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CHAPTER 228: TESTS AND TRIALS ①

CHAPTER 228: TESTS AND TRIALS ①

~ Curulario’s Point of View~

「This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!! I can’t handle this amount at all!!」

The day after I asked to be trained by Aun-san, I was on the 19th floor of the Intermediate Dungeon, the Tower of the Wolf, and I was running away from a group of monsters as fast as I possibly could.

The test Aun-san gave me was to “Return from the 19th floor of the Tower of the Wolf to the entrance without using the Labyrinth Escape Stone”. In other words, if I was to reach my limit at any point, I could use the Labyrinth Escape Stone to evacuate, but that would mean that I failed the test at that point. On the other hand, if I could make it all the way to the entrance by any means necessary, I would pass the test, which was simple and clear to me.

I have entered the dungeon before with an impromptu party, but…… Even then, the highest floor we managed to reach was the 3rd floor of the Tower of the Snake. Even now, taking into account that I was only a low level of 22, I was more than aware of the difficulty spike of this test…… No, the danger level here was quite high for me. Naturally, I had told Aun-san about it, but when I did so, he just said: “That’s why the test is what it is,” and I couldn’t say anything more to that. In the worst case scenario, there was a safety margin for me of being able to use the Labyrinth Escape Stone, but doing so would mean me failing the test. Even if I were to use it, I would have to hang on until the very last moment……

However, there was also some good news. Thanks to Nelfie-san leading the way to the very end of the 19th floor, my initial starting point, I was able to figure out a direct route that was leading there, and she carefully deactivated all of the traps, so I was able to memorize their placement and types to a certain extent. Furthermore, thanks to Nelfie-san killing all the enemies we encountered, I did not have to use any of my own MP at all.

In fact, I was able to proceed like I was taking a walk, and there was nothing dangerous lurking for me at any moment. During that time, I was able to confirm the strength of the Seiha members once again.

— But…… I also realized, even now, that I had progressed too easily and forgotten a lot of things in the process.

「In the first place, Intermediate Dungeons are not places to conquer solo!」

That is why the extraordinary abilities of all the members of “Seiha” who could do it so easily were even more highlighted in this place…… The strength that I aspired towards, and the level I was hoping to reach, It may not be easy for me to do so right away, but eventually…… Besides, this was a test to show my resolve. There was no need to go around defeating all the monsters like Aun-san and the others, and there was also the option of hiding and letting them pass me by, although it would take a significant amount of time.

But I realized that was a naive idea. Once a monster finds you, all the monsters nearby will react to it. When that happens, you only have two choices: run away with all your might or defeat them all on the spot……

「T-This many enemies at once…… There’s no way I can defeat them all!?」

I knew that fleeing with this many monsters around was dangerous, as it was the kind of event known as “Monster Train”, but I had no other choice but to choose to flee from there.

I was really lucky that there were no other Adventurers around to witness this.

「But if I continue on like this, I will inevitably end up being overtaken and crushed by the sheer amount of monsters chasing me. But I can’t ignore Aun-san’s advice as well……」

Before I took the test, Aun-san gave me this advice: “If you really want to get stronger, you should think about how to use your tail. It’s a valuable characteristic of yours.”

I had no idea what use this tail of mine could possibly have here. But I felt like that advice was exactly what I needed right now.

(But how can I get out of this situation? If I cut off my tail, I can use it as a dummy and decoy, but that won’t be nearly enough……)

Swallowing the complaints that were coming out of my mouth, I ran away from the group of monsters with all of my might, thinking about what I could possibly do here. Using the Labyrinth Escape Stone was really the last resort for me, but the relief of knowing that option was still available to me made me a little calmer than before.

While still panicking, I tried to organize my thoughts and organize my thoughts some more, and then I remembered that there was a trap set up in the passage ahead of me to slow the advancing intruders down. Then, a certain plan came to mind.

「If I fail, I will be in a world of trouble, but…… But for now, I have no other choice but to bet on this skill!」

A large number of monsters were approaching me from behind. From what I could see, there were about ten of them chasing me, but the narrow passageway meant that I could not actually see the monsters that might have been behind those ten. But, on the other hand, that meant that the monsters in the back row could not see me too well as well. So, there was still a way out of this for me!

I jumped over the magic circle that was activating the trap in one swift motion and turned on my heels. Then I checked the monsters coming towards me.

I could see that there were several D Rank Kobolds in the front, followed by lower D Rank and C Rank monsters such as Black Wolves and Greater Boars.

As I saw the monsters approaching, I realized that my heart was beating way faster than usual. This was not only because I continued to sprint this entire time, but also because of the excitement of facing danger instead of running away from it for the first time and the tension of knowing that if I would fail here, there would be no way out for me. This made my heart beat harder and my breathing deeper and faster than they would normally be.

After I made up my mind, my mind seemed a whole lot clearer, and despite the critical situation that I was in, I was able to get a good grasp of my surroundings while looking down at myself.

A few moments later, at the same time that the Kobolds, charging towards me with murderous intent in their eyes, were caught in the trap, I activated my skill.

「“Misidentify Existence!”」

Then, the monsters that had been chasing me up until then all attacked the trapped Kobolds, turning them into lumps of fresh meat in an instant.

(Yes!! It worked!)

Then, I cast the skill “Misidentify Existence” on the Black Wolves, and I was able to leave the swarm of monsters behind and reach the stairs leading to the 18th floor, leaving the confused monsters behind my back.

「Haa, haa, haa…… I somehow managed to get rid of them.」

When I entered the 18th floor, there were no monsters to be seen around, and there was no sign of any monsters chasing me from the 19th floor, either. This room, where the stairs to the next floor were meeting, was called the “Safety Zone” and was considered an area where monsters could not enter under any circumstances.

After calming myself down, I thought back to what had happened earlier. It was surely a close call, but the plan worked better than I had expected it to do. To be honest, it was a huge gamble on my part, but……

The skill I had used, “Misidentify Existence”, had only ever been used by me to make other people mistake my severed tail for myself, and I had not even thought of using it for anything else than that. However, with advice from Aun-san, I was able to think of a different use for the skill by not cutting off my tail at all: “Maybe I can make people mistake another “tail” for ‘Curulario’ even if it’s not my own tail?”

I had to try it right away, so I was really glad it worked out……

「Phew…… I think I should double-check my HP and MP while I’m still at it.」

I casually checked my status, but I was greeted with the biggest surprise of my life at that time.

「My level has gone up by three! And…… Even my skills managed to level up as well?!」