LEGEND

Chapter 457

The day after the incident with the Cactus Mimic, Rei’s party entered the dungeon as usual. As they left the small room and looked around, they couldn’t help but sigh.

Their sigh was a mixture of various emotions that couldn’t be described as either dismay or satisfaction.

「I should have expected this since it has been sandy desert, rocky desert, then sandy desert……」

Beyond Rei’s line of sight was a rocky desert with several boulders lying around.

「But, if you think about it, that’s what we expected wasn’t it? And, considering it’s easier to travel through than the 13th floor, I don’t think it’s that bad.」

「Well, now that you say it, you’re right.」

Normally, before leaving the dungeon, they would check what type of floor it was before taking the magic circle out. However, yesterday, they had to hand over the dead adventurers and Cactus Mimic to the Silva family as quickly as possible, so they had taken the magic circle back up as soon as they went down the stairs to the 14th floor without checking what was outside the room.

That was why Rei’s party was only seeing the 14th floor for the first time today.

「And, like the 12th floor, a rocky desert is convenient for absorbing magic stones, isn’t it?」

「That is true.」

Rei nodded at Elena’s words as he looked around.

There were many large rocks that could be found within their line of sight without needing to search. Unlike the 13th floor, it was extremely convenient to find a spot to hide.

「Right then. Let’s start by absorbing magic stones. ……Which direction is towards the stairs to the 15th floor?」

Rei asked as he stoked Set, who was giving happy cries after hearing they would be absorbing magic stones.

Checking the map she took out from the magic pouch at her waist, she compared it with the surrounding terrain before speaking.

「There are a lot of rock over there, and that rock looks like a sword. So that would make it……this way.」

Elena pointed southwest. A large number of rocks about 10m in height were lined up alongside each other, making the area look like a simple maze.

「In addition, there’s also that.」

Rei saw an area that could only be best described as a stone forest rather than a rocky desert with some dismay.

However, he told himself that it would safer to absorb magic stones there compared to absorbing them where they currently were.

(And, even if it is like a maze, with Set, he can observe from the sky. ……Considering that, maybe this floor will be easy for us.

Looking at the area densely filled with rocks, he took a step forward to start moving.

With Elena on his right and Set on his left, they made their way along the rocky desert path.

The intense sunlight shone down from the sky above alongside a dry wind peculiar to the desert. While weathering the elements, the three of them seemed unbothered as they walked along.

Rei and Elena were fine because of their Dragon Robe and desert cloak. On the other hand, Set, who wasn’t using any magic or skill, didn’t seem to be bothered by the wind at all.

Although Set hadn’t liked the desert heat that much, he didn’t seem to care so far.

「Set, are you okay?」

「Gururu~!」

When Rei asked him, Set gave a cry to indicate there was no problem.

No, in fact, Set was in a good mood.

(Did he……get used to it? Well, a high ranking monster like a Griffon shouldn’t suffer from desert heat.)

Elena, who was listening in to their exchange, brushed her blonde hair, which had been peaking out, back under her hood as she thought to herself.

Maybe it would have been better to bring Yellow along even if it was a little overwhelmed at the beginning.

However, she soon shook her head.

Set and Yellow were similar but not the same. Just because Set was fine with the heat didn’t mean that Yellow would be. The fact was that although Yellow was created as a dragon, it was still a child……or even a baby. Compared to Yellow, Set was also much larger.

(This is probably the difference between a familiar and a magic beast, but I envy the fact that Set was already this big when he was born. ……That said, if Yellow was the same size as a proper dragon when it was created, there’s no doubt there would be a lot of unpleasant situations.)

Elena thought about it as they kept walking for another 30 minutes. Despite being in a dungeon, they managed to arrive at the natural rock maze without any monsters appearing.

Elena tilted her head as she touched a large rock in front of her.

「Well, no monsters have come out so far……what do you think?」

「Thinking about it normally, they’re probably hiding within the rock maze. Even monsters will find it easier to fight in places where they can launch ambushes rather than out in the open. ……However, it is a bit strange that no other monsters have appeared since it’s not just the more intelligent monsters that live on this floor.」

「So you think a smarter monster is leading the rest? But, we’ve never seen any of the monsters we’ve encountered so far, like Sandworms or Cactus Mimics, working together with different species, have we?」

Rei shook his head as Elena asked with surprise on her face.

「It could be that there’s a very powerful monster……or……」

You know what I’m thinking of? Elena nodded at the question Rei asked with his eyes.

The words 『abnormal species』 passed through both their minds.

「Anyhow, there’s no point thinking about it here. We have to get to the next level.」

「Mm, I’ll be relying on you.」

「Gururu~!」

I’ll do my best! Set seemed to say with a cry. Stroking Set, the three of them entered the rocky maze.

The maze was created naturally, so while it was like a maze, it wasn’t complicated to navigate.

However, that also meant that there were some blind spots due to the natural formation.

「……Since they’re selling maps, don’t you think it should at least have a correct path through the maze on it?」

Although Elena said that, as a natural maze, there were many paths to go through it.

In addition, because it was a natural formation, it wouldn’t be strange if changes were to suddenly occur, so the right path often differed between parties.

In addition, there were some plants that only grew in certain places within the maze that adventurers would mark on their own maps.

「Well, it’s the first time we’re coming here ourselves, so it can’t be helped.」

Rei shrugged his shoulders as he replied.

Knowing that this was their first time here, they continued through the maze without saying any more.

After about 5 minutes they arrived at a fork.

「Which way do we go?」

「Give me a minute. According to the map……the right path is a dead end.」

「Then let’s go right.」

「……Rei?」

Why are we going in the direction I just said was a dead end?

When Elena asked, Rei spoke as he stroked Set’s back.

「Because it’s the first fork, I don’t think anyone would go right to the dead end. That makes it a good place to absorb magic stones.」

「……Surely no one would go to the trouble of going that way, I hope.」

Rei’s line of thought was easier to understand and they took the right path.

Walking for another 10 minutes, they arrived at the dead end, where there was an open space.

It was a bit under 35 square meters in area, more than enough room to move around.

「I wonder……what was this place used for? It doesn’t look like it was made naturally.」

The area was somewhat circular, although quite distorted. It wouldn’t be wrong to call it a circle and it didn’t seem to have been created naturally.

(No, could it be natural? This is a dungeon after all. The dungeon core could have created something like this?)

Rei thought about it, but decided there was no point overthinking it and looked just to make sure.

There were no monsters or adventurers that they could see and Set gave a cry to say it was safe when Rei looked at him.

Looking over at Elena, Rei saw her nod to indicate she hadn’t felt anything unusual here. Finally breathing a sigh of relief, Rei took out the three magic stones as well as the corpse of a Skyfang, Rock Spider, Antlion, and two corpses each of Cactus Mimics and Sand Ants.

He didn’t strip any materials from the monsters and just took out their magic stones for a total of seven magic stones.

It didn’t take long for Rei to clean them up using the Dagger of Flowing Water.

「Right then, how do we split these? ……I guess we’ll start with the two Cactus Mimics and Sand Ants first. Set.」

「Guru~!」

Set swallowed the magic stone of the Cactus Mimic that Rei threw, but no announcement was heard in his mind.

Set then swallowed a Sand Ant’s magic stone, but there was no change either.

Rei also used the Death Scythe to absorb the two magic stones with a somewhat hopeful expression, but of course, he didn’t learn any new skills either.

「Well, those monsters weren’t very strong.」

The scary part of a Cactus Mimic’s thorns were when they were shot out like a machine gun. Individually, the thorns weren’t that lethal.

It would hurt to be hit by one and it would hurt to pull one out, but that was it.

……However, that pain was another reason why Cactus Mimics were so disliked.

As for Sand Ants, they were one of the weaker monsters on the desert floors. The only thing to watch out for was if they attacked with overwhelming numbers.

It seemed that even Elena had realised that Rei and set had been unable to learn any skills from the Cactus Mimic and Sand Ant magic stone. The next part was the real test.

「Well then, there’s three left……is it fine to give us one each and the last one goes to the one who doesn’t learn any skills?」

「Guru~!」

Set didn’t seem to have any objections to Rei’s thoughts and gave a cry in agreement.

Seeing that, Rei presented the three magic stones to Set.

「Set, you can chose. Which one do you want?」

「Guru~?」

Are you sure? Set seemed to ask as he tilted his head. Rei nodded.

Seeing that, Set’s round eyes eventually stopped on one of the magic stones and he held it in his beak before swallowing it.

【Set has acquired the skill 『Optical Camouflage　Lv.2』】

An announcement echoed through his mind.

「GURURURURU~!」

Set gave a joyful cry at his skill upgrade.

「I guess this makes sense……? Any how, I’m happy with Optical Camouflage being upgraded.」

Rei muttered out loud.

A Rock Spider looked like a rock from the outside, as it’s name suggested, and it also had the habit of pretending to be a rock to ambush its prey.

Considering that, perhaps it was natural that the skill Optical Camouflage would be upgraded.

(Well, Set’s Optical Camouflage makes him invisible and Rock Spiders only mimic rocks, so they’re quite different when it comes to blending into the surroundings, but……there’s no point thinking about it now.)

There had already been many cases where they had learned some skills that they had not expected.

Rei was already aware of this characteristic of the Magic Beast Art, so he immediately prompted Set to use the skill without further thought.

「Set, try using Optical Camouflage.」

「Guru~!」

Set gave a cry and immediately turned invisible.

Then, after about 20 seconds, he reappeared.

He hadn’t moved a single step from where he had disappeared, showing how good a skill Optical Camouflage was.

「So about 20 seconds? I’m glad the effective time has doubled, but I wonder if it is just an additional 10 seconds or if the duration was doubled. I’ll have to reserve my judgement until the next time it is upgraded.」

「But, even at 10 seconds, it’s already been shown to be very useful. Considering it’s now 20 seconds, isn’t that pretty amazing?」

Rei nodded at Elena’s excited words.

「That’s true. But……I wonder what direction Set is growing in.」

Rei said that as he stroked Set’s head.

Set was already very different from the Griffons in Rei’s mind due to his ability to turn invisible and Poison Claw being his highest levelled skill.

There wasn’t really anything he could do about it as Set was born from the Magic Beast Art, but it was still something to think about.

「I have no complaints as long as Set is still Set.」

「Fufu~, indeed. Sometimes I envy the connection between you two.」

Elena nodded in agreement to Rei’s words.

Elena’s cheeks were dyed red under her hood as she looked over at Set to change the topic.

「At level 1, it took 30 minutes for Optical Camouflage to be reused……has that changed?」

「Guru~……」

Set tilted his head as if to say he wouldn’t know until he tried it.

「Well, let’s try it again after some time then and see how long it is before it can be used again. We’ll also need to find out how long the effect is if you use it on someone you’re touching. ……Well, it’s my turn now.」

Looking at the two remaining magic stones in his left hand, the Skyfang and Antlion magic stones, Rei thought for a few seconds before placing the Death Scythe on the ground and taking one of the magic stones with his right hand.

************************************************

【Set】

『Water Ball Lv.3』 『Fire Breath Lv.3』 『Wind Arrow Lv.1』 『King’s Awe Lv.1』 『Poison Claw Lv.4』 『Size Transformation Lv.1』 『Tornado Lv.1』 『Ice Arrow Lv.1』 『Optical Camouflage Lv.2』 new

Optical Camouflage: Grants the user the ability to hide themselves. At level 2, the user can remain invisible for 20 seconds. Once used, 30 minutes have to pass before it can be reused. In addition, objects the user touches can also be hidden, but it is used to hide another person at the same time, the effect duration will be reduced by 10 seconds.