Whoa.
This is bad.
In front of me stretches a vast lake of magma.
And there's no path.
Did I take a wrong turn?
I thought that, but the Middle Layer is structured as one enormous corridor that continues on with considerable width.
The width is about a kilometer, so calling it a "corridor" feels like a misnomer, but still.
In any case, to move forward, I need to cross this magma lake.
Fortunately, while there's no path, there are small islands scattered here and there.
With my jumping ability, I can leap between islands, and worst case, I could make my way along the ceiling.
Someone like me could push through this, but wouldn't it be impossible for humans?
Yeah, the limits of humans probably only extend up to the Upper Layer.
A labyrinth spanning an area larger than Hokkaido — there's no way that's conquerable by normal means.
You'd need the power of a Hero, or a legendary hero, or something on that level.
Whether people like that even exist, I have no idea.
Maybe some handsome young man favored by the Administrator got granted special powers or something.
Ugh, that's so unfair.
If that's the case, give me some too!
No? I see. Of course not.
Sigh.
I kind of escaped reality there for a moment.
Being able to "push through" comes with the caveat that it only applies to crossing it.
What makes this place truly dangerous is that it's crawling with Monsters.
This magma lake — aside from its width, it's also quite deep.
In the deeper parts, it reaches about 200 meters.
Doesn't magma that packed together cool and solidify somewhere?
You'd think so, but in reality it forms this massive lake.
And that wide, deep lake is full of Monsters.
It'd be fine if they were all fodder, but there are some that look pretty dangerous mixed in.
Within my Detection range, I can spot fish-like shadows that resemble eels here and there.
This is bad.
I'd like to ignore the Monsters and push through, but from past experience, in dangerous zones like this, something always picks a fight with me.
The footing is terrible.
There's nowhere to retreat.
If I fall, it's game over.
Lots of strong enemies.
I can't afford to let my guard down.
I really can't afford to let my guard down.
My danger sense is screaming at me.
But if I don't break through here, I can't move forward.
What even is this labyrinth?
There's no intention of letting anyone clear it, is there?
Die, you say?
The gods declare that I am fated to die here.
Administrator — was this your doing!?
Ha.
Alright!
Let's go.
I'll try to avoid combat as much as possible.
Operation: charge full speed ahead — changed to: value your life.
So first, I'll jump to the nearest island.
I stick the landing beautifully.
An eel materializes with a splash right where I land.
Heyyy!?
But there's no time to panic yet!
The eel is a strong enemy, but I should be able to take it down with my current abilities!
Still, maybe running is the safer bet here?
Body department, magic department — what do you think?
[The footing is tight and rough. One vote for running.]
{Agreed. No need to fight on an unfavorable field.} Alright, we're running!
{I'll provide support.} So that's the plan — run!
Or so I thought, but the eel's behavior seems off.
It's clearly noticed my presence, yet it's making no move to attack.
No — it's frozen in an attacking posture but not actually moving.
Hmm?
[Intelligence department, isn't this paralysis?]
Ah, that's it!
Right, right.
When I hit Level 5, I acquired the Paralyzing Eye.
At first I was thinking about going for the Death Eye or the Petrifying Eye, but in the end I decided against both and went with the Paralyzing Eye instead.
The reason is that I'd personally experienced paralysis and realized just how devastating it is.
That stuff is brutal.
You can't move at all.
It nearly killed me — well, in terms of HP, it actually did kill me.
The Death Eye would be viable if I were just going for raw offensive power, but given the nature of Corrosion Attack, it seems like it could deal damage to me too, which is scary.
Besides, if I use that on fodder, there won't be a corpse left to eat.
Same reason for the Petrifying Eye.
I can't exactly eat stone.
Plus, I know Petrification is a pain because the Petrifying Lizard did it to me, but while it is troublesome, it takes a pretty long time to take effect.
Having part of your body turn to stone — sure, that's a nasty effect for the opponent, but from my perspective, there's not much benefit.
If the goal is to disable part of them, wouldn't total-body immobilization through paralysis be better?
So I settled on the Paralyzing Eye as my second eye.
Like the Cursed Eye of Hex, it consumes MP while active.
But even with both running simultaneously, thanks to the effects of Magic Adept and Satiety, I actually come out ahead on MP.
Oh, about the Satiety stock — I recently discovered that it automatically stores up through natural regeneration too.
Super convenient.
Thanks to that, my HP has been gradually building up as well.
HP-wise, the heat damage keeps it low, though.
MP, on the other hand, comes flooding in, so I've been using it aggressively.
There's a Skill called Magic Fighting Method that lets you temporarily boost your physical abilities by spending MP, so I tried circulating magic through my body and picked up the Skill pretty easily.
I keep that active at all times now.
Similarly, Ki Fighting Method, which uses SP instead of MP — I activate that periodically depending on my SP reserves.
As for magic, the Magic department keeps Shadow Magic and other spells running constantly.
Right now, I'm firing Poison Magic at the eel.
The eel stayed paralyzed, took the poison, was steadily worn down by the Cursed Eye of Hex, and eventually collapsed from exhaustion.
《Experience Points reached a certain threshold. Individual, Zoa Ele has leveled up from LV6 to LV7.》 《Various base stats have increased.》 《Skill Proficiency level-up bonus acquired.》 《Proficiency has reached a certain level. Skill: "Thread Talent LV3" has become "Thread Talent LV4."》 《Skill Points acquired.》 《Experience Points reached a certain threshold. Individual, Zoa Ele has leveled up from LV7 to LV8.》 《Various base stats have increased.》 《Skill Proficiency level-up bonus acquired.》 《Skill Points acquired.》 It felt like a waste to let good meat sink into the magma, so I used Thread to haul it up onto solid ground.
I had to rapidly swap out sections of burning Thread over and over — that's what it took to get it done.
Fighting the eel might have actually been less work than this.
An eel that gave me that much trouble — and now I could finish it off this easily.
I've gotten way stronger.