Chapter 18

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 18

Chapter Title: City of Serpents and the Sea (3)

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Cheisi walked through the wooden buildings of Azelchen, thick with the scent of the sea, passing by the seaweed wrapped around the outer walls of the buildings time and again.

A small monster with devil wings and a lens fluttered busily, struggling to keep up with her.

"I..."

Cheisi said, addressing her viewers.

As she wandered around Azelchen, she had noticed something.

"I thought this 'Siurug' was like a spiritual pillar for the people here."

Sea Serpent Siurug.

The creature that adorned the fountain, commanded its own followers, and whose serpentine image appeared throughout the city—a being the people of Azelchen believed in and followed.

She had figured it was something akin to the 'divine beasts' you hear about.

"But what does Siurug really mean to the people of Azelchen?"

Cheisi grabbed the lens monster following her and turned its face toward where the NPCs were gathered.

Look at that.

A group of boatmen with hoods tied around their heads, clutching liquor bottles and chattering away.

"Once the hard day's work is done, it's sea ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠serpent brew for us!"

"Someday, I wanna taste the real Siurug himself!"

They had sea serpent roast on the table and bottles emblazoned with sea serpent illustrations clutched in their hands.

And they were boldly declaring their intent to catch and eat Siurug—something Nell would surely call blasphemy and rage about.

NPCs like these were everywhere in Azelchen.

"You don't usually find cities where people think of their god as food, right...?"

"What can I say... I kinda like how they don't stand on ceremony."

That was the Azelchen that Cheisi had come to know.

Nell, who worshipped Siurug yet apologized for its misdeeds.

The boatmen who followed Siurug but longed to devour it.

To the people of Azelchen, Siurug seemed less like a great being and more like a close friend—which explained the free-spirited atmosphere permeating the city.

It was impossible to imagine this as a place devoted to worshiping something.

"...The Siurug I met seemed a lot like the folks here, too. I was a bit tense when I realized it was a legendary monster, but watching what it did... yeah, the tension melted away right quick."

Siurug, stealing fish and playfully drawing hearts. Seeing that, it made sense why a city devoted to it would toss formality to the winds.

One of the boatmen enjoying his feast called out to Cheisi.

"Hey, adventurer girl! Wanna join us and taste some Siurug?"

He shook the bottle, liquid sloshing inside.

"...Is that really booze?"

Cheisi murmured to her viewers.

It sure seemed like booze.

"...Is it okay to show booze on stream?"

Cheisi had no desire to drink, nor to slap an adult rating on her stream.

"Thanks for the thought, but I'm good!"

Cheisi shouted back heartily.

"For real? This is the genuine Siurug brew!"

"...How?"

"Come on over, and we'll show ya how it's made!"

But curiosity got the better of her, and Cheisi soon joined the boatmen at their table.

With the new face at the table, the boatmen excitedly launched into their tale.

"First, you launch a boat into the sea and pray. Then you say somethin' like this."

One boatman clasped his hands and let out a syrupy whine.

"Oh great Siurug... we wanna taste you. We'll float out a big rum barrel full of booze, so hop in for just one day..."

"...And it comes?"

"Yup. And that's how this brew's born—Siurug 'One Week Old' Brew."

Cheisi eyed the bottle skeptically—could it really be made with its own broth?—and checked its info.

It was real.

The bottle's info confirmed Siurug broth was indeed an ingredient.

Realizing it truly let them brew booze with its own body, Cheisi was dumbfounded.

The boatmen sized her up, realized she looked young, and promptly shooed her from the table.

Cheisi hadn't planned to join the drinking anyway. The system would've blocked her from booze regardless.

Soon after parting from the boatmen, Cheisi left Azelchen behind.

Civilization faded away, the ground grew damp, and the air grew humid.

The surroundings were gradually turning into a swamp.

Shortly after entering the swamp, something flew at Cheisi.

She reflexively blocked the attack.

"Mmff?"

To be precise, she caught it in her mouth.

The incoming projectile carried an appetizing aroma that triggered her instincts.

"What is this...?"

Cheisi checked what she had in her mouth.

It was a fish that looked just like a marshmallow.

Cheisi took a bite right away.

"Nom nom."

It really tasted like marshmallow.

Chewing the marshmallow-flavored fish, Cheisi looked toward where the attack had come from.

A fish-human hybrid glared at her, looking furious.

A humanoid monster with bulging eyes and scales covering its body.

"...A merman?"

It was a merman. Clearly an inhabitant of this swamp.

The lone merman, huffing indignantly, hurled another flapping fish at Cheisi.

Another fresh projectile from the merman. Unable to use her mouth with the marshmallow fish still in it, Cheisi caught this one neatly with her right hand.

This time, it was a fish bristling with sharp spines.

Catching the fish filled another entry in her guidebook.

"Grrruu!!!"

After blocking two attacks, with no more fish left, the merman drew a spear and charged at Cheisi.

Cheisi swiftly drew her dagger.

Blade and spear clashed in a flurry of rapid exchanges.

Cheisi emerged victorious.

Spiny Marshmallow Fish x2

Cheisi picked up the spoils from the merman, frowning.

"...Damage isn't going through well."

The fight had taken longer than expected.

The viewers sensed it too.

Throughout the fight with the merman, Cheisi had the upper hand. She blocked every attack, while the merman flailed, barely parrying hers.

But there was a key difference between this merman and the goblins she'd faced before.

"Seems like defense is pretty high."

The same attacks yielded different HP reductions.

"I can still take 'em down, though..."

Cheisi was only at the swamp's entrance.

To reach the pinned spot on her map, she'd need to venture deeper.

"Might need to level up more first..."

After a moment's thought, she pressed on.

"I'll just check it out and come back. No biggie."

The merman fights dragged on too long, so Cheisi proceeded cautiously into the swamp's depths, avoiding them as best she could.

The air grew ever more humid. Had she not worn thin clothes, the heat would've been stifling.

While scouting the swamp, Cheisi encountered a massive merman with bloated, pus-filled skin.

"That's... huge."

It dwarfed the regular mermen.

This one wielded a forked spear and leisurely chomped on fish.

The overpowering fishy stench made Cheisi gag.

It wasn't fresh or appetizing—just rotten and repulsive.

Looking closer, the fish flopping near it and the ones it ate were all decayed. That was the source.

"Let's give it a shot."

Sharing her viewers' thoughts, Cheisi gripped her dagger and committed to battle.

"Grulk!"

As Cheisi closed in, the Merman King let out a bizarre noise and hurled a rotten fish at her.

Instead of catching it like before—repelled by the stench—Cheisi dodged and drew closer.

The Merman King swung its trident at her.

Its attacks were straightforward.

Compared to the previous elite-grade Forest Giant, the speed was slightly faster, but the power wasn't overwhelming. The recoil from blocking wasn't burdensome.

Cheisi felt it too. Higher level, yet easier fight than the Forest Giant.

She dodged slowly, observing patterns, then struck during an opening.

Scraaape—!

Her dagger scraped against the Merman King's skin with a harsh grind.

It felt like scratching rock. Cheisi grimaced.

"Glurk?"

The Merman King tilted its head, as if oblivious to what just happened, utterly nonchalant.

Cheisi checked the damage.

The Merman King's HP had dropped by 1.

Practically no damage.

"Insanely high. Skin's tough as nails..."

Cheisi grumbled, pulling back from the Merman King.

The issue she'd faintly noticed against regular mermen had now surfaced starkly.

A sheer lack of attack power.

Regular mermen took some damage, killable with time—but at 1 HP per hit, the king was practically unkillable right now.

Cheisi checked her map.

Skirting past the king would lead to a new area soon.

"Can't take it down now, so I'll skip and keep going."

No need to fight.

With that judgment, she disengaged the Merman King's aggro and moved forward.

The terrain turned to muckier mire, then a fog-shrouded zone appeared.

The map showed she was close. But entering the fog, her HP began draining rapidly. Startled, Cheisi recoiled.

Checking the fog's info brought up the message.

"The Merman King's necklace..."

Cheisi realized.

To pass through this fog, she had to defeat the Merman King.

"Gotta take down the Merman King, huh."

"...Might be doable after all."

To her worried viewers, Cheisi replied calmly.

"Dodging the Merman King's attacks was easy. Just need more attack power."

The enemy's strikes were avoidable. The problem was her own attacks doing nothing.

Simple fix, then.

Boost attack power enough to hurt it, and handle the rest with her reaction speed as before.

Then, the Merman King would fall.

"Time to figure that out."

Plenty of ways.

Growth is the essence of any RPG, after all.