Chapter 11: [Arc 1] Chapter 6: Finally at the Beginning

Fi-fi-f-f-f-finally, *wheeze* outta, *wheeze* that, *wheeze* freaking sauna hellhole!

Oh, I've been waiting for this message to pop up. Especially lately, when I had to travel through Floor 2. 

Seriously, what was up with that place!? Who would crank up the temperature of their bathwater to such extremes!?

For those who want an explanation, the Dungeon's second floor was a geyser area! Tons upon tons of hot water sources! The temperature was enough for me to almost pick up [Fire Resistance]! But I showed perseverance and stopped myself. Heretic attribute skills and Evil Eye skills are more important than some random Resistance Skills.

Ugh, my HP's still a little down.

Hmm? There's something wrong with my status? Nu-uh! That's right folks! Garami has earned her first skill at Lv.20! It also shows the target's Karma Value now. And just look at this beautiful sight of a skill list!

Things are going smoothly here. I had a serious [Identification]-party to force its level to the point where I can see my skills.

A pretty sweet line-up, right? Huh? Hey, wait a sec! When did an immunity need a level!? Now that I think about it, I saw the level when I selected my skills. I-I kinda forgot about it all. I mean, "Immunity" is such a strong-sounding word... 

Fine, fine. Shame on me. But it can't be that bad? What does the book have to say about this...

Wow. That's wicked. Not as much as if it was, like, limitless, but this works as well. 

From the looks of things, having [Heretic Resistance] must be the key for this thing to truly live up to its name. Let's find the page about Immunity-skills... here!

Ehem. "An Immunity-type Resistance Skill is unlocked when an individual reaches a level of 30 or higher, depending on their comparability with that attribute. One may obtain an Immunity Skill in other ways, as an initial skill, or through a blessing from the gods.

"In the worst case, one cannot obtain an Immunity Skill. On the other hand, even if they do unlock the skill, it will cost no less than 10 Skill..." 10 Skill Points!?

Good thing I got it for free... Guess I should pick up [Heretic Resistance] once I've got the point... and the mean of leveling them both up. They should work in the same way...

Huh? "Skills are easy to get levels on, so there's no need to worry"? As if! You won't believe how long it has taken me to reach this level. I didn't know, nor believe it, either.

It wasn't before [Auto-Mapping] reached Lv.5 in the middle of Floor 2 that I knew how messed up my sense of time had become from living my life inside the Dungeon all my life.

At Lv.5, [Auto-Mapping] gains the feature called "Discovery Date". It's not that fancy, just that it shows when you have discovered certain areas on your mental maps. And there was a 5-month difference from the cave I was born in, to the entrance of Floor 2. At least I know my birthday, but still...

Floor 2 wasn't all that bad. Except Floors 8 and 6, it must be the place with the fewest monster in the Dungeon. I'm not counting the lake due to not knowing what's lurking down there. Thanks to that, and the new [MP Auto-Recovery] skill,  I could farm some proficiency with [Aura of Darkness]. I essentially had it "Always on Display". *Snicker*

Bad puns aside, I got the Element skill to a decent level thanks to that, but the Aura itself is still refusing to take the last step. I did learn more points about the skill. First, it can't protect me against heat or scalding water. Tsk.

The second point is that the skill does not affect me that much. This is evident as my stats never went down, nor did I gain any status ailments. However, [Debuff Reinforcement] seems to gain proficiency even when I use the Aura on myself or inorganic objects. But not as much as using it on real creatures.

The third point is that [Darkness Resistance] goes up a little, even when the Aura's not supposed to affect me. I think this must be a common point for attribute skills. [Poison Fang] increased my [Poison Resistance], but I thought that was because of some of the venom spilling from the fangs. This means I should expect all attribute skills to have some sort of "backfire" towards the user. But I also think that skills such as [Night Vision], [Stealth], and reinforcement skills are safe to not include in this theory.

And my final point here is about the Aura itself. I think its nature must be similar to erosion, as it could weaken even the stone walls of the Dungeons. It was also more effective when applied to the wounds I made with [Poison Fang] instead of simply covering the target with it.

It's good to know more about my abilities, as the tutorial is now done. I opened up the Quest Menu, a special function of the World System that everyone had access to, and retrieved the "Tracking Devices", which appeared out of thin air inside a carton box. Surreal.

The devices looked like oversized light bulbs with the bottom looking like it could be stabbed into the ground with no problems. These won't break after I leave them?

I'll believe that these have some godly qualities in them. Now, onward to the first Power Spot!

---

*Thunk*

And there went the third device. I'm on a roll here!

Despite Floor 1 being a three-dimensional labyrinth of bridges, tunnels, open areas, stalagmites, stalactites, and much more, the floor's not that big as first expected. Around half of Floor 7, which is the third-biggest floor after Floor 3, then 9. 

As for the inhabitants: they're dwindling. No, seriously. There was like, a ton of the usual Greycave Rats and Pond Frogs, but they have almost disappeared since I appeared here. And no, I've not killed them all. They suddenly disappeared.

What gives? Are they that afraid of me? Well, I do look like a ball-shaped, water strider bug with a face that can send even the spirit of Halloween home with its tails between its legs.

Oh well. I've stocked up [Spatial Storage] to the brim with leaves from the third floor. I could survive a famine with ease. Besides, I need to look for the next spot.

The Power Spots that I need to place the devices in emits a pulse of aether, which is shown in a network-like pattern in the Dungeon. This is the Dungeon's blood veins. It can't fake these signals. So I take advantage of them to find spots that are is needed for the Quest. 

Oh? A new spot's close by. Good for me-!? [Danger sense]? But where's it coming from? I looked around, but the place where the skill told me the potential enemy where was blocked by a massive black wall. Wait a sec... when did the Dungeon walls go from grey-blue to black?

There's a snake in the grass here. [Identification]!

OOIIII!! The wall's a monster!? From the name of it, it looks like an evolution of the cobras. Maybe the middle tier between the cobras and the king cobra? 

Well, time to run-like-crazy! HEEEEELP!!

---

Alright, this should be far enough away from that slippery monstrosity. Time to calm down, and try to figure out this all.

First, it wasn't visible with [Magic Sight]. This could be that it had too little mana compared to its huge body. If not, then it probably used some concealment-type skill. I should have used [Discern] on the skills. Not that it was worth risking my life over it.

The second problem was that thing besides its name. "Floor Boss" is easy to understand, but when did those start to appear? The king cobra must be the boss of Floor 9, but Floor 8 was deserted. On the other hand, Floor 7 had several... that's it!

The three Glavras boss monsters were on different floors! The Sahuagins and those... rebel dinos? The Sahuagin faction must have sneaked past the boos on the sixth floor, then entered a war with the boss of the seventh floor. The bosses of the eight- and sixth floors then came to support the seventh-floor boss, leaving their floors empty. 

The first four floors must have a middle-stage Glavras monster. That happens in games, where a former boss monster gets degraded to a normal mob as you proceed in the game. Either that, or it was that those guys at the war floor are simply the elites of the Dungeon. Not so sure about Floor 5, and I'm not sure I wanna know.

I've been lucky until now, as I've yet to face a Floor Boss. Still, this ain't a game. If you need to challenge the Big Bad, you can just destroy the last door instead of finding that magical key that's needed for it. Also, the Big Bad wouldn't wait for the hero to grow up to the point of being a threat to him either. Just release some of the Four Heavenly Kings right outside the starter town. That takes care of things.

My point is, there's no need to challenge guys like the Floor Boss if your only goal is to proceed to the next floor. That's what I've been doing, only in reverse. 

I don't think the Floor Boss will notice me placing the devices, as long as I'm careful. Still, that was a close call back then. I better take this with more caution than before. 

---

Spot nr. 7, are you there? 

Two days after the snake incident, and I've yet to encounter it again. On the other hand, I've found three more Power Spots to place the markers on. I gave up on the spot close by the snake.

Another thing that's changed is that the monsters have popped up again. It must have been that they were keeping a distance from the snake before.

That allowed me to hunt a little, just to stay in shape. Due to that, my level rose to Lv.9, leaving me just one level short of evolving! I'm getting excited here. I also reached Lv.10 with [Strength Increase (Small)] and [Camouflage], so that's more Skill Points to me!

I had enough to check, and yes, I could get [Heretic Resistance] for a single point! I'll wait with getting it when I know what skill I want to use for grinding the resistance and the immunity skills.

But before all that, I need to finish placing these devices. While I won't get the Rogue class just yet, having more Skill Points before evolving won't hurt. 

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Just as I was thinking that I rounded the corner to find the Power Spot... with a device already stabbed into it.

What's this supposed to be? Have I been here before? The maps say that this place is new... and after taking a better look at the device, isn't it a little different from the ones I have? Like, they were made by different manufacturers.

Ugh, don't tell me my joke from before came true? Thinking about it, by the current flow of events, there would have been human adventurers in this world. Ugh... this is bad. My Skill Points may be stolen from me! I've worked hard to unlock this Quest, so you no-names have no right to just barge in like that!

Crap, crap, crap! What shall I do?! What happens in a situation like this? The Quest Menu, Quest Menu... 7/10 devices placed? I've only placed six. Ah, it went up to 8/10. Is it the intruders?

Then, does it not need to be me who has to place the devices? What about the rewards? Or, I've placed 60% of these, so I have the highest right to the price. 

If that's the case... why not let the other guys do all the hard work, then I get the points without working anymore? 

Ha-ha! Bad luck, suckers! You work, you lose! Mwa-hahaha!

Still, I better find these guys and make sure they place the last two devices. Are there any footprints or something... there is! They went that way... and from the size and shape of the footprints, we're talking about humans here, or something similar. They're holding themselves to the bottom floors, so I'll climb up and follow them from the bridges and "rooftops" of the tunnels and boulders. 

---

I've should consider getting the Detective class here. 'Cause there they are.

A group of six humans. Or, humanoids? One of them looks like they're a goblin thief... or a hobgoblin thief? He doesn't lose in height to the human swordsman wearing a cowboy hat and leather armor. There's also a warthog in armor, an elf with large spectacles plus a huge backpack, a human girl in priest clothes of a practical fashion, and someone clad in white robes while hiding their face. 

She kinda looks like a desert bandit. Despite her hiding her face, she can't hide that nice bod of hers! Damn... if I had to be reincarnated as a woman, then I would want such a body type. Then I could have some enjoyment on my own if I never could find a partner... I'll just move on...

Tsk. I can't reach them with [Identification] from here. I wanted to see if I could learn something from their skills. I missed that opportunity with the snake, so I wanted to see if I could make up for that mistake here.

The... adventurers? They were messing around with the Power Spot. The elf guy with the backpack kept on instructing the rest of them, while the cowboy hat guy... loudly complained about him being ordered while being the boss? Guess [Language Adaption] has picked up a new lingo for me.

They kept the area lightened up with some magical light ball thingies. Looks useful. Except that they're leading an army of cobras towards themselves! 

Look around, you nincompoops! Argh, they can't see the cobras due to the strong light from the light balls. Haven't they ever been inside a Dungeon before?

Ugh. If I wanna have them do my dirty work, I need to make them notice the incoming cobra army.

Nevertheless, jumping down from up here ain't any clever, so, time to get that "Aura by thread" idea of mine working. Even if my throwing arm isn't the best in the world... and it's quite the distance to the closest cobra and me...

Alright. I know when I'm beaten.

It's a good thing I had obtained an extra Skill Point. Now, time for some army disruption! And getting that point back so I can use it on [Heretic Resistance] later.

I added a right-sized rock to the end of my thread, creating a simple sling. I swung the rock above my head and aimed at a cobra. This is quite difficult. Good thing I've practiced when making webs on only two legs. Swinging a sling on three is easy when compared to that... so I keep telling myself.

*Smack!*

Strike! But no time to celebrate. I quickly used [Aura of Darkness] on the thread-sling, and the Aura crept down the thread, and right onto the cobra!

"SHHAAAA?!" - Cobra

That got the adventurers' attention. The guy in the cowboy hat shouted some orders and went to the frontline with the armored orc and the robed woman.  The priestess and elf made the rearguard, while the hobgoblin hurried up with planting the device. 

The first to make a move was the priestess. Some kinda white magic circle appeared below the adventurers on the front line. Probably some kinda buff spell, as the adventurers flashed for a small moment. 

Seeing this, the cobras started to attack. But the first three guys were swept away by the orc's halberd. Wait, three cobras in one strike!? That orc's not gonna turn into pork chops by the first. 

The cowboy hat leader didn't slack him either. He drew the sword on his hip, he started to slash at the cobras... even when they were too far away to be... hit!? What was that? Some kinda force came from the sword slash and hit the cobras! Magic? Better said, sword magic!? Too cool!

The robed girl used a sword too, but she was of the more standard type. But man, she's good at it. Did she just stab two cobras at the same time? And how's she moving so fast? Oh, a flying slash!

If I had to compare them, I would say that the cowboy hat is more reliant on his skill and that "sword magic" of his, while the robed girl is more talented with the sword alone. I think that the cowboy hat is only relying on his skills. His movements look... stiff, in some ways.

Robe girl's got more fluid movements. It's like she's dancing instead of butchering big-ass cobras. Kinda feel like I'm watching two characters, one high-powered one but steered by an amateur, and a weaker character played by an expert. You know, the guys that can clear the game only at level one? Not to that extent, but it's a good analogy. I think I'm turning into a fan of the robed girl.

Did you just see what I just saw? Lv.10!? And I've done nothing except for that sling attack just now! Well, there is a good 20 cobra corpses down there now, so maybe there was enough? The few cobras I saw before were barely Lv.10, but they are still stronger than me. Maybe they're rank E?

But anyway, YAHOOOO!! Thank you, robe girl! Oh, and the rest.

*KA-BOOOOOMMM!!*

What the what!? Who did that!? The hobgoblin thief? It looks like he was done with the device, so he joined the fight with a stupid-loud bomb? Is he an idiot!?

"Are you a complete idiot!?" - Cowboy hat & Robe girl

That works too. But I've got no more time for this! I looked over the Floor from what I could see up here, and... there's something big moving in the distance.

The snake's coming!!

Where's the exit!? Wait, calm down! That snake's too fast for me to run away from, and there must be quite the distance from the exit, seeing as these guys are on their third device now. And if that snake eats the adventurers, it may hear from the cobras that something nasty with spider threads is out after the cobras.

Isn't there any way to stop that snake? Those adventures look strong, but not enough to take care of the snake on their own. If I could... huh?

That's... that's it! I just need to time this right. Time for some climbing.

Description:

The Greycave Rat is a monster that is a mutation of normal rats in mountains and caves. They are a staple monster, often found anywhere in the world. Be careful if you eat their meat, as Greycave Rats may house parasites in their bodies.

Appearance:

A Greycave Rat has dull, grey fur, a naked tail, and feet, and looks exactly like a normal rat. Except for the size. An adult Greycave Rat's as big as a house cat.

Abilities:

The Greycave Rat is one of the weakest monsters there is. It's as if its new size had nothing to say. Due to that, they are treated as the bottom-feeders of the bottom-feeders.

Greycave Rats can digest stones and rocks, so some may be tamed to help with mining works.

If a Greycave Rat gets tempted by cheese, they may show incredible powers, equal to a rank F monster. But that only happens once every blue moon.

Alvatria's comment: The funniest thing is, these cat-sized rats can lose to little kittens.

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