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Volume 8 Chapter 2 Part 12

We come across a group of one Bitch Butterfly and one Fly Trap. I cast a 「Breezestorm」at them.

Ideally, I should first take the Fly Trap out because of the poison it can inflict, but the Bitch Butterfly is resistant to Fire Magic,  so I can’t use Fire Magic which is the weakness of Fly Trap on it.

Using Wind Magic, which is the weakness of Bitch Butterfly, I first try to take the butterfly out. The monsters close in. Roxanne and Miria take them on. Sherry positions herself behind the two, holding her spear with 「Chant Interruption」 skill in her hands and keeping her eyes on the monsters. I position myself to Sherry’s side, casting spells. This is our most trusted formation.

The Fly Trap splits its head open to trap Roxanne in it, but she shifts to her left and dodges it marvelously. Miria slashes at the Bitch Butterfly, and I take the Bitch Butterfly out with next 「Breezestorm」.

We surround the remaining monster, the Fly Trap. I cast Fire Magic Spells from where it can’t attack me directly, Sherry pokes it with her spear from a distance and Roxanne dodges the attack of the Fly Trap with ease.

I shoot a 「Fireball」 at the Fly Trap. Sherry and Miria stab their spear and rapier into it, respectively. The Fly Trap collapses under the attacks of all the Party Members. In the end, it was engulfed in the flames of my 「Fireball」, and now that the Fly Trap falls down to the side, it finally turns into smoke and dissipates.  Now to collect its Drop Items….

Ah! Wait, that shape! Could it be…. Yes!

When the smoke cleared away, what remained in the place where the Fly Trap was just moments ago was a crystal-shaped object. That’s a Skill Crystal!

When I used 「Identify」, it said that it’s a Scissoresque Carnivorous Plant Skill Crystal. Is it, really? Well, I guess Fly Trap surely has a split head, just like a pair of scissors, so technically classifying it like that is not wrong.

「Here, desu.」

Miria picks it up and passes it to me.

Scissoresque Carnivorous Plant, huh?

Although I instructed Luke the broker to not actively search for a Scissoresque Carnivorous Plant Skill Crystal, I actually managed to get one myself. This world has a rather funny sense of humor at times.

「This Skill Crystal grants「MP Absorption] Skill, right?」

「That’s right.」

「What if I don’t use it simultaneously with a Kobold Skill Crystal?」

「If you fuse it with a weapon, the weapon will acquire 「MP Cut」Skill. When you attack with the weapon, you recover a bit of MP.」

Sherry explains to me. Recover your MP bit by bit, huh? I wonder how big or small is that bit going to be? It can’t be big, surely.

「Is it good?」

「I’ve heard good things about it. Wizards and Mages carry it as a substitute for an amulet. It would look funny, though, if a Wizard or a Mage were to use their staff to actually hit the monsters physically.」

So it works as a substitute for an amulet. It should be better than consuming Recovery Medicine all the time, but  I shouldn’t have high hopes for it, though.

So anyway, should I try it?

「If I fuse it with shoes, can’t I recover a bit of MP with every step I take in the Labyrinth?」

「It’s impossible.」

「What if I stab the sole of my shoe into a half dead monster?」

Why is it not possible? If I can’t recover a bit of MP with every step while I walk, I should be able to recover MP if I pierce the monster with the sole of my shoe. Or should I try attaching knives to the soles of my shoes? Just like skates. Even if it recovers MP just once, it’d not be a bad deal.

Sherry looks at me with cold eyes. A pioneer is never understood at first. She will understand with the passage of time.

「Since Wizards and Monks use it, it’s probably better to fuse it with a wand. I can hit the monster with the tip of the wand or when I walk, I can hold it upside-down, so that its tip touches the ground. Ah! Whenever I use area of attack magic, I can keep hitting the monsters with the tip of the wand until the attack cools down!」

Oh time, catch me if you can.

「L-Let’s move on?」

「Yes, let’s.」

Roxanne urges me to proceed. Mostly, we proceed per map but when we spot monsters in the vicinity, we take them out. We can afford to wander around because on Quratar’s sixteenth floor, the combinations of monsters that require only Wind Magic Spells are many.

On the way, I pull out Durandal and recover MP, and then we go fight Madame Butterfly. Because we have fought Madame Butterfly many times already, there are no problem with the fight and we finish the Floor Boss with the seductive-looking eyes on its wings off.

When the battle was over, I add a fifth Job and activate Cook before moving on to the seventeenth floor.

It’s funny that I had four Jobs during the Floor Boss battle but five after the battle. Oh well, Cook is necessary for getting rare items, so it can’t be helped. Because I’m not familiar with the seventeenth floor. Monk is needed, too.

On the seventeenth floor, I cast 「Meteor Crash」against our enemies as an opening act. Mabreams Lv.17 drop down instantly, but Bitch Butterfly Lv.17 doesn’t. So I can at least one-shot Mabreams with it, huh?

「Meteor Crash」 is undoubtedly effective against the monsters that are weak against Earth Magic. Out of the three Mabreams, one dropped a Whole Fish. I finish the remaining Bitch Butterfly with a 「Breezeball」.

「Whole Fish, desu.」

「To get one at the first attempt is definitely a good omen for the future.」

I receive the Whole Fish from Miria. From that point onwards, we continued to hunt until we had two Whole Fishes on us.

On the seventeenth floor of Quratar’s Labyrinth, you mostly need Earth Magic and Wind Magic. Due to Mabreams, whose weakness is Earth Magic, the seventeenth floor is more difficult compared to the sixteenth floor, where only Wind Magic was required, but it still doesn’t seem to be as difficult as it could have been if we came here unprepared. Overall, we seem to be able to fight on the seventeenth floor of Quratar’s Labyrinth without much trouble.

On the next day, I make tartar sauce, fillet the Whole Fish, dredge it in bread crumbs and then fry it. Such delicious dishes are the results of us taking the time to go and obtain the high-quality ingredients and rare items.

The taste of Whole Fish  fish fry is a level above the normal fish fry.

「It’s delicious.」

「Tasty, desu.」

When I bite through the crispy coating of bread crumbs into the soft fish meat inside, the Whole Fish literally melts in my mouth almost instantly.

It’s the perfect harmony between lightness and richness. The tartar sauce isn’t too strong, resulting in a faintly sour taste that goes well with the dish as well.

「It’s really delicious. I’m really happy that I was bestowed with a chance to eat such a luxurious meal.」

「Same as what Miss Roxanne said.」

「Happy, desu.」

The three of them seem to be satisfied with the dish that I have prepared. As to why Miria is feeling satisfied, it’s probably because she made the mayonnaise herself. After all, you know what they say, right? That handmade meals always taste better than the ones that someone else prepared for you.

「Do you remember the soup I made the other day? Next time, I’ll make  a similar one, but with the Whole Fish this time.」

「Soup, desu!」

「Or I can fry it with bread crumbs again if you want.」

「Soup, desu!」

This is just my assumption here, but I think that the difficulty of making the mayonnaise is still talking through Miria.

The Whole Fish fish fry was truly satisfying, there’s no doubt about it. It was so good that I subconsciously stretched my hand out so that I could grab myself one more piece of it and finished it quite quickly, so much so that even I was surprised at how fast I managed to devour it. As a result though, Miria was deprived of her own seconds of the Whole Fish, which caused her shoulders to drop considerably.

Oh well, it can’t be helped now. Expect more of it next time, whenever that actually might be.