FLFO Chapter 74 Cave Dungeon

I ignore the stares that gather on me when I enter the building and go to the receptionist .

Can you give me some information about the dungeon?

UmI see youre an Immortal, but.

Im here as an Outsider. There should be no particular problems.

I see. Its a cave dungeon. Ten levels. Normally, you must be at least rank C to challenge the dungeon, but there are no restrictions for Outsiders.

Specialties

Magic Iron and Lytium.

Traps

Arrows (poison, stun, paralysis, sleep, darkness, curse, bleeding)

Gas (poison, paralysis, sleep, silence, curse)

Slip-floors, pitfalls (slime, spears), rooms (magic blocking, monster house).

Treasure chest (mimic, poison, confusion, explosion, monster house).

Monsters

Level range 40-49, boss 53

Aquatic, magical creatures.

We usually say that you need light and protection against abnormalities, but..

As an immortal I dont need either.

Then you should.be careful of the dungeon-specific pitfalls, monster houses, magic blockers and slip floors.

Whats a magic blocker?

These are traps that prevent you from building up your magic. Specifically, it slows down your chanting, but its not that strong so you should be able to resist it.

A trap that slows casting speed.

Its only the first one, so it should not be a very strong version of it. Will the spear version of the pit be.an instant death trap?

The pitfalls and monster houses are the main ones to watch out for. The next two are magic block and slip floor. Not to mention the spear, but the slime will do a lot of damage to your equipment. It will cost you a lot of money, and if your equipment is damaged, it will be more difficult to come back alive.

So spear types are instant death after all. Ill ignore the murmurings from behind me about Erotic slimesa mans dream. It wont work on my equipment.

The pitfalls and slip-floors are apparently slightly different in colour.

Oh, right. Its your first time. The biggest difference between the field and the dungeon is that there are a lot more enemies. Unless youre near the stairs, theyll follow you everywhere, so we recommend killing them immediately. And be careful of the noise.

So if you dont have the minimum amount of firepower, youll be crushed. On the other hand, if you have the firepower, you can make money. Its good that there are so many enemies. The dungeons sound like a good place to raise your level.

And the noise? Sound must also be an aggro condition. Its pretty nasty, isnt it?

The enemies are golems, gargoyles, tortoises, and dolls. Be aware that some of them use magic or long range attacks.

Hmm..Oops, do they use light or holy?

No, only up to the secondary of the four main attributes.

So theres no problem?

Yes, yes.

If they dont use darkness, then my absorption wont come into play.

Lets go and see it in person. After being told the way to the dungeon I thank the receptionist and check the request board. No subjugation quests, but delivery? The price of the goods is quite high. Well, Ill just take it when I have something, so Ill pass for now.

Im leaving the Adventurers Union.

So, what do we do now?

To the dungeon~!

I think I want to go to the dungeon, too.

Well, alright. Lets go.

Two of the three want to go to the dungeon. I have no reason to object, so its no problem. We leave from the south gate and summon the horses.

The east side has a high level range of 45-49, so we will go to the dungeon via the south.

After a short climb up the mountain we see a safety area, with a small hole in the rock wall. There are statues of Creall-sama and Stellura-sama placed inside.

These two statues seem to be the entrance to the dungeon.

Princess, what should we do about servants?

Lich has a bonus to summoning?

Right.

Then should we have you make three of them, and me two? Ill make one a worker.

Okay~

Im the leader of the party and Ske-san is summoning the servants. This seems to be the strongest setup, if we do not consider the capacity and skill experience.

I summon a worker and #1 as skeletons.

We heard there are a lot of enemies coming up, so Ill call one of them as an armour. Three tanks should be fine.

.Im being counted, arent I?

Hahahaha. Ill switch to firepower if youre okay.

Okay. Lets go.

After summoning and checking our equipment I approach the statue.

<Would you like to enter the cave dungeon?>

<<The party Dedicate your humanity, led by Anastasia, has reached the dungeon. The dungeon will be added to the help section. >>

<You have fulfilled specific requirements and acquire Title: Dungeon Discoverer.>

Dungeon Discoverer

A title commemorating the first Outsider to arrive at a dungeon.

Well, thats plain. Lets go

Yes.

It is still waiting for confirmation on whether to enter the dungeon, so I press Yes and the field of view changes. We have been transferred inside.

Yeah, Id say its a cave.

Its a cave

Its a cave

Its simply a hole. A tunnel of soil and rock surfaces. Its about the size ofa two-lane road. There is enough space for a single party to fight.

Its not pitch black, but its quite dark. If you dont have night vision youll need a light. One or the other. Torches for atmosphere.

The minimap is not working. This is probably the same as the dungeon added for the second batch.

The initial state is that you cant see anything but the UI frame. Whats in your field of view, but not examined properly, is lightly marked. Then, once you see something up close, the colour becomes normal

Since we just entered it only shows colour around me, after which it is faint.

It looks like a safe area. Lets go.

I think its to prevent fighting right after the transfer.

Its awful to get hit right after the transition.

It happens all the time, but when it happens in VR, its unbearable.

Oh, I forgot.

Here, you two can have this.

Hmm? Cooking? Oh, we can eat this!

Oh, really.

Alf-san will have the strength buff dish, and me and Ske-san will have the intelligence buff dish.

Whoo! Yummy.

We can eat now too?

My Cook and Alchemycraft are both at 30. I read a book and it gave me an extra art.

Hmm That is quite challenging.

There is no need to eat at the last minute, but I completely forgot about it. We couldnt eat together until now.

Anyway, Princess, your eyes are closed all the time, can you see?

Yes, I can. Ive started to put into practice the rare skill I developed when I got the Silver Key. Its taking some getting used to.

Sensing?

HmmRather, I would call it minds eye? Its a spatial awareness skill.

Oh, I somewhat get it.

Heading straight for Je*i.

But the attribute is the dark side. Its a rare skill, so its a secret.

Oh

Now that we have eaten, lets turn our back on the two statues at the end of the road and move on.

Attacking the wall does not seem to do anything, so there is no need to worry about being buried alive. You can shoot explosions without worrying about it. The management here is very realistic in some strange ways, so I would have been concerned if I did not check it.

Each of us carries a weapon, and we can see the enemy in front of us.

Is that a.Steel Tortoise?

Its the same as the info said. Ill take the lead.

Yes, yes.

Ill go a bit ahead of Alf-san. The tortoise is basically a magic attacker. Its similar to my fighting style. Even when he gets close, he uses his defensive power to continue shooting magic. The only difference is that the tortoise is defensive and Im parrying.

However, unless he has reflection or absorption, hes a sitting duck for me. I reflect all the magic that comes at me, and I also shoot magic.

It seems that resistance increases through the levels of: resistance, invulnerability, reflection, and absorption. It seems that physical attacks only have resistance, invulnerability, and reflection. Reflection and absorption are said to be the highest levels.

The tortoise is probably resistant at best, so no problem there. If its invulnerable, theres no point in returning the magic, but if its resistant, we return it because its not zero.

The tortoise notices us and turns towards us slowly. Of course we go straight for it.

As soon as were in range, a spear of earth appears around the tortoise, and I reflect it once it comes flying, while Ske-san and I cast spells. In the meantime, Alf-san approaches and attacks from the side.

Its only one of them, so its an easy win.

Hmmm. Its tough. Steel.

Will this dungeon be too hard for melee?

I think it would be better to bring a blunt weapon.

Anti-magic is pretty easy when you can just send out Princess.

I suppose so.

The drops are rotated as usual.

When we go a little further there is a fork in the road, but I can also see an enemy. Its a human-sized, if slightly slimmer, golem. And its red.

Elemental Goleman. What. Goleman.

Its a golem man, isnt it? Its relatively humanoid for a golem.

A human man?

A normal sized one would be a little too big, so a hindrance in a cave. Its elemental and red, so its probably fire. Its not a spirit, so going by its appearanceits more correct to say its a golem made of fire metal.

Its all red metal, with a fire-like effect as a pattern.

Dont look at me.

Its coming.

The Goleman looked at me and then came dashing as fast as it could.

Alf-san takes his place and receives the shoulder tackle head-on. Metal collides with metal, making a loud noise.

Since #1 has the magic red iron, it is not suitable for this. Should I prepare all attributes? I think it might be better to quietly take Grant Magic

He cannot hit the elemental weakness for now, but its still an attack.

This guy is fighting bare-handed, so hes a Martial Arts type. It attacks fast.

Doesnt he use magic?

He doesnt look like the type to use magic.So probably not.

Ske-san, weve got wolf reinforcements.

Mm, Ill take the aggro.

I can see the Steel Golem Wolf running towards us on the 3D map in my brain. It was probably attracted by the sound.

The armour summoned by Ske-san will take the aggro and we will hit the Goleman that Alf-san is holding first.

There seems to be continuous damage near this enemy.

That typeit doesnt matter!

Do I still need to use my eyes?

When I open my eyes, I see that the elemental part of the pattern has started to spew fire, and the surroundings are blurred due to the high temperature. Is it environmental damage from the heat or a burning condition?

Its not a problem for those of us with automatic healing, but other players might have a hard time with it.

We make use of [Critical Control] and [Six-Fold Chanting] to defeat it quickly.

After defeating the Goleman, we start to attack the Steel Golem Wolf. This one is just a wolf shaped golem, so its easy.

Hmm, Alf-san. A Goleman is dashing towards you.

Its a busy dungeon.

At this level, theres no problem with firepower.

Its the MP thats gonna be the problem.

Yeah. But you cant save it.

Ive improved my MP recovery skills, but Im still spending a lot. If you take too long to try and save it, enemies will come to you and you wont be able to handle them.

It would be easier if I had Ame-san and Thorin-san, both in terms of experience and firepower, but Im not sure if theyre a high enough level yet.

The next Goleman seems to be blue. I opened my eyes to check the colour. Is it water this time? Not that it really matters.

The Steel Golem Wolf is very aggressive, kicking off walls to move around.

Oh, theres a tortoise coming from behind.

Did it respawn behind us?

Ill switch places with Ske-san.

In the dungeon, it would be better to put Alf-san and armour in front, with Ske-san in the middle and me behind.

The tortoise arrives just as Im about to kill the Wolf, so I adjust my position and reflect the spell, while I cast magic at the Goleman.

Use my reflection and keep the aggro while we kill the Goleman. Hes the most annoying. Or rather, the loudest. The turtle is probably the quietest.

The enemys body is metal, so its noisy while using a large shield to defend against it. And Goleman is bare-handed, so hes beating against it. Its unbearable.

After defeating the Goleman and the tortoise, were done.

This isnt an instance, is it?

It seems like you can meet other parties in here.

The ones you killed earlier respawn, then get aggroed by the soundits quite tough.

Doing it solo will be pretty painful I think dungeon parties are gonna get formed in the wild.

It does make it fairly efficient for raising your level, however. Even if you dont move, just fight and the enemies will come to you. You need to be strong enough to handle them without problems though. If you dont, you will be crushed.

The minimum qualifications that adventurers need for dungeons. If you are strong enough to avoid being crushed, or can take measures to prevent it, and can find and disarm traps.then you should be okay.

The rank requirement for entering the dungeon was C. In other words, after becoming a full-fledged adventurer. The dungeons are so dangerous that you have to be able to cope with the unexpected or you will die quickly.

Being an adventurer is a dream, but in real life, it would be a job to be avoided. Its not like a game where youre guaranteed to get stronger and not to die.

Its a hard world.

Ill move while trying to keep an eye on the MP of you two.

If possible, Id like to secure some items for escape, butthats just luck.

It seems to be a drop

The dungeon escape items are dropped by the enemies in the dungeon, and when you use them, your party will be transported out of the dungeon.

There are two types of these items. One is limited to the inside of the dungeon, and disappears when you leave the dungeon. The other is an item that stays with you even if you leave the dungeon.

The latter are bought by the Adventurers Union as insurance. They try to keep the price stable and eliminate counterfeits.

Veterans of the dungeons are sure to have them for emergency escapes. They are pricey, but if they can buy the life of a party, they are worth it. They are disposable but do not expire. If youre in danger of using it every time, youre not fit for the dungeon and should stop before you die.

We Outsiders should use the former, which are easier to find, and sell the latter to the Union, for a good income. We havent found either one yet, though.

With the strength of these enemies, if we trigger a monster house, well die.

Its delicious if you can handle it, but if you cant, youll die.

I dont want to spend a lot of MP at once. Id prefer to avoid them

A room full of enemies.A monster house. Its a rather common type of trap. A room with a treasure chest which, when opened, blocks the door and spawns a lot of monsters. Or you can open a door and see a lot of monsters.

For the Residents, its the worst trap, but for us, its delicious. Its a good trap that saves you the effort of searching for enemies.

But its not very efficient, because the enemy is not only the same level, but can also be higher. If you die, you have to pay for the death penalty and movement, so its best not to. Even if you dont get wiped out, considering that you dont get any experience while youre deadits still not very good.

Oops

A click by my feet, and an arrow comes flying.

I cant detect all the traps.

No matter.

I couldnt see any of them from the beginning.

You have to some kind of skill for it.

Maybe it will level up while hunting?

There could be dungeon specific skills.

Whoa.

Pfft.

Slip floor?

Its a real pain in the ass in combat.

Its not easy to move while trying not to step on the trap. Its better to have more people for hunting, but if you have too many it makes it more likely someone will step on the trap.

However, for us, traps are a nuisance at best, so we prefer to have more people.

A Goleman and a Murder Gargoyle?

Yellow this time. Earth.

Whats with this earth type

Ill take the Gargoyle.

Yeah.

The gargoyle, which had been flying at us, shifts to a gliding state and rushes towards us. The armour holds back the attack, and sure enough, it makes a loud noise, so it looks like reinforcements are coming.

And speaking of the Goleman

What?

Whats with that motion?

Then he jumps and stompsand ripples spread from his landing point.

Stomp!

Oh, geez, thats so annoying!

Isnt the earth type the most annoying one so far?

Definitely.

Now we have to jump while fighting other enemies.

In short, just dont let them jump.When their movement slows down, bind them.

Oh, I see.

Instead of a slow restraint speed, we can use [Shadow Bind], which is a chain type with a long effect duration and strong restraint power.

Leave the Gargoyle for now, lets focus on the Goleman first.

I am in charge of the binding, since the binding will be strengthened by the [Space Reinforcement] of Spatial Magic, and Spatial Magic itself has been strengthened by the Silver Key.

Abnormal conditions against enemies work the normal way, in that their resistance increases each time they are hit with it. They become less likely to be affected, and the effect duration decreases. So lets hit them quickly.

Mu, another Goleman.

This time its. green! Wind!

The yellow Goleman is killed before the first bind is broken. Thats an impressive restraint duration.

Then we leave the Gargoyle alone and watch out for the green Goleman, which weve never seen before.

What was the condition caused by wind?

What was it?

Uh. I think its faint?

Leave wind and water out of it.

The wind Goleman is fast, isnt it? Also.wind is blowing.

Wait, wait a minute. Just being near it causes a knockback!? Yikes!

Oh, Im not changing.

I want it to stop because it is blowing my hair about, but there is no particular problem. A weight judgement?

Put some meat on your bones.

I wouldnt be a skeleton anymore!

Youre absolutely right.

Ske-san is firing off magic while sliding backwards in the wind. Why not make your equipment heavier, like mine? Not that I wanted to.

The problem is that others will be sliding away too. If they jump to avoid a yellows stomp, they will be blown away.

In order of trouble, it would be water < wind < fire < earth. For us, its water < fire < wind < earth.

The enemies in the dungeon are for gamers, arent they?

Its definitely for players who enjoy combat.

Well, dungeons are all about fighting, arent they?

Thats true. The Union information was a bit lacking, though.

I think they care more about the world in the Union, dont they? The dungeon seems to be a common type of different dimension, so you have to take proper measures.

It seems that the conditions are unknown, but for some reason a dungeon naturally occurs, and in order to stabilise it, two statues are placed.

If the dungeon is too dangerous or not good enough, the statues are removed and the army and adventurers monitor it until it disappears naturally.

So, if you find a dungeon, dont carelessly enter it, but contact a nearby Union first. They will take the statues to fix it and investigate inside. If they succeed in fixing and stabilising the dungeon you get rewarded with something that was obtained during the investigation.

If you dont do this, you can enter the dungeon before it is fixed, but theres a good chance youll go bye-bye. Before the statue is placed the dungeon entrance is not fixed in place, so we dont know what will happen if it disappears. The risk is too high, so when you find a distortion, you should dash for the Union.

New dungeon investigations are commissioned to high rank adventurers, and they are paid extremely well. This is because they are also paid by the country. Some dungeons produce materials that are very tasty in many ways.

So it seems that dungeons vary a lot from one aspect to another, so you have to adapt your strategy to each dungeon.

Okay, I made you wait, Gargoyle!

The wind has finally died down!

Weve got more.

Oh no, not again. And its yellow!

And a blue one too. The blue and yellow Goleman and the Gargoyle thats been there since the beginning? The Gargoyle is still left alone.and the blue is given to Alf-san, while the yellow is bound.

[Bind] [Nox Pillar]

The bound yellow is swallowed by the pillar of darkness. Its hard to use it against moving enemies because its ground-based, but so far the pillar is the most powerful when every tick of damage hits. You cant miss if you bind them first.

And [Nox Mine] will hit even when you parry. It is very good for dealing damage while saving MP.

While working with Ske-san to hit them with magic, we let #1 and the others attack and kill it quickly.

Which should I choose?

Gargoyles are more annoying, arent they?

Leaving Alf-sans blue behind, I join Ske-sans armour and hit the Gargoyle, whose HP is decreasing steadily.

Gargo-san, the Gargoyle, is obviously flying by magic, so no Spatial Magic. Even though the Silver Key has reduced it, it still eats up a lot of MP

Its not easy to hit the Gargo, is it?

Its moving in a troublesome way. It might be best to use missiles.

In the end, I think it will consume less.

Its not very powerful, but its guided, so it can hit most enemies. I will whittle it down with magic missiles.

Its easier to deviate when the movement is linear. Gargoyles have a lot of up and down movement with their flapping wings, and they also wander from side to side.

Oh, right. You can shoot them at an unavoidable distance.

Well, yeah.

The farther away you are, the more adjustments you have to make, but the closer you can shoot from, the better. Unlike Ske-san, I have no problem going to the front, so lets do it. Depending on the distance, I could even use a shot spell.

After killing the gargoyle, its time for the Goleman.

<Your Race Level has increased.>

Oh, it went up. Thats good.

Itd be even better if we could call the twins, but theyre not quite there yet, are they?

Its not too late, is it? Theyll be here soon.

The amount of experience wed each get will drop as its shared further, but well also earn more as a whole with the twins in the party. Either way, the dungeons are delicious.

<< The party I willnot be the Pirate King, degozaru!, led by Musasabi, has reached the Southern Continent. From now on, voyage to the Southern Continent events will be weakened. >>

Oh!

So Musasabi-san was the first to arrive.

That group has a penchant for throwing weapons after all

Dont want to be stealthy at all, huh.

Well, theyre slayers, no matter how you look at it.

That..nwaaah!

Ske-san, who was walking ahead of me, fell down.

Kya~ Slime~

Cut it out.

Alf-san cuts off Ske-sans girlish cries. Where does his voice come from anyway. The bones?

Hahahaha, are you finally returning to the earth?

Im afraid not!

This is because were not in a line like in some RPGs!

Tough.

Who cares if a skeleton falls into a pit? And its only Ske-san.

We wait for him to crawl out and move on. I think the biggest problem with equipment is if Alf-san falls.

Hmmm.should I get Fall Resistance?

Dont fall in the first place.

Do you have any trap detection skills?

Hmm.. Oh?

Yeah?

<You have fulfilled specific conditions, Mapmaking was unlocked.>

Oh?

Mapmaking

Enhance the mapping function in dungeons.

Hidden doors and traps that are discovered will be marked and shared with your party.

Mapmaking, Trap Detection and Trap Disarming have all grown up.

Ive only grown Mapmaking

Only Mapmaking here too.

Trap Detection and Trap Disarming areexactly what they say.

They appeared at the same time?

Looks like it.

Trap disarming. It seems like it unlocked by triggering traps. If you dont die from them, its cheap to do. We can just happily charge through most of them because the conditions dont affect us.

By the way, the condition to unlock Mapmaking is the time you are in the dungeon, so all three of us got it at the same time.

Is it okay if only one person in the party has them? Im a little concerned

I wonder if I should get them too? The disarming is probably a dexterity judgement, and detection is likely from spotting them with the Detection skill

You want to go first, Princess?

Right. Id like to unlock the skills too.

Then lets change.

Alf-san and I will switch positions so I can learn the Trap Detection and Trap Disarming skills. In other words.. step through the traps!

The arrows are flicked away and the gas we just walk through. Slip floors and pitfalls are a pain.

Ah, you.Yamamoto!

Unreasonable resentment.

People hold grudges in places they dont even know exist.

Its a hard world we live in.

Hey!

While defeating enemies and ensuring safety, I step through the traps.

<You have fulfilled specific conditions, Trap Detection was unlocked.>

<You have fulfilled specific conditions, Trap Disarming was unlocked.>

Oh, its unlocked.

Wheres Pitfall-san when you need him~?

So it will drop the bones, but not Princess.

Thats just how it is.

I have to just let it go.?

Ske-san, armour, Alf-san and I will proceed in that order.

Hey, trap..spears!

He fell down.

It stings more than you think.

Its only ten or twenty spears.

The quintessential stab resistance.

Rather, its the mental attack of the spears at the end of the fall that is worst.

Ah I see. It certainly looks scary.

I mean, it took a lot of HP. Its 30%, even after lightness and piercing resistance. A normal person will probably die.

While waiting for him to crawl back out, I will take the three dungeon skills.

3SP each, for a total of 9. Thats okay.

Forward again.

Theres a Goleman in front of us.

<Spatial Magic reached level 40. 2 Skill Points acquired.>

<Spatial Magics [Gravitas Umkehren] and [Restriction Barrier] were acquired.>

Oh, it went up now? I guess thats from experience earned with Spatial Awareness Ability Expansion.

Geez, its yellow and green.

The existence of yellow is unacceptable.

Ill have to check them out later.

The yellow one is tanked by Ske-sans armor, bound, then hit with pillars and mines. The wind will be taken by Alf-san.

Wolf reinforcements Oh, and here comes another Goleman.

Yellow again!

[Quick Change]! #1, take the Wolf. Ill take care of the Goleman.

Ill switch the worker to armour and let it hold the Steel Wolf Golem.

The first yellow can be killed before the yellow reinforcement arrives. The wolf will come quickly and start playing with #1.

Oh, more reinforcements.

What?

Red and blue! This is like some kind of sentai squad thing

Ske-san, prepare a pillar with maximum firepower. Ill get em.

Seriously?

Alf-san, use the warcry as soon as youre in range so they dont bounce around.

Alright.

Where should I put it?

Right under the black ball.

Okay.

Let me show you the best vacuum power.

The wolf has started to play with #1, but lets leave him alone for now. Im waiting for Goleman to join in.

Judging by the speed of the Goleman, it will be time to cast a little after Alf-san.

Now. [War Cry]

[Magic Amplification], [Critical Control]

[Gravitas Sphere]

All at once, the enemies turn their gaze to Alf-san, and the fast-moving wolf begins to run and attack. The Goleman group also heads straight for Alf-san.

Ske-san is preparing his magic.

However, a [Gravitas Sphere] appears in the air a short distance away from Alf-san. You can think of it as a small black hole. It is a spell to gather surrounding enemies.

I also immediately use [Critical Control], which increases the power of the next spell, without worrying about the increased MP consumption. Its a spell for when you want instant firepower.

Oh! Thats it! [Nox Pillar]

[Nox Pillar]

The sphere collects all the enemies, while lightly lifting the supposedly heavy Goleman and Wolf.

Ske-san and I have placed our [Nox Pillar]s right below them. I then place a [Lumen Pillar] on top of that.

It looks like we got them all.

Its tasty, but youve lost a lot of MP, Princess.

Its all because of Spatial Magic.

I like the suction sphere, but the cost is a little..

Well, thats just the way it is. Its still too soon for us to become dinner.

Even despite having the key, the [Gravitas Sphere] will take almost 30%. If I could use MP potions they would become more useable, but I cant at the moment.

If I can [Magicise] food, can I not also do it to potions? I need to verify this.

Now, the new spatial magic I learned.

[Gravitas Umkehren]

When used after a gravity-based spell, it reverses gravity.

[Restriction Barrier]

Creates a barrier that traps the target. Consumption increases or decreases depending on strength and range.

Hoho

They are gravity reversal and barrier type binding spells. I hope I have an opportunity to use them.

Oh, a dimensional crystal.

An escape item at last. Crystals are personal, arent they?

Mm-hmm.

Dimensional crystal.

Allows the user to escape from the dungeon immediately.

Cannot be taken out of the dungeon.

Well need one for each person.

Then, we are still hunting.