Chapter 80

Night fell.

Now, what to do.

What to do, however, is only a matter of going north or south.

First, I want to check out the south.

The sky was already dark, and the stars were shining brightly.

The moon was already rising in the eastern sky.

Without the moon, the stars would have been even more vivid.

I haven't encountered any monsters around the village yet.

If it's designed that way, so be it.

At least, they haven't appeared in what used to be fields.

Even with the starlight, enhancing vision is essential.

Ore and Goki will use Noctovision to enhance it.

Well.

What will come out?

A raptor appeared.

But it wasn't the raptor I saw during the day.

A skeleton?

Skeleton Raptor Lv.2

Monster - Target for Elimination - Passive

Indeed, what was there looked like a skeletal specimen in a museum.

The difference was the human soul in the eye sockets and chest.

So, how strong is this thing?

I tried to attack it.

Although it's a skeleton-type monster, its combat style is the same as a raptor.

No, it's slightly different.

To be honest, this monster is more of a nuisance than strong.

Its movements are slower than a raptor.

It probably has less power than a raptor.

But it's hard to deal damage.

It just flies away because its body is light.

This is a common issue with skeleton-type monsters.

The problem is that it's hard to deal direct damage to the human soul.

The bone armor is tough.

While taking damage, Senki and Goki managed to pull out a few ribs.

That was enough to deal with the human soul in the torso.

The head is troublesome.

Senki suppressed it with brute force, and Goki split the skull with a scythe, but it was quite a hassle.

Although we managed to defeat it, I recognized it as a very troublesome opponent.

Moreover, it didn't drop any items.

A Slime Rig might make the battle easier.

But then we encountered a monster that seemed to be a worst match for Rig.

Float Eyes, and there were two of them.

I knew they could launch special attacks with multiple attributes.

Fire was one of them.

Senki went into a frenzy and counterattacked after taking a direct hit from a fire attack.

With Obsidian's help, we managed to finish them off, but the damage couldn't be healed with potions.

It seems that they are stronger at night than during the day.

We managed to secure a crystal ball, so the damage was worth it.

But the terror of the night wasn't just from these monsters.

I want to ask the developers:

Why are the first encounters with new monsters always in large numbers?

At first, it looked like a gas cloud.

But as I got closer, it was different.

Even Obsidian didn't notice its existence at first.

It was a somewhat concentrated mass of fog.

Occasionally, it looked like lightning was running through the cloud.

I used [Identification] and found out it was this:

Haunted Mist Lv.4

Monster - Target for Elimination - Passive

It was indeed a mist.

It was crawling around on the ground.

I decided that using that spell would be the right choice for this pattern.

"Enchanted Weapon!"

I cast it on myself and attacked with the rod.

Yeah.

It seems to deal normal damage.

The monster's HP bar is reduced by about 30%.

This seems to be the right choice.

The next moment.

Several lights appeared in front of me.

At the same time, red markers indicating the presence of monsters filled my field of vision.

Again.

Worse than the swarm of Rock Worms.

The melee began.

It was good to cast Enchanted Weapon on everyone.

But I learned the characteristics of this monster when it touched my thigh.

My HP bar didn't decrease.

But something else did.

My MP bar was decreasing.

Honestly, it's not funny.

Moreover, the monster that touched me had its MP bar increase from almost nothing.

It stole my MP.

That's what it seems.

When it touched me, the monster took some damage, but I didn't have time to focus on that.

Then it used an attack similar to Stone Bullet, consuming the stolen MP.

I took the hit at close range.

What a bunch of bastards.

I could crush them in close combat, but it was very difficult to defeat them without any contact.

If I barely touched them, my MP didn't decrease.

But if contact lasted for about 5 seconds, my MP was stolen.

If there were only a few, it wouldn't be a problem.

The only and greatest luck is the slowness of the monsters' feet.

We might be able to manage.

Not only using the rod but also kicking with my feet was effective, but it wasn't a good method.

If I let my guard down, I might end up touching them for a long time.

It's tough because I don't feel pain even when my MP is drained.

Senki and Goki seem to be taking some hits, but the battle itself is going smoothly.

Unlike me, Senki can kill a monster with one punch.

Goki is using the shield effectively.

Since the shield can deal damage, it's a good way to attack and defend.

Obsidian's MP hasn't decreased at all.

He flies around at high speed and attacks the monsters one after another.

The monsters don't have time to attach to him.

He is now the most reliable force.

The worst is me.

I didn't check the clock.

I'm ashamed that I didn't even notice such a thing.

I didn't know how much time I spent in battle.

10 minutes or 15 minutes.

That's about it.

We finally managed to defeat all of them, but I was far from satisfied.

[Your current battle victory has leveled up your [Staff]!]

[Your current battle victory has leveled up your [Light Magic]!]

[Your current battle victory has leveled up your [Dark Magic]!]

[Your current battle victory has increased your job level!]

[You can add the auxiliary skill [Acrobatics] to your available skills]

[Your current battle victory has leveled up your summoned monster [Senki]!]

[Please add 1 point to any of your status values]

I want to think that the results are sufficient since Senki has leveled up.

The status value that has already increased is agility.

I will specify intelligence for the optional status increase.

Senki - Beast Ape Lv3 → Lv4 (↑1)

Dexterity: 10

Agility: 18 (↑1)

Intelligence: 5 (↑1)

Strength: 25

Vitality: 25

Spirit: 4

Skills:

Punch, Kick, Throwing, Blocking, Evasion, Climbing

It should have been a joyous occasion.

But I can't be happy considering the rate of MP consumption.

Two magic stones were left behind after the monsters were defeated.

But I still can't be happy.

Only I have taken damage to my HP bar.

The damage was fully healed with one potion.

The problem is the MP.

Obsidian has no damage at all.

Senki has about 30% of his MP bar reduced, and Goki has about 10%.

My MP bar is reduced to about 50%.

This is no good.

This is a situation that needs to be reflected on.

I should have enhanced my abilities with enchantment spells.

What should I do?

I'll try to come up with a little trick.

The next encounter was also a Haunted Mist.

This time, I made sure to be active from the beginning.

I thought it was just one, but there were 10 of them.

What a trap.

I cast Enchanted Weapon on everyone again.

I also cast Physical Enchantment Wind on myself to boost my agility.

Well.

How will it go?

The fact that I had more mental margin might have been better than the boost in agility.

My MP bar was reduced to less than half, but I could fight without the monsters stealing my MP.

This might be a good immediate countermeasure.

But what is needed is a wider field of vision.

It's extremely difficult to sense the presence of these monsters.

What about the countermeasures for Senki and Goki?

Goki is still okay.

But Senki, due to his style of fighting with bare hands, doesn't feel pain and doesn't notice when he is attached to.

I can't think of a clear countermeasure for this.

But I can change the formation.

Obsidian's fighting style has been proven effective.

I will recall Senki and summon Bat Gene.

This formation might struggle against Skeleton Raptors.

I will have to cover for that.

"Geu"

Goki sounded reluctant.

Don't worry, you can meet Senki anytime.

I originally intended to move away from the village.

But it's not a good idea to move too far from the area portal, the Wind Spirit Village.

I hope I can eventually handle night battles.

I moved closer to the village and circled around it.

Even after two rounds, no monsters attacked.

But I did encounter them.

Float Eyes, Skeleton Raptors, and Haunted Mists.

Active monsters come closer, but they become passive halfway.

Is it that they can't get close to the village?

But if this is the case, we can choose to fight the monsters.

It might be useful.

I challenged the Haunted Mist that emits a faint light.

With this monster, you can't tell how many there are until you start fighting.

There might be several around the one that is glowing.

Being able to cast Enchanted Weapon on everyone before the battle starts is somewhat advantageous.

But I can't shake off the anxiety of not knowing the enemy's strength.

Even Gene's echolocation can't detect them.

They are a real problem.

But with the current formation, we can advance in a very advantageous battle.

It's easy because Obsidian and Gene are flying around and dealing damage to the monsters.

Ore and Goki finish them off.

It's very efficient.

[Your current battle victory has leveled up your summoned monster [Gene]!]

[Please add 1 point to any of your status values]

Gene finally leveled up after a long time.

I'm sorry I haven't been able to use him effectively lately.

Gene's status value that has already increased is vitality.

I will specify strength for the optional status increase.

Summoned Monster - Gene - Bat Lv4 → Lv5 (↑1)

Dexterity: 15

Agility: 18

Intelligence: 12

Strength: 10 (↑1)

Vitality: 11 (↑1)

Spirit: 11

Skills:

Bite, Flight, Echolocation, Evasion, Ambush, Vampire

The numbers are still far from beautiful.

I might accumulate some experience in this map.

Let's continue hunting.

The mood is not bad.

Rather, it's in excellent condition.

But that's when bad habits start to show.

It's almost 11 PM.

My MP bar is down to 20%.

It's time to call it a night.

But one more time.

Just one more battle.

I want to make the next battle the last.

That's when this happens.

Holy Ray Lv.???

Monster - Target for Elimination - Active

It's clearly a different monster.

Again, I only noticed after the battle started.

But there's nothing I can do about it now.

It looks the same as a Haunted Mist.

But if you look closely, the pattern of the light is slightly different.

It's also a bit larger as an individual.

The fact that there's only one is a relief.

Obsidian and Gene keep dealing damage, but it's hard to reduce the HP bar to half.

It tries to steal MP from Ore and Goki while taking damage.

Not only that, but it has a decent amount of MP from the start.

Ore and Goki are hit by fire.

Obsidian and Gene are hit by lightning.

Damn.

You really did a number on us.

I was using Noctovision to maintain my vision, but I tried to shine a Flash Light to confirm its appearance.

What a surprise.

The monster is trying to escape.

Its speed is faster than the Haunted Mist, but much slower compared to us.

Should we let it take damage and escape like this?

I challenged it with a fight that felt like hitting a mist.

The rod passes through the almost transparent body of the monster, dealing damage.

It's quite unsatisfying.

The body of the monster stretches out like tentacles, trying to entangle me.

It's hard to judge.

The monster is trying to escape from the light source, but it doesn't stop attacking.

What a nuisance.

After about 5 minutes of pursuit, we managed to defeat the monster.

It was a tough opponent.

The HP bar was in a terrible state.

I didn't have enough MP to spare.

No, it was my fault for not using [Identification] beforehand.

[Your current battle victory has leveled up your [Lightning Magic]!]

[You have obtained the spell [Resist Lightning]!]

[You have obtained the spell [Magnetic Force]!]

[You have obtained the spell [Thunder Arrow]!]

[Your current battle victory has leveled up your [Summoning Magic]!]

[The maximum number of monsters you can summon simultaneously has increased to 4]

[Your current battle victory has increased your race level! Please add 1 point to any of your status values]

I'm leveling up.

This monster seems to follow the same pattern as the gas cloud.

It seems to be a very profitable monster, even though it didn't drop any items.

I glanced at the status displayed on the virtual window.

I will increase the strength value.

I decided immediately without hesitation.

Base Status:

Dexterity: 16

Agility: 16

Intelligence: 20

Strength: 16 (↑1)

Vitality: 15

Spirit: 20

[2 bonus points have been added. The total is now 11 points]

Hmm.

It was a tough battle, but the gains were significant.

But I can't take it easy.

I will move to the village and recover with potions.

If I encounter a monster in this situation, it could be fatal.

I canceled the Flash Light spell and hurried.

I managed to reach the Wind Spirit Village without encountering any monsters.

Well, I almost fought with Float Eyes, but they didn't pursue me into the village's territory.

I was lucky, I guess.

Finally, I can take a breather.

Today, I gained a lot of things.

There are many things I want to confirm, and it's hard to organize them.

Let's secure a place to sleep first.

I cast the Flash Light spell to create light above my head.

I chose a dilapidated house that could protect me from the wind and set up a tent there.

The ceiling is completely open.

I'll think positively and assume it won't fall.

I fixed the ropes to secure the tent with large stones.

I also took out a blanket from the [Item Box].

I want to log out immediately, but I should check my items.

The potions I have are down to about half.

I have empty bottles, and I brought wound-sealing