That said, I still spent a few more days wandering around those floors to keep grinding levels. After all, I just wanted to be as well-prepared as possible.
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Hmm, that should be good enough.
After that, I didn't hesitate and headed straight to the 20th floor.
According to Meradis, this floor had five different terrain zones, and the one I just entered was an extremely hot area with lava everywhere.
Looks like this is the fire zone.
Still… it's really hot.
I'm dying! I'm dying!
I don't think I can stay here for long.
Better find that mini-boss quickly.
So I started wandering around the area. Even though the temperature kept rising, I tried to endure it. Luckily, [Diamond Body] gave me some heat resistance, so once I activated it, it wasn't too unbearable. But if I stayed here too long, I'd probably end up as a well-done spider.
Where the heck is that mini-boss hiding?
I've pretty much searched the entire area, even reached the edges where I could already see other zones, but I still couldn't find any trace of the boss. And there weren't any monsters here either.
I even tried using skills to scan the surroundings, but I didn't detect a single target.
"Could it be under one of the lava lakes?" Seina suggested.
Oh, right?
The only place I haven't checked is beneath those lava lakes. So I started using [Heaven Eye] to scan each of them.
It took quite a bit of time, since there must've been nearly a hundred lava lakes of various sizes here. The very last one I checked was also the largest.
If it's not there, I give up.
Fortunately, I finally found my target.
Let's Appraise it.
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HP: 5000/5000
MP: 9000/9000
SP: 5000/5000
Attack: 5423
Defense: 5356
Magic: 10430
Speed: 4892
Skills: [Fire Magic Immunity], [Fire Magic Lv10], [Heat Resistance Lv10], [Regeneration Lv9], [Advanced MP Recovery Lv10], [Reproduction Lv10], [Rage Lv10]
Huh?
This mini-boss is a spirit?
"Yes, but it's different from us. Spirits specialize in magic and aren't limited to any one type of it. Also, because we are born and evolve in natural environments, our adaptability and evolutionary potential are much higher."
"In contrast, Elemental Spirits are born only within the extreme conditions of a particular element. They can only grow through that environment—if taken outside, they become weaker."
Oh, so there's a distinction between them.
Then is it okay if I take it down?
"Don't worry, Shiraori. Elemental Spirits are considered low-tier magical creatures. No one cares about them."
Good then.
Now, what should I do with it…
Looking at its stats and skills, there's really nothing for me to be afraid of. I'm pretty sure I could take it out easily, but keeping it alive might prove more useful.
"That's right. Shiraori can use this creature to enhance her resistance skills, and maybe even learn fire-elemental magic from it."
Thanks for the reminder, Meradis. I think I'll go with that plan.
Afterward, I dragged over a fairly large rock, wrapped it in silk, and got into position. I dashed forward, pulled the rock along, leapt into the air, and spun midair before slamming the rock down into the lake.
Lava instantly splashed upward, and a furious roar echoed from beneath.
Got it!
Very soon, the Fire Spirit appeared before me. Its body blazed brightly, with flames and molten lava flowing out. It didn't have legs, just two arms, and floated in the air.
At a glance, it seemed to be composed of rocks, not really a living organism. Even though I knew it was weaker than me, it was still best to probe it first.
The Fire Spirit roared furiously, its entire body engulfed in flames, causing the ambient temperature to spike. Streams of lava flowed down from its body, leaving blazing trails on the ground.
I immediately activated [Diamond Body], hardening my form and boosting heat resistance. Even so, the heat in this area made me feel like I was inside a giant furnace.
The Fire Spirit didn't wait long. It raised a molten arm and summoned a massive fireball using [Fire Magic], then hurled it straight at me.
I instantly triggered [Flash], my body darting to the right at high speed, narrowly dodging the fireball. It was a perfect dodge, but the heat wave from the explosion behind me still made me feel the terrifying power it carried.
The Spirit wasn't done. It summoned more sparks from the sky and unleashed a rain of fire directly over my location.
I calmly used [Heaven Eye] to track the direction of each spark, activated [Evasion], and jumped continuously through the gaps between them. The blazing sparks fell all around me, but not a single one hit.
While dodging, I launched a counterattack. From midair, I fired a barrage of silk threads using [Heaven's Net], aiming to bind its arm. However, the intense heat from the Spirit's body burned the threads before they could latch on.
"Looks like I can't use that method directly," I thought to myself.
The Spirit continued its assault, summoning a massive stream of lava from the ground—a giant serpent of fire rushing toward me.
This time, I activated [Invincible Shield], and a layer of magical energy appeared to block the lava stream just in time.
The lava crashed hard against the shield, and I could feel the immense pressure behind it. Although the shield held, I didn't want to waste too much SP just defending.
I kept moving nimbly, making full use of [Flash] to dodge and maintain distance. At the same time, I exhaled a cloud of [Poison Mist], spreading it around the Spirit.
The Fire Spirit floated within the poisonous haze, but its [Fire Magic Immunity] and [Heat Resistance Lv10] seemed to mitigate most of the effects. Still, I noticed its movement slowing just a bit.
Conclusion: it's not dangerous. I can use it as a training dummy.
So now I'm supposed to just stand here and let it hit me?
Even if it's for training, that still feels a bit frustrating.
Oh well—if taking a few hits helps me grow stronger, then so be it!
…
So I stopped moving and refrained from using any skills, and of course, the Fire Spirit seized the opportunity and started launching fireballs at me nonstop.
And even though I knew I wouldn't die, I still instinctively tried to dodge. I managed to halt just in time, but I still got hit.
Hot! Hot! It's way too hot!
It didn't hurt that much, but the heat was unbearable.
"Shiraori, please endure it. This is magic fire, not normal fire, so defense stats or physical-type skills won't help much. The only option is to endure it and wait for the skill [Elemental Magic Resistance] to level up."
Thanks for the encouragement.
I'll try to bear with it.
I noticed that this spirit has a massive MP pool, so I figured I'd have to let it keep attacking me for quite a while.
What followed was a boring and uneventful process. The spirit kept attacking me nonstop, and every time it did, I rolled around on the ground from the overwhelming heat.
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Oh, finally some progress.
It took almost a whole day just to level up once.
Even while getting hit, I wasn't just idling—I was trying to acquire a fire magic skill.
According to what Meradis said, I had to use [Mana Manipulation] to control natural mana that had already been altered into fire mana, then let my own mana veins come into contact with it.
It sounded easy, but I'd been trying all day without seeing any changes.
"Shiraori, don't rush it. Manipulating elementally-infected mana is a bit different from regular mana. Since it's infected with an element, that type of mana works better when used for magic of the corresponding element. Letting your own mana veins come into contact with it is meant to help your body adapt to that kind of mana."
Hmm, aside from the external sensation, I could feel a stream of heat flowing inside my body, spreading through my mana veins.
Then I guess I'll gain the skill once my entire mana network fully accepts this mana type.
"You should also try using magic to speed up the process," Meradis reminded me.
How am I supposed to do that?
"Form a magic circle using the elementally-infected mana, then channel your own mana into it to imprint your signature. That would count as casting magic at its simplest level. With fire magic, you'd produce a flame. Ice magic would lower the temperature. Lightning magic would generate electricity...
As long as you achieve even that basic effect, it counts as a success."
I see.
Let's give it a try.
I followed Meradis's instructions exactly and, sure enough, managed to create a small flame in front of me.
Oh wow, does this count as the first time I've used magic by myself? Because up until now, it was always Suzu controlling the body and casting magic.
I suddenly feel kind of emotional.
Hey, Meradis, can this be used to attack?
"It's just a flame. If you want to use it offensively, you'd need to convert it into a projectile form."
How do I do that?
"Let me explain the fundamentals of magic again. It consists of two components. One is mana, which serves as the energy source. Mana from nature or your own mana works the same. The second is magic characters, which form the framework of the spell.
To put it simply, magic characters form the outer shell, while mana powers the inside. So if you want to change a spell, you'll have to change its outer shell. I think your friend would be more knowledgeable on this matter."
Hmm, sounds pretty complicated.
I always thought magic was just chant, gather energy, and fire.
"That explanation also works. Once someone masters magic, they can skip a lot of steps. A mere thought can shape everything, and they just need to pour mana in. But in our case, it's not that complicated because we've got magic skills!"
Oh, does that change anything?
"To put it simply, skills are like pre-assembled tools. The user just needs to activate them, skipping all the complicated prep steps."
Hmm, sounds convenient, but not very creative.
"We can still create our own skills. This system is truly magical. No one has found its limits yet. Perhaps as long as it follows the laws of the universe, anything can become a skill."
That amazing, huh?
Guess I'll need to create some handy skills for myself in the future too.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand.
I think I'll need Suzu's help with this part.
Now that I think about it, Suzu's been awfully quiet lately.
I tried calling her, but there was no response. When I entered the Virtual World myself, I found out that she was going through another round of spiritual enlightenment.
Ack!
Why now of all times??
What do I do now?
"Shiraori, don't worry too much. Even if you can't alter the magic, it's fine as long as you can cast its most basic form."
Yeah, guess I'll settle for that for now.
I then spent the next few days letting the Fire Spirit attack me nonstop, while I practiced manipulating magic at its simplest level.
According to Meradis, not every creature can use magic. Only high-level tribes or beings with natural talent like this spirit can use it easily.
So, all things considered, I might be one of the most exceptional monsters around, huh?
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Yatta!
Finally made it!
More than twenty days of my life!
I'm exhausted.
This tool's been useful, but it's time to put it down.
I activated [Blade Leg] and used [Flash] to dash right in front of it. Without hesitation, I slashed down, splitting its body in half. But of course, with its regenerative power, that wasn't going to be enough.
"This environment benefits it. You need to isolate it first," Meradis warned.
Got it.
I spun out a massive amount of silk and sealed off every direction around it. Thanks to the heat-resistant quality of my silk, it wasn't so easy to destroy. Every time it broke a layer, I immediately produced three more.
At this point, creating silk had become pure instinct for me—it wasn't even about using the [Spider Silk] skill anymore.
I really do feel like I've turned into a spider.
After producing hundreds of silk layers and wrapping the both of us in them, I activated [Invincible Shield] and provoked the spirit into unleashing its most powerful attack.
Sure enough, it got pissed off. A massive fireball formed and shot toward me.
Then came the explosion. The entire silk barrier was blown away, but I remained completely unharmed.
As for the spirit—it was nowhere to be found.
Phew.
Even though I'm already really strong, if I want to finish off enemies efficiently, this method—though simple—is still incredibly effective.
One down at last.
But I don't have much time to rest.
Let's keep going!