Chapter 23
After that, we explored the 〈Dungeon〉 for a while.
Though Ruche's presence increased the appearance rate of rare monsters, Moneybags Larna wasn't easy to find.
Still, as a 〈Magic World〉 player, I'd naturally memorized the routes where Moneybags Larna was likely to appear, as well as the monster placements.
We should be able to hunt one... no, two today.
"Hah!"
I blocked the charging box-shaped monster with my shield, then quickly closed in and knocked it back with 〈Body Check Slash〉.
The purple box went flying.
"All right, Ruche, let's get out of here while it's down!"
"Y-Yes! It looks like we could finish it off, but that's okay, right?"
"Yeah. We should avoid unnecessary fights. That's not our target this time, and if we corner it carelessly, it'll start calling other monsters."
The box monster's official name was Toy Box.
Once it takes a certain amount of damage, the box opens and a demon holding cymbals comes out, making a deafening noise to draw in its allies.
It isn't very fast, so if you throw it off balance, it's easy to leave it behind.
"Phew... Sorry for making this take twice as long because I'm so slow."
"No, no, it's fine... B-But are you sure we should keep focusing only on Moneybags Larna? You're so steady, Elymas-san, and if we hunted other monsters like we did with the Patchwork Bears, I feel like we could gain about three more Levels today. We might get another item drop in the process, too... You know which monsters give good Experience and which ones drop good items, right, Elymas-san?"
From Ruche's perspective, it was only natural she would think that.
After gaining eight Levels in a single day, it was already a huge haul as far as she was concerned.
It was only natural she'd rather keep steadily leveling up and trying for drops like we had been, rather than chase a pipe dream of striking it rich with a rare drop that depended on luck.
But in 〈Magic World〉, as long as you could defeat monsters higher level than you, leveling up was easy. With the right knowledge, it wasn't difficult to gain a lot of Levels at once at low Levels.
It also helped that I could safely power-level using 〈Shadowstep〉.
It wasn't that things were going unusually well for us; it was simply that this world didn't share information effectively, so many adventurers were leveling up inefficiently.
"But if that were all we wanted, we wouldn't need to target this 〈Angel's Toy Box〉. There are plenty of better places to gather items steadily or level up. Besides, I knew going in that finding one would take a while. If we search as much as we can for another day, we might finally find two."
Even so, Moneybags Larna was worth targeting.
The best way for us to level up and make money right now was to keep hunting Moneybags Larna.
We could keep coming to 〈Angel's Toy Box〉 from the nearby village and hunt them until they ran out.
"If that's what you want, I'll respect your wishes... but why don't we keep going a little longer? If you'd rather hunt other monsters at the same time, we can do that, too."
Well, there was no doubt it would take patience.
Ruche didn't seem to think we'd find a Moneybags Larna easily in the first place, and she also seemed unsure whether we could even defeat one if we encountered it.
I wasn't sure how reliable my knowledge was, either.
During the Madhead fight, there were moments when attacks I should have been able to dodge easily in the game had come down to the wire because I was afraid of my opponent and inexperienced with my sword.
I shouldn't put too much faith in the idea that "it should be possible if I move with maximum efficiency," like in a game.
Besides, I should respect my companion's opinion regardless.
If I started telling her what to do just because I had an advantage in knowledge and Level, I'd be no different from my father or Klein.
"Ah! N-No, no, no! I was just saying it. Of course I'll do as you say, Elymas-san! It was just something I was curious about, um, I just wanted to ask...!"
"Is that so? Don't hold back too much."
...It seemed she'd been treated poorly in Klein's party, and the meekness she'd developed then still lingered.
"Let's hunt a hundred, a thousand Moneybags Larna! I'll do it!"
"...It's good that you're motivated, but if we hunted that many, prices in Rondarm would go through the roof."
"I-Is Moneybags Larna really that amazing? I hear a lot of rumors, but I've never met anyone who's actually hunted one."
"Yeah, that's why I'm focusing on it, too. But they're not easy to find even if you boost your Luck, so if you get anxious or frustrated, you should tell me anytime..."
It was right then, while I was talking.
"Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit."
I heard a frog-like croak.
Ruche and I turned around cautiously at the same time, and a Larna radiating golden light hopped out from around the corner.
It scratched its head with its front leg.
I-It appeared way sooner than I expected!?
I thought we'd have to keep at it for several more hours before our first encounter, but this could only mean Ruche's starting Luck stat had rolled quite high.
There's a way to calculate someone's Luck by having them use Luck-dependent Skills about a hundred times, so maybe I should have Ruche try it next time we get the chance.