[Enemy analysis]
[Hallow-touched Rowbear. S-ranked unknown. Danger!]
[Mini-boss fight begin!]
I knew by now to be cautious when the system gave me the warning of danger, though the creature’s immense aura made that quite obvious. The Rowbear’s fire shifted to pure darkness, like a black gaseous flame. And goddamn, I shuddered.
“Hallow-touched Rowbear… where did I hear that before?” I said.
“Emiris! This is the thing she was after,” Milia said, her aura, which carried what had to represent peace, unleashing.
“Ha-hallow?” Chenzu asked, his voice surprised.
Unfortunately for him, the Rowbear wasn’t keen on letting us sit there and discuss the matter. It lurched forward with surprising speed, targeting me, of course.
However, right as I dodged, the Rowbear changed its trajectory to Chenzu instead, knocking him over. The beastkin didn’t like the idea of being food to another predator, so he played a note on his lute. The power of it felt solid as it unleashed a golden shockwave, bashing the monster backward a bit, stunning it.
Chenzu’s attack didn’t stop there. He summoned his own spell book, aiming a palm at the approaching monster.
Milia and I didn’t just stand around watching him do the work. We fanned out, going separate ways to not only give each other a bit of space, but also to not allow the monster to take all three of us down in one giant swipe of its massive claws.
I fired Blood Lightning at it a little after Chenzu unleashed a stream of green magic that rushed toward the monster like a massive beam of fire. Milia also chose her ranged attack, the divine-attuned golden energy balls.
The Rowbear shook off the Blood Lightning and green magic like they were nothing more than pests. However, when Milia’s flurry of energy balls smashed into it, the monster squealed, falling over.
Figuring I’d be better off relying on my potions, using the spell book for enemies more susceptible to its effects, I blurred toward the downed monster. At point blank, I fired a Dragon Magic Burst.
That… only served to piss it off as it roared, raising a massive claw to swipe at me. I considered drinking the shadow potion to make a quick getaway, but like always, monsters that were clearly Satan’s fucking pets made me too uncomfortable for that risk. In the back of my head, there was always some kind of warning bells yelling at me to avoid the shadows. They were compromised like viruses. Entering one could mean being swallowed for all eternity for all I knew.
So I relied on my own speed and the training I’d received from Milia to dodge the swipe. I did receive a graze, which hurt like hell, but the torn spot on my trousers was a small price to pay. Better that than my entire leg.
Milia and Chenzu covered me as I gained some distance away from the rising hallow beast. It started to dodge the dryad’s energy balls. Unfortunately, in favor of chasing me.
I downed a speed potion before allowing a little anger into my system. We didn’t have time to be stuck fighting with this thing.
A sudden magical bolt, a light-blue ball of magic that was, fell from above, and crashed into the beast, doing jack diddly squat. However, that still took its attention off me. Knowing it glared with hatred at Harmony, I took a chance and delivered a spin kick. If Emiris hunted these, then they were not as invulnerable as they seemed.
My gamble worked as I sent the monster flying. Utilizing my speed booster potion, I pushed until I awaited it on the other side. The sound of a lute’s song struck, giving me the feel of… the world’s strongest man.
I kicked the beast upward this time.
“Milia, finish it! You’re the only one whose magic can actually affect that thing,” I said.
Milia didn’t hesitate, both her palms aimed upward. Her aura tripled, drowning the area as she unleashed a golden energy ball the size of a house. It moved at the speed of an ascending rocket, colliding and exploding on contact with the Rowbear.
I breathed a sigh of relief as only chunks of it fell down. Some of them started to dissipate, sizzling like acid. Using a small stick, I collected a few samples in a container. Each piece held some of the hallow beast’s darkness. More shadow potions, baby! Possibly. Most of the remains could end up failing, but something was better than nothing.
I waved at Beakwing to bring the teenagers.
“Good job, team,” I said. “We’d be screwed without each other.”
Everyone laughed, resonating with the truth of that statement. We did not expect there to be a hallow-touched gate guardian. For a moment, I reconsidered risking my apprentices to the possible danger inside. But Emiris changed these things from the outside, not inside the dungeon.
“Before we go inside, let me check it out, make sure there isn’t a beartrap waiting for us at the other end,” I said, not expecting anyone to get my mini attempt at a pun. They didn’t so much as register it.
I stepped through the entrance, consumed by a brief feeling of vertigo, until finally emerging into a world consisting of a single grassy path and endless blue waterfalls. The sight itself was breathtaking, though slightly unsettling since the waterfalls made no noise. We weren’t alone, either. Humanoid, fish-like demonic monsters as tall as me hopped from the waters to the grassy strip of land that spanned a width of maybe half a mile, did what appeared to be a wiggly dance and then dove back into the waters. My eagle sight potion allowed me to get a better look at them.
They sported a fish head and terrifying teeth, a blue scaly humanoid body, black claws, and a long tail with a fin on the back of it.
[Enemy analysis.]
[Lurkerman. C-ranked demonic monster.]
[You have entered a dungeon. Rank: C. Boss defeated: No. Welcome to Water Haven, where even treasures could be resting beneath the sea!]
The system giving out a welcoming intro? That was new and I wasn’t sure if I should be alarmed or relaxed. Somewhere around here, other than the monsters, hell probably awaited.
I scoped out more of the place, seeing nothing of interest. Just trees with no fruit. No mushrooms, no plants, really nothing but a grassy path toward what appeared to be a mountain in the distance.
I looked toward the peak, partially expecting to see the boss flying around it, but nope, I saw nothing. This place just begged to be my apprentices’ training grounds and honestly, that felt a bit exciting, even if we were somewhat short on time.
The skies were an endless mix of pale blue and purple, but despite the place being lit up as if it were an afternoon, not a single sun greeted me in the sky, nor a moon. I had to assume that some kind of crazy ambient magic illuminated the dimension.
“This is one hell of a first floor,” I said as I turned around, though not without taking one more sweeping gaze to make sure I didn’t miss any other threats.
When stepping back outside, I gestured at everyone to proceed through.
“No Rowbears to be found,” I told them. “But this is one freaky place.”
When everyone got off Beakwing, I scratched beneath his chin and said, “You’re free to hunt while we’re out. We shouldn’t be gone for more than an hour.”
Beakwing made a confirmation noise, delight in his aura. The griffin was a predator, after all, and nothing excited him more than a good hunt. And perhaps a belly rub or two.
It would be nice to bring my griffin inside so we could easily skip everything, but the system had safeguards to prevent that very thing.
Everyone’s eyes immediately widened at the sight of the endless waterfalls that touched the skies, defying gravity.
“What in Wanda’s bouncing bum are those?!” Lucas exclaimed, his eyes on the fishmen.
“Lurkermen,” Chenzu told him. “Or you could call them fishmen. They’re C-ranked monsters, but you shouldn’t have any trouble with them.”
I smiled. “Get your weapons ready, spell books out. This isn’t an E-ranked dungeon, nor D. You’ll have to try here.”
As we walked closer, I could tell the teenagers were getting both nervous and excited.
“Wooooow,” Opal said cheerfully as she gazed at the waterfalls from a higher vantage point, which made me wish I could fly. I waited for the system to give me the quest for a flight potion, but it didn’t happen. Bummer. I’d even take a flying machine.
I summoned Yukihara. “Yukihara, this is Opal. Opal, Yukihara. You’re friends now.”
“Pfft, you dare order me to befriend a pixie—are those giant waterfalls?” Yukihara flew as high as the pixie did, leaving the book to float at my side. It even followed me.
“They sure are,” Opal said, completely unperturbed by Yukihara’s earlier outburst.
“Let’s go, you two,” I called out to them.
Since there really wasn’t much in the area, we pushed forward. Three fishmen immediately stopped their weird dancing to rush us.
“Take them out,” I commanded the teenagers. “Use everything you’ve learned. These are C-ranked creatures, so don’t take them…”
Harmony vanished, reappearing in the first one’s path, her sword in a resting position. The head of that fishman fell to the ground, silencing the entire area. Lucas, not wanting to be outdone, also unsheathed his own sword. Focusing on his energy, no doubt filling the basic blade with his fiery mana, he swung. The sword light hummed as it hacked through his fishman opponent. Unfortunately for Lucas, that simply wasn’t enough. The fishman roared and charged him.
Mandi didn’t have magic like the others. However, instead of a sword, she pulled out five yellow spheres the size of marbles, and took her sweet ass time doing so too.
“Thanks for filling these up for me, Milia,” she said in a cheerful voice. The fishman bore down on her, ready to tear her apart. I’d be there in an instant if need be, but just before the tinge of worry could form in the back of my mind, Mandi tossed only one sphere. A small pillar of electricity shot from the device, into the fishman, frying him, but he wasn’t down quite yet.
Mandi pulled out a sword and, utilizing Milia’s brutal teachings, finished off her opponent with one downward swing, though it felt somewhat clumsy. The mysterious marble already had her opponent close enough to death.
The exchange came at the price of a minor scratch across her shoulder. It bled a bit, but the teenager had no problem dabbing some potion on it.
Lucas easily dealt with his opponent using his sword as well, and all was clear. The E-ranked dungeon fights, the constant meditation, Milia’s teachings, and even my unhelpful advice proved that they could take on at least C-ranked demonic monsters.
“Good job,” I said. “Now kill those five.”
“We should have brought a few drinks,” Chenzu said.
“As much as it pains me, I must agree with you,” Milia said. “Perhaps some orange wine or spirits.”
The apprentices glared at us, but I gestured for them to proceed to battle with a big ass smile on my face.
“Even cold ale or mead works for me,” I said.
“Mead?” Chenzu asked with interest.
I wanted to smack the system for not translating that one for me, but I explained it the best I could.
“It’s pretty much a type of wine that uses honey as one of its main ingredients in the fermentation process,” I said.
“Now I want to try some,” Chenzu said. “With the prices reasonable again, it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle to get the ingredients needed to make it.”
“I’ll look into it, but no promises,” I said.
After the teenagers defeated the fishmen, taking only a few minor injuries, we moved on. So far, I was so proud of them. I even gave the brats some compliments, ignoring the questions involving my abilities, of course.
Harmony especially had consistently asked about my red aura, as she called it. Like, how the hell would I know? The system refused to explain it to me. Initially, I thought it was connected to my anger, but now, I just wasn’t sure.
When the teenagers defeated twenty fishmen, I allowed them to take a break.
“You’re a demon!” Mandi groaned as she fell to the grassy ground to rest. Her fellow apprentices followed her example, though Harmony wanted to prove her strength to the stronger fighters. So she sat down gracefully.
Her slumping didn’t go unnoticed, and I shared a smile with Chenzu and Milia. Only for a millisecond did I consider giving them energy potions but slapped away that idea. Exercise worked wonders for the body. No, we would not talk about the multitude of days I sat on my ass back on Earth.
We encountered dozens more of the fishmen before finally getting to the end of the long pathway, which opened into a basin of pure blue rock, stretching out into the distance, leading toward the giant mountain.
I essentially thought that was it, that this dungeon scammed us, but a small tree at the center of the basin caught my attention. It sported blue and gray leaves with green and orange apple-like fruit growing on it.
Unfortunately, a fishman several times larger than the others guarded it. He yawned, lazily stuffing his mouth with fruit after fruit. I analyzed the tree, the fruit, and the fishman just to see if it was worth wasting our limited time. Milia had already confirmed that the mountain led to the second floor. We’d travel there another day.
I needed ingredients, dammit, and here was the first organic thing other than the fishmen we had run into.
[Analysis.]
[Mark O’Maxus’s Tree of Elating Wonders. Plant rank: C. Plant quality: Superior. Plant age: 120 years. Plant spirituality: None.]
[Fruit of Elating Wonders. Item rank: B. Item quality: Superior. The fruit, while safe for human consumption, gives no benefits. A magic chef can make it useful for both spirit beasts and magical beasts. A superior magic chef can make it useful for humanoid beings.]
“Clean the tree,” I said without emotion, prompting Milia to softly facepalm.
Chenzu laughed. “He took one look at that without questioning it and decided the tree was to be harvested,” he said.
“Just a quick scan,” I told him. “Honestly, I’d take the tree if I could. But I’ll settle for the fruit. We’ll need to find a magic chef to process it for us.”
“You know this information… how?” Milia asked. “This is common dryad knowledge, but I hadn’t gotten the chance to show off.” She pouted.
“Wait, you two have the ability to scan things, right?” I asked.
“I can for people, plants, and the land,” she said. “Why?”
“Just plants and instruments for me,” Chenzu said. “I don’t need magic to tell if a drink will be worth it.” He grinned.
I chuckled. “Well, I can scan almost everything,” I said, which somehow silenced the entire area. Even the fishman mini-boss looked in my direction, though he probably wasn’t sure why. “Anyway, that’s not important right now.”
I wondered just what kind of potion I could produce from these fruits. How about Flavors?
Count Hubert fumed, his eyes glaring at the young man that guarded their jail cell. Apparently the city paid him to be a jailer now. Just who did he think he was? He dared give condescending looks at the count.
“Your arrogance will get you killed someday, boy,” the count said, his anger barely restrained. His wife was probably seeing other men behind his back, bent over like a servant girl. His four children, ranging from eighteen to twenty years, were likely making a claim for his fortune, Count Hubert’s will be damned.
“The fight in you makes me sad, old man,” the jailer boy seeming to be of eighteen or nineteen years, said. “You probably have wisdom somewhere in that head of yours. Maybe if I had it, I could catch Nate. But as I am now, I’m just a lost fish in the middle of a barren ocean, hoping to figure out how to evolve in power. Nate’s very selective of his apprentices. Imagine not knowing about him, and after living in the capital for so long, that attitude, which was engraved almost in your soul, barrels out, lashing at him. Rather than give up, I will push with all of my might toward a new path. I won’t dare challenge him to a fight again, but I will find new achievements on my own. Not be known as the person who participated in a big battle, coming out alive, but something better. Maybe non-battle related.”
Count Hubert actually settled down, thinking about the boy’s words for a while before speaking. His words resonated so hard that, for the first time, the count snapped out of his anger. Gaping at the boy… he began to wonder just who he was. But most of all, who was Nate? Why did the potion maker have such an intense effect on people? Sure, he behaved strangely, as if he was from another world or past existence. Other than that, the count just didn’t see what they saw.
“The first step is to not let gold cloud your judgement. Unless you feel like joining me,” the count began. “But… what can you possibly gain in a backwater like this? No one will recognize your achievements, as they’re really just a bunch of country bumpkins, if we’re being honest.”
“In due time,” the boy said and then returned to his meditation without another word.
The count shook his head, muttering choice words. He looked at the other haggard ex-nobles that shared the cell with him. Soon they would either be executed or sent to a long dungeon sentence.
The count betted on the latter, since they didn’t commit murder or other atrocities. He briefly considered calling on the Peace Spawner in hopes that his appearance would cause mayhem, even tasted the name on his tongue, but decided against it.
But…
Suddenly a large blue light appeared in front of him. A… a portal! A woman peeked out.
“Aw, it’s just some dirty old man,” she said in a chipper tone. “The cult of our wonderful, great, amazing, extraordinary master isn’t accepting crusty recruits like you. For wasting our time… well.”
A giant, pale, demonic hand the size of a small shed pulled the count inside the portal. Everyone, including Ramon heard his guttural scream, followed by loud snapping and crunching noises, as well as smacking before the light winked out.
Nothing of the count remained.
