I Reincarnated as a Hero
Chapter 6 – Underground Jail with Death (2)
Many adventures enter the dungeon with dreams of getting rich overnight. However, most of them were wiped out before they could pass through the 1st floor. Reasons vary. They may be lacking in combat ability, or they may not see traps. They may have mismanaged their equipment or they may have run out of food.
“Wow, look! Look at these stairs! Is this staircase likely to lead to the second floor? ”
“Ya it's right.”
Of course, their team's fighting abilities are taken care of by the human hero Maetel. Everything else was taken care of by the former Heavenly King Artpe. There was no way this two-man team would face any difficulties here. After defeating the Elite Zombies, Maetel had advanced to level 6. The momentum created by Maetel allowed them to clean the 1st floor in just 6 hours. They've cleared it at super speed. At the end of the 1st floor, Maetel was at level 8, and Artpe had somehow managed to advance to level 5.
“Mmmmm. Why am I progressing so fast? Artpe is better than me. ”
“Normally like that. Everyone has a different area of expertise. ”
Maetel's growth speed was much faster than his speed. He should have been upset at this fact, but Artpe already knew about the growth speed that the hero had shown in his previous life. In Artpe's eyes, the current Maetel was walking very slowly. He would probably level up even faster when he woke up with his innate ability.
“This will not be done.”
“What?”
Unlike Artpe, who had just accepted this reality, Maetel thought long and hard in front of the stairs. After which, he firmly nodded his head as he turned to look at Artpe.
“We have to match our level.”
“No, we really don't need to do that. As I said before, it would be safer for us if you level up, because you are ahead …. ”
“We have to match our level.”
The light in Maetel's eyes was very serious. Artpe could not help but ask a question.
“What is the reason behind this?”
“If our level difference is too high, I'm afraid we will grow apart.”
“You used a fairly poetic figure of speech ..?”
However, the point raised by Maetel suddenly touched the core of the problem faced by all parties. This is one of the main reasons why most parties disband over time. If one party member raised his level too quickly, it meant that the other party members would fall behind. As the level difference became more severe, the difference in abilities also widened. At that point, it was mutually dangerous for that party to remain together. That was expected, because the level of the monster was not liquid. It was not adjusted to his opponent's level.
“I'm pretty sure this doll doesn't think that far .. He doesn't want any gaps to form between the two of us.”
Artpe laughed bitterly. He was eager to develop Maetel's abilities. This will make him just stand in the back. He planned to eat the crumbs from his desk. However, he had no choice now, as the hero would not let go of this matter. He had to keep stepping with her to some extent.
“Good. We will do that, but My growth rate is much slower than yours. It is impossible to match our level. How about we split the monsters evenly? ”
“I really want it the same ..”
Maetel grumbled as if she did not like the idea, but in the end, she accepted it.
“Alright, let's head.”
“Why are you riding? You must stand still. ”
After Artpe whipped Maetel, he reached out his impregnated Mana hand. He grabbed and pulled something in the empty air. Suddenly, the stairs in front of them collapsed as a sizable wooden crate rose. Maetel shouted in excitement. Artpe winked at her as he gave her an explanation.
“It's trap. If you climb up without finding this box, a poisoned needle will come out of the floor to kill you. ”
“Heeeeek!”
“Of course, even if someone was lucky enough to find this box, they would not know that this was a monster called Mimic. It pretended to be a treasure chest, and most adventurers usually died due to its attacks. ”
“Oooooh.”
“The worst part happens when someone identifies and kills Mimic. It fired a poisonous needle when it was killed. ”
“I don't like this anymore!”
In fact, level 5 zombies were expected within the Dungeon near the novice city. However, they had found a fairly complicated trap within the Dungeon, and that fact surprised him. He was also surprised to find an Elite monster within the first room of the Dungeon!
Hero Heroes of the past did not explore this Underground Prison. There were only annoying zombies at the entrance, so he did not even bother to enter this Dungeon. Since this was supposed to be a rookie Dungeon, I might have underestimated it…. Maybe this Underground Prison is …. ‘
It may be a hidden treasure. Artpe swallowed back the words he had almost spoken. Beautiful flowers have thorns. Right now, they needed a chance to level up safely. They should not risk their lives to obtain treasures. This cannot be seen as good news.
“What should I do, Artpe?”
“Back.”
“Iya nih!”
Artpe held four long nails between his fingers. Of course, these were nails that were gathered diligently killing zombies. As expected, it was a bad weapon. It could cause a very weak poison effect when thrown towards the opponent.
On the other hand, it was a completely different story if used by someone, who could enter his Mana. He could strengthen the item. Its toxicity and sharpness are strengthened, but the nails will vanish once Mana is exhausted. It was a disposable weapon, but it would be able to cause significant damage!
Of course, if one was skilled enough to embed and strengthen an item, one would usually not use it on the nails obtained from zombies. It would be much better to use it on throwing weapons. However, this method of infusion of Mana was known only to those who suffered from cold and hunger, just like Artpe in the past. That is a very sad actuality.
“Eh-eet.”
When Artpe confirmed that Maetel had retreated behind his back, he quickly and accurately threw four spikes towards the box. Mimic passively stood still like a wooden box, but when the nail was about to hit, it let out a strange sound. Then he jumped to avoid the nail ….
“It's fake, you idiot!”
(Geeeeeeeeeeee!)
In an instant, the spikes changed direction to pierce through the wooden box. Mimic hung in the air, and the traps located under his original position were activated. A few dozen poison needles were fired from the ground to make a hollow Mimic body hole!
(Gosh!)
It made a brief cry before it became silent. It had bitten his tongue in his death.
Maetel, who remained silent, carefully asked Artpe a question.
“It's over ....?”
“Ya, it's over ..”
Mimic is one of the rare and special monsters. Therefore, the ‘gadiah’ he dropped was much better when compared to the difficulty. As proof, the Artpe EXP exploded upwards after defeating him. He had levelled up twice, and he felt the energy within his body surging forward. Even if he hadn't examined it with his Read All Creation ability, Mimic would have been dead.
“Artpe is absolutely amazing…. I never thought you would kill him in such a way! ”
“I'll be sick of hearing it soon.”
Artpe answered flatly, and he moved towards the dead Mimic. The dead Mimic, whose tongue came out, was flipped over by Artpe. When he shook it, small coins and daggers fell to the floor. When he saw this, Maetel cried out in surprise.
“I think this monster is not a treasure box. What the hell is going on?”
“It swallowed a human, who thought it was a treasure chest. It was digesting everything he could, and the rest were the remains stored within his body. This is also another reason why it is easy to make Mimic confused with a treasure chest. ”
“I won't say they are evil ..”
Monsters are born this way. Humans slaughter and eat innocent pigs and cows. It's the same with monsters. They eat humans. This cannot be explained by the concept of good and evil. Everyone is just fighting to live.
“However, in order for us to live, he must kill them all.”
“I'm not sure what you want to say, but I will defeat anything that tortures Artpe!”
When he killed the goblins for the first time, he trembled like a leaf from shock. This had only happened yesterday, yet he was quick to act heroically in front of him now.
For a moment, the image of a hero from the past superimposed on the current hero, and it gave him goosebumps. Now that he thought about it, the heroes of the past showed no signs of hostility towards him. Instead, she felt pity and worry for him. This truth came to him rather late. He kept a loose smile on his face as he collected the loot from Mimic.
They only got 26 bronze coins from killing all the zombies on the first floor. Mimic had taken out 138 bronze coins. Moreover, there were three silver coins of defeat in the loot. Each silver coin is worth 100 times more than a bronze coin.
If one had 2 silver coins, one could feed a family of four for a month. Maetel had lived her entire life in the interior, so naturally, that number made her eyes turn around.
“Excellent!”
“This is nothing compared to what you will experience and get from now on.”
“Do not say ‘kamu’, say ‘we’!”
“Ya yes.”
After he violently ruffled Maetel's head, he threw Mimic's empty skin on the floor. The dead body cleanly evaporated into the air, and instead, a book was left behind. It was an absurd scene like goblins spewing bronze coins.
“This is a book..?”
“Mimic is a rare monster that is very difficult to find. Especially it is very difficult to kill. This is why ‘gift’ is so generous. It was generous in terms of EXP and …. ”
It doesn't matter if the book is bad. A magic book is guaranteed to be worth 30 silver coins, no matter what. He grinned when taking ‘Skill Book’.
“... item. If one could safely kill a Mimic, it was the same as finding a treasure box. ”
“Excellent!”
Maetel could not write, but she could read a little. He clapped his hands as he looked through the book.
“Learnest. It says Hyper Loving! Love means deep affection. Has Artpe never taught me that before? This means that this magic is related to love! ”
“Uh …. Mmm Nope.”
Artpe had not read the name of the skill .. no, he had not read the name of the Spelling Book. When he heard Maetel's words, his face was tangled in difficulty. Why would such an item have to come out! On the other hand, Maetel was not even aware of what Artpe was thinking inside. His cheeks were red when he was agitated on the spot.
“With this magic, Artpe and I .. I ... love will ....”
“It's not love. That's rub. ”
“What does it mean to rub?”
“Rubbing means friction.”
“….Huh?”
Maetel tilted her head. However, Artpe's expression was still crumpled violently.
That spell was useless to him!
Rubbing type spells are divided into Soft Rubbing, Rubbing, Hard Rubbing and Hyper Rubbing. It looked mysterious, as it was divided into 4 types. However, the special effects are very simple.
It basically allowed one to rub Mana against one's enemies!
If there is some secret meaning hidden behind the spell, the Witch has done some research on this spell. However, not much is gained from research. This does not mean that this study did not produce any results at all. Some high-ranking nobles, who had enough wealth to hire witches, found that Scratch magic allowed them to feel some strange sensations. That opens the door to some awkward possibilities. It is best to remove such details.
“Basically, Scrubbing Hyper is the same as rubbing very hard.”
“Mmm. Ooooooh-mmmmm …..? ”
If there was one advantage to this spell, the Rubbing Skill had no level restrictions. Artpe would have no trouble learning it now.
At this point, Maetel had another question.
“So why should you learn useless magic?”
“All Skill Books and Spelling Books allow one to expand one's limits, It fosters one's abilities. This effect occurs only from studying it. This was why all Skill Books and Magic Books were expensive despite their contents. ”
This was one of the biggest reasons why the hero class was considered a swindler. Heroes could learn all Skills and Spells. If there was an inventory of Skill Books, heroes could basically learn everything using only basic abilities!
“Ah. Of course, Skills or Magic can fail if you do not fully understand what you are learning. This is why it is not so profitable to study these Books. The technical term for this is called the Failure effect. You have to remember that term. ”
“Failure effect …. I memorized! ”
Of course, this term has nothing to do with Artpe. He has Read All Creation. He is able to understand all phenomena! Artpe immediately studied Hyper Rubbing, and the purity of his magic energy increased. It strengthens his body. He felt an incredible magical energy filling him, and he sighed deeply.
“Hoo-oooooh.”
Even if Scrubbing was a useless magic, Hyper Scrubbing was the best level among Scrub magic. Of course, the level of magical knowledge in it was high (the result was bad), and the amount of Mana reacting to magic activation was also huge (the result was bad). Still, Artpe had obtained nearly 20 magical energies just from studying his spells. The effect is amazing!
“Perhaps, this might be better than learning mediocre spells like the Flame Needle. Which one I could throw would be stronger than most fireballs. ”
“As expected, Artpe is amazing!”
“I knew you'd say that. Let's go.”
They have gathered everything that needs to be collected. If one only saw the results, one could see that they were growing at a ridiculous rate. He couldn't shake the feeling that this didn't feel right to him. Still, Artpe had no choice but to move forward.
Maetel reaffirms the fact that Artpe is amazing. He was filled with pride for her, and she followed behind him like a puppy.
The party of the heroes safely entered the second floor. Then they cleaned the third and fourth floors. They moved so quickly through the Dungeon that they brought more supplies than they used. They were able to collect weapons and food. The most important resource was water, but they were able to solve the problem of getting water in the middle of the second floor. They found a spring.
After the Elite Zombies, no Elite monsters appeared. The monsters had no chance against Artpe's poison spikes and Maetel's sword. Exploring the Dungeon was very easy.
This was how the two heroes reached the 6th floor of the Dungeon.
“What awhat! How long is this Dungeon! ”
“The basement is really fun! Let's keep moving forward! ”
“Hei! There's a trap there! Stop!”
At this point, Maetel was at level 29, and Artpe had reached level 24.
