With the issues regarding the Postal Guild and the turbine engine production fully on their way to being resolved, it wasn't long before I made time to enter the dungeon again.

This time, I had a new weapon which I wanted to test out.

With the day reserved for myself, I headed to my current lowest floor: floor 142.

After beating a hell drake on a volcano themed floor, I made it to the 142nd floor. Like usual, I had left without even bothering to look at the floor itself. I preferred to have everything I needed rather than prepare specifically for a floor's encounters, so there wasn't really that much need to scout out the next floor immediately after beating a boss.

It was better to freshly engage with the monsters after being well rested.

That said, Philia had taken the kids under her care on a field trip. Apparently they were off to check out one of the tanneries to learn about leather working and I had Alicia and Fate join the group. It was good for them to gain as many experiences as possible, and since there was no age related education system in place, it didn't really matter that they were far younger than what would be normal for this sort of field trip on Earth.

I was worried that Alicia and Fate might want to become professional Goddess' Realm players or something. Particularly since the very idea of being a professional athlete was a foreign idea in this world as far as I knew, being paid well enough to live off of playing a game didn't seem like something that would work out for a long time.

And that didn't take into consideration that Goddess' Realm might not stay popular for too long.

Its staying power has proven itself already, with it lasting the last few years without any indication of its popularity falling, but it was half because of the lack of competition. It was only a matter of time before someone invents a new game and Goddess' Realm would lose it's monopoly over the entertainment industry.

While I didn't mind if the two of them ended up spending most of their time playing Goddess' Realm, I wanted them to at least grow self-sufficient as well.

(Maybe I should take them into the dungeon more often?)

The two of them were my daughters after all. Alicia and Fate had the same potential I did when it came to traversing the dungeon so it wouldn't be difficult for them to grow strong enough to get rich doing that. Especially since they could work together unlike for the current me.

It was probably a good idea to have weapons made for them as well, in addition to some sort of armour.

My own robes were made to be quite durable after all, in addition to the enchantments to further resist [light magic], sunlight, and other forms of damage.

Though at the floors I was exploring, the damage resistance enchantments amounted to very little, so it was mostly to offset my light weakness a bit.

The problem was the fact that I liked the mobility and flexibility of wearing cloth, but proper armour had to be stiff to resist damage. Even leather armour was hardened for that sake.

I could wear bits and pieces here and there, but after a bit of testing, I just ended up preferring to go without instead. The weight slowed me down more than I liked. Arm and leg armour suffered from the effects of leverage, and a chest piece was just plain uncomfortable to wear as it had to be tied down around my ribs quite hard or else it risked moving while I fought.

My problems with armour could've just been a nocebo effect as I wasn't used to wearing any in the first place, but at the same time that sort of distraction could prove lethal unless if I was fully used to wearing it. Not even a high armour skill could make up for that bit, as all it did was make it easier to move while wearing armour. It did nothing for ignoring the feeling of wearing that armour.

It was unfortunate, but I had to consider if it was possible to push a stronger enchantment onto my robes or something similar.

(Maybe if I added extra layers? Or wore my outfit a bit differently?)

One factor for enchantment quantity and quality was the physical space where the enchantments could be placed. If I wore robes with many thick folds, I could artificially increase the volume and surface area, thus put on stronger enchantments.

Alternatively, if I did something like wear pants and a skirt under my robes, that would further increase the space for enchantments. Though taking that too far would instead hinder my mobility, so I'd have to find a good cutoff point.

I'd have to experiment with that, but as avoiding getting hit was more of a priority for me at the moment, it could come later.

But preferably before I do too many more floors. Sooner or later, I'd find the bottom floor, and being under geared for the final boss wasn't something which I would want to happen.

Equipping my new orihalcum scythe, I gave it a close examination to confirm its properties.

Its main purpose was to be used as a wand, or a foci for my magic. By channelling my spells through it, less mana would be wasted in the spell's activation. In addition, it would be easier to both control my spells as well as push more power into them.

That was the main purpose and function of a wand in this world.

In addition, with this wand being shaped like a scythe, there was additional mythril framing the blade, forming a strong backbone and edge if I were to use this as a melee weapon or to protect myself from enemy blows.

While it was still far more fragile than my adamantium scythe, the repair enchantment as well far stronger, meaning that even if it was cut in half, I could restore this weapon as long as I had all the parts.

There were some quite distinct benefits of having a weapon made from magically conductive materials like orihalcum.

In addition, there were the strengthening and sharpness enchantments. While they didn't make this scythe as strong and good at piercing armour as my adamantium scythe, this orihalcum scythe certainly wasn't a slouch. Though it lacked a few details which made it as good of a melee weapon as the other one, so deliberately engaging in melee with this one was still a bad idea.

That said, the decoration at the base of the scythe blade, despite its initial appearance, turned out to be a hook on closer inspection. It wasn't a double hook and spoke like on the adamantium scythe, but the single hook alone was enough to give this weapon a nice degree of versatility if the need arose.

With a quick spin in my hands, I gave the scythe a nice little flourish before holding it in one hand near the neck. The blade held low and most of the shaft behind my back, I admired the intricate carvings on the blade for a moment.

I was quite impressed that some of the enchantments were embedded in the decorations. It was both a beautiful display of efficiency as well as an impressive act of art.

My adamantium scythe did have some artistic flourish, but it was far more utilitarian of a weapon in comparison. If you weren't good at enchantments, one could mistaken the flourishes for being nothing but decorations.

The pearlescent white and rainbow sheen further added to all that artistic appeal as well.

Frankly speaking, I was impressed that such a lethal weapon could look so pretty, now that I was able to calmly appraise it properly.

I looked up again, satisfied with my examination of my weapon, and took my steps onto the 142nd floor.

The 142nd floor was a feature light rocky canyon style with high walls.

The air was cool, yet it felt like I couldn't quite get enough air in my lungs. Most likely this floor was simulating a place high up in the mountains.

That said, the canyon ran through that mountainside as if some ancient river had deeply left its mark on that same mountain. The sky above was blue, but it wouldn't have been strange if there was something to prevent me from flying over the lip of the canyon. There seemed to always be something to prevent one from deviating from the level's floor plan.

As I made my way through the ravine, my orihalcum scythe held lazily in one hand, I quickly came upon my first victim, or rather, test subject.

The reason for the high walls became apparent immediately as I looked at the first monster of the floor.

What stood before me was a bipedal figure with skin like that of grey clay. Though, if someone had sculpted this creature by hand, that person likely would have been someone obsessed with muscles. The mostly humanoid monster's muscles bulged to the point that I half wondered if it could even move.

There wasn't a single picture of a steroid abuser I've ever seen which looked half as muscular as this being.

Even accounting for the fact that the difference in height between the two of us meant that I couldn't clear its thighs without going airborne, I couldn't help but feel like if someone measured our chest sizes, I'd lose out by a significant margin. Or rather, as things stood, you'd need a measuring tape longer to wrap around its chest than it took to wrap around my body. Vertically.

Though while the monster was humanoid, that could only be said in the loosest of terms in the fact that it had a head, two arms, and two legs attached to a torso. The proportions were all wrong, with the upper body and especially the arms being far too big for the lower body, as if this was some sort of steroid abuser who didn't even know what leg day meant. The arms were even so long that the knuckles drooped down to its knees.

That said, there were two other features which told more to the monster's inhumaneness than the jarring proportions. The first was the elongated face and hooked horns which grew out of the sides of its temples like a hardy tree seeded on a sheer cliff face. The other was the elongated feet that made up for the comparatively shorter thighs and shins, which ended not in toes, but in hooves.

In other words, what I was facing was some sort of minotaur.

A quick use of [scan] told me that this was known as a Double Muscled Minotaur.

I couldn't help but wonder if the name was a bit understated. Maybe it should have been called quadruple muscled, or sextuple muscled or something.

Those biceps alone had a greater circumference than my chest.

Frankly speaking, these absurd proportions were a bit intimidating to look at. Some part of my brain rather wanted to just avoid confronting such a creature even though the rational part told me that there wasn't anything to worry about.

"...Pff!"

(Ah, no. That's not good.)

I lightly reprimanded myself for my behaviour. Even though there wasn't anyone around to see, what I did could come back and bite me in the ass if Alicia or Fate witnessed my reaction when I tore my eyes from the monster's insanely bulging muscles. What they landed on, though, was an insignificant organ completely overshadowed by everything around it. Even the sack tucked in behind it was minuscule, making me want to point and laugh despite how poor behaviour that was.

"Something something anabolic steroid was it? Ah, no."

I gave myself a light rasp of the knuckle against my head. Hopefully that would serve as a better reminder to avoid such shameful behaviour.

Gripping my new weapon a bit more firmly, I kicked off the rocky ground and closed the distance.

When I halved the space between us, the monster finally reacted, turning towards me. Steam blew out of its large nostrils as it gave a big huff, but I ignored it and channelled my mana into my weapon.

With a great upwards swing, I released my spell. The ground in front of me froze as a jagged field of icicles sprouted.

My eyes grew wide as I stopped in my tracks. A wide cone of ice had enveloped the entire area around me all the way to the next bend in the path. Both the floor and walls were covered in a nearly endless sea of ice.

I had only intended for the ground in front of me to be enveloped this way, yet with my orihalcum scythe being used as a foci, the effect of my spell had more than trippled in potency. Not only the area of effect, but the size of the frozen spikes which should have only risen to the monster's knees had pushed to envelop half of its body.

(Have I...wasted my potential this much by not using a wand?!)

I never felt like I was lacking when it came to magical ability, and while I was able to appreciate the benefits of a physical weapon, it was possible that my image of magic from my previous life combined with my physical oriented start in this world had stifled my magical growth despite relying on it so much.

It was only at this point that I had realized how poorly I had been using my abilities.

It was like using nothing but my claws to fight to gaining my adamantium scythe or something.

However, as expected, the monster wasn't particularly slowed down by this test. After only the briefest moment of strain, the minotaur's feet broke free from the frozen spikes and shattered the icicles as it stepped towards me.

But to my surprise, the legs were covered in red marks and the rich scent of blood reached my nose.

(This spell actually did damage to such a high level monster?)

Though I couldn't be sure if the reason was because of the spell's unexpected effectiveness or because the monster had unexpectedly low defence. The fact that the damage looked little more than scratches suggested that things leaned more towards the latter. It wasn't like the monster wore armour of any sort, nor was its body covered in some sort of hardened carapace.

But neither, did it seem, that its skin was particularly thick and tough.

At least, not to the degree I had expected on a floor this deep in the dungeon.

"Hmm..."

Now that I had a sample of the amplification of my magic when this scythe shaped wand was used as a foci for it, the next thing was to try out a few other features of the weapon before doing more in depth testing.

The minotaur lugged its heavy body towards me, the ground shaking with each step as it plowed through the jagged ice.

The moment the monster cleared the ice field, I kicked off the ground, launching myself at it. But as fast as I was, the monster was able to keep up, and threw its fist right towards me.

Raising a hand, I caught the fist, then pushed myself up and over redirecting myself to sail past the attack unhindered.

I swung my weapon, catching the monster's throat with the base of the shaft. The nearly pure orihalcum rod flexed and it bore the weight of my body pressing against a resisting frame. While it flexed, there was no indication of it getting damaged from the stress.

With a smile creeping onto my lips, I held onto the shaft firmly and allowed leverage and momentum to do its work.

With the intersecting point of the shaft and blade of my orihalcum scythe as a pivot point, I swung around the minotaur's neck before kicking off of it's opposing shoulder. Landing a short distance away, I looked back to see my handiwork.

Unfortunately, the result wasn't as great as I was hoping.

Despite the blade's edge itself being made of mythril and a sharpening enchantment being imbued, it wasn't enough to do serious damage to the monster. The minotaur's neck had a clear line forming a bright red collar, the small amount of blood that dripped down its neck was all I needed to know regarding the limited effectiveness of my attack, and hence the limited capability of this orihalcum scythe when it came to dealing physical damage.

I charged at the beast and slashed at it with the blade a few more times, but all I got were a handful of lines of blood. Finally, I threw my weight into one final try, burying the point of the blade several centimetres into the monster's arm. Though I got a bent blade in return, which I quickly restored with a small sacrifice of mana.

As a test, I also raked my claws against its flesh once, only to produce similar results. It seemed like this orihalcum scythe's cutting power wasn't bad at all, and was still more capable than my own claws.

"Yop!"

I hopped to the side as a fist bigger than my head attached to an arm bigger than the rest of my body sailed past me, leaving a crater in the stone where I just previously stood.

It wasn't like this monster was that weak or slow, but the way its body bulged meant that it was incredibly limited in its ability to move. It could only twist its torso a fraction of what I was capable of, combined with the fact that it's arm couldn't pass across its bulging chest meant that it had massive blind spots where it couldn't effectively attack, much less fix its aim when I predictably dodged its fists.

This really was a fight where my speed turned a potential life-threatening fight into a bore.

I felt a little sorry for the thing, so I finished my physical testing and readied to move on.

Slamming the end of the scythe into the ground, I channelled my mana into it, which then flowed into the craggy rocks under my feet.

As the monster charged at me readying a fist once again, a large stone spike erupted in front of me. The hardened magical stonework impaled the monster, and while its dense muscles was able to protect its inner organs to a degree, I didn't bother to stop channelling my mana. The spike continued to push against the monster as it was lifted up into the air. It still continued as the monster's body slammed against the wall of the canyon in which we fought. It continued even still as the spike pinning the monster against the wall. And it continued forth as it drilled its way through the minotaur's gut like a pile driver.

Only when I was sure that the stone spike had fully impaled the monster did I finally let up.

Even then, the minotaur was quite energetic as it squeezed the magical pillar between its fingers before giving up and slammed it with its fist.

To my mild surprise, the thing held up longer than expected. The first swing only left a crack. The second a fissure. And only with the third did the construct break, freeing the beast to fall to the ground.

But the monster was bleeding profusely. It probably didn't have much HP left.

I made my way towards the double muscled minotaur as it struggled to get to its feet, but as I was trying to decide to finish it either with ice or wind, the strong scent of blood made me reconsider.

My lips curled up at the idea, and I spun my scythe in a flourish above my head. The monster's blood flowed from where it was spilt and gathered to me. I touched the blade of my weapon into the pool of blood, which quickly ran across its surface, coating it nicely.

When I was satisfied with the quantity of life giving ichor on my scythe, I charged at the monster.

The thing gave a feeble amount of resistance, throwing a fist at me at a noticeably slower speed than before.

Dodging it was almost effortless, and immediately after, I swung my weapon.

The blade hooked behind the monster's neck and I pulled. Here, I enacted the idea I had.

The blood on the scythe's blade gathered along the edge, forming a new cutting surface. That cutting surface thinned, then started running across the blade's edge.

Faster and faster, the thin blade of blood ran along the circumference of the scythe's cutting body.

An ear piercing roar exploded, threatening to break my eardrums as blood and gore sprayed out as the blood blade shredded against the creature's neck.

I hopped left and right, lightly dodging the monster's feeble attempts at stopping my attack, but in only a handful of seconds, my attack broke through the monster's spine, ending all resistance. And with the most solid part of the neck having but torn through, the rest gave way to my spell almost immediately.

(Hmm...a bit messy, but effective.)

The ground was littered with a fine spray of gore and blood after that attack of mine.

I couldn't help but feel that it was a bit wasteful. The next time I faced against this type of monster, I would endeavour to try to avoid spilling so much blood before I could suck it out of its body.