Chapter 50

### Day 3

We are scheduled to spend five days in the dungeon, so today is the halfway point.

I was aiming for the 30th floor... but we managed to defeat the 30th floor boss by a little after 3 PM, earlier than planned. The reason for this was the increase in attackers. Indeed, I joined the front line! My stats have improved significantly since the first day, and the lightning spear I created has also boosted my attack power, resulting in a faster elimination speed.

Since it was too early and we couldn't always find a safe place to rest, we decided to proceed to the next floor to gain more experience.

However, at the 32nd floor, we encountered another maze floor.

This time, we decided to take our time and try the normal maze. There were more traps than on the 5th floor. It was a great opportunity to gain experience, so Naga led the way through the maze, and Brother and I were not allowed to interfere.

The result... it took us a whopping five hours. I came to understand that retracing the same path is mentally exhausting. Walking around the same area repeatedly is not good for the mind. I didn't expect it to be so tiring.

I'll consider this as experience, but... since I aspire to be a solo player and don't plan to team up with anyone other than Brother... if there's a next time, I want to be the one to decide the path. I really wanted to interfere halfway through... it was so frustrating to see the path was wrong and not be able to say anything.

We finally arrived at the 33rd floor, where we will be camping outdoors today.

"Hey, old man, how much do you know about Forl?"

"I don't know much. I've met him a few times, but we're just acquaintances. He gives me the impression of being an acquaintance of Raz. If you want to know more, ask him yourself."

While preparing, Brother asked for confirmation, but he didn't answer, probably due to our respective positions.

Even if Leonis knows about Raz, he doesn't know much about Forl. He doesn't give any orders to him.

The current strength ranking is...

Leonis = Forl → Naga → Brother → Raz → Me

Brother's ranking can vary depending on whether he has his sword or not... but I think even with the sword, he can't whittle down Naga's high HP and DEF, so Naga is stronger.

Leonis is a tank, and Forl is a scout... but they are both high-level experts. I think they are still far above us, even though we've gotten closer.

Raz is weak in close combat, so with some ingenuity, I might be able to defeat him... maybe. His role is as a magic attacker, so he is powerful... but his MDF is quite high, so it might be manageable.

"Lord Granos, as an apology for the other day, I'll answer any questions you have."

"No, it's fine as long as you don't attack us in our sleep."

"Granos, I'll make sure there are no more incidents, so don't worry."

Leonis is a former adventurer and current guild staff member, but he is personally helping us this time. I think he is guiding and supporting us out of goodwill. I am truly grateful. If Leonis hadn't been in charge of the initial training, I don't know where we would be now...

When I bowed in gratitude and was asked, "What's wrong?" I was a bit at a loss for words.

I ended up asking, "Is it okay to be in the dungeon for five days while you're newly married?"

...The atmosphere became tense. Only Naga looked bewildered, while the others averted their eyes.

After a moment, he scratched his cheek awkwardly and said, "You might find it inconvenient if I'm around."

Raz advised, "Leon and Diana are in a fake marriage because of some complicated reasons, so it's better not to get too involved."

Apparently, his ex-boyfriend might be around.

I thought, "What kind of daytime drama is this?" but I didn't say it out loud.

I nodded at Brother's comment, "The adult world is complicated," and decided to pretend I didn't understand. The nuances of relationships are complex.

### Day 3 in the Mushroom Forest

I've leveled up three times and am now sufficiently developed.

I haven't reached the appropriate level yet... but my DEF has exceeded 300, and I no longer get one-shot, so my battles are more stable. ...As usual, my role as a healer is almost non-existent.

However, it's still too difficult for me to enter here solo. I want to be able to come here alone to gather materials. It's a treasure trove of materials, and the dungeon resets after a day, so even if I gather too much, it's fine after a day. It's too good to be true.

Over these three days, I've gathered a lot of materials for alchemy. If I have two more days, I can stock up quite a bit. Even if I fail at alchemy, I should be fine with this much.

In the dungeon, some floors are always bright, some are always dark, and some follow the same time flow as the outside world. The 33rd floor follows the same time flow as the outside. It's a normal forest except for the giant plants. Compared to the lower floors with many mushrooms, it feels like being outside. For camping, we need to prepare to avoid being targeted by monsters during the night.

In the forest, we used earth magic to create a platform about 4 meters high on an open area, and hung ropes so our companions could climb up. This way, ground-dwelling beast-type monsters can't reach us. If they gather around, we can take them down with bows or magic.

We were told that bird-type monsters rarely appear in this dungeon, so this should be fine.

"Is this okay?"

"Not bad. At this height, the monsters that can climb are limited. It's not impossible, though."

Following Leonis's advice, we made the platform overhang like a mouse trap to prevent climbing. It's easy to change the shape using earth magic, so we shaped it while channeling mana.

Leonis muttered, "You don't need to go that far."

Insect-type monsters rarely appear in areas without trees, so they are rare in the open square where we are camping. If they are attracted by the fire, it's possible, but they don't appear on this floor.

If we add a mouse trap to the platform on this floor, the monsters that will respond are spider-type.

They are nocturnal and can wander even without trees. They can easily climb this height. The lookout needs to be careful... and there is a patrolling boss from the 31st to the 40th floor, which is spider-type... it sounds unpleasant.

Just in case, I asked about their characteristics.

Murder Spider. Length 4 meters. Dangerous due to the potent venom from its stinger. The silk it spits has a paralyzing effect, and if left alone, it can cause the skin to rot and burn. A healer might be needed.

The silk is tough and can't be cut with a sword, so we need to be careful in battle.

We decided to take shifts for the night camp, with three people at a time, and the party members would take breaks accordingly.

This time, this combination is fine, but Leonis emphasized that it's absolutely not allowed with others. When camping with untrustworthy people, even if they want to team up, you shouldn't agree. Also, distribute your forces evenly or arrange them to your advantage, or it will be too late if something happens.

For solo players, he said never to camp with others... because you don't know what they might do while you're sleeping. You need to ensure your own safety... it's quite a harsh rule, but he said, "If you don't like it, give up on being a solo player." Is it that bad?

I understand I can't be careless...

We prepared a campfire for the night camp.

To reduce the risk of missing anything, we tried to light up the surroundings. Brother offered to handle the Life Detection, which can cover a wider area than Aura Detection, so we can detect approaching things.

### Night Camp Begins

Leonis and the others entered their tents, so I started preparing.

I took out a large magic stone, which was already purified yesterday, and began channeling mana.

Since I already have fire attached to the greatsword, I infused the magic stone with fire magic.

My MP dropped from 1001 to 1, barely avoiding depletion. Yesterday, I ran out of MP during the infusion, so the level-up stat increase is significant.

I learned that a large magic stone can hold 1000 MP worth of magic.

Naga doesn't have much MP, so I told him he can use the mana stored in the magic stone. When he holds the magic stone and uses magic, fire comes out. It's convenient that the magic stone allows you to use magic you can't normally use.

When I have time and MP, I might infuse the medium magic stones I have.

"Do you not try to Enchant your own weapon?"

"Hmm. First, I'll try with Brother's weapons. The steel is of good quality, so they will last longer. By using them as test subjects, I can make my own weapon more user-friendly when the time comes."

"Is that so... then why is the old man angry?"

"Huh?"

I turned around to see Leonis standing there with an angry expression.

I don't know why, but he is incredibly angry.

"You idiot!"

He hit me with a fist.

It hurts... my HP is dropping. He hit me with a lot of force, right?

It hurts... but.

I didn't want to heal with Light Recovery <Heal> because it might make him angrier.

"From now on, absolutely do not Enchant or infuse magic stones in front of others! Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

I was scolded.

The lecture lasted nearly an hour.

Leonis apparently saw the magic-infused spear today and decided to check it later. He saw me trying to Enchant... he saw everything.

In summary...

Magic stones dropped by monsters can't be used as they are. To make them usable, they need to be washed over a considerable period.

What does "washed" mean? When I asked, he said that if you soak the blackened magic stone in water, it will turn transparent. Once it's completely transparent, it can be sold as a usable magic stone.

For a tiny magic stone, it takes about a day, a small one about a week, a medium one about two months, and a large one about one to two years.

I didn't know this, but when I told him I used Purification <Purification> to make it usable immediately... he said it's not normal.

The church might not be aware of this method. If it becomes widespread, the church will benefit, so he said to keep it a secret. The larger the magic stone, the longer it takes to make it usable. Using it so easily is dangerous.

Next, few people can infuse magic stones with mana.

To infuse mana into a magic stone, you need precise mana control, which is much harder than casting spells, so only a few skilled technicians can do it. The larger the magic stone, the harder it is to control.

In my case, I learned to infuse mana while crafting alchemy, so I can do it...

"Magicians aren't that dexterous. Look at Raz."

"Is Raz sleeping?"

I was given an Iron Claw. Ow... it hurts.

I understood Leonis's anger... but I don't think Raz needs to do this to earn money. He's a noble, right?

Furthermore, the Enchantment technique is kept secret, and only a few dwarf blacksmiths and elves can create magic swords. Magic-attribute weapons are mostly obtained as drops in the dungeon. It's rare to have a magic sword without special connections.

"So, this large magic stone infused with fire magic is valuable, right?"

"Yes. Selling it alone could provide enough treasure to live comfortably for a year. Got it? If you don't want to be kidnapped for profit, don't make them in front of others. And only make them for family."

"...Yes. I'm sorry."

I was allowed to make them for family, so I decided to complete Naga's greatsword. I removed the small magic stone I attached last time and replaced it with a large one.

I had prepared a magic stone holder through crafting yesterday, so I disassembled the blade and grip, attached the holder to the end of the grip, and reassembled it.

I also attached the small magic stones as decorations on both sides of the guard.

"Wow... it looks great."

"Ah..."

"Let me modify the magic stone a bit."

"Huh? Isn't it complete already?"

"Well, it's complete, but... I want to practice deforming the magic stone a bit."

"Practice?"

Yes, practice.

Tiny magic stones are embedded in grooves and shaped flat by channeling mana. So, it should be possible with a large magic stone. While channeling mana, I shaped it to make it difficult to remove.

According to Leonis, it's valuable, so I don't want it to be taken away with the greatsword. I want to change its shape to make it difficult to remove from the holder.

It was harder to change the shape than I thought... so I drank an MP potion and channeled mana more forcefully.

The shape started to change gradually, and the spherical magic stone flattened and covered the holder.

"Done!"

"Ah... thank you."

"No problem. You're protecting us, so it's mutual. When your MP is low, you can use the mana from this magic stone."

"Hey, can you do mine too?"

"Tomorrow... I'm too low on MP. I need to save some for emergencies..."

After all, the MP I recovered with magic pills and potions is almost depleted. I drank another magic pill to speed up MP recovery. Brother also drank a magic pill and continued using Life Detection. When I asked if he wanted to switch, he insisted he was fine.

For the rest of the time, I decided to quietly make some arrows. Since we are using bows and arrows, the consumption is high. I recover them after defeating monsters, but not all can be reused, so I need to make more.

I returned the greatsword to Naga and started working on wood.

Since we were bored, Brother and the others joined in the crafting. It's fine even without a workbench.

### End of Day 3

We spent the rest of the day crafting.