Chapter 232
When doing RTA (Real-Time Attack) in forest-type dungeons, we often favored the method of cutting straight through the woods.
As long as we didn’t mess up the direction or distance, that was the shortest route.
"Next! Four Rise Cocoons in the right plaza! Esmeralda!" "Understood!!" "One Rise Cocoon branching to the left! Nel!" "Leave it to me!" "Continuing—" "Ingrid, after retrieving Esmeralda’s items, head toward Nel’s group!" "Understood."
However, this method only works if you have the proper equipment. Losing visibility and making even a slight directional error, causing you to stray from the intended path, is common in forest dungeons.
Unless you’re properly equipped or have a scout character with the right skills, I wouldn’t recommend it. But in dungeons that require RTA elements like this, there are several shortcuts intentionally placed to allow for faster clears.
"Pii-chan! Cut down the trees in that direction for me!!" "Okaaay!"
Lady Esmeralda’s blizzard covered one plaza, and a rain of lightning struck the frozen Rise Cocoons. While shouting loud enough to rival the thunder, I kept issuing orders one after another.
As Pii-chan’s golem began cutting down more trees to create a new path, I briefly veered off course to push forward.
"Found it!!"
This Rise Cocoon was large, and its cocoon color made it easy to spot. But that didn’t mean all of them were clustered along paths or in plazas.
The annoying thing about this dungeon was that a few of them were always hidden deep in the forest.
"Heart Strike!!"
Thanks to these Rise Cocoons, I could use Heart Strike repeatedly, and my skill experience had been steadily rising. The downside was that since they weren’t high-level enemies, the gains weren’t huge, but since they were the same class as me, the experience penalty was minimal.
Grinding numbers meant slow but steady leveling.
These things were strong, but the drawback was that if you didn’t land the skill precisely, you wouldn’t get experience.
There was no way I’d miss a stationary target, and after finishing off the hidden Rise Cocoon, I quickly checked for drops before heading back. By the time I returned, everyone had already gathered at the rally point.
"Ingrid took down one. What’s the total count now?" "Yes, that makes twenty-two." "Then the last plaza should be the end."
Even with shortcuts, we still had time to spare, but I didn’t want to get careless and fail at the last moment.
"We’ve got time, but let’s hurry just to be sure."
Confirming that everyone was assembled, we sprinted down the final stretch.
"Liberta, is the boss here strong?" "Not so much strong as annoying. The boss here is a giant moth, but it spams debuffs and brings along Starly Butterflies as minions. The reward isn’t worth the effort."
As we ran, Nel caught up and asked. Once we entered the plaza, we’d just count the enemies, let Lady Esmeralda wipe them out with magic, and clean up the rest.
This long path only took a few minutes to run through.
I had enough time to answer Nel’s question.
"The drops here are scale powder for poisons or medicine, magic stones, boss materials, and scrolls. But you can get scale powder elsewhere, same with magic stones. The gear made from the boss materials isn’t much better than Swamp Dragon gear. And the scrolls only have skills we can’t even use right now."
The boss here was a hassle—the dungeon’s regular monsters were rewarding, but the boss drops weren’t worth it. It felt like the dungeon designer was hinting that it’s better to bail early.
"Hmm."
Honestly, even the other materials weren’t that useful since the spirits were already collecting them. And if we were farming, quitting early made it easier to gather Stardust Thread.
I’d started thinking lately that even if something was useless to me, someone else might find value in it. But in this case, I chose the shortcut for my own sake rather than anyone else’s.
Explaining it that way made Nel lose interest, and she turned forward to keep running.
At this rate, we’d clear it smoothly. As we burst into the plaza—
"Ugh."
Nel was the first to speak up.
"This is the breeding ground..."
Next, Claudia’s eyes widened as she took in the sight.
"There are so many cocoons..." "...Liberta-sama, counting the ones here, that makes exactly thirty-three." "Alright, Esmeralda, it’s all you." "Leave it to me! I’ll wipe them out, including what I’ve stored in Magic Stock!!"
Looking around—left, right, everywhere—Rise Cocoons stood scattered across the area. Seeing this, Lady Esmeralda confidently began casting her magic.
Briefly, a dark thought crossed my mind—what if triggering a flag right as she unleashed her magic caused trouble? But I quickly dismissed it.
Why would I invite more trouble when things were already chaotic enough?
Safety first. That’s what mattered most.
"Here we go!!"
While I was lost in thought, Lady Esmeralda’s magic activated. A blizzard swept through the plaza, followed by Lightning Rain, showering the area with thunder.
Hmm... I’m honestly conflicted about Esmeralda’s build.
Should I prioritize firepower or efficiency? In the end, I’ll make her capable of both, but the growth path has its pros and cons either way.
Seeing this, efficiency might be better. But instead of taking skills to improve efficiency, maybe it’s better to focus on single-target attack skills.
"Phew, all cleared!" "Good work."
If she had enough firepower to wipe out Rise Cocoons like that, maybe I should focus on sustainability next. I’d also need to think about enchantments for her gear and how to balance everything.
"Ah, a magic circle appeared." "If it showed up after defeating the Rise Cocoons, it’s the escape warp. If Starly Butterflies had spawned, it wouldn’t have appeared now. And more importantly—"
Amina, who had stopped singing, pointed from atop her golem at the glowing escape magic circle.
"There’s a treasure chest, right?" "A wooden one." "If you clear the dungeon early, the best you’ll get is a silver chest. Can’t be helped."
Next to it sat a wooden chest, almost like an afterthought. Nel looked dissatisfied, but gold and silver chests aren’t guaranteed, you know?
This is actually the normal outcome.
I chuckled wryly and walked toward the chest since we had no further business in this dungeon.
"Whoa, tons of thread balls." "In exchange, the wooden chest is packed with Stardust Thread. This alone has ten to twenty. This time, it’s fourteen." "Combined with the Stardust Thread balls gathered in the dungeon, we have about thirty now." "Hmm... We’ll need about two or three more runs for one person’s share. If we split the enchantments, we’ll need even more."
Inside, there were no magic stones—just a heap of thread balls. I pulled them out and tossed them into Ingrid’s Magic Bag.
"Alright, let’s warp out and take a short break." 'Snacks?' "Yeah—Ingrid’s special butter cookies." 'Cookies!!' 'Sweet snacks!' 'Can we eat lots?' "Yes, I made plenty. Feel free to eat as much as you want during the break."
And so, the first run ended. After warping out and taking a break, we continued farming the dungeon until evening, managing four full clears.
"Great work today!! Once we move the materials to storage, we’re done for the day! We’re having a barbecue in the garden, so feel free to join. As thanks, Amina will also do a mini-live!" "Yessssss!!"
Other spirits gradually returned from dungeon runs, and the results were excellent. The mountain of materials was cheerfully carried away by the spirits.
There were cooking ingredients too, so dinner would be quite lavish tonight.
At this pace, including reserves, we’d have enough fabric for everyone in about a week, and we could start working on other gear. We didn’t secure any scrolls today, but those just take time to obtain.
The weaving would be handled by the spirits.
Checking their skill levels, some were surprisingly high-level. Those spirits were assigned to the fan club’s costume division.
While we were dungeon crawling, they’d been working on prototype outfits for Amina’s idol costumes based on the design drafts and patterns I’d provided earlier.
"Here! Here! Here!! Hand over the materials!! Now! Even a second faster!!" "O-okay. Here you go. Do your best." "Understood!!! We’ll pull an all-nighter!!!" "Uh, take care of yourselves, okay? Don’t push too hard." "We appreciate your concern, President!! But don’t worry about us!!! After seeing the costume designs you prepared, our passion can’t be contained!!!"
After returning from the dungeon, I left the barbecue prep to Ingrid and the others and headed to the workshop near the borrowed house with the thread balls. Inside, the spirits in charge of the costume division—a rare set of triplet female spirits—greeted me in unison.
Their excitement was palpable, but this was actually them being *calm*. As high-tier lightning spirits, their energy was always sparking. During their interview, they passionately explained—well, more like *ranted*—about wanting to join Amina’s fan club.
With their yellow hair tied up for work and dressed in practical clothing, they immediately began spinning the thread balls into yarn, moving with the precision of master craftsmen.
"Giggle giggle, to think we’d get to make Amina-chan’s outfit with such rare materials..." "Not a single mistake is allowed." "Indeed, indeed! We know! Amina-chan’s first-ever live in the spirit world! If we don’t give it our all, these centuries of life would be wasted!!"
Their centuries-honed skills were impressive even to me. With this, I had a good feeling about the quality of the Starly Silk we’d produce.
"Don’t turn those materials into clothes yet. They need to evolve first." "We know!! Such mediocre materials could never complete Amina-chan’s outfit!!! We’ll refine the fabric properly, so just focus on gathering more materials!!" "Ah, right."
Their enthusiasm almost made it seem like they’d finish the outfit on the spot, so I had to remind them. But without even glancing away or stopping their work, they fired back with instructions for *me*.
For a moment, I wondered if this was okay—but I decided to trust them.
Today wasn’t the end. We’d have to tackle the dungeon again tomorrow, so after joining the barbecue, I planned to bathe and sleep.
We couldn’t party too late, so once the barbecue wound down, I soaked in the bath, satisfied. The next morning, before heading to the dungeon, I stopped by the workshop.
"Good morning. How’s progress—?"
There, I found the triplet spirits slumped over their desks, fast asleep. And beside them lay a faintly glowing cloth.