Read Novel Full Chapter 218
Chapter 218
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Chapter 218 – Entonia Fire Rock Cave
Despite the fact that it was a hunting ground, two soldiers stood guard at the cave’s entrance.
I bowed slightly to them and entered the cave despite their suspicious glances.
The passageway was fairly wide with a firmly secured rock floor.
After advancing about 20 meters, I saw a huge cave that was probably 20 to 30 meters high.
Its size varied depending on the location, but it was an enormous hollow space that did not feel cramped. Rock connected the ground and ceiling at key points.
It reminded me of a limestone cave I visited on a school trip in elementary school.
The atmosphere was similar, but the scale was much larger. There was enough space to move around freely inside.
But what caught my eye the most was the pulsating rock.
It flickered as if blood vessels were coursing through the rock, and the faint orange light it emitted illuminated the entire cave.
Not everything was in sync, so I knew this wasn’t some kind of “giant creature’s lair” twist.
And the monsters…
(Wow! This looks like an MMO dungeon!)
Near the entrance, a party of about five or six people was scattered around. Each person was aware of their role and moved smoothly while facing the monsters and collecting materials.
(Oh, that archer and tank are working well together! They’re creating gaps in time and immediately luring the next monster. Huh? Did that staff-wielder just combine a water barrier with a breath attack from a different direction without looking? Can you do that with Presence Detection?)
Unlike F-rank and E-rank monsters, they move efficiently, and I think they look cool, too.
No, I can’t stop getting excited!
Me too! I dash forward with my sword in hand, looking for an open hunting ground.
Along the way, I catch the startled glances of hunters who make eye contact with me. Well, that’s just how it goes.
A boy wearing ragged, burnable clothes is charging alone into the depths with a sword in his hand.
Most people are probably thinking, “Oh, that kid who got mixed up in this is going to die.”
―Presence Detection―
―Body Strengthening―
―Investigation: The target is Firebat―
But I don’t care about that. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to survive in this world.
Uhihi… Seii!
Further in, I saw a huge, slow-moving, bright red, four-legged lizard. I swung my sword with all my strength to see if I could decapitate it in one blow.
“Alright, no problem at all!”
‘You have acquired Fire Breath Lv1.’
‘”You have acquired Fire Breath Lv1.’
‘You have acquired Fire Resistance Lv2.’
‘You have acquired Fire Resistance Lv3.’
‘You have acquired Fire Resistance Lv4.’
“Okay, Salamander has Fire Breath Level 3 and Fire Resistance Level 5. Hmph!”
Although there have been few opportunities to use it thus far, the magic defense is adequate, thanks to the bonus stats.
Fire magic is unleashed from above by Fire Bat.
As a test, I swing my arm as I did with Ril and deflect the fireball, which is larger than my head, onto the ground.
(No problem here either.)
My fire resistance is already working. Although my clothes are scorched, I don’t feel much heat.
The remaining flames from the deflected fireball touch the bedrock, which burns as if it had caught fire.
I look at the culprit who threw the fireball. It flies toward the rock shadow near the ceiling, leaving a trail of sparks behind.
After all, its wings are on fire.
Of course, that fire bat must also have fire resistance.
Nice.
I couldn’t help but smile as I flew upward.
Then, unexpectedly, the Fire Bat began to move erratically.
It wasn’t moving that fast.
I grabbed its 30-centimeter-long body and threw it forcefully against the rock wall to stop it.
‘You have acquired Fire Magic Lv. 3.’
Hmm?
The Fire Bat must have Fire Magic Lv. 4 or 5.
I ignored the falling bat carcass, which had been its home.
From behind the rock wall—which I only noticed once I was flying—the fire bats all tried to shoot fire magic at me at once.
“――!”
I was able to stop their chants all at once using Roar.
I obtained the area-of-effect pressure effect from the ogre.
It consumes a lot of magic power, but it feels incredibly effective as I swing my sword and bring the group of fire bats down to the ground.
‘You have acquired Fire Magic Lv4.’
‘You have acquired Fire Resistance Lv5.’
“Hmm, Fire Magic is level 4. Besides that, it can fly, but not very high. It seems to possess some flying ability. Well…”
I instinctively grab a rock the size of a baseball that flew up from below.
Like the other rocks scattered around, it pulsates and glows orange.
It feels like it was thrown with brute force rather than formed with Earth Magic.
Clearly, the culprit is a Flame Rock, though it’s not burning yet.
I’ll try to distinguish between the two patterns and swoop down. I’ll strike the chest, which somewhat resembles the upper half of a human body, with my left hand. My right hand is holding a sword.
“Ouch…”
Even with Body Strengthening, it still hurts a little.
This proves that my defense is still lacking.
However, the pulsating body scatters backward, and magic stones that look like ping-pong balls—as expected of B rank—roll onto the ground with a clattering sound.
‘You have acquired Combination Lv1.’
‘You have acquired Combination Lv2.’
‘You have acquired Combination Lv3.’
‘You have acquired Combination Lv4.’
‘You have acquired Separation Lv1.’
‘You have acquired Separation Lv2.’
‘You have acquired Separation Lv3.’
‘You have acquired Separation Lv4.’
‘You have acquired Ignition Lv1.’
“Wow! Combination and Separation are at level 5, and Ignition is at level 3. This one looks like the most delicious.”
I immediately began dismantling it, extracting only the magic stones and thinking about the most efficient way to do so.
“Unless there’s a hole that allows me to escape to the ground halfway through, it’s probably better not to go too deep.”
Both are things that need to be done.
However, balancing skill collection and money-making is difficult.
Still, let’s start with about 20 of each for now.
Today, I tried various things as a warm-up, checking the distribution of hunters and getting a feel for the situation.
▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽
That night,
As I returned to the inn, I reflected on the information I had gathered and summarized it in my notebook.
Fire Breath… Magic Power
Fire Resistance… Magic Defense
Combination… Defense
Separation… Dexterity
Ignite… Magic Power
The bonus stats for the new skills should suffice for now.
There are three initial skill levels at level 5.
There’s still time before the raid, so I’d like to level them up to 8.
This means Agility will be slightly weak, but Defense should be slightly better with the level 4 Physical Attack Resistance from Flame Rock.
I tried Soul Armor, thinking it might work in a B-rank hunting ground. It seems worth sticking with here.
Since Flame Rock’s defense has surpassed one of mine, if I persist, I should be able to increase it by over 50 with two of these.
However, there are a lot of skills in the other slots this time.
Four out of the five new skills are monster-specific.
I find two of those usable, which I find unexpected and confusing.
It’s a pleasant surprise, but I’m not sure how to use them.
—Ignite—
When I mentally chant the skill name, the magic internalizes and doesn’t manifest outwardly; however, flames wrap around my arms and hands.
This is because I focused on using Ignite within that range.
Incidentally, it only feels slightly warm with no actual heat. I’m not sure if this is due to fire resistance or because I’m the skill user.
I’ve never felt my fingers get hot from a match, so I’m guessing it’s the latter.
Then there’s Fire Breath, which I can’t try right now.
It was also an unexpected usable skill.
It’s like when I joked with Ria that I wanted to breathe fire; now, I can actually do it!
I don’t feel any heat, and my mouth doesn’t get messy.
However, unlike Fire Magic, there’s almost no adjustment. When I use Fire Breath, I can only choose to burn the area in front of me to medium or well-done.
It’s probably similar to Spirit Magic since it’s specifically for monsters.
The initial magic consumption is high, so I’ll just brag about it to Ria the next time I see her. I don’t think there will be many opportunities to use it, though.
The range is only five meters, so it’s not very long-range.
So, this one is still the real charm, isn’t it?
I wrap a rag around my hand and cast Ignite again.
It still doesn’t burn, and it’s affecting my inventory, which means…
If I extinguish it once and use it while holding a short sword… Haha!
Boom! Guh!
The entire sword, including the hilt, is engulfed in flames!
Regardless of its performance, this is the Flame Sword I once dreamed of.
When I discovered this phenomenon by chance on the hunting ground, I was so excited that I almost lost control of my bladder.
It would be foolish to use it in the Entonia Fire Rock Cave. I was so excited that I used it too much. However, if used in the right place, it could be an effective way to increase firepower.
Using fire would be strictly prohibited if the goal were to collect materials, but I’m only collecting magic stones right now, so I don’t care if the materials get burned.
Well, in terms of future potential and expandability, the real possibilities lie in Combination and Separation, right?
The subject is missing, but if I add it, it suddenly loses all sense of reality.
If I use Separation and my head or hands fly off, no matter how well they can be put back together, I wouldn’t like it.
Huu…
After finishing my work, I roll my ballpoint pen around and sink deeply into my chair.
Those are the skills I gained today.
Gaining skills is a plus for me. If there’s even one skill that could be useful in certain situations, then I’ll consider myself lucky.
What I really need to think about seriously is what I did wrong.
If I let my guard down, my clothes catch on fire. I got so excited by all the new information at the new hunting ground that I got burned by a salamander’s breath.
This is my biggest problem right now.
I almost ended up in full-frontal mode again today.
I realized it was dangerous halfway through, so I used Water Magic to pour water over my head and save myself.
Even a bucket of water can be produced at level one, so its uses are limited, but Water Magic is excellent in terms of cost.
Fire Resistance isn’t necessary for defense at the moment, but I’m torn between buying resistance armor to protect my clothes or not.
While I was pondering the decision, exhaustion from running around caught up with me, and I fell into a deep sleep before I knew it.
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