Chapter 393
Chapter 393: Cat’s retirement from the band over artistic differences was clearly sparked by the personal drama with the dog and the chicken.
Day 92 – Daytime, Dungeon, 88F
Long shadows covering the dungeon’s floor, moving and squirming, they gradually split and rise. Monsters find themselves surrounded by shadowy soldiers.
「Wander, lost, lured into the depths of my darkness. Secret art, come forth, Shadow Clones!」
Numerous rows of jet-black shadows surround the monsters, and every single hand is forming a dove in shadow-puppet style! Coo, coo? But then, with 「Shadow Raven」the silhouettes split again, dark crows swirling through the dungeon. Caw, caw?
Visually it looks awesome, but the monsters totally ignore it, and even Armored Pres-san and the rest walk right by without even a glance. Well, it’s only shadows moving, after all?
I mean, it’s not like there’s anything else to do? Look, a fox! Kon kon? If you overlook the fact that dog, wolf, and fox shadows are utterly indistinguishable, I’d say it’s a pretty decent fox. Not that anyone’s watching. While this Highschool Boy plays with shadows on the Dungeon’s 88th floor, the monsters, having zero time to appreciate the show, are being annihilated… Hey, here’s a crab? Yeah, nobody’s watching? Well, they’re already dead?
Since I’ve got this shiny new 『Shadow Cloak – SpE DeX 30% UP, Shadow Crow, Shadow Clone, Shadow Manipulation: Materialization, Shadow Magic, Shadow Lurk, Erase Presence』I’ve been testing various stuff,.but just making the shadows move is pointless. I tried slipping into a monster’s shadow and using Shadow Lurk to lurk around, but the monsters just got obliterated despite me hiding in their shadows. With nothing better to do, I’m putting on my artistic shadow-puppet show, but nobody’s watching. See, here’s a bunny. Hop-Hop? …Wait, what’s actually the sound the rabbits make?!
They’ve been admiring their freshly upgraded armor all morning. Even though they could just equip it instantly, they instead put each piece on with great care, so I guess they really loved it. Now they are totally into it, going around and rampaging, so I haven’t had anything to do all the way down to the 88th floor, leaving this lonely High-school Boy playing shadow puppets by himself. I’m even having the shadow wolf bite a Hammer Ape Lv 88, but the ape got carved up before the wolf could sink its teeth in, with the poor shadow wolf just standing there, dejected, mouth open.
「I even mobilized countless Magic Hands-san to stage a shadow-puppet epic 『The Pied Piper Band, Long Version: Because of musical differences, Bremen’s Cat quits, then forms the ultimate rat-catcher unit with the Flutist. I mean, in the classic Bremen quartet of Donkey, Dog, Cat, and Chicken, the Cat’s got it rough in that lineup!』 Nobody watched, so for Part 2 I figured, If the Cat’s out, bring in a Mouse! I was even set to debut 『Bremen Strikes Back』but in this three-part saga we drew zero viewers for Part 1. I can’t decide if the finale should be 『Donkey’s Revolt』 or 『Chicken’s Revenge』Hard to say when no one saw the earlier bits, right? Yeah, and the Crab made a cameo too, you know?」
Apparently the shadow-user class that’s so popular with middle-schoolers is a dead-end job in another world. I guess I’ll hold off on mithril upgrading the Shadow Cloak.
Then we head down the stairs. I can sense a ton of enemies, but… Conceal Presence?
Feeling a nasty aura, I spring back, only for something to circle around in a flash, cutting off my retreat. Armored Pres-san and the others also edge backward, looking for a chance to escape, but the eerie eyes staring at us give away no emotion, leaving them frozen. We have to retreat, but can’t, charging in would be suicidal, everyone knows it’s that kind of enemy. Even though we instantly tried to act, realizing the danger, our path was blocked. However, the squirming wall tossed behind us can’t be breached. Yup. No way. Too gross. Absolutely not doing it!
Well, approached calmly, it’s nothing we can’t handle, but when they suddenly show up en masse, that’s just too gross and disgusting, okay? Crammed into every corner of the floor are huge, heaving slugs 『Wave Slug Lv 89』Apparently smart enough to use Conceal Presence and hide their presence, they work in coordinated groups to encircle us. Then, covered in water magic, they surge forward like a tsunami of slugs. So I toss in salt and turn the whole flood into seawater.
Before we get swallowed by the slug tsunami, I leap into the air using Air Walk, stringing magical threads midair. Now Armored Pres-san, Dancing Girl-san, even Slime-san have evacuated up onto the threads. But the slugs cover every wall and ceiling. The entire cave that is this dungeon dungeon floor is writhing like the inside of a living creature. It’s so disgusting I get full-body goosebumps, serious gross warning here.
「Go, Salty Storm! Though really I’m just scattering salt with wind magic. While I love it when things go whoosh, spraying salt on gooey, slimy slugs isn’t fun, it’s revolting, so I would appreciate it if they would just die already? Slime is fine, but you, damned slugs, are not! Too gross! Nope, don’t want to touch at all?」
There’s a slight resemblance to the Aberrant tentacles thing from earlier, but I’m gonna pretend I didn’t notice anything, and just continue salting the slimes. Armored Pres-san and Dancing Girl-san are looking at me with Flat Gaze, but I’m not affiliated with the slug party, alright? Yeah, for some reason I’m getting some serious deja vu of last night’s pretty girls mutated tentacle violation, covered in slime all over, but let’s not think too hard about that familiar sight I’m pretending not to recognize… Why are those eyes, staring at me with that flat stare, look like they’re about to cry? Deja vu?
Slimy sticky bodies stretch as far as the eye can see, writhing and thrashing wildly in agony after being sprinkled with salt. The floor, walls, and ceiling twist and churn in a grotesque, pulsing mass. Can you not glare at me like that? It’s not like I’m going to strip you naked and throw you in there or anything! That wriggly sticky and slimy plop-plop mess has nothing to do with my sticky and slimy BFF plup-plup buddies, okay? Don’t think too deeply about the similarities. Really. I don’t get this whole Mutation thing as well, so let’s all not think about it for our mental health? Like, one of them last night looked kinda buggy too?
However, if I were to weaponize the knowledge, then perhaps slugs joining the Aberrant lineup is not out of the question, the mutations might be too much for them to see though unless they really focus on this. But that slimy slug texture and the way they slithered around, it’s all blending together with the memories of last night’s slinky, skin-like gelatinous slimy tentacles rubbing and squirming and wriggling, and now I’m seriously getting glared at. At this point there is like only 1% of Flat Gazium left, with the rest being almost crying super intense stare! Even though they’re wearing full armor and helmets, I can tell their faces are somehow beet red. How does that even work?
「Look, that wasn’t slugs, okay? It was just good old tentacles with which you were playing every night? Sure, the transformation might’ve made them resemble some existing creatures, but those were just shapeshifted, shape-changed, mutated versions of the usual tentacle friends, alright? Nothing wrong with that? I mean, those are your favorite mutated tentacles that brought you so much thrill and ecstasy to the point of crying tears of joy and drooling all over? So there was absolutely no issue with putting them in your mouth or anything? Don’t compare that to this, okay? Seriously?」
And now, somehow, I’m the one catching all the flak thanks to the smear campaign against tentacles by the slug faction. Yeah, okay, sure, I’ll admit, there are some similarities. They may even appear identical to some. And, sure, last night they got smothered by them, soaked in slime, slithered over head to toe while getting sucked and toyed with until they were in a completely indecent state, but Magic Hands-san is just a materialized magic entity. It’s all mana, so it’s fine. I mean, sure, by the end their faces and expressions were totally not fine and they were moaning about some outrageous stuff, but I’m sure it was fine? I mean, it happens every night, so no biggie?
Alright, it’s the 90th floor! Floor Boss time! Gotta get serious, because they’re still giving me the tearful death glare. Wait, are they entering a flashback scene? That’s probably R-18, so you really shouldn’t be remembering that stuff, okay? Mm, this is bad?
I’d like to change the mood with a test or experiment or something, but I can’t tell if the newly upgraded『Holy Silver Armor』 for Armored Pres-san and 『Holy Sarcophagus of the Divine Era』 for Dancing Girl-san are doing anything, since the monsters can’t even graze them. I mean, it’s in no way different from before, so I have no idea.That being sad, I also can’t just throw them into the sea of slugs, since their rage won’t subside with just some beating after that. No, it’s not like I was going to do that, so stop looking at me like that? Or rather, if you keep that up, it might trigger that urge you get when someone keeps telling you don’t push don’t push? That’s really dangerous?
I’m scanning the 90th floor with Search and Detection, I get three hits, but the usual two are still stuck in tear-glare mode.
I mean, even if I had pushed them, with how massive those slugs were, I doubt they could’ve gotten inside the armor. But if they had slipped inside somehow and caused a full-blown invasion, and the two Dungeon Emperors went all-out, the Frontier itself would be in danger. This wouldn’t just be a Dungeon-level issue anymore. And even if everything turned out okay, I definitely wouldn’t. Or rather, I’m not gonna push anyone, so please stop leaking killing intent?
Armored Pres-san, slashing through swarms of tentacles incoming from all sides, her afterimages flashing in every direction, and Dancing Girl-san, charging in a zigzag, spinning her great shield as mows down the tentacles charging right through them. The tentacles never even get close to their elegant forms, can’t even wrap around their graceful limbs before being brutally severed. Must be pretty frustrating for the tentacles. So close… wait, they’re glaring at me again! No, I wasn’t cheering for the tentacles or anything?
The floor boss of the 90th floor is 『Sucker Tentaclus Lv 90』and thanks to this totally-out-of-touch-with-the-atmosphere boss, I’m getting some really harsh looks. Just when I thought we were finally done with the slug ordeal, now it’s suction-cup tentacles? What is this deja vu dungeon? What if I start feeling sympathy for it… oh no, wait, I already do. I’m starting to pity the boss getting beat down, which means I’m relating to it way too much. It’s technically a suction-cup tentacle monster, not a squid, but it’s still getting the tar beaten out of it like a squid. But why are they glaring at me with tears in their eyes while beating it up! I didn’t do anything? I’m not affiliated with that monster, and I’m not cheering it on, ah, so close, and now it’s dead. I mean, no, nothing. I didn’t say anything.
「Evil monster eliminated.
Evil has been vanquished.
That thing was evil.」
「Those suction, cups… are enemies! They, have to be cut down… or they’ll start sucking.」
Scary! They have those glassy eyes. And I think I just heard a 「fufufu」 laugh while they were still beating the now totally motionless boss monster! Do they… have trauma related to suction cups or something? They must’ve had a really rough experience. Last night, maybe?
Too scary, so I quickly snatch the drop items and magic stone and flee to the 91st floor. With Magic Wrap drastically boosting me, I cycle magic through my straining body to adjust and keep moving.
「Don’t block my path! I mean, aren’t the two behind me sorta scary? Yeah, right?! They’re totally scary, right? Like, look at their eyes, that’s not normal. So yeah, please just disappear quietly? If you don’t, they’re gonna catch up? Just look how they are staring at me while slashing monsters?」
From the holes in the walls that line the long corridor of the 91st floor, the monsters 『Arrow Bug Lv 91』 burst out one after another. They’re needle-thin insects that shoot toward you like arrows, but they curve unpredictably in flight, still, with Future Sight I read their paths and cut my way through. Using endless magic threads, I slice the arrow-bugs that pour from the countless openings like a hail of arrows, here, number of strikes and cutting power matter more than brute force. Even if I can’t sever them outright, a mere deflection or ricochet is fine, but once they get caught in the razor-sharp threads, they are instantly shredded by them. They spawn without end, so I plug the walls all at once with earth magic, harden them, causing the bugs to crash and self-destruct… looks like they’re pretty fragile. Still, it’s a storm of arrows, each a wildly curving fast projectile with SpE easily over 1,000 and the Pierce trait, without Future Sight I would’ve been turned into a beehive in seconds by their sheer speed and numbers.
After sprinting full speed and fighting ultra-high paced battle through the Arrow Bug horde, I look back, only to see the other three casually standing behind me. I dashed ahead at my absolute limit, slashing all the way, yet they’re just chilling back there… Well, I figured they’d be fine, but apparently they stayed right on my tail through that arrow storm, giving me the Flat Gaze all the while. Well, it’s not like I could shake them off even if I went at full power, but I was suppressing Slow-Motion, Teleport, and Kyojitsu so I could focus on controlling the magic threads. If I take it easy I won’t trigger self-damage, but unless I push my limits I’m still just as weak as before, just with more tricks up my sleeve now.
「Messing with your body. I’m against it, that’s, the same as, wrecking your body.」
「Change,
Mutation,
But that also increases the control burden.」
Hmm, so they’re against it. I mean, having them endorse 『Mutation』 would be awkward, but if they won’t even let me test it, the risk must be huge. Sure, altering a human body might grant power, but controlling it would be like operating an unfamiliar machine. The drawbacks are clearly too big, and a control failure could be fatal… Besides, grotesque transformations freak me out! That stuff is bad! Seriously bad! I’m not kidding, way too much?
That isn’t mere enhancement or modification, that’s basically quitting being human. I mean, turning into slug-form or bug-form… That would nuke whatever remains of Affection Rating-san, turning it into an endangered species headed straight to the top of the Red List, so let’s definitely not go there.
Anyway, the Church seems about to lose patience and make a move, so I want to tune myself up to fight when the time comes, but I’m not there yet. There’s no point rushing, but I do want to expand my options. Sister Girl and the company from the Church were taking a huge risk, no, they are actually reckless. They were surely under strict surveillance and behavioral limits, otherwise they’d have rushed to the Frontier long ago.
From the current Church leadership’s view, their ideas are dangerous heresy, practically hostile to Church doctrine. Yet, because Sister Girl and the company are following the original teachings and help the weak, they’re popular, meaning, they have support. Good PR for the Church, but a nuisance for the top brass, given their influence, they must have been monitored and restricted. And yet they still came to the Frontier. They meant to repay the Frontier with their lives, deciding their final act would be to serve out here. That means they fully expect to be purged if they ever return to the Theocracy. They acted assuming they wouldn’t make it back alive, from here on they’ll be enemies of the Church. In other words, someone will be trying to kill them.
「Armored Pres-saan, or rather, Captain? And Instructor Dancing Girl, plus Instructor Slime, how about we, y’know… run a real boot camp?」
(Nod Nod, Nod-Nod, Jiggle-Jiggle)
Looks like they’re really gonna do it… A hell it is. But it’s a living hell, way better than dying. I think… probably… maybe, or rather, not a chance? I mean, sure, it’s worse than dying, but at least you stay alive, so I guess that’s fine. If you don’t want to get killed, you need the strength not to die. Because, really, most problems in this world can get solved either by applying brute force, or by the opponent dying.
Alright then, let’s hurry up and finish this Dungeon.
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