Chapter 39: Catacombs Exploration Part 1

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The level of [Scythe Mastery] skill has increased.

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We arrived at the second floor of the “Forgotten Catacombs” using the staircases without any issues. Well, the martial technique of “flying slash” sure came in handy. Just shooting slashes from the rear was enough to provide adequate support for the others. While its power may not match that of magic spells, my abundant magic power allowed me to continuously fire them, making it a cost-effective choice. I’m really eager to learn a new long-range martial technique soon.

“Now, from here on out, it’s unknown territory. Ruby, I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me!”

It seems Ruby used the SP obtained from the event to acquire all the skills that would be useful for exploration. Quite an impressive display! She intends to actively serve as a scout. Being able to stick to the ceiling and move around using the characteristics of a slime monster is quite an advantage, so I hope she continues to develop that skill.

Putting aside the minor details, we set foot into the second level. It’s pitch dark here too, but with our [Night Vision], there was no problem at all.

“Stop. There’s a trap, so I’ll disarm it.”

Oh, Ruby seems to have quickly spotted the trap. She silently descended from the ceiling to the floor and extended a part of her slimy body in a rope-like manner, touching the boundary between the floor and the wall. After a few seconds, there was a click, and the floor a few meters ahead of Ruby opened up.

“Phew, trap disarmed.”

It seemed to be a pitfall trap. When we peered into the pitfall from above, the bottom was filled with sharp swords. If we had fallen, everyone except me would have been full of holes. As for me? Well, I have gaps all over, so it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

We left the vigilance against traps to Ruby and proceeded while casually collecting things along the way. We didn’t collect bones or anything like that, but if there were mushrooms growing, they would be fine. It actually served a dual purpose, cleaning up the catacombs while we were at it.

Ruby had quite a keen eye and kept finding traps and hidden doors one after another. However, as expected, there were monsters lurking behind the hidden doors.

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Race: High Zombie Lv22

Job: None

Skills:

• [Fist Mastery]
• [Stamina Enhancement]
• [Strength Enhancement]
• [Defense Enhancement]
• [Night Vision]
• [Status Resistance]
• [Pain Resistance]
• [Fire Weakness]
• [Light Weakness]

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 Indeed, it is the very same monster that I unleashed in significant numbers within the “Cursed Tomb Tower”. Oh, wait, were they already rotten?

Anyway, let’s stop thinking about trivial things. Their levels were decently high, and there were quite a few of them, but they were no match for us. I used their weakness, the fire-based spell Fire Wave and the rest of the team took care of them individually. It was a simple task. If it were up to me, I would have added some traps around here, but it seems they didn’t think of that. The one who created this place must be quite naive.

And as expected, the dropped item was just as I anticipated. The description is as follows:

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• Magic Stone (Dark) – Quality: Fair, Rarity: R (Rare Class)

A stone generated within the bodies of monsters. It contains dark elemental magic.

It absorbs and accumulates surrounding magic power.

The absorption efficiency is proportional to the quality, and the maximum magic power capacity is proportional to the rarity.

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With these, it seems like I can create “Black Iron”. There were a decent number of high zombies, and I managed to obtain around twenty of the magic stones. Iris speculated that at this rate, we might be able to craft dark attribute weapons for everyone. We’ve decided to hunt down the high zombies whenever we come across them.

Incidentally, most of the items we found in the hidden room were accessories without any noteworthy abilities. According to my [Appraisal] and [Archaeology] skills, they were nothing more than valuable antiques and works of art.

Well then, we don’t need them. Besides, they are all burial grounds’ items. Even though it was just a game, grave robbing was not something we condoned, and Genjuro objected to it here as well, so we didn’t collect the items. We had the harvest of the dark element magic stones, so there was no problem. Namo Amitabha.

Outside the hidden room, we encountered Ratman Warriors and Ratman Mages, just like on the first floor. Their strength was similar to those we encountered before. Hence, we didn’t have any real difficulties or struggles.

Now, as we entered the third floor, we finally encountered enemies that posed a real challenge. They were the Ratman Knights, the subordinates of the Ratman General.

During our previous encounter, I weakened them with the “heat mist” spell and they got swiftly taken out by Jigoro and the others. But here, a Ratman Commander appeared, leading some Ratman Warriors and Ratman Mages. Unable to launch a surprise attack, we were forced to engage them head-on, making the battle quite demanding.

Surprisingly, it was Iris who played a crucial role this time around. Drawing from her experience battling as an event boss, she seemed to have mastered the tactics of a Roper monster. Her skillful maneuvers included restraining enemies with the tentacles and mercilessly striking them with her wooden hammer and axe. She was quite adept at it. Perhaps from now on, I should actively encourage her to attack aggressively.

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Race level increased. Gained 1 SP. 

Job level increased. Gained 1 SP.  

The level of [Staff Mastery] skill has increased.

The level of [Scythe Mastery] skill has increased.

The level of [Magic Control] skill has increased.

The level of [Flame Magic] skill has increased.

The level of [Lava Magic] skill has increased.

The level of [Explosion Magic] skill has increased.

The level of [Enchantment] skill has increased.

The level of [Magic Circle] skill has increased.

Newly learned “Star Magic Circle” spell. 

The level of [Curse] skill has increased.

The level of [Trap Magic] skill has increased.

The level of [Spirit Channeling] skill has increased.

The level of [Black Magic] skill has increased.

The level of [Archaeology] skill has increased.

The level of [Linguistics] skill has increased.

The level of [Appraisal] skill has increased.

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It took quite some time, but we managed to overcome the third floor. Due to thoroughly exploring every corner, we found ourselves in numerous battles along the way. The overall area seems to gradually narrow down from the first floor. I wonder if the fourth floor will be even narrower. While I can’t say for certain, it’s wise to assume that it will indeed be a tight space. We must remain vigilant and not let our guard down.

Now, let’s take a break here. We’ve expended a significant amount of energy from the continuous battles. Taking time to rest is crucial for replenishing our concentration.

This time, it was decided that Iris, Jigoro, and I would take a break first. Usually, it’s me who ends up staying behind, but Ruby and Genjuro kindly offered to take care of things. Ah, having reliable comrades is truly invaluable!

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Alright, I returned. Iris and Jigoro were still… Oh, wait, they’re also back. Since the three of us returned, the other two who were on guard duty logged out for a while. It’s a good time for them to take a leisurely break.

“By the way, Isamu, what happened to that egg?”

“The egg? Oh, I left it in my inventory.”

It was the other half of the reward from the previous event, a monster’s egg. I hadn’t checked on it since then. This past week, I had been busy leveling up my “Scythe Mastery”. Alright, let’s take it out and have a look.

“Um, is this… it?”

Um, this is the monster’s egg, right? It has gotten significantly larger than when I received it, and the shell has turned completely black with red spots here and there, giving it an eerie feel. And if I’m not mistaken, there’s even a pitch-black aura emanating from it…?

“Wow! It became something incredible!” Jigoro said.

“I wonder what will hatch from this…?” Iris wondered.

Jigoro seemed to be quite excited, but Iris appeared quite taken aback. No, no, I didn’t do it on purpose! Oh, but does it absorb my magic power to grow? In that case, it’s partly my fault…

Wait a minute! Does that mean my magic power had such a formidable strength? Well, perhaps it’s understandable since it encompasses abyssal magic that would terrify ordinary people.

However, it was evident that an undoubtedly powerful monster was likely to be born. Let’s try to think positively, yeah.

“By the way, when will it hatch?”

“I don’t know. There’s no description about the timing anywhere.”

There’s absolutely no mention of the hatching timing in the description. For now, since it’s been growing fine even when kept in the inventory, it should be fine to leave it as it is. I carefully put away the egg that had undergone a drastic transformation in appearance.

“Oh, by the way, the PV (promotional video) for the second batch of players was released. Have both of you watched it?” Iris asked.

Oh, really? I had no idea. I honestly shook my head. Jigoro seemed to be in the same boat, shaking his head alongside me.

“In that case, why don’t we watch it now? Although only for a brief moment, there are scenes of all of us showcasing our abilities.” 

“Oh, that sounds interesting.” 

“Yeah, let’s watch it right away!”

Then, let’s go ahead and watch it. The first part seems to be about the tournament. Oh, there’s the match where the hero won in a solo battle and the impressive display by the female player riding a horse that got everyone excited back then. It concludes with the party battle where the hero and the girls emerged victorious for the finish.

Next is the footage of the item fair that was held simultaneously with the tournament. Wow, there’s a variety of items on display. But Iris is capable of creating better high-quality items. Well, for newcomers who want to engage in production, it must be quite appealing.

And finally, the long-awaited dungeon event. It shows players struggling through various difficulty levels of dungeons. The sense of adventure really comes across in the footage.

As the background music reached its climax, it was time for a rush of boss battles! the Great Roper (Iris), with her massive tentacles, swept players aside; the Grand Slime (Ruby), overwhelmed players in a water-filled space; the insector beetle (Genjuro), skillfully maneuvered through a party of obvious strategists with his four-sword style; the mighty Ogre (Jigoro), engaged in a frontal melee against the female player known for her horseback combat; and I, the skeleton executioner, unexpectedly decapitated the hero. Various other monsters were shown in the footage, either defeating or putting up a tough fight against players.

And finally, the last caption appeared: “If the conditions are met, you can play as the same species as those bosses!” It seems like Lady Yifa’s plan to increase the number of monster players is going well. The excitement towards the end was off the charts.

“That was quite a spectacle,” 

“Yeah, I wish I could’ve fought those two (woman and horse) even more!” 

Jigoro, upon watching the PV, seemed to be reminded of the exhilaration of his battles and stood up to start shadow boxing. This battle maniac never loses his edge.

“It seems to have made a big impact. There are many players from the second batch who are declaring on social media that they will play as monsters,” Iris mentioned.

“I see. So, it won’t be just the five of us anymore.” 

Due to the overwhelming difficulty in the early stages, almost everyone gave up, leaving only five monster players remaining. That was how it had been until now, but it seemed that things were going to change. It felt somewhat nostalgic.

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll just do our thing on our own. We don’t intend to actively involve the newcomers,” 

“That’s fine. Even with Iris expanding the Laboratory, our hideout isn’t spacious enough to accommodate an unlimited number of people. Besides, if we’re going to have someone join us, they need to be trustworthy,”

While we may be the veterans among the monster players, it didn’t mean we had an obligation to take care of the newcomers. And just because they were monster players didn’t mean we were obligated to include them in our group. If we happened to come across them and they turned out to be good-hearted individuals, we might consider them allies. That was about it.

“Collaboration and support are necessary, but for the newcomers, we don’t have to rely on each other,” 

“That’s right,” 

The second batch of players would arrive during the Golden Week. It was truly fascinating to see if the number of monster players would indeed increase. It would be something to look forward to.