The inn is safe for Liora, so I decided to sleep and told Liora to do the same.
'I'll sleep for about eight hours.'
With the accelerated time, it feels like a whole day for Liora. However, there's nothing I can do.
Even while I'm sleeping, I get a barrage of notifications, but I can't reply because I'm asleep.
When I wake up, I reply to them and carry on with my daily life: brushing my teeth, taking a bath, that sort of thing.
Lately, I've been so absorbed in "PHO" that I haven't had any leisure time. I'd like to read some books, but Liora's persistent notifications make it difficult.
It feels like the developers are determined to prevent us from doing anything other than playing "PHO." Are other players experiencing the same thing?
"Hum, Liora will become sad if I make her wait any longer."
I logged in.
▽
The dungeon was a mystical space. A dazzling forest. Transparent droplets fell from the golden leaves soaked in morning dew. In the distance, a giant waterfall could be seen. A jungle shining with gold.
This is one of the three dungeons in Elfland. 'Golden Jungle' was its name.
We came here because it's said that regenerating clothes drop in this dungeon. As usual, we are doing this solo.
Or rather, it's a duo? Technically solo in terms of the system.
"On the first floor here, you need to be wary of enemies that drag you into rivers or swamps. Also, there are poisonous insects, but… Liora, you have [Heal], right?"
"Yes! I will even drink poison if you say so!"
Sigh, this girl...!!
"Don't let your guard down. There are poisonous monsters here, and I don't want you to get hurt."
Liora nodded seriously, her eyes full of determination.
Enemies on the first floor are said to be weak, but we can't be complacent. As we braced ourselves, a monkey-like creature approached using the jungle vines.
'Aah, aah!'
"Making a loud noise while ambushing, huh, monkey...they are dumb."
Swinging from the vines like a trapeze, the magic ape launched an attack from above. Liora calmly scooped up her scythe in response to the stomping attack.
[Death Blade]
Thanks to its forced critical effect, the monkey was sliced cleanly from its soles to its heart. With a loud "pop," the monkey split in half, its attack thwarted.
To avoid getting splattered with blood, I created a dark umbrella with [Darkness Creation].
This skill isn't popular on the forums, but I find it quite useful. After all, it's tough to master as I discussed with people on the forum.
"Liora."
"Yes!"
Right after the battle, I had a bad feeling and called out. But Liora seemed to sense it faster than I did. She already had her scythe raised. A metallic sound rang out as her scythe deflected something.
On the ground lay a small needle. According to my research, it's a poison needle from an Assassin Hornet. The distance was about five meters.
"[Gift Of Venom]"
The effect was immediate. Since it's not a boss monster like Helmut, the skill displayed its effect at once. The hornet fell to the ground. Liora took a step forward and stabbed it with the tip of her scythe, killing it.
We continued to advance. After some time, we were attacked by groups of monkeys and hornets.
However, it seems Liora, who specializes in stamina, was well-suited for the dungeon. Even when surrounded, she could recover while striking back with [Life Steal Blade].
The bees' poison was troublesome, but everything was manageable with [Heal] and [Darkness Creation.] I also provided support with [Gift Of Venom.]
These attacks were mostly for leveling up my skills. Liora could handle things on her own just fine.
Without much delay, we discovered the stairs leading down to the second floor.
"Shall we descend, God?"
"The experience points efficiency is poor here, so I'd prefer to go down. However...."
"? God...?" Liora blinked her two eyes as she stared at me.
"We don't have a scout, and we're not good with traps. It might be worth considering going back and hiring a specialist."
"I'll follow God's instructions."
Liora could force her way through traps. Status ailments could be completely cured with [Heal].
However, there was still the risk of instant death traps, which was my main concern. It's a tricky situation.
Well, I don't think there would be any instant death traps in a low-difficulty dungeon like this.
Unless there's a major irregularity. Even if I calculate everything, still, I don't want her to get hurt needlessly.
"Oh."
?
While I was deep in thought, Liora seemed to have noticed something. She was pointing up at a tree.
"What is that, God?"
"Ah, that's a treasure chest."
"Treasure chest!?"
"Shall we open it? We might achieve our goal."
There are two ways to find treasures in a dungeon. One is to defeat the monsters inside the dungeon, hoping that what we want will be dropped after the boss kill.
The other is to open treasure chests that are either randomly placed or appear after defeating monsters.
This time, it's the former. We've already experienced the latter with the bee hunt. We got a dagger with a low poison effect. I've given it to Liora as a sub-weapon, but she might not use it.
'Let's hope the treasure chest has what I want.'
Liora cut down the tree with her scythe, causing the treasure chest to fall. She looked at me with a big smile, and I nodded with a wry smile.
Then, like a child opening a Christmas present, Liora threw open the lid of the treasure chest—
—and was promptly eaten by the treasure chest.
"—Liora!?"
"—Damn, it's a mimic…"
Liora's upper body was already swallowed whole by the chest.
Shit! How can I rescue her?
I suddenly remembered some information I read on a forum. There was a warning to be careful of treasure chests, that said chests that turn into "mimics" are extremely low.
"Did I just hit the most unluckiest jackpot here!?"
"[Darkness Creation]! [Appraisal]! [Gift of Venom]! [GIFT OF VENOM]!!! But it has too much health and resistances!"
Liora was being dragged in.