Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Magic! Wall Rising to Immense Heights!

When monsters are slain and dissipate into black ash, their “cores” drop.

This “core” is known as magic stones.

Monsters operate with magic stones as their basis, and these stones are also crystallized magic that can be obtained from defeated monsters.

They contain wondrous power, and can simply be exchanged for money at the guild, being the main source of income for adventurers.

“Tch, such tiny magic stones…”

Izay looked at the three blue-purple fragments the size of fingernails resting in his palm, his tone filled with vague disdain.

“To be precise, these are magic stone shards. The magic stones dropped by monsters from the first to fourth floors are all this size, exchanging for very little Valis. The three you have there are probably worth about three hundred Valis~”

At that moment, Raul approached from behind, revealing the value of these three magic stone shards.

That is, one shard was worth a hundred Valis.

In Orario, three hundred Valis could buy ten orders of fried potato balls, making it the most cost-effective purchase.

In those large taverns, like the trendiest tavern on West Street, The Bountiful Mistress, you could order a cup of beverage~

“Hmph! A measly three hundred Valis, not even dogs would bother picking it up off the ground~”

Saying so, Izay placed the three magic stones into the small item pouch attached to his waist.

“Wait… didn’t you say even dogs wouldn’t bother?”

Seeing his actions, Raul couldn’t help but comment sarcastically.

“I said if three hundred Valis fell on the ground, dogs wouldn’t pick it up. Firstly, these are three magic stone shards, and secondly, they were hard-earned through my efforts. It has nothing to do with what I said before.”

To which Izay rebutted with righteous indignation.

Raul: “…”

He hadn’t noticed anything remotely close to ‘hard work’.

It took Izay just three moves to instantly kill three Goblins with three swings of his spear. Hard work?

The great men who defined the meaning of ‘hard work’ would likely rise from their graves in fury upon hearing this.

However, after experiencing their first battle, Raul had formed a rough judgment of Izay’s strength.

At least, the monsters in the first four floors probably posed no difficulty for him.

And considering how calm he appeared, it seemed this wasn’t his first time battling monsters.

Recalling what the captain mentioned yesterday about Izay awakening to magic…

Raul inexplicably felt a premonition that today he might be used as a support tool.

You know, the kind where you follow a “big shot” around the entire time, picking up monster drops and items, only to leave the dungeon without any reward.

……

After the first wave of battles, it was as though they caught attention.

Every time Izay and Raul passed through a forked path, they almost always encountered one or two, sometimes three or more monsters initiating combat.

But it was futile.

With combat skills and experience, plus a set of fine equipment,

even though he received divine blessings just yesterday, Izay had no trouble clearing the first floor of the dungeon.

Like a god of war unleashed, the duo smoothly reached the end of the first-floor passage.

“Next is the second level. Shall we go down?”

“Is there even a question?”

The joy brought by entering the dungeon for the first time and receiving divine blessings and magic for the first time filled Izay’s heart with excitement.

At least until this excitement subsided, it seemed unlikely he would leave the dungeon so easily today.

Entering the second level, the labyrinth environment remained intricate and complex, an endless, monotonous continuum of spaces.

However, the frequency of monster appearances noticeably increased.

Within the dungeon, each floor generates fixed types of monsters from the walls.

Occasionally, some monsters may climb up or down from lower levels, but such special cases are rare.

Generally, the deeper you go, the stronger the monsters become.

Depending on the floor, the number and frequency of monster appearances vary.

The deeper you explore, the higher the frequency of monster appearances.

Izay’s first battle on the second level was against six Earth Spirits.

Though called Earth Spirits, they were actually dog-headed creatures with deep gray fur, standing approximately one and a half meters tall,

armed with sharp claws as their primary weapons.

“Huff…”

Facing the newly spawned monsters from the dungeon walls, Izay chose to make the first move.

His figure darted forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, a cold glint leading the way, followed by a spear thrust like a dragon emerging!

With a single step planted firmly on the ground, force flowed from his feet through the spear tip!

The frigid spearpoint pierced through two Earth Spirits’ bodies, exiting from their backs.

Pausing momentarily, Izay flicked his wrist, scattering the black ash of the two Earth Spirits into the air.

“Gurrrr, Gurrrrrooo!!”

Taking advantage of his forward momentum, Izay leaped backward, leaving his previous position just as two Earth Spirits lunged toward it.

But they lunged into empty air.

An awareness every adventurer or any profession should possess when fighting monsters:

—Avoid attacks whenever possible.

Perhaps Izay could have turned around and swept the two Earth Spirits down mid-air, but why bother?

After dodging, two swift spear strikes like meteors streaked through the air, the chilling glow dancing in the sky, leaving two more piles of ash on the ground.

“Gaa, Gaaa!”

At this moment, the last two Earth Spirits, devoid of the words “escape” in their limited memory banks, charged bravely toward Izay, claws waving.

Izay hesitated slightly, not reacting immediately, allowing the Earth Spirits to approach while contemplating something.

As the distance closed, even the faces of the two Earth Spirits lit up with savage smiles, believing they could send this human to meet their “mother” in that instant.

“Wall Rising to Immense Heights!”

“BOOM!!!”

Before Izay, a massive rock pillar erupted suddenly.

The abrupt appearance of the rock pillar violently hurled the two Earth Spirits into the air, while a shockwave emanated from the pillar, dealing another devastating blow.

Smashing into the surrounding walls, the Earth Spirits were firmly embedded within them.

The phrase “stuck in the wall, impossible to pull out” fit perfectly here.

Black mist scattered everywhere, and two more magic stone shards dropped.

……

Trailing behind Izay, Raul’s prediction came true.

Currently, he was cleaning up the battlefield like a newbie trailing behind a powerful individual.

While cleaning up, he chatted casually with Izay.

“So amazing! Izay, what you just did was magic, right!? Suddenly, a giant stone pillar appeared, hurling the Earth Spirits away, then BOOM, energy exploded, instantly wiping them out.”

“So cool~ Magic… both powerful and stylish, I want to wield this miraculous power too…”

The Level Two Adventurer from Loki Familia voiced his immense envy.