Puppeteer of the DanMachi World

Charging ahead at this speed, most monsters could not even react before Ming Ge left them behind.

He could not be bothered to fight the monsters on the upper floors.

Half of Orario's adventurers were Level 1, and most of them formed parties to wander around Floors 1 through 6.

Every floor deeper brought another measure of danger. Many adventurers were not truly seeking adventure at all; they treated this line of work as an iron rice bowl, safely bullying weak monsters only on the floors closest to the surface.

That was also why, despite having entered the age of Familia myths and seen more adventurers than ever, the quality of heroes had failed to improve.

Ming Ge had no intention of competing with these weak adventurers for a living.

Rushing toward the deeper levels of the Dungeon, Ming Ge reached the tenth floor in less than ten minutes.

"Let's do it here."

Ming Ge stopped and slowly drifted down from the air.

The orcs on the tenth floor made good test subjects. The young dragons on the twelfth floor would have been better, but they were simply too rare.

As for orcs, Ming Ge could kill them for quite a while.

"I've used up a third of my mana. That's not insignificant."

Ming Ge murmured as he rapidly restored his mana with the Meditation Method.

Besides the Meditation Method, Ming Ge also had the Mana Extraction Method, an advanced technique derived from meditation.

The mind was part of the body, something produced by the brain's activity.

Therefore, physical strength and mental strength could be converted into one another. The Mana Extraction Method was a way of squeezing physical strength to rapidly restore mana, which was why Ming Ge had become far bolder than during his first visit to the Dungeon.

The Meditation Method alone could fully restore his depleted mana in ten minutes, while the Mana Extraction Method needed only half a minute.

"Let's begin."

His gaze settled on the orcs gradually appearing nearby. At a thought, the Flying Sword floated into the air, gleaming with the sharp light of wind.

With a flicker of intent, an orc's brain was pierced through.

With Ming Ge's current mana quality, elemental attacks could already kill orcs with ease. Only young dragons would likely give him a bit of trouble.

The Flying Sword flew freely through the air, wiping out the surrounding goblins, earth spirits, and other monsters.

"Not enough."

Taking out an item that attracted monsters from his bag, Ming Ge tossed it onto the ground.

Before long, more than thirty orcs had gathered around Ming Ge.

"First, I'll test elemental magic."

Lightning flickered in Ming Ge's hand before turning into the sound of a thousand chirping birds.

"Chidori."

In a flash, Ming Ge easily pierced an orc's heart.

"Chidori Sharp Spear!"

Stepping on the orc, Ming Ge used mana as a reactive force to launch himself high into the air, then fired several sharp lightning spears.

Three orcs were easily killed in an instant.

By then, two orcs had already raised their massive clubs and smashed them down.

"Rotation."

Ming Ge himself did not spin. He merely formed a magical effect of circular rotation around his body.

The rapidly circulating mana deflected the orcs' attacks, while Ming Ge's body sank slightly lower.

It seemed that, with Ming Ge's mana quality, blocking an orc's attack was already the limit of this spell.

"Wind Shield Rotation."

Facing the attack of another orc, Ming Ge used Rotation again, only this time he incorporated an elemental change.

Compared to before, this attack cleanly knocked it away.

Not only that, the outer Rotation transformed into wind blades as it deflected the blow, piercing through the brains of two nearby orcs.

The most basic magic bullet was low-tier magic. Being able to move and undergo shape transformation made it mid-tier magic, while incorporating a corresponding element made it high-tier magic.

Rotation, which only had shape transformation, was mid-tier magic, while Wind Shield Rotation was high-tier magic.

It was more than enough for ordinary combat, but it was still far from sufficient against an existence like the Black Dragon.

"Shockwave Barrier provides instant protection, while Rotation is more comprehensive. Its protection can last a little longer and costs less. Elemental magic can improve its adaptability, making its defensive power more well-rounded than Shockwave Barrier."

Ming Ge considered what needed improving, only to ultimately realize that this spell had already reached its limit.

Beyond that, Ming Ge also had a shield spell that could last for a long time.

"Heart-Protecting Armor."

An invisible yellow shield formed around his body. Ming Ge watched the orcs crowd around him and continuously swing their clubs, yet he made no move.

Heart-Protecting Armor compressed mana in the form of particles, a spell that underwent a qualitative change.

The earth-element Heart-Protecting Armor enveloped his body, but it was not an attached spell, so it could form a layer of earth-element shielding outside his Flight Magic.

"Its defensive power is strong, and it lasts a long time too."

Ming Ge made his judgment, then an invisible light flickered in his eyes.

The Flying Sword shot forth, and in just two seconds, it slaughtered every orc around him.

"What a solid sense of security."

Ming Ge sighed.

Though it was merely ordinary elemental manipulation, it only amounted to high-tier magic when all was said and done.

But when he thought of how this spell's prototype came from Yama Empress Noelle of Genshin Impact, it felt incredibly impressive.

"Summary—"

The experiment complete, Ming Ge summarized these defensive abilities.