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＜ 14. Unclean Creature (6) ＞
‘[ Epic] ＜Gives great trials＞ Ring of Eternal Training: A ring containing the desire of a warrior who wanted to become stronger than anyone else. (Acquired EXP increased by 100%) ＜Curse: Enemies’ stats increased by 50% ＞’
Performance that can be said to be unconventional. A 100% increase in earned experience means that you can level up twice as fast as a normal player. As long as this ridiculous option is attached, this equipment can only be obtained from the ‘Exchange Well’, which gives a huge penalty .
The curse attached to this piece of equipment this time is ＜Gives great trials＞. Normally, it was a curse that could be said to be the worst of the worst. Unlike normal curses that only increase an enemy’s stats by one or two, it was a curse that raised all stats by 50% .
However, it was a good thing for Andrea, who was troubled by the weakening of her enemies. It was a device that would make up for the low level of experience gained and make use of Andrea’s characteristics, literally catching two rabbits at the same time .
Even if the enemy became too strong to handle, it didn’t matter. At that time, it is enough to remove the equipment. It was as if I had obtained an ordeal that I could actively control to suit my taste .
‘ There is one problem, though… If this doesn’t apply to the entire party, I’m the only one who gets a lot of experience points, so the level of the party can become imbalanced .’
However, the answer to this concern also came quickly. It was a matter of balancing the level by giving the equipment to the other party. However, it didn’t seem like Emilia would be able to wear it with the “Devil’s Curse” on it, but …
‘··· That’s when I go and think about it, well .’
“ Andrea, what are you doing there? I have to go to the next floor .”
“ Oh, uh. I have to go .”
Hearing Trisha’s urging, Andrea took a step. Trisha looks suspiciously at Andrea, who is belatedly flustered. Andrea decided to keep the ring a secret from her friends for the time being .
*
The
58th floor was a rest area .
Read from noble mtl dot com
Now, a rather luxurious space has been revealed beyond the level where people live. Next to the luxurious leather sofa, there were soft beds lined up in a row, and an appetite-satisfying dinner was set on a table made of carved wood next to the holy water fountain .
Whole roast turkey with steam coming up, large sliced steak, cheese lasagna, fresh green salad and blueberry pie for dessert. Even dark beer was contained in an oak barrel in the corner .
Everyone in the party was stunned when they suddenly jumped from a modest dinner of boiled eggs or stew to such a luxurious meal. Trisha gulped and asked Andrea in a low voice .
“ Andrea, can I eat this…? Does n’t it contain poison or something ?”
“… Wait a minute .”
Something was strange. The rest area on the 50th floor is also quite nice, but it was never this luxurious .
‘ A space like this and a banquet can only be seen in the rest area on the 70th floor ?’
Andrea walked over to the roast turkey and tore off a piece of flesh and brought it to her mouth. I didn’t swallow it, I just chewed it for a long time. Then, the tip of the tongue tingled and a spicy energy spread .
Andrea immediately spat out what was in her mouth and vomited .
“ It is weak, but it contains poison. You can’t eat it .”
Everyone was in one mind and couldn’t help but be disappointed. In particular, it was Trisha who was most discouraged. It was said like a joke, but I never thought it would be real .
“ f*ck, what kind of bastard are you? Bastards who play with food should use their tongues as arrow holders .”
Andrea had a rough idea of who might have done this .
‘ Arpan, you naive bastard. Even if he did take revenge, he had to do it this way .’
Among the trap rooms, there are trap rooms that take the same form as rest areas, but even so, they are clearly marked as trap rooms on the map. It is marked as a rest area, but putting poison in food like this was impossible without Arpan using his hands .
Emilia’s face suddenly turned bright red as she dipped her finger around and tasted the food .
“ There is no poison in lettuce salad! Come on, everyone !”
Andrea, Marco, and Tricia either shook their heads or stared blankly. They thought it was impossible to eat only grass in front of a diet that gave off a strong meat scent. Emilia blushed and chewed the salad alone like a rabbit .
“ It’s fresh and delicious, so why don’t you eat it …”
When Andrea heard that, she laughed .
At least it was fortunate that the holy water fountain was real. Andrea and Trisha each strengthened one card .
‘[ Unique] Shadow Stealth + (1 cost): Divinity, disappearance, melt into the shadow and hide yourself for a certain period of time .’
‘[ Unique] Continuous Reload + (2 cost): If you use a card with ‘shooting’ in its name, draw 1 card .’
Andrea strengthened her main buffs, and Trisha strengthened her buff cards to be used later. Now, even if it’s not the first turn, you should be able to use ‘Continuous Load’. Emilia, who approached while chewing lettuce, also strengthened a card .
‘[ Rare] Body Purification ++ (1 cost): Heals paralytic poison, hemorrhagic poison, fainting, blindness, and petrification status ailments .’
I followed Andrea’s advice to strengthen cards that heal status ailments first. It would have been better if there was a card that heals all status ailments, but right now, even this is a good thing .
Afterwards, the party lay side by side on the bed and took a break like a break after a long time. After fighting the elite monsters on the next floor, I had to face the boss monster right away, so I had to save up my stamina .
Until now, even if I took a break, all I could do was lie down on the hard stone floor, so I couldn’t help but be happy with the soft bed. Marco started snoring within a few minutes of lying down, and Trisha soon began to fall asleep soundly .
Andrea was so lost in thought that she couldn’t sleep. Then I suddenly felt his gaze and looked to the side to see Emilia lying down looking at him .
“…?”
“ Oh, no .”
She didn’t say anything, but Emilia turned her head away as if she had done something wrong .
“ Why is that, priest ?”
Emilia didn’t say anything for a long time because she was ashamed to have been caught watching it secretly. No matter how long I waited, Andrea didn’t take her eyes off me, so I flinched and finally opened my mouth .
“ I-I just wanted to say that I am so fortunate to be with Andrea-sama. Actually, I don’t have any special skills… and I’m not that smart… but thanks to Andrea-sama, I’m so grateful to keep climbing dungeons like this… But on the other hand, I wonder if I’m being buried by other people too … . . ”
From then on, Emilia uttered gibberish, as if the words she wanted to say were twisted. To put it simply, he was sorry that he didn’t seem to be of any help .
Andrea shook her head slowly .
“ Priest Emilia, if I hadn’t been with the priest right now when I faced the beast of the shadows, I would have almost had to walk around with my bare legs .”
“ Well, that’s because I just wanted to use the medicine …”
“ It was an injury that had no choice but to take four medicines. Priest, humility is good, but you must not lose your self-esteem. If the priest lowers his own value, it means lowering my perspective for choosing to accompany him .”
“ Ah, I never meant to do that …”
“You wouldn’t have. I know everything. and .”
“…?”
“ Someday, the priest will definitely carry our group .”
Andrea believed in Emilia’s potential. It was clear that Emilia, who obtained ‘that card’, would not be defeated even if she faced Arpan alone .
Even after hearing those words, Emilia tilted her head slightly to the side .
“ What is Carrie ?”
“ There is such a thing .”
Andrea turned her head and closed her eyes. If I explained what Carrie meant, Emilia would surely ask how she could do that. It would be difficult to convince Emilia of that right now, and it was something she would naturally understand as time passed .
In order to take responsibility for the party, he had to take enough rest from himself. Andrea deliberately erased thoughts and emptied her mind in order to close her eyes .
But just as I was about to fall asleep, Emilia’s small voice pierced my ears .
“ Andrea-nim is really… a mysterious person. He knows so well about this place that sometimes, when I see him, he seems like someone who has explored this place countless times rather than received a revelation from Khalisis .”
‘… actually .’
Andrea answered in her heart and fell into a deep sleep .
*
It smelled unfamiliar. I didn’t have to go very far to recall this stench. The grassy smell of overgrown vines and the thick earthy smell of damp soil. The damp humidity that touches the skin and the raging heat were also a climate that I had already experienced .
It was no exaggeration to say that the aisle had already been swallowed up by hanging vines. Infested bugs and thigh-high weeds made the path cumbersome. It was a terrain that reminded Andrea of bitter memories .
A green hell that made me feel the tall walls of jungles and dungeons .
The encounter with Cameleos was by far the worst thing Andrea had ever experienced in a dungeon. When I recalled the memory of stopping the bleeding by tapping the cut side of my finger in the polar dawn, and the memory of wandering between life and death due to being poisoned, my spine felt cold .
‘ Right now, with just one finger, you’d be able to break the chameleos ‘ neck …’
Trauma was something that could never be ignored. Even though she had a mighty power that was incomparable to that time, when she was placed in a similar environment, Andrea felt her body tremble slightly with tension. Tricia gave Andrea a sneaky glance .
As I took a few more steps, I heard a narration that steadily explained things that didn’t need to be explained .
‘ Deep jungle. Unknown green space where the most terrible monsters lurk under the shadow of giant trees. No one who values life will recklessly set foot here. Challenger, don’t let your guard down for a moment. The vines hanging everywhere might strangle you in an instant …’
“ Every time I hear it, I feel that bastard is just like an uncle eager to scare his nephew .”
Trisha’s sarcastic voice. Andrea agreed with that statement. The sound of laughter leaking out without my knowledge. Trisha laughed along with Andrea and trembled .
“ Andrea, if the grass moves, tell Priest Emilia. If I were to eat it as a salad, I’d be afraid of even a large piece of grass .”
“… that’s not a bad idea .”
“ Huh? yes? Eh ?”
I couldn’t help but laugh again when I saw Emilia questioning me strangely. After that, the tension subsided even more. Apparently, Trisha saw Andrea’s nerves on edge and tried to free her .
“ Thank you, Trisha .”
“ Huh? Why ?”
··· Or just spit out whatever came to mind .
Andrea knew which monsters would appear. There was only one monster that could appear in the ‘deep jungle’ if it was an ‘elite monster’. Fortunately ,
Andrea was very familiar with this guy.
‘ Shylock has raised an issue about this guy before in the Library of Blood .’
After counter-summoning Marco, I opened the door and entered, and a thick bush filled my field of vision. Lush leaves and wild vines intertwined to form a dark green darkroom. Among them, a huge flower that bloomed splendidly pretended to be the background .
You could tell if you looked carefully. The fact that all the vines as thick as a person’s waist wrapped around them were all spreading out from the lump supporting that flower bud .
Andrea mercilessly squeezed one of the vines with her gauntlet. Then the flower made a grotesque sound, revealing a sharp-toothed snout where the drink should have been .
“ Kyrrr !”
The vines that were scattered all at once began to shake. A landscape as if the whole jungle came to life. Andrea lightly smeared her lips with saliva and pulled the gauntlet close to her hand .
“ Let’s try it, you hearty salad bastard .”
‘ Vine Angler’ began to act in earnest. Emilia’s complexion turned pale as she questioned whether the group really intended to feed her that after the hunt .
＜ 14. Foul Creatures (6) ＞ End