After finishing the meal I called Bunraku back and summoned Goki.

Next I handed Tokkosho over to him.

OK, now I can commence an experiment to see if he’d be able to use it as effectively as I did.

I don’t plan on fighting any Gozus and Mezus for the time being so I guess I can turn the【Disassembly】 skill back on for the time being.

Should I try fighting Deva King once more?

Nah, the potential risk is too great.

I guess I will settle with the Kobolds in the main cavern for now.

But first, let’s see how the Tokkosho looks in Goki’s hands with my 【Identify】 skill.

【Sword】 Tokkosho Quality B Rarity 5

AP +19 Destructive force 1+ Weight 1 Durability ?

Imbued with the power of Dark Magic.

The weapon used by the Heavenly Generals. Draws out the user’s latent powers. The material used in the making process is unknown.

A powerful weapon, but its durability cannot be restored.

Yup, it’s essentially the same as when I’m using it.

And there is a drawback that Goki can only infuse it with Dark Attribute.

Now, let’s compare it to his usual Steel Straight Sword.

【Sword】 Steel Straight Sword Quality B- Rarity 3

AP + 16 Destructive Power 2+ Weight 3 Durability 170

A weapon forged by a master blacksmith. A common-sized one-handed sword.

Good balance and very strong.

Hmm, so the difference is very subtle.

Obviously, what we have to keep in mind is the MP consumption rate.

And Goki has considerably less MP than I have, so his MP bar will probably get sucked dry in a short time.

Taking all of that into account, I think it will be safer if he continues to use the Steel Straight Sword.

The path we are heading down now branches into the east side of the cave.

It’s a place that was blocked before, but now after that earthquake from before it has become unlocked, so I am able to pass through it freely.

Some distance further down, I have encountered what might be called a small problem.

Mainly, I could see some pretty shady guys up ahead of me.

Gnome Lv3

Earth Spirit Working

Battle Position: Ground Earth Attribute

Hmm, so these are the earth spirits.

About 5 of them.

The yellow marker above their heads indicated that they were not the targets for elimination.

Could it be that they are working here?

This is evidently something similar to a mine area and the walls and the pathways are unusually well maintained.

Could this be some type of event?

I think it is.

Anyway, looks like there are still more places I can explore, and that also means new monsters to fight.

I wonder what they are going to be, exactly?

The first one I happened upon was a disturbing looking demon.

Just looking at him made my skin crawl.

Crawling Lich Lv2

Demon Target Subjugation Active

Battle Position: Ground, Wall

There are 7 of them in total.

They are clinging onto every space available to them: walls, floor and even the ceiling, making the already cramped corridors even more crowded.

Jean attacked the one on the ceiling and reduced his HP to 30%, and when it fell onto the ground Loewe dealt the finishing blow.

They are… surprisingly weak.

Looks like I won’t even have to use Tokkosho at this point.

So I guess this cave is just littered with small fry monsters like Kobolds, Goblins, Orcs and Gremlins, huh?

Not to mention that the only items they are dropping are stones.

That’s it. Nothing more, just stones.

I know that it is somewhat relevant to the area, but this is also hugely disappointing.

Going further, we exterminate two more flocks of them without any issue whatsoever, gaining a sh*tton of stones in the process, as a result of which my 【Disassembly】 skill had its hands full.

《【Disassembly】 skill Level Up! 》

If not for that, I would have skipped those encounters entirely.

Exploring this new section of the cave is nice and all, but I want to fight against someone who will be a little more challenging.

*Sigh* maybe coming here was a bad idea after all?

Higher Gozu Lv4

Youkai Target Subjugation Passive

Battle Position: Ground Light Attribute

Higher Mezu Lv4

Youkai Target Subjugation Passive

Battle Position: Ground Dark Attribute

That pair again, huh?

Even in this narrow pathway, they continue to bar my way.

Only the difference in level from Crawling Lich is too big!

I have a Sufficient amount of MP left to use.

Honestly, I’m glad that I get to fight against something familiar instead of something completely unknown.

Now, Gozu might be a little bit problematic here.

Normally, his main enemy would be either Jericho or Senki.

I wonder if Goki is going to be alright?

Up until now he’s been wearing Zuiun for protection.

Is the same pattern as with Jericho and Rig going to be effective for him?

For now I will allow him to at least have a go at him after I will buff us with my spells.

And turn my 【Disassembly】 skill off of course.

This time I will refrain from fighting the Gozu myself.

Based on my last bout with Higher Gozu, I am currently too overpowered to fight him without feeling guilty.

That, and I want to keep my MP consumption as low as possible.

Only things I buffed myself with were Physical and Mental Enchantment.

If my monsters are going to struggle with those two, I will eventually help them with some Lava Magic.

Higher Mezu raises his Tin Staff over his head and swings it down on me.

I managed to avoid it at the last minute.

Barely.

Now that I dodged his attack, countering it will be easy.

I took out Tokkosho and covered it with Ice Magic, creating a blade that looked like a giant ice needle.

It’s not strong in and out of itself, but every attack wit it has a chance of freezing the target, gradually slowing them down.

This effect is somewhat weaker than the similar one found in Ice Magic spells, but the attack speed of the sword more than makes up for it.

And just like that, I have defeated him with the combination of Tokkosho and Tonfas of Torture without busting any of my sweet overpowered throws on him.

Now, what about Higher Gozu?

Seems like there are no problems this time.

Maybe that was the effect of Gravity Mail?

Instead of relying on brute force, my monsters used their mobility to their advantage.

Then Zuiun turned into a mass of darkness and went into the floor at Higher Gozu’s feet, making him sink in the dark puddle with his hand still outstretched towards my party.

Perfect.

I have a feeling that this strategy is going to work nicely from now on.

《Monster Summons『Tigris』Level Up!》

《Please add 1 Bonus Point to increase the value of the statistic of your choosing.》

Tigris has leveled up once again. Nice.

The stat that got increased was STR, so let’s put that 1 Bonus Point into VIT.

Tigris Tiger Lv5 → Lv6 (↑ 1)

DEX 10

AGI 18

INT 10

STR 21 (↑ 1)

VIT 21 (↑ 1)

SPI 10

Skills:

Bite Detect Danger Threaten Night Eye Presence Concealment

Okay, all set.

I wonder who will Level Up next?

The road ahead leads straight without any branching paths.

There are fewer Crawling Lich encounters here, making me a little bit bored.

Thankfully, another Gozu/Mezu pair appeared right when I needed them the most.

They were at Lv5 and we had no problems with mopping the floor with them.

Gravity Mail is really turning out to be one hell of an OP spell.

Especially for someone like Tigris.

He just bites into Higher Gozu without having to worry too much about being damaged.

We struggled a bit with a Lv6 pair.

Tigris, Goki and Loewe received some damage, but I was able to heal them back to full health with a potion and a single recovery spell.

Should we use Gravity Mail for the next encounter, or save it for later?

Higher Gozu Lv7

Youkai Target Subjugation Passive

Battle Position: Ground Light Attribute

Higher Mezu Lv7

Youkai Target Subjugation Passive

Battle Position: Ground Dark Attribute

Yeah, I’m not going to do that after all.

I won’t use Gravity Mail for this battle.

Without it the battle was more difficult, but we managed to push through, nonetheless.

Note to self: Gravity Mail is not necessarily needed against these guys.

《【Sword】 skill Level Up!》

《Monster Summons 『Zuiun』Level Up!》

《Please add 1 Bonus Point to increase the value of the statistic of your choosing.》

Zuiun has gained a level.

What should I put that Bonus Point in? His STR? Or maybe VIT?

I honestly don’t know.

So to resolve this problem I’m going to increase INT since the Level Up increased his SPI value.

Zuiun Mist Lv3 → Lv4 (↑ 1)

DEX 3

AGI 3

INT 19 (↑ 1)

STR 1

VIT 5

SPI 17 (↑ 1)

Skills:

Flying Shape-shifting Physical Attack Penetration MP Absorption [Slight] Fire Attribute Dark Attribute

Yeah, that looks about right.

Gozu and Mezu are good opponents for farming levels for my Monster Summons.

Now that the Level Up procedure is finished maybe I should take a quick break?

The time is now like, what, 11:00 PM?

Then maybe I’ll have time to fight another pair of enemies or two?

With that in mind, I went on ahead.