Okami Wa Nemuranai

Episode 7.8-9

Floor 16 magic beasts are third rank of Wonder Wood magic beasts, Tiny Armwood (Palbaruan).

It looks like three twigs attached to two trunks and root. Rather, it's practically a tree without leaves.

Encountering them in a forest would have been quite terrifying. But there's no tree growing in this dungeon, as such no one would get fooled as long as they knew about their existence here beforehand.

They attack simply by swinging their arms around, but on top of being very powerful, it's also got reach and are curved on unexpected spots, so there's no point in hiding behind a pillar.

These magic beasts have multiple of their thick roots stuck in ground. So they must be immobile, or so Lecan thought.

And yet, that's actually not the case according to the handbook. Their roots move in ground followed by their main body above ground. The thinner part of their roots break off while the thicker ones get damaged every time they do though, hence they get slightly weaker whenever they move around. Yet, adventurers who let their guard down and dare to take a rest on this floor thinking that these tree monsters won't move shall meet an unsightly end here.

Lecan pointed his finger toward a Tiny Armwood in his sight.

But then something hit upon him and he spread open his fingers and thrust his open palm forward, before casting the spell.

"Flame Spear (Bandroux)!"

A spear of flame flew off his palm without any resistance, smashing the Tiny Armwood's trunk and even broke apart an old tree-like pillar behind it.

A penetrating power like never before.

Lecan adjusted his course a bit and went to look for another Tiny Armwood.

"<Flame Spear>!"

Tiny Armwood disappeared, leaving a treasure chest behind.

It's his first treasure chest today. Inside is a Medium Blue Potion.

Come to think of it, he's spent quite a bit of mana already.

Lecan put that Medium Blue Potion in his mouth, bit open its container and drank the content. He drank the container along since it immediately melted away. Apparently, it melted from his saliva.

Not enough.

His lost mana has not been refilled yet.

He took another Medium Blue Potion and drank it. But, it's still not enough.

He took a Large Blue Potion and drank it. It sufficed this time.

From what he gathered just now and last time, it seems like small and medium kinds of both red and blue potions have weak effects on Lecan.

--I'll sell small and medium ones from now on. Anyway, the Flame Spear just now felt great. It's like my mana went out smoothly just like that.

He approached the next Tiny Armwood and shot out a flame spear from his palm. Both its power and piercing strength have gone up.

--When I fire through my fingers, the direction is restricted by the way my fingers form. Yet I can freely set the shooting direction when I fire through my palm. Let's test this out a bit more.

For the next Tiny Armwood, he went for the trunk of but right before the Flame Spear hit, he changed its course toward the branch instead.

The spell was cast without any problem, and it accurately destroyed the branch without getting weakened or diffused.

--Alright. This will do.

Floor 17 magic beasts are sixth rank of Ape Demon magic beasts, Red Apes (Urd). The greater variant that is.

The Red Apes that spawn on Floor 1 are of lesser variant. They are small, attack using bare hands, and even though they are slightly nimble, they're no match for Lecan. However, dealing with a swarm of this magic beasts inside a forest while escorting multiple people is considered to be a tough undertaking.

The Red Apes that spawn on floor 4, along with Spider Monkeys, carry canes and can shoot magic.

The Red Apes that spawn on floor 10 are twice as big and carry swords and clubs on them. Lecan had a huge shock when he first saw them since he had never seen a magic beast carrying weapons around before.

And then, the Red Apes on floor 17 are so big you would think they're of a whole different species, they're also ferocious, and have armor on top of weapons equipped. Furthermore, according to the handbook they never fight alone and will call other Red Apes if they find themselves in disadvantage.

Lecan was tired of Red Apes, thus he quickly ran toward the stairway. He only cut down one Red Ape.

Floor 18 magic beasts are fourth rank of Flying Fish magic beasts, Hatchet Fish (Toick).

Flat fish floating in the air while turning slowly is quite a bizarre sight to behold. When an enemy is within their range, they would turn straight at it and shake their body. Then they will suddenly launch themselves toward the enemy while rotating their body vertically, mincing their enemy down with their tail fin from above. This fin possess the thickness and destructive power like that of a hatchet.

Hatchet Fish's body is very thin, so it's hard to see them in the surroundings when seen straight from the front. As such, the common tactic is to have a shield user leading the front line while others attack from the flanks or so is written in the handbook

If their enemy won't go into their range, these Hatchet Fish will attempt to move on their own, but they move in a short distance at a time and turn their body ever so slowly.

Or in other words, these are targets where you can take your time attacking from a distance.

Lecan shot out a Flame Spear toward a Hatchet Fish. His magic only grazed it, but it was enough to kill the Hatchet Fish.

However, Lecan remonstrated himself.

<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>

--Not like this. I can't keep using magic so coarsely like this!

Lecan moved to a spot with a clear view of his next target, then he slowly knead his mana.

--First, I'll make my mana flow from every corners of my body toward the abdomen. Gradually sending it to the point below my navel to create a mass of power, then I'll send that mass into my right arm. Afterward, I'll push the mana out of my body like it just passes through it, and chant the spell clearly with the correct punctuation.

"<Flame Spear>!"

An attack possessing superb accuracy and density went straight to the target, destroying it into smithereens.

--This is it. I've got to get a grip on this sensation and polish it up. Then eventually, I'll be able to launch this attack quickly. Shira did teach me that it's important to uphold the right procedures as you invoke your mana.

Lecan now understands Shira's reasoning for making him spend times with <Ignition> at the very beginning.

A spell cast by a tiny amount of mana is exactly where the secret to utilize magic the right way lies.

A treasure chest dropped, the inside was a Medium Blue Potion, hence he drank it.

He was overcome by a chill all of a sudden. Nauseating feeling welled up from deep within his body, it made him sick in the stomach.

--What the heck is this. Come to think it, Shira said that these are stuff that violate the law of nature. I see. In exchange for immediate effects, potions can't be consumed in rapid successions huh.