Chapter 61
#61. To the Third Floor (2)
The stairs leading down to the second floor were not much different from the ones before.
A spiral staircase whose end was nowhere in sight.
Only faint torches illuminated the dark path ahead.
It was a setup meant to provoke humanity's most primal emotion, fear, but I paid it no mind.
I did not even use the Light spell in order to minimize mana consumption.
Keeping only the minimum amount of tension, I continued downward.
Meanwhile, I repeatedly sent a weak current of lightning element through my mana circuits.
This was preparatory work.
Just as one heats a frying pan over a flame before cooking, I was deliberately placing a burden on my mana circuits so they could adapt to the lightning element.
‘...This is driving me crazy.’
I knew that, but this process was putting a strain on both my mana circuits and my body.
Elementalists made up the largest proportion of mages, while conceptualists made up the smallest.
That was precisely why there were so few people who could handle the lightning element—as few as there were conceptualists.
Despite its overwhelming power, using it required a naturally high mana capacity and sturdy mana circuits, while the physical resilience it demanded was burdensome even for ordinary mages.
In that regard, thanks to the holy water, elixirs, and the app's buffs, I had barely surpassed the threshold in terms of mana capacity and mana circuits.
However, my physical durability was still lacking in many ways.
I had been patching things up by reinforcing my body with my remaining mana, but as time passed, I came to understand all too clearly why so few mages handled the lightning element.
This insane element, which rampaged without even recognizing its master, rejected the very shortcut of reinforcing the body with mana.
“I'm going to get electrocuted to death at this rate.”
I had no choice but to bring the process to an end.
My body immediately felt more comfortable, but I had no intention of giving up on the lightning element.
Rather, I had learned that while it was difficult to maintain for a long time, I could use it repeatedly in the short term, so I was satisfied with that for now.
Fire was certainly powerful, but I had to abandon the optimistic thought that it alone would let me deal with the second floor's gatekeeper with ease.
Even if it wore down my body, now was the time to use lightning.
Besides, I had holy water, so if things got desperate, I could resort to doping.
I figured I should be able to endure it to some extent.
Lost in one idle thought after another, I soon reached the end of the stairs.
At the end of the tiresome spiral staircase, a stone door resembling the one on the first floor blocked my way.
When I pushed it with a little force, the door opened to both sides with a loud sound.
As a cloud of dust swept toward me, a new labyrinth revealed itself before my eyes.
“It looks like a catacomb.”
The structure looked similar to the first floor, but murals had been carved into the walls here and there.
Even at a glance, the murals depicted something far from ordinary.
Corpses formed a river, and something that looked like blood flowed across the ground.
The figures in the murals were elves.
They were at war with someone.
“Magical beasts?”
On what appeared to be the opposing side, enormous dragons, golems, and figures who looked human stood together.
It was strange.
Magical beasts were creatures whose instinct was to kill humans in the first place, so how could they team up with humans and attack the elves?
I was briefly absorbed in the incomprehensible scene, but I had a long way to go, so I shook off my idle thoughts and resumed walking down the corridor.
Unlike the first floor, where I had removed all the traps, I had no choice but to explore the second floor cautiously.
Unlike magical beasts, traps could not be detected with Mana Detection, so I had to remain tense with every step.
Unlike before, I could block ordinary arrows and things falling from the ceiling with Barrier, but I did not believe every trap would be so consistently simple.
The thought that there might be traps Barrier could not stop irritated me without my even realizing it.
As a result, the appearance of magical beasts was actually welcome.
-Krrk?
Not long after arriving on the second floor, magical beasts appeared for the first time around a corner.
It was a group of five lizardmen.
I did not know their exact rank, but judging by the presence I felt from them, they seemed to be around C-.
Their presence was so unimpressive compared to the Lizard Warriors that I could not feel even the slightest tension.
That was only natural. Until quite recently, I had spent a week at death's door in a B-rank Gate.
I had long since passed the point of being afraid of five lizardmen.
-Krak?!
-Kyaaah!!
Perhaps realizing that I was alone, the lizardmen who had been sizing me up all charged at me at once.
Even as they approached at high speed, I remained uninterested.
I had already known through Mana Detection that they were nearby. In other words, I had more than enough time to prepare a spell.
A famous mage's autobiography I had read in the past contained the following words.
[Fireball]
An unprepared mage is weak, but a prepared mage is overwhelmingly strong.
Fireball was the most basic spell of the fire element, but no spell was ever completely identical when used by a skilled mage.
Modified Magic.
It involved taking the magic circle of a widely used spell, modifying it to suit one's own preferences, and using it as a personal spell.
It was one of the factors that distinguished a skilled mage.
In that regard, I prided myself on being the best among mages of the same circle when it came to modified magic.
[All Knowledge of Basic Magic Theory Acquisition Bonus +1000%]
As I said before, modified magic was the foundation of the foundation of magic.
Not only could I use it without difficulty, it was a field where I could put into practice the saying that learning one thing meant learning ten.
Trusting in my sturdy mana circuits, I removed the parts responsible for stability from the magic circle that made up Fireball. The risk increased, but the power of the spell rose once its limiter was removed.
If I increased the amount of mana it consumed as well, its power could be multiplied to three times that of an ordinary Fireball or even more.
-Kiyaaaah!!
Boom!!
It took less than a second for one of the lizardmen struck directly by the Fireball, which flew at tremendous speed, to slam into the wall.
A huge explosion sent a massive cloud of dust into the air.
I was in a position where I had to minimize mana consumption, but that did not mean I intended to rely solely on close-quarters combat.
If I was going to use it, I would use it decisively.
The other lizardmen flinched and stepped backward when they saw the lizardman whose upper body had been burned black, but it was already too late.
The Fireball I had launched was not the only one.
***
[Remaining Matching Time: 138:12:47]
About six hours had passed since I entered the underground dungeon, and my exploration of the second floor continued to progress.
Mapping was a hassle, but I never skipped it.
I continued exploring while avoiding battles with magical beasts as much as possible.
Of course, that did not mean I could do without rest.
As a living creature, I inevitably needed rest.
After securing a safe place, I activated Mana Detection and ate my first meal.
Since I valued speed over taste, I considered it a satisfying meal simply because it filled my stomach.
While resting, I meditated as well.
Of course, I could recover mana even without meditating, and if things became urgent, I could patch things up with a Mana Potion.
Even so, I meditated to minimize mental fatigue and regulate my brain's condition.
Magic was ultimately a program that ran using the brain as its CPU.
If I did not cool down the overheated computer through meditation, there could be times when I was unable to use magic even with mana available.
After meditating for about an hour, I resumed my exploration.
After that, I continued trying to avoid magical beasts through Mana Detection, but as I increasingly found myself blocked by dead ends, battles continued to break out.
The one saving grace was that the magical beasts on the first and second floors were of similar caliber, and thanks to that, my coin supply surpassed 3,000.
As my finances grew increasingly comfortable, one of the items being sold in the shop caught my eye.
[Random Dice]
[Grade: Epic (Consumable Item 3/3)]
[1: Misfortune occurs]
[2: Minor misfortune occurs]
[3: Ambiguous misfortune occurs]
[4: Nothing happens]
[5: Ambiguous good fortune arrives]
[6: Minor good fortune arrives]
[7: Good fortune arrives]
[8: ??]
[When purchased at the undiscounted price, a result of 6 or higher is guaranteed the first time only]
To be honest, I had no idea how far my exploration of the second floor had progressed.
Time was simply passing, and I did not even know whether the path I had followed so far was the right one.
I could not help growing anxious without even realizing it.
1,000 coins.
It was certainly expensive, but it was not an amount I could not pay.
The coins would pile up again soon anyway, and there were only limited ways to use them.
I deliberated for a long time, but my decision was made in an instant.
[Would you like to purchase Random Dice?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[You have purchased Random Dice]
[Remaining Coins: 2,150 coins]
[Would you like to roll Random Dice?]
[Warning! The result of the roll can never be undone]
[Through the blessing of an unknown being, a result of 6 or higher is guaranteed. 1/1]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[Fate rolls]
[May fortune be with you]
The moment I pressed the accept button, a D8 die appeared in my palm.
It clearly looked like an ordinary die, but my instincts were screaming that it was not.
This small die felt infinitely heavy.
I thought I could now understand, at least a little, what the app had meant by saying that fate would roll.
Even so, I could not back out now, so I rolled the die with hands that trembled slightly.
Clack-
It supposedly could not land below 6 anyway, so I should be able to throw it without worrying.
The die that fell to the floor continued rolling as if it would never stop.
It did not stop even after hitting the wall.
Instead, it bounced off and rolled even harder.
‘So even rigging it to get a high number is forbidden.’
After what felt like several hours, the die finally came to a stop.
I checked the number showing on the die.
As I swallowed dryly, the number that entered my sight was 8.
[Ba-dum-bum!!]
[Congratulations!!]
Along with an incredible instrumental fanfare, a flashy notification window unlike anything I had ever seen appeared before my eyes.
The font and text size were oddly crude, but the contents were far from ordinary.
[You have proven that you are loved by the Goddess of Fortune!]
[We would like to give you a reward for being our customer]
[Would you like to receive it?]
[Y/N]
Just as I was about to press the accept button on autopilot, I felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
The 8 that had appeared on the die I rolled, and the app stepping forward to offer me a reward.
They fit together far too perfectly, like a suit and shoes tailored specifically for me.
Of course, it could be seen as sheer luck, but would a mage with such incredible luck have spent all this time doing nothing but swinging a sword?
Even so, I could not refuse the reward.
I was in no position to be picky right now.
[Y]
The moment I pressed the accept button, the notification window disappeared.
And then.
Fwoooosh-
“...Crazy.”
The empty space before my eyes was splitting apart.
This was not a metaphor. Space was literally tearing open, and something resembling outer space could be glimpsed beyond it.
That was not the end of the surreal situation, in which I could not even tell whether this was a dream or reality.
Something that looked like human legs emerged beyond the torn space, and someone walked out with leisurely steps.
That's right.
The one who had opened that absurd space like a door and stepped through was none other than a person.
“Hup!”
A crazy woman at that, with blue twin-tail hair and a bunny-girl outfit.
My eyes met those of the woman.
“Nice to meet you, Customer Kang Hyeon-woo.”
At that moment, I instinctively realized it.
“I’m the reward you received?”
She was not your ordinary crazy woman.
***
Meanwhile, Iris, left alone in the temple, continued praying to the World Tree without resting for even a moment after Kang Hyeon-woo left.
The golden tree receiving her prayers had already rotted away, but that did not matter to her.
What mattered in prayer was not its outward form, but the faith that welled up from the depths of one's heart.
Iris's faith, born from her wish for Kang Hyeon-woo's safe return, surged like a raging wave.
After praying for several hours, Iris felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
“...Mr. Hyeon-woo?”
Her eyelids lifted as she prayed.
There was not even a trace of the warmth she normally directed toward Kang Hyeon-woo.
Instead, her eyes held a chill cold enough to make even a passing bird fall from the sky.
Iris felt the same sensation she had experienced when she caught the scent of unfamiliar women on Kang Hyeon-woo.
Could this emotion possibly be described as mere jealousy?
No, it was not.
This was something more fundamental.
Squeeze-
Veins stood out on the backs of her beautiful hands, which had been neatly pressed together.