NOVEL NEXT Chapter 170
170. To The Second Stage
“Well done, you two! Tonight, we feast!”
Mila-san exclaimed in high spirits. Her joy was fueled by the mountains of ingredients piled before us. These were procured by the soldiers of Tsodotos, clearly demonstrating their sincerity in making amends.
After making Tsodotos surrender, Raize and I gathered the supplies and returned to Mila-san’s house.
“Raize’s cooking is unmatched. Just thinking about how all of this will be transformed into delicious dishes is making me excited!”
“…So, Mila-san. How was our performance on the first day?”
“Hm? You even need to ask? Of course, you passed! Full marks, one hundred out of a hundred!”
Mila-san’s immediate approval brought us a wave of relief. It seemed our approach had been right.
“Now, let’s review. I want to know how my advice paid off.”
We explained what we did during the confrontation with Tsodotos. First, my advice was to ‘observe closely.’ This yielded two major benefits.
One was detecting that Tsodotos had disguised himself as Mila-san. Without keen observation of her traits, we might have fallen prey to another forest trap.
The second benefit was that it helped shorten the time needed to conjure the two magic circles used in the
Next was Raize’s advice to ‘trust her instincts.’ This was most evident during her battle with the Behemoth. Her moves, guided purely by instinct, allowed her to handle the Behemoth effectively. Raize herself was the most aware of how well it worked.
After our explanation, Mila-san nodded along in high spirits and then broke into a wide grin.
“Well done! You understood and applied my advice perfectly. That’s no easy feat!”
With that, Mila-san picked up an empty bottle of liquor from the table. Taking a swig, she exhaled with gusto and pointed at us.
“All right, time to move you two to the second stage of your training!”
“The second stage?”
“That’s right. I expected it would take a month for you to execute my directions flawlessly… but you two have potential. So, on to the next step!”
Though it had only been one day since our training began, Mila-san’s bold decision-making was fitting.
“First, Arx. You’re going solo in the Ash Dungeon starting tomorrow to master Zain’s Magic Eye.”
“Solo? Wait, you don’t mean…”
“Exactly. Until you can fully conquer the Ash Dungeon on your own, you’ll be training there daily!”
The monsters we barely defeated as a team… me, alone? The Phoenix on the 45th floor was level 67 by human standards. While that might not sound too daunting, countless equally powerful monsters awaited on the way.
“You have a whole squad of Slimes, don’t you? Leveling up should be fast for you. At level 75, solo clearing should be possible.”
“So, I’m going to be trapped in a dungeon all day?”
“No, you’ll come back here each night to report your successes and struggles. I’ll give feedback and improvements as needed.”
Mila-san’s advice had already proven invaluable today. Hearing it daily would undoubtedly accelerate my growth.
“Next, Raize. You’ll spar with me, one-on-one.”
“What!? There’s no way I can win…”
“Winning isn’t the goal. Today’s Behemoth fight revealed your weaknesses in close combat. We’ll address that, and create a new skill for you.”
“A new skill, for me!”
Raize’s face lit up at the mention of a new skill. She clenched her fists and even did a small, excited hop.
“Since you two have different weaknesses, training separately makes more sense. Each of you will grow in the way best suited for you.”
“Understood!”
We both responded enthusiastically, and Mila-san nodded with satisfaction.
“All right, let’s eat! I’ve been dying to try Raize’s cooking!”
“I thought you didn’t care about food, Mila-san?”
“Hm? That’s ancient history! I’m the witch of the frontier, free from all constraints. Now, I’ve decided I won’t die until I’ve tried every one of Raize’s dishes!”
She’d already lived 200 years, and yet… it seemed she was ready to keep going. In any case, I was grateful Mila-san was a good person—fun to be around and precise in her advice.
As I watched her smile, my mind turned to the training awaiting us.
And thus—our month-long second stage of training began.