Episode 23: The Golden Beetle ○
Returning to the 10th floor, I once again found a blind spot in a side passage and slipped inside. After confirming the surroundings and ensuring my safety, it was time to evolve. I had already decided on my next evolution.
I opened my status screen and focused on the name of my next evolution, Thunder Beetle.
As usual, my body began to glow…
Race: Thunder Beetle (Variant)
Name: None
Rank: C
Level: 1
HP: 200/200
MP: 300/300
Attack Power: 190
Defense Power: 250
Magic Attack Power: 350
Magic Defense Power: 350
Agility: 180
Skills:
Special Evolution
Language Comprehension
Chant Annulment
Item Box Lv17
Appraisal Lv16
Thought Acceleration Lv16
Life Detection Lv17
Magic Detection Lv17
Hostile Detection Lv16
Danger Detection Lv10
Auto HP Recovery Lv14
Mana Auto-Recovery Lv17
Light Magic Lv16
Water Magic Lv19
Wind Magic Lv10
Earth Magic Lv10
Lightning Magic Lv10 New!
Space-Time Magic Lv9
Gravity Magic Lv9
Deadly Poison Generation Lv16
Paralysis Poison Generation Lv12
Sleep Poison Generation Lv12
Confusion Poison Generation Lv12
Pain Resistance Lv12
Deadly Poison Resistance Lv16
Paralysis Resistance Lv12
Sleep Resistance Lv12
Confusion Resistance Lv12
Bewitchment Resistance Lv7
Water Resistance Lv10 New!
Lightning Resistance Lv10 New!
Miasma Lv12
Flight Lv10
Hardening Lv10
Lightning Cloak Lv10 New!
Titles:
Reincarnator
Skill Collector
Evolver
Giant Killer
Assassin
Kin Slayer
Hmm, even though I’m back at level 1, my stats haven’t decreased much. In fact, some of them have even increased.
Also, it seems I’ve learned four new skills. Lightning Magic and the two resistances are self-explanatory, but “Lightning Cloak” is a bit of a mystery. Let’s see, it says, ‘Envelops the body in a lightning armor, electrocuting those who touch it.’
Come to think of it, I’ve been hearing crackling sounds and seeing small bolts of lightning dancing around my body. It looks cool, but it’s noisy and quite conspicuous. I wonder if I can turn it off somehow?
I focused on suppressing the mana-like energy overflowing from my body, and the lightning surrounding me gradually diminished and disappeared. Good, it seems I can activate and deactivate it at will.
By the way, it feels much brighter than before. The Underground Labyrinth is usually dimly lit by the ground and ceiling, so it’s never completely dark, except for the stairways. This side passage was also dimly lit, but now it’s shining as if a spotlight is on it. And that spotlight is… my body!
It seems the cave’s light is reflecting off my body, making me appear to glow. I glanced at my leg—
It was shining gold…
Oh wow, I’ve gone from a silver beetle to a golden beetle. It might be difficult to live discreetly now.
I crawled out of the side passage with my golden body. My base stats are quite high, but I need to level up properly. First, I’ll go back down to the 15th floor and hunt B and C-Rank Monsters.
Since I have it, I activated the new “Lightning Cloak” and enveloped myself in lightning. Immediately, crackling lightning surged around my body. In that state, I flew at high speed, and any monster I passed was electrocuted and fell. It seems that D-Rank monsters die just by touching the “Lightning Cloak.” This is an easy way to level up.
By the way, keeping the “Lightning Cloak” on constantly consumes mana according to its power. If the range of effect is about 1 meter, it seems to be about the same as my mana recovery speed, as my mana recovery has stopped. If I expand the range further, my mana will decrease.
Also, since my Flight skill has increased, I reached the 15th floor faster than when I came back. By defeating monsters along the way, I’ve already reached level 20. Come to think of it, evolving increased all my skill levels by 1, and the still unusable “Space-Time Magic” and “Gravity Magic” are now at Lv9. I’m secretly hoping something will change when they reach 10.
Also, the levels of my other magic skills have increased, and with one more level, I can learn the second tier of Water Magic. For Light Magic, I learned the third tier “Shining Rain.” It’s a wide-range annihilation magic that rains down hundreds of “Shining Arrows” from above. Earth and Wind Magic can now use the fourth tier, and even though I just learned Lightning Magic, it’s already at the same level as Wind and Earth Magic. I don’t know how it works, but it’s a nice bonus.
I leveled up on the 15th floor for a while, but after reaching 35, the leveling slowed down. This is because the required experience points increased with my rank, and also because I’ve become too strong, causing monsters to run away as soon as they see me. I’ll try to reach level 40 and then finish leveling up in this Underground Labyrinth.
In the end, I spent about a week in this Underground Labyrinth. I was wondering how I would get out, but it was easier than getting in. I managed to slip out while the guards were checking the Adventurers entering the Underground Labyrinth. It was fortunate that my glowing body was hidden by the backlight.
After leaving the Underground Labyrinth, I hid in a tree. I wanted to gather information about places other than this Underground Labyrinth.
As I quietly listened, I heard various rumors spreading. Apparently, monsters that cross between floors have appeared, and monsters have been fighting each other…
How terrifying…
If I were targeted by such a monster, I wouldn’t be able to escape. I had been planning to escape to a different floor if things got dangerous, since most monsters can’t cross floors.
But it seems these monsters are rare, so I’ll pray I don’t encounter them.
After gathering information for a few days, I learned that heading to the Royal Capital of the Verdelin Kingdom to the south would be a good idea. This is because the Gates of Heaven, an Underground Labyrinth, is located west of the Royal Capital. The Gates of Heaven is said to be an Underground Labyrinth with more than 40 floors, and the lowest floor has yet to be conquered.
The name Gates of Heaven has two meanings: the hope of striking it rich and the high mortality rate. It’s said that A-Rank monsters roam the lower floors.
(Alright, next I’ll level up in the Royal Capital… or rather, the Gates of Heaven.)
The journey to the Royal Capital takes about a week by carriage. At my current speed, I could probably fly there in about two days without rest.
I bid farewell to Weber Town and flew towards the Royal Capital.
Race: Thunder Beetle (Variant)
Name: None
Rank: C
Level: 40
HP: 278/278
MP: 417/417
Attack Power: 268
Defense Power: 328
Magic Attack Power: 467
Magic Defense Power: 467
Agility: 258
Skills:
Special Evolution
Language Comprehension
Chant Annulment
Item Box Lv18
Appraisal Lv17
Thought Acceleration Lv17
Life Detection Lv18
Magic Detection Lv18
Hostile Detection Lv17
Danger Detection Lv12
Auto HP Recovery Lv15
Mana Auto-Recovery Lv18
Light Magic Lv17
Water Magic Lv20
Wind Magic Lv11
Earth Magic Lv11
Lightning Magic Lv11
Space-Time Magic Lv9
Gravity Magic Lv9
Deadly Poison Generation Lv17
Paralysis Poison Generation Lv13
Sleep Poison Generation Lv13
Confusion Poison Generation Lv13
Pain Resistance Lv13
Deadly Poison Resistance Lv17
Paralysis Resistance Lv13
Sleep Resistance Lv13
Confusion Resistance Lv13
Bewitchment Resistance Lv8
Water Resistance Lv11
Lightning Resistance Lv11
Miasma Lv13
Flight Lv11
Hardening Lv11
Lightning Cloak Lv11
Titles:
Reincarnator
Skill Collector
Evolver
Giant Killer
Assassin
Kin Slayer