## Chapter 61 – 61. Into the 3rd Stratum (2)
#61. Into the 3rd Stratum (2)
The staircase leading down to the 2nd Stratum wasn’t much different from the previous one.
A spiral staircase with no end in sight.
Only a faint torch illuminated the dark path ahead.
It was a setup designed to stimulate the primal human emotion of fear, but I didn’t care.
I didn’t even use Light magic to minimize mana consumption.
Maintaining only the minimum amount of tension, I continued downwards.
Meanwhile, I constantly repeated the act of circulating minute amounts of lightning element through my mana circuits.
This was a preparatory step.
Like preheating a frying pan before cooking, it was about deliberately overloading the mana circuits so they could adapt to the lightning element.
‘…This is driving me crazy.’
I knew it myself, but this process was putting a strain on my mana circuits and body.
Among mages, elementalists make up the largest proportion, and conceptualists the smallest.
Yet, the reason why those who handle the lightning element are as few as conceptualists was right here.
Despite its overwhelming power, using it required a natural abundance of mana and robust mana circuits, and the required physical endurance was also burdensome for ordinary mages.
In that regard, I barely crossed the baseline in terms of mana and mana circuits, thanks to the buffs from the Holy Water, Elixir, and the app.
However, my physical endurance itself was lacking in many ways.
I had no choice but to compensate by reinforcing my body with the remaining mana, but as time went on, I could clearly understand why there were so few mages who handled the lightning element.
This crazy element, which doesn’t even recognize its master, rejects the very shortcut of reinforcing the body with mana.
“I’m going to get electrocuted at this rate.”
I had no choice but to end the process.
My body felt more comfortable in an instant, but I had no intention of giving up on the lightning element.
Rather, I realized that while it was difficult to maintain for a long time, I could use it multiple times in the short term, so I was satisfied with just that for now.
Clearly, the fire element was powerful, but I had to abandon the optimistic idea that it alone would allow me to easily deal with the gatekeeper of the 2nd Stratum.
Even if it meant wearing down my body, now was the moment to use lightning.
Besides, I had Holy Water, so I could push through with doping if necessary.
I calculated that I could endure to some extent that way.
With such miscellaneous thoughts, I soon reached the end of the staircase.
At the end of the tiresome spiral staircase, a stone door similar to the one in the 1st Stratum blocked my path.
I lightly pushed it with force, and the door opened to the left and right with a loud noise.
A cloud of dust rushed in, and a new labyrinth revealed itself before me.
“Looks like a catacomb.”
The structure seemed similar to the 1st Stratum, but there were murals engraved here and there.
The content of the murals was ominous, even at a glance.
Corpses formed a river, and what appeared to be blood flowed on the ground.
The figures in the murals were elves.
They were at war with someone.
“Beasts?”
On the side that seemed to be the opposing force of the elves, there stood a giant dragon, golems, and beings that looked like humans.
It was a strange thing.
Beasts are creatures that instinctively kill humans, so how could they team up with humans and attack elves?
I was momentarily lost in incomprehensible thoughts, but since I had a long way to go, I shook off the 잡생각 and walked down the 복도 again.
Unlike the 1st Stratum, where I had removed traps, exploration in the 2nd Stratum had to be passive.
Unlike beasts, traps couldn’t be detected even with mana detection, so I had to stay alert every time I walked.
Unlike before, I could block ordinary arrows or structures falling from the ceiling with a barrier, but I didn’t think all traps would be consistently simple.
The thought that there might be traps that the barrier wouldn’t work on annoyed me without me realizing it.
Because of that, the appearance of beasts was rather welcome.
-Krrk?
Not long after arriving at the 2nd Stratum, a beast appeared for the first time at a corner.
It was a group of five lizardmen.
I didn’t know their exact rank, but judging from the aura they gave off, they seemed to be around C-grade.
The aura was so insignificant that it was embarrassing to compare them to Lizard Warriors, and I couldn’t feel even a shred of tension.
That was inevitable, considering that until recently, I had spent a week going back and forth between life and death in a B-grade gate.
The time to be afraid of five lizardmen had long passed.
-Krak?!
-Kyaaaa!!
Perhaps realizing that I was alone, the lizardmen, who had been testing the waters, rushed towards me all at once.
Even as they approached at high speed, I remained indifferent.
I already knew that those guys were around me through mana detection. In other words, I had more than enough time to prepare magic.
There was a saying in the autobiography of a famous mage I had read before.
[Fireball]
An unprepared mage is weak, but a prepared mage is overwhelmingly strong.
Fireball is the most basic magic among fire element magic, but there is no such thing as a completely identical magic for a skilled mage in the first place.
Transformation magic.
Modifying the magic circle of a popularized magic to one’s own taste and using it as one’s own magic.
It was one of the factors that distinguished a skilled mage.
In that regard, I am confident that I am the best in my circle when it comes to transformation magic.
[All Knowledge Acquisition Rate Regarding Basic Magic +1000%]
Again, transformation magic is the foundation of magic.
Not only is there no problem for me to use it, but it was also a field where I could literally practice learning ten things from learning one.
Trusting in my sturdy mana circuits, I blew away the part responsible for stability in the magic circle that made up the Fireball. While the risk increased, the power of the magic with the limiter released increased.
If I increased the amount of mana consumed there, the power would be inflated to three times or more that of a normal Fireball.
-Kiyaaaaa!!
콰앙!!
It didn’t even take a second for one of the lizardmen, directly hit by the Fireball that flew at an incredible speed, to be slammed into the wall.
A large amount of dust rose with a considerable explosion.
My position required me to minimize mana consumption, but that didn’t mean I intended to stick to close combat.
When I use it, I use it properly.
Seeing the lizardman whose upper body was charred black, the other guys flinched and stepped back, but it was already too late.
Because the Fireball I launched wasn’t just one.
***
[Remaining Matching Time: 138:12:47]
About 6 hours had passed since I entered the underground dungeon, and the exploration of the 2nd floor was continuing to progress.
Mapping was annoying, but I never left it out.
I continued the exploration, trying to avoid battles with beasts as much as possible.
Of course, that didn’t mean I didn’t need rest.
In the first place, as a living being, rest was indispensable.
After securing safety, I turned on mana detection and had my first meal.
I valued speed over taste, so I thought it was a satisfactory meal just to have my stomach full.
I also meditated while resting.
Of course, I could recover mana without having to meditate, and if I was in a hurry, I could patch it up with mana potions.
Nevertheless, the reason I meditated was to minimize mental fatigue and adjust the condition of my brain.
Magic is, after all, a program that runs with the brain as the CPU.
If I didn’t cool down the overheated computer with meditation, there might be times when I couldn’t use magic even if I had mana.
After finishing about an hour of meditation, I resumed the exploration.
After that, I tried to avoid beasts as much as possible through mana detection, but as the number of dead ends increased, battles continued to occur.
Fortunately, the level of beasts on the 1st and 2nd floors was similar, so my coin holdings exceeded 3,000.
As my pockets grew thicker, my eyes were drawn to an item being sold in the store.
[Random Dice]
[Grade: Epic (Consumable Item 3/3)]
[1: Misfortune occurs]
[2: Weak misfortune occurs]
[3: Ambiguous misfortune occurs]
[4: Nothing happens]
[5: Ambiguous luck comes]
[6: Weak luck comes]
[7: Luck comes]
[8: ??]
[If purchased at the undiscounted price, 6 or higher will come out for the first time only]
To be honest, I don’t know how much progress I’ve made in exploring the 2nd floor.
Time is passing by without me even knowing if the path I’ve taken so far is correct.
I couldn’t help but feel impatient without realizing it.
1,000 coins.
It was definitely an expensive price, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t afford.
Either way, coins would accumulate quickly, and their uses were limited.
The 고민 was long, but the 결단 was instantaneous.
[Would you like to purchase the Random Dice?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[You have purchased the Random Dice]
[Remaining Coins: 2,150 Coins]
[Would you like to roll the Random Dice?]
[Caution! The result of rolling the dice cannot be undone]
[Thanks to the blessing of an unknown person, a roll of 6 or higher is guaranteed. 1/1]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[Fate is rolling]
[May luck be with you]
As soon as I pressed the accept button, a D8 dice appeared on my palm.
It was clearly a simple dice, but my instincts were screaming no.
This small dice felt infinitely heavy.
I felt like I knew a little bit about what the app meant when it said fate was rolling.
Still, I couldn’t back out now, so I rolled the dice with a slightly trembling hand.
탁-
Since it won’t come out below 6 anyway, I can throw it with peace of mind.
The dice that fell on the floor continued to roll as if it would roll forever.
It didn’t stop even when it hit the wall.
Rather, it bounced off and rolled even harder.
‘That means I can’t cheat to make a high number.’
In the time that felt like several hours, the dice finally stopped.
I checked the number on the dice.
In a situation where my mouth was dry, what came into my sight was 8.
[빰빠바밤!!]
[Congratulations!!]
Along with a tremendous musical performance, a splendid 안내창 that I had never seen before appeared before my eyes.
The font and font size were strangely crude, but the content contained within was unusual.
[You have proven that you are loved by the Goddess of Luck!]
[We would like to give you a reward for our customer]
[Would you like to receive it?]
[Y/N]
At that moment, as I was about to press the accept button according to the natural flow of consciousness, I felt a strange sense of unease.
The fact that 8 came out on the dice I rolled, and that the app was offering a reward.
It fit too perfectly, like a suit and shoes tailored to me.
Of course, it could be seen as luck, but would a mage with such good luck have been doing 칼질 all this time?
Nevertheless, I couldn’t refuse this reward.
Now was not the time to be picky.
[Y]
As soon as I pressed the accept button, the notification window disappeared.
And.
파아아아-
“…Crazy.”
The empty space in front of me was splitting.
This was not a metaphor. Literally, space was tearing, and a space like the universe was peeking out beyond it.
Of course, this unrealistic situation, where I couldn’t even tell if it was a dream or reality, didn’t end there.
Something that looked like a human leg came out from beyond the torn space, and someone walked out with leisurely steps.
That’s right.
The one who opened that absurd space like a door and came out was none other than a person.
“Oop-cha!”
That too, a crazy woman with blue twin-tail hair and a bunny girl outfit.
I made eye contact with such a woman.
“Nice to meet you. Customer Kang Hyun-woo.”
At that moment, I instinctively realized.
“Is this the reward you received?”
That she was no ordinary crazy woman.
***
Meanwhile, Iris, who was left alone in the temple, continued to pray to the World Tree without resting for a moment after Kang Hyun-woo left.
The golden tree that was listening to her prayers was already rotten, but it didn’t matter to her.
What is important in prayer is not the practical form, but the faith that comes from deep within the heart.
Iris’s faith, wishing for Kang Hyun-woo’s safe return, was surging like a raging wave.
As she continued to pray for several hours, Iris felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
“…Hyun-woo?”
Her eyelids, which had been praying, rose.
There was no trace of the warmth that usually went to Kang Hyun-woo.
It contained a coldness that seemed to drop even the passing 새.
Iris felt the same sensation as when she smelled the scent of strange women in Kang Hyun-woo’s arms.
Can this emotion be expressed as mere jealousy?
No, it wasn’t.
This was a more fundamental emotion.
꽈악-
Veins bulged on her beautiful hands that were neatly clasped together.
