I Became My Healer Elf Character - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Lateral Scorched Earth
The land sported cracks everywhere, and each one of them meant a ravine below. It was like two layers on top of each other—water flowing in the trenches and trees down below, but the top was desolate. Hikari pondered at the strange floor.

“If this is floor 21, it’s a bit weird isn’t it?”

“Master, I feel the concentration of magical signatures down below. I suspect that this top area serves as a trap.”

“A trap, huh? Like a heat lamp.”

“There’s likely to be a clue up here for traversal, Master. However, we can simply fly down.”

Hikari nodded towards the dragon. “This dungeon difficulty is a bit strange.”

“What do you mean, Master?”

“I mean, the first boss was level 25. According to this world’s rules, it would likely take Tier 3 adventurers to take it down. When we got to floor 20, the boss there was level 40. It was a 15 level increase when before the increases were more substantial.”

“I don’t see what you mean, Master? What are you trying to say?”

Hikari placed a thoughtful hand on her chin. “I suspect that this dungeon has some diminishing returns the lower you go. Level differences start to matter a lot more when they increase. It’s like an exponential graph. However, the levels in this dungeon are lower growth over a period of time.”

Seeing that the dragon still didn’t understand, Hikari continued. “Basically, think of it like this. The first floors had a gain of 25 by the 10th. The second floors with the swamp biome only had a gain of 15 by the 20th. It’s disproportionate. At this rate, the 100th floor boss will likely not even approach half of us.”

Kurayami nodded along. “I think I understand. However, Master, there is no one who could hope to reach even half of your level. Isn’t the reason you came here for understanding?”

Hikari shrugged. “A challenge would have also been nice. Shall we go down?”

The dragon smiled. “Want another ride?”

With a shake of her head, the elf equipped an item: [Wings of a Deity]. Two pure white wings sprouted from her back, shooting from her robes. Before they could be shredded, two little slits provided them space.

The wings evoked a physical sensation, and with it, a piece of the elf felt freed from constraints. The dungeon’s rejection effect seemed to vanish completely, and Hikari felt revitalized. The feeling was like pure spring water being drank after going without inside of a desert.

Her figure radiated with a light glow, and the atmosphere surrounding her bended towards her will. It was as if she had become an event horizon, and space warped in her presence.

The dragon looked at her master in awe. “It’s been a while since you’ve appeared with those. I must say that the master’s beauty has not diminished in the slightest.”

Hikari looked towards the gashes in the earth. “Never mind that. Let’s go down.”

Hikari and Kurayami flapped their wings and descended into the scorched earth. The trenches provided a different view than the desert above. A steady flowing river bent around inside. Sparse plants presented themselves, and the moment they arrived, they spotted a giant lizard monster.

The [Dungeon Scorched Lizard] was beige, and its skin was as hard as rocks. These guys had three main attacks. They contained magic power within, so they could spew big boulders from their mouth, or they’d shoot a stream of fire. However, the fire attack seemed to take a heftier amount of mana, and these guys were level 40. The last attack were simple bites, but none of them would connect.

Kurayami easily toppled them with raw strength. The moment her fist collided with the monsters, they’d shatter into a bunch of rocky pieces. The most common drop from them were [Hot Stones]. They served a similar purpose to coal in this world. They could stay lit for a long time, but they were hard to light initially.

The rare drop from them was a [Scorched Fang]. This was like a hot iron in the hands, but it could serve as a simple weapon and possibly the material for something new. Hikari grasped it in her hands, but there was no burning sensation. It simply felt warmer than the surroundings.

Fish could be seen swimming in the river, but her goals lay outside of simple fish. She didn’t expect she’d get something amazing from them anyway. After a bit of flying down the river, she felt a strange sensation like crossing through a bubble.

“Did you feel that?”

Kurayami nodded. “It was a traversal through space.”

“I see, that means we made it to floor 22. It seems that the traversal of these floors are more lateral. It’s strange we haven’t found any adventurers this deep.”

The dragon shrugged. “I believe that most adventurers are like little gnats. There’s now way for them to even put up with those lizards.”

Hikari stared at her dragon for a bit. Do dragons constitute lizards? If so, does this mean that Kurayami is essentially killing her brethren?

“Master?”

The elf shook her head rapidly. “It’s nothing. Let’s continue.”

As they traversed each floor, the gorges in the ground became wider, and more traps started appearing. At one point, a giant boulder fell into the ravine, crushing several monsters at once and blocking the path, but it was simple for the two. They just flew over it.

The weird thing about the boulder was no instigator. It was as if the boulder simply appeared and rolled over the ledge on its own.

“Master, I believe the owner of this place is starting to use tactics.”

“Oh? You think so, too?”

Kurayami nodded. “The magic of this dungeon made that boulder appear. There were no monsters on top at that time.”

Hikari smiled towards her dragon feeling a bit like a proud owner. “Let’s collect the drop from those trees. After that, what do you think about rapidly advancing and meeting the owner personally?”

Kurayami returned the grin. “Nothing would make me happier than punishing some bugs, Master. Please, lead the way!”