Dungeon No. 294, Rainbow Lake (3)

The C-rank Levitate Zone and Memorize that had been squatting in two of the upgrade slots — those two, fused together with the Mutation Reagent, had completed a brand-new trait.

Earth Immortal had two conditions: ground and connection. The ground didn't necessarily have to be made of soil and stone, but it did have to be somewhere my own two feet were planted. And connecting the weapon meant driving Root's tip into the earth — which, by extension, pinned me to a single spot as well.

I didn't have to stay rooted in place the entire time, of course; the weapon simply had to be touching the ground right up until the moment a skill manifested for the bonus to apply.

Even so, being forced to stop and plant myself once or twice mid-fight would eat into my mobility considerably — a deceptively demanding condition, all things considered.

Then again, the greater the risk, the surer the return.

Earth Immortal granted its bonus regardless of skill type, magic or martial art alike. Channel Hyneum Jade Demon Finger, and it would manifest at B-rank with a plus attached.

That was more than enough merit to justify braving the risk and stopping to plant myself now and then.

Setting the trait's performance aside, however, one more problem came to mind.

'Too short.'

In its current form, Root was barely longer than my forearm. To touch it to the ground, I'd have to bend at the waist or drop to a knee — hardly something I could keep repeating, up and down, in the thick of a hectic battle.

'It really is about time I started lengthening it.'

The weapon had been designed as a modular assembly. The length problem would resolve itself once I crafted the next component and linked it on.

I was turning all this over as I looked down at Root when the Crow Tailor spoke up.

"Caw. Young Lord, are you satisfied with the result?"

"Very much so. I chose well, entrusting it to you."

"I am always the best!"

At my praise, the Tailor preened and hopped in place a few times. Then it asked again:

"Is there any more business?"

"That's all for today."

"Very well. Until next time, then, Young Lord!"

Having bid its farewell, the Crow Tailor gave its attire a once-over. It straightened its gentleman's hat, took up its leather bag in one claw, and whirred up into the air. Then, after a single circling pass overhead, it slipped cleanly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into empty space — crossing over into another dungeon.

I watched it go, then shifted my gaze to Dang Gyu-young, who had a curious smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Young Looord~"

"Yes?"

"Look, I like it when you call me 'big sis' and all, but I think I like the casual talk too."

"Where's this coming from?"

"It's not coming from nowhere~"

Dang Gyu-young dropped her voice low and mimicked what I'd said to the Crow Tailor.

"That 'Enough! Withdraw!' bit — it gave me a little thrill, you know?"

"You've latched onto something strange again."

"Try ordering me around sometime. As high-handed as you can manage."

"I'd rather not."

"C'mon~ Young Looord~"

"We should head down now."

I quickened my pace, pretending not to hear, and Dang Gyu-young came skipping along behind me.

"Young Looord~ where are you rushing off to in such a hurry~"

Appending "Young Lord" to every last sentence out of her mouth.

It was nearly time for the Elemental Fish to reappear, so Dang Gyu-young and I came down from the hillside and made for Rainbow Lake.

The sun had set while we were away, and a brilliant full moon now lit the darkened sky. The lake took that moonlight in whole, and yet at the same time it reflected a subtle, mysterious shimmer of rainbow hues.

Wrapped up in the strange mood of the place, we simply stood gazing out over the water in silence for a while.

……

After a stretch of time had drifted by, a single ripple ran across the moon-glossed surface.

The difference from before was that instead of bubbles burbling up, the lake's surface was slowly freezing over with a long, crackling hiss.

Which meant I had a fair idea what attribute the Elemental Fish had taken on this time.

"Ice."

"Looks like it."

Had it been fire-attribute, this battle would have ended cleanly right here — a small shame. Then again, frost wasn't a bad hand to be dealt. It was, after all, one of the attributes I could wield.

I turned to Dang Gyu-young.

"I'll take main dealer. Please back me up."

With the attribute mismatch, her damage would be slashed to a fraction no matter what she did. Rather than both of us hammering away, it would be far more efficient for her to support me so I could land that much more.

But Dang Gyu-young crossed her arms with a prim little huff and whipped her head away.

"Nope, Young Looord."

"Now what?"

Head still turned the other way, she tracked me with her eyes alone — but for all the aloofness in that look, her lips were brimming with mischief.

"If the Young Lord gives the order~ I don't suppose I could refuse~"

In other words: quit requesting and try commanding. She was evidently still hung up on the casual-speech kick.

"Fine. You win."

Kim Gap-doo Fish would be surfacing any second now; there was no room to wrangle. And it wasn't as if I couldn't oblige a request like that — so I dropped my voice low.

"Dang Gyu-young. Support me."

"Aye-aye!"

As if she'd never worn a haughty expression in her life, Dang Gyu-young unfurled her arms on the spot and summoned her shadow butterflies. Every so often she'd glance my way and stifle a giggle.

While that went on, the lake froze over harder and harder until its surface had become a sheet of ice. The next instant, the center of it blew apart with a tremendous crack, and an enormous fish head burst through.

"—!"

A piercing shriek — Kim Gap-doo Fish. Its scales had been a soil-brown when we first met; now they gleamed a frozen sky-blue, glazed over as if iced from within. Just as predicted, its attribute ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had shifted from Earth to Frost.

At the sight, Dang Gyu-young gave my shoulder another round of hearty slaps.

"It's Ice Gap-doo. Ice Gap-doo."

"You are truly terrible, Dang Gyu-young."

This one was going straight into the vault, kept secret from Kim Gap-du senior. Let it slip, and he might come reclaim that Lesser Elixir.

"—!"

Ice Gap-doo fixed us with a glare brimming with hostility. Maybe it disliked its new nickname. Maybe the beating we'd just given it was coming back to it. Or maybe it simply took offense at intruders violating its domain.

Before long, a pulse of mana spread outward from its body, and across the frozen surface, jagged shards of ice sprouted like icicles. Then they snapped free all at once and came hurtling our way.

- Shwaaaaak!

A baptism of ice shards came screaming in, filling my vision to the brim. Facing it head-on, I thought:

'Time for a test drive.'

I had gone to the trouble of upgrading the thing, after all.

Dropping to one knee, I drove Deep Root into the ground and thrust my empty hand out in front of me. Wind laden with raw physical force gathered before me, spinning itself into a vortex.

The whirlwind tore forward. The instant the incoming shards touched it, they scattered to the four winds. The kneeling posture was awkward, to say the least — but the performance itself was beyond question.

"—!"

But Ice Gap-doo, as if this were merely the opening act, was already casting its frost magic again. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Needless to say, I had no intention of playing defense forever.

Before its spell could finish forming, I kicked off the ice and closed the distance. The shadow butterflies fluttered about nearby and, with impeccable timing, became my footholds. Using them like stairs, I clambered up onto Ice Gap-doo's head.

I wedged Deep Root deep into the gap between two of its massive scales, then drove in my frost-frozen index finger after it.

"—!"

Perhaps it felt something foreign lodge between its brows, because Ice Gap-doo convulsed its whole body, trying to shake me loose. Lose my balance here, and I might well drop through the shattered ice — so for the moment, I kicked off its scales and leapt backward.

Glancing down as I flew — ice.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instant I landed, I stabbed Root into the frozen sheet to steady myself.

- Krrk-krrk-krrk,

The ice scored a long line as my sliding speed bled off dramatically. By then, Ice Gap-doo had already completed its next frost spell, and palm-sized shards of ice came pouring toward me.

In a half-crouched stance, I stretched out a hand.

- Whiiiiine—

A fierce gust swept across, batting the shards every which way.

'Again.'

Before Ice Gap-doo could chain into its next spell, I charged in once more. I stepped up the shadow butterflies and drove Hyneum Jade Demon Finger in deep. Then I fell back in the same pattern as before, climbed up again, and stabbed in deep once more.

"—!"

Perhaps because Hyneum Jade Demon Finger had landed three times in succession, Ice Gap-doo's movements turned sluggish beyond all comparison to when it had first surfaced, and the force of its frost magic dwindled right along with them.

"—!"

At last, with a comparatively feeble cry, it sank slowly beneath the surface. All that remained behind was a gaping hole punched through the frozen sheet.

Eyes locked on that spot, Dang Gyu-young came over to me.

"Did you finish it?"

"It'll barely scrape by."

Hyneum Jade Demon Finger, empowered by Earth Immortal, had landed three times in a row. It had to have taken staggering damage, and even now, submerged at the lake bottom, the frost qi would be rampaging through every inch of its body.

Dang Gyu-young tilted her head.

"Then isn't it on borrowed time either way?"

"If it doesn't switch attributes."

So long as it stayed frost-attribute, it would keep bleeding damage from Hyneum Jade Demon Finger — but the moment it shifted to any other attribute, that damage would fall off sharply. In which case it might yet live and claw back a sliver of health.

"When does it switch?"

"Normally a while after it dives, but if it's in a bad way, it switches early."

"That's cheap."

"We did nearly finish it off, though."

Even so, the fact that it was hovering at death's door hadn't changed. Its remaining health couldn't be more than 20 percent. When it resurfaced, if its attribute happened to match one I held, that would be the end of it. And even if not, the round after that would surely wrap things up.

Dang Gyu-young asked:

"So what do we do now?"

"Kill time."

Roughly two hours remained until the Elemental Fish reappeared, recovery item in hand. Earlier we'd at least had the dimensional crow to visit; this time there was nothing of the sort.

Dang Gyu-young let the corner of her mouth curl up ever so slightly.

"So we're just resting for two hours?"

"That's right."

I'd given her a heads-up in advance that this dungeon ran on the quiet side, and Dang Gyu-young had said she'd prepare something to pass the time.

"Excited?"

"I'm curious, I'll admit. About what you've prepared."

"Nothing special. Just simple."

Just as she said — she'd put it together in the spirit of a light picnic, or a casual spot of camping.

Dang Gyu-young swept her gaze around the area and said:

"Let's find somewhere still in one piece first."

A disaster zone it certainly was. Kim Gap-doo Fish's earth-attribute magic had plowed the whole area under, and ice shards jutted from the ground so thickly there wasn't a clear spot to set a foot, let alone spread a picnic mat.

"Come along now, Young Looord~"

And so the two of us set off, walking a wide circuit around Rainbow Lake.

[215] The Support Ate It All