Chapter 156: Overflowing with Power
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156: Overflowing with Power
—Boom!!
—Rumble!!
"We're in luck!"
"Are you sure about that?!"
The 3rd Stratum of the Calax Great Labyrinth is an ancient forest where prehistoric beasts and monsters coexist. It is a primordial woodland where giant trees, centuries old, soar high into the sky.
In a place where even the weeds grow as tall as a man, the size of the creatures that graze on them is extraordinary. And what of the carnivorous insects that prey on those grazers?
"A Gigantos Mantis is a rare find! Its forelegs are top-tier materials—they'll fetch a fortune!"
"Really?!"
We were currently being chased by a massive brown mantis, nearly five meters long. To be honest, I didn't think Father or the others would actually lose to it. For some reason, they started running, so I followed suit—though I wasn't running, I was flying.
The creature's forelegs were certainly impressive. It sliced through thick, ancient trees like they were nothing as it advanced. Any ordinary mammal would have been turned into a pile of mincemeat in seconds.
"Father! Are you going to kill it?!"
"I'm luring it! This way!"
I was flying in the direction Mr. Bontes's cat was fleeing, carrying Father in my arms. At one point, Father pointed in a direction away from Mr. Bontes's group, and I followed his judgment without question.
"Over there!"
"That... that tree? Is that where we're going?!"
"Yes! Lead it to cut that tree down!"
Father pointed toward a specific ancient tree. To my eyes, it didn't look any different from the others, but I flapped my wings harder and headed toward it as instructed.
—Flap!
I gained altitude, rising just out of reach of the creature's scythes. As soon as my feet touched the trunk, I fired Queen Arachne's web to anchor myself.
—Skreeeeeeee!!!!
The Gigantos Mantis let out a bone-chilling screech as it approached. It scanned the tree I was clinging to, pulled its forelegs back as far as they would go, and then swung with immense force, driving its blade diagonally into the trunk.
—Thud!
"It didn't cut through in one go...?"
"That is an Ether Tree. It's a rare specimen that doesn't grow on the surface."
"Ah, I see."
But why was he so intent on logging right now?
"Father, what do you need the wood for?"
"The core of an Ether Tree contains a very precious elixir. It's a type of sap, and selling it brings in an incredible amount of money."
"Ah..."
Right, money. He had been in the labyrinth for four months last time and hadn't worked for several months after that. Of course, the amount he brought back was substantial, and he did help with chores afterward, but still.
"By the way, where did the others go?"
—Thud!! Boom!!
The sound of the Gigantos Mantis hacking at the tree was so loud it was hard to hear him. Father reached out from my arms and pointed.
'Ah.'
The cat, now camouflaged in mottled green, was resting on a distant branch. The rest of the team was nearby as well. I didn't know the cat could change into patterns, too.
Mr. Bontes, with his bare skin painted over, looked like an old special forces character wearing olive drab camo cream.
"Whoa, it's falling."
"Let's move to the next tree."
Using Queen Arachne's web-dissolving enzyme, I detached myself and leaped to another tree. With a massive crack and a roar that shook the entire forest, the Ether Tree toppled to the ground.
"Father, what's the plan?"
"Hmm? Why don't you take a crack at it, young man?"
"Yes, sir."
I placed Father on a suitable branch. Dropping to the ground, I emitted an ultrasonic pulse toward the mantis's head. It seemed to understand the challenge and turned its gaze toward me.
In my combat form, my muscles swell to fill the inside of my exoskeleton to prevent my neck from being snapped or throttled. Because of this, I have no vocal organs and cannot speak. I'll have to think about how to fix that later.
—Whoosh!!
The Gigantos Mantis's massive foreleg swung toward me. I braced myself, sprouted Queen Arachne's legs from my back to stake myself into the ground, and raised the shield—the dwarf blacksmith's masterpiece—to block.
—Screeeech..!
'The impact is significant.'
For a monster wandering the 3rd Stratum, it was quite powerful. Its speed was manageable enough to dodge, but if I were to pit this thing against a Red Ogre Warchief...
The Warchief would barely win. The Haunted Centurion Armor, however, would likely defeat it easily. That armor is built to deflect attacks like this with ease.
—Shhh...
I instantly channeled mana into my greatsword and sliced through the junction where the creature's thorax met its abdomen. The shell was thin there; the blade sank in smoothly.
Thud—!!
The creature's massive upper body fell to the ground. It twitched for a few moments before falling still.
'It scratched the shield.'
—Ding!
"Well done! Now, let's have a look at that Ether Tree!"
Gerick hurried over to inspect the core of the fallen tree. Since Ether Trees are resistant to magic, they must be felled using 100% physical force. The Gigantos Mantis was the perfect tool for the job.
I didn't forget to store the mantis's carcass in my inventory. I could use the forelegs later or just sell them.
"Ooh, it's overflowing."
"So this is Ether Tree sap."
The five of us huddled around the severed trunk to check the core. A translucent, greenish sap sloshed in the center. Gadel used magic to produce a large bottle and began transferring it.
"What exactly does this do?"
"It's similar to killing monsters or being exposed to the labyrinth's mana. It increases the total amount of mana flowing through your body, and it can even grant you skills."
"We can't take it all! Let's have a deep drink!"
Everyone pulled out bowls, scooped up some sap, shared a quick toast, and drank. I used my old cooking pot as a ladle and scooped up a generous amount.
'It's a bit sweet.'
It was cool, slightly sweet, and had a scent similar to peppermint. This was actually quite nice.
"Ah—that's the stuff. How is it, young man? Do you like the taste?"
"Yes, it's not bad at all."
Even so, I couldn't drink a whole pot's worth. I formed a mouth at the tip of my tail and poured the rest into my stomach...
'Wait, if I do this...?'
Surprisingly, I could store it. Was the sap not considered a plant? Well, calling it a plant was a bit of a stretch. My skill only allowed for the storage of animals... but where exactly was the line drawn for what counts as an animal?
"Hmm..."
"Young man, can you drink it like that?"
"It seems to work."
"Really? Then drink it all! The more you drink, the better!"
"Are there any side effects?"
Gadel stroked his chin as he provided the answer.
"The deeper you go into the labyrinth, the stronger the monsters you encounter. Naturally, the more of them you kill, the more mana your body absorbs."
"I see."
"If you kill a boss-class entity or slaughter a large number of monsters in a short time, your body reacts."
"What kind of reaction?"
"You lose consciousness and collapse. It's because you've gained more mana than your body can handle. Your body feels overflowing with power, but your mind gets hazy and your vision blurs. We call it Mana Overload. Have you never experienced it?"
"...I think I have, once."
I remembered killing hundreds of Orc Warriors brought by the Irregular Orc Chieftain. After killing the Chieftain and eating its organs, I had met Delbaheim and then collapsed.
I had assumed my brain had just fried because I'd been fighting for so long.
"But it's fine! We're here, so it's no problem if you take a little nap!"
"Exactly! Passing out from Mana Overload because you drank Ether Tree sap? That's a good way to go!"
"Haha... I'm not quite ready to die yet."
Regardless, it sounded like a shortcut to obtaining skills, which had been stagnating lately. I decided to accept the gift.
—Splash.
I dipped the mouth at the end of my tail into the sap remaining in the Ether Tree's core and gulped it down into my stomach.
Gulp... Gulp...
I could hear the sap filling my massive stomach pouch. There was still plenty left deep inside the trunk. I continued to store the sap as I moved deeper into the hollow...
"Ugh, suddenly my head..."
My head spun instantly, and the strength left my hands.
—Splash!
Losing consciousness, I fell into the pool of sap. My last memory was of Mr. Bontes squeezing his massive frame into the hollow to reach me and hauling my sap-soaked body back up.
* * *
"Young man, are you awake?"
"Phew... Father, how long was I out...?"
"You fell asleep yesterday morning... and it's afternoon now... so it's been over twenty-four hours."
Father was perched on my stomach, chewing on a piece of jerky. Why sit on me when there was plenty of space elsewhere? He was light, so it wasn't a burden, but still.
"That long...? Where are we...?"
Looking around, it felt like a room properly built out of wood. Father and Mr. Bontes were good at hacking trees apart, but they didn't have this kind of craftsmanship.
"Is this... a base camp?"
"Yes. This is the 26th floor, the final base camp of Calax."
"I'm sorry. I've been a burden."
"No, not at all. we avoided combat on the way down, so it wasn't an inconvenience."
Since I didn't hear any creaking sounds from my joints, it seemed my skills had deactivated on their own when I lost consciousness.
'Wait, I should have put my clothes in the storage artifact.'
Fortunately, it felt like I was wearing pants.
"Any abnormalities in your body?"
"I'm not sure. I'll have to check..."
My vision was still blurry from just waking up. I squeezed my eyes shut, focused, and when I opened them again, the world came into sharp focus.
"Whoa."
"Hmm? What is it? Is something wrong?"
"No. It doesn't seem like anything's wrong, but..."
I felt like I had gained a skill. My body felt overflowing with power, suggesting my base physical stats had increased as well.
"Right, you look fine to me."
"Do I?"
Father hopped lightly off my stomach and spoke as he headed out of the small room.
"You're certainly overflowing with power. Take care of that and come out."
"Huh?"
What did he mean? I tilted my stiff neck to look down...
'Shit.'
A stake was sticking up.