The Mutant's Gambit
There is an old saying: "When the tiger is away, the fox plays king." Max, who styled himself as the second-in-command of the vigilantes, did not agree with this. 'Pfft, what nonsense. Who’s the fox? I’m a tiger, too. I’m just a little smaller than Dawson, that’s all.'
With six subordinates leading the way, Max puffed out his chest. His stride was energetic, and he found the thick, stagnant air of the underground waterway surprisingly sweet. After being constantly nagged and picked on by Dawson for the most trivial reasons, he finally felt like he could breathe.
"Mr. Max, the paths here are incredibly complicated. It’s not like we have a map or anything..."
"I think it would be better if we started heading back around here."
Unlike Max, his subordinates looked completely unenthusiastic. And rightly so; the underground waterway was far too quiet. They had heard it was crawling with rats, so why wasn't there a single one—or anything else—in sight? If anything, the complete absence of life only served to fuel ominous thoughts.
Max was secretly anxious, too. But a leader couldn't show fear. "Stop your yapping, squeak-squeak-squeak—all you do is complain. Are you guys rats or what?"
"But the mission we were given was just to block the cave passage with planks, wasn't it? We don't need to wander this deep—"
"Who are you calling a wanderer, you little brat!" Max grabbed the subordinate by the collar. The man’s cheekbones flushed with tension. He twitched his lips as if he wanted to say something, but stopped. Huh, that’s strange— the reaction was completely different from what Max expected. When Dawson did the same thing, everyone would cower and apologize. 'This guy, he’s really asking for it.'
Max glared for a long moment before shoving the subordinate away roughly. He wanted to teach him a real lesson, but the expressions on the others' faces were just as sour. "There’s a way to find your way even in the dark. Watch this, you idiots."
When Max raised his arm, his subordinates' eyes widened. Wrapped around his wrist was a silver bracelet with an elegant luster. An artifact bracelet, Pure White Radiance.
"Mr. Max, that bracelet is—"
"That’s right. The captain trusts me enough to entrust it to me."
Of course, it was a lie. The greedy Dawson would never entrust a precious artifact to a subordinate. Max had secretly taken it from the storage room while Dawson was preoccupied with planning the operation. 'I'll just put it back before he notices.'
Everything has its use. What good is an artifact if it’s just rotting in a warehouse? Pure White Radiance must be lamenting its own fate, surely. Rationalizing it this way, Max held the bracelet out toward the dark passage.
Fzzzt— A faint, dim light formed a circle over the bracelet. In terms of sheer brightness, a regular torch would have been better, but this light required neither oil nor firewood. Furthermore, it possessed the miraculous property of not extinguishing even when submerged in water.
"Whoa!"
"Is that the artifact's power, Mr. Max?"
The subordinates gasped. Even the guy who had been grabbed by the collar earlier had his eyes wide open. They were such simple-minded fools. Max chuckled and shook the bracelet. "It’s too early to be surprised."
He had once watched Dawson handle the bracelet. With a flick of Max's hand, the light radiating from Pure White Radiance spread in all directions. On the walls, on the floor, on the filthy water—tiny white specks of light, like fireflies, clung to every corner of the waterway, chasing away the darkness.
"Whoa—"
"How about that, you brats?"
"It’s bright and... beautiful."
The subordinates' eyes sparkled. Having regained his authority through the brilliance of the artifact, Max continued to explore the underground waterway. 'Still, it’s strange. There are traces of monster hunting all over the place.'
Max scanned his surroundings with suspicious eyes. Claw marks of rats carved into the walls, bloodstains, scattered chunks of flesh. Max was an adventurer who had seen it all in Garden. Based on his judgment, all these circumstances pointed to one conclusion: 'Someone has been secretly hunting monsters in the underground waterway. No, they might even be hunting right now.'
Max wore a sinister smile and gently stroked his sword hilt. 'Well, well... looks like some big rats have crawled into the waterway. And there might be more than just one or two of them.'
In principle, his subordinates were right. They should have turned back by now. Even if he discovered that there were rogue adventurers in the waterway, it was up to Dawson to decide how to deal with them. However, it wasn't just the darkness of the waterway that blinded Max.
'If I fight, I’ll definitely win. This is my chance to make a name for myself.'
Greed makes men blind. Not even the light of Pure White Radiance could clear away the sticky, heavy lump of ambition sitting in Max's heart. "Let's move quickly."
Max led his subordinates into the darkness.
The boss room of the Polluted Waste Deposit, the Reconstruction Chamber. We gathered in front of the boss room, fully prepared. We had treated all our wounds from previous fights, slept soundly, and eaten a hearty meal. Everyone’s condition was perfect. Naturally—because I was the one managing it.
"Just do as I told you. Don't be too scared." I said, meeting the eyes of each party member. Now, for the final touch, should I say a few reliable, party-leader-like things to boost morale?
Just as I was clearing my throat and thinking of something cool to say:
"Kid, is your butt okay?" Mitchell interjected bluntly.
"...What?"
"You went to take a dump for two hours yesterday."
"Ah. That—that was, you see—"
I had glossed over my whereabouts the previous night. Explaining how I knew the vigilantes might come here, or the source of my exclusive information, would have made things complicated. I had just brushed it off, but... Mitchell, not knowing the full story, seemed to have taken it literally that I had spent two hours doing my business.
"Are you constipated, Estelle?" Wagner asked, looking at me with concern. "You should eat more vegetables and drink plenty of water. And I heard yogurt helps—"
"It's not like that."
"Of course, it might be an embarrassing topic for a young lady at your sensitive age... but I have experience, so I know how painful it is. I was once so severe that—"
...The misunderstanding was deepening. Thanks to that, I even had to hear about Wagner's painful experience. I really didn't want to know.
"Um, can I make a suggestion?" Flora raised her hand high. Her face was bright and innocent. Is this what they call a "madman with clear eyes"? I didn't even need to hear what she was going to say; I knew it was going to be nonsense.
"It's better to fight in peak condition, right? So, why don't we all cheer and wait until Estelle-ssi has comfortably emptied her bowels—"
"Be quiet, Senior. Forget it, we're going in."
BANG. I kicked the door to the boss room open with all my might.
You have entered the deepest part of the Polluted Waste Deposit, the Reconstruction Chamber.
Warning: An Irreversible Transformation Monster awaits the adventurers.
A narrow, rectangular room that resembled an upright cigarette box. Fluorescent waste poured down like a waterfall from a drain near the high ceiling. Scattered chunks of broken stone floated like islands, and... half-submerged in the waste was a shapeless monster, constantly shifting its color and form. That was the boss, the Transformation Monster.
"Let's go."
My heart pounded. Facing a strong opponent, a sense of exhilaration washed over me. Good. Let's do this.
"Senior."
"Ready—"
The boss fight began with Flora’s preemptive magic. A hazy mist erupted from her fingertips. It was the Magic Mist she had just learned. The target wasn't the Transformation Monster, but the three "Shining Eyeballs" lurking around it. If we let them use their specialty, the "Luminescent Gaze" attack, we’d be in trouble. Just staring at them for more than three seconds would gift us a comprehensive set of status ailments: confusion, paralysis, mutation, and petrification. Of course, I had already prepared the countermeasure.
—...! —...!?
Unable to see, the golden eyeballs began to scramble. Flora’s Magic Mist effectively neutralized their gaze attacks by blocking their line of sight.
"Good, good. Now it’s my turn, right?"
While the Shining Eyeballs were flustered in the mist, Mitchell leaped into the air without hesitation. The mist wouldn't last long, so we had to take out the minions quickly. Mitchell was the perfect candidate, being both agile and possessing a powerful strike.
"Hiyah—"
KWA-BANG!
Mitchell slammed into the middle of the monsters like a missile. —Kee-rick...! One of the Shining Eyeballs, hit squarely by the Thunder-Crushing Kick, met its end without even knowing why.
And now, the most important opponent. The task of marking the Transformation Monster was up to me and Wagner.
"No need to overdo it, Wagner. Just buy us some time while Mitchell and Flora take care of the minions."
"Hmm."
The Transformation Monster slowly turned its body toward us. Its fluid form shifted into all sorts of shapes even while rotating. —Grrr-luk... A sound like rattling phlegm echoed from deep within the monster's body. The next moment, the random shifting stopped, and it fixed into a single form. A giant, clenched fist. It was the Crushing Form.
'Not bad.' Of the dozens of forms the Transformation Monster could take, this was one of the easier ones to deal with. The attack pattern was simple. It only had one pattern: slamming that giant fist down on nearby enemies.
"It's coming!"
At my shout, Wagner gripped his shield tightly. The Transformation Monster stretched its wrist out long like taffy and slammed its fist down, cartoonishly, like a scene from an American animation. KWA-BANG!
Of course, the impact was anything but funny. Wagner’s feet, braced behind his shield, sank a good three centimeters into the floor. But Wagner wasn't a pushover. He was a bear, after all.
"...I'm fine. I can take it." Wagner caught his breath and nodded. "You can trust me. Don't worry and fight, Estelle."
If he put it that way, I had no reason to refuse. I poked my head out from behind Wagner and aimed at the Transformation Monster. Magic Arrow, Estelle-style.
"We're trading one for one, aren't we?"
I asked, but the Transformation Monster didn't answer. Rude bastard. BANG—! A laser shot in a straight line from my fingertips, which I had aimed like a pistol. The Magic Arrow pierced the giant fist in an instant and embedded itself in the wall behind it.
—Graaa-ra-ra...!
The Transformation Monster twisted its body violently. My, my. That must have stung. But it’s only going to hurt more from here on out. Don't start whining already.
The brutal fist-fighting continued. The Transformation Monster kept switching forms—Saw Form, Bison Form, Absorption Form—and kept up the onslaught.
"Hoo..."
Wagner’s breathing grew ragged. Even if he knew the countermeasure for every pattern, damage was inevitable during the actual execution. He was taking every hit for me, and even throwing his body to shield me if things got dicey, so it was only natural he was exhausted.
"Are you okay, Wagner? If you can't take it anymore—"
"No problem."
He said that, but his face said otherwise... but it’s a man's instinct to try and look tough in front of a delicate girl. It would be tacky to point it out. I was a man once, too, so I knew that feeling well.
"Just hold on a little longer."
"Hmm."
I just patted Wagner’s shoulder, pretending not to notice. And finally—
"Got them all!"
"We'll help too!"
Flora and Mitchell, having finished off the Shining Eyeballs in the back, joined the fray. 'Faster than expected. Very desirable.' As expected, my party members always performed above expectations.
Perhaps sensing the unfavorable turn of events, the Transformation Monster’s aura shifted ominously. Kwah-rur— Soon, the water level of the waste that had filled the boss room began to drop. The Transformation Monster was continuously sucking the waste into its own body. Its volume grew, already swelling to several times its original size.
Is it coming? Its final and most powerful form, the Dragon Form. The strategy for this was also set in stone. Just go all-out. Pile on more damage than the monster can handle in the shortest amount of time possible. That’s all.
Our party wasn't flustered by the monster’s giant transformation. Flora swallowed hard and began casting Magic Arrow. Mitchell grinned as if she were having fun and started stepping in place. Wagner gripped his mace tighter. And me. I held a dagger in one hand and a ritual sword in the other.
Ability Unlocked: Extracting abilities stored in the Phylactery to strengthen the body for a short time.
Strength +12, Mana +30, Physical Ability +7, Magic Ability +20.
Power surged from deep within my body. With every breath I took, I could feel the rush of mana flowing through my veins. I don't know why, but... even without a breeze, my hair began to flutter on its own.
Casting Frost Sword.
Faint memories of lost experience surface. You receive a bonus for Excellent Talent.
Your aptitude for attack magic is superior. You receive an aptitude bonus.
Long, icy blades extended from the daggers in both my hands. Kya— dual blades, I couldn't resist this. I had been waiting for this moment since I first set foot in the Polluted Waste Deposit. And it wasn't over yet. I couldn't leave out the spirit item, Fading Life.
Painful Sacrifice activated.
You are poisoned. Damage dealt to enemies is increased.
I was now a veritable killing machine. I could guarantee it. If I checked the DPS meter after the battle, I’d definitely be number one. I aimed my frost swords at the Transformation Monster. The preparations were complete. Now, let’s carve it up.