Is There Anyone Else Who Could Do This, I Wonder...
There’s a plaza at the exit of the 11th floor, so we set up a tent there and camped out. We were told that we could go back to the 10th floor, leave the dungeon, and stay at an inn, but we turned it down, saying we had planned to camp anyway.
As we ate dinner, the topic turned to what we would do on our final day.
At today's pace, they said it should be fine to go through either the 10th or the 11th floor.
If the goal is to level me up, then the 10th floor would be better. But Brother Gerald and the other men are more into the 11th floor. They seemed to really enjoy it.
Since they've been accommodating me and Canal all this time, maybe we should go with the 11th floor.
Canal also agreed, so we chose the 11th floor.
“I figured you guys would go with the 10th floor."
When I explained, “We can still level up on the 11th floor by defeating golems, and I want to test whether my theory about the boss room was correct." Brother Gerald thanked me.
So he caught on, huh? But he looked happy, so that’s fine.
“Even though it's the same D-rank floor, why can’t we go to the 12th or 13th floors?” Canal asked Mr. Salem.
Apparently, the danger level increases from the 12th floor onward.
You *can* still get eaten on the 11th floor, but the overall danger level is lower.
It’s true the attacks were mostly predictable, and while injuries were possible, they didn’t seem likely to be fatal.
When I mentioned, “The Glass Labyrinth on the 9th floor feels like it should’ve been deeper down." they explained that up to the 8th floor, enemies can be defeated with just swords or magic, but from the 9th floor on, you have to think for yourself and use weapons other than swords to get through.
It's true that from the 9th floor onward, it wasn’t just about charging in blindly—you had to strategize, or it felt like you’d never get through.
Could this dungeon have been designed to help adventurers gradually level up? No way... right?
The next day, we went to the 11th floor again.
The desert was still hot, but thanks to Linka's defensive magic, we didn’t get too exhausted and continued our monster hunts.
In the boss room, it turned out my hypothesis was right, and we cleared it in less than half the time it took yesterday.
The loot was 33 stainless steel ingots and a large pouch (amethysts and citrines).
The number of stainless steel ingots matched exactly the number of monsters we had defeated ourselves.
We finished the hunt earlier than expected, but decided to end it there, return to the 10th floor, and leave the dungeon.
Just like last time, we had lunch at the inn while we waited for the loot to be appraised and exchanged.
While waiting, I decided to check my mana levels.
Mana Levels: Water 17, Healing 6
Mana Amount: 9357
Only my water level went up by 2. I hadn’t used it much this time, after all.
But the healing level and mana amount had increased—by a surprising amount.
Maybe it’s because I used defensive magic for long periods during both runs of the 11th floor.
So if I want to level water magic, I should go up to the 6th floor. For healing, the 11th floor might be better.
—-------
When we got back from the dungeon, Mother called for me.
“Hardt, you’ve gone and made something outrageous again." She said as soon as we met.
Apparently, Maria created a cool, breathable fabric. Whether it’s cotton or silk, it retains its properties even after washing.
“But Maria made it, not me." I said.
“You’re the one who suggested using the slime liquid that only eats Tonmi, right?”
“There’s only one slime like that, and producing more is difficult, so shouldn’t we just keep it within the family?” I replied—but I got scolded.
Even if you try to keep it secret, word will spread.
She said it’d be worse when it got out. Was I planning to make enemies of all women?
I didn’t realize the summer struggles of women were that serious.
I don’t know the details, but apparently they wear something like panniers under their skirts to make them puff out, which makes it hot and stuffy in the summer. Plus, it's heavy... probably.
When I pointed out that even if we wanted to make more, it would be hard to secure enough Tonmi and slimes, she said the slime had already split and there were now two.
So I was told to increase the Tonmi population.
I asked if they shouldn’t look for someone else to handle it, and she said they were—but finding someone with the blessing of the Plant God is not easy.
This project works from spring to autumn, but the issue is how to secure Tonmi in the winter.
I really don’t want to get busier...
Isn’t there someone who could take over...?
What do you think about this chapter?
