Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: The Living Dungeon
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[The polluted Kelduan casts Straight Torrent.]
The giant turtle opened its maw wide, and a straight-line vortex shot toward Woojin.
Kwa-ga-gang...
The rock behind him shattered into pieces.
"This is insane..."
Without Setsuna, he couldn't use Eye of Concentration, but judging by the power of the skill it unleashed, the beast was at least level 90.
And then came the alerts, sounding almost like warnings.
That monster had just grown even stronger.
"Damn it!!!"
Its entire body turned pitch black, and it reared its head like a dragon, unleashing a roar.
Kung! Kung!! Kuung――!!
The beast accelerated toward Woojin, then retracted its limbs into its shell.
Ping-grr...
As its body began spinning like a top, the swirling waters around it started pulling Woojin in.
Kwaak――!!
To avoid being dragged in, Woojin stabbed his sword into the ground.
On solid ground, it might have held, but the buoyancy made his legs float, throwing off his balance.
Keurduk...! Keurddduk...!!
The embedded sword began to slide bit by bit.
He struggled desperately to inch forward,
"Urgh, uwaaak!!"
Pueok――!!
The sword ripped free, and in an instant, he was sucked into Kelduan's maw.
In that moment, the giant turtle's head burst out of the lake.
-Kyaaak!!!
"W-what is that?!"
Ruen and Setsuna couldn't hide their shock at the monster emerging from below the lake.
Pung-deung―――!!!!
Kelduan glanced at the two before retracting its head into its shell and diving back into the lake.
-B-bo... boatman, what was that just now?
"What happened to Master? Where's Master?"
Ruen stared pale-faced at the lake depths and shouted.
"Master!!!!!"
But the churning lake gave no answer.
Kwaak―.
Without hesitation, she tightened the quiver's opening with string to keep the arrows from scattering.
-What are you planning to do?!
"What do you think? We have to go in."
She strode toward the lake.
"I share the same title as Master. Breathing underwater won't be an issue."
-That's not the problem!! You said there are tons of lake monsters down there!!
"She's right. Diving into the lake without a seahorse stone is far too dangerous!"
The boatman tried to stop her as well.
Wuuuung...
At that moment, Ruen extended her palm over the lake surface.
Chwa-ruruk...!
With the flowing light, lesser water spirits appeared above the water.
"Find a path."
The water spirits seemed to understand, nodding before scattering into the depths.
"You can command spirits?"
"...Only lesser ones."
"As sorry as I am to say it, lesser spirits won't help. To the monsters of Crimhild Lake, they're just tasty snacks."
The boatman shook his head as he spoke to her.
"I have no choice. It's the best I can do, and Master is in danger right now. I'll go down there no matter what."
She said in a trembling voice.
"Even if it means dying?"
"Yes. Because he's precious to me."
With that final answer, the tremor in her voice stopped, as if her resolve had hardened.
"Remarkable. For an elf to follow a human like this. I always thought humans were nothing but parasites devouring nature."
"...What?"
Something felt off.
Ruen took a step back, her expression tense.
"That's why I had no intention of stopping you from going into the lake."
"Don't tell me... You knew about the primal spirit down there and still sent Master?!"
Kwa-dduduk...!!
In an instant, she nocked an arrow.
Uung... Wuung...
At the same time, pure white projectiles floated up around Setsuna.
"Speak. Who... what are you?!"
But despite their wariness, the boatman remained calm.
The boatman's voice suddenly changed.
At the same time, the old man's face began to melt away.
Before they knew it, a beautiful woman stood there in place of the aged boatman.
Her skin was translucent like water, her hair a deep blue.
Deep eyes that seemed to pierce through everything stared at Ruen.
"He's no different."
The woman looked puzzled at Ruen's response.
"...My Master sometimes kills people, sometimes destroys things."
Ruen met her gaze.
"Because I believe in him."
Strength filled her voice.
"He saved me when I was at rock bottom. The one who reached out to me... I don't think of him as evil."
"Yes."
Ruen declared firmly.
"At least to me, he is."
Umjjeol―.
She knew Ruen was of royal blood.
Swaaak...
As she stepped forward, water droplets from her dress hem wet the ground.
"I will."
"Yes."
The woman smiled faintly at her answer.
"...What do you mean?"
That was when it happened.
"...?!!"
[Quest: Trial of the Lake Queen]
▶ Grade: B
▶ The Lake Queen's trial has begun.
▶ Pass the trial to form a contract with a new spirit.
"W-what is this...?"
Ruen stared in confusion at the quest window before her.
The woman touched Ruen's forehead with a finger.
Chwaaaaak―――!!
In that instant, a massive water bubble enveloped Ruen.
Her vision blurred white, and Setsuna's cries sounded distant.
"...Cough! Cough!!"
Woojin hacked up the briny water filling his throat from below and opened his eyes, gasping for breath.
"...Where am I?"
Chalpak―.
Waves rippled like ocean surf at his feet.
The walls surrounding him writhed and pulsed.
'Inside Kelduan's stomach.'
Kung― kung―.
Touching the wall, he felt rhythmic tremors.
To be swallowed by a primal spirit...
Woojin couldn't hide his bewilderment at the unforeseen situation.
"How do I get out of here...?"
As he scanned his surroundings, an alert suddenly rang out.
"...How big does a place have to be for a stomach to count as a location?"
Woojin let out a hollow laugh.
"What if I just cut my way out? If the thing dies, you couldn't enter anymore, so it wouldn't qualify as a place..."
There had to be a reason.
'It's not just because it's spacious that it's a hidden spot. Otherwise, a dragon's stomach would be one too.'
Ssuuk―. Ting―!!!
Woojin stabbed at Kelduan's stomach wall with all his might.
It dented, but like rubber snapping back, the wall swelled and repelled his sword.
"Not a scratch..."
Dragon Heaven Gate 2 - Strike
He poured his power in and swung again.
Kwa-ga-gak―――!!!
The sword wind riding his blade struck the stomach wall, and
"Uwak?!"
To his shock, it bounced back intact toward him.
'Can't deal damage, huh.'
That explained why Kelduan's stomach registered as a [location].
'Maybe it's a monster you can't kill to begin with.'
Unc killable meant it existed for a specific purpose.
"Meaning there's something in this stomach..."
Chwaaaak―――!!
That was when it happened.
As if Kelduan had opened its mouth, water poured down the esophagus like a waterfall.
Amid the cascading water came strange screeching cries.
"...Hm?"
Among the flopping fish, grotesque shapes began to rise stealthily.
[Puddeud... Puddeudeud...]
Shaking their heads from the impact of the fall, the things staggered to their feet—monstrous forms with massive fish heads attached to human-like arms and legs.
Unable to speak human tongue, they shrieked bizarre cries while raising spears toward Woojin.
"...Huh?"
[Defeat all summoned monsters.]
▶ Time Limit: 5 minutes
▶ Remaining Monster Wave Count: 10/10
"A monster wave...? Out of nowhere?"
Lake field dungeons were said to activate upon surfacing.
'Did that thing just poke its head above water earlier?'
Absurd, but not impossible.
"...So that's why the stomach counts as a location."
Woojin muttered as the mermen began encircling him.
"So..."
Perhaps due to the pooled water on the floor.
The freakish creatures charged at Woojin with astonishing speed.
"This is a living dungeon, right?"
Kang―!!
Ka-ga-gang――!!!
Dodging spears flying from all directions, Woojin gave up counting them.
Jjeok―.
He grabbed the head of the foremost merman and yanked it toward him.
Puuk―!!!
His sword plunged into its huge eye.
"Just kill everything in sight."
Chwaaak...!!!
Spinning, he slashed diagonally, cleaving the massive fish head in two.
Frightened by a single blow?
The mermen froze, halting their attack.
Phase 1 now.
Long road ahead.
In place of the stiffened foes,
Paat―!!!
Woojin moved.