When I woke up, I went to kill the monsters in the area two levels below.
▽
"..."
How much time has passed, I wonder?
A week?
Three days?
No—maybe it's only been about a day and a half.
My sense of time isn't working properly anymore.
Only the degree of hunger and sleepiness tells me how much time has gone by.
Also, about the leather pouch—it doesn't seem to have a fixed twenty-four-hour cooldown for reuse like I first thought.
At the beginning, I believed it became usable again exactly twenty-four hours after each use.
But now it feels more irregular.
Since I started leveling up, I've been able to use the leather pouch three times.
A tuna-mayo onigiri.
Packaged hon-maguro sashimi.
Pork miso soup poured into a plastic container.
The sashimi definitely felt properly refrigerated.
The pork miso soup seemed fresh-made, no question about it.
For drinks, I got one bottle of green tea and one energy drink.
By the way, the sashimi didn't come with a drink set.
It doesn't always provide food and drink together.
It was a shame there was no soy sauce, but the tuna tasted great.
Also, the pork miso soup was a new pattern.
It wasn't some packaged product.
Who made it and where… I'll refrain from thinking about that for now.
In any case, my food problem was steadily moving toward being solved.
The leather pouch can probably be used repeatedly.
What gets sent is basically food and drink.
For now, this is enough.
▽
After sleeping once, I also tested the range.
There was a slight difference between [Paralyze] and [Sleep].
It seems [Sleep] has a shorter effective range.
On the other hand, [Paralyze] felt like it could reach about 20 meters.
However, paralysis isn't a perfect neutralization as I'd hoped.
I'm concerned that the monsters can still move just a little.
They seem able to let out faint cries too.
I also verified the range of my very useful [Poison].
Its range was a bit shorter than [Paralyze].
Since the targets couldn't move once poisoned, the poison range was easier to measure.
First range verification test, complete.
▽
I kept killing monsters.
Before I realized it, the monsters in the nearby area had stopped appearing.
It was as if their presence had completely vanished.
Did I kill them all?
Or did the minotaurs and bird-heads go into hiding like before?
"Status, open."
[Touka Mimori]
LV1229
HP: +3687
MP: +40237 / 40557
Attack: +3687
Defense: +3687
Vitality: +3687
Speed: +3687
Intelligence: +3687
[Title: E-Rank Hero]
My level has already surpassed 1000.
It rose quite a lot.
If I go any further down, I probably won't be able to return to my base area reasonably.
Besides, in this place, the monsters above are stronger than the ones below.
I look upward.
"Guess it's time to seriously aim for the surface."
I returned to the ruins area once to make preparations.
▽
Snap.
I tear off some vines in the ruins zone.
I twist two together to ensure strength.
I pull on them to test the durability.
"The strength… seems fine."
I tie the mouth of the leather pouch with the vine cord.
Tighten.
I hook the cord over my shoulder.
"All right, feels good."
This way I can carry the leather pouch on my shoulder.
It should be easier than holding it by hand.
I still have a little food and drink left.
Right now, these are inside the leather pouch.
"Well then, time to set out."
Before sleeping, I soaked a scrap of my uniform in a bit of tea and wiped my body with it.
Thanks to that, my skin feels a little refreshed.
I leave the room and start walking.
"Since I reached the ruins… I want to believe the surface is close by now, but…"
I walk through the ruins zone where the monsters' presence has completely disappeared.
I remember there was a slope leading upward in the cave ahead.
I had scouted that area before, just to check.
"From here on, the paths and walls show subtle signs of human work… hm?"
It was just as I was about to leave the ruins zone.
Beyond the darkness where vines are tangled.
Over there… isn't there something?
A deeply recessed passage.
I noticed its existence.
It was at the edge of the ruins zone and hidden by vines.
I scratch my head.
"I'm still lacking in attention to detail…"
Looks like I overlooked it.
I push the vines aside and advance deeper.
A familiar gem appears.
"The twenty-fifth room, huh."
I pour magic essence into the gem.
The door opens.
"..."
I just used 5000 MP, didn't I?
This place seems different from the other doors.
I step inside the room.
A powdery smell.
Covering my mouth, I proceed inward.
I use the leather pouch to illuminate.
A desolate place.
Naturally, there is no sign of life.
The furniture installed is almost the same as in the other rooms.
It might not be a particularly special room.
Rather, since it consumed more MP, maybe it's a dud room…?
However—there was one.
A skeleton wearing a robe.
I direct the leather pouch toward it.
It sits cross-legged with its back against the wall.
"I see… So you're another discarded person who desperately made it here. Should I say 'good work'…? I mean… it must have been really tough for you."
I gently move the robe aside.
The bones around the side of the abdomen were horribly shattered.
Did this injury take its life?
After putting my hands together, I began my usual search of belongings.
Then I notice an old piece of parchment lying near the skeleton's hand.
"Come to think of it, can I read the writing of this world?"
I set the leather pouch down and unfold the paper.
I scan the text.
"…I can read it."
I let out a breath of relief.
Good.
It seems summoned heroes are designed to be able to read this world's writing too.
"Um, let's see… what does it say…?"
"If someone is reading this in this discarded ruin, who might you be? Ah, first I should introduce myself. My name is Anglin Bathrad. People call me the 'Great Sage Anglin.' However, depending on the person, my former name might be more familiar. That name is—"
"Huh?"
"—the Dark Hero, Anglin."