Chapter 21
“I told you not to say that!”
The chairman seemed to know what it meant, as if he’d heard Zephyros say it plenty of times.
If a man could hear “Chicken!” and just take it, he wasn’t much of a man.
And there was no way a hairy, macho American old-timer could stand for that.
“So, are you in or not?”
“Of course I’m in. What are we betting?”
“Your car’s getting old. How about a new one?”
“Oh? What kind of car? Should we go for a supercar?”
“Let’s keep it reasonable. Around a hundred thousand dollars.”
Wasn’t that a little too much?
Even if he was rich, 130 million won for a casual bet...
“Zephyros in his prime is long gone. Back then, you’d definitely have gone for something like a Rolls-Royce.”
“Should we make it that, then? I’m confident.”
Were these people crazy?
A Rolls-Royce on a single bet?
I wasn’t even interested in cars like that, so I had no idea how much one cost, but wasn’t that the price of an apartment on wheels?
“Deal. Scarlett, get ready to pick out a new car.”
That old guy must’ve been insanely rich, too.
At the boastful American’s shout, Scarlett looked away in embarrassment and put a hand to her forehead.
Well, I’d be a little embarrassed, too.
“All right, then when are we going?”
“Since we’re at it, let’s go right now. What, can’t you?”
“Why not? A quick briefing is all we need. Segyun, come over here. We’ll start the briefing.”
I’d gotten swept up in a bet between two middle-aged men, and the raid had been decided in the blink of an eye. Even so, Zephyros’s briefing was clear.
“It’s been a long time since you cleared it, hasn’t it? You remember it well.”
“Hunters don’t usually forget the dungeons they’ve cleared. Ten years from now, you’ll be able to spend an hour reminiscing over drinks about the first Stage 3 dungeon you cleared.”
Is that so?
Come to think of it, I’d only cleared a few, but I remembered them vividly, too.
I guess that’s what happens when you fight for your life on a battlefield.
“Anyway, with your abilities, you can clear it in two hours. There aren’t that many monsters.”
Zephyros glanced at Mr. Jake, then lowered his voice and whispered.
I’d only heard the briefing, but I had to agree with Zephyros.
There were aquatic monsters called barracudas, along with fire lizards that lived in volcanoes.
The barracudas were especially aggressive and dangerous, but at the end of the day, they were still fish.
Since aquatic monsters couldn’t come onto land, they couldn’t escape my ‘click’ when I used it outside the water.
“If the briefing’s over, let’s get going! The sun’s going to set!”
Instead of the rental car we’d hired, we decided to ride in Mr. Jake’s vehicle. It was parked in the best spot in the Hunters Association lot, and it was so enormous my jaw dropped.
It was a huge off-road vehicle that looked like it guzzled gas like crazy.
“Isn’t this... practically a tank?”
“You bought something as dumb as you are.”
“Now, now, a man should drive something this big.”
“Being a man sure is hard.”
We drove to Pahoa, a coastal area bordering Kilauea Volcano.
It was a coastal area formed where lava flowing from Kilauea met the sea.
The rapidly cooled lava had formed a steep, rocky landscape.
And there was a Gate there.
As expected, it didn’t look particularly well maintained.
“Why do I feel like I always end up at places like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“...All the Gates are run-down...”
“Of course they are. Do you think well-maintained, useful Gates would be left open to the public like this? They’d all belong to some company, or if they were government-run, they’d charge an entrance fee.”
Especially in America, which you could call the birthplace of capitalism.
“The only Gates you can enter freely are the ones that aren’t profitable or have absurdly difficult conditions, like this one.”
“Ugh.”
“Heh heh. Still, the Association’s doing a good job maintaining this one. In places like Florida, there are Gates in swamps so remote you can barely even reach them.”
Guess I was destined to be a connoisseur of crap.
I let out a sigh, then said,
“I’m going in.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
This was an instance dungeon, and a solo dungeon at that.
The other two couldn’t enter with me, so I had no choice but to go in alone.
[You enter Stage 15 Gate, ‘Song of the Sea and Fire.’]
What a poetic name for a dungeon.
But unlike its impressive name, the place itself was a scene of shock and horror.
Lava poured from the volcano and flowed into the sea, producing enormous plumes of smoke.
That must be toxic gas. I should stay away from that area.
“The dungeon environment’s terrible, and it’s a hybrid dungeon combining water and fire... This is one hell of a dump.”
I could understand how I’d managed it with my bacteria-based abilities, but how had Zephyros been the first to clear this place?
This place was practically hell... That man was incredible, too.
“The briefing said to deal with the barracudas at the beach first, before heading into the mountains to clear out the fire lizards, right?”
Just as I’d been briefed, I headed for the beach instead of the mountains where the fire lizards appeared.
I avoided the gas-filled areas and made my way to a spot where I could at least breathe.
Next, I released the No. 2s into the sea.
They’re definitely slower here than in freshwater.
They’d been modified to function in ions like those in salt water, but seawater wasn’t exactly a great environment for bacteria.
Still...
“Undead Strengthening.”
[List of undead that can be strengthened]
(1) Perpetuus Exomodulus <Description hidden>
(2) Caulobacter Crescentus
─Enhancement Effect: Each individual can evolve into ‘Caulobacter Cementus.’
[Evolutionary Mutation: Caulobacter Cementus]
─Description: An evolved mutant form of Caulobacter Crescentus. It secretes a stronger adhesive substance (Cementum), which remains even after the bacteria disappear. Once separated from the bacteria, the adhesive substance releases heat and hardens rapidly.
─Details: The adhesive substance’s bonding strength increases. Once outside the bacteria’s influence, it hardens quickly. Hardened material cannot be restored to its original state.
No. 2 had only recently appeared on the list of undead I could strengthen.
Apparently, I had to use the bacteria long enough to build up my proficiency before I could strengthen them.
The strengthening ability No. 2 had gained was Caulobacter Cementus.
As the name suggested, it could form cementum—cement.
Unlike regular No. 2, it couldn’t turn hardened cement back into its original state. But No. 1 could simply break it down, so there was practically no penalty.
“No. 2, two hundred million individuals. Strengthen yourselves.”
[Caulobacter Crescentus absorbs mana and begins an evolutionary mutation!]
[The evolutionary mutation of a total of 200 million individuals is complete.]
The evolved No. 2s formed an invisible web of adhesive substance underwater and bared their teeth at a barracuda swimming by.
A fish with a pointed mouth like a sharp spear.
If I got hit by that, I might die in one blow if I was unlucky, but a fish still couldn’t come up onto land.
The barracuda struggled helplessly as it became entangled in No. 2’s web.
But then the No. 2s withdrew, leaving only the adhesive substance behind.
Pssshhhhh! The adhesive substance began to harden, producing such an intense heat reaction that the water boiled.
The barracuda slowly cooked from the surface inward.
It rose to the surface and thrashed about, splashing water everywhere, but that didn’t last long.
Buried in a lump of cement, the huge barracuda stopped moving and began slowly sinking toward the seafloor.
“That’s one down.”
I’d gotten the hang of it, too.
Even against stronger monsters, there wasn’t much difference.
The other barracudas met a similar fate.
Before even thirty minutes had passed, a message appeared.
[All barracuda individuals have been subjugated.]
[The Song of the Sea falls silent.]
[The Song of Fire rings out more fiercely!]
“Good. One down.”
All that remained were the fire lizards.
They were quick and nimble lizards, and if things went wrong, they could even shoot fire from their mouths.
They weren’t monsters I could take on casually, but fortunately...
[300 million Magmophile individuals are protecting you.]
[Fire resistance has increased by 3,000%.]
I was fully prepared.
With my fire resistance boosted, I slowly climbed the mountain.
Red lizards crawled across the barren volcanic slopes, where not a single blade of grass grew.
They flicked their tongues and watched me warily.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh! One of the fire lizards sprang into the air and flew toward me.
Of course, it crumbled into dust before it could even reach me.
Perhaps startled by what they’d seen, the other lizards kept their distance instead of charging at me.
Then, all at once, they opened their mouths wide.
A bubbling sound, like a stew boiling, came from inside their bellies.
Fwoooosh! Flames engulfed my vision from every direction.
Good thing I’d prepared in advance after hearing Zephyros’s briefing.
If I hadn’t, I’d have been roasted right here.
Still, those things couldn’t breathe fire forever.
He’d said that after breathing fire once, they couldn’t do it again for a while.
When they saw I hadn’t been hurt at all after being engulfed in flames, the lizards looked a little flustered. Then they rushed at me with their claws bared.
Or, more accurately, they tried to rush me.
The evolved No. 2s had already secreted plenty of adhesive substance, then been recalled.
The adhesive substance had turned into cement and hardened solid, pinning the lizards to the ground.
No. 1 finished them off by breaking down their heads in an instant.
[Your level has increased.]
[All fire lizard individuals have been subjugated.]
And that was that.
It was easy to clear a dungeon when I’d already been briefed and knew how to beat it.
But why hadn’t the clear message appeared?
[Enraged by your performance, the Fire Lizard Leader appears!]
“What?”
Before I had a chance to react,
─Watch out!
I felt a powerful impact against my back as Athena shouted.
Something struck me, sending me flying several meters.
“Gah, c-cough!”
It looked like I’d been hit by a swinging tail. Fortunately, Athena had formed a suit of armor over my back and blocked most of the impact, but she couldn’t do anything about the force of me hitting the ground.
My whole body aches.
When I turned around, I saw a fire lizard about four meters long—so huge it couldn’t even be compared to the ordinary ones.
“Shit... That wasn’t in the briefing.”
It wasn’t like Zephyros had deliberately kept it from me to screw me over...
It was probably some kind of hidden boss that appeared under certain conditions.
“Seriously, you can’t let your guard down in a dungeon...”
Wasn’t it too much to sucker-punch me after I’d already cleared everything? Shit!
Still, I’d be fine as long as I had No. 1.
No matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t resist No. 1’s ability to decompose...
[The Fire Lizard Leader is wary of you.]
[The target’s mana shield reduces the effectiveness of your decomposition ability.]
No, you’ve got to be kidding me.
A thin, translucent shield with a reddish tint was actually wrapped around the Fire Lizard Leader’s body.
Did bosses of this level even have mana?
The mana shield reduced the effectiveness of my decomposition, and it also had thick scales. It would take ages to break it down.
I might be dead before then.
For now, I had the strengthened No. 2s grab the leader’s legs as it charged at me.
Thud! The charging leader’s feet suddenly tangled, and it tumbled to the ground.
─Grrrrrr!
The leader glared at me, flicking its tongue.
It strained as if annoyed by the cement that had formed and hardened in an instant, then shattered it.
That was only a temporary fix, too.
What should I do?
Was my best bet to stall for time while No. 1 broke through its shield?
That was when it happened.
─Summoner, the target is an adult Dracoflammis Igneus. It will be difficult for you to fight with your current abilities. I recommend retreating.
Athena’s voice brought me sharply to attention.
“Do you know what kind of monster that is?”
─I don’t know much about it.
Figures...
─I only remember my Creator hunting this monster primarily to obtain a certain microorganism.
A microorganism?
That thing has microorganisms inside it?
It was worth a shot.
[Skill ‘Mician’ is being used.]
[Skill ‘Mician’ has detected microscopic life within ‘Fire Lizard Leader.’]
[Methanobrevibacter Igneus]
─Description: An anaerobic bacterium that primarily lives symbiotically in the stomachs of Dracoflammis Igneus. It decomposes organic and inorganic matter to produce large quantities of high-pressure methane. The methane produced by the bacteria exists in solid form inside its symbiont’s stomach, then is sprayed out in liquid form when it encounters an enemy, allowing it to breathe fire.
I barely dodged another swinging tail as I read the description that appeared in the system window.
And...
I think I’ve figured it out.
A way to fight it...!