Chapter 36

Changing the perspective can make the story drag on...

"---Acid! It's coming!"

In response to Mana's urgent cry, I hastily dodged to the side, mid-cast of my skill. The chunk of strong acid grazed past my side, and I secretly felt a chill down my spine.

(If that had been a regular Arts, I definitely wouldn't have been able to avoid it.)

This is one of the strengths of Manual Arts. As the famous saying goes, "Arts turn geniuses into ordinary people," meaning that automatically cast Arts cannot be interrupted mid-cast.

However, Manual Arts allow geniuses to remain geniuses while using Arts. Or rather, at Lex's level, he can perform god-like techniques like "dodging while using Arts," which is even more impressive.

(The more I learn about it, the more I realize how incredible this technique is!)

Still, my skill was wasted for this round.

"Damn... Fire Slash!!"

Reluctantly, I activated a fire attribute Arts.

Ideally, I would only use earth attribute attacks, which are the enemy's weakness, but even with Manual activation, the cooldown time of Arts cannot be ignored. Since I don't have any other earth attribute attacks besides <Earthquake Slash>, I have no choice but to cycle through other attribute skills.

(Once we clear this dungeon, I'll definitely learn other skills!)

Through actual combat, I've come to clearly understand the phrase "the number of Arts a warrior has is their power," which I previously only vaguely imagined. Now, I feel more motivated to seriously work on mastering Arts.

"Magic incoming! Clear the line of fire!!"

Following the voice from behind, I jumped back from in front of the slime. At the same time, Nuke, who was behind me, readied his staff and shouted.

"---Please don't break, <Flare Cannon>!!"

The magic heat ray, which emits a light like the sun, was unleashed. Among the magic I've seen, this one boasts the highest power, melting the blue slime's body.

However, this is not a spell Nuke learned through training, but rather a secret of the staff <Red Flare Rod> he holds. The equipment Lex obtained through a quest allows the user to cast the ultra-powerful fire attribute spell <Flare Cannon> by consuming their own inherent magic power "MP."

However, this equipment has a restriction that even a high-magic-power user like Nuke needs to wear strength and magic power enchantment rings to handle it, and its price is a shocking 50 million wen. Additionally, it has the characteristic of having a 1% chance of breaking with each use.

When Nuke was told this fact, his face was, to put it bluntly, a sight to see. Still, given that it's like a reverse lottery with a 50 million wen prize each time, the power is unparalleled. Despite not being particularly effective against the slime's attributes, it dealt more damage than my <Earthquake Slash>.

After Nuke's attack, which sacrificed his MP and stress, arrows now flew from even further away. The arrows that easily pierced the slime's surface and stuck into its body were, of course, not ordinary.

---Those are attribute arrows that Lex himself alchemized.

Creating arrows imbued with attribute magic is apparently a basic alchemy technique. However, the performance is determined by the "magic power" value of the person who alchemized them.

The attribute arrows that Lex created while wearing the "nine enchanted equipment" are imbued with such tremendous magic power that even Prana, who received the bundle, said she would "use them carefully" and embraced them as if hugging them. Now, Prana is firing these "wind" attribute arrows in rapid succession without hesitation.

While I can't help but wonder what "using them carefully" means, "using them as needed" is probably her way of treating them carefully. As evidence, every arrow she fires pierces the slime's body, with no misses.

And the last member,

"---Acid, it's coming! Be careful!"

Mana is mainly working as an observer, monitoring the slime's movements and detecting acid attacks.

The slime's attacks can be broadly categorized into two types: emitting smoke that induces status abnormalities from its entire body, or shaking its body and launching acid.

The smoke can be nullified as long as we have a barrier, and the acid has a clear preparatory motion, making it easy to avoid if you watch for the signs. However, it's possible to miss these signs when focused on attacking, so Mana, who has the fewest opportunities to attack, took on this role.

"---Holy Bullet!"

Still, she doesn't completely refrain from attacking and occasionally casts magic from behind, blending it with the wind arrows. This is the only attack magic Mana has, <Holy Bullet>.

It's a basic magic with no special tricks, but the light attribute is incredibly strong. While there are few characters suited to it, it has a slight advantage over the four elements of fire, water, earth, and wind, and is particularly strong against the dark attribute, making it a truly versatile attribute. It's the opposite of the dark attribute, which only exists to weaken the light attribute by being weak to all four elements. This is according to Lex.

We are always taking the initiative due to our pre-battle preparations and are advancing the battle favorably against the higher-ranked <Big Blue Slime>. However...

---It's really tough!!

Despite all our preparations and the use of so many skills and magic, we still haven't been able to defeat a single slime.

Sweat beads formed on my forehead from the heat. The long battle was wearing down our nerves, and our concentration was gradually slipping away.

The worst part is the remaining magic power. Using higher-ranked Arts than usual is causing a severe drain on our magic power.

(This is the difference in base power, huh.)

While HP can be relatively easily restored with magic, lost magic power is not easily replenished. The amount that recovers over time is minimal, and all MP recovery potions are non-sellable. We have them as a precaution, but they can't be used so easily.

Additionally, these potions have the constraint that "their effects diminish if used consecutively in a short period." A strategy relying on MP recovery potions is fundamentally unfeasible.

(From my experience, I've already lost about 30% of my magic power.)

Just one of the dozens of slimes rooted in this dungeon. It took 30% of our resources to defeat just one.

But we can't stop.

The slime has regeneration, making prolonged battles disadvantageous. Moreover, long battles attract other slimes.

So I continue to unleash Arts at full power without worrying about magic power consumption.

(Just a little more! It should be just a little more!)

The <Big Blue Slime> is moving more sluggishly than at the start, and its surface is covered with visible wounds. If we push through here...

"Acid! Get out of the way!"

Was it because of these fleeting thoughts? I panicked at Mana's warning and tried to move away hastily.

"..."

I tripped over a small step and fell.

The worst timing. The acid was spewed towards me, unable to move, and I instinctively shielded my face with my left hand.

"Ugh, aaaaah!"

The acid that splashed onto my left hand seeped through the gaps in my armor and burned my skin.

"Rade-kun!"

Mana's scream. In the midst of the relentless pain, I gritted my teeth and stood up. The fact that one of my enchantment rings was set to life was fortunate, as the damage wasn't as severe as I feared.

But...

"Damn! The barrier..."

The <Barrierling> effect that had been protecting me was already gone. At the same time, a green mist was forcefully blown from the slime!

"Ah, hah!"

There was no way to protect myself from the smoke rising in all directions. The toxic smoke that entered my lungs burned my body from the inside.

"I'll heal you! Fall back!"

But in the midst of the continuous pain, I shook my head. The <Barrierling> barrier cannot be re-cast during combat once it's broken. So now...

---Attack!

In my tear-blurred vision, I readied my sword. Despite the pain clouding my thoughts, the ingrained movements did not betray me.

"---<Earthquake Slash>!!"

The critical Arts pierced the slime. That one strike severed the life force of the blue monster, and the blue creature that had long tormented us finally ceased its life activities.

Seeing this, I desperately leaped out of the range of the toxic mist and hurriedly removed and re-cast the <Barrierling> on my finger. According to Lex, "A barrier cannot be re-cast for ten minutes once it's broken, but it can be immediately re-cast by removing and re-equipping it during non-combat."

Feeling the barrier re-activate as he said, I let out a sigh of relief. Then, my concerned companions rushed to my side.

"Really, that was a heart-stopper."

"You're pushing yourself too hard!"

I bowed my head and said, "Sorry," then continued, "But..."

Looking behind, the dead monster was turning into particles of light, which were being absorbed into our left hands.

The moment the light was absorbed into our bodies, my heart beat strongly.

A familiar sensation.

"---Growth."

Strength welled up from the depths of my body, and the poison that had been eating away at me was completely gone. Not only that, but my lost HP and MP were restored.

When growth occurs, the aftereffects fully restore HP and MP and cure status abnormalities. This phenomenon is called "growth recovery," and it is the main reason Lex sent us to this dungeon "now."

Levels increase quickly at first, but once you surpass ten, the required experience increases, and the pace slows down. However, since we are at a low level and can easily trigger "level-up recovery," we can continue advancing without resupply.

"Rade, are you okay? If you're too exhausted, we can return..."

"No, let's keep going."

To Nuke, who asked me with concern, I shook my head.

Lex said that this is a battle we can only fight because we are "inexperienced," and it is the "shortest path" to our growth. Missing such a perfect opportunity would be unbecoming of an adventurer.

We still have more battles to fight and more growth to achieve. One slime isn't enough to satisfy us, and we won't leave any behind.

"---All the monsters in this dungeon are ours!"