Chapter 324 Part 1
324
After finishing my meal, I headed out to the sandy beach.
What’s the scenery like there?
It’s full of crabs.
It’s similar to the scenery I saw for the first time yesterday.
It’s not as overwhelmingly red as it was yesterday, but there are still a lot of them here.
Some of them seem to notice me and, still Passive, retreat into the sea.
Some of them even run away into the forest.
Are they really escaping?
It looks like they’re trying to lure me into a terrain that’s more advantageous for them.
Well, that’s fine.
I’ll give fighting these guys a go. Just try to fight.
I change my lineup near the water’s edge.
Rig, Nias, Taylor, Strand, and Apnea.
That’s right.
Apnea!
「Kyu?」
I like the way he shakes his head from side to side.
After all, he seems really happy to be out at sea.
Though I think the water is still a bit shallow here.
So don’t go thrashing about, okay?
Oh, I have to get ready as well.
Of course, I’m not wearing my usual gear.
All you have to do is rely on Rig, which acts as a biological armor.
My weapon will be the White Elephant Long Spear.
Formation-wise, Taylor and I will be in the front line, and the rest will be at the rear.
Ah, that’s right.
I can’t forget to use this Water Magic spell as well.
Under Water.
It doesn’t seem to make swimming or diving any easier, but…
Not having to worry about oxygen is quite a big deal.
No, it’s a huge deal!
Remember the second time I died?
It was because I drowned.
If I had this spell back then, I would have been able to deal with that situation without panicking.
I enter the shallow part of the sea.
How is Apnea doing?
He’s already swimming around in the shallow water at great speed.
Nias, in her mermaid form, is also swimming.
The same goes for Strand.
Rig and Taylor are more reserved.
Well, that’s reasonable.
What should we have as our first catch?
There’s a Karkinos nearby.
It’s Level 8, which is higher than Taylor’s.
Although it was Passive on the beach, here in the sea it’s Active and ready to strike.
Even so…
We’re all buffed up with my strengthening spells.
And we greatly outnumber it.
It’s 6 to 1.
I can’t see anything that would cause us to lose so long as we fight normally.
It’s only natural.
《Summoned Monster『Apnea』 Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
What is Apnea’s fighting style like?
He’s almost like a bird of prey in the air.
He attacked Karkinos from behind and bit its eyes and the base of its pincers.
Just by looking at their stats, his movements should be inferior to Nias, but it turns out he’s faster than Nias.
Maybe that’s because he can’t alternate between moving underwater and moving on ground?
In other words, he’s definitely faster than me.
I’m slower than Taylor in the water.
Well, I guess it can’t be helped.
I can move by grabbing onto Apnea’s dorsal fin, but that’s not suitable for combat.
It seems like I need to become stronger for that.
And there’s Rig too.
It looks like my dream of riding a dolphin will have to wait for a while.
Apnea’s AGI increased automatically upon leveling up.
Let’s choose STR as his second stat increase.
Apnea Dolphin Lv1 → Lv2 (↑1)
DEX 12
AGI 21 (↑1)
INT 14
STR 9 (↑1)
VIT 12
SPI 10
Skills
Bite Evade Semi-Aquatic Night Vision Vibration Detection Pursue
Water Attribute
What about our prey, the Karkinos?
Although it was an opponent slightly bigger than Taylor, he didn’t pose much of a problem.
Still…
Having two more Karkinos joining the fray in the middle of the battle is a little too much.
Apnea is still quite new to being Summoned, you know?
So, what did I manage to get from those three Karkinos?
Giant Crab Eggs.
Right, I remember now, this is what these guys always drop.
I managed to get two of them, but Apnea is showing strong interest in them.
Do you want them?
Are you going to eat them?
That’s fine though.
I handed one of them over to Apnea.
Then, he placed it on the tip of his nose and started shaking it.
He even tried to flip it up with his mouth.
Huh?
Are you using it as a substitute for a ball?
Don’t play with your food!
I took the Giant Crab Egg back from Apnea.
But there’s that…
Would it be okay if I let him play with them once in a while?
After all, I have no other toys on me.
《Summoned Monster『Apnea』 Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
Two battles, two victories.
And two consecutive level ups, huh?
It seems the number of Karkinos we’ve defeated has yielded quite a lot of experience points.
Apnea’s AGI increased automatically upon leveling up.
Let’s choose STR as his second stat increase.
Apnea Dolphin Lv2 → Lv3 (↑1)
DEX 12
AGI 22 (↑1)
INT 14
STR 10 (↑1)
VIT 12
SPI 10
Skills
Bite Evade Semi-Aquatic Night Vision Vibration Detection Pursue
Water Attribute
Hmm.
Things are going too smoothly.
But I’ve finally discovered a flaw in our strategy.
The Under Water spell…
Apnea needs it as well.
During this last battle, there was a moment where we had to rise to the surface of the sea so that he could breathe.
Dolphins are mammals, after all.
He had been holding his breath for a long time, so I forgot about this.
He still needs air to breathe, right?
Let’s use the spell on him as well.
We’re picking up a good pace, so maybe it’s time to use Call Monster?
That thought crossed my mind, but the area around this island is full of crabs!
There are also some Greater Karkinos among them.
Considering their numbers and how they’re spread out, maybe it’s not necessary?
Well, maybe I should just defeat the monsters that appear in front of me.
Rather, I should probably avoid the Greater Karkinos and continue hunting normally.
It’s a roundabout way, but it can’t be helped.
I want to prioritize Apnea’s growth.
《Summoned Monster『Apnea』 Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
I was supposed to be avoiding Greater Karkinos, but one of those came to us.
I can’t do anything else if they come to me…
I’ll hunt them too.
Having Rig with us was really helpful.
At least that’s how it feels.
But there’s another thing.
Strand was quietly providing very good assistance.
He wrapped itself around the Greater Karkinos to block its movements.
This made it easier for us to attack it.
Apnea didn’t have to worry about counterattacks either.
Well, Strand wouldn’t be able to restrain the Greater Karkinos for too long, but it was still good enough.
Neither Nias nor I needed too much time to attack it with our spears.
Apnea’s INT increased automatically upon leveling up.
Let’s choose STR as his second stat increase.
Apnea Dolphin Lv3 → Lv4 (↑1)
DEX 12
AGI 22
INT 15 (↑1)
STR 11 (↑1)
VIT 12
SPI 10
Skills
Bite Evade Semi-Aquatic Night Vision Vibration Detection Pursue
Water Attribute
But, you know, Greater Karkinos…
Next time, leave something behind!
《Summoned Monster『Strand』 Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
Oh!
Strand leveled up as well!
Well, Strand is probably the one who has contributed the most to the battle so far.
He’s especially effective against these crabs.
Whenever he and Taylor fight each other one-on-one, they often end up unable to finish each other off.
They don’t match well in terms of causing damage to each other.
But in terms of restraining a crab’s movements, Strand’s support is highly effective.
And he can occasionally inject his poison on them as well.
Strand’s VIT increased automatically upon leveling up.
Let’s choose AGI as his second stat increase.
Strand Mizuchi Lv3→Lv4 (↑1)
DEX 10
AGI 19 (↑1)
INT 10
STR 18
VIT 27 (↑1)
SPI 10
Skills
Biting Wrap Evade Aquatic Heat Detection Conceal
Deadly Poison Water Attribute
However, there’s something strange about this island.
I tried hunting while circling the island, but there’s nothing but crabs here.
It’s all Karkinos and Greater Karkinos.
Is there nothing else in these shallow waters?
Well, either way, they do yield a lot of experience points, so it’s fine.
That’s right.
Next time Apnea levels up, let’s go a little farther into the sea.
《【Swim】Level Up!》
《Summoned Monster『Apnea』 Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》
Alright.
Things are going pretty well, huh?
Let’s take this opportunity to go farther into the open sea.
I’m getting a bit bored of fighting nothing like crabs after all.
Apnea’s AGI increased automatically upon leveling up.
Let’s choose STR as his second stat increase.
Apnea Dolphin Lv4 → Lv5 (↑1)
DEX 12
AGI 23 (↑1)
INT 15
STR 12 (↑1)
VIT 12
SPI 10
Skills
Bite Evade Underwater Mobility (New!) Semi-Aquatic Night Vision Vibration Detection
Pursue Water Attribute
What time is it?
It’s 5:20 PM.
Okay, time to leave these shallow waters.
Apnea has also learned a new Skill.
I’m looking forward to seeing it in action.
Sawshark Lv.4
Demon Enemy Target Active
Battle Position: Underwater
It’s not exactly like a real-world saw shark.
But still…
Were those this big?
Maybe it’s okay because this one’s a monster…
This monster’s attacks ended up hitting me several times.
As expected, walls don’t work as effectively underwater as I thought.
It’s similar to facing an airborne monster while on the ground.
Indeed, this one was different from those crabs.
I’m fortunate that Apnea and Nias can hold their own quite well underwater.
Otherwise, our only opportunities to attack would come exclusively through counterattacks.
Offensive spells are too inefficient underwater.
Support spells, on the other hand, pose no problem.
That’s why Apnea’s presence is invaluable.
Despite being the lowest level, he has the highest mobility underwater.
《【Dive】Level Up!》
I have to actively hunt these.
Otherwise, my only option would be catching them like one would catch fish.
I have to be careful about that.
The bottom of the water is getting dark.
Well, it’s only natural as we go deeper into the water, but…
The Flashlight spell works underwater the same as on land, so there’s no issue.
At any rate, this monster hasn’t left anything behind.
At least leave your saw behind!
Well, I guess that’s impossible.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Summoner is Going
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 Hours
Thanks for the treat.