Day 561-570/Day 562

Day 562 / 92nd day
　The maze of time changes, which is the first obstacle that prevents intruders from entering the maze, was slower than planned.
　There are several reasons for this, such as the strength of the dungeon monsters that appear, but the main reason is that the environment of the maze of time changes drastically every time the short hand in the sky moves, that is, every hour.
　Briefly, at one time, it is a dimly lit [forest maze] where magical trees grow excessively dense.
　At two o'clock, it's a hot and humid "phantom sand maze" where the floor and walls are made up of quicksand of varying intensity.
　At three o'clock, a wasteland where gravity fluctuates depending on the location and rocks and water balls float in the air (floating maze).
　At four o'clock, a narrow and humid [Cave Maze] shrouded in darkness with no light source.
　At five o'clock, it's a foggy maze where you can't even see your outstretched hand.
　At six o'clock, it's a 【Tornado Maze】 where strong winds are constantly blowing in all directions, almost blowing your body away.
　The seventh hour is a simple and inorganic 【Metal Maze】 with few features except that the surrounding area is constructed of the same metal as the outer walls.
　At eight o'clock, the 【Mechanical Maze】is a maze of special gimmicks and vicious traps that block your way more than monsters.
　At nine o'clock is the 【Lava Maze】, where passages are filled with the outpouring of magma that emits intense heat and sudden small eruptions.
　At ten o'clock, the 【Maze of Poisons】is a paradise for a variety of toxic demon bugs and toxic plants.
　At eleven o'clock, it's the 【Maze of Dead Souls】, an ancient battlefield dotted with grave markers, where the smell of decay drifts through the air and corpses roll about.
　At twelve o'clock, it becomes a 【Chaos Maze】 where all the features from one to eleven are mixed together, and the rest is a repetition.
　The internal structure of the maze changes drastically as the environment changes at a dizzying pace every hour, and sometimes a new path is created at the end of a dead end that allows you to take a shortcut, and other times an open path is suddenly closed.
　If I were to say that the correct path changes every hour, would that give you an idea of the level of difficulty?
　In addition to the changes in the environment, the types and characteristics of the monsters that appear in the dungeon also change, making it difficult to get used to.
　In the chaos maze, you can fight the dungeon monsters that appear in each environment, so I try to get used to hunting them down rather than attacking them.
　In other words, the change of environment over time is the most troublesome element of the 【Time Change Maze】 strategy.
　If it weren't for this, I'm sure the difficulty would have been a little lower.
　However, that's not all bad for me.
　After all, I can eat the dungeon monsters that live in each of the twelve different environments.
　I should welcome the situation where I can eat my prey without getting bored.
　In addition, it seems that every environment is set up so that there will be a strong individual that is at least one level stronger than the other species and can be called the master of that environment.
　In the 【Forest Maze】, there is the Black Lightning Shadow Tiger that lurks in the shadows of trees and attacks with a thunderous roar.
　In the 【Phantom Sand Maze】, there's a giant quicksand dwarf that manipulates quicksand and drags in its prey.
　In the 【Floating Maze】, a malignant spirit in the form of a floating treasure ball that manipulates heavy pressure to develop an invisible realm.
　In the 【Cave Maze】, an eyeless white serpent that adapts to lightless environments and tries to swallow you whole in silence.
　In the 【Maze of Fog】, the phantom fog demon octopus extends its tentacles in the thick fog, drags in its prey, and strangles it to death.
　In the 【Tornado Maze】, it is a trinity of tornado weasels that move at high speed on the wind, tumbling over each other as they pass, slashing and poisoning.
　In the 【Metal Maze】, countless metal golems combine to form a regiment of demonic machines with various transforming abilities.
　In the 【Mechanical Maze】, it is a fortress with flamethrowers and ballistas in a thick shell like a fortress, and traps around it.
　In the 【Lava Maze】, it is a pyroclastic dragon that freely manipulates the surrounding lava and uses it as weapons and armor to burn its enemies.
　In the 【Poison Maze】, the poisonous mantis centipedes are formed when countless poisonous insects mix together after killing each other.
　In the 【Maze of Deadly Spirits】, the King of Death is a three-meter-long heavy armor possessed by a grudge, and he uses his superior swordsmanship.
　In the 【Chaos Maze】, there is the Locked-End Chimera Lord, a mishmash of the characteristics of monsters from each environment that carries death to its opponents.
　--In the【Maze of Chaos】, the characteristics of the monsters in each environment are mingled together, and they carry death to their opponents.
　The environment masters are tough, but they are also very tasty, and they all taste good.
　The Rock End Chimera Lords in particular are fun to eat, as their taste and texture varies greatly depending on the part of the body, and they are excellent prey to seek out.
　However, it is difficult to encounter them because of the time limit and the small number of appearances.
　Anyway, because of the high level of difficulty, all the dungeon monsters are delicious.
　In addition, there are materials that can only be obtained in each environment, so just collecting them is a great benefit.
　I picked up a piece of floating rock from the floating maze and proceeded without fail.
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PLACE TRANSLATIONS ABOVE THE BAR. THESE ARE THE RAWS, LEAVE THEM HERE. CLICK EXPAND TO VIEW THEM.
 
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　 　“九十二日目　／　五■六■二目”
　≪時刻歴在都市ヒストリノア≫。
　その最初の関門となって侵入者を阻む【時変の迷路】の攻略は、予定よりもゆっくりとしたものだった。
　出現するダンジョンモンスターの強さなど理由は幾つかあるが、その最たる原因は外縁部に広がる【時変の迷路】が、上空の短針が一つ動く度に、つまり一時間毎に環境が大きく変化する事にある。
　簡単に説明すると、一時は魔樹が過剰なまでに鬱蒼と生い茂る薄暗い【森林迷路】。
　二時は床や壁が強弱の激しい流砂で構成された蒸し暑い【幻砂迷路】。
　三時は場所によって重力が変動し岩塊や水球などが浮かぶ荒地【浮動迷路】。
　四時は光源が存在しない闇に包まれた狭く湿度の高い【洞窟迷路】。
　五時は伸ばした自分の手すら見えない濃霧で満たされた【濃霧迷路】。
　六時は常に縦横無尽に身体が吹き飛ばされそうになるほどの強風が吹き荒れる【颶風迷路】。
　七時は周囲が外壁と同じ金属で構築されている事以外は特徴の乏しい単純で無機質な【金属迷路】。
　八時はモンスターよりも多く設置された特殊なギミックや悪辣な罠が行く手を阻む【機構迷路】。
　九時は強烈な熱を放つマグマの流出と唐突な小噴火が通路で起こる【溶岩迷路】。
　十時は多種多様な毒性の魔蟲や毒性植物の楽園ともいえる【蟲毒迷路】。
　十一時は腐臭が漂い骸が転がり墓標が点在する古戦場【死霊迷路】。
　十二時は一から十一までの全ての特徴が混ざる【混沌迷路】となり、後はその繰り返し。
　一時間毎に目まぐるしく環境が変化する迷路は変動にともない内部構造も大きく変わり、行き止まりの先に新しい道ができてショートカットできたりする事もあれば、開けていた道が急に閉ざされたりする事もある。
　一時間毎に正しい道が変わっていくと言えば、難度の高さが分かるだろうか。
　それに環境の変動に加え、出現するダンジョンモンスターの種類や特徴も様変わりするので慣れ難いのも面倒だ。
　一応、混沌迷路の時にそれぞれの環境に出現するダンジョンモンスターと戦う事が出来るので、その時は攻略よりも狩猟優先で討伐に慣れる事に努めている。
　つまり時間経過による環境の変化こそ、【時変の迷路】攻略において最も厄介な要素である。
　これがなければ、もう少し難度は下がったのは間違いない。
　ただ、それも俺にとっては悪い事ばかりではない。
　何せ、十二種類の環境それぞれで生きるダンジョンモンスターを喰う事が出来るからだ。
　飽きること無く獲物を喰える状況は歓迎すべきだろう。
　それにどの環境にも他種よりも一段階以上強い、その環境の主とも言える強個体が出現するように設定されているらしく――
　【森林迷路】では樹木の影に潜み、雷鳴と共に襲い掛かる黒雷影虎。
　【幻砂迷路】では流砂を操り、獲物を引きずり込む巨大な流砂幼蜉蝣。
　【浮動迷路】では重圧を操作し、不可視の領域を展開する浮宝玉型悪性精霊。
　【洞窟迷路】では光のない環境に適応し、無音で丸呑みしようとする眼の無い白大蛇。
　【濃霧迷路】では濃霧に紛れて触腕を伸ばし、獲物を引きずり込んで絞殺する幻霧魔蛸。
　【颶風迷路】では風に乗って高速移動し、すれ違いざまに転倒させ切り裂き毒を塗る三位一体の颶風鎌鼬。
　【金属迷路】では無数の金属ゴーレムが合体し、様々な変形能力を持つ連隊魔機。
　【機構迷路】では火炎放射機やバリスタなどを要塞のような分厚い殻に備え、周囲に罠などを増設する要塞宿借。
　【溶岩迷路】では周囲の溶岩を自在に操り、武器や鎧にして敵を焼失させる火砕竜。
　【蠱毒迷路】では無数の毒虫が殺しあった末に一つに混ざり、形成された毒蟷螂百足。
　【死霊迷路】では三メートル程の重甲冑に怨霊が憑依し、優れた剣技を駆使する騎死王。
　【混沌迷路】では各環境のモンスターの特徴が雑多に融合し、敵対者に死を運ぶロックエンド・キメラロード。
　――といった猛者が居る。
　環境主達は手強い代わりに旨味が強く、どれも美味い。
　特にロックエンド・キメラロードは部位によって味も食感も大きく違うので喰って楽しく、探し求めてしまうくらいには優良な獲物である。
　もっとも、時間制限があるし出現数が少ないので遭遇する事は難しいのだが。
　ともあれ、難度が高いだけにどのダンジョンモンスターも美味い存在が揃っている。
　それに各環境でしか取れない素材などもあるので、それ等を採取するだけでも恩恵は大きい。
　ポリポリと【浮動迷路】の浮遊岩の欠片を摘まみつつ、確実に進んでいった。
 
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Category:Novel
Category:Re:Monster ~ The Dark Continent ~ Vol. 4