Chapter 509: Grave (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 509: Grave (1)
It looked a lot like a Frogman at first glance, especially if you were looking at its large belly, which seemed to be full of air. Or the suckers that were attached to its knuckles. Even their faces were quite similar. However, its skin was grayish, not green, and it wasn't holding a harpoon, which Frogmen always did.
But most importantly...
Wings...?
On its back were a pair of wings that looked completely out of place. They looked as if they had been cut out with scissors and glued there.
Crrroak!
Suddenly, the one climbing up soared into the air before landing on the deck.
So those wings weren't just for show, huh?
"Emily, what rank is it?" I knew she couldn't give a completely accurate rating with Crisis Detection, but it would still give us a rough idea.
"It's not even rank seven, given how I'm not picking it up as a threat at all."
That was all the confirmation I needed.
"Under rank seven..."
There were now about fifteen of them, silently staring up at us from the silvery water. As more of them began to climb up onto the deck, I yelled out orders. "Don't rush in and attack them yet! For now, we have to gather as much information about them as we can!"
"Ugh!" Ainar, who had tried to run straight at them, skidded to a stop at my command. Thankfully, she was a good listener.
"Behel—aaaaaah!" I quickly ran forward, raising my threat level with Wild Outburst. It didn't take long before the mystery monsters started to attack me. However, their attack pattern was completely different from what I had expected.
They didn't use their teeth or claws. They weren't holding a weapon like a harpoon in their hands either. So how did they attack?
Swoosh.
Seemingly out of thin air, some sort of lightning-type projectile materialized and shot at us. Of course, since it was under rank seven, the attack didn't do any damage to me. I blocked most of the bolts with my shield, but even those I couldn't didn't even manage to break through my skin.
What the hell...?
I froze. It wasn't because of a status condition like Paralysis or anything like that, though. It was just because I was surprised.
"M-Mr. Yandel... J-Just now, that monster..."
Yeah. So I wasn't the only one who noticed.
Erwen then spoke up, finishing Versyl's sentence. "Wasn't that Fleminas's Thunderbone?"
The rank-seven monster Fleminas was a lightning-type monster that appeared in sections of the third and fourth floors. So why was this thing using a skill unique to another type of monster?
Is this thing a special mutant or mini-boss?
The thought flickered through my mind, but that was impossible. All fifteen of the monsters on our deck were using the exact same skill.
A type of monster that uses the same skill as another...
If that was the case, what about its other skills?
After a little more baiting and experimentation, I discovered another surprising fact.
"Th-that's... Iron Falcon's Ironclad Feather."
"Oh! I know that one! That's the rank-six Sea Worm's Bubble!"
"Not rank six... That's rank seven..."
All three of its active skills came from different monsters. I wondered what its passive skills were, but unfortunately, that was a little harder to find out. I swung my hammer, trying to get rid of one of them, only to be suddenly thwarted at the last second.
[Due to Rotten Mucus, your attack missed.]
So it has a Frogman's passive? No wonder they looked similar. Well, that's enough research for now. It's time to get rid of them.
"That's enough for now. You can kill them!"
"Are you sure?"
As soon as I gave the okay, Ainar ran forward and started to kill all of them off. We were the first ones ever to not only discover a new type of monster but also to defeat them as well.
[You have killed a Gullfrog. EXP +0]
What? I don't think I got any EXP from that. Sure, it was lower than rank seven and wouldn't give me much, but I should still feel something at least—
[No. 9999: Beginner's Luck has been activated.]
My thoughts instantly derailed as soon as I saw what was happening.
"...An essence!"
Woah, it had really dropped an essence.
"...Versyl! Quick, grab a vial!" I hurriedly instructed our wizard, my mind buzzing.
Then will this essence give the user the Frogman's Rotten Mucus or the Sea Worm's, Iron Falcon's, or Fleminas's active skill? Or maybe all of them?
...This could irrevocably change the entire system of essence combinations.
***
Our first battle was over, and our spoils were one green essence. I needed to check later to confirm, but for now, it seemed to be the Iron Falcon's Ironclad Feather, if the color was any indication.
"Versyl, how many essence vials are left?"
"Twenty-seven."
"I thought that Melbeth only gave us twenty?"
"I brought everything I had as well, just in case."
"I see..."
"What should I do with the vial?"
"You can hold onto it for now. They'll be easier to keep track of if one person is in charge of all of them." After deciding what to do with the vials, I turned to my teammates. "But more importantly, what did you guys feel? When Ainar killed the first one...?"
"Oh, are you talking about how there was no feeling of accomplishment? Like the one you usually get after you kill a monster for the first time?"
"Huh? Did everyone else feel the same way? I thought I was the only one..."
Seeing as none of them felt themselves gaining any EXP either, it was clear that there was none to be found in the first place.
So the concept of this floor is pretty strange...
On top of not providing any EXP, we'd confirmed that at least some of the monsters here had the characteristics of various monsters, like a chimera. The realization left me feeling a bit down. If all the monsters here were like that, we wouldn't be able to find any yet-undiscovered skills. I was hoping that we would at least find something new. However, on the other hand...
"I can't believe there are monsters here with the skills of various species. Once this information becomes public, things will plunge into chaos."
This could end up causing a massive upheaval, revolutionizing the way people combined essences and skills and potentially opening up new, completely overpowered builds. It was like we'd just unlocked a secret customization feature.
If I can take advantage of the Steel Giant's active skill without the passive... then I won't have to worry about weapons constraints.
In that same vein, there were countless other active and passive skills that I'd like to get my hands on, but that weren't featured in my final build because of the lackluster stats attached to their essences. But what if I could use Orc Hero's Giantization with another passive skill? That meant my final build could become even stronger. Path of Heroes wasn't bad, but it also wasn't anything special since it was only rank-five. Overall, its performance and effects were simply lackluster. The total stats granted by the essence were also rather low. If it weren't for the fact that Giantization and Union were a great combo, then I'd have chosen from a wide array of essences with even higher stats...
[Due to Rotten Mucus, your attack missed.]
So it has a Frogman's passive? No wonder they looked similar. Well, that's enough research for now. It's time to get rid of them.
"That's enough for now. You can kill them!"
"Are you sure?"
As soon as I gave the okay, Ainar ran forward and started to kill all of them off. We were the first ones ever to not only discover a new type of monster but also to defeat them as well.
[You have killed a Gullfrog. EXP +0]
What? I don't think I got any EXP from that. Sure, it was lower than rank seven and wouldn't give me much, but I should still feel something at least—
[No. 9999: Beginner's Luck has been activated.]
My thoughts instantly derailed as soon as I saw what was happening.
"...An essence!"
Woah, it had really dropped an essence.
"...Versyl! Quick, grab a vial!" I hurriedly instructed our wizard, my mind buzzing.
Then will this essence give the user the Frogman's Rotten Mucus or the Sea Worm's, Iron Falcon's, or Fleminas's active skill? Or maybe all of them?
...This could irrevocably change the entire system of essence combinations.
***
Our first battle was over, and our spoils were one green essence. I needed to check later to confirm, but for now, it seemed to be the Iron Falcon's Ironclad Feather, if the color was any indication.
"Versyl, how many essence vials are left?"
"Twenty-seven."
"I thought that Melbeth only gave us twenty?"
"I brought everything I had as well, just in case."
"I see..."
"What should I do with the vial?"
"You can hold onto it for now. They'll be easier to keep track of if one person is in charge of all of them." After deciding what to do with the vials, I turned to my teammates. "But more importantly, what did you guys feel? When Ainar killed the first one...?"
"Oh, are you talking about how there was no feeling of accomplishment? Like the one you usually get after you kill a monster for the first time?"
"Huh? Did everyone else feel the same way? I thought I was the only one..."
Seeing as none of them felt themselves gaining any EXP either, it was clear that there was none to be found in the first place.
So the concept of this floor is pretty strange...
On top of not providing any EXP, we'd confirmed that at least some of the monsters here had the characteristics of various monsters, like a chimera. The realization left me feeling a bit down. If all the monsters here were like that, we wouldn't be able to find any yet-undiscovered skills. I was hoping that we would at least find something new. However, on the other hand...
"I can't believe there are monsters here with the skills of various species. Once this information becomes public, things will plunge into chaos."
This could end up causing a massive upheaval, revolutionizing the way people combined essences and skills and potentially opening up new, completely overpowered builds. It was like we'd just unlocked a secret customization feature.
If I can take advantage of the Steel Giant's active skill without the passive... then I won't have to worry about weapons constraints.
In that same vein, there were countless other active and passive skills that I'd like to get my hands on, but that weren't featured in my final build because of the lackluster stats attached to their essences. But what if I could use Orc Hero's Giantization with another passive skill? That meant my final build could become even stronger. Path of Heroes wasn't bad, but it also wasn't anything special since it was only rank-five. Overall, its performance and effects were simply lackluster. The total stats granted by the essence were also rather low. If it weren't for the fact that Giantization and Union were a great combo, then I'd have chosen from a wide array of essences with even higher stats...
...Is there a monster that can give me the same skill with better stats?
I had no idea. There was also a chance that this type of monster was unique, and we wouldn't run into anything like it again. At the same time, there was a chance we would come across new monsters with entirely new, never-before-seen essences.
This is fun.
As a player who loved Dungeon and Stone, my heart was racing with excitement. What awaited us ahead? I found myself looking forward to what else we would find. However, I knew I couldn't get careless or over-eager. After all, the unknown was both an opportunity and a disaster waiting to happen.
"Lift the anchor!"
After getting rid of the monsters on the deck, we resumed our journey. It seemed that this entire area was home to these electric frogs. Every so often, they would suddenly pop out of the sea and climb their way up onto our boat. But this time, however, we hunted them with Distortion.
[Versyl Gowland has cast the rank-six space-time spell High-Level Distortion.]
These things were a new type of monster, so I was certain that whatever they dropped could be sold to the Magic Tower for a high price.
"Bjorn!"
"If you're bored, you can at least swab the deck."
"That's not it, I have something to say!"
"...What is it?" Throughout this entire journey, Ainar had been peppering me with random questions out of the blue, apparently entirely unconcerned with the danger that could possibly be awaiting us.
Case in point: "What are you going to name them?"
"Name...?" Actually, I hadn't even thought of that. How did monsters get named in the first place? "Erwen, do you know?"
"Um... I'm not sure...?"
Unexpectedly, Erwen also didn't know how monsters got their names. Versyl, despite being a wizard who should know these things, was a player and didn't seem to know either.
"That's actually... I actually never thought about it... I guess whoever was the first person to find a monster was the one to name it?"
"Hm... probably."
Having overheard the conversation we were having, Amelia left Auyen alone for a moment and approached us with open interest. "Nanari," she declared.
"...What?"
"How about Nanari? It sounds good...and...I think it's cute too."
Huh. Surprisingly, she liked that sort of stuff.
"...We're naming a monster right now. Why would we make it sound cute, Emily?"
"But can't the name be anything? Whatever the person who found it wants it to be?"
"I guess."
It didn't take long before everyone was invested in naming the new monster. After all, we were all adventurers through and through. I figured the opportunity to name new species could act as motivation for them on future expeditions, so I encouraged their interest.
"Then let me know if you come up with any ideas. We can hold a vote and decide later."
"A vote... That's fair. Then I'll go with Nanari. And I'll give ten thousand stones to whoever else votes for it," Amelia declared.
"I said we were going to vote. Why are you suddenly trying to buy everyone out...?"
"Well, it's not like I'm forcing them to accept my offer."
...Is there a monster that can give me the same skill with better stats?
I had no idea. There was also a chance that this type of monster was unique, and we wouldn't run into anything like it again. At the same time, there was a chance we would come across new monsters with entirely new, never-before-seen essences.
This is fun.
As a player who loved Dungeon and Stone, my heart was racing with excitement. What awaited us ahead? I found myself looking forward to what else we would find. However, I knew I couldn't get careless or over-eager. After all, the unknown was both an opportunity and a disaster waiting to happen.
"Lift the anchor!"
After getting rid of the monsters on the deck, we resumed our journey. It seemed that this entire area was home to these electric frogs. Every so often, they would suddenly pop out of the sea and climb their way up onto our boat. But this time, however, we hunted them with Distortion.
[Versyl Gowland has cast the rank-six space-time spell High-Level Distortion.]
These things were a new type of monster, so I was certain that whatever they dropped could be sold to the Magic Tower for a high price.
"Bjorn!"
"If you're bored, you can at least swab the deck."
"That's not it, I have something to say!"
"...What is it?" Throughout this entire journey, Ainar had been peppering me with random questions out of the blue, apparently entirely unconcerned with the danger that could possibly be awaiting us.
Case in point: "What are you going to name them?"
"Name...?" Actually, I hadn't even thought of that. How did monsters get named in the first place? "Erwen, do you know?"
"Um... I'm not sure...?"
Unexpectedly, Erwen also didn't know how monsters got their names. Versyl, despite being a wizard who should know these things, was a player and didn't seem to know either.
"That's actually... I actually never thought about it... I guess whoever was the first person to find a monster was the one to name it?"
"Hm... probably."
Having overheard the conversation we were having, Amelia left Auyen alone for a moment and approached us with open interest. "Nanari," she declared.
"...What?"
"How about Nanari? It sounds good...and...I think it's cute too."
Huh. Surprisingly, she liked that sort of stuff.
"...We're naming a monster right now. Why would we make it sound cute, Emily?"
"But can't the name be anything? Whatever the person who found it wants it to be?"
"I guess."
It didn't take long before everyone was invested in naming the new monster. After all, we were all adventurers through and through. I figured the opportunity to name new species could act as motivation for them on future expeditions, so I encouraged their interest.
"Then let me know if you come up with any ideas. We can hold a vote and decide later."
"A vote... That's fair. Then I'll go with Nanari. And I'll give ten thousand stones to whoever else votes for it," Amelia declared.
"I said we were going to vote. Why are you suddenly trying to buy everyone out...?"
"Well, it's not like I'm forcing them to accept my offer."
"...Fine, do as you please."
It didn't seem all that fair, to be honest, but I let it slide. With the tone now set, the other members of our clan quickly jumped in to voice their opinions as well.
"Ultimate Sundra! What do you think? Doesn't that sound strong?"
"But it's not even rank seven," Versyl replied, shooting down Ainar's suggestion. "Why don't we name it based on its characteristics instead? Since we know it has the essences of a Sea Worm, an Iron Falcon, a Fleminas, and a Frogman..."
"You want to combine all of that...?"
"Sea Falcon Flemman!"
"...What?"
"Sea Falcon Flemman!" Versyl repeated eagerly. "Isn't that pretty good?"
I felt my brain undergo a hard reboot at the name, but surprisingly, it was well received by our other clan members.
"Oh! That's nice! That's also a very strong name!"
"...It's definitely catchy. I can even picture what it looks like just from the name."
"Isn't Nanari better? I'll give you twenty thousand stones."
After that, a few other names were added to the list of candidates. Eventually, it was time to vote, and the results were...
"Seven votes for Gullfrog. Sea... Falcon Flemman has three votes. Nanari has two votes. And Kiruru has one."
"What? That doesn't make any sense. How are there thirteen votes when there are only seven people?"
"Ah, Versyl, you didn't know? It's in our clan's bylaws. The captain's vote is worth the same as the number of people in the clan."
"...How is that democratic?!"
My voice frosted over. "Democratic? What is that?"
"Oh, that's..."
Versyl's mouth snapped shut as she belatedly noticed her slip of the tongue.
That's right. If you're a player, you have to be careful not to say stuff like that. After all, the term 'democracy' doesn't exist in this world.
"Then it's decided. From now on their name is Gullfrog."
Thus, the name of the first monster we discovered became Gullfrog. It was a half-assed name I came up with after seeing its frog-like appearance and seagull-like wings, but at the very least, it was better than Sea Falcon or whatever the hell they all voted for.
***
"All right, let's all head back to our positions and get to work!"
After being dismissed, Erwen headed back to the bridge as Auyen and Amelia returned to the wheel to steer the boat. Versyl also went back to fishing again, trying to grab as many samples as she could.
"Ainar, stop messing around and go clean the deck."
"...But Missha isn't doing anything either!"
"Missha... has something else to do..."
"...Huh?"
"Missha... Stand on the deck over there and take care of any monsters that climb up."
"Ohhh! I want that job! Let me do that!"
"Shoo!"
Eventually, everyone got back to work, and I walked around the ship making sure everything was going smoothly.
Suddenly, Versyl called out to me. "Mr. Yandel, can you come here for a moment?"
"Did you find something?"
I quickly walked over, and Versyl held out an object she had fished out of the sea. "I just found this. What do you think? Don't you think it'll sell for a good price back in the city?"
"...A painting?"
"Yes. Even though this place looks like an ocean, the portrait is completely fine. The paper isn't even a little wet."
Huh... a piece of art from the labyrinth would definitely be worth a lot...
"Let me take a look."
Versyl handed the portrait to me so I could examine it. But the moment I saw it, I froze. It was a rough sketch of a man standing next to a woman who appeared to be his wife. Sandwiched in between them was a girl who was beaming up at the viewer.
"What...? What's the matter? Do you...happen to know them?"
It would be a bit of a stretch to say that I knew them. And it was an even bigger ask for me to come up with a reason why a portrait of this man would be here of all places.
"Somewhat."
The man in this family portrait... It had been a few years since I'd last seen him, but...
He was none other than Hans A, the man I had dispatched to the labyrinth during my first-ever expedition.
"...Fine, do as you please."
It didn't seem all that fair, to be honest, but I let it slide. With the tone now set, the other members of our clan quickly jumped in to voice their opinions as well.
"Ultimate Sundra! What do you think? Doesn't that sound strong?"
"But it's not even rank seven," Versyl replied, shooting down Ainar's suggestion. "Why don't we name it based on its characteristics instead? Since we know it has the essences of a Sea Worm, an Iron Falcon, a Fleminas, and a Frogman..."
"You want to combine all of that...?"
"Sea Falcon Flemman!"
"...What?"
"Sea Falcon Flemman!" Versyl repeated eagerly. "Isn't that pretty good?"
I felt my brain undergo a hard reboot at the name, but surprisingly, it was well received by our other clan members.
"Oh! That's nice! That's also a very strong name!"
"...It's definitely catchy. I can even picture what it looks like just from the name."
"Isn't Nanari better? I'll give you twenty thousand stones."
After that, a few other names were added to the list of candidates. Eventually, it was time to vote, and the results were...
"Seven votes for Gullfrog. Sea... Falcon Flemman has three votes. Nanari has two votes. And Kiruru has one."
"What? That doesn't make any sense. How are there thirteen votes when there are only seven people?"
"Ah, Versyl, you didn't know? It's in our clan's bylaws. The captain's vote is worth the same as the number of people in the clan."
"...How is that democratic?!"
My voice frosted over. "Democratic? What is that?"
"Oh, that's..."
Versyl's mouth snapped shut as she belatedly noticed her slip of the tongue.
That's right. If you're a player, you have to be careful not to say stuff like that. After all, the term 'democracy' doesn't exist in this world.
"Then it's decided. From now on their name is Gullfrog."
Thus, the name of the first monster we discovered became Gullfrog. It was a half-assed name I came up with after seeing its frog-like appearance and seagull-like wings, but at the very least, it was better than Sea Falcon or whatever the hell they all voted for.
***
"All right, let's all head back to our positions and get to work!"
After being dismissed, Erwen headed back to the bridge as Auyen and Amelia returned to the wheel to steer the boat. Versyl also went back to fishing again, trying to grab as many samples as she could.
"Ainar, stop messing around and go clean the deck."
"...But Missha isn't doing anything either!"
"Missha... has something else to do..."
"...Huh?"
"Missha... Stand on the deck over there and take care of any monsters that climb up."
"Ohhh! I want that job! Let me do that!"
"Shoo!"
Eventually, everyone got back to work, and I walked around the ship making sure everything was going smoothly.
Suddenly, Versyl called out to me. "Mr. Yandel, can you come here for a moment?"
"Did you find something?"
I quickly walked over, and Versyl held out an object she had fished out of the sea. "I just found this. What do you think? Don't you think it'll sell for a good price back in the city?"
"...A painting?"
"Yes. Even though this place looks like an ocean, the portrait is completely fine. The paper isn't even a little wet."
Huh... a piece of art from the labyrinth would definitely be worth a lot...
"Let me take a look."
Versyl handed the portrait to me so I could examine it. But the moment I saw it, I froze. It was a rough sketch of a man standing next to a woman who appeared to be his wife. Sandwiched in between them was a girl who was beaming up at the viewer.
"What...? What's the matter? Do you...happen to know them?"
It would be a bit of a stretch to say that I knew them. And it was an even bigger ask for me to come up with a reason why a portrait of this man would be here of all places.
"Somewhat."
The man in this family portrait... It had been a few years since I'd last seen him, but...
He was none other than Hans A, the man I had dispatched to the labyrinth during my first-ever expedition.