Discipline (6)

Before long, the second island came into view.

It was about as small in area as the last one.

Beyond it, dozens of whirlpools, large and small, were churning the water into a frenzy — bring a boat anywhere near and it would be sucked straight under, leaving nothing behind but drowned ghosts.

So for now we moored the boat at the island and started with the detector.

Beep—

"Nothing here either."

"Nope!"

Next, we opened a comm channel to Shin Byung-cheol, since the path on our side would only open once his team solved the puzzle over there.

"How far along are you?"

"Almost done, sir! Just hang on a little longer."

"It really is almost done, right? If you're stuck, say so honestly."

"No, I'm telling you, it's true. You really do think everything's a scam, huh?"

"Every time you open your mouth, it's a lie."

"That's slander! This time it's the real, genuine deal."

For once, Shin Byung-cheol's voice was overflowing with confidence.

Well, it should have been — I'd read him the entire strategy guide over the comm before sending it along, so there was no way a puzzle could stump him.

Sure enough, a short wait brought a change. The whirlpools ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that had blanketed the water ahead dwindled little by little, until at last they were gone entirely.

Gazing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out over the now-tranquil lake, we contacted Song Cheon-hye.

"Did your side open up?"

"It just opened now."

Under normal circumstances, we would have had to fight a boss battle first, and only after Gabdu Unit 2 went down would the path on Song Cheon-hye's side have opened.

That whole process being skipped meant this one had been eliminated long ago as well.

Han So-mi must have reached the same conclusion, because she asked,

"Leave right away?"

"Let's go."

We climbed back onto the wooden boat and set off once more. As we bobbed along, drifting wherever the lake carried us, Han So-mi thrust her hand high into the air.

"Question! I've got one!"

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

"Aren't all the bosses gone?!"

"I wouldn't count on that."

Trident Lake's bosses numbered three in all: two mid-bosses and one final boss.

The two mid-bosses could disappear for any number of reasons — most commonly, a party that had entered earlier quitting partway through. So their absence was easy enough to shrug off, but the final boss was the very heart of this dungeon. The moment it was slain, the dungeon would be cleared and reset.

"So it has to still be alive, no matter what."

"Got it!"

Which meant that from here on out, a boss battle was unavoidable — whether the opponent turned out to be Gabdu Unit 3 or the Oublek.

The wooden boat drifted on through the stillness.

Then Han So-mi swung her head this way and that, as if checking on something, and shot her hand up again.

"Again! Another question!"

"All right, what is it this time?"

"Can't we go over there?!"

Where Han So-mi pointed, a sheer cliff rose out of the water — one of the walls that split the lake into three sections. It was dizzyingly tall, and its face glistened with moisture; one careless step looked like it would send you sliding straight off.

"If you really committed to it, climbing it would be possible."

"Really?"

"There's no such thing as impossible for humankind."

And if you could get up there, you could cross over to the stretch of lake where our other teammates were — or they could cross over to us.

But I slowly shook my head.

"And yet nobody does it. There's a reason for that."

"Why not?"

"There's a trap."

A spatial magic far too powerful for an F-rank dungeon was at work atop that cliff. Even if you somehow beat the odds and completed the climb, a teleportation spell would sweep you up and fling you far away the instant you reached the top.

Han So-mi's eyes lit up with curiosity.

"Flung where?"

"Back to the starting point. And here's the really important part."

I gave our wooden boat a light little tap.

"You get flung without this."

"Wha—?"

In other words, to make it back to where you'd started, you'd have to swim the whole way with no boat. Better not to try at all.

If I could resist it, that would be another story.

Someone with the skill to shrug off the spatial magic and pull off the one thing you weren't supposed to do could roam that clifftop to their heart's content — and pick up a very special hidden piece while they were at it.

Of course, at my current level, that was a story for the far distant future.

I turned to Han So-mi.

"Is your curiosity satisfied?"

"Satisfied! Thank you!"

"Then let's start getting ready."

While we traded small talk, the third and final island was drawing near.

Before we reached it, I took out the detector and pressed the button.

Beep—

The radar swept round and round across the screen. Han So-mi and I watched it intently, and then—

Beep beep—!

A vivid red dot appeared at one edge of the display.

We looked at each other.

"There it is, finally. I was starting to think this thing was broken."

"Finally!"

We relayed the news to Song Cheon-hye as well. A flinch came through the comm, and then—

"I will join you immediately."

But Song Cheon-hye joining us now was pure fantasy. Crossing the cliff was obviously impossible, and retracing her entire route to take our path ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would take far too long on its own.

Besides, the catfish monsters would keep up their waves of assaults on her end; she couldn't leave her post.

For all those reasons, I spoke into the comm.

"The two of us will give it a shot."

"We can do it!"

"…Understood. Please don't overexert yourselves. If things turn against you, retreat at once."

"Of course."

"So-mi — you be careful too."

Worry had seeped into Song Cheon-hye's voice.

Soon, just as before, we moored the boat at a small island. Stepping ashore and scanning the water ahead—

"Doesn't that look suspicious to you?"

"Yeah, super!"

There were no reefs, no whirlpools — but one corner of the lake alone was murky black, as though something had contaminated it. And it matched exactly where the Oublek detector was pointing.

Then I'd better flush it out.

I planted the sapling in the ground and fired a Spiral Explosion toward that spot.

A small whirlpool began to swirl, and then—

THOOM!

A dull boom echoed from beneath the surface.

Nothing beats this for provocation.

As if to prove the point, ripples erupted all across the lake and foam began to bubble and churn.

Before long the surface bulged upward, and—

SHWAAAAAA—

A monster that looked half human, half colossal catfish revealed itself.

Its appearance differed quite a bit from what I remembered: bulkier, grotesquely warped, with six full arms — and it was toting three tridents to boot.

That was what happened when the Oublek devoured and fused with multiple bosses. Most tellingly of all, its skin carried the Oublek's signature black sheen.

Had Dang Gyu-young seen it, she probably would have said something like:

"Well, lookie there — a Dark Gabdu?"

"—!"

The moment its eyes met ours, the thing thrust out its tridents. The lake around us churned all the more violently, and clumps of water rose into the air and came flying our way.

BAM! I burst one with Wind Force, while Han So-mi split the other two out of the sky with flying sword energy.

Next, with the sapling planted at my feet, I stretched one hand forward.

A whirlwind gathered around the Dark Oublek — and detonated on the spot.

BAM!

"—!"

A gaping hole punched through its chest, only to heal over at once. The thing had no defense to speak of in the first place, which halved the value of Spiral Explosion's defense-ignoring effect.

One punch of Inferno Fist would end this in a single blow.

But I couldn't exactly use Inferno Fist with Han So-mi watching. Going by her usual behavior she looked careless in plenty of ways, yet she was quietly scrupulous about keeping official business and personal matters separate. If lives hung in the balance, maybe — but as things stood, there was no reason to bring it out.

So, weaving between the incoming water bombs, I made a proposal.

"Why not treat it to one clean Grass-Cutting Slash?"

"Should I?"

Han So-mi lifted her sword to middle guard, then paused as something occurred to her.

"But there's a problem!"

"What is it?"

"It's too far!"

Han So-mi pointed her blade at the Dark Gabdu. The thing was a mage-type boss that insisted on bombarding us with water-attribute magic from the middle of the lake. At this distance, her slash wouldn't reach — and even if it did, its power would drop off drastically.

Fortunately, this was a problem I could solve.

"Then I'll build you some footing."

"How?"

"Like this."

I cast Ice Wall, and a short distance away the lake froze over as an ice wall shot up from the water.

Han So-mi let out a gasp of admiration.

"So there was a way like that!"

"I'll raise them one at a time, so step your way across. Just watch out — they're slippery."

"Mm-hmm!"

Han So-mi bounded toward the ice wall, and the instant I raised the next one, she sprang nimbly up onto it.

"—!"

The Dark Oublek seemed to grasp her intent, and focused its water magic on her. Lake water surged upward, clumping into heavy droplets that came flying — and Han So-mi flitted between the ice walls, slipping past every one.

At one point she skidded slightly, her balance breaking—

"Whoa, whoa~?"

She flung both arms out, teetered this way and that, and recovered. Even in the thick of battle, not a trace of alarm showed on her face.

That girl really is living the 'just here to have fun' life.

Which suited me fine. It was far better than freezing up in fear and failing to show what she could do.

I kept raising ice walls one after another, and Han So-mi climbed across them, edging closer and closer to the Dark Oublek.

"—!"

As the distance shrank, the Dark Oublek seemed to feel the pressure too. Its three tridents merged into one far larger weapon, which leveled straight at Han So-mi.

The lake surface heaved violently, and—

WHOOOOSH—!

A wave taller than a man came crashing down over her.

It was a pattern I had already anticipated, so the moment I saw the wave, I gave the order.

"Jump high. Jump."

"Jumping!"

Han So-mi kicked off the ice wall in one light bound just as compressed air detonated beneath her feet — BOOM!

"Ooo~"

Suspended in midair, she wore a bright, carefree grin. The instant the wave passed, she alighted on an ice wall and hopped across to the next one I summoned — and just like that, the distance to the Dark ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Oublek shrank considerably.

Han So-mi apparently judged this close enough; she raised her sword to middle guard.

"Here I gooo!"

Then she began stoking her momentum to the brim. A piercing chill gathered along the blade.

For my part, I backed up Han So-mi's Grass-Cutting Slash.

Vreeee—!

Just in case Han So-mi took a hit from the water magic, I wrapped her in a barrier, then unleashed the Spiral Explosion, now boosted to A+ rank. The whirlwind seized the monster with the fury of a typhoon.

"—!"

The Dark Oublek seemed to instinctively understand that this was the end. Lake water swarmed up its trident, coiling into the shape of a thick whip — and the water whip cracked down with everything it had at the very moment Han So-mi's blade swept down in its arc.

SHRAAAAK!!

The Dark Oublek was less cut apart than simply crumbled to pieces under overwhelming pressure. A heartbeat later, Spiral Explosion detonated its wind, compressed to the very limit.

KWA-BOOOM—!

When the blast cleared, the monster had evaporated without a trace. Only scattered patches of the lake remained stained black.

One problem, though: Han So-mi was nowhere to be seen either.

Looks like she got knocked off.

The blast must have swept her off the ice wall. Sure enough, a spot in the lake bulged upward, and—

"Pwah—!"

Han So-mi's head popped out of the water. Drenched through like a strand of seaweed, she looked around to check on the Dark Oublek.

"Did we get it?!"

"We got it. Over here."

I steered the wooden boat over to her at an easy pace, hauled her aboard, then took a glass vial from my inventory and filled it with the blackened lake water.

The notification printed immediately.

Naturally, my choice this time was also "No."

Then I held the collected sample out to Han So-mi.

"Here — you need this, right?"

"Yep yep! Thank you!"

Han So-mi stored the vial in her inventory, and the moment the linked follow-up quest appeared, it completed on the spot.

This time, however, instead of asking whether I wanted the reward, everything I had been putting off settled all at once.

Finally — it's mine.

[270] The Support Ate it All