Rain in the Dungeon

"Phew... phew... I can't go on, Hopp. Please, let's call it here for today. I really, really already..."

Somewhere in the Mushroom Forest, Carl was pinned beneath Hopp, begging her for mercy in utter humiliation.

Yet the energetic Tiefling girl showed him no mercy. Instead, she tightened the arms and thighs wrapped around his body even further.

Feeling himself nearing his limit, Carl exhaled deeply, and all the strength in his body drained away with that breath.

"Humph! You were the one who suggested this in the first place. Now that I've pinned you down, you want to stop? Where do you think you'll find a deal that good?"

"Sorry! I overestimated myself, so could you let me go first? I can barely breathe!"

Slapping the ground helplessly in pain, tears had already welled up in Carl's eyes from lack of oxygen.

Seeing him in that state, Hopp secretly curled her lip, released him, and climbed off his body.

"If this is all you've got, you'll never be able to take the Warrior class. Are you sure you want to multiclass as a Warrior?"

Watching Carl struggle up from the ground, Hopp put one hand on her hip. Her tone made it clear that she had little faith in his attempt to multiclass as a Warrior.

"An Artificer's main combat strength only comes after level three. At my current rate of progress, even if I go out hunting with you every day, it'll still take at least half a month to reach level three."

"Warrior training can raise my basic combat ability faster."

Though he said that aloud, Carl was wondering whether the duration of Dream Space would be extended once they returned to their shelter.

The reason he had asked Hopp to help him with combat training, besides what he had said, was that he wanted to use intense exercise to prolong his sleeping time.

"Your physical condition is actually pretty good, but your technique is terrible. That can only be improved gradually. All right, grab this lumber. Let's head back."

Picking up the Hand Axe from the ground and hanging it back at her lower back, Hopp stretched her waist and headed toward their current shelter.

Carl listlessly hoisted a bundle of lumber onto his back and followed behind Hopp with no energy left.

It had been two days since they had chosen the campsite.

Over those two days, they had continuously cut down the nearby woody mushrooms for lumber.

The wooden house Carl had designed had already begun to take shape.

Of course, during that time, they had also tried spraying fresh Bioluminescent Mushroom juice onto large mushrooms.

As a result, they had obtained five new Eberron Dragon Crystals.

However, the cap of the large mushroom where they had settled had completely petrified. If they wanted more Dragon Crystals, they might need to find other large mushrooms.

This Mushroom Forest did not lack mushrooms like that, but they were harder to climb than the one Hopp had chosen. And pouring mushroom juice onto their stalks would not make them grow Dragon Crystals.

So, for the time being, the two of them had no way to obtain more Dragon Crystals.

Before long, they followed the path they had worn down and returned beneath the completely petrified giant mushroom.

Finding a rope at one spot on the stalk, Hopp tugged it and said, "Up."

As soon as she spoke, the Rope of Climbing pulled Hopp upward.

When Hopp reached the mushroom cap, the Rope of Climbing on the other side had just descended to the ground. Carl grabbed it and used the last of his strength to climb up.

"This training method is going to kill me. Can't we switch to something else?"

After laboriously climbing up, Carl looked at Hopp, who had already begun working the lumber, and complained weakly.

"Sorry, but this is how muscle training works. At least, I don't know any way to build an excellent physique without suffering."

As she spoke, Hopp set aside a roughly processed plank.

Although Carl knew Hopp was right, he still felt somewhat disappointed.

Setting down the lumber on his back, he picked up the flint tools and began shaving the wood.

Since they had no nails, Carl planned to use the mortise-and-tenon joints from his homeland in his previous life to build the wooden house.

Ordinarily, there was no way an amateur like Carl could master such a complicated craft.

But then again, Carl had cheats now, didn't he?

After falling asleep each day, Carl would spend part of his time modeling and simulating in Dream Space.

Dream Space and psionic power could awaken Carl's memories from his previous life to the greatest extent, so all kinds of educational videos he had watched in that life became material for learning techniques.

Carl definitely could not build anything too complicated, but a layout with east and west rooms and a living room was no problem.

Now that the house's frame had been erected, all that remained was making the walls and roof from planks, along with furniture and beds.

The clanging sounds rose and fell across the mushroom, as though they would continue until the end of time.

Carl and Hopp were both absorbed in their work, with no attention to spare for anything else.

Suddenly, a drop of liquid fell onto the petrified mushroom cap nearby.

Carl and Hopp both paused and looked toward the sound.

But soon, even more droplets began to patter down from the sky.

The cold rain became a torrential downpour almost instantly, soaking Carl and Hopp to the bone.

The dense sound of rain blended into one continuous roar, making it nearly impossible to hear anything else.

"It rains here too? Where would it get that much extra water? Didn't you say this was a Demiplane?"

"A Demiplane is still connected to the Four Elemental Planes. Their energy seeps into the Demiplane at irregular intervals. Looks like the Plane of Water is drawing close to this Demiplane right now. Light things up for me. I'll attach the roof and walls right away!"

With their faces pressed close together, Carl and Hopp shouted into each other's ears.

Only then could the other person hear clearly.

Handing the Rivet with the illumination effect to Hopp, Carl braved the downpour and climbed onto the roof along the scaffolding.

Carl had long left spaces where the lumber pieces needed to join. Now, all he had to do was fit them together according to his original plan.

Whenever Carl finished joining one section, Hopp would find a similar piece of lumber below and pass it up to him.

Repeating this process, Carl quickly installed the roof and walls over the living room.

"Get inside and take shelter! If either of us catches a cold in this situation, we'll practically be dead!"

Seeing that they finally had somewhere to escape the rain, Hopp hurriedly called Carl inside.

By then, both of them had been completely drenched.

After entering the living room, Hopp began taking off her clothes.

She had no choice.

Soaked clothes would draw even more heat from the body.

If hypothermia set in, it would be enough to kill them both.

Seeing Hopp lift her innermost layer of clothing, Carl quickly extinguished the Rivet used for illumination.

He did not have Darkvision. As long as the surroundings were dim, he would not be able to see Hopp.

But although the rain obscured most of the mushrooms' glow, Carl could still vaguely make out the outline of Hopp's body.

Vaguely—such a blurry, suggestive word.