Alright, to speed up my training progress and achieve the highest efficiency, I think I need to come up with a proper training plan to optimize my time and level up as many skills as possible.
First, wide-area skills like [Scan], [Sensing], [Mana Sensing], and [Heaven Eye] must be kept activated at all times.
Next are resistance-type skills such as [Poison Resistance], [Fear Resistance], [Corrosion Resistance], [Sleep Resistance], and [Pain Resistance]—these should be trained based on their individual properties.
I've already prepared enough food with poison and corrosive traits.
Although I really dislike it, this is for the sake of my future where I can enjoy delicious food. For [Sleep Resistance], I just have to stay awake. As for [Pain Resistance], I'll just keep slamming into walls. That leaves [Fear Resistance]—my fear used to be death, but after nearly dying several times, that fear has somewhat faded. So this one might be a bit difficult.
Next up are the skills I usually use in combat.
This is the real core of my current training plan.
For [Adamantine Body], I just need to stand still and take hits—same with [Invincible Shield]. [Heaven's Net] can be trained together with [Multi-Form Silk]. And most importantly—[Flash].
This is the skill I want to level up the fastest because it always plays a central role in my battles.
For other skills like [Focus], [Evasion], [Accuracy], and [Blade Leg]... I'll need someone to train with.
Luckily, Meradis agreed to help.
These are the skills I've already figured out training methods for.
I'll consider the rest later.
Now that I've got a plan, time to execute it!
After that, my daily life became nothing but eating and training nonstop. Surprisingly, Meradis is incredibly strong when she fights seriously. Even though I was the one who asked her to do this, there were several times I nearly died.
Meradis mainly attacked me with magic to help me train that area, and in the end, the results didn't disappoint.
After more than half a month of training, a bunch of my skills leveled up.
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Hmph...
The results aren't bad, but the two skills I wanted to level up the most still haven't budged!
Are you kidding me?
Also, some skills I didn't even focus on still leveled up.
Hmm hmm...
I can't give up!
Let's keep going.
The one thing I have in abundance right now is time.
Another half month passed, and my skills underwent even more significant changes.
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Naiwa!
Finally, I did it!
But wait, now that [Scan] has reached max level, why isn't anything happening?
Is this its limit?
Seriously??
I worked so hard, and now it can't level up anymore?
Or is there another condition I don't know about yet?
Ugh, I don't feel like thinking anymore.
It's already been a whole month since I came here. I guess it's time to go outside and move around a bit.
Thanks for helping me train all this time, Meradis.
"No need to thank me, but honestly, I think Shiraori could still do better."
Hmm??
"Shiraori should start thinking about using magic too. Your stats are high and you've got resistance skills, so now's the perfect time to use and level up magic skills."
Hmm...
That, huh...
I've actually met the conditions to use magic for a while now, but the spells I possess are a bit... special. They're not basic elemental magic.
I already asked Suzu about this. She said she could help me practice those spells, and we've already been doing that for a while. But as for elemental magic... according to Suzu, I need to find an area rich in elemental mana.
That would increase the chance of obtaining elemental skills.
Hmm, but where would I even find a place like that...? I don't have any leftover Skill Points either.
While I was still pondering, Meradis spoke up: "If Shiraori is worried about that, there's no need. To acquire elemental skills, you just have to stay near the corresponding element and use [Mana Manipulation]. Conveniently, something on the 20th floor might be just what you need."
Oh? What kind of place is that?
"The 20th floor is also known as 'Five Elements'. It contains the five natural elements. There are even elemental spirits living there—perfect for you to train with."
Ooh, then I'd better set out for the 20th floor soon.
But first, I need to finish all this leftover food. I don't really enjoy it, but I can't just waste food.
Hey, Seina, I should probably find someone to cook for me in the future.
"What are you telling me for?"
I just wanted someone to talk to.
"Focus on eating! You're dealing with that pile yourself, don't drag me into it."
Aah, don't leave me behind…!!
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After a month of training on the 15th floor, I decided to move to the deeper levels. Although the results weren't quite what I hoped for, I couldn't afford to delay any longer. Besides skills, I also needed to level myself up.
So, on every floor I passed through, I swept away every creature within sight. Starting from the 16th floor onward, each floor had a boss of its own. Although they were called bosses, they were actually pretty weak.
Or maybe… I've just gotten too strong.
But there was one really fortunate point: after being defeated, these bosses would respawn after a day. Their levels were generally higher than other monsters, so this was an excellent way for me to grind experience.
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Leveling up was progressing quite well. On average, grinding all day was enough to gain one level. Defeating a boss also yielded one level's worth of experience.
Compared to sweeping an entire floor, killing one boss was faster, but since bosses didn't appear continuously, I had to combine both methods.
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Aside from fighting on my own, I recently started using another tactic. I relied on skills like [Loyalty], [Faith], and [Intimidation] to create my own army.
I'd send them out to search for monsters and bring them back. Since a single floor had a vast area, if it were just me alone, it'd take two to three days to clear it completely.
While my army worked, I was also busy. The only difference was that by the time I returned to my temporary base at the end of the day, there were already tons of monsters gathered, and all I needed to do was finish them off to gain tons of experience.
This method really worked well.
To grind levels even faster, I expanded my army's range by returning to earlier floors and establishing troops there as well, ordering them to bring all captured monsters back to the 15th floor as the central gathering point.
Doing so took some time, but the results were more than worth it.
When I returned to the 15th floor after about seven days outside, I found that the area was almost full of monsters. I had already set up a web system here, so once they were brought back, they couldn't escape.
Meanwhile, I practiced magic with Meradis again, because Suzu was busy, so I had to ask her again.
Sigh… I haven't done anything for her yet, but asking her like this makes me feel a little embarrassed. But every time like that, Meradis just smiled gently and said it was okay.
Oh, she really is an angel.
Sometimes I wish I was a man.
Putting that aside, our training has made a lot of progress, the goal is to obtain the skill [Elemental Magic Resistance], Meradis will continuously use different types of elemental magic to attack me, and just repeating like that is fine.
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Success!
After several days of being shot continuously, I succeeded.
Phew.
I have to say that training passively to receive skills like this is a bit of a pain, no joke, but now that I have it, things will be easier for me when I enter the 20th floor.
After finishing training, I went to check on the progress of my subordinates, they were also very diligent. Looking at the number of monsters in front of me, my eyes immediately lit up.
All of these… were experience points!
Without hesitation, I wiped them all out and received another wave of level-ups.
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At this point, moving between floors was incredibly easy for me, since no creature could pose a threat to me anymore.
I headed straight to the 19th floor and, as usual, began sweeping through it.
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Hmm…
Progress was still a bit slow.
The next floor was already the 20th, but I was still far from being able to evolve. To speed things up, defeating the boss of the 20th floor would be ideal—but I wasn't entirely confident.
At the very least, I needed some intel on this floor first.
Meradis, help!!!
"Hehe, don't worry too much. Like I mentioned before, the 20th floor is also called the 'Five Elements' floor, consisting of five areas representing the five elements: fire, water, earth, ice, and lightning. Each area has its own boss, but they're all weaker than that Lamia back on the 15th floor. Defeating one will grant you its emblem, and once you collect all five, the final boss of the floor will be summoned."
Oh, so that means… if I don't want to, I can just skip summoning the final boss and wait until I evolve before fighting it.
Hmm, that's a good idea. Those mini-bosses should at least give me some extra experience.
Anything I should keep in mind?
"I'm sure Shiraori will easily win."
Come on, don't praise me like that—I'm blushing, hehe.
But just to be safe, I decided to stay on the 19th floor for a few more days to level up some more skills and my level. Right now, two bosses were usually enough to raise one level, but the higher I got, the more experience it required.
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Whoa whoa whoa!
This is it!
I didn't expect such a big surprise!
Let's give it a try.
Hmm…
When I activated the skill, my entire body was coated in a brilliant, shimmering blue light—just like a diamond. And in terms of hardness? Say no more.
With this, I'm even more confident than before!
Alright, I've prepared so much already, it's finally time to get moving.
Floor 20… here I come!