Chapter 22

The next day, we came to the Shoisa Cave once again.

“Where shall we head first today?”

Gina asked as soon as we stepped through the entrance.

“Let’s start with the Kobolds.”

While we still had leeway, we would farm the Kobolds first, and then move on to the goblins.

Since my mana only recovered by 1 point per hour, we had to rely heavily on potions, and fighting Kobolds still carried some risks.

We hunted the Kobolds as usual, tossed the dropped items into our “Asset,” and whenever the number of enemies increased, we shifted our targets to the goblins.

By repeating the same routine the following day, I reached level 5 just before lunchtime.

“A level up, huh? I guess it’s a lot easier to gain experience when I can actually participate in the fights.”

Reaching it about two days earlier than expected was a welcome miscalculation.
I spoke to Gina, who stood quietly watching me and waiting for instructions.

“Plan change. Let’s head back to the castle and learn a new spell.”

“As you wish.”

Gina nodded and began preparing for our return.

Once I learned Wind Shot, I would likely be able to take down a Kobold in a single hit.
And according to the original game, the mana consumed for it was only 2.

On top of that, thanks to the benefits of leveling up, my maximum mana would increase to 11.

It might be a modest step, but to me, it was a massive leap forward.

If I could fire off five Wind Shots, I figured we could afford to push our luck just a little bit.

Going all-out right away was dangerous, so maybe I should run some tests first?
Upon returning to the castle, I bypassed the library and went straight back to my own room.

I had already borrowed the magic tome in advance, anticipating the moment I hit level 5.

It was a bit annoying that reading the book beforehand wouldn’t teach you the spell if you weren’t level yet, and you had to read it after leveling up for it to take effect.

I learned the hard way that things lacked flexibility when operating under game-compliant rules.

Once I finished reading through the magic tome, I spoke to Gina, who was standing quietly nearby.

“Tomorrow, we’ll push ourselves just a tiny bit and try heading down to the second floor. If it’s too much, we’ll retreat.”

“As you wish.”

Gina didn’t raise any objections.

The recommended level to clear the Shoisa Cave was 5, so what I was proposing wasn’t actually reckless at all.

Though the recommended party size for it happened to be four or more people.

If we managed to clear it with two people or fewer, a special skill would be unlocked, so it was definitely worth a try.

…That is, assuming the same rule applied here and wouldn’t fail just because it was a dungeon that hadn’t existed in the game.

I was confident I wouldn’t be able to recover emotionally if that happened in a high-difficulty dungeon, so sticking to a beginner dungeon was the safest bet.

“I want to set off a little earlier than usual tomorrow, is that alright?”

If things went well, it might turn out to be a long day, after all.

“Understood, I will accompany you.”

Gina nodded deeply, a burning determination shining in her eyes.

Had she picked up on something in her own way, I wondered?