CH 163

After reaching the thirteenth floor, we settle down and spend the night, and move out again after having breakfast the next morning.

We find kobolds here. Monsters that walk on two legs and have dog-like heads.

They mostly attack by biting and slashing with their sharp claws. They’re also different from wolves in that they wear defensive equipment like humans.

We have the advantage in the reach of our weapons, but when they block attacks with their equipment and press closer, they become trickier to use. They’re fast too, so they’ll end up toying with their opponents if they can’t keep up.

Hikari and Sera are fine, but Rurika is pushed back a little. She’s gone up in level since she first entered the dungeon, but there’s a clear difference between them and her. I don’t think experience is the problem, I think the difference in their levels is creating a gap in their general abilities.

It takes a bit, but after fighting without rushing, the kobolds go down. Chris supports them with magic attacks, and Mia tries to support them too while refraining from using magic too much.

Apparently she learned a new spell after leveling up, but she can’t use it very well yet. Even if people just sort of know how to use abilities when they learn them, that doesn’t mean they master them right away.

“Don’t you use spirit magic?”

“That’s a little difficult. I can’t continuously use it in this dungeon with my current power. And not a lot of people can use it, so I try not to use it unless I have to.”

Chris says she can use it in places with a lot of nature like the fifth floor.

I’ve asked her to use it once just to see it. It felt like the flow of magic energy was calling something, but I couldn’t see their shape very well.

When she said they were cute, it felt like a few (I guess) of the spirits objected, but I don’t really know what they actually felt. What left the biggest impression on me about all that is how much fun Chris seemed to be having.

But the biggest reason why Chris doesn’t want to use spirit magic, is that she’d have to release the magic energy she uses on her disguise to be able to use it to its full potential.

I guess that’s why she wears that hood at all times. If she does use spirit magic, that will reveal her true face and the fact that she’s an elf.

“How are your weapons?”

I ask Rurika and Hikari after dealing with the kobolds and checking to see if there aren’t any more threats around.

“It’s easy to use and it can go all shpa shpa.”

I can’t tell what she means by that new expression, but at least her face tells me she’s happy with it.

“I was confused at first because the weight is a little different, but they feel good.”

“Do you want me to adjust the weight?”

“No, it’s fine. Weight itself can be a weapon too.”

“I see. But tell me if using them for a long time makes you tired.”

“Sure. But seeing Sera and Hikari fight really brings my confidence down. You’re a lot stronger than before too, Sora…”

So she’s feeling a little inferior.

Sera gained experience fighting in the dark forest, Hikari received training in a unique environment, and I’ve fought a few high ranking monsters since I said goodbye to Rurika and Chris.

Sera in particular is probably one of the best in this city. At the very least, I haven’t seen many people that can stand on par with her.

But looking at the downed monsters, it looks like Rurika was the one who cared the most about the state of their materials. Basically, she’s fighting them with the money she can make off them in mind. It makes me feel like she was having less difficulty with them than she thinks.

“Don’t worry too much about it. In fact, I think it’d be great if you could teach them based on your experience as an adventurer. I don’t know a lot about that sort of thing.”

If we can use our strong points to make up for the others’ faults, we can make quite a party.

That night, I stand watch with Rurika and we talk about all sorts of things. Mostly about how to use magic energy, which might very well be the biggest reason why she feels like she has to rush to catch up.

“Mithril conducts magic energy well, but you still need a good foundation, or it won’t work.”

“I borrowed those glasses to practice, but I can’t get the hang of it.”

“Mia had trouble too. And Hikari learned slowly with Leila and her party.”

“So I really just need to work through the basics…”

“Why don’t you try going to the magic academy? You don’t have to graduate or anything, you could just learn the basics and quit.”

“That’d take time, and there’s Eris…”

She said she wants to gain experience in the dungeon and get stronger, but it sounds like Eris is still weighing on her mind.

In fact, Rurika is probably more worried about her than Chris.

“It’s natural to be in a hurry. We should all talk about this after we leave. Even if you do want to join the academy, you’d need to look into their requirements and stuff like that, right?”

“Yes. We’ll talk to the others about it.”

“That’s great. And who knows, maybe you’ll get the hang of it while we explore.”

I hand her the magic stone used to practice and the magic energy seeing glasses.

“Hum, why?”

“You can practice while I keep watch. Not that you should try to force yourself to practice more or anything.”

Rurika weighs the responsibility of keeping watch and the allure of being able to practice, and in the end, can’t resist the urge to get better. She stretches her arm and grabs the magic stone.

I think it’s probably because she saw how strong Hikari’s slashes get when she infuses her weapon with magic energy.

“But Rurika, even if you get good at handling magic energy, be careful when you fight. It increases attack strength, but generally speaking, it doesn’t improve your physical abilities. You might be hit with a nasty counter-attack if you get overconfident.

Well, you can also use magic energy to improve yourself physically, but that comes with its own problems.”

“I guess that’s true, I need to be careful to not let myself get swung around by my weapons. But before I can worry about that, I have to learn how to control magic energy in the first place.”

She keeps at it until it’s time to sleep, but doesn’t see any results from it.

Yes, it’s probably my way of teaching that’s flawed. Hikari and Mia can probably do a better job.

They’re getting along, but it’s probably hard for Rurika to ask them. I’ll talk to the two of them about it later.