Chapter 20

"It's more troublesome than I thought..."

After retreating, I sat down in a resting spot where no monsters appeared and reorganized myself.

There are such safe zones scattered throughout the dungeon where you can eat and rest.

When I arrived, there were already two parties in this place.

Both parties consisted of a warrior, a scout, a priest, and a mage, following the standard formation.

The monsters we encountered earlier also worked in parties, complementing each other's weaknesses.

They must be using teamwork to multiply their strength and hunt on this fourth floor.

I averted my gaze from them and began to think.

What I need to figure out now is how to break through their formation.

I'm receiving support from the Adventurer's Guild and Salome, so if I return empty-handed, they might judge me as hopeless and cut off the support.

Such a bad feeling crossed my mind.

There are three... no, two methods.

The first is to retreat to the third floor and level up again.

By increasing my magic power, I can learn a spell that can instantly kill Warrior Kobolds and Warrior Goblins before descending to the fourth floor.

However, it's unclear how long this will take.

My magic skill level is currently 6, so I can shoot up to six magic arrows simultaneously.

I confirmed during the hunt on the third floor that increasing my magic power boosts the spell's power, but I don't know how much I need to increase it to achieve an instant kill.

This is because even monsters of the same type become stronger as you go deeper. At this stage, I haven't fully gauged the strength of the Warrior Kobolds and Warrior Goblins on the fourth floor.

Since my mage level is already 15, if I allocate the remaining level-up and stat points to magic power, I don't know how many points I need to achieve an instant kill.

The second method is to somehow take out the rear enemies first.

From what I can see, the Kobold Archers and Goblin Mages aren't wearing particularly strong armor.

If I switch my class back to warrior and increase my strength, I should be able to take them down with fewer hits.

The problem is how to get close to them, but I can't figure it out.

I decided to reread the countermeasures Salome prepared.

"The monsters that spawn on the fourth floor are basically Warrior Kobolds, Warrior Goblins, Kobold Archers, and Goblin Mages. The Warrior Kobolds attack with magic from a distance, and the Warrior Goblins use the [Rapid Fire] skill to keep the enemy at bay. Use the [Safety Wall] skill to block arrow attacks and get close to the Goblin Mages to take them down."

"I see..."

If it were that easy, it wouldn't be a problem.

It seems that the monsters get stronger as you go deeper, making solo combat difficult.

The skill names mentioned in the explanation are written as if they are naturally acquired by the time you reach this floor.

They don't appear on my list of available skills, but apparently, ordinary people naturally learn skills as they continue adventuring, so if I meet the conditions, I might be able to use them eventually.

I suddenly looked up and met the gaze of one of the adventurers.

It seems they had been watching me.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just unusual to see someone alone on this floor. Did you get separated from your party?"

"No, I'm originally solo..."

It seems they were worried about me.

Since they initiated the conversation, I might as well ask a question.

"Excuse me, do you know what the [Rapid Fire] and [Safety Wall] skills are?"

"[Rapid Fire] is a skill you learn from using a bow. You hold two arrows in your hand and shoot them in quick succession at the enemy. The power is reduced, but it can temporarily stop the enemy's movement, making it a useful skill for breaking formations."

"I see..."

As I nodded, a woman dressed like a priest approached.

"[Safety Wall] is a skill you learn from using healing and blessing magic. It creates a wall of magic that deflects arrow attacks."

"That sounds really useful..."

With that, half of my worries would be solved.

"Are you going back to hunting now?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Could I watch you if it's not too much trouble?"

I want to observe how they fight on this floor and learn from it. With that in mind, I asked them.