122. Flying, flying, flying

Hehehe.

Kuhuhuhu.

Uhehehehe.

Ah—can't stop grinning.

Felt like I could fly through the sky right now.

Physically too.

What I'm getting at is that the newly acquired skill from the evolution of three-dimensional mobility, spatial mobility, turned out to be extremely high-performance.

Three-dimensional mobility wasn't particularly useful—despite being a spider, I could already scale walls and leap without relying on the skill. But spatial mobility is different.

This skill allows for mid-air double jumps.

The sensation is as if invisible platforms briefly appear in midair.

By pushing off those platforms, I can now move freely in the air.

During the previous eel battle, I nearly died because my mobility at ceiling level was insufficient.

After evolving, my stats improved significantly, so the situation had become manageable. However, the battle against the fire dragon reaffirmed one point: aerial mobility remains essential.

Even if I can fight adequately in midair using threads, I still cannot exceed a certain threshold.

Without that threshold, engaging in aerial combat with an opponent like the fire dragon is impossible.

That is precisely why, during the fire dragon battle, I relied on one of my trump cards—illusion magic—to avoid aerial combat altogether.

But with this spatial maneuverability, the issue is resolved.

In fact, it enhances my combat effectiveness in the air more than conventional flight mechanisms would. My inherent speed is fully leveraged, resulting in a sharp increase in aerial combat capability.

Now, I could potentially engage in aerial combat with swarms as well.

That said, aerial mobility is not without limitations.

Several weaknesses exist—deficiencies, to be precise.

First, activation consumes red SP.

That is unavoidable.

A skill this convenient would break balance if it had no cost.

It could easily become the nemesis of aerial units.

Ideally, it would consume MP instead of SP—especially since MP is currently at surplus—but luxury is not an option.

Therefore, indefinite flight is impossible.

The rate of consumption appears proportional to the duration the platform remains active.

Thus, creating a platform for only a moment and immediately jumping is the most efficient, lowest-cost method.

Conversely, simply standing still on the platform midair results in rapid SP depletion.

In extreme cases, one might starve to death from inactivity before even realizing the drain.

Second, the platform is relatively fragile.

Likely due to low skill level.

At my current maximum speed, the platform collapses the instant I kick off.

Kicking at full force results not in forward motion, but in piercing through the platform and falling straight down.

Even landing on the platform while moving at speed still causes penetration.

Thus, speed must be reduced during midair.

After several experiments, the threshold at which penetration occurs is now estimated.

It was fortunate this was an experiment. In actual combat, penetration would have left me exposed and vulnerable.

Indeed, testing is essential.

There is no alternative but to expect the platform’s durability to increase with skill level.

Likely, higher levels will allow it to withstand my top speed. I hope it reaches that threshold soon.

But I want to conserve SP as much as possible, so it's frustrating that I can't practice regularly.

Ah, if only MP consumption were the issue instead.

All of this stems from the weak monsters hiding in the magma.

Now I can't even eat, nor gain experience.

Only one level away from evolution, yet that one level feels endlessly distant.

If I kept defeating monsters on land, my level would eventually rise. But the experience gained from killing weak enemies is negligible.

Thanks to Lady's guidance, I now know the exact amount of experience needed for level-up.

When I鉴定 the level stat, the required value for the next level appears.

I always check this after battle. The experience gained seems proportional to the opponent's strength.

Tatsunootoshigo — quite low.

Namazu — average.

Unagi — higher.

Fire dragon — plenty.

Fire dragon — extremely plenty.

That’s the general trend.

My strength doesn’t matter. The experience value is fixed by the opponent’s strength.

In games, some systems reduce experience from weak foes when the player grows stronger.

Based on prior data, the experience required for my next level-up is equivalent to six unagi.

Even defeating a fire dragon won’t be enough.

Converted to common foes, it’s a depressing amount.

If I could kill unagi or fire dragons, it would be faster. But I’ve only seen one fire dragon in the magma lake. Unagi are also extremely rare.

Scanning with detection yields no results matching their profile.

Even if I found one, I doubt it would come out of the magma.

Eels—less so than catfish—but I don’t challenge opponents with no chance of victory.

Conversely, a fire dragon might launch an attack.

Perhaps only that one dragon from the magma lake has such a disposition. Still, if fire dragons are inherently aggressive by nature, I might as well feast on its entire cohort, if I can find one.

Assuming it exists, of course.

Fire Dragon?

You think I’d casually fight something like that?

Even if I won, it would still be above me in capability.

Last time I won—it was a miracle. I don’t want to repeat that.

Still, I have no choice but to hunt minor foes one by one, step by step.