Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: New Environment
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According to the Professor's analysis...
Lulu being able to transform into a magic★girl... no, a human girl (around 13 years old) had several reasons behind it.
Mid-level spirits and above can take on forms similar to humans, right?
She probably became a proper mid-level spirit when her rank went up this time.
"So, does that mean all mid-level spirits can take on human forms like Lulu or Arin?"
It's true, but... their cases are a bit different.
Spirits don't have physical bodies, so they reshape their elemental forms to mimic humans—they're not actually becoming human.
Think of them as humans made of fire, earth, water, or wind. That's why spirits can revive as long as their core is intact, even from fatal damage.
"Then what about our Lulu and Arin...?"
No, those two are...
"Nyaaang! Magical★Lulu Fireball nya-!"
"Me too! Magical★Arin Shark Attack!"
[Shark-!!!]
Boom-! Boom boom-!!!
[...It's just my guess, but since they're magi-spirits mixed with monster materials, they might be different.]
[They'll probably bleed and feel pain like normal if hurt, so be careful not to let them get injured.]
"...Got it."
Anyway.
Watching the two play by attacking the scarecrow (magic tool) I'd set up in the yard, the Professor concluded that Lulu's transformation into a girl was due to her own strong desire, but also the racial traits of being a magi-spirit and the influence of Growth (S).
Krunch...!
"Nya? The scarecrow broke nya-!!"
"Now we can't play magic★girl anymore..."
"Daddy nya..."
"Daddy..."
"Aigoo, you two hyper little bundles of energy."
Well... whether Lulu was in her cat form or this lively human girl form,
I saw her as an irreplaceable treasure either way, so it didn't really matter to me.
"Since it's like this anyway... how about we go into the Tower and play some hunting?"
"Nya?! We can do that nya?"
"But... wasn't this hunt supposed to be Daddy's...?"
"Right nya... it was nya..."
"Lulu, Arin. For you two, this daddy can hand over some silly hunt no problem! Go wild without holding back!"
"Really nya?! Thanks Daddy nya! Love you nya! Take Lulu's smooch nya-!"
"Ah, me too! Arin's smooch-!"
"Ahaha..."
...Truth is, I just made an excuse to pawn off the fighting since I didn't feel like doing it myself.
But getting smooched by my two ecstatic little ones made my conscience sting like hell.
'Forgive this worthless father... and keep loving me anyway...'
Soon, I'll ask Hunter for some good weapons and show you a really cool side of me.
Just hold out till then, my conscience.
"So that's how it is, Professor. Heading to the Tower for a bit."
Go ahead. I need to wrap up my research on that hidden clear condition you told me about for the Tower.
Oh, right. Come to think of it, the Professor said he'd look into it separately.
Since he mentioned wrapping it up, something must've turned up, so I asked.
It hasn't been observed in party entries or floors already cleared.
So I gave escape scrolls to climbers challenging the 4th floor ranking like you and checked. Got testimony of a snake-like monster in the lake.
Probably the lake's owner.
"So... the hidden condition only appears in ranking runs?"
Yep. So we decided not to close off the 4th floor.
Instead, we'll share this info on the gallery to boost survival rates for ranking challengers.
I'd love to say 'if Rown's okay with it,' but folks involved in the investigation already know.
What do you say? If you're against it, I'll stay quiet.
"No reason for me to object. That condition isn't easy to find even if you're looking for it."
Take yesterday's 5th floor goblin arena, for example.
You need rankings on 1-4 to qualify, which was easy for me since my alchemist ranking was empty.
Other jobs probably won't find it simple even knowing the condition.
Then I'll compile the info and post it to the gallery.
And Rown, you might not need it, but take some escape scrolls while we're at it.
Registering 'Scroll of Escape' x5 as materials.
Be careful out there. And watch out so Lulu and Arin don't get hurt?
"Yep."
"Got it nya!"
"We'll be careful~!"
[Entering the Tower.]
After receiving the escape scrolls from the Professor and registering them as materials,
I took Lulu and Arin by the hand and entered the Tower's 6th floor.
"Swamp starting from this floor, huh?"
"The trees are huge nya!"
"I like it here... so much water energy..."
As the Professor said, the Tower's environment changes every 5 floors.
Since the 10th floor boss is a snake-like monster, the owner of the lake, the enemies here were similar—lizardmen.
The area was full of towering trees reaching the sky, damp soil heavy with moisture, and pools of various sizes.
In short...
"Looks like a prime spot for farming."
As an alchemist, environments teeming with life meant more goodies to gather, which was great for me.
Of course, for climbers tackling it, the sinking mud, uneven terrain made walking tough,
and the humidity had you sweating after minimal movement, plus bloodsucking flies buzzing around made it a nightmare all around.
'Marrow Cleansing was a real blessing.'
Thanks to Marrow Cleansing, I barely felt hot or cold,
my stamina was incomparable to before, and with my trait, movement was effortless.
And the bloodsuckers...
Tap-! Tatap-!
"Nyaha! Bugs keep flying in, so they burn nya! Dumb bugs nya!"
...Lulu's mantle's Pulsing Sun effect incinerated them on approach, so no issue there either.
"Mantle's performing great."
Anyway.
Unlike other climbers, we had a comfy climb and, as usual, scanned the surroundings to see what we could find.
"I can be a big help here! Water knows the answers!"
"Oh yeah? Let's see what Arin can do then."
"Great! I'll lead! Shark, right? Find Daddy some useful materials!"
[Shark-!]
Following the unusually peppy Arin—boosted by all the water energy—through the swamp,
as she said, the water knew, and the shark found some pretty valuable stuff that made me happy.
[Shark-!]
"Auto Harvest"
Registering 'Mana-Infused Moss' as material.
[Shark-!!]
"Auto Harvest"
Registering 'Swamp Black Deer Antler Mushroom' as material.
[Shark-!!!]
"Auto Harvest"
Registering 'Swamp Origin' as material.
[Monsters have spawned on this floor.]
[Shaaark-!!!!!]
"Auto har... Huh? Monster? Time up already? Haven't found the hidden condition yet."
"Shh-? Shiiik-!!!"
"Be quiet!"
['Arin' uses skill 'Predator's Gaze'.]
-Zzzt!
"Shup, shik, shup, shing!"
"Lulu sis. I subdued the two-legged lizard."
"Daddy nya! Can Lulu try a skill here nya?"
"Not super valuable materials, so sure... What're you thinking?"
"Lulu's been curious about the poison sting effect nya! Wanna stab it nya!"
"Huh... I'm curious too. Go for it!"
"Nya!"
['Lulu' uses skill 'Fierce Poison Tail Sting'.]
Stab-! Gloop-! Gloop-!
"Shup...! Shiiiiiik-!!!!!!!! Shi iiiik-!!!! Shaaaaaaa-!!!!!!"
"Nyaaang... It's in agony nya."
"Hmm... The stabbed spot's turning like it's burned, so maybe a poison that incinerates from inside?"
"Looks super painful and hot... scary poison! Even poison like water knows the answers!"
"Right nya! Lulu's poison knows too nya!"
"Wonder how long it'll last poisoned. Wanna watch?"
"Yes nya!"
"Sure!"
"Shibal...!!! Shiiiikbal...!!!"
[59 minutes 59 seconds until Tower exit]
In under 5 minutes, after grabbing the lizardman corpse—its whole body charred like it'd been burned—we resumed swamp exploration with the remaining time.
But we only found materials we'd already spotted; no hidden clear condition.
"Yeah, harder to find than expected."
Even the 9-year gallery vet Professor didn't know, after all.
So we spent the rest grinding trees and soil in bulk,
and exited when time was up.
[Exiting the Tower.]
After exiting the Tower holding my little ones' hands...
"Arin nya! Bath time nya!"
"Cheetah Professor bought us bubbly bath bombs! Let's use those today!"
"Yay nya!"
The two dashed to the bathroom—udada!—sticking to their post-Tower shower routine like pros,
and I wrapped up my day sitting on the floor, checking ranking rewards.
"It's here at last! First prize!"
Finally!
The source of dopamine to perfectly cap my day!
"Please hit hard-! High rank-!! Good skill-!!!"
Praying for a banger this gacha,
I did about 10 grand kowtows in front of the sink just in case,
...!
"Now!"
Focusing all my alchemist instincts on perfect timing,
I opened the silver envelope at the ideal moment.
After all the superstitions and rituals, the new skill was...
[Acquired 'Potion Amplification (A+)'.]
...The rank's excellent,
and the name screams alchemist-worthy. Seems like a solid pull.
"Let's test it."
Perfect, I had a decent pill potion recipe using just recovery grass.
Time to see what this does to it.
"Pure Flame"
Whoosh-!
[Synthesize 'Useful Pill Potion ver.5'?]
[YES][NO]
Selecting [YES] on the alert and proceeding,
[Recipe eligible for 'Potion Amplification'.]
[※Warning: Amplification applies penalties and may alter the result.]
[Use skill?]
[YES][NO]
"So that's how it works?"
Got the gist.
Selecting [YES] on the new alert too, a ton of mana drained from me, and synthesis started as usual.
A moment later.
Bubble bubble bubble-!
[Synthesized 'Amplified Pill Potion'!]
"...?"
Um... Amplification bumped recovery (mid) to recovery (high).
Achieved purely via skill with no extra materials—huge effect.
But the penalty below... first pill works fine per day,
but second onward does reverse effect—damage equal to recovery (high)...
"...This is something the Professor would scold me for making..."
Not sure,
but doesn't this mean two pills could wipe out most climbers?