[ARC 1] CHAPTER 14: RETURN OF THE ROACHES!!
I took another look at the map over Floor 4 and saw the bitter truth.
Before I continue on any further, let me review the topography of Floor 4: It is a tunnel-network type floor, meaning it's made solely of tunnels and big rooms. An example of the latter is the room that housed the roaches before.
This is further divided into two types of layers, one lower level and one upper level of tunnels. The roach room was on the lower level and the pipeline I busted during my first visit was on the upper level. Then we have all the tunnels that go up and down between those two.
Another piece of information is that the entrance to this floor lies in the upper levels while the entrance to the next floor is on the under levels.
Due to the leakage problem that I made on my previous visit, the water keeps on running downstream from the upper to the lower level. This does make it easier to locate the entrance, as all the water flows towards the entrance now.
Still no problems, you say? Even if the lower level's water levels are high enough to slow me, the glass cannon, down? And there are monsters out there that have no problem with walking in, or ON, the damn water? That's a problem in my book.
The worst part is, if the entrance is on this floor, then it's more likely to be on the lower level rather than here on the upper one. Damn...
Should I try to dam the water somehow? Am I stupid? How can someone that's only got webs and threads at their disposal dam such a big current of water?
Any other idea would be to learn a skill that would help me while I'm in the water. But I have only 2.2 Skill Points now, thanks to several skills reaching Lv.10 while I was hunting. I also reached racial Lv.9 in the hunt as well... not enough. Even with 2.2 Skill Points, I don't have enough Points to buy a skill to help me to conquer water...
If I were some other species, then maybe there would be some skills, but a demon spider that lives in the darkness? No way!
There are the Glavras spiders that populate this floor, sure, but they're like a different species than me. Besides, they probably don't have any good memories of me. I flushed some of their guys into oblivion before after all...
Speaking of those guys, where are they? I've searched a good 40% of the whole floor, upper- and lower levels combined, and I've yet to see any monsters now except for the occasional rats and frogs on the upper level. Did they abandon the floor due to the flooding, or was it the explosion that scared them off?
While we're on the "missing monster" subject, I haven't seen any roaches either. I've even searched their former base, but nothing. That's a happy thing for sure, but it's kinda spooky as well.
Then there's the problem of me going empty for places to search, as the map for the upper level's around 95% finished already. I need a way to explore the lower levels without being dragged by the current, but how...
Think, Garami, think! Get those cobwebs outta your brain and think! ...That's it!
---
Phew. That should be enough for today.
I took a moment to admire my work. A big railing made of webs and threads had been placed above the ground, a good half meter above the water level that originated from the broken pipeline. The architect of this new structure is me.
It's such a simple solution that I wanna beat myself up for not thinking about it before! If the ground's no good, just walk in the air with threads! All the walking on the previous floors must have knocked me off my game, but now I'm back in business. Several skills get proficiency through the work too. Even the Rogue class's class level goes up! So... how many birds am I getting with this one stone again?
I'm leaving the last few percentages of the upper-level map to later in case I don't find anything down here. If I don't find anything even then, then I have to... *shiver* search Floor 6... can the Quest be mistaken and the entrance is really on Floor 5? Probably not. I shouldn't place my hopes on wishful thinking like that.
I'll stop for today. This work takes tons of stamina to do, and I don't wanna end up dropping into the river 'cause of SP shortage. Just need to look for a ladder to the upper-level tunnels. It should be just this way... across the broken part of the web-railing? I don't remember building it like that.
Aah, it's broken. Now I get it... why's it broken? It wasn't the water current, and there are no signs of any floating rocks that could have wrecked it either. The broken part is in the middle of an x-junction, but the flow of the current is going to the path I came from, meaning that any floating web-breaking trash should go the same way.
Then there's something in one of the two remaining paths then. I've yet to search through either one and the path back home's untouched, so it has to be one of them. I'll take a quick frog-bite, get some sleep, then do some detective work tomorrow. Good night.
---
The next day, I started the search after the web crushers. Instead of a full railing set, I made simple ropes in the roof to climb across. They're kinda like the ropes mountain climbers use, only that mine's on the roof instead of on the mountain wall.
The reason why I decided to do so is that if something attacked me while I was busy making a whole railing, then I would be toast. The whole "being on the roof"-thing will also help me escape the eyes of enemies in these dark tunnels.
I kept on searching for the tunnel until I reached a dry area. The tunnel ended in a crossroads that has a higher elevation than the other tunnels, making it a safe area from the flood. This looks suspicious, but with so many roads to chose from, I think I would rather see if there's something in the other tunnel before-
*splash* *splash*
And something is coming from the very same direction as I was thinking about. Time to go invisible. I climbed back to the roof and used my hiding skills for good measure. Running away? No way. I don't know a thing about this place. It's gonna end up with me getting lost or meeting a dead-end.
The unknown party is coming closer. Let's take the opportunity to figure out what I'm dealing with here... what the f*ck!?
A bodybuilder + cockroach!? And there are tons of them! Disgusting! Disgusting on too many levels! And sweaty! It feels like a sauna's passing by!
Urgh, I think I'm gonna be sick... are they using some "sweating" skill? Or "stench"? Something?
Ehm, my bad. And there's a skill that nobody wants such a creature to have, so seriously, my apologies!
Moreover, these guys are the roaches from before! And they've evolved two times since last time! I've studied their previous evolution, the Rushroach, just to be safe, but who had expected that the rank E stage popping up!? They even have the skills from when it was "rushing", so I'm not wrong here.
Wait a sec, I almost overlooked something. The macho-roaches' condition is "control"? I identified some more, but they all came up with the same condition.
They're controlled by someone? Looking at the different skill list's I can see some common points like the newly acquired skills from evolving, meaning [Insect Flight], [Brute Force], and [Cross Breeding].
The first can be written off as there ain't any space to fly in, and the third from not having any... "partners"..., but [Brute Force] should have had some more levels. It's an easy skill that lets you use SP to jack up your STR for a limited time, so I see no reason for them to not use them more often.
Back to the point, anyone can see that the macho-roaches are being controlled as a swarm rather than as individuals. The question is: who's the mastermind? Oh, and one more question: how did they evolve so fast?
Are the macho-roaches some secret strike force for the roaches or maybe..., guess there's only one way to find out. And one road to the answer. It's the only tunnel that the roaches didn't enter, so it's the only path I can take anyway~.
---
I passed the intersection where my railing had been broken before and continued towards what should be the origin of the macho-roaches. Like the previous tunnel, this one's also elevated enough to escape the flood. The possibility of those roaches living here is increasing.
It's not like I'm going in with guns blazing, but it's less safe not to confirm if there's vermin in your home or not. [Danger Sense] is running on full throttle, but I'll run away the moment I see something too bad.
Like right now, but they haven't noticed me, so I'm safe.
A group of macho-roaches, guarding a hole in the wall... an entrance to a cave? Some of the tunnels go in the same direction, so let's bypass those guys.
I took a tunnel going upward to an area of the upper level that I couldn't access before. You could say it's a "closed-off area of the upper levels". Any machos here? Nope. Move on.
I moved in the same direction as the entrance the roaches from before guarded and found an entrance... which revealed an open area. A cave. And the entrance was far from the ground.
And the ruler of the roaches is in the middle of the cave. It was like a copy of the previous cave it had lived in before. Even the entrance that I looked out from was the same as the one I had used to spy the roach-army before. It must enjoy being in these types of caves.
A ginormous back that looked like an overgrown rotten bulb, with the foremost half being no different from a regular Crushroach, except for being a size bigger than the guys that raided my home the first time I visited the floor.
As I thought. The machos were under the command of a Queen Crushroach.
A creature that has reached one end of its natural evolution line. It's still rank E in practice, but it's also counted as a rank S. This means I can't see its skills due to [Discern] being too low in levels, but I can guess them.
Including the original abilities of the Crush- and Rushroach stages, this thing probably has some egg-laying skill to mass-produce roaches. As for why I know this, is because it's in the middle of such right now. With the many roach-related monstrosities lately, I'm not in the mood of describing the process. Ever.
Another skill I can guess is some sorta Leadership Skill to take direct command over the Queen's family, meaning its kin. It's a skill that can command an army. Quite efficient. The costs are taken care of by having the roaches search for food and EXP on their own.
The reason why they only passed through the web-railing must be 'cause their orders were something like "kill all enemies" and not "search for spiders that have built blockades in front of you". In other words, the machos are stupid. They were that from before, but this is on a whole new level.
I could just throw one of the poisons I obtained from the Quest reward and be finished with the whole Queen-deal right now, but what would happen to the macho-roaches? Probably go crazy and destroy anything close by. It's a damn pain, but I'm not getting any other ideas... or do I? This requires some preparations.
---
It took a few days, as the macho-roaches returned to their nest at certain intervals. They only occupied the cave was the Queen was, not even caring about the "backroom tunnels" where I had stayed these last days.
Maybe they're not considering those places a threat? It's closed off from the rest of the Dungeon, and the roaches are using the only path leading to her regularly. There aren't even pipelines here to take advantage of.
If they're gonna slack on the security, then that's fine with me, since I'm able to construct my traps in peace. I just needed to stay unnoticed while doing so.
There are several hundreds of macho-roaches, which are split into several groups that leave the nest at certain times, only to return with eventual prey around the same time of the day, all except for a handful of guards.
The Queen must think she could withstand any potential intruders long enough to call back the expedition troops. And with that bulk, I can't completely disregard it as idiotic. It's still a naive plan. There are lots of ways to incapacitate someone.
The operation is happening when all expedition groups are out in the Dungeon. But even then, the guards are in the way. Therefore, it's time to use the special trap that I've used half, no, three-quarters of the time I've stayed here to make.
The first part was to lure the guards into the backroom-tunnels. To do that, I made use of [Thread Control] to unravel a ball of threads that hold up tons of loose rocks that I had stored to use as throwing weapons. The sound of the many rocks falling to the ground caught the attention of the guards, making them leave their post to investigate.
I couldn't see it, but they'll likely step in the "Sticky Path" now. It's a little something that I made with the regular birdlime trap in mind.
It won't trap whatever that stepped on it the first time, but after being worn down a little, the adhesive properties come forth at full force. By altering the amount of force that needs to be exposed to the threads, I can stick a whole group that occupies the whole corridor at the same time instead of making a bottleneck at the beginning of the path.
All the guards would be stuck together, but I don't have the time to witness that. Right after the last guard had left their post, I threw a thread to the ceiling of the cave and used it to dangle above the Queen. Before jumping down, I threw bundles of threads that I had stored in the Storage towards every entrance to the cave, no matter which "floor" they were on.
After completing the sealing, I jumped down behind the Queen and retrieved my secret weapon from the Storage.
The Kigal-Note.
I have only used it as a dictionary for all of my life, but the true worth of this tome lied in its other ability: the ability to trap living creatures inside the book and steal the use of their abilities.
During my rounds of mapping the fourth floor, I've tried to use this power, but I can only capture the likes of Greycave Rats, which barely have any useful abilities to their name. If I invest all my MP, then I could capture a level 2 Pond Frog, but nothing stronger. Count in the regeneration of my MP through [MP Auto-Regeneration], and I could probably trap a level 5, but I would faint from MP-loss right after that.
So, what am I planning to use the Kigal-Note for in this situation against the Queen? Capture it. And to do that, I'm gonna be cheating a little.
I opened the book so it was facing the Queen and a black vortex came out of it, sucking the Queen into itself.
Or, that's what's supposed to happen, but the force of the vortex is too weak! A vacuum cleaner would have more power than this. I'm not even lowering the power of the book. The fault lies in the Queen herself. She's too strong! The Kigal-Note has no problems against creatures with low stats and weak skills, but the opposite is also true.
Weight, size, racial rank, level, none of them mattered for the Kigal-Note. It could trap anything into it... Is the theory, but when facing something that's too strong stat-wise, then the book's MP consumption rises. The same holds for any powerful skills the target may have.
Therefore, I've made a backup plan in cases where I would wanna use the Kigal-Note on enemies that are too strong for capture: [Grudge Evil Eye]. The final initial skill that I picked up.
Its power reduced all the stats of the target except for LUC and INT, and while it also used MP, it's only 1 point for 10 seconds use already on Lv.1! The reduction of stats is based on the skill level and the RES stat of the target, meaning that the Queen, with her low RES stat, is a perfect target for this skill.
There's one problem: even with the Evil Eye weakening her, the Queen's still too strong! I don't have enough MP! Therefore, it's time to use this: an MP High Potion!
It recovers a large amount of MP based on how much you chug down. Even your natural MP regeneration increases significantly. Not to mention the effect of passive MP-recovery skills.
I couldn't drink the whole potion at once. I tried a little sip before, barely a drop, but I still almost fainted due to MP-overload. From just a drop! Therefore, I'm taking small sips as my MP gets drained from both the Kigal-Note and my Evil Eye.
Little by little, the Queen inches closer to the open book. Hurry up. Hurry before the macho-roaches gets back. Even those who are trapped could break free with that raw muscle power for all I know...
The Queen grasped the ground, desperate to avoid getting closer to the dark vortex. Come on, just lose your grip al..., -ready?
*Swoop*
Did I get her? How?
It almost looked like the Queen fainted, making her release the grip she had of the floor. Oh, gotta stop drinking the potion. I'm already crying tears of blood due to the excessive MP-circulation. My head hurts...
But what happened to the... MP!! The Queen's total MP was only 10! The Evil Eye can reduce the total amount of Life Stats, such as MP, so it must have reached the point where the Queen had practically 0 MP, making her faint due to the lack of it!
Scary! I-I mean, j-just as I planned. Hahahaha...
*Crash!*
Urgh. They didn't even care about the webbed entrances and smashed the walls to make a shortcut instead. The macho-roach guards jumped down from the newly made hole in the wall with murder in their eyes. Stop! Don't come any closer!
Just as I was thinking that the macho-roaches stopped dead in their tracks. Eh? Then does that mean... [Identification]!
The Kigal-Note is a black grimoire named after a certain demon race that the Ultimate Goddess of Darkness has a liking to.
Not only does the book have information about every subject on Terra Sol; it can also store living creatures into it, and then use the most prominent ability of the captured creatures.
Yup, it's there. [Kin Domination]. It looks like a type of skill... there it is. Just give me a sec to read this...
Ehem, according to the Kigal-Note, [Kin Domination] is a Leadership Skill that lets the skill holder control their kin like they were soulless dolls. The skill holder can even... [Danger Sense] is picking up something further in the Dungeon. From the same direction as the tunnel that the roaches use to explore the rest of the Dungeon... and there are lots of readings... and they're damn fast...
Calmly and sophisticated, I placed a hand on the Kigal-Note that had fallen to the ground and made an order in my mind in a regal and composed manner:
STOP! Don't come back to the lair! Contraorder! The last order is canceled! Therefore, don't come here!!
---
Phew. They stopped. [Kin Domination] is damn awesome. And scary. This definitely classifies as a Heretic attribute ability. I ordered the troops in the Dungeon to stay at stand-by for now. I need to see what I can do with this power. Good thing the guards can be used as lab rats. Before that, let's go over all the System Messages that I chose to ignore during the tug of war with the Queen.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
[Mana Increase (Small)] skill level has reached Lv.10.
You have earned 0.2 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.2 Skill Points were earned.
[Debuff Reinforcement] skill level has reached Lv.10.
You have earned 0.2 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.2 Skill Points were earned.
[Mana Increase (Small)] skill level has reached Lv.20.
You have earned 0.2 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.2 Skill Points were earned.
Acquired title: [Mystic Arts User]
Acquired skill: [Magic Increase (Small) Lv.1]
Acquired skill: [Resistance Increase (Small) Lv.1]
Acquired title: [Legion of One]
Acquired skill: [Speed Increase (Small) Lv.1]
Acquired skill: [Dexterity Increase (Small) Lv.1]
Yeah, it was a good idea to buy [Mana Increase (Small)] before the assault. And just as I hoped, the [Grudge Evil Eye] is compatible with [Debuff Reinforcement].
The two titles came as a surprise. The Kigal-Note tells me that the [Mystic Arts User] is awarded to someone that uses 150% or more of their total MP in one fight, while you get the [Legion of One] title when surviving a fight against a hundred opponents of equal or higher racial rank.
The first one is easy to understand, but for the latter... I didn't get it despite surviving the roach-raid the first time I was on this floor, but now... was it because the fight wasn't considered finished as the expedition roaches were after me until I ordered them to stand down? Probably. I'm no expert on titles, so I'm not sure.
But, with this, I have all the "stat increasing" skills except for the SP-related one. Maybe I should... no. I'll get it now. Not taking the skill in this situation is just stupid after all.
As for why it's stupid, it is because the [Kin Domination] ability allows the "subjects" to use the skills of the "ruler". In other words, I'll be sharing my skills with the roaches that will do my dirty work for me! And it's important to take notice that this is "sharing", not "giving".
You guessed it. The proficiency that the roaches obtain from using the shared skills is given directly to me! Several hundred roaches' worths of proficiency are for the taking without me having to do anything!
Of course, there are some skills that the roaches can't use due to them being incompatible with the skills. These are [Aura of Darkness], [Spider Thread], [Grudge Evil Eye], and [Identification].
No clue why the aura's no good, but [Spider Thread]'s no good as only creatures with the right traits can use it. The Evil Eye requires them to have their Karma Value at a negative 100 at one point of their life, so that's also out. And for [Identification], well, they're too stupid to use it. Seems that the skill requires a certain amount of INT to be used. Damn...
No matter, any other skills except for the above-mentioned and the skills that require them are free for use for the roaches. Ah, except for [Darkness Magic]. Not that I can imagine these guys being able to use magic in the first place.
Before initiating my master plan, let's pick up some more skills. Those easy-to-use 1 Point skills. I looked at my status page and saw that my skills had grown to the point of granting me 3.2 Skill Points, even after using 1 on [Mana Increase (Small)]. So, three weakling skills that the roaches can farm proficiency with. I'll profit from these the moment they reach Lv.30, so there's no reason to hesitate.
The stamina-increasing skill is a must at this point, so that's one. As for the other two... oh? This one looks nice. It will be helpful with traps like the "Sticky Path". Not to mention that the roaches can find this one very useful.
What should I take for the last one? Maybe... why not this? It will help me in case I end up in situations like with the tree I almost failed to take a branch from. It also isn't hindered by [Parkour], as this one is a balance type instead of a movement type like [Parkour] is. Alright, I've decided!
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Acquired skill: [Stamina Increase (Small) Lv.1]
Acquired skill: [Prediction Lv.1]
Acquired skill: [Footwork Lv.1]
And there went my Skill Points. My current stats are:
[Health Increase (Small) Lv.5] [Mana Increase (Small) Lv.22] NEW [MP Auto-Recovery Lv.8] UP2
[Stamina Increase (Small) Lv.1] NEW [Strength Increase (Small) Lv.21] UP1
[Vitality Increase (Small) Lv.11] [Magic Increase (Small) Lv.1] NEW
[Resistance Increase (Small) Lv.1] NEW [Speed Increase (Small) Lv.1] NEW
[Dexterity Increase (Small) Lv.1] NEW
[Aura of Darkness Lv.11] [Heresy Modification Lv.4] UP1 [Stealth Lv.14] UP1 [Silence Lv.9] UP2
[Odorless Lv.3] UP1 [Camouflage Lv.14] UP1 [Intimidation Lv.1] [Lightwalk Lv.7] UP3
[Thread Control Lv.16] UP3 [Cutting Thread Lv.8] UP1 [Piercing Thread Lv.4] UP2
[Spatial Storage Lv.2] UP1
[Whipsmanship Lv.5] UP4 [Threadsmanship Lv.24] UP2 [Throwing Lv.15] UP2 [Aiming Lv.9] UP3
[Evasion Lv.3] [Parkour Lv.7] UP3 [Climbing Lv.12] UP2 [Concentration Lv.13] UP4 [Ambush Lv.3] UP2
[Battle Continuation Lv.1] [Darkness Reinforcement Lv.17] [Debuff Reinforcement Lv.10] UP2
[Gathering Lv.7] UP2 [Riding Lv.1] NEW [Footwork Lv.1] NEW [Vital Point Knowledge Lv.3] UP1
[Prediction Lv.1] NEW [Parallel Thinking Lv.13] UP2 [Auto-Mapping Lv.7] UP1 [Language Adaption]
[Water Resistance Lv.1] NEW [Darkness Resistance Lv.5] [Poison Resistance Lv.10] UP1
[Heretic Resistance Lv.7] [Heretic Immunity Lv.2] [Fear Resistance Lv.4] UP2
[Pain Resistance Lv.21] NEW
[Night Vision Lv.20] UP2 [Danger Sense Lv.23] UP1 [Identification Lv.27] UP1 [Discern Lv.18] UP2
[Magic Sight Lv.24] UP2
Kukukuku. It will be a pure pleasure to see the improvement of these skills... even if they're a little messy with them all like this.
*Cough*. I cleared my throat, even when I couldn't speak, place a hand on the Kigal-Note, and gave an order to all the roaches in the Dungeon.
Order. Use the shared [Auto-Mapping] to explore as much of Floor 4 as possible without dying. After that, go to Floor 5 and do the same, then Floor 6. In case a hidden room is located, be sure to mark it on the mental map. Use the shared skill as much as possible, and be sure to store the corpses of defeated monsters with the [Spatial Storage] skill. Fight till the death against any opponents! That's all.
The guards that were still in the cave left the moment I was finished. With this, I'll not only get a massive increase in skill levels, my map's gonna be filled out in rocket speed!
Eh? How about keeping the roaches as a personal army? No way! Those things are too ugly to look at, not to mention fighting alongside them! Not to mention the budget that's required to keep them fed.
Better to have them exhaust themselves while working with my skills and maps. If some survive even after that... then I'll have them rampage on Floor 7. That's gonna be enough to finish them off. Kukukuku...
Greydra
Kigal-Note/Monsters/Insects: Queen Crushroach
Description:
The Queen Crushroach is a special evolution of the Crushroach line, only available to female Rushroaches. It is one of the Phantom Rank S monsters, a type of monster that has reached the principle of their natural evolution line.
The Queen is a rare evolution only accessible to female Crushroach-line monsters. As the chance of at least one female being born in a generation of 10.000 Crushroaches is less than 0.01%, the chances for the birth of a Queen Crushroach are even smaller. If the female does reach this point, then one can expect that the surrounding land will fall to famine in less than a few years if not taken care of.
Appearance:
The Queen Crushroach has the appearance of a cockroach of the size of a large dog... at least the first half of it. The second half is a huge abdomen of the size of a carriage. The Queen has a set of wings, but it is too big to ever make use of them.
Abilities:
While its true battle abilities are closer to a rank E-, the Queen's strength is determined by its "kingdom", meaning all the monsters of the Crushroach-line that serve the Queen. This also includes the monsters that chose a different evolution than the Queen, even those that have reached rank D, or above that again.
The strength of the Queen is proportional to her army, meaning that the strength of the Queen is determined by how friendly the surrounding land is to the Crushroaches. A land filled with prey, like a forest, will result in an army capable of destroying a whole country. On the other hand, an army build inside a cavern will barely be able to sustain itself.
The Queen itself is extremely weak, lacking any battle abilities on its own, and it is barely able to even move.
Garami's comment: G-glad this one was in the Dungeon...
[ARC 1] CHAPTER 15: HOUSTON, YOU HAVE AN INTRUDER
Four days. It took four days to complete the map.
I'm talking about the Floor 4 map. It was bigger than I expected. Like, triple the original size that I had first anticipated. And that's when not taking the myriads of secret paths and rooms into the equation...
It was a stroke of genius for me to capture the Queen Crushroach. The roaches may be muscleheads, but simply add some guidelines for them to use, such as having their left hand on the Dungeon wall at any time, and any labyrinth can be conquered.
It was a surprise to me the third day when I woke up and discovered that the mental map was plastered with markings for secret entrances. Heck, if I had tried to do this by myself, I'm not sure if even a month would be enough.
After the map was completed, the roaches went to Floor 5, or as I like to call it, the Dungeon's very own water coaster. The floor's one big lake, way too deep and big to cross by swimming.
Above the lake, there's a pipe system that one can use to travel to the other shore or any other place on this floor. You can hatch a ride on the large "boats" made of a material that looks like black pumice. Therefore the "water coaster" part.
Eh? You don't know what pumice is? It's a volcanic rock, look it up.
The boats are durable enough to carry even four roaches before capsizing, but that's seriously on the edge there. And it's not only the wild ride that's the problem.
As one may have noticed, the different floors, except Floor 8, are populated by a specific genus of Glavras monsters. The snakes on Floor 1, the tortoises on Floor 2, the dinosaurs on Floor 3, and while they were extinguished by the macho-roach army, the spiders on Floor 4.
And like a digital clock that reached 24:00, we have reached the end of the line and returned to having snakes on Floor 5. These guys shoot magic on any intruders that they notice using the pumice boats. I managed to sneak past them before thanks to my hiding skills and small body, but that's no good with the macho-roaches.
Since they couldn't sneak a ride, the macho-roaches decided to take it instead. An all-out brawl happened between the roaches and the snakes, which even included some evolved, bigass snakes like the floor boss on Floor 1! They weren't the Floor Boss though. Wonder where that guy is?
The battle between the snakes and the roaches is still going on. I'm even looking at the conflict right now! From the safe distance of the entrance to Floor 6.
That's right, the roaches found the secret entrance! Or, roughly where it is.
The fight with the snakes moved the roach army all across Floor 5, resulting in that floor's map being completed in record time. It helped that it was an open-type floor instead of a labyrinth as the previous one.
After looking at the map, I noticed one point of interest. Since this is an open area floor, there shouldn't be any inaccessible spaces here like on Floor 4, but lo and behold, one large area, around the size of two auditoriums, is completely untouchable.
I took a look at the secret place while ordering the roaches to distract the snakes over to the other side of the floor. All the pipelines didn't even cross that space, leaving a huge square open. There are other such openings around the floor, but not something this big.
And guess what happened when I tried to throw a rock towards the water there? It was repelled.
I found the control room! As suspected, the room was camouflaged through some Dungeon-means. Since I know where it is on Floor 5, all I need to do is to search for an entrance just below this place on Floor 6.
I'll leave the roaches to make a mess on this floor while trying to infiltrate the control room on Floor 6. I'll have them fight until they die. A little cruel, but if I leave the roaches alive any longer, they'll become a true pain later.
The Queen's dying.
The monsters trapped inside the Kigal-Note have their powers drained each time I utilize their abilities. Just an itty-bitty portion. Not enough that they won't recover from it, despite being in a coma-like state. This wouldn't be a problem normally, but [Kin Domination] is used passively. The Queen's got no time to recover.
It would be delish if I could train some of my skills on the roaches like the Evil Eye, but the snakes aren't letting up their assault. The big snakes managed to crush half of the roach army before they died out and the other half is busy with the smaller snakes.
I did try to train some of the skills while we were on Floor 4, but the results weren't any good. Was it because they were under my control?
Then there's the fact that I don't like to be in the same room as them. They're too disgusting...
Well, the roach army has served me well these last nine days. Not only the maps but also my skills... my skills... it's better to show them instead of trying to explain.
[Health Increase (Small) Lv.Max] UP45 [HP Auto-Recovery Lv.14]15 Skill PointsNEW
[Mana Increase (Small) Lv.41] UP19 [Reduced Mana Consumption Lv.12]23 Skill PointsNEW
[MP Auto-Recovery Lv.20] UP12 [Stamina Increase (Small) Lv.Max] UP49
[Reduced Stamina Consumption Lv.41]33 Skill PointsNEW [Strength Increase (Small) Lv.Max] UP29
[Vitality Increase (Small) Lv.Max] UP39 [Magic Increase (Small) Lv.5] UP4
[Resistance Increase (Small) Lv.Max] UP49 [Speed Increase (Small) Lv.Max] UP49
[Dexterity Increase (Small) Lv.Max] UP49
[Aura of Darkness Lv.12] UP1 [Heresy Modification Lv.6] UP2 [Sadistic Constitution Lv.41] NEW
[Stealth Lv.28] UP14 [Silence Lv.24] UP15 [Odorless Lv.23] UP20 [Camouflage Lv.28] UP14
[Intimidation Lv.42] UP41 [Lightwalk Lv.45] UP38 [Thread Control Lv.17] UP1
[Cutting Thread Lv.9] UP1 [Piercing Thread Lv.5] UP1 [Impact Thread Lv.2]72 Skill PointsNEW
[Spatial Storage Lv.5] UP3
[Whipsmanship Lv.7] UP2 [Threadsmanship Lv.25] UP1 [Close Quarters Combat Lv.Max]83 Skill PointsNEW
[Magic Power Operation Lv.7]93 Skill PointsNEW [Throwing Lv.Max] UP35 [Aiming Lv.47] UP38
[Evasion Lv.44] UP41 [Jump Lv.37]101 Skill PointNEW [Parkour Lv.Max] UP43 [Climbing Lv.25] UP13
[Pilfer Lv.1] NEW [Concentration Lv.Max] UP37 [Ambush Lv.11] UP8 [Battle Continuation Lv.Max] UP49
[Darkness Reinforcement Lv.18] UP1 [Debuff Reinforcement Lv.11] UP1 [Gathering Lv.Max] UP43
[Riding Lv.36] UP35 [Footwork Lv.Max] UP49 [Vital Point Knowledge Lv.19] UP16
[Prediction Lv.Max] UP49 [Parallel Thinking Lv.Max] UP37 [Auto-Mapping Lv.10] UP3
[Language Adaption]
[Water Resistance Lv.28] UP27 [Darkness Resistance Lv.6] UP1 [Poison Resistance Lv.24] UP14
[Heretic Resistance Lv.8] UP1 [Heretic Immunity Lv.2] [Paralyze Resistance Lv.14]112 Skill PointsNEW
[Sleep Resistance Lv.41]122 Skill PointsNEW [Confusion Resistance Lv.12]132 Skill PointsNEW [Fear Resistance Lv.6] UP2
[Pain Resistance Lv.Max] UP29
[Night Vision Lv.Max] UP30 [Danger Sense Lv.37] UP14 [Identification Lv.28] UP1 [Discern Lv.19] UP1
[Discover Lv.6] NEW [Magic Sight Lv.39] UP15
[Leadership Lv.31]143 Skill PointsNEW [Tactics Lv.22] NEW
[Poison Bite Lv.25] UP13 [Paralyze Bite Lv.12]152 Skill PointsNEW [Sleep Bite Lv.14]162 Skill PointsNEW
[Confusion Bite Lv.10]172 Skill PointsNEW [Spider Thread Lv.29] UP1 [Grudge Evil Eye Lv.3] UP1
I know what you're gonna say, but it's real! I swear! Those roaches are too efficient! And there were more than 400 of them at the beginning to boot!
The first day was the most surprising one. I obtained more than 4 Skill Points before dinner! Even the Rogue class got proficiency because of the roaches!
Felling the fever, I decided to pick another skill, which reached new heights in a blink. Then I picked a new skill after that, and one more, etc, etc, until we ended up with that list.
I also got a title from having the roaches work day and night without rest to improve the [Sleep Resistance] skill along with the other guys. It's called "Cruel Commander", and it gave me the [Tactics] and [Sadistic Constitution] skills. Wonder why I got this one anyway? I'm kindness itself.
Then came the option of evolving the skills that reached level max, but it turns out that the evolution of skills requires the original Skill Point amount + 5 more. That's 6 Skill Points for a single skill! It's more than my Rogue class!
Therefore, I've decided to save my remaining Skill Points for the abovementioned reason, and another one: I've planned to use those "skill growth" potions when I evolve, so why not wait with the skill evolutions until then? I also need to see what skills are best for me to have an evolved version of after I evolve myself.
Even so, I bought some skills that I needed at the moment, such as [Impact Thread] and [Magic Power Operation]. Now I have threads that can inflict cutting, piercing, and blunt damage!
As for the magic spells of [Darkness Magic] that I can use thanks to [Magic Power Operation]... there's only the Night Vision spell... and one needs 40 MAG or higher to use it so the roaches can't grind it...
I managed to capture one of those magic-using snakes, and that allowed me to use the snake's [Water Magic] through the Kigal-Note! It's only two spells though, so I still have to train [Dark-
*SPLASH!*
...*Spit*. Ugh, there are more of those bigass snakes after the roaches now? Good thing they haven't seen me yet. Do your job as distractions well now roaches. Ta-ta~
---
Not here... what about here...? No response there...
I looked after the entrance to the control room on Floor 6. More specifically, at the area on Floor 6 directly below the inaccessible area that was on Floor 5. I think my thinking here's right, as the area below the inaccessible area leads to a solid wall. What's better of an entrance to a secret control center than a secret door?
So, I've been tapping the whole wall for a good while now, to less than good luck. Did my reasoning fail me here? Maybe it was on Floor 4 after all...?
It could be the "oooo~ooooo~~"-wailing that works as a BGM on this floor. The floor is has a big abyss in the middle of it, with many thin paths one can use to cross it. Thank god the entrance's supposed to be on solid ground instead of there... I think the "abyss" is related to that Dread Spirit from Floor 1. I seriously don't wanna deal with it.
*Clack*
I think I found something. A part of the wall can be pushed. A doorbell? Entrance switch? Don't be a trap button...
*Rattle, rattle, rattle*
The wall opened up. It was the entrance switch. Go me!
Ulp, forget that last part. Something's coming! Hide, hide, need to hide!
I hurled myself into the cover of the boulders just in time for the "trap" to make his entrance.
A large snake. Bigger than the normal-sized cobras, but smaller than the Floor Boss on Floor 1. Maybe halfway between those two? Other than that, its scales were golden at the ends, so it had a more regal appearance than the other guys. An evolution? But then, what about... I need to confirm this.
OOOIIIII! What's that thing, it's too damn strong! All its stats are in the triple-digits, for Pete's sake! Stay calm, and stay hidden. This thing doesn't look like it has noticed me, so just pray that it doesn't have any skills like [Discovery]!
"...Is the door broken? Back to work...*sigh*" - Glavras Ophagus
The big snake went back into the lair and closed the door behind him. Wait, what? The snake spoke? And in human language!? At least, the language the adventurers and that Black Baron fellow spoke with, but that's not important here.
I did manage to hear what two cobra snakes talked about in the past, but that was because of [Language Adaption]. This time, the snake talked Humanlish (tentative name) on its own.
This is bad. That thing is a Floor Master. And not of this Floor 6, but for Floor 5. The cobra snakes and giant snakes live up there, so it's logical to think they're this guy's subordinate. It was like that on the first three floors after all. Floor 4 doesn't count as those were already exterminated by the roaches before I could check.
This is not good at all. If he's Floor 5's Floor Master, then he should also be the control room's Master. That line about "going back to work" must mean using the control room in some way... ah.
The roach army. The Floor Master is using the control room to send more and more snakes after the roaches. That's why new giant snakes arrived at the battlefield right before I left the floor. They must have been spawned, or called, or summoned, or whatever, by that Floor Master through something in the control room. I mean, a control room in a Dungeon must have something like that in it.
So yeah, I've found the control room. It's almost beyond doubt at this point. The only thing left is to confirm, if it's possible to sneak around that overworker.
Fighting him's not possible. Not in a million years.
The Evil Eye/Kigal-Note combo's useless. Too much RES.
Trying to become friends with him? That overstressed overworked salary-snake? I'm not stupid, you know.
Or..., that could work... a little risky though. But he's bound to fall into that trap.
Alright, let's get working. I don't have much time to work with here, so let's go for a new speed record!
---
The time is nigh. The trap is placed. All that is needed is this last act of bravery!
*Clack*
*Rattle, rattle, rattle*
And back to the boulders!
"Alright, this door is going to the junkyard! ...? AAAAHHH!!!" - Glavras Ophagus
The "Ding Dong Ditch" operation is a success! The boss-snake went out to check what's happening and laid eyes on my trap.
The Queen Crusroach
"You... you are the leader of those damn pests that hinders me from getting even a single second of sleep!!?" - Glavras Ophagus
Kukukuku. The Queen's EXP may be delish, but having her as a scapegoat is even better. The boss snake's glaring at the Queen and the macho-roaches that's already appeared.
A little while before starting the operation, I released the half-dead Queen a good distance away from the secret entrance while making sure that one could see it from this distance. Then, when the first macho-roaches, that the Queen probably called for, arrived at the area, the operation was in motion.
"So, it's fun bullying a poor reptile, huh? Just because I've evolved some times and even gotten a promotion to a Floor Boss, this is my treatment? AAARRRGGHH! I hate this job! I hate this Dungeon! And I hate master Glavras who's responsible for them both! Hey, I have not slept for 6 days now. Can't you let a poor serpent sleep a few minutes? Can't you? EH! CAN YOU OR NOT!? I'M ASKING A QUESTION HERE, YOU HEAR ME!?" - Glavras Ophagus
...Scary. Even more so for me as the real culprit of this guy's sleep problems.
Well, good luck snakey. I'll root for you at least. Now, time to sabotage some controls.
Greydra
Kigal-Note/Monsters/Reptiles: Glavras Ophagus
Description:
The Glavras Ophagus is a Demi-dragon that has evolved from a serpentine monster into its current stage.
It is quite wise and can speak the languages of the humanoids fluently without the need for any skills. More impressive is its mastery of Water attribute magic spells.
While a monster, the Glavras Ophagus is a civilized monster that will only kill if necessary, or if provoked to a serious level.
Appearance:
The Glavras Ophagus is smaller than its pre-evolved stage, the Glavras Ophigiganta, with an average length of 55 meters. Its marine scales have a line of gold at the tips, resulting in a more regal appearance than both of this snake's pre-evolved stages.
Abilities:
The Glavras Ophagus is an inborn master of Water attribute magic spells. It has also inherited some of its sturdiness from when it was a Glavras Ophigiganta. This makes the Ophagus a living magic tank, capable of taking any hits while using its magic to counterattack.
However, just like a real tank, the Ophagus cannot move that fast. It also has problems with acrobatic movements. On the other hand, it is wise enough to operate a wide array of items.
Alvatria's comment: Ksuksuksuksu! Working it until it's close to death due to overwork! Classic! Wha-hahahaha!
[ARC 1] CHAPTER 16: A TURBULENT ENTRY
Whoaaa... that's a lot of gizmos.
I was able to climb up the spiral staircase-like road up to the control room, and this place is making me doubt I'm in a fantasy world. The place is covered with wall-to-wall machinery. Control boards and security monitors, strange hologram-like displays, seriously something better for a sci-fi world than one of sword and magic.
Another point worth mentioning is that this place is big enough to make me feel like Jack with the beanstalk. The owner was the boss snake, so I guess it's so big for a reason...
The reason why I'm pointing out the size of these things is that this also means they're gonna be a whole lot worse to destroy.
In that case, let's use the hacking devices that came along with the Quest. Just attach...
*Boing* *Smack*
OUCH! What the-? The device was repelled? Is there something wrong with the machine? Let's try to identify.....
AAARGH!! STOP!
*Wheeze, wheeze*, what was that? The moment I tried to use [Identification] on the machine, my head felt like it was being split into confetti. An information overload? I got the idea that there was something new added to the machine...
Did the brass of the Dungeon place some security on the important pieces of the Dungeon? I did use those devices on the first two floors, so there's no wonder that they would catch on eventually.
No other ways then. Time to take out my secret weapon. It's a waste, but I lack the destructive power to take care of this job. How does this thing work again...
---
Floor 10, The Underground Lake
In the darkness of the cave, a single source of light, too weak to be seen from a distance, existed.
It was a blue sphere, placed on top of a pillar made of stone. Attached to the sphere and the pillar was pipes that were connected to many different types of machine-looking objects. Some of them had the initials "B.B." on them.
The lake was empty except for a certain something swimming around the lake. It kept itself hidden in the water, except for its head sticking up from the waterline.
Suddenly, a voice resonated in the empty cave:
[...INTRUDERS OF HIGH THREAT LEVELS DETECTED. NUMBERS: 2.
SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT INTRUDERS...
INTRUDER NR.1, IDENTITY CONFIRMED: LORD OF THE WILD HUNT.
REASON FOR INTRUSION BY NR.1...
REASON FOR INTRUSION IS PRESUMED TO BE THE ARTIFACT LOCATED ON FLOOR 6.
RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION: ALLOW INTRUDER NR.1 TO RETRIEVE THE ARTIFACT.
THE ARTIFACT LACKS VALUE FOR THE DUNGEON, SO NO DAMAGE WILL BEFALL TO THE DUNGEON BY STAYING CLEAR OF INTRUDER NR.1.
INTRUDER NR.2... IDENTITY UNKNOWN.
THROUGH ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION, THE IDENTITY OF INTRUDER NR.2 IS BELIEVED TO BE A DEITY FROM A DIFFERENT WORLD.
INTRUDER NR.2 IS HEREBY CONSIDERED AN OUTER DEITY.
REASON FOR INTRUSION BY NR.2... UNKNOWN.
POSSIBILITY OF NR.2 BEING A THREAT... UNKNOWN. MORE INFORMATION IS REQUIRED.]
After that, the cave returned to its silent self again. The only sounds that remained were the waves that were created when the certain "something" was made when it swam around the island with its dead, empty eyes...
---
Garami's PoV:
I came out of the secret entrance after finishing my work there. This thing's gonna blow in less than 7 minutes from now. Better take cover... and those guys are still at it?
The macho-roaches are almost annihilated due to the boss snake's water magic, but they're holding out better than I first thought. Did they learn a few tricks under my command, despite losing the boost from the Leadership Skills?
The Queen's still alive as well, but not for long. It was already as good as dead at the beginning, and it looks even worse now.
I considered stealing the kill of the Queen, but I'd rather not. The boss snake looks like he would call upon a flood in revenge if I tried that. He's already crying one while crushing the roaches. He's even delivering some serious curses that can't be published on an official novel site.
Just how stressed is that guy...?
There's no place for me in that brawl, so I'll focus on getting away from-*Shiver*-!?
Where did that bad feeling come from? The boss snake and the roaches have stopped too. Did they also feel that?
*OOOOOOOHHH!!*
And now has the ghostly "I-don't-wanna-know-what-that-is" in the abyss started howling. Stop that! It's scary!
Just when I was at my wit's end, I saw the boss snake abandoning the fight and crossed the pathways leading to the next floor as if the devil himself was after him. The roaches are simply standing there like idiots...
I'm for following the smart guy. The Demon-Express is heading for Floor 7!
I ran over the pathways while making sure to stay clear of the area where the wailing comes from. I looked over there to confirm the situation and saw... the Dread Spirits.
They are rising from the abyss, making something that looks like a magic circle with the blue lights that emit from their "bodies".
I continued my escape after seeing that. I've seen enough cartoons and animes to know that magic circles created by something that evil-looking are no good for anyone else.
Just as I had reached the halfway point to the next floor, a strong blast of wind struck me from behind. I was almost blown away there!
I held myself to the ground through the use of some threads and tried to figure out what was happening. Or, it's better to say that I couldn't do anything but that. The wind's too strong! And the source of it came from the place I feared the most.
The Dread Spirits' magic circle was complete, and the strong winds came from it. Some of the Dread Spirits closest to it are ripped to shreds from the force alone. Then, something else came out of the magic circle and landed on the shore that I had been before.
From its appearance, I would say it was some knight king? It had full-plate armor and the helmet was fashioned like a crown. But the armor was made of a rusty dark material, and the "king" was using some dull-grey robe as a mantle. Resting on his left hip was a broadsword made of burnt orange metal with a black, serrated edge. On his right side was something covered with a grey rug. Maybe his lunch?
That guy's no good. With that in mind, I removed the threads that hold me stuck and tried to move towards the entrance-
*KA-BOOOOOM!!*
Now of all times!? Those bombs have the worst timing in the history of bombs!
Floor 5 of the Water-Knot of Glavras is the location of the Upper Layers Control Center. Steal control over it from the Floor Boss.
P.S. It seems one cannot enter the Control Center from Floor 5. Look after the entrance on either Floor 4 or Floor 6.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Quest Clearance EXP acquired.
Chain Quest unlocked: [Bug the Knot (V)]
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Level has increased. Reached Lv.11
You have earned 0.2 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.2 Skill Points were earned.
"They did a good job though" was my thoughts as I stuffed my Storage with the Skill Scroll and potion that appeared before me.
Good thing I figured out how to manually activate those bombs I snatched from the ball-bots before the explosion.
*Rumble!* *Crash!* *Bang*
Let's make use of that new level and run away! The cave was weakened by that Dread King's entrance winds, and the explosion just now is causing parts of the roof to fall! Only on the area around the Dread King and the roaches, but I don't think that's enough to stop the former guy. Don't care about the latter ones.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Level has increased. Reached Lv.15
You have earned 0.8 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.8 Skill Points were earned.
Forget that last part. I care about them dying because of the rock that crushes them.
And here comes another one. Right on top of the Dread King-!
*SLASH!*
Eh? Wait, I would get it if the rock was cut in half from that slash, but pulverized!? Where's the logic in that!? And the force of the slash is coming over here!?
Ah, and there went his lunch. The covered whatever-it-is got knocked off from the sudden movement and was sent flying into the abyss. Since I don't wanna end up the same way, I returned to my "clinging for my life" stance and waited till it had-*Crash!*-passed? Wait, the pathway's collapsiiiiIIIII-!!
---
AAAIIEEEEE!!
Falling-, I'm falling! I knew that the abyss was deep and all, as the distance between Floor 6 and 7 is around triple the distance of the other floors, but this is too deep!
It doesn't help that the Dread Spirits try to charge at me all the while, but luckily, [Heresy Modification] works just as well now as on Floor 1. They're bursting just by touching the barrier made from the skill.
On the other hand, this black mist-like thing down here's messing up my sight! And I'm feeling a little sick... is this some kinda smog?
The bigger issue is the ground! It's too far down and too close for comfort! And it's getting closer by the second!
I threw a thread to the rocks that made up the remaining rock paths above the abyss. That stopped my decent-*Snap!*-?!
Those damn Spirits! They cut the thread! I'm falling agaaaiiiiin!!
A new thread.., will only be snapped. Then, the Kigal-Note!
I threw the Kigal-Note below me and landed on top of it. Right there, I used the Jump Pad ability obtained from the Pond Frogs. I sprung up after landing on the note, killing some of the momenta from falling. When I started to fall again, I used the Kigal-Note to jump up again.
I continued these mid-air jumps and finally... she sticks the landing!
*Imaginary applause*
I survived! Yahoo! Even so, no matter how scary that experience was, I need to focus on these Spirits fir-!
*Stab!*
!? What? Was I... just now... must have been my imagination? Now I wanna leave this place even sooner. Not only because of hallucinations but also due to the Spirits being too scary to be in the same room, or country even!
They keep on ganging up on me so much I'm fearing the barrier will break! I know that [Heresy Modification] doesn't need MP or anything, but it's still scary to have these guys charge at me like this!!
Is there somewhere safe... of course, there isn't!! This is their home grounds! Why should there be any safe rooms... there is! Over there! The hole in the ground! The Spirits are staying away from there.
...A little suspicious that there's an escape path just lying there, right?
-A cold blade pierced my-
*Shiver!?*
What the-!? Another hallucination? All of a sudden?
Okay, staying with these Spirits is messing my brain in more ways than just one, I get it now...
Alright, trap or not, I'm taking the hole-option!
I rushed through the swarms of Dread Spirits, placing my trust in that [Heresy Modification] would hold till then, and jumped into the mystery-hole. Geronimooooo!!
*Bonk*
Ouch... the hole was smaller than I thought... but I was right. The Spirits aren't entering here. Is there something up with this place that they don't-?
I took a look around and saw that the "hole" was an entrance to a cave system below the bottom of the abyss. Another point of interest was the grass that sprouted here and there.
A type of perennial herb that only grows in glum places that attract the living dead.
The flowers thrive from the miasma that is generated when large amounts of living deads gather in one area. It is a natural measurement to prevent an area infested with the living dead to die completely due to the excessive amounts of miasma that is generated.
Ooh! An epic material suddenly showed up! And plants have HP instead of Durability? You know what, that makes sense. Even if the thought that I could have been reincarnated as a plant scares me.
So, this is some fantasy-world upgraded rosemary? It works, and that's the main point, so I'm not gonna comment on anything. It looks just like its non-fantasy version, just that the flowers are red-purple, and I mean it when I say RED.
Still, is the abyss filled with "miasma"? I didn't feel... the hallucinations? Speaking of which, that
Wait, was is that "miasma", when we're on the subject? Some kinda negative lifeforce? That doesn't sound like it would make people hallucinate...?
I don't know. I'm no miasma expert. The sick feeling before's gone, so it's probably safe to say that the plants can have helped with that.
Let's throw some into the Storage for later use. Of course, not the ones that are by the entrance hole.
---
*Crash*
Hmm? What was that?
I stopped my gathering work and looked around. Nothing to the east, west, south, or north. Except for plants and walls.
Then, it came from "aboveground"? I don't wanna, but staying ignorant won't help me here.
I peeked out of the hole with a hat made of Rose-Maria as cover and saw...
The Dread King!? He jumped down here!? Why!?
I ducked into the hole again. Why's he here!? Is he after me?! Wait, why should some ghostly king come after me? There's nothing that links me to the bomb, as far as he knows, and I'm sure he didn't notice me when he blasted the whole cave himself.
And yes, he destroyed the path I was on without even noticing me. I'm that trivial existence, you got a problem with that?!
From the looks of it, the King's of the same genus as the Dread Spirits, but you can never be too careful...
I'll run.
RUN AWAAAAYYYY!!
---
Phew. A good half an hour with running underground should be enough to stay clear of that King... only to be met with a new creature.
What's this, a mole? It got a yellow star-mark on its forehead and a kind face. It doesn't look like it's hostile. On the other hand, it even bowed to me. Monster courtesy?
A quick round of [Identification] and the Kigal-Note show me that these are Stella Moles. Excellent diggers and gardeners. As for his stats...
[Planting Lv.13]
[Digging Lv.29]
[Enhanced Hearing Lv.9]
[Earth Element Lv.1]
A weakling. I won't have any trouble with this gentle-mole.
Even so, I didn't kill the guy. I mean, I saw the rest of the 100+ family members of his the moment I thought about it. And fighting while tons of Dread Spirits are just above my head is far from clever. I'll be a good demon for once.
Let's use that Skill Scroll I got now before anything else happens. I'll just check out what this thing can do with the Kigal-Note. I've seen negative skills before after all.
Oh, that's quite a useful skill. The Charm part is kinda useless to me, but not having to worry about becoming fat's quite helpful. I'll take it.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Acquired skill: [Golden Ratio Lv.1]
There we go-*Poke, poke*-hmm? The mole from before is trying to get my attention.
I turned around, ready for a battle, only to find the mole wanting to lead me somewhere. Should I follow him? The Kigal-Note was praising this guy's sincerity, but I don't know... Better have a poison bottle ready in case of a surprise attack.
Despite my wariness, I followed the mole to what appears to be a large shaft. Wait, the wind is blowing here? Then, this shaft's connected to Floor 7!? A secret passage! Thank you, mole! Eh, that's not it?
The mole started to point at the hole in the roof (and those damn Spirits are looking down on us. Good thing the Rose-Marias keeps them there) and then to the bottom of the hole, no, to a cliff on the hole's wall. I didn't see it at first, but it looks like something covered in a grey... OIII! That's the thing the Dread King had on him! The one that was knocked off and fell into the abyss!
I don't wanna have anything to do with him! I'm outta here. ...I said; I'm outta here. I'm outta here, you stupid mole, so stop getting in my way! What, you wanna have me pick that thing up or something? Is your hearing bad or something? I. Don't. Wanna!!
...The whole family of moles came. And they're all staring at me. W-what? You th-think that just by g-grouping up on me will force me to change my mind? ......Fine, I'll do it. But not because I'm weak to a crowd!!
I secured two different climbing ropes to the wall and started my descent. The wind's making this a little difficult, but nothing to worry about. Wonder how the wind's even blowing? Maybe from explosions made by the boss-class monsters on Floor 7? Hahahaha... yeah. That's no joke.
I reached the covered mystery item and wrapped it with the rope I didn't use myself. I manipulated the thread with my skills and sent the covered item up to the ground with the rubber-band express.
When I climbed up, I saw the mole group all smiley and happy. They even presented something like an offering... is that fruits!? Identi-[Identification]!!
They are fruits! And damn delicious ones as well! For fruits that are possible to farm without sunlight.
According to the [Identification] result. Their quality is pretty high as well. None of them are less than C+. Did the moles cultivate these? They all have the [Planting] skill, despite it being a skill that their race doesn't have instinctively. They must have earned it later, but all of them? These guys will definitely evolve into something like "Farm Mole".
Gotta secure the fruit~.
*Rattle*
...Forgot about that thing. I walked over to the covered box(?) and removed the rug.
A birdcage? The item that the Dread King had with him was a birdcage. One that contained a crow. A living one. It looks like your everyday crow, except for the silver lines on its beak. Or...
[Telepathy Lv.16]
[Reading Lv.Max] [Memory Lv.Max]
[Identification Lv.46] [Discern Lv.41]
[Flight Lv.Max]
I was wrong. It's a half-dead bird. Where did I put those HP potions?
*Drip*
Just one drop of this High Life Potion should be enough.
The crow-, er, raven swallowed the drop of potions which made steam come up from all his wounds. Soon after, the raven opened his eyes, confused about what was happening. Can't he see me? Oh, the darkness. Right, he doesn't have any ability to see in the dark.
"Hello? Anyone here? Where am I?" - Raven
It talked!? No, this is different from speaking... this must be the [Telepathy] skill. The raven was able to send his voice right into my mind.
Ehm, how do I answer...
"There's somebody there!? Hurry and speak up!" - Raven
Did he hear me? Then... Can you hear me?
"Yes, I hear you! Just keep on thinking loudly. Also, please help me! The first people I managed to call out too were too slow in their heads to understand me, so I have no other to call for help now!" - Raven
That must have been the moles. And I think it's more that they couldn't reach the bird rather than them being slow in their heads.
Why should I save you?
"Eh, well, I could share with you the wisdom that I have gained by living 15 years of my childhood in the Grand Library Tower..." - Raven
What a load of humbug.
"It's true, I tell you! I have lived as the familiar of the greatest sorcerer in all of Terra Sol's history! All his knowledge is passed on to me!" - Raven
Oh yeah? Then why are you in this hellhole instead of that library?
"*Sniff*. I was kidnapped from my master 3 years ago by the King of Ghosts-" - Raven
Wait, the "King of Ghosts"?
"Yes *sniff*. It is an amalgam of the legendary figures that became the Dread Spirits," - Raven
...Okaaaayyyy. But why did one of those Kings kidnap you?
"To be honest, I do not know myself. That King used my abilities with the [Identification] skill on many different ruins and old treasures during the 3 years it had me captive, but I do not know why it wanted me to do so. There are many other Wisdom Ravens with the [Identification] skill at birth, so I do not think it would miss me." - Raven
Was that "King" on a treasure hunt or something?
"That is a possibility, but can you let me out now? Or make some lights at least?" - Raven
I can use the Night Vision spell if that's good?
"If you would not mind... but I would also appreciate that you broke the lock on this cage..." - Raven
One thing at a time, birdie. Night Vision.
"Ah, thanks-spider! Spider! Spider!!" - Raven
The raven tried to escape by using the birdcage as a hamster wheel. He tripped and hit his head the first few meters.
Oi, oi. Be more careful. What's the point of saving you only to have you knock yourself out?
"Wait, that is you!? I-I am sorry... I did not expect that a spider would have the mental capacity to understand a conversation." - Raven
*Pissed off*
Fine then. Try to get someone else-
"WAAIITT!! I'm so sorry, just don't leave me behind! I'm sick of having to work for that damn knight-king already!" - Raven
If you say so.
I placed the birdcage right-side-up and looked at the door. It was kept closed by a padlock.
I need to get a skill to open this thing, so wait a sec.
"Please do!" - Raven
Here I am, wasting my hard-earned Skill Points on this guy, and that's his answer? Alright, 1 Point for the [Lockpicking] skill, and the other needs... 5 Points!? Expensive!
Just wondering, do you know anything about skill combinations or recommended classes and such?
"Why, of course. Those were my favorite books to read back at the Library Tower. Why are you asking?" - Raven
Just curious.
That settles it. This guy can be used. Then I'll take this skill too, and...
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Acquired skills from the Skill Shop.
Acquired skill: [Lockpicking Lv.1]
Acquired skill: [Tame Lv.1]
I then started to work with the padlock with a lockpick made of solidified threads... this is more difficult than I first thought... almost got it... ah! The lockpick broke! Grr...
*Slash!*
I cut the padlock instead.
"...Why didn't you do that from the beginning?" - Raven
NOW!! [TAME]!!
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Nameless individual [Wisdom Bird] has become your tamed monster through the [Tame] Skill.
Success!!
"Huh? Wha-!? What are you doing!?" - Raven
What anyone else would do if they had a portable Google.bird on their hand. The Kigal-Note's good with knowledge, but what I really need is someone with smarts that can advise me about how well that knowledge is!
You kissed your freedom goodbye when you met me, birdy! Mwa-hahahaha!!
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Karma Value has dropped.
Birdie should be better than Mister Obvious here at least.
Greydra
Kigal-Note/Monsters/Beast: Stella Mole
Description:
The Stella Mole is a docile creature that lives underground by eating dirt and vegetables it can find.
They are sociable and trustworthy monsters that are tamed for the reason of helping with digging works. Since they are so honorable, some people do not even need to use the forced servitude ability of the [Tame] skill to have the Stella Moles work for them.
They are on the top 10 list for "Monsters I want to have as a pet".
Appearance:
Stella Moles are goat-sized moles with dark-brown fur and a yellow star mark on their foreheads. They are also noted to have "kind" faces that humanoids find adorable.
Abilities:
The Stella Mole has no noteworthy battle abilities, but they are great tunnel diggers. A single group of Stella Moles can build an underground cavern system on their own in less than a week.
The Stella Moles are intelligent enough to understand humanoid language, even if they are a little slow to show that they understand. They are also talented with anything related to the earth, like farming.
Wisdom Raven's comment: Why isn't this chapter about my race!?