26
Chapter 26
A situation arose that completely shattered the Teddy Bear's expectations.
After the Humans on the surface returned to their camp.
They quickly regrouped and returned to the site of the massive explosion, bringing one Monster Slayer with them.
The Humans jumped down the hole without hesitation.
They had decided to hunt down the escaping Teddy Bear to the bitter end to avenge their fallen comrades.
The members of the party were as follows.
The Azure Human, the Shield Human, and the Chastity Belt Human.
The Human wielding the Twin Daggers Soul Weapon.
Plus the Human with the Levitation skill brought from the camp.
The Levitation Human was the first to descend into the underground.
She looked surprised upon witnessing the underground corridor.
"To think there was a space like this beneath the ground... Could a highly intelligent monster have created it?"
"Probably."
The Azure Human replied as he came down after her.
The Azure Human slowly turned his head.
Left and right, a forked path.
They now stood before a crossroads.
A mark could be seen on the ground to the left.
It was a trail left by a Monster Slayer.
In other words, a sign left by the woman who had betrayed them.
The Azure Human furrowed his brow.
The woman was now a fugitive.
There was no way such a woman would honestly leave a trail.
The mark on the left must be bait to lure her pursuers.
In that case, the actual path she took was to the right...
...But that couldn't be right either.
Because that was too simple.
A rational pursuer wouldn't take the right path.
The unmarked direction was the real trap.
She was guiding her pursuers in the opposite direction of the mark.
Therefore, the correct answer was the marked path on the left.
...Any pursuer with half a brain would think exactly that.
They wouldn't make the simple-minded choice of thinking, "The fugitive wouldn't leave an honest mark, so let's go the other way!"
The Azure Human thought more carefully.
It was highly likely the woman had anticipated this far.
Since many pursuers would choose the left path, there was a high probability she had twisted it one more time and fled to the right instead.
So the escape route was to the right.
No, the left.
No, the right.
No, the left.......
After agonizing over it, the Azure Human finally made his decision.
"...We go right. Everyone follow me."
"Wouldn't it be better to split up our numbers and pursue?"
"It's too dangerous to split up. Even if we risk failing the pursuit, we must stick together no matter what. We don't know what kind of powerful monster is lurking in this underground space."
The path the Humans chose was the right one.
They continued their pursuit in the unmarked direction.
And that path was the exact opposite of the direction the Teddy Bear and the woman had taken.
The Azure Human had lost the psychological warfare.
*
The right direction.
Not long after the Azure Human and the Humans began moving.
They entered a massive cavern.
And what welcomed the Humans there wasn't the Teddy Bear and the woman.
It was the horde of monsters that created this underground space.
[Slow Stone lv.30]
[Slow Stone lv.35]
[Slow Stone lv.36]
[Rockstone lv.30]
[Rockstone lv.34]
[Rockstone lv.32]
[Moss Giant lv.30]
[Moss Giant lv.33]
[Moss Giant lv.31]
"Intruder detected."
"Intruder detected."
"Intruder detected."
Countless Superior rank monsters.
At their center sat a massive rock.
A single, eerie giant eyeball was attached to the front of the rock, and that eye slowly moved, sharply glaring at the Intruders.
[Stone King lv.40]
┗Pw.160
┗Rnk.Rare
The king of this underground space.
He who commands the stone-type monsters.
The Rare rank, Stone King.
The Azure Human's face grew deathly pale.
He instinctively took a step back.
Soon after, the Azure Human was the first to turn around and sprint back the way they came.
At the same time, he shouted a retreat order at the top of his lungs.
The Azure Human ran.
He moved his legs again and again in desperation.
But no matter how much he ran, he couldn't escape the cavern.
Because his movements had slowed down like he was in slow motion.
The other Humans were in the same boat as the Azure Human.
Having been hit by the Slow Stone's skill, all of them were moving at a sluggish pace slower than a Turtle.
In the end, they failed to escape.
Terrified and flailing about at a snail's pace, they had no choice but to wait for the shadow of death slowly approaching from behind.
***
Pure White Teddy Bear.
Armadillo Teddy Bear.
Between the two Evolution routes.
I decided to choose the latter.
Because there was something iffy about the Pure White Teddy Bear.
[Armadillo Teddy Bear lv.19]
┗Pw.38 (+8)
┗Rnk.Uncommon (Limit Breakthrough Unavailable)
[Skill]
[Helper lv.1], [Evolution lv.2], [Action lv.2], [Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.1], [Bloodsucking Enhancement lv.1], [Flame Manipulation lv.3], [Synthesis lv.1 (Unavailable)], [Rolling lv.2], [Gourmet lv.1]
Yay! Evolution complete!
I gained 2 additional power.
Although I didn't get a new skill, the level of my Rolling skill went up.
It had been a while since there was a change in my appearance, too.
A dark brown armor grew on the back of my body.
To be exact.
A hard shell that started from the back of my head ran down my back and all the way to my heels.
I immediately curled my body into a ball.
And I used the Rolling skill to slowly spin my body.
Whirrrr.
The Hard Shell Spinning Teddy Bear was born!
I was highly satisfied.
Even if there's something sharp on the floor, it won't pierce my back anymore.
And I can probably use it as an attack skill.
After a brief check.
I stopped spinning and stood up, only to see the woman staring at me with her mouth slightly open, clapping like a seal.
Clap clap clap!
The woman looked back and forth between her baby and me.
Could my baby evolve too?
She had an expression that seemed to say exactly that.
Her gaze fixed on me once again.
I don't know either.
I can't give you an answer even if you look at me like that.
It's probably possible if that kid also has the Evolution skill.
Let's figure that out together later. For now, do you want to race me?
I want to know who is faster between you and me.
I mimed running.
While pointing far ahead with my hand.
Did my intention get across properly this time?
The woman let out a small gasp and nodded a couple of times.
Alright, the footrace is on.
I immediately crouched down and activated the Rolling skill.
Whirrrrr-!!!
I wasn't spinning in place.
I couldn't afford to lose, so I immediately made a false start.
Haha. Catch me if you can!
I confidently rolled at max speed.
Whoosh-!
Huh? I think something just flew past me.
Startled, I stopped rolling.
After standing up, I looked ahead.
The Human woman had reached a spot much farther ahead of me.
She was standing there with a very relaxed expression, gesturing for me to hurry up.
No way.
Why is that Human so fast?
Is it thanks to those Soul Weapon Long Boots?
Hey! Relying on gear is cheating!!!
I thought about protesting, but I let it go.
Come to think of it, I made a false start too.
Because I shot out first without warning.
Phew. Whatever.
The race is canceled.
My motivation completely vanished.
I'll just walk.
Since I have to save my Mana.
***
The woman and I continued moving forward.
Even though we had walked for quite a while, we still only saw the exact same type of corridor.
Just how far does this go?
When exactly will we find an exit?
Is there even an exit in the first place?
Did we go in the wrong direction?
While all sorts of thoughts swirled in my head.
Oh?
The shape of the corridor finally changed a little.
The straight, flat path ended, and a corridor sloping gently upward appeared.
An upward path has appeared!
If we go just a little further, will we reach a place connected to the surface?
The woman and I kept moving forward.
As we were walking up the sloped corridor.
"■□?"
For the first time, a crossroad appeared.
A corridor divided into five paths.
Two paths sloped downward, and three sloped upward.
First off, the downward corridors were out.
We had to choose one of the remaining three to proceed.
"■■□?"
The woman looked at me and asked.
She seemed to be asking, Where should we go?
Hmm. If you ask me.
That corridor right there seems to be the right answer.
I pointed at the rightmost corridor with my front paw.
The woman nodded.
She seemed to have decided to trust my choice and follow my lead.
For the record, I chose that path without much thought.
I just guessed, so don't blame me later.
***
The slope of the corridor gradually became steeper.
Meanwhile, a faint light began to show at the end.
Ooh!
Could it be an exit?
I knew I had a good feeling about the rightmost corridor.
The woman also spotted the light.
And she let out an exclamation of awe while looking at me.
How did he accurately pick the path with the exit?
She must have been thinking something like that.
Hehe. Did you see that?
My choices are always correct.
Maybe all the upward corridors led to the exit, but I decided not to make such an assumption. Let's just say I was lucky.
Before we knew it, we had gotten close to the light.
The light gradually spread blindingly bright, and soon swallowed our vision.
Ziiing-
For a moment, our vision went entirely white, and we couldn't see anything.
Of course, it was only for a moment.
Our sight slowly cleared up.
When we completely regained our vision.
The woman and I had exited the corridor and were standing in a dense forest.
"......."
And right in front of the exit we had just come out of.
A Moss Giant was standing blankly, looking down at us.
Uh... Hello?