How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 102

113. How to Quietly Get Stronger (3)

So, what should I do?

The method is, of course, a trick.

I checked the Influence Points I had accumulated so far.

Since starting commercial transactions in earnest, I haven’t bothered to check because they keep coming in steadily without me having to pay attention.

I didn’t have time for that either.

More than anything, it’s fun to check them all at once when I have enough, like opening a gift.

“Very good!”

Now that I’ve saved up enough, I just need to spend it!

Let’s get these three.

The most important of these is .

A person with this trait will have increased recovery efficiency even if they drink Posun [a common healing potion], not just elixirs.

I needed this.

This trait, in common terms, means a constitution that receives the effects of medicine faster and better than others.

It means that when you drink an elixir, you can absorb its effects more efficiently than someone with a normal constitution.

It means becoming a body specialized for drug modification.

Drugs! I love them!

‘The problem is that you also receive toxins two or three times as much.’

Toxins are also a type of drug in classification.

Double the medicine, double the poison.

It truly has both advantages and disadvantages.

Most people with this constitution met a futile end by poisoning.

There’s even such a description.

That’s why I also needed abilities related to detoxification.

.

Originally, it exists in creatures with potent toxins.

It increases resistance to poison.

It can also naturally heal weak poisons.

‘If I combine it with a detoxification artifact, the range of resistance itself won’t be a big problem.’

By doing this, the disadvantages of acquiring other abilities are greatly reduced.

This is how you use ability combinations.

You can amplify the advantages or offset the disadvantages.

I can’t miss a single one.

Let’s get them all.

After spending so lavishly, what’s left is.

Ugh, the consumption is considerable.

That means these are abilities that humans normally can’t obtain.

‘Anyway, this is the best I can do.’

The current problem is the efficiency of elixirs.

After acquiring the abilities, I opened another bottle of elixir and drank it down.

‘Oh? The drugs are finally working?’

Mana has noticeably increased.

Considering that what I drank was a low-grade elixir, this increase is quite significant.

I gulped.

I stared at the remaining 193 elixirs.

There are various types.

Some increase mana, some increase stamina, and others have various other effects.

“…I’ll just drink them slowly over time.”

When I have nothing to do, I’ll empty a bottle every 10 minutes.

Then someday I’ll be able to drink them all…

Drink while sitting, drink while standing, drink while walking, drink while relieving yourself.

This is the life of getting stronger with drugs.

‘Seriously, living is so damn hard…’

I wonder if I’ll end up dying from a burst stomach from eating drugs before I get hit and die in a fight.

I smiled bitterly and picked up the third bottle.

‘Really… when am I going to eat all this?’

192 bottles remaining.

Why does this seem more daunting than fighting… why is that?

“Guh.”

I clutched my head, burping with a mix of drug smells.

Everything is good, but this ridiculous amount is the problem.

It seems like there’s no easy way in this damn world, in any sense.

Maybe I’ll die from a burst stomach from eating drugs instead of getting stabbed by an enemy.

* * *

Getting stronger with drugs is good, but I also need to explore other ways to get stronger.

I want to play, but there’s no time to play.

Especially since I couldn’t help but realize that painfully from the last battle.

Even a little is fine.

Let’s get everything we can get without problems.

‘Even though it’s said that many a little makes a mickle [many small amounts can make a large amount]… it’s really…’

I’m wandering in the mountains not far from Pelpuk.

I smiled bitterly, patting my back from the fatigue of climbing.

‘Hmm… I’m sure it’s around here?’

I tilted my head, looking around, and then raised my hand to summon Undine.

-Eiro! Did you call me?

“How come you still can’t say your contractor’s name right even after growing up.”

-Huh? What are you talking about?

“…No, never mind. So, Undine? You’re sure it’s around here, right? Can you look one more time?”

-Okay!

At my command, Undine answered with a large gesture and scattered blue moisture like she was searching around.

Small water droplets.

-Find it!

Those water droplets amplify Undine’s senses.

She’s changing part of her body into water and spreading it.

‘Her application skills have improved quite a bit.’

Undine became an intermediate water spirit due to the accidental event in the last battle.

Not only the size of her power but also subtle things like intelligence have evolved to the next level.

So, this girl will surely find what I’m looking for.

After waiting for a while, Undine pointed to one place.

-It’s there!

“Oh? Where is it?”

-Waaaaay over thereeeeeee!

Undine is pointing to the top of the mountain.

“…Damn it. You’re making me climb all the way to the top. Well, good job.”

I patted Undine’s head with my palm and checked my equipment again before heading off.

There is one thing I’m looking for.

‘I need a new spirit stone.’

I just wanted to get a spirit stone.

With the last fight, my achievement in spiritism reached the intermediate level.

And then I realized.

The effectiveness of the spirit stone bracelet, which was one of the auxiliary tools I used, is not felt much.

I realized that there is no change in my spirit power level even if I take it off.

When did it start?

‘Well, it only helps when you’re a low-level. I guess there’s no other way.’

At the point of reaching the power to control intermediate spirits, I have grown too much to be covered by a pebble-sized stone.

It’s a shame, but it can also be said to be evidence of achievement.

‘If possible, I’d like a spirit stone with a higher purity… and it would be nice to have a raw stone.’

I’ve already become acquainted with the engineers at Pileros Merchant Guild, so if I get a good one, I can make a full-fledged auxiliary item.

I continued to move forward, moderately splitting the overgrown branches with a dagger to secure the road.

‘Is it this way?’

The reason I thought there would be a spirit stone somewhere here is because of the sightings here.

Because there are rumors that uncontracted spirits are occasionally discovered.

‘Because there is nothing as difficult to ignore as rumors in this place.’

Like clockwork.

Sightings cannot occur in unfounded places.

It’s an obvious flag.

Having a spirit means that there is a human or object that exerts spirit power there.

I thought of that and headed straight here, and I had no choice but to go on a mountain climbing trip that I had no interest in.

If there is a spirit stone on that mountain, I have to go, right?

And the navigation to find it is the spirits I have contracted with.

‘Because there is nothing else that senses it as well as spirits.’

Although the accuracy is not high, they can definitely distinguish whether it exists or not.

It would have been difficult if I was a low-level.

It is possible to distinguish because I am an intermediate level and my intelligence has risen to some extent.

-This way! I think it’s this way!

‘Well, it’s almost like an instinct.’

It feels like trusting the salmon’s homing instinct and going upstream.

I’m a little uneasy, but let’s trust my spirit.

Just as fish crave water, spirits also have a habit of finding spirit power.

I used Undine to check the location and continued to climb the mountain.

And as I got closer to the top.

“…Ah.”

I first discovered the local master who had taken a seat here.

It is a tiger whose entire body is half-eroded by sharp rocks.

Just by looking at it, it’s a monster that lives here.

‘Was it a Stone Tiger?’

I happened to recall that it was on the list of subjugation targets at the former mercenary guild.

It was an A-rank monster in the guild classification, right?

-Krrr.

The guy made a cry filled with hostility.

It’s a natural reaction because he wouldn’t welcome me, who had invaded his house without permission.

I coughed lightly and approached to chase away the monster.

It’s annoying.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to search your cave. I don’t have a warrant, but get out.”

The suspicion is that there seems to be a spirit stone in your nest, I guess I can say that.

Well, these jokes won’t work.

The Stone Tiger rushed at me violently as soon as I approached, as if he was very angry.

The sharp rocks rising from his body are swung around like swords.

“Ouch, you’re violent.”

Lightly dodging the attack, I drew out the flames and electricity of the spirits and poured them out to finish it off at once.

The power is considerable.

Well, I have been evolving my spirits to the intermediate level whenever I had time since then.

Thanks to that, the size has also increased and the firepower has definitely increased.

I don’t know about before, but now it’s easy to deal with A-rank monsters.

“It’s nothing.”

After that, I didn’t forget to collect the monster’s magic stone.

It’s quite large, so it will be more than enough to cover the travel expenses to get here.

Small profits are quite pleasing.

‘It would be even better if I could find the spirit stone.’

I looked around the cave, which was the monster’s nest.

“Undine? Look one more time.”

-Here, here! Probably here!

Undine pointed to the inside of the cave.

But it’s a wall.

That means it’s buried inside.

I need to dig it out.

“Okay. Then Gnome, dig some ground.”

Let’s call our excavation spirit, no, the earth spirit Gnome.

If it’s Gnome when he was a low-level, he won’t have enough power, but I don’t have to worry now!

A more evolved form of Gnome than before was summoned.

He has grown from a small dwarf to a dwarf boasting a sturdy sand arm.

-Shall I dig?

“Dig.”

When I raised my chin and gave a haughty command, Gnome began to dig the cave wall.

It is natural that mining using spirits is easier than awkwardly using a pickaxe.

Gnome, who instantly pierced hundreds of meters with just bedrock manipulation, stepped back when I nodded in satisfaction.

Let’s hold this space with Gnome’s ability while I look around in case it collapses.

“Spirit stone~ Spirit stone~ Oh! Here it is!”

Looking closely at the inside that Gnome dug out, there are raw stones that emit a rainbow-colored glow here and there.

This is the raw stone of the spirit stone.

There’s quite a lot of it.

“Hehehehehe. It’s going to be hard to mine this. I’m going to lose my arm while mining it? Hehehehe~ Wow~ What should I do~.”

I say this, but I don’t hate this kind of labor.

Anything is fun if there is a reward.

“Then shall we quickly mine it?”

However, spirits cannot be used for mining spirit stones.

The energy repels, so there is a risk of accidents.

If you make a mistake inside the cave, you may be buried, so you have to be careful.

In other words, the raw stone must be mined manually.

I opened a subspace and took out the pickaxe I borrowed from Rox’s workshop.

It is said that the pickaxe uses a material equivalent to a famous sword, so the strength alone is the best.

I firmly grabbed it with both hands and raised it.

And.

“Heum!”

Activating the buff of the Giant’s Armor, giving more power to my physical abilities, I swung the pickaxe down as it was.

Kwaang!

An unusual sound rang out and stone fragments scattered like bombs in all directions.

“Gnome! You have to hold the cave tight so it doesn’t collapse! Undine! Sprinkle water where I swung to put down the dust!”

And swing again.

Kwang!

Breaking the rocks with a refreshing sound, I started to pick out the raw stones one by one.

‘Okay. No problem!’

If I swing it for half a day, I can mine enough!

I swung the pickaxe several times with excitement.

If there is really no way to make a living, I wondered if I could start a revolution in the iron ore industry while working as a miner.

If I put my mind to it, I could become an idol in the labor world.

Well, I don’t have any intention of doing that~.

* * *

As a result of doing mining work for about half a day, I was able to secure a fairly satisfactory amount of raw stones.

An achievement made by digging, moving, and repeating it.

A pile of stones piled up in front of the cave that is twice as tall as me.

This is all raw spirit stone.

‘Why is the amount of mining more than I expected?’

Originally, I was thinking of being satisfied enough if I mined only one-third of this.

But the reserves were more abundant than expected.

I mined this much without thinking.

‘Maybe there’s more buried underground?’

It’s not mentioned in the original work, but I think it can’t be helped.

Because the main character never wielded a pickaxe.

Of course, I have little knowledge of the mineral deposition situation in the Selvas Kingdom.

‘Shall I remember it…’

I blocked the hole that Gnome dug and collapsed it one more time.

I made such a fuss, so someone might come to check it someday, and it would be troublesome if rumors spread that spirit stones were buried.

I have Gnome, so I can dig this cave again, so it’s not a problem.

This place is now my own attraction [private mining spot].

I have to dig out the remaining amount someday.

‘If I want to dig more than that, I think I need to prepare in earnest.’

It would be better to take a look at the opportunity and start mining with a full-fledged form [proper equipment and permits].

That way, there will be fewer problems in terms of procedure.