Chapter 277: 44th Floor: Escape
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 277: 44th Floor: Escape
“Wait, you could talk this whole time? Why didn't you?”
[How dare you, intruder!!! Be grateful I haven't drowned you and your comrades already!!!]
“Oh? So that’s how you want to play this?”
I ignored the creature and reached out for the Giro.
It was the size of my fist, a perfect octahedron with countless tiny triangles packed inside.
Wow… this fist-sized thing weighs over 100kg? That’s incredible.
A mineral that could only be formed in an extremely high-pressure environment. I’d heard it was difficult to find because its crystalline structure would break down the moment the pressure was released.
The key to mining Giro was to retrieve it while maintaining that pressure.
And as I wrapped my hand around the ore…
[Kraaaaaaah!! W-wait!! Stop that at once!! What are you touching?!]
It shrieked, thrashing wildly.
The sonic shockwave alone would have killed a normal human, but I was unfazed.
Is this… kind of like a man’s balls…?
Its reaction was making me feel a little strange.
As I gently caressed it with my hand…
[Uoooooooh!!! D-didn’t I tell you to stop?! You bitch!!!!]
“Huhu… What can you do about it? What can you do if I just… eat this?”
I opened my mouth wide in a mock gesture of eating it.
[S-stop! Please, just stop… Let’s negotiate! Let’s negotiate! What is it you want?]
Like someone with their balls in a vice, it couldn’t move and immediately bowed its head. The colossal, earth-shaking voice had also shrunk considerably.
“Hehe… Alright, first, what happens to you if I break this?”
[W-well…]
I pretended to tighten my grip…
[Kraaaaaak! Wait! I’ll talk. I’ll tell you everything!]
It immediately started spilling its guts.
To make a long story short, without this, the creature would die.
Not instantly, but slowly… over a long period, it would lose its consciousness, becoming like an old man with dementia before finally perishing.
If I had to make an analogy, it was like the heart that supplied blood to the brain.
It would have a little time, but death was still inevitable.
[Yes, I will eventually disappear, but I can still kill you on my way out. You’d better think carefully.]
What should I do with this…
I needed this to clear the trial.
But the moment I took it by force, it would become a fight to the death.
I was confident I could survive, but the marine platform would be destroyed and everyone on it would die, causing me to fail the trial.
So… I’m sorry, but I have to make a choice. No, honestly, I’m not that sorry.
My heart wasn’t soft enough to feel pity for some colonial sea creature I’d just met.
Besides, during my first run, hadn’t this thing ambushed our marine platform when I wasn’t around? Thinking back, the bizarre tentacles it used looked similar to ones formed from water jets and various debris.
I feel no guilt about deceiving it!
“Then it shouldn’t be a problem if it’s gone for a little while, right? Just let me borrow it for a bit.”
[W-what are you talking about! Asking to borrow it… you bitch! Do you take me for a fool?]
“I just want to study it. Research. Don’t worry. I’ll use it well and give it back, okay? It’s fine, it’s fine.”
[…]
A heavy silence fell.
I could feel it weighing its options.
I continued to idly roll the Giro ore in my hand, applying silent pressure. Still, there was no answer.
Tired of waiting, I made my final threat.
“If this doesn’t work, I’ll just take this and bolt.”
As I said that, I placed the item into my inventory. The Giro vanished with a pop!, and my surroundings were plunged into complete darkness.
[!!!!]
I could feel the creature’s panic.
“You’re not in a position to negotiate. I can just take this, like so!”
I took it out again, then popped it right back into my inventory.
“See? I can do whatever I want with it. I could just take it and fly off into space.”
I couldn’t actually go to space, but a little bluff was necessary for a successful negotiation, wasn't it?
Hmph, I bet those viewers who called me an idiot are surprised right now. See? I can pull off stuff like this too!
As a triumphant smile spread across my face, I could feel the creature’s despair.
[I understand… Please, just use it well and return it.]
“Good. Now, let’s not get in each other’s way. I’ll put it back where it was when the time comes and be on my way~”
Feeling the resignation in its emotions, the guilt that hadn’t been there before began to sprout, but it couldn’t be helped. I had to survive, didn’t I?
Is this how I clear this trial? This wasn’t really using my head… it was basically another breakthrough with pure physical power.
*
A short while later…
“Puha!”
“Ido! What in the world happened?”
“We thought you were dead!!!”
“Hahaha!!! Well, everyone, I’ve brought the Giro!!!”
“Huh? Wait, that thing will disintegrate if it comes within ten kilometers of the surface!”
Rodmill’s face went pale, but I just grinned.
“Of course I kept it safe! Where does it go?”
Items stored in the inventory maintain their state perfectly, as if frozen in time.
Somehow, we managed to successfully place the Giro ore into the high-pressure refining tank.
Gulp…
“……It’s done. Now, we just have to activate the refining plant and it’s over. We… we did it!!!!”
The usually stoic Rodmill broke into a brilliant smile and threw his arms up in the air.
“We did it, you bastards! An amount like this is legendary… Our work will make news across the entire universe.”
“Thank you, Ido. We’re rich now!! Time to retire and live the rest of my life as a bum!”
The crew hugged me, overjoyed.
“[Alright then. Guess we can start cleaning up the ship.]”
“[Hurry up and get back here. I think my front tooth got knocked out, so I need to see a doctor.]”
The crew on the spaceship was the same. Though their words were nonchalant, their faces were lit up with wide smiles.
Fergus’s toothless grin, in particular, sent all the crew members into a fit of laughter, bringing a joyful end to our mission.
But it wasn’t over yet.
I pulled Rodmill aside to tell him what had happened below.
“Captain, there’s something I haven’t told you.”
I explained the deal I’d made with the hive-mind sea(?) I’d met and told him we had to flee the instant the refining process was complete.
“Is… that possible?”
“More than possible. This platform was designed for that very purpose.”
“It was?”
I had no idea what he meant, but he explained that the marine platform could use the massive energy released from refining the Giro to rejoin our main spaceship. It had been designed that way from the start.
Wow… future technology is no joke…
“But we’ll need to buy some time…”
After a short period of preparation, the long-awaited Giro refining process began.
Everyone was in their spacesuits, and all the equipment had been recovered.
“Alright, flight mode… on. Refining begins in three minutes. Everyone check if you’ve forgotten anything. Leave a will, just in case.”
“Is the hole I made in the outer wall going to be okay?”
“A shield will go up anyway. It might look a little ugly, but it’ll be fine. But why didn’t you repair it?”
“Ah… hehe…”
“Pfft, it’s fine. If we get back safely, I’ll write you a really good performance review. I hear your boss is a real hard-ass, right?”
“Oh, thank you so much!”
The atmosphere before our departure was excellent and full of warmth.
Everyone was busy thinking about what they would do with the extra income from this project.
With that much Giro, they said, we’d have more money than we could spend in a lifetime, even if we lived like royalty.
“I’m just… going to live a comfortable life from now on. Get married, start a family…”
Mickey had decided to move to a quiet resort planet where the rich lived in safety.
Our captain, Rodmill, said he was going to establish a university in his name. He had once been a renowned professor of planetary geology, though he’d been fired for one reason or another.
Ludger was in the bathroom, so we didn’t get to hear his plans.
“That damn shithead. In the bathroom at a time like this!”
Fergus said he was going to get super-powerful super soldier modification surgery. It seemed he was still furious about getting beaten up by the pirates.
“Ido, you… got any plans?”
“I’m still just a contractor. The best thing for me is for you all to leave good reviews.”
“In that case… if I pay enough, could I hire you as my bodyguard?” Mickey asked with a playful smile.
“That too… might be possible if you have enough money, right?”
“Hahaha! Really? Well, let’s meet again if we get the chance. I honestly thought all super soldiers were emotionless killing machines, but you’re so human and nice. Maybe it’s because you’re the latest model.”
After that lighthearted conversation, the marine platform finished its departure preparations.
Thick steel plates rose up to encase the internal facilities, transforming it into the shape of a sunflower seed.
Just before the last door closed, I finished my own preparations to leave.
“Alright, it’s starting. Ido… I’m counting on you for this last part.”
Rodmill, who knew the whole truth, bowed his head to me.
His eyes were filled with apology.
“Yeah, don’t come back for me just because you’ve grown attached. Just go.”
“……Right. I hope we can see each other again.”
My goal was to get these people away safely.
If I was alone, I was confident I wouldn’t die. Even if I had to fight the entire ocean of this planet, I might not be able to win, but I was sure I wouldn’t lose.
Thud.
As I stepped outside and clung to the wall, the entire marine platform began to tremble. The Giro refining had begun, generating a massive amount of energy.
VROOOOOOOOM—!!!
The rough, mechanical roar of the plant filled the air.
Soon, the fist-sized, 100kg chunk of Giro ore would be refined into several thousand liters of Giro gas and sold for an exorbitant price.
And all the energy generated during the refining process would be used as fuel.
Intense heat erupted from beneath the marine platform, lifting it into the air.
The seawater was blasted away, and it shook from the initial shock, but the engine ignition was a success.
And at that moment…
It roared.
The ocean… roared!
WUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!!!
A sound like a colossal ship’s horn echoed out, and the sea level surged dramatically, chasing after the rising marine platform!
[You bitch!! You tricked me!!!!!!]
The thunderous voice shook the very atmosphere. I hoped our crew’s eardrums were okay.
Right, I knew this would happen.
The final gate of this trial.
I had to stop the rampaging ocean of a planet!
“I’ll stop you.”
[Meteor Spear Fall]
KRA-KOOOOOM!!!
With a violent explosion, the swelling water scattered.
But it only bought me a moment.
An incredible mass of water began to rise as one!
“Hey, are you still trying to fight me with water?”
I started to fall, intending to absorb the water, but…
K-k-k-k-k-k-k-k…!!
In an instant, the water froze over a vast area!
[I’ve figured out your abilities! Did you think I would let you walk all over me forever?!]
“Tch!”
I quickly swung my spear, shattering the ice.
The creature couldn’t manipulate the ice as freely as it could water, but with the water pushing the ice up from below, it formed a single, massive mountain of ice that charged toward our marine platform.
A colossal ice mountain, easily several kilometers wide… was flying at us!
An attack of overwhelming mass.
The only way to block a mass attack is with an equal mass attack.
“You keep humiliating me!”
I can’t believe I have to use this skill in a real fight…
The ultimate skill of the Divine series!
[Sacred Form Descent]
From the sky… giant onaholes began to fall.
Hundreds-of-meters-tall, fuckable-looking pink onaholes, burning from atmospheric friction, came crashing down.
KWAGAGAGAGANG!!!!
The ice was crushed and shattered under colossal asses, and explosions rang out from all directions.
If it weren't for the fact that they were onaholes, the sight of such massive objects colliding and laying waste to everything could have been mistaken for the end of the world.
To avoid getting caught in my own skill, I leaped high off the ice mountain and watched the spectacle unfold.
This is… fucking strong, isn’t it?
A divine skill unleashed by the near-demigod power of Do-hee.
Its might was truly magnificent, enough to wipe a large city off the map.
Steam and ice fragments flew everywhere from the shockwaves.
And a moment later, when the steam cleared, what stood there was…
[Did you think you could defeat me with something like this?!]
Still-massive, no… even larger ice mountain ranges.
Ice ranges so vast and majestic it was hard to take them all in rose up.
Water jets shot into the sky from between the ranges like tentacles, and awl-sharp shards of ice rained down on our marine platform.
CHAAAAENG!!!
I used a foothold to fly forward, swinging my spear to barely deflect the ice aimed at the platform.
Damn it… this bastard is no joke.
Nature was magnificent.
The sheer mass of a planet’s ocean had overcome even my ultimate divine magic.
And… it was evolving.
Until now, it had never had a reason to fight, so it could only crush things with water. But now, it was freely mixing water and ice.
“Dammit, why is it so slow!”
Perhaps because it was still in the atmosphere, the marine platform was flying as slowly as an airplane.
The water, shaped like a fist, grabbed a huge chunk of ice and threw it.
Its target wasn’t me, but the destruction of the marine platform!
I flew through the air on my footholds, deflecting all the incoming ice chunks.
But while I was busy dealing with these minor attacks, a giant ice mountain range, nearly the size of the Japanese archipelago, closed in.
No, I couldn’t even grasp how big it was.
Below me… the entire space was rising.
All the oceans of the planet itself were coming to grab us.
“Hosu! Block it!”
The Pig Mage Hosu was summoned and immediately cast a powerful flame spell.
[Fire Rain]
A rain of scorching fire that seemed capable of melting the entire world fell from the sky.
Just before the marine platform was overwhelmed, he succeeded in melting a portion of the ice mountain.
That’s right.
He only melted a tiny fraction of it.
Perhaps I had underestimated nature.
The endless ocean spread out below me, and the ice mountain ranges kept coming.
The colossal mass approached as if it were twisting the very laws of gravity.
“Ha, have you ever seen such a mindless brute!”
I desperately intercepted the flying ice chunks with my spear and Holy Arrows, but they just kept coming, more and more…
Still, there was hope.
I just have to hold on a little longer.
The marine platform was slowly gaining acceleration and climbing higher.
The creature wouldn't be able to follow past a certain altitude.
[Where do you think you’re going?!]
“Shut up and get back down there!!”
I threw my spear, deflecting incoming attacks.
I created footholds between the marine platform and the ice ranges, moving rapidly to block the assault.
Hosu also intercepted the flying ice and managed to melt an entire ice mountain with his powerful flame magic.
But it still wasn’t enough.
“Hoo… Just come out, all of you!”
Getting caught using them wouldn’t cause me to fail the trial anyway.
Neri, Bicorn, the Pukteu Tribe warriors and mages, and the giant monsters joined the fray.
I even re-summoned Kkwiut-kkyu, sticking it to the wall of the marine platform to bat away incoming ice.
A chaotic battle ensued.
A desperate, bloody struggle to hold back a massive natural disaster with human strength.
At first, it seemed like we were pushing it back, but the creature was learning.
CRACK!
A giant ice spear pierced through my summons.
Some of the Pukteu Tribe warriors and giant monsters were forcibly unsummoned. Most were trapped in ice, then instantly covered by water, isolated within an incredibly thick wall of ice and dragged beneath the waves.
“Just hold on a little longer, you bastards!”
I even cast buffs, but it wasn’t easy.
One by one, the Sacred Beasts were trapped in ice, and my surroundings were also becoming encased.
But this had bought more than enough time.
The marine platform was rapidly pulling away.
It seemed to have finally gained proper acceleration, as I could see it flying far into the distance.
This was… my victory!
“It’s over now. Give up!”
But the creature did not give up.
All that remained was hatred. Rage. Despair.
I could feel its immense fury.
[At least you… I’ll at least devour you!!]
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!!!
In an instant, I was completely surrounded by massive ice.
“Ha, you think something like this will work?”
Ice pressed in on me from all sides.
My arms and legs were caught, but there was no way something like this could break through my defense… huh?
Puk!
“Oooook!?”
It broke through!
Of all places, my pussy got pierced!
Wait, I’m so fuck…
Fwuk fwuk fwuk fwuk fwuk!!!
The ice began to thrust rapidly inside my pussy.
[So this was your weak spot!!!]
“W-wait… Hwek!! Nghik!!”
The creature’s goal wasn’t sex.
It was a thrust filled with killing intent.
A fist made of water gripped a chunk of ice and stabbed at me, trying to kill me!
It was trying to shove ice not only into my pussy but also my anus and mouth—any hole it could find.
I’m really fucked, aren’t I…?
Even in this situation, my cervix was being mindlessly pressed, causing my muscles to go limp and relax.
The moment I recognized the danger of the situation…
KABOOOOOOOM!!!!
A massive explosion sent my body flying.
Huh?
My head rang from the powerful shockwave.
I lost consciousness for a moment, and when I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was…
Our platform’s emergency escape shuttle.
It was the same shuttle I’d ridden in during the space pirate incident.
And just as I was falling, the top of the shuttle opened.
Inside was Ludger, wearing sunglasses and grinning.
“Hey, I’m here to save you!”
“You crazy… I told you to just go… Nghet!”
“Aargh! Hey, get off!! I can’t see!!”
My ass landed squarely on his face, but thankfully, it was a soft and squishy part, so his neck didn’t snap.
He closed the hatch, changed direction, and began to fly upward.
“Hey, Ido! G-get this off me!”
“Hwe-ek… I can’t… move either…”
My position was absurd: my ass was planted on his face, and I had fallen backward with my legs spread, presenting my rear right in front of him.
The cockpit was cramped.
Our bodies were pressed tightly together in a strange pose where my ass was served up right in front of his mouth.
With my ass taking up more than half of his vision, Ludger’s eyes darted around in a panic.
To make matters worse, my pussy and asshole were torn from the ice, leaving them exposed for all to see.
“Kugh, wait, this is…”
But there was no time to admire Do-hee’s plump pussy and ass. The water and ice were chasing us.
KWADADADADADADEUK!!!
“Aaaaaaaah!! Ido! Do something!”
“I can’t do anything right now…”
A massive bridge of ice formed in the air, pursuing our small shuttle.
[WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING!!!!!]
He executed evasive maneuvers, narrowly dodging the incoming chunks of ice.
“Hoo… I was once… a chief pilot!!!”
Just before we were caught, he pulled off a stunning 360-degree spin and dodged it.
“Nghet!?”
Sniff sniff…
The maneuver had the unfortunate side effect of shoving my ass into his nose, but at least he’d evaded the attack.
“Kyaaat! Where do you think you’re—!”
“Hey, hey! I can’t see!”
He started using his chin to press against my pussy to steer.
“Hweeeet!!!”
Giant ice chunks and icebergs closed in on us from all sides.
Ludger performed an artistic series of evasive maneuvers, squeezing through the narrow gaps to escape.
“Kugh… Now! Fergus, fire!!”
“[Everyone, close your eyes.]”
And just as the encroaching ice was about to catch us again…
Miraculously, a giant laser beam descended from the sky!
“Huh?”
FLASH!
The sky lit up brightly, and the ice and water chasing us instantly melted away.
It was the planetary mining laser, the second part of the Giro mining plan. It had been fired!
Of course, this too only bought us a moment, but that was enough.
SHWOOOOOOSH~!
The shuttle gained speed, rapidly pulling away from the planet.
“Yeehaw~~! Ido! I saved you!”
And beneath Ludger was Do-hee, her face beet-red, her pussy now soaking wet from the constant stimulation of his beard.
“Eek… G-get your face off me, you bastard!”
“Ah.”
He pulled his face away from my ass.