45, and 55. The 25th floor has three branches, which can be identified by the design on the side of the stairs in the dungeon. The design can be on the door in front of the stairs or on the first step of the stairs, and it seems there is no fixed location for the design.

"Ugh!"

"Another miss, huh?"

We are currently searching for the stairs to the Fehr Fae route, but we've missed two of them. The last one should be somewhere.

Galahad and the others had already defeated the three bosses on the 25th floor to open the route, but the route they had previously explored beyond the 26th floor was different from the Fehr Fae route. So, they transferred back to the 25th floor after defeating the boss and opened the Fehr Fae route again.

The enemies become significantly stronger every 10 floors, and from the 51st floor, they become even stronger.

Galahad and the others reached the 44th floor on a different route from Fehr Fae. They felt they could now tackle the 45th floor boss after repeatedly defeating Fehr Fae. This confidence probably comes from having defeated it several times and getting used to it, but it must have been difficult at first. However, they didn't show any signs of struggle when they left Ruba's house.

The enemies up to this point are enhanced versions of those from floors 1 to 20. Even the same enemies have new skills that can cause significant damage if you let your guard down. The new enemy is a large lizard that spits fire.

[Steal] has reappeared, and thanks to the Wind Boots and various enhancements, we've managed to avoid trouble. However, the enemies now attack while stealing.

We've learned that it's more effective to notice and deflect the extended hand. The enemies now attack while stealing, so we use a short sword created by alchemy to deflect it. It deals more damage than deflecting with bare hands, though the damage is still low. This might be due to my lack of short sword skill or the weakness of the alchemy-created short sword, or both.

I'd like to use a white fan or an iron fan to stop the attack with a snap. I'll consider it when we return to the city.

But first, I'll ask Peter to help me level up [Steal Prevention] a bit more.

The large lizard counter-attacks with fire every time a melee character attacks, dealing light damage. It's better to use ranged attacks like magic to defeat it, but Galahad and Eagle charge in without hesitation, ignoring the burning flames. They can do this because they know from experience that the damage is light, but it's impressive that they can charge in without hesitation, knowing they will take damage.

The drops include magic stones, fur, skin, fangs, and minerals. From the high goblins that steal, we get potions, antidotes, and other items that they seem to have stolen from adventurers.

"Wow! I've learned [Sleep]!"

"Attacking will literally wake them up, so it's not that impressive. It's useful for sneaking, though."

"Where are you sneaking into?"

"A good place."

He winked and replied in a voice that seemed to have a heart mark at the end.

"[Dark Magic] has reached level 30. It might be useful for training?"

"Try not to need training in the first place. There's someone here who is often chased."

"Who are you talking about?"

The two of them silently sent a glance to Galahad.

"No, this way I can put people who forget to eat and sleep into bed."

"Ruba?"

"Yes, I visited her a little before coming here. She was struggling with the processing of [Water Dragon Silver] and hadn't eaten or slept much."

It's not just Ruba, but the long-awaited [Sleep] is a welcome addition. With the mount and the accessory to ward off possession, it's nice to have items that were often put on hold.

[Light] at level 30 might also be a sleep-related spell, as it seems to work similarly.

Thinking about it, [Wood Magic] at level 30 also has a sleep-related spell called [Sleeping Scent]. When you want something, it seems to appear, but it feels a bit unsatisfying.

After a while, we found the third set of stairs leading to the Fehr Fae route, which were right next to the entrance. Galahad, feeling dejected, was ready to take out his frustration on the boss.

The 25th floor boss is a Salamander. It's an enhanced version of the large lizard, with a smooth appearance and the ability to move quickly while enveloped in flames. It doesn't have tricky movements, but direct attacks will cause both damage and a burning status effect.

"Is its weakness ice, as it looks?"

I asked, considering the mycelium orbs.

"Yeah, if you can freeze it, the burning effect will be canceled, so please do."

"I'm not compatible with it, so I'm relieved."

Camilla's main attribute is fire, which deals almost no damage.

Galahad and Eagle charged forward.

"Come forth from the shadows and pierce! [Stingshade]"

Camilla was the first to act.

Numerous spear-like shadows emerged from the Salamander's shadow and pierced its target.

"[Frost Flower]"

Galahad and Eagle attacked immediately after the spell was cast.

The freezing effect of [Frost Flower] canceled the burning effect, and the smooth, fiery skin of the Salamander, which had previously glowed red, was now cracked and black.

Any skill with a freezing or frost effect would work. Conversely, if the enemy has a freezing ability, Camilla's burning damage spells like [Crimson Note] can cancel it out, provided the levels are balanced.

By the way, Camilla seems to be casting a spell before the main spell, which apparently now affects me through [Pain Release]. She says it's for mental focus before casting a spell... The ±5% damage fluctuation based on mental state was mentioned by Ochazuke.

The casting time of a spell is the time needed to concentrate and gather magic power. There are also pre-casting incantations, but generally, it's best to imagine the spell you are casting. The time between casting and the spell's activation is called the casting time, during which you can enhance the spell by chanting incantations and saying the spell's name. Of course, you can also concentrate silently.

Without [Silent Casting], it would take me about six seconds to cast a level 40 spell, and about eleven seconds with INT 123. Some spells have a delay between activation and impact, so [Silent Casting] doesn't guarantee you can avoid them.

With the effects of [Asha's White Flame Mask] and [Mark of the Gods], I have enough motivation, and with [Silent Casting], I don't need to chant the spell's name, so I skip it. Wearing a long white coat and a mask, I find it embarrassing to shout out technique or spell names. I'll consider it