episode_0116

It’s natural that the boss’s rewards increase significantly as the difficulty level rises.

Besides, the rewards from boss-level monsters are truly impressive, and while there were many drops from the 2nd floor’s Witch or the 5th floor’s Leviathan, there were just as many mouths to feed.

In fact, comparing it to those two is perhaps too much.

Should I say they were bosses of a higher tier than what’s considered boss-level?

So I thought about what was similar, and it was about the same level as the reward obtained from the 2nd floor hidden dungeon.

However, it was about three times better than that reward.

Because there were several gold cards, along with artifacts and equipment of unknown identity, and magic stones of all grades piled up.

I wondered if it was okay to receive this after defeating it so easily without any sacrifices, but reflecting on it, it was actually their fault for encountering me and Noah, who are asymmetric forces.

Absolutely, no doubt about it.

At that moment, Erika approached the two explorers from another clan who had been watching from afar.

“You… can take some too.”

Erika, whose confident attitude was gone, had completely cowered.

After all, if they hadn’t been there, they would have been attacked by the Troll of Death without knowing what was happening, and would have bled quite a bit.

I also thought, in that case, wouldn’t it have been better if they hadn’t violated business ethics in the first place?

“We will. But it would be better if you didn’t get too greedy as an explorer from now on.”

“You’re giving in more easily than I thought?”

“Looking at the box contents, the artifact our clan was looking for wasn’t there.”

Was it a clan that was originally looking for the Troll of Death?

If so, they must have originally consisted only of high-floor explorers.

It was also my mistake to think they were typical explorers just by looking at their casual clothes.

Right away, Erika was strong against the weak and weak against the strong.

Since they seemed stronger than herself, she immediately tucked her tail, which seems like the typical appearance of a common explorer.

Anyway, after dividing the spoils, the two of them left.

We also left that place to find a suitable spot to rest, as fatigue had built up.

*

Not too far away, there was a cave suitable for taking shelter, so we made camp inside.

The rewards distributed to our party included a decent amount of magic stones and cards, but the core was one gold card and one artifact of unknown name.

Unfortunately, there are so many types of artifacts, and there was no one here who seemed likely to know information about all of them. Thus, there’s the drawback that it cannot be used until its exact purpose is known.

So it felt like I had gotten something good, but since I didn’t know how much it was actually worth in terms of money, the dopamine felt a bit lacking.

However, that’s only how other people feel.

For me, there was one ‘additional reward’ left.

『Please check your card rewards.』

This brilliant reward window at the bottom of the reward screen.

I did think it was a bit much to only give one card reward after defeating a 6th-floor boss-level monster, but there’s no need to complain about the side dish before seeing the actual reward.

I rubbed my hands a few times and then reverently clicked on the status window.

Immediately, three options appeared before my eyes.

[Heavenly Harmony (5)] – Doubles the applied blessings.

[Divine Agent (8)] – Summons 5 Divine Agents for 1 turn.

[Inquisitor (X)] – Become an Inquisitor for 2 turns.

All cards I had never seen before.

Seeing that an 8-cost card appeared, they clearly seem like good cards that would only drop on high floors.

But that X mark.

It’s a cost I’ve never seen among cards until now.

Naturally, that’s also one of the costs that appeared in the game.

To be exact, it’s ‘consuming all currently held energy’.

If you have 11 energy. Consuming all 11 energy to become 0 energy.

As is usually the case with such effects, the effect strengthens in proportion to the energy consumed.

So it was a card that could sometimes be chosen because its high potential was high and its low potential wasn’t bad.

However, it was usually something that could only be chosen in situations where a large amount of energy could be secured, as using it with 1 energy wasn’t very efficient.

Well, anyway, let’s take a look at the other cards as well.

First of all, [Heavenly Harmony].

It says it doubles the applied blessings.

Looking at the effect, it seems extremely good, but it’s not a card I can use right now.

Not only is the cost heavy, but also, most of my current deck is related to shields.

If it was a card that doubled shields instead, I might have considered it a little.

Let’s put the first one aside for now.

Second. [Divine Agent].

It’s a card that summons 5 summoned beings for 1 turn.

The cost is as high as 8.

A card that costs 8 and only lasts for a mere minute!

However, I have a feeling the effect in return will be incredibly overwhelming.

‘No matter how I look at it, 8 cost seems too restrictive to use.’

Aiming for a high point is good, but it seems far off for my energy to even increase from 5 to 6 right now.

Besides, I don’t know exactly what kind of summoned beings it summons.

For example, does it summon supportive summoned beings to help me, or does it summon combat-powerful ones to help with the fight?

Of course, they say the best healer is one who removes the source of the damage, which is true healing.

…Let’s skip this for now.

Lastly, [Inquisitor].

Just reading the description, it seems like a transformation card. As I said before, X-cost cards that consume all held energy become usable when you have at least 3-4 cost.

Furthermore, my current Paladin deck is being run mainly for support, so would it be the correct choice to add a card that, just by its name, seems like an extreme attack card?

Of course, a minimum level of attack power is necessary. But building up shields and using [Divine Shield] seems much better.

…The truth is, all three cards have very good value. I really don’t know which one to choose.

‘Ah, the description isn’t detailed, so I don’t know which one is good.’

I told the Main God in my mind to give me a detailed explanation, but as expected, he didn’t even pretend to listen.

While quietly contemplating between the two options, [Divine Agent] and [Inquisitor].

Someone approached.

“…What are you thinking about?”

It was Noah.

She sat down next to me casually.

“Indeed, there’s no helping it, they’re wary of me no matter what. Is being an outsider this sad? I want to go home quickly.”

“……..”

Sometimes Noah gets homesick like this, and seeing Erika’s party being wary of her seemed to trigger it slightly again this time.

Well, I get like this sometimes too, so I understand.

Besides, aren’t we comrades from the same world?

Even if I can’t offer specific words of comfort, just being next to her will likely make her feel better.

“So I told you what I was thinking, why don’t you?”

“…No, well.”

It seems I was thinking too deeply.

Noah is just a beast. A single beast.

It was my fault for attaching meaning to words she just casually blurted out without thinking.

But talking to Noah isn’t a bad idea.

After all, hearing various opinions can help organize one’s thoughts.

The problem is how to put it into words.

“Which do you think would be better: me getting stronger, or summoning 5 powerful allies?”

“Ah, I know what it is. But isn’t it too easy?”

“Easy?”

“No, usually magic used on oneself follows one’s own physical specs, right?”

“…Right?”

“But your body is trash.”

“……?”

No, what is she talking about?

Although I’ve been downing physical ability enhancement potions endlessly like water on the shop floor.

It’s true that I’m weak compared to typical 6th-floor explorers.

But that’s natural.

I’m a magician, through and through. It’s warriors whose bodies are sturdy and strong.

“You don’t actually think that just because you’re a magician, do you? I’m a magician too, you know?”

Saying that, Noah clenched her fist tightly and held it up.

Indeed. She was able to go head-to-head with the Troll of Death even with a simple fist wrapped in mana.

Even though she couldn’t use her black magic power because of the other explorers, she could fight almost on par with a 6th-7th floor explorer.

“The conclusion is that you getting stronger is meaningless. That’s it. Should I ask the others too?”

“…No.”

“What do you mean, no? Hey! Grace!!!”

Noah immediately called for Grace.

After quickly telling her the story.

“That definitely makes sense. After all, Mr. Ivan almost died unable to escape without me.”

“……..”

That’s true. If Grace hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to escape the Troll of Death and my head would have been smashed, sending me to the underworld.

Even so, isn’t the way they treat me a bit harsh?

Perhaps because my expression changed slightly due to feeling a bit depressed, Grace was startled and quickly waved her hand.

“No, it’s not that Mr. Ivan is useless. It’s just natural for magicians to have lower physical abilities because they spend time studying and researching other magic.”

“See? She says it’s natural.”

I said this confidently to Noah based on Grace’s statement.

“No, but I’m also a magician and my body is strong. And you weren’t even using magic the standard way to begin with.”

“……..”

I decided to put this topic aside for now.

I had already heard enough.

[Inquisitor], which makes me stronger.

[Divine Agent], which summons powerful allies.

The assessment was that [Divine Agent] would be better than [Inquisitor] because my own combat power isn’t that high.

In fact, I had also been leaning towards that option since a certain point.

Although the cost is quite heavy, since I have a few energy-adding cards, I’ll manage to play it somehow if I keep trying.

I chose the card right away.

The [Divine Agent] card glowed and entered my deck.

At that sight, the attention of those around me gathered for a moment.

Now seeming used to it, they started doing their own thing.

“Did you get something new? Why don’t you try using it?”

“Shall I?”

Anyway, it seemed like we would just be resting today without going outside.

However, doing it inside the cave felt a bit awkward.

“I’ll just step out for a bit.”

“Let’s go together.”

“…Yeah. Me too.”

“You’re not going to leave me behind when I’m bored, are you?”

I originally intended to just step out alone, but somehow Noah, Grace, and even Luca followed along.

Well, it’s much better than wandering alone in the labyrinth and dying.

“It’s not raining.”

“How about doing it over there?”

“No scent of monsters is detected nearby.”

As we moved forward, each saying a word, we found a suitable clearing.

As Grace said, there was nothing around, and it didn’t look like it was going to rain.

I quickly changed my Joker card and drew cards.

[Heal (1)] [Meditation (0)] [Defense (1)] [Slash (1)] + [Divine Agent (8)]

Unfortunately, it didn’t appear on the first turn. Well, since I didn’t even expect it, maybe it doesn’t matter.

“It didn’t come out?”

“Then we’ll have to wait.”

The party members, as if already used to this action of mine, were passing the time chatting casually.

Well, I also intended to pass the time chatting casually.

One card that caught my eye.

I use it right away.

[Meditation]

My hands naturally moved as I began to pray.

“What on earth kind of magic is that?”

“I don’t know either. They say you’ll figure it out as you use it?”

“Well, it’s true that prayers offered to God are hard to show results after just one or two tries.”

Since someone from this world said that, the Main God must have thought similarly.

If I keep using it, perhaps the day will come when it leads to great success.

After offering a suitable prayer and chatting about various things, time flowed by, and soon it was 1 minute.

『Until next draw 1…』

Before I knew it, it was the next turn.

『Your turn. Draw 5 cards.』

『White Vault – Preserves 1 card at the end of the turn.』

The card to preserve is naturally [Divine Agent].

Swish, swish, swish! Immediately, 5 cards are drawn.

[Eternal Light (4)] [Heavenly Aria (0)] [Defense (1)] [Penance (0)] [Baptism (1)] + [Divine Agent (8)]

It appeared.

I immediately play the card.

[Penance] – Consume HP and gain 3 Energy.

As if I had run at full speed, my breath became rapid, and my HP dropped sharply.

“…Are you okay?!!”

“What, what’s coming?!”

I sent a signal to the startled Luca and Grace that I was okay.

After catching my breath, I immediately checked the deck with 8 slots filled.

“This is the new magic I got.”

Walking confidently, I play a card.

[Divine Agent]

As all 8 energy slots lost their light, a beam of light shot out from my body and headed towards the sky.

The advancing beam of light went straight in 5 directions and then began to converge.

The light that dropped straight to the ground.

Not long after, 5 humans appeared from within it.

2 behind me, 2 on either side, and 1 in front.

Naturally, my gaze and everyone else’s gaze was directed forward.

From within, someone quickly walked out.

“What?! Here……?!!”

A familiar voice.

A familiar appearance.

In disbelief, I rubbed my eyes and opened them again, but nothing had changed.

Standing before me now was the Saintess of this era.

It was Aria.

No, why are you coming out of there?