I'm back in the Upper Layer!
Finally, finally I'm home!
Ah, spending so long in the Middle Layer really makes me appreciate the comfortable air up here.
Not being scorching hot is such a wonderful thing!
Let me savor the emotion of returning to the Upper Layer for a bit.
It's really been such a long road.
Chased by snakes down into the Lower Layer. Fought bees. Got stomped on by an earth dragon. Wandered through the Lower Layer crawling with freakish monsters. Got attacked by monkeys. And just when I finally escaped the Lower Layer, the Middle Layer turned out to be a scorching hellscape. Started prepping for the Middle Layer assault, only to get stomped on by the earth dragon again. Finally began tackling the Middle Layer, and the biggest obstacle of all—magma—stood in my way. The catfish was delicious. The eel was a tough enemy. Mother was wandering around. Fire dragons came swarming in. And the fire wyrm was stupidly strong.
Wait... Why am I even alive? What does it mean to be alive? What even is life?
I'm alive, baby!
Anyway, now that I've reached my biggest goal—the Upper Layer—what should I do next?
A few days after returning to the Upper Layer, I'd set up my nest not far from the Middle Layer entrance.
Ah, this is it. This is what I've been looking for.
Blessed be My Home.
Now I can sleep soundly without worrying about catching fire.
A lifestyle with threads really is soothing.
Ah, happiness.
I've scouted the surrounding area over the past few days, and there don't seem to be any strong Monsters nearby.
Even though I'm still in the Upper Layer, my current location is almost on the opposite side from where I started. In terms of distance, you could fit all of mainland Japan in between.
Being that far apart must change the ecosystem, because there were some Monsters I didn't recognize.
But there were also familiar ones, which put me at ease a bit.
Frogs, for instance.
The area near the Middle Layer entrance is quite spacious, but if you go further in, it branches out into narrow passages.
So there aren't any large Monsters in the vicinity.
Well, large doesn't necessarily equal strong, but most of the tough Monsters I've encountered so far have been on the bigger side.
Conversely, I've rarely seen ones that are small and strong.
Hmm, thinking about it, does that make me rare? Small and strong?
Even small and weak ones can be dangerous if they swarm you like the Geji or monkeys, so I can't let my guard down.
With my current Abyss Magic, I could probably wipe them out in one shot, but using Abyss Magic in this cramped cave system would only trigger a massive collapse. That's the only future I can see.
I'd have to make do with Poison Mist or something.
Anyway, for the time being, there don't seem to be any Monsters threatening enough to worry about.
And since there's no magma to flee into, the Monsters can't escape from me either.
The number of encounters seems to be decreasing as days go by, but I'm sure that's just my imagination!
Right, so I went through absolute hell to escape the Middle Layer, so I think I'll spend some time here relaxing and leveling up my Skills.
Not going all-out like before the Middle Layer assault—I'll take it easy, in moderation. Just laze around a bit.
I've worked incredibly hard up to this point, so I think I've earned that much.
And with that, the biggest safety concern about being in the Upper Layer has been largely addressed.
It's not guaranteed, but compared to the Middle Layer where I couldn't use my threads, the Upper Layer is definitely safer.
So there's something I've been thinking about doing for a while but never actually followed through on.
That's exactly why I built my nest near the Middle Layer entrance.
I leisurely waddle out of my home.
Destination: the Middle Layer.
Ugh, hot.
After getting used to the Upper Layer's air, I can really feel how stifling this Middle Layer atmosphere is.
How did I manage to move around in this for so long? I want to congratulate myself.
Wait, that can wait.
I slowly approach the magma.
Ugh, it's insanely hot up close.
Uuuh, actually doing this is pretty scary.
Oh well.
Fortune favors the bold!
Take this!
I plunge my scythe into the magma.
GYAAAAAAH?!
Hot, it hurts?!
GUOOOOOOH!!
《Proficiency has reached a certain threshold. Skill「Pain Reduction LV8」has become「Pain Reduction LV9」》 I use the two Magic Attendants, Nos. 1 and 2, to continuously cast Healing Magic LV2's Minor Healing on the scythe.
Even so, the scythe is burning far faster than it's being healed.
Actually, wait—is this burning or is it melting?!
Oh crap.
It's caught fire on my body too.
In a panic, I yank the scythe out of the magma and use Poison Synthesis.
The chunk of poison that falls puts out the flames on my body.
Haa...
That hurt.
What I was trying to do was level up Fire Resistance.
Despite spending so long walking through the Middle Layer, my Fire Resistance is still only LV7.
It goes up absurdly slowly.
Even after enduring that much pain, Fire Resistance didn't go up.
Pain Reduction leveling up instead is nice, though.
I made it out of the Middle Layer, but I'm still weak to fire.
Since there's a place where I can train Fire Resistance like this, I might as well keep at it until I reach Fire Immunity.
Up until now I prioritized safety and never followed through even when the idea crossed my mind, but from here on there's no need to worry about safety anymore.
Ah, also—as expected, the scythe is totally melted.
Minor Healing, which you learn at Healing Magic LV2, can't treat injuries like missing body parts.
It's a comfort-level spell that only heals scrapes and minor wounds.
I'll have to wait for Auto-Regeneration to restore it.
Auto-Regeneration has evolved into High-Speed Regeneration, so it shouldn't take too long, though.
Hmm.
Still, at this rate it's going to take a while to reach Fire Immunity.
『Zoa Ere LV19 Name: None Status HP: 499/687 (Green) +0 (Details) (185up) MP: 5012/5012 (Blue) +1300 (Details) (916up) SP: 636/636 (Yellow) (Details) (114up) SP: 636/636 (Red) +1191 (Details) (114up) Average Attack: 590 (Details) (84up) Average Defense: 685 (Details) (82up) Average Magic: 4757 (Details) (856up) Average Resistance: 4871 (Details) (850up) Average Speed: 3152 (Details) (472up) Skills 「HP High-Speed Regeneration LV1(new)」「Pinnacle of Magic」「Magical Combat LV8(6up)」「SP Recovery Speed LV7(1up)」「SP Cost Reduction LV8(1up)」「Destruction Enhancement LV3」「Slash Enhancement LV3」「Poison Enhancement LV8(1up)」「Aura Combat LV5(1up)」「Aura Infusion LV2」「Dragon Force LV1(new)」「Lethal Poison Attack LV4(1up)」「Corrosion Attack LV2(1up)」「Heterodox Attack LV1」「Poison Synthesis LV10(2up)」「Medicine Synthesis LV2(new)」「Thread Talent LV4」「Universal Thread LV2(1up)」「Thread Manipulation LV8」「Throwing LV8(1up)」「Spatial Movement LV2(new)」「Focus LV10」「Thought Acceleration LV8(1up)」「Foresight LV8(1up)」「Parallel Will LV3(1up)」「High-Speed Calculation LV4(1up)」「Accuracy LV10(1up)」「Evasion LV10(1up)」「Probability Correction LV2(new)」「Stealth LV9」「Silence LV6(1up)」「Intimidation LV5(4up)」「Condemnation」「Naraku」「Heterodox Magic LV10(4up)」「Shadow Magic LV10(3up)」「Dark Magic LV3(new)」「Poison Magic LV10(3up)」「Healing Magic LV2(new)」「Spatial Magic LV6(5up)」「Abyss Magic LV10」「Endurance」「Pride」「Gluttony LV3(2up)」「Wisdom」「Dark Vision LV10」「Visual Range Expansion LV4(1up)」「Destruction Resistance LV3」「Blunt Resistance LV3」「Slash Resistance LV3」「Fire Resistance LV7(3up)」「Gravity Resistance LV5(new)」「Lethal Poison Resistance LV2」「Paralysis Resistance LV5」「Petrification Resistance LV3」「Acid Resistance LV4」「Corrosion Resistance LV4」「Stun Resistance LV3」「Fear Resistance LV8」「Heterodox Immunity」「Pain Immunity」「Pain Reduction LV9(2up)」「Vision Enhancement LV10」「Clairvoyance LV3(new)」「Cursed Eyes of Spite LV2(new)」「Cursed Eyes of Stillness LV1(new)」「Cursed Eyes of Gravity LV6(new)」「Hearing Enhancement LV10」「Hearing Range Expansion LV1(new)」「Smell Enhancement LV9(2up)」「Taste Enhancement LV9(2up)」「Touch Enhancement LV9(1up)」「Divinity Range Expansion LV5(1up)」「Star Magic」「Fate LV1(new)」「Flash Step LV3(2up)」「Endurance LV3(2up)」「Brute Force LV5(1up)」「Toughness LV5(1up)」「Idaten LV5(1up)」「Taboo LV9(1up)」「n％I＝W」
Skill Points: 0 Titles 「Evil Eater」「Blood Kin Eater」「Assassin」「Monster Slayer」「Poison Master」「Thread User」「Merciless」「Monster Slaughterer」「Lord of Pride」「Lord of Endurance」「Lord of Wisdom」「Dragon Slayer」「Bearer of Terror」「Wyrm Slayer(new)』