Chapter-06 · EP-090

Episode 90: Trial and Error with Water Magic

Armed with the antidote I'd received from Yamashita-san, I came back to the fourth floor.

This time, to be able to take it out quickly even if poisoned, I put one dose in my pants pocket instead of my pouch. Opening the pouch with a numb hand, as I'd done yesterday, was too dangerous. A pocket should be easier to access, even if my hands were shaking.

Now, even with the antidote, it was clear that fighting the floor boss the same way as yesterday would be a struggle. In close combat, the risk of getting stung by its venomous hairs was high. I needed a way to attack from a distance.

That said, I hadn't brought any weapons like a spear. It was too late to regret not bringing one.

Come to think of it, I could now use Water Magic.

I remembered that I'd wanted to explore effective ways to use Water Magic and level it up during Golden Week. I didn't know if it would be useful against the floor boss, but it wouldn't hurt to test it out in real combat on the fourth floor.

As I walked through the forest, I looked for a Caterpillar.

Before long, I spotted one clinging to a tree trunk.

Keeping some distance, I activated Water Magic. I created a Water Ball about the size of a baseball and threw it at the Caterpillar.

The Water Ball hit the Caterpillar. But the Caterpillar didn't flinch; it just kept crawling toward me.

I created another Water Ball and threw it. It hit again. But the Caterpillar didn't stop. A third shot, a fourth, a fifth…

I kept hitting it with Water Balls, but it wouldn't die. As the Caterpillar got close, I reluctantly attacked it with my wooden sword. It took two hits to defeat.

With a wooden sword, I could kill it in two or three hits. A single hit to a weak point could even finish it. But even ten Water Balls didn't seem enough.

Probably my magic attack power was too low. At this rate, it wouldn't be useful against the floor boss either.

Could I do something differently?

Thinking, I walked deeper into the forest. When I found another Caterpillar, I tried attacking it with Water Magic again. Still, the effect was minimal.

I tried changing the size of the Water Ball, tried to increase the throwing speed – I attempted various things, but saw no decisive improvement.

Then a thought struck me. Water jet cutters – technology that cuts objects with water released at extremely high pressure. I didn't know the details, but it was a method of cutting with ultra-high pressure jets.

If I could do that with Water Magic, could I slice cleanly like with a sword?

I decided to try.

I released water from the tip of my index finger. I imagined making the water stream thinner and thinner. As I focused, I felt the water pressure gradually increase. The range of the water stream also lengthened.

Then I directed the water jet at a nearby tree.

The result – the tree got wet, but there wasn't a single scratch. It didn't cut at all. Honestly, the water pressure just wasn't that high.

In my imagination, a sharper stream should have come out.

I continued experimenting several more times. I changed the thinness of the stream, changed how I channeled my magical power. Slowly, over time, I began to get the hang of it.

Then, at one point, I tried a different approach. I held a tree branch with my left hand and, with my right hand at a distance just touching the branch, I released the high-pressure water.

With a shhh sound, the branch was cut.

At ultra-close range, it cut as I'd imagined!

Thinking about it, maybe water jet cutters are the same. They probably can't cut from a distance. I felt like I'd seen it in a video – I'm pretty sure they cut right next to the machine.

Anyway, I learned that my Water Magic wasn't suited for long-range attacks. If I used it as an adjunct to close combat, there might be some way to make it useful.

As I walked, still experimenting, I reached the spot with the inscription I'd seen yesterday: "Watch your head ahead."

Come to think of it, the path to the boss room went straight ahead. Why did Saito-san bother to leave a warning on this side path? Was there something down this way?

Maybe he left the warning out of pure kindness. But would he go to the trouble of carving it into rock just for that?

Curious, I didn't head to the boss room. Instead, I started walking down the path where the inscription was.

I proceeded down the narrow path, knocking down Poison Moths with my wooden sword as I went. Eventually, I reached a place with a small stream.

And there was another inscription.

"Watch out for the river crabs."

I'd thought only insect-type monsters appeared on the fourth floor, but crabs came too. And if he went to the trouble of leaving a warning, they must be fairly dangerous.

The inscription faced upstream.

I started walking upstream. I could hear the babbling of the stream. The water was clear, and I could see the bottom. Certainly, a place like this could have river crabs.

Why did Saito-san try to show me this path? Cautiously observing my surroundings, I headed upstream.