By some strange twist of fate, I’d ended up in another world. Now, I was spending my days hunting in the Labyrinth.
I was currently on the seventh floor of the Labyrinth in Quratar, the city where I’d rented a house.
My targets were the Slow Rabbits found here. The skins they dropped upon defeat fetched a high price at the clothing shops in the Imperial Capital. I was stockpiling them to build up the capital I’d need for my next major move.
There was another reason for staying here: starting from the eighth floor, up to four monsters could appear at once. With just Roxanne and me, facing four would be a struggle.
Roxanne could likely handle herself, and she might even manage three at a time if I asked, but usually, we’d each take on two. Still, enemies rarely move exactly how you want them to. At the moment, I didn't have the confidence to juggle two monsters at once, especially while trying to cast spells. That was why I was sticking to the seventh floor for now.
On the seventh floor, the limit was three. That meant Roxanne could take two, leaving only one for me.
“Guh…”
Sometimes a second one would lunge at me the moment I took my eyes off it. Facing two consistently was still a nerve-wracking prospect.
Irritated, I whacked the Slow Rabbit that had just tackled me with my wand, neatly sidestepped an attack from the one directly in front, and visualized the Fire Storm spell.
My guard slipped a little while I focused on the magic, but the rabbit that had tackled me turned its attention to Roxanne instead. Naturally, she evaded it effortlessly. She used her shield to deftly parry a simultaneous strike from yet another rabbit.
Embers danced through the air, and the monsters collapsed as the flames consumed them. The three Slow Rabbits dissolved into smoke, leaving their skins behind.
Wait. There were only two skins. I’d killed three of them, yet only two had dropped. Then I noticed a small stone lying a short distance away. It was a round pebble, glowing with a soft light. Was that a drop item?
“We did it, Master! A Skill Crystal!”
Before I even had a chance to use Appraisal, Roxanne was already rushing toward it.
A Skill Crystal? It was the first one I’d ever seen.
Skill Crystal: Rabbit
Appraisal confirmed it. It was indeed a Skill Crystal—a small pebble roughly the same size as a Magic Crystal. From what I’d heard, Skill Crystals were items that could be fused with equipment to grant them special skills.
“So, this is the real thing?”
“Yes. It is the first time I have seen one as well,” Roxanne replied, her eyes bright with excitement.