154 [Kumo] – Deep fried

Original Translation: APM
Editing: Legit-rikk
Additional thanks goes out to Kubor. Join our discord

I’ve returned, Upper Stratum! I am finally, finally back again!

Living for so long in the middle Stratum Made me long for the upper Stratum’s comfortable air. I forgot how wonderful “not constantly burning” felt.

Let’s enjoy the excitement of returning to the upper Stratum for a moment. It really has been a while huh? Ever since I got chased down to the lower stratum by that snake. The battle with the bees, and me being overlooked by that Earth dragon. 

The Lower Stratum was way too full of monster swarms wandering around. Like the Monkeys and their attack on me. Then, While preparing to enter the Middle Stratum, those damn Earth dragons showed up again. 

Once I finally thought I made it through, the scorching hell of the Middle Stratum comes around. Along with magma as our first and strongest opponent. The Catfish were delicious, the Eels presented a challenge, Mother came for a visit, Fire wyrms came in droves, and the Fire Dragon was stupidly strong.

Huh?

How come I’m still alive?

Well, what does it even mean to be alive?

What is considered as still alive?

I don’t care because I AM STILL ALIVE!

Well then, I reached my end goal traversing the Middle Stratum. So, what to do now?

A few days after my return to the Upper Stratum I simply chilled in a web near the entrance to the Middle Stratum. 

Mmmmmh, that’s it. That’s all I ever wanted. What a magnificent home. I can finally lay down and sleep without risking getting burned. Who knew life with strings could be that relaxing? Ahh. Sweet, sweet happiness.p

I have been looking around the area in the past few days, and I couldn’t spot any strong monsters. Even though this is the same Stratum, I am completely opposite to my starting point. The distance between there and my current point is so far that it could cover Japan’s main island.

I was wondering whether the ecology and the environment would change once you are that far removed, and indeed there were some unfamiliar monsters. However, I was also relieved to see some old friends. Like the Frogs.

The structure around the entrance to the middle level is quite wide, but once you get further in, it’s like a narrow passage branching. Because of that, there aren’t any large monsters nearby. Well, being large doesn’t equal being strong, but all the strong monsters I have seen so far have also been large. I haven’t seen any small, strong monsters like me, so I wonder if I’m a rarity here?

But even the small and weak ones can come in packs, like the monkeys and the centipedes, so that doesn’t mean I can drop my guard. Even though the me of now could wipe them out with Abyssal Magic… but if I did actually do so I would probably bring Mr.Cave’s roof to a very unstable situation. Yeah, I can only predict a major cave-in coming. I guess I will have to rely on substitutes like my poison, huh.

At least currently there seem to be no monsters that would pose a threat to me.And I have an escape route called “magma” I can easily escape through, should that change. Though I have a feeling there are less and less encounters with monsters as time goes on.

As I just desperately escaped from the Middle Stratum, I think I’ll live here for a while and hone my skills while taking it easy. Not as much as before I started capturing the middle stratum, but just some relaxation. Just a minute of laziness. As I’ve worked so hard until now, I should be allowed to do that right?

My level of security has increased immensely ever since I reached the Upper Stratum; while it is not guaranteed, it is definitely safer in the Upper Stratum than in the Middle Stratum where I can’t use my stings. Considering that, I want to do something that I haven’t been able to do for a while. This is the reason why I camp out so close to the middle stratum.

I move out of my new home and go back into the Middle Stratum. 

Ugh, the heat…

After experiencing the air of the Upper Stratum, you definitely realize how bad the air down here is.

I have no idea how I managed to endure all that, I really want to give myself a pat on the back for that.

 Well, I guess that’s good enough for now. 

Slowly, I approach the magma.

Ugh, it gets so hot the closer you get. I really don’t want to go near there. But nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Alright, let’s do this. Let’s plunge my scythe right into the magma!

UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 

THE HEAT HUUUUUUUUUURTS!

<Skill proficiency reached. Skill [Pain Alleviation LV8] has become [Pain Alleviation LV9]> 

I constantly apply healing magic and treatment magic with the help of Magic Brain 1 and 2. Even so, the sickle is burning waaay too fast. Rather than burning, it is directly melting.

Holy hell, even my body is starting to burn.

Panicking, I pull my sickle out of the magma and put it out by using my poison. That finally extinguishes the fire wreaking havoc on my body. 

Haaaah. That was painful.

What I wanted to do was to improve my [Fire Resistance] level. Even though I had been walking in the Middle Stratum for such a long time, my [Fire Resistance] level was only 7. It improves so slowly, and even though I was in a lot of pain just now, it didn’t go up at all. Well, at least ain Resistance] got leveled up instead.

I already went through the Middle Stratum, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still vulnerable to fire. Since there is a place where I can train my [Fire Resistance] in this way, I think I should strengthen it to the point where it becomes [Heat Nullification]. Up until now, I’ve prioritized safety and never put the idea into action, but from now on, I can do it without worrying about that.

Oh, by the way, as expected my sickle melted completely. And [Healing Magic] at level 2 cannot yet restore missing limbs. It is just usable for small injuries. I guess I have to wait for my automatic recovery skill to kick in, and now that it’s evolved into [HP Rapid Recovery] it doesn’t take that long anymore.

Hum. Still, at this rate, it’s gonna take a long time before I acquire [Heat Nullification].

Name	Zoa Ele
Level	19
HP (Green)	499/687+0 (185 up)
MP (Blue)	5012/5012+1300 (916 up)
SP (Yellow)	636/636 (114 up)
SP (Red)	636/636+1191 (114 up)
Average Offense	590 (84 up)
Average Defense	685 (82 up)
Average Magic Power	4757 (856 up)
Average Resistance	4871 (850 up)
Average Speed	3152 (472 up)
Skill Points	0