Chapter 46

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 46

Chapter Title: Underwater Garden Melrip (3)

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The sweltering heat of Megrana Pit's Blacksmith Guild.

Thirteen blacksmith players had gathered there.

"Is that for real?"

"I just saw it on the community boards. It's true."

There was one reason they were all frowning.

A famous streamer whose name any Ariant World player would recognize.

The absurd rumor that Cheisi was planning to blow up Megrana Pit's smeltery.

"Why the hell would she do that?"

"Yeah, why mess with a perfectly fine smeltery?"

"...She spotted some red ore beneath the smeltery. Apparently, it's the material for the dagger that streamer's trying to craft."

"What kind of dagger?"

"It's an item called Hook Dagger. She thinks it's the key to breaking through the giant jellyfish in the Underwater Garden."

"Hmm, so it's for clearing the new zone."

One of the blacksmith players furrowed his brow.

"Sure, the more we uncover about the new zones, the more new materials and weapon combos we'll discover. That's good for us too, but..."

"This is going too far."

"...Even if Cheisi's the one who discovered the Blacksmith job, this crosses the line."

The players exchanged glances. They soon realized they all shared the same thought.

"We don't know what'll happen if the smeltery blows."

"Exactly. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Megrana Pit's a legendary monster, so it probably won't cause any real catastrophe, but all those top-tier blacksmith facilities inside? They're at huge risk."

"...We have to stop the smeltery from exploding."

The blacksmiths gathered in the guild steeled their resolve.

Against the wicked cat targeting it, they vowed to protect their dreams and hopes—the smeltery—no matter what.

Cheisi parted ways with Yuwol for a bit.

Yuwol was seriously gearing up for the Ariant World Strongest Tournament and said he'd go grind levels in the Mist Mine. Unlike level 15 Cheisi, Yuwol was still level 13, so the mist wraiths gave him solid EXP without penalties.

Since EXP is shared in parties, Cheisi temporarily disbanded their party.

While Yuwol hunted in the Mist Mine, Cheisi wandered the Underwater Garden alone, equipped with A Stroll Underwater, scooping up schools of fish with bomb-like heads.

It took a while, but she'd hit her target amount.

Explosive Marshmallows—rare fish only found in the Underwater Garden.

"This is the max firepower I can muster right now."

Cheisi stuffed the thirty fish into her inventory and addressed her viewers.

Explosive Marshmallows from the Underwater Garden.

They ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠go off like bombs when struck.

Just like using dynamite in a real mine, Cheisi planned to blast Megrana Pit's tough bedrock ore with them.

"If I detonate them all at once, it just might work."

Thirty Explosive Marshmallows in total.

Multiple blasts together amp up the power.

Of course, no guarantees it'd work. But trying wouldn't hurt.

"Warp."

Cheisi pulled up the warp menu. Destination: right in front of Megrana Pit's smeltery.

A blue aura shimmered, and the smeltery filled her view.

But unfamiliar players were blocking the entrance.

"You planning to blow the smeltery?!"

"No way!!"

She counted thirteen.

Cheisi eyed the thirteen blacksmith players barring the entrance, then muttered one word.

"Ambush."

With that single utterance, her body instantly shifted behind the blacksmith blockade into the smeltery.

"Gasp?!"

"What the?!"

Their defensive line pierced in a blink. The blacksmiths stared in shock at Cheisi now inside.

"...Look, can we at least hear why you're doing this?"

Cheisi tried talking to the players first.

There had to be a good reason for their standoff.

"Level 11 Blacksmith player, Earthworm."

A player dressed like a dwarf stepped forward from the group.

"The smeltery's packed with blacksmith facilities. Plus, we do ingot smelting here. Blowing it up would devastate us blacksmiths."

"...I get that."

It made sense. But the milk was already spilled.

"But I announced it on stream, so others might try it too. Someone could sneak in and blow it without us knowing..."

With streaming on, she'd shared her plan with viewers. Now, blasting the smeltery floor wasn't just her idea.

"Hmm..."

Cheisi turned to the troubled 'Earthworm'.

"How about I just try one? I'm not even sure it'll work."

"If it's just that, go ahead."

The players backed off. Cheisi tossed an Explosive Marshmallow at a crack in the floor.

A message appeared.

Psssh—.

The Explosive Marshmallow deflated with a sad hiss.

"...What happened?"

'Earthworm' asked cautiously.

Cheisi stared at the title message in bewilderment.

"...It's a no-explosion zone. No boom."

And a title on top of that?

'Huh?'

A title that activates without equipping. And it boosts Attack Power.

'Finally, a normal one that just gives plain stats...'

Cheisi was touched for a moment. Most titles she'd gotten were off the rails. The most useful had been A Stroll Underwater, but even that was limited to the Underwater Garden.

In that context, a straightforward stat booster was a godsend—especially one that worked unequipped.

'My stats have been sorely lacking.'

She'd skipped every sub-quest that gave stats to rush ahead, hitting walls from low numbers. Even +2 Attack was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠precious now.

"...Well, it didn't work anyway."

The title was nice, but failure was failure.

"Looks like Explosive Marshmallows can't punch through."

The blacksmiths visibly sighed in relief at Cheisi's flop.

The chat took it in stride.

"Ugh. Guess I need to hunt for clues around Megrana Pit..."

She'd been so sure it'd work. Cheisi's tail drooped sadly.

"Ambush..."

Like when she'd entered, she tried using Ambush on the blacksmiths to slip out.

Cheisi soon slammed her head into the wall and let out a pained groan.

"Ow...?"

Rubbing her sore head, she blinked and spotted a red-shelled bug crawling on the smeltery wall.

"...?"

Cheisi stared incredulously at the bug skittering across the wall.

A plump bug about two finger-widths long. Ambush worked on something this tiny too?

Well, sure—it was a monster. But she'd never thought to use it on small critters before. Ambush felt like pure combat skill, ingrained that way.

'...How far do the limits of Ambush go?'

A skill she'd only used for fights until now.

But it worked on a puny bug, hinting at broader uses.

For example.

'If I Ambush that one on the ceiling.'

Cooldown done, Cheisi targeted the Lava Worm crawling overhead and activated Ambush.

Her view shot upward instantly.

"Gyaaah...!"

In that split second, she realized she'd teleported to the ceiling.

No time to process—she plummeted.

Baffled stares from the blacksmiths as Cheisi twisted midair on instinct.

'...H-hew.'

She landed perfectly like a cat, but no fall damage reduction.

"Just testing Ambush a bit."

It was deliberate.

Testing judgments, Cheisi spammed Ambush a few more times and learned some facts.

Range isn't huge—about ten steps.

If target's back is blocked, it shifts forward.

With Oolian, it'd gone to the hat brim, so it seems to judge based on her position relative to target. Bottom to top if used from below.

Plus, ignores mid-path obstacles.

'...This mobility is insane.'

Oolian was an elite with broken passives, stalling hunts—until Ambush sparked solutions.

Ambush. Damage bonus might lag cooking, but mobility crushed expectations.

'What if here?'

A tiny crack teasing red ore in the smeltery floor.

Cheisi's gaze flicked to the Lava Worm on the wall.

Shove it in the crack, then Ambush the worm—could she slip inside?

She tried immediately.

"Nngh...!"

Squeak!

Pushed toward the crack, but no dice. The worm squealed like a scream.

'It's huge...!'

That bulky shell wouldn't fit.

Still, this approach might access inner crevices.

"...Gotta find something smaller."