Five floors below Nifonium, I defeated the last Red Skeleton and picked up the seed.
　

'So that's ......s.'

　The increase in status that I've been able to feel for a long time now, this morning I started off with an A, and if I calculate the number I've killed, it should be an S.

　I blinked away the newly appearing Red Skeleton and turned back the way I came.
　Go to the front of the dungeon and stand in front of the Now Board.

　There's no Nowboard inside the dungeon in Nihonium, because they think it's a scrap dungeon that doesn't drop.
　Still, there's at least one, at the entrance of the dungeon.
　Standing in front of that Now Board, I operated it in the procedure I was used to.


---1/2---
Level: 1/1
HP S
MP S
Power S
Strength S
Intelligence F
Spirit F
Speed S
Dexterous F
Luck F
--------- ...

　On the fifth basement floor, the MP seeds that Red Skelton drops made MP an S as well.
　The fifth S. It was all F at first, but finally the fifth one was S as well.

　It seemed to be a long time, not so long.
　My other abilities had gone up, and with the normal items I've collected so far, as well as some cheat items, I was able to give it up rather easily.

　I was able to ...... it, though.

'I don't really feel like I've benefited from the MP.

　I didn't feel like I was feeling the benefits of increased MP as much as I was mumbling about it.

　I felt my HP and strength rather early on, my damage was reduced and I felt confident that I wouldn't die even if I was attacked by a normal monster.

　Strength and speed were also very much felt in meat battles that didn't involve guns.

　On the other hand, I didn't realize how much MP I had.

　The two spells I remember now are Windcutter and Resurrection.
　The wind cutter is a level 1 wind magic, a rudimentary rudiment.
　Resurrection is a spell that applies my Drop S to any monster that is cast on it, no matter who kills it.

　The former because it's weak, and the latter because I only use it on strong enemies when I'm in a party.
　They're both spells I don't use often for different reasons.
　I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get my hands on it.

　Anyway, I use very little magic now, and my MP doesn't benefit from the S at all.

'Do you want to buy the magic fruit ......?'

　　　　　★

　Inside a magical tool shop in the city of Cyclo.
　I stared at the three rows of magic fruits.

''It's not like I'm going to say this,''

　Isaac, the owner of the magic tool shop, said with a wry smile.

''No matter how much you look at it, you won't know. I know what you're thinking, but no one knows what kind of magic the fruit will give you until you eat it.
...... Maybe so.

　Still, I can't help but look at it to see if there is any difference.

　After all, it's not a cheap purchase. This magic fruit, which you can learn a spell by eating it, costs 3 million pirouette in store.
　It's not something I can't afford right now, but that doesn't mean I can't buy it without hesitation.

　It's at the level where I'm sure I'll buy it, and I'm not sure which one I should buy. Three million piro.

Well, you can just stare at it until you feel better.

　Isaac said with a shrug, palm up.
　There are probably other customers like me, how I'm used to dealing with them.

'...... mmm,'

　I stared at the magic fruit and stared at it until it was pierced.

　From the front, from the back.
　From side to side, top to bottom.

　I stared at it from every angle.

"--!

　I suddenly saw something behind the leftmost magic fruit as I stared at all three together from where I had drawn it.

　I scrubbed my eyes.

'What's up, sir?'
That: "That: ......
Huh?

　Isaac looked at the magic fruit I was pointing at.

'What's wrong with the magic fruit over here?
......

　I swallowed the words, "Can't you see?
　Maybe I can't see it, maybe only I can see it because of the circumstances.

　Behind the leftmost magic fruit was a woman standing behind the leftmost magic fruit.
　She was translucent and shaped like a human being, slightly larger than the magic fruit.
　I'm not going to be the only one who can do that.

...... Give me this.
It's a matter of time.

　I gulped down a lot of things I wanted to say, and I bought the magic fruit, the one with the smiling kimono woman smiling at me.

　　　　　☆

　The suburbs of Cyclo, a place where people don't always come to use it.
　I came to the place I use to hatch hagremonos and put the magic fruit on the ground.

　After I left the store, the woman in the kimono was nowhere to be seen.
　A while ago, I would have thought a lot of things when the woman in a kimono came out, but not now.
　I, who had been with the Aulum of Aulum, the spirit of the dungeon, somehow made one association.
　Nihonium, a woman in a kimono.

I wonder if that's too cheap: ......

　With that in mind, I waited for the magic fruit to hatch(,) in a remote location.

　If you eat a normal magic fruit, it only learns one magic, but if you make it into a haglemono and re-drop it with my drop S, it will change into a magic fruit that learns two.

　As I waited for it, I felt like a chef cooking a high grade ingredient.

　After a while, the magic fruit hatched into a haglemono.
　It's the same liquid metal-like monster as before, and it transformed into me right after it hatched.
　It's a monster whose abilities are 80 percent of the strength of the person it replaced.

There he is again.

　And then, for a moment, that woman in the kimono appeared on that guy's shoulder.
　She stood on his shoulder, just like Alice's monster.

　She smiled, and then she was gone. Then the monster attacked.
　Just like before, I ducked the attack and fired a series of infinite thunderbolts to take it down by shooting a series of reinforced strapped bullets while dodging the attack.

　Good thing I had infinite thunderbolts, otherwise I would have taken quite a few bullets to defeat this guy.

　Like this guy, there are inevitably rare monsters, dungeon masters, and other monsters that aren't suitable for going around.
　It's not that you can't beat them, but there are monsters that are just too cumbersome and unsuitable for lurking.
　In order to fight those monsters, I wanted to become a little stronger.

　While I was thinking this, the fallen Hagremonog became a magic fruit.

　The magic seed that was originally a single hexagram became two hexagrams.

　I ate it. Instantly, two magics appeared in my mind.

　The first was Magic to Force. It's a spell that, when used, consumes MP each time you attack, but increases your physical attack power.

　The other is--.

'Satou-dono.
Wow!

　I was so startled that I jumped up when I was suddenly approached.
　The one who showed up was Lat, one of the ninja-knights who was curious about Margaret.

''What the hell?''
I'll need your help.
'Your help ......?　Wait, are you hurt?

　I was surprised when he suddenly called out to me, but upon closer inspection, I saw that Lat was in tatters.
　The knight's armor was crumpled in places and bleeding from all over the place.

''What's going on?''
"Lady Margaret is in danger.
What?

　　　　　★

　Nifonium dungeon, basement level.

Satou!

　When I walked in, the old man selling air called out my name.

'Where's Margaret?'
There it is!

　Saying that, I pointed, and when I looked in the direction pointed at, I saw Margaret and the three knights guarding her.
　Margaret is limp and motionless, the other three have their hands full fending off attacks from the monsters and cannot afford to run away with her.

　That's how much the monster hunts them down, and that's as it should be.

　At about 160cm, her hair was far longer than her height.
　Her translucent body looks like a ghost.
　It's a dungeon master in Nifonium.

'You've run into one.
'I didn't expect it to come out: ...... Satou, do something about it.'
Okay.

　I stepped forward.
　Next to me, Lat, who had called me, came alongside me.

'I'll do anything you want, just tell me.'

　I glanced at him.

　His armor hides him, but it's not a minor wound. The pounding blood told me that.
　Still, he doesn't seem to be flinching or frightened.
　It's just a face that says, "I'm just doing this for Margaret.

　I'm impressed ...... or even respectful.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it myself.
Can you do ......?
Yeah.

　I nodded, and I wondered if she sensed something from it, but Lat didn't say anything, she let me handle it.

　I took a step forward - I saw her.

　It's not Margaret, it's not the dungeon master.
　It was that woman in a classless dress.
　She smiled at me. In a moment, a word appeared in my head.

　I ruminate over it.
　I'm sure that the woman in the clasped sleeve appeared to teach me that.

'Thank you.'

　I whispered to her, and she smiled even more contentedly, and then disappeared.

　I chanted the word that came into my head - a spell.

'Repetition.'

　The moment I used it, my body felt a tremendous sense of weakness.
　It's a sensation that my magic power - my MP has been taken away.

　That's how it should be, if you're dealing with a dungeon master, that's what it would be.

　Repetition. It's the magic that instantly kills monsters that have been defeated once in exchange for MP.
　The second magic of the magic fruit chosen by the woman with the loincloth

　The dungeon master of Nihonium, who had once burned his hands in the past, could be defeated in one hit in exchange for S's MP.