Chapter 94
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Plant Merchant (3)
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After leaving Clara on the upper floor, I drew my sword and slowly descended, staying vigilant of my surroundings. At the same time, I activated skills that had now become second nature.
[Stealth Lv. 5], [Concealment Lv. 5]
'Gotta thank Hiss for this.'
Thanks to Hiss's that 'nursing(?)' routine, activating [Lust Absorption] had pushed [Stealth] to Lv. 5. And now, with [Concealment] also at Lv. 5, it bolstered the [Stealth] skill seamlessly.
The change at Lv. 5 for [Stealth] was straightforward.
-Ssshh...shh........h....
The faint scrape of my shoes against the ground vanished. Even the rustle of my clothes disappeared. And the subtle mana leakage from keeping the skill active faded away.
Meanwhile, the mana drain from maintaining [Sensory Block] increased just a bit more.
'Consuming mana to enhance [Stealth]...'
On top of that, it even masked the mana signature used to power the skill. Now, unless someone had extraordinarily sharp senses, it would be impossible to pinpoint me relying solely on instinct—no skill assistance needed.
Like that, I crept forward silently with the skills active, minimizing my presence. Then, something intensely pungent tickled my nose.
"...This smell..."
The odor grew stronger, forcing me to grimace.
The poison mixed in with the aroma didn't bother me. I had [Poison Resistance], after all. The problem was that amid the scents and toxic vibes, I recognized some familiar culprits.
"...Not just one or two. Narcotic plants... aphrodisiac ingredients... and straight-up deadly poisons..."
While training [Poison Resistance] and [Venom Arts], I'd gathered toxins from various sources. The most common way was extracting poison glands from venomous monsters, or harvesting toxic herbs directly from the Labyrinth.
But those methods had limits, so I'd tried buying some outright...
"...Sniff sniff... Aren't these all illegal plants?"
Definitely. When I'd tried purchasing poisons before, certain plants couldn't be traded legally without proper credentials. And the scents of those illicit toxic herbs wafted from everywhere down here.
"...Poisons aside, this is..."
Poisons made sense. The guy who'd attacked me upstairs used them, and they were common in the underworld. The real issue was...
"...Crazy. Is the entire basement laced with hallucination magic?"
Just before entering the basement, I'd used [Sensory Block]. To conserve mana in the passage, I'd briefly dropped it—only to see the landscape warp into something alien. I'd hastily reactivated it and kept it up ever since.
In all my time as an adventurer, I'd rarely encountered foes using hallucinations. At best, goblin shamans with their crude spells.
But this...
'The space down here is bigger than I thought. If one person cast hallucinations over this whole area...'
Tension locked my body. If my hunch was right, whatever awaited in this basement was beyond what I could handle.
I wanted to turn tail right now...
'...Too late. If the same person set up the barrier on the first floor, they noticed us the moment we triggered it.'
Right now, assassinating the target with [Stealth] offered my slimmest chance.
[Seed Storage Room]
'...Seeds?'
Creeping silently down the dark corridor, I spotted a door labeled 'Seed Storage Room' on one side. I approached and tugged the handle, but it was locked.
'...[Lockpicking] skill? Nah, wait. Will it work here?'
I reached for my lockpicks in my inventory but hesitated—worried about noise during the process. Instead, I pulled out a portal ring.
'Didn't work on the shop's outer wall earlier, but here...'
With a sliver of hope, I infused it with mana and pressed it to the door. The ring expanded, forming a hole big enough for me to slip through.
'Yes!'
Thrilled without a sound, I cautiously passed through into the room. And...
'...What a sight. So many? Let's see, labels on them. 'Chrisla's Serpent'? No idea... 'Muchalini Tongue'? That's the poison causing taste distortion, right? That one's lethal to kids, instant death. And that's 'Mayak Hadog', illegal just for possession?'
Some plants I'd never heard of, but others I'd encountered or at least knew by name. The warehouse brimmed with their seeds. And most of the familiar ones were banned from trade or cultivation—straight-up illegal.
'...Dealing in illicit plants? But stored as seeds... Or maybe a grow site.'
While scouting the seed storage, I pocketed a few into my inventory. Looking closer, mixed in with the illegals were some pricey legit ones too.
...Ahem. Just collecting evidence... Whatever, no one'll know if I don't use them on others. Most'll go to me anyway. Hard to get stuff like this. Lilian covers ingredients usable in cooking, but still.
I stashed a decent variety of seeds, scanned the room a bit more, then slipped back out via portal ring. Pretty good haul.
-......Thud...
'Someone's coming!'
The moment I exited, footsteps echoed. I urgently kicked off the ground, leaping to cling to the ceiling. Amazed no sound came from the motion, I drew my sword, held my breath, and watched the direction of the steps.
-Thud. Thud.
The footsteps drew nearer, and soon a figure emerged from the dark corridor ahead.
'A woman? And... those horns. Demonkin?'
From the shadows stepped a woman with dark purple hair and pale skin—nothing like Vivian's vibe.
Horns like a demonkin's hallmark crowned her head. A mage, apparently; a staff floated beside her as she approached slowly.
'...Not normal, hanging out here. Ambush when she's close.'
She seemed headed straight for the room I'd just left. I held my breath, waiting for her to get within range.
-Thud. Thud.
Ten paces... Seven... Five... Three...
'Now!'
"Hm?"
[Assassination], [Limit Break]
In an instant, skills like [Assassination] and [Limit Break] fired up. My sword plunged vertically with menacing force.
I'd have loved to unleash a mana slash, but even with my advanced [Stealth], that much mana flow couldn't be hidden. So I went for the deadliest strike possible within limits.
-Clang!
"Guh?"
"Tch?! What the—?"
The instant my sword arced toward her crown, a translucent barrier sprang up between us. Something shattered with a crack, and my blade bounced off.
'...!Failed!'
"Intruder?"
This moment of her slight fluster was my chance.
"Haaah!"
My right arm, still swollen from ongoing [Limit Break], shimmered with haze that condensed on the blade. It morphed into a crescent slash hurtling at the demonkin woman.
"Aura?"
Regaining composure swiftly, she grabbed her floating staff and swung. Runes etched on it glowed, mana coalesced in the air, blocking my slash head-on.
-Kagagang!
Mana clashed against mana, emitting an eerie ring before shattering apart.
"What? Thought it was a priest or temple knight with the barrier triggering... Some weirdo instead..."
Ignoring her muttering in flustered tones, I gathered mana for another slash. But a weird pain stabbed through my mana circuits, mana refusing to flow properly.
'Can't chain them, huh?'
I'd barely practiced this technique, so I hadn't known.
No choice. Dropping the slash, I trusted my [Limit Break]-enhanced physical prowess, gripped my sword, and charged the demonkin woman.
"Fine, whatever. Don't know what you are, but I was short on fertilizer anyway."
By then, she'd calmed, seized her airborne staff, and murmured an incomprehensible tongue.
"σκοτάδι!"
⟨ Darkness ⟩
The moment the demonkin woman chanted, a black energy unlike before billowed from her staff, surging straight at me.
"Guh!"
I twisted mid-charge, sharply veering aside—but this was a narrow corridor. Dodging had limits.
-Shhkk!
I contorted as much as possible, but the black ray clipped me anyway.
The underworld figure commonly known by the moniker 'Plant Merchant,' Mystic, eyed the man who'd intruded into her garden.
Outwardly, a plain human male. His gear and that aura slash suggested a swordsman of decent skill.
Plus, stealth so flawless she hadn't noticed until her robe's auto-defense triggered.
She'd set a barrier to detect holy power, expecting a priest or temple knight. Instead, some rogue-warrior hybrid showed up.
'How'd he get in?'
Priests could've purified through poison and illusions with holy power. That's why the holy-detection barrier. Yet this guy, utterly devoid of holy power, had strolled right into her garden undetected. Baffling.
And he'd aimed precisely for her head... Despite her constant illusion masking her form and position.
"...Doesn't matter. I already landed the spell..."
She didn't know how he'd pierced her illusion, but no way he'd tank a direct hit from her magic. It was her pride, the pinnacle of her craft. That aura suggested a barely-20th-floor adventurer at best—no surviving her spell.
'A straight hit would even faze advanced adventurers briefly...'
-Slash!
"Kyaaak!"
Mystic, brimming with absolute confidence in her magic, approached leisurely through the spreading mist—only for a blade from within to slash her, sending her tumbling.
"Wha... what?"
Auto-defense had already triggered once, so no second activation made sense. But...
"H-how? He should be lost in the hallucination... Just wild swinging? B-but he should've lost consciousness too..."
"Hey."
A man's voice, laced with equal bewilderment, rang in Mystic's ears as she scrambled to assess.
As the mist cleared, a man who clearly wasn't hallucinating blinked in confusion and asked her,
"What did you do?"
His tone implying he had no clue what had just happened to him.