Chapter 94

"Skill stones aren't dropping!"

Galahad shouted.

The battle went smoothly, but the desired items didn't drop.

"It seems that the 'Pendant of Good Mark' drops only once per person..."

"It's said to be a marker for areas under the curse of confusion, like the Fairy Hill or the Elf Forest. I've heard something about this before."

"Isn't it the heirloom of the Gainess Marquis family?"

"The 'Good' part might indicate that it shows the location of resource extraction sites within the area."

"It's more than just an heirloom, that's for sure."

Camilla glanced sideways.

"There are such areas, huh?"

"The Elf Forest of Confusion is famous."

Due to the abundance of good wood for staffs and medicinal ingredients, people keep entering the Forest of Confusion, but if they venture beyond the visible range without the Elves' permission, it's almost a miracle if they return.

It's on a different continent, so it's out of our reach.

"By the way, this might be the third rare drop."

"Or maybe the skill stone for status effect resistance is treated as a single rare drop."

"Judgment was made with little information. I'm sorry, Homura!"

"No, I'm satisfied with the attribute stones we found along the way, as I mentioned before."

The solo raid rewards are already plentiful, so what's there to complain about?

Yet, I ended up taking all the attribute stones that dropped along the way, plus the fairy pepper and chili. I have a feeling that I received more than just what dropped this time.

"By the way, it seems I can summon White during the boss battle, but I couldn't due to irresistible circumstances. Please testify to that..."

"Ha!"

"Being the first time seeing the boss, I didn't have the presence of mind. Will White believe that?"

"You looked so calm, huh, huh."

"No, no, we're taking a break now, and next time I summon, it will last longer."

While bantering, we moved to the transfer room.

We arrived at the 35th floor much earlier than planned, but the plan to camp here remains unchanged.

After all, the 30th floor boss, Bahamut, was defeated almost immediately, and from the 31st floor onwards, the continuous status effects were supposed to be mentally draining, but we breezed through them, and the mental fatigue was dispelled by the recovery of HP through holy magic.

Since there's no sense of day and night, we plan to take a good rest and then set out.

So, let's start with a meal.

A small glass of white wine as an aperitif.

Herb-roasted tiger trout with crispy skin and tender flesh.

Cream pasta with bacon and mushrooms picked from the Alliance-recommended dungeon. The bacon is plentiful for meat lovers, and thanks to the salt from Rucha, the bacon and salted fish are especially delicious!

Since the main dish is cream pasta, the soup is a light onion consomme.

A salad with various baby leaves, a creamy dressing with garlic, and plenty of croutons.

"The pasta is delicious~ I'm so happy."

"I usually prefer meat, but the salt level on this fish is perfect! It's delicious!"

"Usually, with sea fish, we only get the chance to eat salted or dried ones. I didn't think I'd get to eat fresh fish here."

"Galadad, it's a waste, but take half of the fish before you start eating. You won't finish it."

"Is it to feed the animals?"

"It's irresistible when you know they have titles."

"My stomach is in Homura's hands~"

It's great to see it's well-received.

But I shouldn't rely too much on salt; I need to be careful not to overuse it.

I mentally note the points to improve in my cooking.

I sprinkled the 'Fairy Pepper' on the consomme right away. How does it taste? Yeah, thanks to the slight spiciness of the pepper, the flavor stands out and isn't bland.

Both the 'Fairy Pepper' and 'Fairy Chili' come with the description "used by fairies for mischief, but guaranteed in taste."

In this world, there are fairies living within the human living range and fairies who are friendly to humans. They can help with work while you sleep, but they are generally mischievous and do things innocently.

"By the way, didn't you say the reward for downing Fehr Farsi was a drop? Is it possible that it doesn't drop even if you down it?"

I asked about something I was curious about.

"Enemies that go down normally when you deal damage will drop normally, but those that require a specific procedure are random."

"Like downing an enemy without attacking a certain part, or following a specific sequence of attacks. It sometimes happens with non-boss enemies too."

"It shouldn't be as rare as a rare drop, but this time it's strangely not dropping."

"I've rechecked the records at the guild, but it seems there's something off."

"There's a lot we don't know."

"Homura, you should first understand what's normal."

"You're off the mark."

"I've seen your status, the beasts you can summon, and your equipment, but the names of the beasts and the mention of an evil god make me think there's more to it, and it's unsettling."

"It's probably fine. But I had one question: I often hear stories about meeting gods associated with the Eight Pillars. Do people meet them often? I've never met one."

"Is it the compatibility of the gods' blessings or the recipient's qualities? For example, someone with Tasha's blessing can't receive Asha's blessing."

"I think I've heard that before."

"Lower gods can't give blessings to those with the blessings of the main gods."

"But I've heard stories of lower gods giving blessings to those with the blessings of higher gods."

"Then, can I not meet the god of cobblestones?!"

"Why cobblestones!?"

In the evening, we drank tea and coffee while Camilla gave a lecture on the basic concepts of magic.

Tea: me and Eagle, Coffee: Galahad and Camilla. Eagle seems to be fine with either and is accompanying me. Galahad says he'll have coffee if there's no alcohol. Camilla prefers coffee.

There are two types of magic: those that affect the material world and those that affect the Aetheric realm, which is almost perfectly overlaid with the material world, though it's invisible.

Magic is essentially the manifestation of events in the Aetheric realm in the material world. While some types of life magic, like 'Ignition,' do affect the material world, the basic effect is damage to the Aetheric body. So, even if you cast a Fireball, the ground won't burn or trees won't catch fire unless you strongly will it to affect the material world.

On the other hand, physical attacks are events in the material world, and both the Aetheric body and the physical body can be damaged. However, if one is robust or the existence is biased towards one side, an attack on the weaker side won't cause much damage.

Will-o'-the-wisps are almost entirely Aetheric beings, so physical attacks don't work on them. However, weapons that can interfere with the Aetheric realm, like the ones Ruba made, can be effective.

Additionally, there's something called a 'star body' that connects the Aetheric and physical bodies, where emotions and memories are primarily stored.

It makes a bit more sense why White has a weak Aetheric body and Bahamut has a weak physical body.

I listened attentively, thinking that while this is the setting of the world, I don't know where it will come into play in the story. Camilla also said she's just been told this and doesn't know if it's correct.

After all, in a world where sandwich wrappers from street vendors can disappear, there must be some meaning to remembering things, but there's no need to think too deeply about it. Living by instinct seems to be the way to go.

"Should I get some carpets and cushions for relaxing?"

"No, no?"

"Are you planning to relax more in the dungeon?"

"How comfortable are you planning to make it?"

The title "Conqueror of the Overcoming Labyrinth" has a 'High Spirits' bonus for the party, and its original effect is to increase the rare drop rate in the labyrinth.

The title "Explorer of the Black Abyss" from the Black Hydra.

Its effect is to reveal the locations of hidden doors, treasure chests, and stairs in the labyrinth. Specifically, it shows stair markers and light points on a black, unmapped area. Since the labyrinth is often maze-like, knowing the location doesn't mean you can reach it immediately due to walls, but it's very convenient.

Thanks to this, we quickly found the branching stairs on the 35th floor. There are five branches. The 'Black' part might apply to the hidden doors.

The 'Orb of Resurrection' is a rare consumable that can fully revive all party members, including Alliance members.

The "Unbewildered" item obtained from a fairy has a similar effect to the 'Pendant of Good Mark.' However, it mentions that the Aetheric body is also safe, which made me worry if there's an astral projection stage or something.

In that case, can you take your equipment with you...? I realized that if you wear a coat, your lower half would be naked, which is worse than being completely naked.

The 'Fairy Gloves' are alchemy-oriented equipment that increase dexterity and intelligence. It's useful, but I want pants right now.

I want to do another run for the pepper and chili, but for solo runs, how should I deal with the dogs on the outer perimeter? If I stand in the center and fight the fairies, and move to a position where my magic can reach when they start barking, will it be okay? I'll be attacked by the fairies simultaneously, but since the boss and the journey are mostly about status effects and magic, I feel I can manage solo.

Oh, I remember. I was planning to look for a field boss like Trent or Field Boss to get the mining version of the 'Mineral-Loving Bracelet' once I gained resistance to status effects.

Looking at the raid history in the menu, I see that the solo raid of Fos's Grootrent has already been done.

Akira-kun has filled the solo raid of the field boss in Jears, but I'm not sure if it was solo or with Percival and the others.

Well, it can't be helped. I forgot about it.

The 'Bud of Life,' which provides continuous HP recovery, is still undecided whether to equip it as an accessory for solo or party play. I want to clear up other pending tasks as well.

Let's log out for now.

The real-time passage doesn't seem to be much, but it's a bit ambiguous whether it's due to being in an event with Galahad and the others or a characteristic of the labyrinth.

It's helpful that we can log out without issues when we're with residents.