The Secret of the Royal Treasury [Onsa Media]
POV Mayumi
"Stone fang!"×3
"Ora-ora!" `CRASH!!
Another rock monster is successfully pinned down and smashed into pieces as we move across the second floor of the new dungeon.
"A small one is incoming! Deploy attack magic!"
"Stone bullet!"×3
Several seconds after the command, rocks, the size ranging from a fist to a head, detach from the ground and impact the incoming monster with enough kinetic energy to break it into big chunks. I consult the map and determine that there is a very low probability of more monsters showing up here. A lone patrolling monster at the worst.
"Mayumi: Alright mages, well done, let the mele fighters take care of the next group. Yes, I know that it stings to hit them, but practice makes perfect!"
'I'd rather not have to do this either, so don't give me the pleading looks! A bad hit sends my hands ringing painfully. However, it happens less and less frequently as my mana control improves with each passing day.'
"Chins up! In a week we'll be crushing these things underfoot like bugs!"
'We are improving, so it is NOT really an impossibly. It's very unlikely to happen for anyone not specialised, though.'
I double check what area was striped clean previously and we move to the edge of it. The mages are called up to for the task, somehow scanning the ground like a sonar and we add more notes to the map after digging up anything unusual that they find.
"OOH!! Look! It's a blood range one!"
It's a bit unfortunate that there is almost no diversity of neither flora nor fauna here. Instead, we have been digging up crystals, ore, rocks and very rarely some root things that have been deemed useless for the time being. I look over the find and open my backpack to find the necessary labels. This particular find requires marking it down in the notes for further processing and categorization. We work slowly and thoroughly until the mages are down to half of their mana before taking a break for ten minutes.
"Mayumi: Ok, this section is done! Pack up anything you don't want the dungeon to eat and ready your weapons! A group of three large monsters should be waiting for us next. Mages are on support and emergency response to preserve their mana."
The mele fighters pair up to take down their respective opponents. One person will pull aggro and lead the dumb monster into a heavy hit of their partner.
"Chika: Fuu...fuuu... Ok, time to run."
"Mayumi: You've got this, no problem. ...Just don't trip and everything will be fine."
"Chika: It's ok. Last time I was just unused to the environment and the changes in my body after the level up."
'That is precisely why everyone was required to hit the gym and actually exercise! Damn, I should have assigned someone to supervise the less athletic part of our group, but it didn't occur to me at that time.'
I nod, unable to facepalm in my headgear, and move into position. The three runners move ahead by a good hundred meters and launch coordinated attacks followed by a swift retreat.
"Chika: Mayumi! It's a spider thing!"
'Tch! I've got the nasty looking one. Haa...ok focus.'
I layer mana over myself and my pickaxe, for both offence and defence. Working with unfamiliar tools truly sucks, so I need a few extra seconds to wind up for a good strike to shatter its head in one go. Dodging all those stone spears for legs is something that I definitely want to avoid, so one hit KO is a must.
Once the two meters tall creepy thing is in range, I deliver a mighty overhead strike and decapitate the golem without problem. The resulting spray of rock fragments harmlessly bounces off my protective layer, and I backpedal out of the way as the rest of its body crashes down. Visually checking on the rest confirmed that everyone is doing well. Only one crippled monster is alive for a few more moments as heavy weapons crack and shatter on their next swing.
Seeing as we have a few minutes to ourselves, while waiting for the monsters to turn into mana, everyone free strikes up a conversation.
"Mayumi: So, how is the magic crafting going these days?"
"Chika: An instruction manual would have been appreciated. We've made some progress with the smaller items, mostly improving the mana flow in them. Anything bigger than a table spoon is repeatedly giving us trouble and a headache."
"Mayumi: The thermal teaspoons were a brilliant idea. I like being able to regulate my coffee's temperature by stirring it a few times. It would be great~ to have both heating and cooling integrated into one spoon~."
It would be more convenient that way, so I appeal to get myself a prototype if there is one.
"Chika: We are still a bit fuzzy on the switches and output regulators, so a constant and single purpose function is kinda the current best that we can do. Even with crudely slapping things together..."
"Mayumi: It's still mindboggling that any of this is possible. Heck, scale that spoon concept enough and we get a thermal reactor that almost runs on thin air!"
"Chika: Ah... We have been running numbers, trying to quantify the mana concentrations... and Earth has the lowest so far. Around a hundredth of this planet's, actually. We fear that anything mana intensive will need a lot of supporting facilities, if it's at all feasible."
"Mayumi: No magic solution to advance our whole species?"
"Chika: No easy ones, as far as we can see."
'Damn, that would have been a nice bonus. Eh, I'm sure that in a decade or two we will have some very noticeable innovations popping up like mushrooms after heavy rain.'
The pile of rocks dissolves into mana right as we get deeper into discussion, interrupting us and signalling that it's time to regroup. There is a square kilometre of this monotonous area waiting for us to comb through and we all much prefer getting back home sooner rather than later.
.... ... .. .
POV Risa
I watch nervously as my weapon is being "enchanted" or so they tell me. It was unceremoniously submerged into some muddy liquid, and Chika has been standing over it for far too long. Glancing at the previous prototypes slightly eases my worry because I've personally checked that they weren't damaged... beyond cosmetic level.
"Chika: I should have tried this with a bigger sample... this is eating up mana like a ravenous beast. There are also existing mana pathways that I haven't expected to find. It's likely due to the constant use of this weapon as a medium..."
'Don't get distracted! And don't break my favourite weapon!'
I feel uneasy with her lamenting about the lack of suitable test samples and how it's not progressing as it was expected to. Unable to do anything else, I throw a pleading look towards Valentine, who gives me a helpless look in return. The "what the hell do you want me to do?" is almost audible, but I don't know what else to do and continue my silent plea to save my trusted weapon.
Exasperated, he joins Chika by sticking a hand into the liquid and they quietly continue to work. Minutes pass, both break a sweat soon followed by laboured breathing as more and more mana is pushed into the water tank. I bite my lip as the submerged katana is bathed in light and the enchanting is supposedly nearly completed.
A final push and the light faded slowly until the katana became invisible in the water tank once again.
"Valentine: Ugh! That felt like eating a completely burned slice of bread without having anything to wash it down with. Bhah!"
"Chika: There was never so much resistance in any material before. Thank you for softening up the pathways."
"Valentine: Mm. It would be better for you to try working in pairs, or doing one thing at a time. Also, I'd recommend enchanting a similar but unused weapon for Risa to compare the performances. Hopefully, the new one is of higher quality, or at least equal to this one."
"Chika: Yeah. I don't think that I can work with a used weapon on my own for quite some time. Hmm~ a couple more levels should give me the necessary strength~."
"Risa: I'll do my part, but a week of hunting can only gain you that much exp. It's never a waste of time to hone your skills."
I confirm that I'll take her to the fourth floor to get a bit more exp grinding done, in recognition of her efforts and for keeping an eye on my katana's condition. It would be tragic to have my blade damaged due to some unnoticed defect.
"Chika: Don't worry Risa, I'll be closely observing how the enchantment holds after each battle. It shouldn't break...this time for sure."
"Valentine: ...Just... don't go too much into a battle frenzy ...and better yet, assume that there is a small chance of the blade shattering as you go for a big attack. So don't put yourself into completely dire circumstances by choice."
'Fuck. I better give this a test run on the first floor before anything else.'
"Oh! Also, try not to hit those rock things with the blade itself. ...We might have, hmm~, softened the metal with our meddling."
"Risa: Fuck. `Sigh. Well, it's not like I actually hit the rocks on purpose, so it should be fine as long as I can attack using range skills."
'Why did it have to be rock monsters?! Damn things are literally a metric fuckton of solid rock that bounce off my attacks!'
Leaving the two to rest, I go for a quick test run to the new dungeon. The shift in gravity that hits me right after passing the threshold is as unpleasant as before. I need a moment to adjust myself to be able to move freely and not get the breathing apparatus accidentally damaged.
So I wait and look around the cave while my body adjusts to the increased burden. There is not much to look at, really. Rocks, rocks and more rocks. A smidge of some sort of crystal protruding from the walls here and there, but mostly it's just a monotonous repetition of rocks everywhere.
'The lower floors have a better view, but my katana will undoubtedly suffer from hitting those fucking golems. Please, let this enchantment be not in vain... .'
We haven't found any easy monster in this dungeon, instead encountering increasingly tougher and bigger rock golems. That string of bad luck has eventually put a stop to our preliminary exploration on the third floor. Fighting a giant block of stone, with only Yumi and Meiko dealing noticeable damage wasn't worth the risk. We were forced to stop and to try our hand at more suitable weapons... it didn't go all that too well.
"Haaa... I need more training to "cut" these enemies, somehow. Preferably without destroying my weapons in the process."
Another five minutes pass, and my body adjusts to the constant feeling of being on a rollercoaster enough for me to get moving. A short distance away I can already see my target, a half meter tall dog-like rock golem.
'Ok, nice and slow. I should focus on how my mana flows... .'
Concentrating on my actions, I send ranged attacks to dispatch it. The mana blades promptly rose up and pierced the monster... slightly. Enough to disable it by cracking the stone body, but not enough to fully pierce through it.
"The mana was flowing more smoothly, that's for sure, but... . `Sigh... My skills are not enough."
I am able to brute force the problem to a certain degree. However, that is the easy way out and will lead to ruin once we reach deeper floors. Looking at the cracked remains clearly shows how shallow my skills are. The penetrating force barely got me 10 cm deep and I defeated it only because I've scored multiple hits along its body.
"Fuck. I need some anime level bullshit to do this, or work on sharpening my blades to an impossibly thin and tough point. Eh, at least I have an inexhaustible number of targets to practice my skills on."
Going after more monsters solidified my opinion on the enchantment. It helps to channel the skills and results in a slight improvement to them. Nothing earth shattering, but every little bit helps in battle.
Ten monsters were enough to fill the battery and I didn't want to accidently damage the blade, so I went back to find Chika for the checkup. She had already prepared a new water tank and recovered some of her mana while I was gone.
"Chika: Hmm~ hmm~ feels smooth and without any cracks. Yeah, I don't think that there is anything to worry about. I'll try to enchant a new weapon tomorrow, so please compare their performances at that time."
"Risa: Sure, I need lots of practice anyway. Also, here, I picked up a couple of mana stones along the way."
The unassuming loot that drops from the monsters turned out to be useful as a medium and an amplifier for channelling mana. Further research is ongoing, but no-one has found any other use for them yet.
"Chika: ...can you grind them yourself? I'm out of mana and there are other things for me to do... ."
'Ugh! Stupid rocks! I should have brought another battery with me or left them behind!'
I can only silently nod in response and sort out my thighs before sitting down to grind the rocks into course sand. The method that has yielded the best quality is, unfortunately, the most primitive one. Grinding rock against rock while pressing mana into them.
'Someone better figure out how to use machinery for this, because doing this chore feels more like a punishment than anything else.'
I chuckle as a mental image of Meiko sulking in a corner and grinding rocks while Valentine is harping her for something she has done wrong pops up in my mind. Then again, she can do this more efficiently than the rest of us, so it's a win for everyone if we have some more reserves of this resource.
'I need to gain more battle experience. Real battle experience that comes from fighting for one's life. The training room feels too fake for gaining large improvements. I should talk with Kate to see if she has any ideas on how to safely dispatch those berry warriors. With two of them killed, fighting one on one will be quite the thrilling and beneficial experience.'
Challenging all of them on my own is suicide, even two of them can easily kill me if I attack head-on, but one on one with comrades ready to jump in to save my life... It would simply be a dangerous training session and a potion would heal me back up anyway.
Grind. Grind. `Grind.
"I wonder, when are we going to find some proper aliens? All this resource collection and study is damn boring... there are surely some fantasy species out there... ."
Everyone seems thrilled to discuss what benefits can be gained from the things that we have brought back and I get that, but it's not truly something special. It's just too mundane for interplanetary travel. I'd like to see an alien civilization, as long as they aren't a "kill everything on sight" species.
Done with this laborious task, I deposit the handfuls of sand into a bag and label it for storage. We don't know yet if it deteriorates over time, so strict labeling was deemed necessary for each sample. Looking at my hands, I decide to take a quick dip in the hot spring with a few points of mana added for healing up the small scratches.
The hot water and a tingling of fatigue force me to close my eyes and lean back, floating and relaxing.
"I may have become overly reliant on this luxury instead of giving my all to the safety first approach. Mmm~ but my skin feels so nice~ and smooth~ huaaa~."
It's the ultimate convenience for me. If I take a dip every third day, then I need not bother with any other beauty care and still look perfect! A quick refresher in the salon and I'm good for another two weeks! It probably can't get any easier than this and I'm loving the freedom to throw these concerns out of my mind completely.
"Would longer hair look good on me? I haven't noticed anyone having trouble with long hair, so it shouldn't cause an issue during combat."
I run my fingers across my arms and legs, scrutinizing whether I've put on some weight or it's the more likely result of my rapidly developing muscles. It does feel like I've become more solidly built and I have definitely been eating a lot more due to all the stress and exercise.
"...I really should stand on a scale, even if I don't want to know the exact figure. There's surely not an ounce of useless fat leftover from the sweets, I HAVE burnt it all and gained muscle mass."
'My chest area hasn't gained any fat either, so I'm fairly certain that everything else is the same... . Some of the clothes at home were a bit tight fitting, now that I think back on it.'
Pushing the thoughts of shopping to the back of my mind, I soak for a good ten minutes before getting out. Feeling hungry, I walk upstairs to get some late lunch and talk about the training I want to do.
"Valentine: Eh... The fucking rock dungeon is bullshit for my skillset, so I'm not going to even try. On the other hand the food dungeon is getting a small, little, tiny bit dangerous to explore solo. Without a, kuhum, boost from leveling it's becoming harder to keep up. Not to mention that the swamp has some deadly ass monsters, even for super humans. ...If push comes to shove, I can take on a single berry warrior. However, those assholes focus on regrouping and I lack stopping power to prevent them from doing so."
My first attempt at getting him on board has failed, and I can see how uneasy he feels about agreeing to a halt baked idea.
"Risa: Mmmm... Do you want to partner up for training? We... we all tend to just fight on our own, even when in groups. I mean, we support each other and always have ranged attackers dealing damage. But... We don't actually fight like those berries do, that is, in a close-knit group."
"Valentine: Well, it looks good in anime and some movies, true. It also looks easy with those monsters doing it, but I can't imagine it being as simple for us... flawed... humans. Plus, I'm not as sturdy as you people are."
'That is a shame, really. Kate doesn't have the time to practice, with her more focused on other things. Maybe Yumi or Anna will have the freedom after graduation?'
There aren't that many suitable people to work with. I can't bog down agile fighters in heavy fighting and Meiko likes to sweep everything in range of her halbert. The new girls are too focused on the other dungeon to spare any people... . I feel that we lack a unifying drive and our focus becomes more and more fragmented as we discover new things.
'I may be the odd one out.'
Feeling bitter, I chew on the juicy frog meat and think about our girls and what to do with my time.
"`Sigh. I'm not saying that I'm against your proposal. I'm saying that I just need time to prepare and maybe bribe the crafting people with some special privileges to brainstorm a few ideas for me. A bit of fire enchantment in our weapons would help to cut off their damn endless regeneration and even out the playing field. Heh~ We have the option to stack the deck in our favour, no?"
"Risa: Yess! Let's practice in the trading room and spar a few times before giving it a go in the field!"
'Nice! This is going to be fun!'
