(Walson)
While sailing on the boat, I collected some pieces of fish meat that were floating aimlessly on the water surface.
The mini-map showed calm winds and no strange fish, a stark contrast to two hours ago.
The explosion from earlier had almost wiped out all of the monsters on this level, that's what I, who are busy sailing the boat and collecting a lot of fish meat, came to conclusion with great certainty.
Opening my information panel, I saw a flood of experience point messages come rushing in. It took me quite some time, but I finally managed to get the gist of it.
Here's a brief summary of it:
{Your Party has gained a lot of experience points}
{Your level has increased to LV 72}
{You have obtained the title [Fish Killer]}
Honestly, I counted it more carefully and realized that I had killed around 150 or more of those strange fish.
Thanks to this unexpected harvest, my level had skyrocketed... Unfortunately, due to some magic barrier in this level, Grace, Barella, and Melon didn't receive any experience points despite being at the same party as me.
What a pity.
...Come to think of it, Melon and Grace must be extremely worried right now.
I tried using [Party Telepathy] to contact them but couldn't establish any connection. It seems there's a barrier here that blocks telepathic signals.
It's quite a troublesome barrier, since I think not even Grace teleportation would be able to bypass it, after all, the humidity at this level is too heavy for an enderman like her.
I steered the boat into a nearby cave in the rocky wall.
I constructed this outpost using Minecraft techniques right on the stone wall. The thing that i made was not that fancy, it's just a box made of stone bricks, but one side of it is open to face the water outside.
I brought the boat inside.
I built this boat right after setting up the outpost using the items from my inventory. It's a simple wooden boat with a basic redstone-powered engine in the back.
Did you know that redstone engines can't overheat? So although the engine is relatively simple, it's still very durable compared to a lot of things.
When I returned back to my makeshift base, the second princess was already awake.
When i'm treating her earlier, I had already removed both of her blouse and jacket. Of course, as a gentleman, I left her bra alone.
I hung the clothes to dry and covered her with my jacket.
As for the eye patch... I'm not sure why she wears it. Maybe it's just an accessory.
At the moment, she was sitting on a temporary bed made of blankets, looking somewhat flustered.
"Hey... Walson, say, do you know why I was suddenly able to see with my right eye? And all the scars on my body..."
So that's the first thing she asks.
Wait, she was blind before? I see, so that's what the eyepatch of hers are covering for, I had thought it's just for style at first.
"Because the situation was critical, I gave you my special potion. Sorry, I only have the potion that has this super strong regeneration effect, I didn't make any potion with a weaker effect."
I didn't really want to confess my secret to her, but now both of us are in an extremely dangerous situation, so I had no choice.
"Oh! Is it your potion?"
"Yeah, it's a healing potion that can even regenerate severed limbs. Currently, I haven't come across any injuries it can't heal."
"That's amazing! It's been so long since I last saw with my right eye. I won't need this anymore... So, what do we do next?" The princess took off her eye patch and threw it aside, she then asked me with a smile.
"That's a good question, come here…"
So, the second princess and I began discussing our next steps.
Firstly, we had to deal with that idiot who sent us down here.
What confuses me is why he had the [Curse of the Wither] and [Frenzy] statuses, although, If he had those conditions for quite some time, it could explain his bizarre behavior during the Aqua Titanus incident and his actions leading up to our current situation.
Based on my past experience, the [Frenzy] status is a side effect of the [Curse of the Wither].
Creatures with this status become extremely aggressive and highly prone to attack others. I've encountered many such creatures when dealing with the Wither infestation, but this is the first time I've seen this status in a human. I didn't directly witness his behavior during the Aqua Titanus incident, so I missed this clue.
If my speculation is correct, his actions were influenced by the [Curse of the Wither] causing his mind to become increasingly unstable. Eventually, he resorted to such an unintelligent method of transporting himself and us here, only to be bitten to death by fish... Or perhaps he was already dead before that?
I really don't want to recall that scene.
So, are the [Wither Skeletons] from minecraft actually created like that?
Were they originally a normal living being that are burned alive by the Nether's fire, and even in death, their remains are smelted into that ghastly form!?
Was this Philip also a victim? Tormented by the [Frenzy] and were forever burning in agony, his logic and reasoning completely lost from pain, becoming a mentally unstable victim?
...But I have no way to prove these speculations now that he has been devoured by the fish monster.
Returning to the topic of the labyrinth, according to the second princess, the dungeon only goes up to the 75th floor. We are currently on the 70th floor underground. If we want to return to the surface, one option is to climb up 69 floors, but we all agree that this option is just too dangerous.
Firstly, when I finished exploring, I found the entrance to the next floor but didn't find a way up.
Perhaps we can only rely on teleportation items to return, but unfortunately, I don't have anything like that on me. Even if that fool who was blown up underwater managed to salvage it, there's no guarantee. The explosion may have destroyed the item.
Furthermore, we can't guarantee that going up won't result in encountering creatures like the ones we're facing now. Facing multiple encounters in succession would be fatal, and climbing 69 floors is no small task.
Regardless of which option we choose, there's a high possibility that our supplies won't last. After taking inventory, the amount of food I have can only sustain two people for about ten days.
However, there is one path we can take: continue down five more floors and complete this labyrinth before our supplies run out. We would also achieve what was left unfinished a hundred years ago. Based on my gaming experience, if we progress all the way to the bottom floor, we should find some kind of teleportation device or means to return to the surface.
Therefore, after discussing it, we decided to continue the descent.
"Well then, if we're going to continue the expedition... What about my spear?"
"It sank to the bottom of the water." I didn't want to beat around the bush and told her the truth directly.
When I saved her earlier, she had already dropped her spear, and now I don't know where it sank. Even if I knew, I wouldn't dare to retrieve it. The water here is too deep and seemingly bottomless, and after the explosion, its position could have shifted from its original position.
"Uh, what, what do I do if we get into combat here ... Use a tree branch as a spear? No, there are no tree branches here..."
"Hey, Princess Derisha."
"Hmm? Call me Derisha."
...Well, let's call her Derisha then.
"Regarding that," I scratched my head, "I have a solution."
In this situation, it would be foolish to continue considering secrecy and not provide her with a weapon. It's not the time to keep secrets.
Therefore...
[Sent a team invitation to Derisha Teigitan]
"Ah... Are you serious? Being teammates means trusting each other, and-"
"In this situation, I have to trust you. Please keep the potions and everything else you know about me a secret."
"...I understand... To be honest, this is my first time joining a party."
[Derisha Teigitan has joined your Party]
[Party of Five reward: Experience gain is increased by 5%]
Perhaps Grace and the others are causing a commotion right now.
I opened the inventory.
There's a spear here.
Nearly half a year ago, for the sake of boredom, I created a spear using various advanced materials, which turned out to be completely useless for me.
[Anti-Melon Spear Prototype 1.0]
It was forged using [Orichalcum Steel] , the hardest metal that cannot be processed with the current technology of this world, combined with various alloy materials.
It also contains [Millenium Fairy Wood], and by wielding this spear, the user would be able to recover their hp faster.
Additionally, it incorporates [Ground Dragon Reverse Scale], which significantly increases the weapon's magical capacity, even allowing it to enter a state beyond limits called [Dragon Soul Possession].
The alloy composition of the spear also includes [Mithril Powder], greatly enhancing the spear's magical conductivity.
At the same time, there's a mechanism on top that, through a specific method of infusing magic, this spear can switch to a long blade and deliver powerful electric shocks.
The enchantments include [Sharpness IV] which significantly increases melee attack power, [Fire Aspect II] which ignites the target it touch, [Knockback I] which knocks the target back, and [Mending], which would allow the spear to repair itself should it get broken by using experience.
Originally, it was created as one of the Anti-Melon weapons.
"I remember telling you that I wouldn't make weapons for you, right?"
"Yes, ah, it's a great pity..."
"Well, because it's already made." Saying that, I took out the [Anti-Melon Spear Prototype 1.0]
The spear, resembling a halberd with golden magical streams wrapped around it, was drawn out and placed in Derisha's hands.
Derisha widened her eyes as she looked at the spear, "It feels so amazing... This..." She swung it a few times, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.
"It's for you," I said.
"Huh!? You're giving something like this to me? After I bring it back, I could estimate its value and take a loan from the royal family..."
"Don't bother estimating its value. Even if you sold the entire country, you probably couldn't afford it. So I'm giving it to you, someone who can actually use this weapon."
I explained in great detail about the spear to Derisha, who immediately showed a completely astonished expression.
"Orichalcum steel... Millenium Fairy Wood..."
"Well then, let's get ready."
I opened the inventory and took out the [Pouch] As I mentioned before, the inventory that the Waist Pouch would give has has limited capacity.
However, if I put the [Pouch] inside and then put more [Pouch] inside the first one...
Yes, it's almost an infinite space, it's a real life glitch.
Inside the [Pouch], there are some items for emergency situations, such as food, water, and many more, and now they are really coming in handy.