As expected, Avenger and company's adventure in the Royal Capital continues.
There was clear weather from the outset and because of this, we decided to go outside the city. When the preparations were finished, I decided to visit the shop to talk to the Female Samurai in person before setting off.
Yesterday, she received the title of [Sakura Samurai Trader, Royal Samurai] and because of it, her fighting abilities have increased. As a Sakura Samurai, she can summon cherry blossoms which can be used to attack as well as to blind the enemy. It was quite an unexpected but useful ability.
The Dance of the Cherry Blossoms was quite a beautiful sight, and at the user's whim, the blossoms can acquire hardness comparable to magic metal which could easily cut steel.
At the same time, they can form a stream from a few hundred to tens of thousands of petals, like a tornado, wrapping around the victim.
In order to defend against this overwhelming mass of an attack, you would need to have an exceptionally strong defense; otherwise, trying to avoid it would prove very difficult. At the moment however, the Female Samurai is still trying to get accustomed to controlling their complicated flight paths. If properly taken advantage of, it can become a strong ability in the future.
In addition, [Sakura Samurai Trader, Royal Samurai] is also a "Trader", due to its ability to increase trade significantly. Trader has generally increased her ability in all aspects of trade especially in acquiring the customer's trust and understanding what the customer wants. It has become quite useful.
Of course, while the Trade Demons are still better, I can't help but think of the potential of her ability in the future. Yes, indeed. The Female Samurai is quite a promising woman.
Speaking of Female Samurai; just recently, she pleaded to me, asking to "reassign me, please. I can no longer continue in the trade domain like this". I wanted to acknowledge her wishes, but I pinned great hopes on this front and because of that, she would have to continue in the trade domain for now.
Naturally, as a reward for bringing excellent results, I appointed a deputy in order to support the Female Samurai. Albeit, the deputy will only be around for as long as its life span allows it, but for now, it will do just fine.
Honestly, the fact that the [Master Swordswoman from an Unknown Land], being an [Otherworlder], getting into my [History] rather surprised me.
At the same time, I began to consider the possibility that the [Otherworlders] may be interwoven into the [History] [Characters Stories / Characters Awakened], just as the Female Samurai has been interwoven into mine.
[Otherworlders], by default, are stronger than the ordinary creatures of this world. Of course, if you search hard enough, you can find a bunch of creatures that are stronger.
But all [Otherworlders] are strong without exception. Although, maybe not. One of the [Otherworlders] that got caught by Female Samurai was strong, but he just let himself be killed by a surprise attack. I cannot remember if he even did anything mildly impressive.
Oh well. For a start, [Otherworlders] are strong and quite tasty. Of course, knowing the taste of the [Flame Dragon Empress], one cannot be satisfied by it, but it does not change the fact that they are delicious.
With regard to [Heroes], every one of them have [Supporting Characters]. I have grasped the fact that they have an incredibly fast rate of growth. That is, the [Otherworlders] that have become [Supporting Characters] should be even tastier than usual [Otherworlders].
A very joyful discovery, but most of all, I am glad that before approaching the Holy War, we have increased our combat capability.
As for Scarface, he got hold of the title [Annihilation Corpse] and has changed more than during the [Rank Up], acquiring a pretty brutal appearance. Well, with regard to that, I'll talk about it later.
After spending some time cooking, I, along with Kanami-chan, Avenger and company, 7 of us left the capital.
As for Redhead, she still has to look after Opushii, but this doesn't take up a lot of time, while with Auro and my other child, this is no longer necessary because they have grown enough to look after themselves and they will join us.
Redhead, because of her Job, which allows her to enhance her abilities by eating monsters, can grown quite easily. In the place where we were going, according to my calculations, her growth should go even faster.
Minokichi-kun already left to train, and the rest of the squad has something to do, so there will not be any problems.
After leaving the capital for some time, traveling by Skeleton Centipede to the highlands, we headed into a nearby forest.
Making our way among the overgrown trees, and making sure that we were not being followed, I called the Supreme Dragon Tatsushirou. He appeared rather quickly, as he was nearby, and together we flew toward, the Labyrinth City Aquarium.
If you ask where the Labyrinth City Aquarium is, I will say that this is the city in which the [Age of the Gods] rank dungeon [Demigod of Spring Water] [ Aquarium Forlia ] I conquered is located.
Currently, the city is controlled by [ Atarakua Demon Empire ] and stays in its territory. This town is our goal, but in addition, I have something that matters in the nearby kingdoms.
Due to the high speed flight of the Supreme Dragon Tatsushirou, we arrived in Labyrinth City Aquarium by lunchtime.
As usual, the noisy atmosphere of the city was pretty good, which is why I felt a certain nostalgia. Yet, perhaps because of my [Rank Up], this time I drew even more attention. But I just ignored everything and went about my business.
Why is it now people, not only representatives of the [Demonic] races, but even humans here and there, fell to their knees? I noticed the figures of people praying. Communicating with them was very troublesome, so I just ignored them.
Walking through the streets filled with the voices of merchants smiling, I sometimes looked into some stores to buy things. It really pleased me. Later, I went to the [Banjo But], in which I stayed before.
Although they take a huge fee for a simple room, they offer one of the most high-quality service throughout the Labyrinth City [Aquarium], and because among the elite dungeon explorers, this place was popular.
At first, I thought of what I should do if it were crowded, but luck was on my side, and I got a decent room. After paying for one day, and having had dinner outside, we immediately went to the Forlia dungeon of the [Demigod of Spring Water].
Although I say that, the conquest of the first floor will be engaged by only six people, not including me. Kanami-chan will be in the role of an observer, the conquest by default was for Avenger and company. Unless they are about to die, Kanami-chan will not interfere.
Well, with them was the Hero of Sunlight, so everything should be all right. If not, then we will interfere. Well, I think that everything will turn out fine.
For starters, if they do not beat [Warpidron] on the fifth floor before dinner, I told them not to come back. Before dinner was only 8 hours away, and I explained to them the shortest way through the floors. Without knowing the details, it would not be very easy, but if it didn't work after telling them the shortest way, I will have to switch to a more stringent training.
But Avenger, Witch of Mystic Flame, and Merciful Maiden already have sufficient ability for such a reckless dungeon assault.
Of course, there are some concerns about surprise attacks and traps, but I warned them about it. Besides, the yet mature Cavalier Guardian and Usurper could cause problems, so they were armed with decent magic items.
Cavalier Guardian got a high increase in defense, and Usurper's item allows him to temporarily take away the ability of the enemy.
In the worst case, before they die, Kanami-chan will help them, so I just have to wait for results.
Sending them on their way, before the results of the conquest, I have decided to put their cases aside and proceeded what is needed to be done.
Alone, I went into the dungeon of the [Demigod of Spring Water], reaching a point where I was sure that I was not being followed, I activated the [Warp Gate] which was available to those who had already conquered the dungeon.
Thanks to this, within the dungeon of the [Demigod of Spring Water], I can instantly move to any place at will. Upon being used, under my feet shone a circle of light, and then a moment later my field of view instantly changed.
This time I went to the last floor. That is the arena in which a huge amount of water falls from a giant waterfall, where I was awaiting the dungeon boss [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm].
But I have not moved under the water, and the only thing rising above the surface was a small island, which is some distance from the waterfall.
Straight ahead was the staircase leading from the 49th to the 50th floor. But for that, without flying, it was impossible to reach. Since the island beneath my feet was the only piece of land in this area, it was specially created by my teleportation.
Thinking how convenient it is, I dove into the furiously raging water boiler. The moment I plunged into the water, my body was seized by complex streams of water, which ruthlessly tried to blow me away. By moving my hands and feet, I regained freedom of movement. I will decide where I go.
This time, I did not use the ability [Underwater Stalker], only using the force of my body, I fought the assertive torrent, which once again proves the incredible physical strength of a fierce god. It felt more like a swim in a pool with waves.
Water resistance has not disappeared of course, but the more I move my limbs, the easier I would go ahead. If I go with the flow I can easily swim with an impressive speed, like a fish.
I thought it was funny, and for a while I was very amused, but my fun was interrupted by an attack from [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm]. The first attack, a battle cry, pulled me into a frontal assault.
This attack I've seen before and it is quite easy to avoid just with the movement of your own body. Not only that, out of curiosity, I swam closer towards him at that moment and looked at him. Provoked by the enemy like this, he fell into a rage.
As expected, the fight with the furious [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm] was very difficult without my abilities, but this time I activated significantly less abilities than before. And only with this, I was able to calmly watch his movements. Then for fun, using [Suction Cup Generation], I clung to his back, and for a while I let him rage (buck?). It felt like a roller coaster.
Now I'm more like a sucker fish. It would be nice if I can get an image of a remora. And yet, to have so much fun toying with an enemy with whom I once spent a hard battle. I begin to understand how great the difference is between my old and new body. While these thoughts raced through my head, I began to disassemble it alive. Before the trip, I asked the sisters for some simple seasoning for cooking, and enjoyed the underwater meal, which by itself is a very entertaining experience.
The taste of the meat was a bit raw, but it was rather good underwater.
Slightly playing with the [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm], I usually cue it with a serving of my belt, [Lesser Lightning Dragon's Call ・ Shark Rope].
Woven in black, blue and yellow ropes, it produces lightning upon, this [Legendary] class artifact can be used as a thunder whip.
Although it became a powerful melee weapon, its real value comes when giving it a huge amount of mana, as I did this time, I was able to make a [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm] appear.
The minimum amount of mana needed to summon was huge, but as it is now, it will not give me any problems.
Then, I decided to make an experiment. This time, I put in the belt 10 times more mana than necessary. Absorbed by the [Shark Rope], it threw out a huge lightning that started emitting a fierce light. Judging by the appearance, it is definitely not the most common response. There were signs that it was going to explode, but I was already halfway through so I could not stop, and poured in more mana. If it explodes, well, to hell with it. However, this phenomenon was drifting under the [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm] who apparently was unable to sustain the damage.
In the place where his body was hit by lightning, dragon scales were torn from his body down to the guts, but because of the electrical discharge, he convulsed violently, becoming even more furiously enraged.
At the same time the dragon scales were broken, I slipped off his body.
It was enough for the [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm] to increase the distance between us. Just a moment and he had sailed far enough.
That so called [Shark Rope] phenomenon has ended.
[Magical item of [Legendary] class [Lesser Lightning Dragon's Call ・ Shark Rope] condition of release [Use of a Living God], [Demonic Hammer of Living God] [Transcendental Shipping] has been achieved]
[[Lesser Lightning Dragon's Call ・ Shark Rope] becomes [Black Lightning Dragon's Call・Demonic Shark Rope Thunder Dragon]]
Such is the announcement that resonated in my head.
Checking as to what happened, I looked at the shark rope, it became a demonic rope, it's shape has not particularly changed, only now it has intertwined red, silver and gold rope, three new colors, and now it does not consist of 3 but 6 colors like six inter-knit.
It became more pleasant to the touch. It was also covered with black lightning, and the strength was much higher.
After the changes finished, I summoned the [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm].
A huge black crack seemed to rip into space, there appeared a huge black demonic dragon shark head.
The head of the [Demonic Shark Head・ Black Thunder Dragon] was crowned with sharp horns and was covered with durable black dragon scales. It looked much more brutal than the usual [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm]. His glowing red eyes reflect its bloodthirst.
When his head began to move, the space around the black hole, from which it appeared, was covered with cracks, and then the huge jaws bit into it, tearing an even wider hole in space. It seemed to have taken a few tens of seconds until the whole body appeared.
This period of time in combat could be fatal because it's defenseless but the [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm] did not take advantage.
His entire body shook greatly from fear, it seemed purely scared. Well, there's nothing you can do about it. The fact that [Demonic Shark Head・ Black Thunder Dragon] was the superior form of [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm].
Most likely due to the fact that it originally came from the kind of Sharkheads, the structure of their bodies were quite similar. That's just because of the various changes due to strengthening, but now he looks like a completely different creature.
The mere difference in size is greater than 2 times.
Since I called [Demonic Shark Head・ Black Thunder Dragon], it started fighting.
In the end, the absolutely terrified [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm] attacked frontally from despair, who, when forced to fight, was in all respects inferior to the [Demonic Shark Head・ Black Thunder Dragon].
But against such an opponent, [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm] naturally could not resist and was killed almost instantly.
Unfortunately, [Demonic Shark Head・ Black Thunder Dragon], after mutilating the [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm], swallowed it whole, and because the body was consumed I was unable to collect anything.
[Dungeon boss [Shark Head ・ Bolt Wyrm] successfully eliminated.]
[Yatendouji passes a second time, because the divine power will not be played, as a reward for passing will be sent to [Large Box Spring Water Dungeon].]
[Conforming to the conditions, it is possible to seize[Aquarium Forlia].]
[Will you do so?]
[≪YES≫ ≪NO≫]
Hearing the notification in my mind, without hesitation, I chose "Yes".
[Special Ability [Dungeon Plunder] has been invoked.]
[At this moment, control of the [Aquarium Forlia] will shift from the [Demigod of Spring Water] to Yatendouji.]
[From now on, please manage the dungeon at your own discretion.]
With this, my goal was successfully achieved today.
Preparations for the Holy War has only just begun, but you can call this result a good sign.
To begin with, I renamed the dungeon "The Wailing Waterfall".
I particularly did not change the structure of the dungeon. But I significantly strengthened the bosses, as well as adding a new kind of squaloid Fishman and added all sorts of obstacles to the conquerors.
The journey was only a moment, but when I got outside, it was evening already.
It took longer than I thought apparently, and after contacting Kanami-chan and company, I went to meet them.
Dinner was a little late . While we enjoyed it, I decided to learn the details of their campaign.
In fact, it turned out that they had defeated the [Warpidron] safely. With a smile on his face, he showed me a box with treasures.
However, the campaign was very cruel. Driven by a kick in the butt from Kanami-chan, they fought all the time without a break.
In appreciation for their hard work and thinking about tomorrow's even more harsh training, I did a simple massage for Avenger and company. At such moments, it was helpful having the manufactured massage oil created by Doriane -san. By tomorrow, their fatigue will disappear.
We did a variety of things then Kanami-chan and I slept soundly.