Chapter 55

"Alright, let's start the lecture right away. Since it's the first day, we'll start with the basics. You might already know this, but it's important, so please listen as if it's a review. Today, we'll talk about the monsters that explorers fight."

In dungeon exploration, battles with monsters are inevitable.

Knowing the characteristics of monsters can greatly affect your survival rate, so it's absolutely essential to understand them.

"First, as a fundamental point, monsters have the habit of attacking humans. The exact reason for this is unknown, but the most popular theory is that humans, by breathing in the magic in the air, accumulate a high density of magic within their bodies, which the monsters target."

Monsters do not attack other types of monsters.

However, since monsters also breathe, it is believed that they have a high density of magic within their bodies.

Despite the popularity of this theory, there are many elements that can refute it, so no definitive conclusion has been reached.

"Because of this, monsters tend to target places with a high concentration of people. However, this is not the only factor that determines their actions. Monsters do not target other monsters. —However, they do target magic stones."

This is another action by monsters that contradicts the earlier theory.

Once a monster turns into a magic stone, other monsters will try to ingest the magic stone.

Furthermore, this action has a very high priority.

Ingesting one or two magic stones may not cause any changes, but the more magic stones a monster ingests, the stronger it becomes proportionally.

"If there is a small group of people and a single person holding a magic stone at a distance, the monster will often attack the person with the magic stone. It's not absolute, though. Additionally, monsters will attack humans who are attacking them. This is natural, considering the survival instinct of living beings."

Therefore, attackers must be careful not to provoke too much hostility from the monsters while attacking.

Blindly attacking is not a good position to be in.

"Defenders often equip magic stones on their gear, right? They use the monsters' nature to their advantage by waving the magic stones in front of the monsters while attacking, thus drawing the monsters' hate and concentrating the attacks on themselves."

"Oh, I see."

Sophie murmured, as if she had understood something.

"What is it?"

"N-no, it's nothing."

Sophie blushed and hesitated to answer.

I know her personality, and usually, it would be fine, but not here.

"Even if you're wrong, say it. If you're wrong, you'll end up remembering incorrect information, and if you're right, it's better for everyone to share that knowledge."

"Y-yes, you're right. Well, the other day, when Orun was fighting the black dragon, before the real battle started, he put on a necklace with a magic stone, right? Was that to draw the black dragon's hate towards Orun?"

"……. Correct. You observed that well in that situation."

I genuinely praised Sophie.

When the black dragon appeared, the newbies were in a panic.

Yet, she noticed and remembered my casual action, which is not something most people could do.

Even when we were attacked by a group of orcs, she managed to handle the situation, albeit barely. Sophie might have a broader perspective than I thought.

"Sophie is amazing! To notice such a detail!"

"Ah, thank you."

Sophie's face turned bright red, as if she was flustered.

I want to build her confidence, little by little.

"Let's get back to the topic. As mentioned, the behavior of monsters is as described. Some explorers bring many magical devices for combat when exploring dungeons. However, it's better not to do that."

"Is it because magical devices require magic stones?"

Log asked.

"Exactly. While combat magical devices are convenient for easily casting attack spells, using them requires magic stones. The more magic stones you carry, the more likely you are to be targeted by monsters, so it's better to bring only the essential ones."

"But, wouldn't it be better to store them in a storage magical device?"

"Storing them in a storage magical device reduces the likelihood of attracting monsters compared to holding them in your hand, but it doesn't eliminate it. …Let's say, for example, that magic stones emit a scent that only monsters can detect. Storing them in a storage magical device can suppress this scent to some extent, but a little will still leak out. Therefore, the more you carry, the more likely you are to attract monsters."

"I see. I didn't know that. You really have a lot of knowledge, Master!"

Log looked at me with admiration.

Really, it's embarrassing….

Unrelated, but I'm reminded again how important first impressions are.

"…Well, I've dabbled in various areas of knowledge. —Also, have you heard that the longer you stay in a dungeon, the more likely you are to encounter monsters?"

"Ah! Yes, yes! The one where 'the dungeon starts to get serious after the explorers get tired,' right?"

Among explorers who don't have much knowledge, there are quite a few who say this.

I thought the same way when I first became an explorer…

"This is also due to the reason I mentioned earlier. As you continue exploring the dungeon, the number of magic stones in your storage magical device increases, attracting more monsters. Therefore, in dungeon exploration, it's better to judge when to return based on the amount of magic stones you've collected rather than the time."

As a side note, my storage magical device is better at suppressing the scent (hypothetically) of magic stones compared to a typical one.

Really, I wonder what was going on in the old man's head who made this.

I can't even decipher the inscribed spells…

Thank you for reading to the end.

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