The Food Factory
Ten days into my Deep Sea escape, I had set my sights on the Food Factory. Six days had passed since then.
Even though I had trained nonstop and grown stronger over those six days, I still hadn’t made it inside the first destination, the Food Warehouse.
It wasn’t because I preferred dried meat or Cyclops ham. There was another reason. A big problem. What was the problem?
(Cyclops wandering near the Food Factory, photo)
No matter how I tried to sneak in, at least three of them would always appear at once. And their coordinated attacks were too well-practiced. I couldn’t handle that. That was the issue.
NinjaScholar: Why not attack with light? Magic would make the pain less too, right?
Me: I tried that. The more of them showed up, the worse it got.
NinjaScholar: Can’t I just take them down easily? Their teamwork doesn’t let that happen?
HealingisViolence: Coordinated attacks are a whole different dimension. How much harder is it than fighting one or two?
Exactly. I was alone, but they fought as a team against me. That was one reason. Another was I couldn’t leave even if I wanted to.
More precisely, “If I leave, I can’t come back.”
About a week after I entered the Deep Sea, I tried to step outside the barrier. The jellyfish hadn’t gone out naturally, had it? Of course I thought I could too. It was an act born from the wish to keep that possibility open even if I couldn’t act. Since I couldn’t push my own body through, I followed Truth Scholar’s advice.
NinjaScholar: Tie a pebble to a thread and toss it outside once?
I had picked up pebbles around me and used them. The thread was…
Well, I had used the Cyclops’s tendons. That slimy, disgusting sensation—I didn’t want to feel it again. Anyway, I made a sling like a pebble-throwing game and threw it outside the barrier. Plop!
As I expected, the pebble flew out beyond the green barrier. It lost its light in the dark Deep Sea, but it was still there. I confirmed I could exit and pulled it back in, but…
“…Eh?”
I thought I had suddenly pulled on a huge wall. The pebble showed zero movement. I tried to yank it back by channeling mana, but…
Crack! “Aaaah!!”
The tendon snapped first. The Cyclops tendons were tough enough to pull out a titanium rock, and I still couldn’t understand it. The moment I saw Truth Scholar’s reply comment. That comment shattered my world.
NinjaScholar: That barrier must be… a one-way structure. You can’t come back in if you go out.
Tears nearly came to my eyes at the absurdity of the Deep Sea. But… what could I do? Facing the vast natural force of the Deep Sea, I was just a weak creature. So I kept training today to defy my fate.
Whish! The black blade cut through the air fiercely. Without mana poured into it, its destructive power wasn’t huge. But the swordsmanship was definitely growing. If I had moved before without power, now I could carry enough force to advance.
Following the intent of the sword, draw-sword. Whish! Continuous draw-sword like flowing water. “Huu…”
The training that once drained all my strength in the beginning was now easy for hours. The rapid growth in just days was probably thanks to my lean body. The constitution that absorbed mana several times more than others. Mana, the foundation of power, kept my stamina and strength growing just by holding it. ‘If I can’t control the flaw, I’ll die…’ While thinking that, I swung the sword again.
Changed my stance, draw-sword, pull-sword. Repeat this. Because it was such a boring broadcast, the viewers were fewer than usual…
“Huu… No. Why are so many watching?”
NinjaScholar: Wh-what? I, I don’t know.
EducationMaster: Ugh, I watched too long. There’s still so much to do…
HealingisViolence: Just train.
Something felt off about that appearance, but I decided to overlook it. Anyway, I had planned to stop training here. “Now, we’re going to the Food Factory.”
DrawSwordSensing: Today, even getting in front of the door would be good.
NinjaScholar: Keep fighting! My calculations say you can escape in about ten years!
I nearly gave up at the ten-year comment from Truth Scholar… ‘No, no! My goal right now is survival. Focus on the goal.’ I steeled my mind again and took a step. First area, Food Warehouse. Scratch. Scratch. The sound of sand underfoot echoed in my ears. And that sound soon… thud. Thud. The sound of walking on a road that still showed its grandeur even when worn out. About five minutes to the Food Warehouse. And five minutes in this city was…
Chiric. Enough time to meet the Cyclops. The Cyclops’s single eye stared at me. Even in this situation, my body didn’t tremble. I gripped the handle harder and waited for the perfect moment. When the Cyclops’s hand and nails moved. Zzzap! Ta-ta!
The Cyclops’s slash came flying sideways in an instant. I ran forward without fear at that sight. After the slash, there was a gap, but it was too narrow for the Draw-Sword Technique. So… I widened the gap. “Flame, glow!” Flare!
Green flames rose to match my words. They weren’t gentle candle flames. Chiiik! The sound of flesh burning rang out. Blood flowed from the Cyclops’s eyes as they saw the flame like the sun. Everything was now in place. The path, the mana to realize it, the goal. The sword moved. Heizen style, first form. Flash two-cut. Thud. The Cyclops stood quietly. But when my sword returned after shaking off the blood… thud. The Cyclops fell broken in two. NinjaScholar: Now it’s really easy to catch!
DrawSwordSensing: Cyclops extermination is starting to seem too easy, but what about that blue jellyfish?
HealingisViolence: Not the small ones, but the big ones? Absolutely not. Clearly, I was no longer at the bottom of the Deep Sea food chain. But there were still many shortcomings. Right now, if Cyclops gathered, it would be hard to deal with. “Soon the Food Warehouse.” I hid in the nearby alley with that in mind. Peeking my head out, I memorized the sight. The Food Factory looked like a warehouse on Earth. Square building. The only difference was how high it stood, like a tall building. Chiric. Chiric. In front of the gray sliding door, several Cyclops stood. Just the ones visible now, four. “Ha… Even today I can’t go in?” No matter how strong I got, there was no business in teamwork… I turned my steps… No, I tried to. (Private message) NinjaScholar: Don’t show off my gift. Expensive, can’t be discovered… What is this? Before I could think, a gift request came. No reason to refuse, and I really wanted to enter the Food Factory now. Cyclops ham halved my quality of life. I pressed receive without hesitation. The camera fixed briefly on the Food Factory. An unmarked black box. Opening it, I checked the item inside. “This is…” A transparent glass-like gem. The size of a fist seemed to hold a rainbow inside. “Doesn’t look ancient… Can I scan it?” Since I couldn’t guess its use just by looking, I tried the scanner once. Pulling the scanner from my waist, scanning began. - Mana refraction detected during scan. - Searching… - Search result, the following is expected. The scanner showed me three pieces of information and clicked the gem with the closest name. - Distortion Prism. - When mana is injected, light is distorted near the target to make it invisible. Can be scanned with truth-seeker tech. “Distortion Prism? No way…” I was half doubtful even from the scanner’s info. The Cyclops’s eyes would easily notice even the tiniest change while watching. And now they were focused on the Food Warehouse door. Even with light distortion, I wondered if it would really work. “Hey, let’s turn off the broadcast for a bit. Try it and if it fails, turn it back on.” First I turned off the broadcast. Truth Scholar wanted to stay hidden, so following that was right. What remained was only performance testing, but… “Ah, if it doesn’t work, I’ll use magic and run.” Even if it failed, I could escape right now. A little risk, but a worthwhile action. I held the prism as per the scanner’s info and poured mana into it. The prism’s flow met mine and the surroundings changed. “Wow…” This was… like entering a soap bubble. The rainbow shimmer around me was truly a fantastical scene. After admiring the scenery for a moment, I cleared my mind and walked toward the Food Factory. One step, one step. Slowly. That was me… Clunk. I was able to grab the handle of the Food Factory. Looking around, it seemed the Cyclops showed no abnormality. With that, creak. I entered the Food Factory. And exactly six minutes later, I regretted it. -!#!$%!@!#%$^%@#% I watched as the machine lit up with red light. I didn’t know what the word meant, but one thing was clear. It wanted to remove me. Weeeing!!! The machine’s electric saw and powerful claw hands moved.