Mangrove Island

As the morning sunlight pierced the water mist, the shape that had been hidden beneath a mysterious veil was revealed.

A place where intricately tangled trees cast their roots over the water's surface, trapping the soil to form an island.

Malton looked around the root-covered island and spoke. "Do you intend to shake off the Kokokura pack's pursuit here?"

"Yeah. They'll pursue us relentlessly. But the water is shallow here, making it hard for them to swim quickly, and we won't be easily spotted thanks to the mangrove colony."

The Kokokura tribe's raids would surely continue. We had managed to survive for now, but we couldn't handle their ever-growing numbers and increasingly violent onslaughts forever.

If dozens of them banded together and rammed our raft, we would be wiped out instantly. Therefore, the safest way to bypass the Kokokura tribe's overwhelming numbers wasn't to stop them by force, but to delay their pursuit as much as possible. And this island was the perfect place to tie them down.

"However... the waterways here are exceedingly complex," Malton remarked. "The streams, twisted and deformed by the mangroves, are intricately tangled like river tributaries. If one takes a wrong turn in a place like this, escaping won't be easy."

"Exactly."

"...Do you have an alternative? Knowing you, you must have prepared a countermeasure."

"Of course."

This place was like a natural maze. Countless streams diverged and changed due to unpredictable variables. Furthermore, since it had just poured, new waterholes might have formed, or collapsed banks could have blocked the paths. No matter how thoroughly I had memorized the dungeon's geography, it was impossible to recall and calculate every single change. Therefore, we needed a 'guide.'

"A guide?"

"Yeah. See that red creature over there?"

Where I pointed, a tiny creature was swimming beneath the surface. Just as Malton and Radie curiously tried to approach, the red figure kicked up a cloud of silt and darted away.

"That is..."

"It's called a Red Sand Crayfish."

"Ho... Is it a native species?"

"Yeah. Those crayfish usually nest outside this mangrove swamp, but they come inside the island to forage. The slow current here makes it rich in organic matter, making food easy to find."

"Which means... if we follow a crayfish that has filled its belly and is heading back home, we can escape this place," Radie deduced.

"Bingo."

In truth, that crayfish was just an ordinary creature, not a monster, but in Velheim, utilizing these environmental elements could yield massive benefits.

"But that crayfish is too fast. Capturing it alive seems out of the question."

"Right. That's why we need bait to keep it close."

"Bait?"

As Radie tilted her head, I smirked and tossed a Kokokura hind leg I had saved earlier. Splash! As the blood spread, all sorts of aquatic creatures swarmed from all directions. After waiting patiently for a moment, a single Red Sand Crayfish cautiously nibbled at the flesh, then flicked its tail and swam off in the opposite direction.

"Follow it, everyone! Don't let it out of your sight!"

"Y-you heard him! Everyone, follow that red crayfish!"

As we hurriedly gave chase, an impromptu pursuit broke out in the quiet swamp. It was right around the time we had followed the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Red Sand Crayfish deep into the heart of the island.

"Huh...?" Radie suddenly twitched her nose, her expression twisting subtly.

"What is it?"

"No... I think a strange smell just carried over on the wind..."

"What kind of smell? Flowers? Fruit?"

"No, nothing like that... It's a highly unpleasant smell." Radie furrowed her brow, then whipped around to face me. "It smells similar to when Doran-nim returned from the dungeon and came straight to my spot without washing..."

"..."

So it's just a stench. I glared at Radie grumpily before addressing the guild members. "Listen up, everyone. It seems there's a pack of monsters ahead, so stay alert."

"Monsters? Don't tell me those frog monsters chased us all the way here...! Everyone, draw your weapons!"

"You heard him! Protect the raft!"

The guild members gripped their weapons, bracing for combat. As we watched the reeds and aquatic plants rustling in the wind with wary eyes, a sharp tension hung over the raft. Just as we rowed onto a wide sandbar—

Suddenly, an unexpected shout erupted, and at least twenty grimy, soot-covered men came running toward us in a frantic rush.

"Whoaaaaa!"

"People! Real people! We're saved!"

"C-can we finally escape this place?!"

Radie peeked over her crossbow sights and muttered, "Freshwater ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pirates...?"

"No, they are..."

I gently pressed down on her crossbow and sighed.

Just as I thought... They were all gathered here.

I had been certain that if the missing adventurers were still alive, they would have taken refuge here. Though I hadn't expected this many.

Seeing the adventurers' wretched appearance, a guild member let out a sigh of relief and lowered his weapon.

"Whew, what a scare... I thought they were mobs."

"Are they adventurers who got stranded trying to cross the swamp? W-what should we do, Doran-ssi?"

As the guild members hesitated, looking back and forth between the departing crayfish and the adventurers, I conflicted for a moment. I had no obligation to help them. However...

...This complicates things.

Their presence here meant they had already been attacked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and driven back by the Kokokura pack multiple times. Indeed, the men groaning from infected wounds that looked like they were cut by scrap metal proved as much. If that was the case, the moment we stepped out of the mangrove swamp, we would face a Kokokura army that was already thoroughly riled up.

At least dozens... no, maybe even hundreds of them...

The Kokokura's numbers swelled exponentially the more we fought them off. Leaving these people behind meant our small group of guild members would have to face the monster army alone. I needed to readjust my plan.

"...People come first. Let's halt for a moment."

"T-they're coming this way!"

"Please, give us some food! We haven't seen proper food in days!"

"...Hold on. I understand you're desperate, but do not approach any closer than necessary. And for our safety, I ask that you disarm completely."

After anchoring the raft, I pointed my sword, causing the approaching adventurers to halt and back away. Adventurers encountered in a dungeon could turn into bandits at any moment. Once I confirmed they weren't going to attack, I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out bread and jerky. The guild members approached and asked:

"Doran-ssi, do you plan on sharing our food with them?"

"...We have no choice. If we don't help, they'll surely die. We happen to have the rations we received from the merchants before leaving the swamp... If we just ignore them and leave, we won't be able to sleep easy, will we?"

In truth, my plan was to restore their strength just enough to use them as meat shields and extra combat power, but since I had decided to help, it was better to wrap it in goodwill. Wearing the most benevolent smile I could muster, I handed over the food. The starving adventurers wept, bowing their heads repeatedly.

...Wait.

"What?"

I froze, staring at the glowing text in the log window. Thinking I had misread it, I checked again, but it remained unchanged.

A hidden stat...

In Velheim, there were only four main stats: Strength, Agility, Luck, and Intelligence. While there were sub-attributes like Insight, Charisma, Dexterity, and Piety, their direct impact on combat was relatively minor.

And then, there were 'Hidden Stats.'

While some hidden stats were negative, like Sloth or Fastidiousness, there were others that acted like joker cards, unleashing devastatingly powerful effects. For example...

And other stats with insane, cosmic-horror-level effects!

This was the very reason I had actively recruited Malton as a companion, calling him an S-rank talent. In every playthrough, he had been decked out with things like that.

Though he was currently weakened by the aftereffects of his curse, he likely still kept a few hidden stats up his sleeve as trump cards. But for a hidden stat to appear for me in this situation...

Instead of joy, however, a sharp alarm was ringing in my head.

What on earth is '■■'...?

No such blacked-out entry existed in my memory. Could that even be considered text in the first place? And I felt like I had seen something like this before...

"...I remember now."

I had definitely witnessed something similar right after using the Jewel of Andira, an artifact of the evil god of death. At the time, I was too distracted by the pain, and when I checked again later, the log window had been completely wiped, making me think I had hallucinated it...

It wasn't an illusion.

As expected, there was still some system in this world that I didn't know about. Seeing as it appeared when I showed goodwill to the adventurers, it didn't seem to be a negative stat, but...

As I pondered, eyes gleaming beneath my hood, I sensed a presence and turned to find Radie and Malton standing beside me.

"Doran-nim, do you plan on taking those people out of here with us?" Radie asked. "If we split them across the rafts, we might just barely fit everyone..."

"Yeah. Right now, we need every bit of combat power we can get."

"Combat power... Do you intend to break straight through the Kokokura tribe?" Malton asked.

"Yes. The moment we leave this place, a massive army will pour in. A clash is unavoidable. Though we'll have to see for ourselves just how large their numbers are..."

As I stepped onto the raft with a serious expression, Radie and Malton stared at me in wonder.

Leaving Malton behind on the sandbar in case the adventurers attempted a mutiny, I headed beyond the swamp with Radie. As we navigated the maze-like, winding mangrove swamp following the red crayfish, Radie spoke up while keeping a watchful eye on our surroundings.

"Wait, the smell of the water has changed. And there's a strange stench..."

"A fishy frog smell, right?"

She nodded.

I quietly set down the oar.

The movements of the Red Sand Crayfish we were following had also slowed down noticeably. Realizing the end of the mangrove swamp was near, we suppressed our presence. Soon, the view previously blocked by tree roots opened up, revealing a misty lake.

Sure enough, countless Kokokura warriors were squirming there.

Those adventurers... they really stirred up a hornet's nest.

I had expected as much from the severity of their wounds, but...

Beholding the monster army, Radie let out a soft groan and bit her lip.

"Dammit... I've never seen so many monsters gathered in one place... Is it even possible to break through that?"

"...Breaking through without any casualties is impossible. There will definitely be sacrifices."

"Is there any way to minimize the damage? Frogs are nocturnal, so if we slip away during the day..."

"That would actually be more dangerous. Besides, frogs aren't strictly nocturnal."

Because the Kokokura were ectothermic, their activity levels varied greatly depending on the external temperature. When the sun rose, their body temperature would increase, meaning their muscle and nerve response times would sharpen.

However...

"U-uh... Aren't those Kokokura a bit strange?"

"In what way?"

"Well, they seem to be glittering a bit... and they look much larger. There's a subtle oddness to their silhouettes..."

Radie sniffed the sudden breeze, her brow furrowing with growing certainty.

"The smell... the smell is different."

"Different how?"

"When we met that Kokokura pack before, there was a sickening stench of iron, right? Wafting from their scrap-metal weapons..."

"Yeah, there was."

Since iron oxide produces aldehyde molecules when it comes into contact with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skin oils.

"...But there is absolutely no smell of iron coming from that army. Even though there are so many of them swarming together."

"What does that mean?"

"It means their equipment has changed from scrap metal to some other material..."

It was then—

The sunlight, previously obscured by the clouds, poured down to illuminate the dungeon, clearing the thick mist over the lake.

And we bore witness.

To the hundreds, thousands of the Kokokura army stretching endlessly along the horizon.

And the ominous armaments tightly covering every single one of their bodies.

Each piece of gear was a decisive-battle-grade weapon, worth the price of a mansion with a garden, or even a small fortress.

"...What?"

Something was going seriously, terribly wrong.