Chapter 41

"…Finally, we made it…"

"…Yeah."

"You did well. You can take a break now."

We arrived at the safety area at the entrance of the dungeon. I sat on a conveniently placed rock and drank some water. Naga and my brother also sat down beside me.

We had been walking for 10 hours straight, and the path had turned into a mountain trail, doubling our fatigue. By the time we reached the dungeon, it was already dark. When I said, "I didn't think it would be this far," they replied, "It's not that far." The lack of transportation options in this world, other than walking, is tough… Well, we could use horses or something, but they can't be brought into the dungeon…

I now understand why the mine dungeon, which is about half the distance, is popular.

Incidentally, the route we took was a bit longer. It was done to avoid encountering other people. I wish they had told me this beforehand. If I try to come to this dungeon again, I'll probably get lost.

During the journey, we fought monsters and leveled up. I reached level 15, Naga reached level 12, and my brother reached level 13. While we have improved somewhat, the recommended level for the Mushroom Forest dungeon is over 40, and to aim for clearing it, we need to be at least level 50. We are far from that.

However, if we fight higher-level enemies, our levels will rise quickly. I've also heard that if we fight properly, our skill proficiency will increase easily. I want to avoid leveling up without participating in battles.

By the time we reached here, we had learned the following abilities through leveling up:

I learned <Scout>, <Fire Resistance>, <Water Resistance>, <Blunt Resistance>, <Slash Resistance>, <Stealth>, and <Awareness>. Additionally, my <Observation> skill reached level 5, allowing me to learn the long-desired <Appraisal> and <Analysis>. This means I can now investigate substances and monsters in more detail.

Finally, I no longer need to ask my master to appraise the items I create. Until now, I would leave the items I made in the workshop, and my master would appraise them. Although he didn't appraise each one individually, it still caused him some trouble. Now that I can do it myself, I can reduce his burden.

To be honest, my master is over 80 years old, though I thought he was around 70. I was surprised when I heard his past stories. He's truly amazing, living his life as a lifelong active person. I need to do my best to reduce his burden and help him live a long life.

Before entering the dungeon, as planned, I obtained the <Scout> ability. However, my brother seems to spot monsters faster. When I looked at him, he smiled, so I think he probably obtained it too.

Naga and my brother seem to have learned various abilities, but I can't confirm them in front of Leonis and the others.

What I do know is that my brother specializes in attack, regardless of his stats. He becomes even stronger with a sword. I'm convinced that <Mastery of Sword> is a powerful ability. His sword attacks come with <Critical> and <Piercing>, and he usually kills with one hit. To be honest, it's not just his movement; his combat power is terrifying. However, using a sword requires both hands, so he can't use a shield for defense, which is a bit worrying… But I think he's fine since he avoids attacks. He seemed to be intentionally testing himself by getting hit during the latter part of our journey. Indeed, it's a good idea to test against lower-level enemies before facing higher-level ones.

Naga has stable defense and attack power. He lacks speed, but his defense is strong enough to withstand hits. He can even withstand healing magic… To be honest, I don't use light magic much, so I need to practice to avoid being unprepared in emergencies. I asked him to let me practice, and I used healing magic during each battle to increase my magic level.

Regarding attacks, he uses his high STR to attack normally. Unlike my brother, he doesn't always aim for one-hit kills, and his sword isn't that sharp, so he can't cut things in half with a single strike.

From Leonis, we received further advice on our actions in the dungeon. My brother and Naga, who have sufficient abilities, will be the front-line fighters. Naga will receive tanking lessons as needed. I was advised to stay in the back.

As a healer, I need to manage everyone's HP and my MP. It's nice to know I don't have to push myself in the dungeon, but I'm not sure what managing HP entails. I've been using surplus healing to increase my proficiency, but I was advised to stop surplus healing and heal when HP drops below 40% in the dungeon. The rest… I'll have to figure it out as I go, but it seems difficult. Regarding attacks, I was told, "Don't bother since you won't do any damage…" Damn. If my STR increases… I think there's a chance with level-ups. Magic would do damage, but as a healer, I can't use too much MP, as I was warned.

"Clain, you can use this."

"…Master's bow?"

"Yeah. You can use it, right? It's better to use this from the back."

"Got it… But I'll participate when it's safe!"

I haven't given up on being a front-line fighter… Because if I don't learn front-line abilities here, I'll struggle when I go solo. Ideally, I want to be versatile. …I understand the gap between my ideal and reality, but that's no excuse not to try. I might die, but that's a given.

Well… After a short break, we'll tackle the dungeon… By the way, this dungeon isn't very popular.

The reason is that there's a mine dungeon with a lower recommended level, where you can gather valuable materials and don't need to worry about status effects. There's almost no need to come here.

The Adventurer's Guild regularly checks and thins out monsters in dungeons to prevent stampedes. This time, we have permission because Leonis is leading the expedition.

"Our plan is… First, this dungeon is called the Mushroom Forest. The maximum floor is 50. Our goal is to defeat the boss, Morbol, on floor 30 and reduce the number of Morbol-type monsters on subsequent floors. I know it's tough for you to stay up all night, so we'll rest for 30 minutes here and aim for floor 10. We should reach floor 10 in about 3 to 4 hours, so we'll rest until dawn and then aim for deeper floors in the morning."

We're diving in quite seriously…

I heard from my master that this dungeon has many monsters that cause confusion, paralysis, and poisoning. On the other hand, it's a good dungeon for gathering ingredients for potions. All the materials for the potions I need to deliver can be found here, but they only appear from floor 20 onwards.

As we go deeper, the number of status effects increases, and the means to prevent them are limited, so it's best not to push ourselves. My master gave me a few <Universal Potions> as a parting gift. They can cure any status effect. Of course, they are high-level potions that I can't make. I also have a few intermediate <Cure All> potions that I can make, but I was told that if I can use magic, it's more cost-effective to use magic to cure status effects. According to my master, different monsters use different poisons, so a universal antidote might not work, but magic can cure a wide range of effects. He can't use healing magic, so he was just passing on what he heard, but it's helpful.

"By the way, the monsters here are of similar level, but inside the dungeon, they are higher-level, so be on maximum alert. Don't get complacent just because you're in the back; you could be hit from behind and killed in one hit."

"…I understand. It's better to participate in attacks even from the back, right?"

"If you can, but don't push yourself. Naga and I can handle most things, but you two are at risk. Naga has high defense, but you two need to be cautious."

Hmm.

Even my brother needs to be cautious in terms of defense.

When I asked, I was told that a DEF of 300 is desirable. I see. My brother still needs more… but I think he'll reach it with one or two more level-ups. …I have 82, so I'm far from it.

Well, I was told to stay in the back. It makes sense that I could be killed in one hit.

By the way, if I want to gather materials, I plan to visit the Mushroom Forest dungeon in the future, but it might be tough to go alone even at B-rank… With better equipment, I might manage the defense… but I don't have the money. It will take time to reach B-rank, so I plan to gather as much as possible this time.

"Be careful, but I think you'll be fine if you don't take unnecessary risks until you reach the recommended level."

He's quite worried. Well, our levels are quite low.

But I thought we planned this knowing that… Was it the guild leader's plan? Leonis said that if it seems too difficult, they will stay on lower floors or gather materials on their own.

After being warned that we would immediately encounter battles upon entering the dungeon, we stepped inside.