Chapter 37 of 100

Chapter 37

11 min read2,667 words

Well, let's go.

Most likely, or rather, it is almost certain that the passages not taken in each hall are connected.

What kind of traps are there?

As I proceeded down the dark passage, I encountered three mushrooms right away.

But one of them was a tricky one.

Rush Fungus Lv.2

Monster - Target for Elimination - Active State

The other two Fungi are also somewhat strong, at levels 3 and 4.

Until now, the mushrooms I've encountered were only at levels 1 to 3.

There's also something concerning about this Rush Fungus, a mushroom monster.

It might be trivial, but it's the most lewd of all the mushrooms I've met.

Go back to the adult shop shelves.

In any case, this is my first time facing it.

I won't make the first move and will intercept the attacking mushrooms.

I increased my defense for close combat with Physical Enchantment - Earth.

I left the lead mushroom to Mii-chan and faced the next one.

I'll just roll it over for now.

Immediately, Wolf and Jean attacked, starting to chip away at the HP bar.

Now, the main one.

The cap on its head isn't fully open, and the tip is somewhat pointed.

If it charges at me, it'll be troublesome.

I'll circle around to its side and kick it.

Then I'll hit it with an elbow to the head.

The cap part of the head was quite hard.

This isn't good.

This feels dangerous.

I select and cast the next spell.

At the same time, the monster moved.

It had the same motion as the previous mushrooms, but its speed was in a different league.

I barely managed to dodge.

The monster crashed into the wall formed by the plants in the passage and then disappeared.

Huh?

Is that it?

It wasn't over.

A strange sound came from the other side of the wall.

It burst through the wall and charged at me.

This time, I managed to dodge properly.

I thought it would crash into the wall again, but the monster seemed to hold back.

"Physical Enchantment - Fire!"

I increased my strength and paid attention to the monster's movements.

The two mushrooms I could see out of the corner of my eye were mainly being dealt with by Wolf and Mii-chan.

They were visibly struggling but managed to prevent them from getting up and were chipping away at their HP bars.

Just hold on a bit longer.

The monster in front of me seemed to have set me as its target again.

It charged at me.

I also closed the distance, timing it with its attack.

I planned to use its momentum against it.

That's my strategy.

Just before contact, I crouched down and slid under the monster's feet.

Then we made contact.

This time, I pushed up from my shoulder, lifting the monster.

The key is to throw it without stopping its momentum.

The monster was launched up, then slammed to the ground and rolled away.

I could see that its HP bar had been significantly reduced.

Naturally, I moved to follow up.

I jumped on the monster as it tried to get up and aimed for under the cap.

The feel was not much different from the previous mushrooms.

If the cap part is hard, there's a way to deal with it.

I tried thrusting with my palm strikes on the main body, and they seemed to penetrate well.

Good.

I concentrated my attacks with palm strikes under the cap.

When my fingertips started to penetrate significantly, I grabbed the edge of the cap with both hands.

I abandoned the mount position and used my feet to hold down the body while trying to peel off the cap.

A strange sound reached my ears, but I ignored it.

A crack had formed between the hard cap and the main body.

The cap started to peel off.

I eventually managed to separate the cap part.

Well, I'm the culprit.

It's a bit of a horror scene.

The monster's HP bar had successfully been reduced by nearly half.

Without the cap, it no longer looked lewd.

But it's good that it's dead.

I thrust my right hand, in the form of a palm strike, into the crack on the head.

I also grabbed the crack with my left hand.

I pulled it apart.

It was a mushroom, after all.

Surprisingly, a large crack formed easily.

The crack had progressed halfway through the body.

The HP bar was well below half.

What?

It's surprisingly fragile.

But the mushroom's flailing hands were hitting my body, and my HP bar was steadily decreasing.

No hesitation, right?

I stepped into the crack and used both hands to widen it.

The crack grew larger and eventually split the monster in two.

The monster's HP bar also dropped rapidly.

I successfully silenced it completely.

There are still two more.

I checked the situation to provide support, but one was already dead, and the other was under concentrated attack.

In the end, the summoned monsters finished it off.

"This is a new type of mushroom."

"Yeah."

"Mr. Keith, I got this!"

Adele showed me the mushroom she had peeled from the Rush Fungus.

What is it?

[Material Item] Rock Mushroom - Raw Material - Quality C - Rarity 3 - Weight 0+

Rock Mushroom. A mushroom found in high mountains with very slow growth.

"And there were other mushrooms too."

"Huh?"

[Material Item] Wood Ear Mushroom - Raw Material - Quality C - Rarity 1 - Weight 0+

Wood Ear Mushroom. Elastic and chewy.

At this point, I could only sigh.

It's a mushroom festival today.

We continued deeper into the passage.

A different light source, not the flashlights illuminating the dark passage, was visible in the distance.

It seemed to be our destination.

It was another hall.

However, there were eight passages connected to it.

And four human souls were floating in the center of the hall.

[This is the Forest of Wandering Paths]

[To pass through here, you should come to this place last]

Then the human souls scattered in four directions.

Four of the eight passages had human souls glowing like lights above their entrances.

"This seems to be the endpoint."

"But nothing else will happen."

"Because there are still passages we haven't taken."

"Yeah."

What route should we take to meet the conditions?

The route that came to mind seems to meet the conditions.

But verifying it would take too much time.

We should prepare again and then challenge it.

Retreat, retreat.

"I think I have a good idea of what's here. How about tomorrow? Can both of you make it?"

"Sure."

"No problem!"

"Then let's do it tomorrow. Log in, have breakfast, and let's tackle this place."

"Okay!"

We left the hall through the entrance to the right.

A blue human soul was flickering above that entrance.

That should be the entrance we came in when we entered the dungeon.

The trip isn't over until we return to the front door.

Indeed.

Our path was blocked by those mushrooms.

One Rush Fungus and two Fungi.

Even with a countermeasure, they are still tough opponents.

And this Rush Fungus is stronger than the previous one.

It's level 4, slightly stronger, but it feels even stronger than the numbers suggest.

How to defeat it?

The same as before.

It's not like taking off a wig.

The cap part is hard, and I was hit a few times while peeling it off.

One hit grazed me, and my HP bar was visibly reduced.

Scary.

Once the cap is peeled off and split vertically, you can deal massive damage without critical hits.

I know that.

But that doesn't make the battle any easier.

I still need more attacks.

We managed to defeat them all, and the awaited information rang in my head.

[Your Summoning Magic level has increased!]

[You can now summon up to 3 monsters simultaneously.]

[Your Job level has increased!]

[You can now learn the Support Skill "Loud Voice."]

Hmm.

Increasing the number of simultaneous summons just before we're about to leave, is that really the right timing?

I'm definitely happy, but it would have been even better if it had happened a bit earlier.

There's no need to hesitate.

I should summon a new monster.

It will definitely turn the tide of battle in our favor.

I had Adele and Irena wait a bit while I selected and cast the spell.

"Summon Monster!"

A monster taller than me appeared from the magic circle.

A Wood Golem.

For a tank, a Golem is a natural choice.

It's made of wood, but the texture is so heavy that you don't even notice.

It's a solid tank.

I had already decided on a name, so I named it and checked the status screen.

Jericho - Wood Golem Lv.1

Dexterity: 4

Agility: 4

Intelligence: 4

Strength: 32

Vitality: 31

Spirit: 4

Skills:

Punch, Kick, Magic Resistance [Minor], Self-Repair [Minor], Block

What a refreshing sight!

It's a true tank.

"Mr. Keith, did you...?"

"My level increased. I hope this makes things a bit easier."

"A Wood Golem, huh."

The Wood Golem looks more human-like than the Branch Golem.

It's also imposing.

When I touched it, it felt very hard.

The skills are also noteworthy.

It has some resistance to magic.

And it has self-repair.

This skill seems to recover HP while it's not taking action.

It's a moving wall.

It sacrifices other stats, but that's understandable.

We moved forward and waited for the monsters to attack.

Jericho's movement speed is slow, but in a dungeon like this, it's within an acceptable range.

The key is its combat performance.

Jericho's first opponent was a Branch Golem.

At first, I was worried because there were five of them at once.

No problem.

It was deflecting attacks from three of them one after another.

It was very powerful, throwing one at another.

Its attack power is amazing.

Standing next to it, I felt safe and could fight more easily.

Of course, it was taking damage, but compared to me, it was minimal.

Its defense is amazing.

Its movements, however, were not particularly fast and had a sluggish feel.

But it's still sufficient.

I took care of one, and Wolf and Mii-chan focused on another.

I can leave it to them.

I threw the one in front of me and focused on crushing it.

The ground was my weapon.

On the third throw, a strangely dry sound echoed.

Looking at the monster's HP bar, it had been significantly reduced.

Critical hit?

Without thinking, I followed up.

I threw it again as it tried to get up and finished it off.

On to the next one.

I caught one of the three Jericho was holding and threw it from behind.

At the same time, I selected and cast a spell.

Jericho's HP bar was down to about 30%.

"Light Heal!"

I tried a light magic healing spell on Jericho.

It didn't fully recover, but it was about 90%.

That's enough for now.

A tank recovering significantly must be a desperate sight for the enemy.

For us, it's reassuring.

Mii-chan and Jean were already attacking the one I threw before it could get up.

I'll leave it to them.

I grabbed one of the two Jericho was holding from behind and performed a back suplex.

One!

I didn't let go of the locked arms and performed another back suplex as it got up.

I could do whatever I wanted because I knew Jericho was holding the others.

The Branch Golem was down after a few throws.

The last one was crushed by Jericho's fist.

That must have hurt.

Even a Branch Golem should be hard, but its joints were crushed and deformed.

Some parts of its body were literally shattered and scattered.

It's impressive that its strength stat is over 30.

Most importantly, winning this battle without relying on fire magic is a significant achievement.

I can't always use the fire magic spell Pyrokinesis.

Physically, Jericho seems to be a reliable ally.

The downside is that its slow movement limits its attack opportunities.

"I peeled it off."

"The logs are piling up."

"I'm starting to feel a bit cramped."

"I'll carry them."

It was starting to affect us.

The log series items weigh 2, and the Item Box is almost at its weight limit.

I'm already full of Branch Golems.

For some reason, the next opponents were six mushrooms.

Two of them were Rush Fungi.

Their heads are still lewd.

No, our forces are a bit stretched.

I took one Rush Fungus, and I left the other to Jericho.

Even though I know how to defeat it, it's not an easy opponent.

I'm a bit worried about Jericho, but I have to rely on its hardness.

I focused on quickly defeating the monster in front of me.

The monster charged, but I managed to shoulder it and drop it headfirst.

Shoulder throw to head drop.

A human would die instantly.

But this is a monster, and its head is covered by a hard cap.

I checked the HP bar to see if I had reduced it, and the result was unexpected.

The monster's head was embedded in the ground.

Given the situation, it was a bit inappropriate, but I couldn't help but laugh.

Should I just leave it?

While I was slaughtering the other mushrooms, the Rush Fungus remained upside down.

What is this?

It's funny.

Because of that, I created an opening.

Another mushroom attacked me from the side, but I was suddenly on the ground.

There was a snake coiled around the mushroom's feet.

It must have tightened its grip on both legs. Smart.

We finished off the last two Rush Fungi and ended the battle.

But it's mushrooms again.

[Material Item] Shiitake Mushroom - Raw Material - Quality C - Rarity 3 - Weight 0+

Shiitake Mushroom. Known for its good taste.

[Material Item] Porcini Mushroom - Raw Material - Quality C - Rarity 3 - Weight 0+

Porcini Mushroom. Known for its unique and fragrant flavor.

I'm not surprised anymore.

At this rate, we'll find Matsutake mushrooms, right?

"We're here!"

"Huh?"

"Our levels have increased."

"Great! We can summon one more monster now!"

Both of them looked very happy.

It seems their Summoning Magic has reached level 3.

"Any MP left?"

"Should be fine."

"Little, but I'll do it!"

"Hey, hey."

If there's any MP left, it's worth summoning.

It's a welcome boost to our forces.

"Decided on anything?"

"Of course."

"Then go ahead and summon."

"Okay."

And we gained new companions on our journey.

Wolf / U-chan Lv.1

Summoned Monster - On Standby

Tiger / Calico Lv.1

Summoned Monster - On Standby

Oh no.

A fluffy empire is forming.

Two wolves and two tigers in front of me.

That's what I was thinking as I watched them.

Main Character: Keith

Race: Human, Male, Race Level 6

Job: Summoner (Summoner) Lv.5 (↑1)

Bonus Points Remaining: 22

Set Skills:

Staff Lv.4, Punch Lv.3, Kick Lv.3, Joint Locks Lv.3, Throws Lv.3

Dodge Lv.3, Block Lv.2, Summoning Magic Lv.6 (↑1)

Light Magic Lv.3, Wind Magic Lv.3, Earth Magic Lv.3, Water Magic Lv.3

Fire Magic Lv.2, Dark Magic Lv.1

Alchemy Lv.3, Pharmacist Lv.3, Glassworking Lv.3

Coordination Lv.5, Appraisal Lv.5, Identification Lv.5, Cold Resistance Lv.2, Grappling Lv.4

Riding Lv.4, Precision Handling Lv.3, Jumping Lv.1, Heat Resistance Lv.3

Equipment: Kay's Rod, Hare Chestplate + Series, Snow Monkey Arm Guards,

Wild Horse Boots +, Snow Monkey Leather Helmet, Backpack

Item Box ×2

Held Items: Peeling Knife

Titles: Apprentice to the Old Summoner (Provisional), Guardian of Livestock, Seeker of Moderation

Summoned Monsters:

Wolf - Wolf Lv.4

Crescent - Horse Lv.3 (Resting)

Helix - Hawk Lv.3 (Resting)

Obsidian - Owl Lv.3 (Resting)

Jean - Bat Lv.2

Jericho - Wood Golem Lv.1 (New!)