LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 23
“Well, I’ve gotten used to combat, so I think I’d like to try something else now.”
Since then, I had switched to using a kobold’s longsword and fought dozens of monsters, gaining more experience.
Thanks to that, the fear of battle had diminished, and my movements had become less stiff.
It seemed that I hadn’t encountered any monsters that could seriously challenge me, perhaps because this island was being used as a student exam field.
Even when collecting magic cores, it was time-consuming and troublesome out in the field, since I had to burn the monsters and extract the cores manually. And on top of that…
“These magic cores still don’t feel satisfying.”
It seemed that the quality of the magic cores changed depending on the strength of the monster, and even Eve wasn’t satisfied with the cores from low-tier monsters.
“Guess I’ll go grab cores from a dungeon of a different attribute.”
Eve had told me that the basic attributes of Earth and Wind existed on this uninhabited island, so I gave her the instruction to head to those dungeons.
“Good job, Master. The room’s more complete now.”
Eve spoke cheerfully. After rushing through, we had conquered the Earth and Wind dungeons.
“Though, those dungeons were only rank II,” I said.
According to the textbook I read recently, dungeons were ranked from I to VII.
Dungeons with only a single attribute enemy fall under ranks I to IV.
“That’s right. The Fire core we got was rank IV, and the others are rank II. I also think balance is important,” Eve added.
The Fire core we had picked up from the dual-element dungeon was rank IV. Generally, the level of the dungeon and the rank of the cores were closely tied. Stronger cores allowed stronger magic to be used. So, having a higher-ranked core made things easier in the long run.
“And besides, if there’s no boss, it just gets boring.”
Bosses appear in dungeons ranked IV or higher, and the gap between dungeons ranked I to III and those ranked IV and above was stark.
“Now that I think about it, the boss we passed in that dungeon earlier seemed to be a boss, didn’t it?”
When I had fled into The World before, I had passed something that was ravaging the place. That had likely been a boss monster wandering around.
Though, I did think it was odd that the boss wasn’t waiting at the goal as bosses usually do. But then again, it’s a living creature; it doesn’t care about our convenience.
Apparently, it’s even possible to encounter the boss right at the entrance of the dungeon.
When I thought back on it, I realized that the boss wandering around at that moment had been a stroke of luck. Right now, I’m confident I could defeat it, but back then, if it weren’t for The World and the lack of cores or skills, I’d have been in a very bad situation.
While pondering this…
“Master! Dangerous!”
At Eve’s warning, I instinctively turned my face away, just in time to—
—Boom!—
A hole appeared in the tree behind me.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know!”
Something was moving, and there was a sound of wind cutting through the air.
“I can’t track it with my eyes!”
This was not going to end well. With an unknown assailant attacking, I immediately made a decision.
“Eve. Use three Speed cores.”
“Understood, Master.”
In an instant, everything slowed down. Eve must have followed my orders and used the Speed cores.
I saw something glittering out of the corner of my eye, and then—
“I see it!”
A transparent form flew through the air, charging directly at me. I barely managed to dodge, but when I tried to strike back, it was already outside my attack range.
“If it’s like this…”
I kept my guard up and then said,
“Eve! I’m opening the entrance now!”
“Yes, Master.”
There was no time for a long explanation. But Eve understood my intent right away.
“Now!”
I opened The World’s entrance and dodged sideways.
“Master! I’m in!”
“Good! Chase it inside and trap it in a cage!”
I closed the entrance behind me, effectively cutting off its escape route.
While I might have been able to move freely in the field, The World was Eve’s domain. I could gradually close in the walls and trap the creature in there.
“It’s been secured!”
Soon, Eve reported back.
“Alright. I’ll go take a look.”
As I recalled the form of the assailant and a certain fairy tale, I entered the room to investigate further.