Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Deep Sea Dungeon Conquest (5)
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"Don't let your guard down. There's one more."
And it looked far stronger than the one we just took down.
How did I know?
'...It's missing an arm.'
Goblins followed the law of the jungle, the classic and quintessential monsters of that type.
The weak were abandoned by the group or killed outright—it was only natural.
Yet this sea goblin shaman was already missing one arm.
'Surviving without an arm means it's strong enough even without one.'
No, it might even possess power that far surpassed the other goblins.
And as a shaman, who knew what annoying tricks it had up its sleeve.
'Should I have Sharp take it out quick.'
I manipulated Sharp through our mental link, planning to have him devour the thing in one go and wrap this up fast.
-Whoosh!
Sharp, who had been tearing into the small fry, wheeled around and charged straight at the sea goblin shaman.
But then—
-Zzzt! Zzzzt!!!
A massive headache hit me out of nowhere.
'This is... a curse!'
The sea goblin shaman was waving a crude staff pieced together from deep-sea creature bones. Damn it, a curse... Things just got complicated. The mental link meant I was reeling from the throbbing pain too, struggling to think straight. Sharp must have been in the same boat.
'I need to grab him fast.'
Sharks die if they stop swimming—that's why they even swim in their sleep. If he passed out and sank, death would come in seconds. I watched Sharp sink slowly, belly up and flipped over, then thrust my hand upward.
More precisely, toward the giant jellyfish.
The giant jellyfish carried a venom potent enough to knock out a whale, which allowed this near-brainless creature to roam the seas with impunity.
'The two longest tentacles don't release poison, so I'll use those to grab him.'
I briefly severed the mental link with the unconscious Sharp and cast [Submission] on the giant jellyfish. Fortunately, its intelligence was so low that seizing control was a breeze. Of course, it was a body that didn't do much on its own anyway...
I strained with all my might to control the giant jellyfish's tentacles. Jellyfish essentially drifted with the currents without any self-directed movement, so manipulating it was no small feat.
'Just... a bit more...!'
I wrapped one tentacle around Sharp's lower fin and another around his tail, then maneuvered the jellyfish to float upward. It was exhausting, but picking the jellyfish had been smart. The sea goblins stopped attacking Sharp because of it.
The answer was clear.
'A goblin missing an arm, who can cast not just poison but mental curses too? That one's the leader, no doubt.'
Best to eliminate it quick. But Lloyd and El were swamped, fending off the endless sea goblin horde without a break. So in the end...
'It's on me again.'
This wasn't something a simple arrow could handle. It was awkwardly tucked in a rock crevice, hard to hit with arrows, and I couldn't get close either. The sea goblins kept pouring in from gods-know-where, their numbers swelling. They weren't thinning out no matter how many we cut down—in fact, they were multiplying like we were fighting a hydra.
'And in this terrain, they're way more at home.'
As frustrating as it was, it was true. They were sea goblins, and they'd held this turf for a long time.
If that shaman was smarter than I thought, we'd be at a disadvantage soon.
'So I need to strike first.'
I glanced at the swaying seaweeds on the seafloor, then dropped to my knees. There weren't many varieties, but that was offset by seaweed's greatest strength: 'prolific growth.'
I placed both hands on the soft sandy bottom. Mana drawn from my dantian flowed through my fingertips, spreading far and wide.
'Here, have a taste of something you've never experienced.'
Give deep-sea seaweeds a sample of sunlight, wind, water, and rich soil...
-Grgrrr...
-Sprout! Shove!
-Slither! Swish!
The result was obvious. They'd grow explosively, of course.
The seaweeds shot up competitively, soon forming a full forest. And between them, goblins started dropping dead from poisoning.
We caught our breath behind the seaweed forest. Even with Lloyd's monstrous skills, holding off the relentless sea goblin waves alone was impossible. Same for El.
"Let's take a quick breather."
"......"
"Drink this beforehand."
I handed Lloyd an antidote I'd made with my totem.
"It's an antidote. The seaweed poison is pretty potent. That's why they're not pushing through."
"I see."
"Their numbers are higher than expected. And that shaman's suspicious."
"A shaman..."
"Doesn't seem ordinary. It took down an armored shark, after all."
"So we target it first?"
"No. We'd get overwhelmed by the sea goblin swarm. The shaman's for me and Roschnak. Lloyd, you and El handle the rest."
"......"
"This isn't over. Their numbers will keep growing. I have a feeling."
I pulled stamina potions from my subspace ring and gave them to El and Lloyd.
"Drink up now. The real fight starts here."
* * *
'Where the hell are they all coming from?'
The sea goblins charged the seaweed wall like maniacs. We killed them and killed them some more, but their numbers didn't seem to dwindle at all.
It wasn't an illusion.
They were literally being 'reinforced' nonstop.
I figured we'd have to grab that goblin shaman and interrogate it, but after our first strike, it was on high alert, using other sea goblins as a living shield.
Even if Lloyd and El kept mowing them down, they'd hit their limit eventually. We needed another approach.
"Roschnak."
I called quietly to Roschnak, who was hiding among the seaweeds and popping sea goblin heads with Water Arrows.
She'd cast a ton of magic but showed no signs of fatigue. Probably thanks to her mermaid bloodline and the familiar ocean environment.
Picking her up had definitely been the right call. I praised my past self inwardly and whispered to her.
"Looks like you and I need to step up."
I placed a giant buoy kelp seed on my palm and infused it with potent life force. Suppressing its urge to sprout—the shell was already cracking—I handed it to Roschnak.
"What's this?"
"We're killing the shaman with it."
Roschnak stared at me, puzzled.
"My arrows would get spotted too fast. I need your help."
"How?"
"Ride the currents with the seed. No Water Arrows—they'd notice for sure."
"Then..."
"Make a current like you're gently tugging a thin thread. Slow enough they won't detect it."
Roschnak twirled one finger. I felt a clear current swirl around me.
"Yeah, like that. But dial back the power a bit."
"Time to practice?"
I glanced at Lloyd and El slashing goblins at the seaweed wall.
"We've got a moment."
She'd learned powerful attacks in magic lessons, so fine control took time—it was natural. I watched her practice currents. Making one subtle enough to go unnoticed took a while. Just as the seaweed wall started to give, she managed a barely usable one.
"Good. That's it."
I planted the seed on the current. It bobbed along like it was about to sprout any second, weaving through the seaweeds.
"Nice work, Roschnak. Keep it up."
"Ugh... This is tough."
"Slow is fine. Just focus."
Roschnak focused on the current; I on the seed. It inched forward precariously, as if it might sink any moment, toward the goblin shaman.
The shaman lurked in a rock crevice, behind its sea goblin soldier guards, chanting nonstop. Probably a curse dulling the sea goblins' survival instincts. Otherwise, they wouldn't throw themselves onto Lloyd's blade.
Roschnak's current slowly encircled the goblin shaman. When the seeds hovered near its chest, I unleashed the pent-up life force.
-Pop!
-Bang!
-Boom!
With faint explosions, the seeds burst into air bladders, sprouting into giant buoy kelp. I quickly linked their roots. It happened in a flash. The giant buoy kelp wrapped the goblin shaman's head like a tube and began floating upward. The shaman flailed in panic, trying to poke holes with its staff, but the tough epidermis resisted the blunt weapon. Its body rose helplessly.
"Now, Roschnak! Heart shot!"
Roschnak, clearly frustrated from the finicky current control, lit up with excitement and pointed at the goblin shaman. Bubbles formed at her fingertip, then shot out with a sharp burst.
-Boom!
The formless, transparent arrow—Water Arrow—pierced the goblin shaman's body. Purple blood sprayed like fireworks. Its body shattered, and the staff dropped slowly to the bottom alongside one arm.
Precisely, the staff and one arm fell together.
"Ew..."
"Not bad, right?"
"You need to work on your power control."