Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 182
Chapter 182: Triaina, the Sea Cave
After returning home from the temple, they logged into ?Astral Online? as usual.
Waking up in the game, Sora and the others decided to restock their supplies in town first. Once inside the cave, there would be no chance to resupply. Even with Inori the alchemist, items couldn’t be produced infinitely, so this final resupply was critical.
“Looking at it now, we really burned through supplies during that underwater boss fight…”
Sora grimaced at her dwindling potion storage, with only three or four potions left. She couldn’t recall a time she’d ever dropped to single digits on recovery items. Reflecting on the previous battle, she remembered how Laura, as a precaution, mainly assisted as a mobile attacker alongside Sue, the slime. Meanwhile, she and Kuro had focused on taking enemy aggro, naturally increasing the frequency of attacks directed at them.
She recalled how her HP would consistently drop by over 40% even while blocking. Shaking it off, she adjusted her inventory. Since she could auto-recover MP through her sword skills, she cut down on magic potions, stocking more HP recovery and weapon durability items in a 7-to-3 ratio.
After completing equipment maintenance at the blacksmith’s, Sora and her party finished their final checks and left the store.
Their next destination was finally the sea cave, Triaina, which led to the underwater temple.
Captain Lucas served as their guide. After leaving town and walking through a bit of forest, they arrived at the cave, beautifully adorned with pale blue crystals.
As they approached, an event battle triggered, and they faced the ?Increasing Crabs?. But by this point, such enemies posed no challenge. With Sora, Kuro, and Laura wielding their swords, and Sue assisting alongside Inori’s covering shots from her bow, they took down several of the creatures in under two minutes.
Standing at the cave’s entrance once more, the five-member party prepared to say goodbye to Lucas.
“Sora, I’m counting on you to protect the princess,” said Lucas.
“Don’t worry, you’ve got the strongest team with her. It’d be harder to lose than to win with these guys.”
“…Good to hear. Just don’t let your guard down.”
“Understood. Thanks for watching out for us, Captain.”
The two bumped their fists lightly, and Sora and her party said their goodbyes before entering the cave.
Inside, as expected, it was dimly lit, filled with that familiar earthy smell, reminding Sora of the school trip to a cave she took back in elementary school. She remembered her father telling her that this smell came from actinobacteria—responsible for the distinctive cave scent.
She couldn’t be sure if the game’s cave actually contained bacteria like that, but at least the smell was the same as the one from that real-life cave.
The cave was about five meters wide, providing enough space for any battles they might encounter.
As they reached the boundary between the cave and the outside, a sudden window popped up, startling him. An automatic check began.
?Confirming the presence of Laura Enoshigaios, the Princess of the Sea.?
?You have accepted the Unique Quest [Songstress’s Trial]. Entry is permitted.?
With the quest accepted, the map suddenly shifted, and the previously calm atmosphere became tense.
The first change the five of them noticed was a high-pitched ringing in their ears. Just as quickly, the sound faded, leaving only a profound silence that made every footstep and breath in the dim cave feel amplified.
?Master, this seems to be a special area. The detection range is now limited to only three meters,? Lucifel, the support system, informed her.
Sora acknowledged this limitation, understanding that her usual sensory range was now tightly restricted, as though it had been sealed. Although it felt confining, she wasn’t too concerned, as she usually relied on Lucifel for enemy detection except against particularly formidable foes.
?Leave it to me as usual, Master,? Lucifel assured.
…She’s eager. Despite her monotone, Sora sensed a hint of excitement in her words. Ever since Lucifel started engaging with her sister as well as her, her range of emotions seemed to have expanded. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Lucifel might eventually develop like a human.
With this thought, she pulled a ?Magic Lamp? from her storage to illuminate the dark path ahead. As they progressed deeper into the cave, a faint, bluish light appeared in the distance.
What could that be?
She glanced at Laura, but she shook her head apologetically, knowing nothing about the cave’s interior—part of the trial arranged by the queen.
Having no other option, they followed the path toward the light and soon entered a vast chamber.
“Wow, this is beautiful!” exclaimed Kuro.
“It truly is a marvelous sight,” Inori added, her eyes shining.
If he had to describe it, “Crystal Cave” would be the perfect name. Crystals imbued with a unique magical energy grew in every direction, emitting a soft blue glow.
The scene was enchanting, like a natural treasure trove.
There’s a crystal cave in the real world that the public can’t access. Perhaps this was inspired by that. According to the insight skill, the blue crystal, found only in this cave, was a rare item used as material for crafting weapons and armor.
Since this cave technically belonged to the Enoshigaios family, they obtained Laura’s permission to gather some of the precious crystals that had broken off and fallen to the ground.
“Huh, I can only carry one of these?” Sora muttered.
“One per person is rather stingy…” Inori sighed.
There was a limit on how many items could be carried. Potions, for example, allowed up to a thousand, but it seemed they could only carry one crystal each. When she tried to pick up a second crystal, an error message popped up, and Inori puffed her cheeks in disappointment.
Sora had wanted to take some crystals back for Shin and Rou too, but it seemed she would have to leave it at that. Once they’d gathered the crystals, they continued deeper along the narrow path of the cave.
After walking for a while, they reached a staircase made of crystal, which led them further down. Once on the second underground level, Sora opened the window screen to check the map.
“This is…,” she murmured.
It appeared to be a straightforward dungeon with only one main path. There seemed to be some branches along the way, but where they led was unknown.
When they reached a fork in the road, a sign appeared like something from a quiz show, asking them to choose the correct answer in an “O/X Quiz” style.
While the group puzzled over it, Laura, with clenched fists, explained, “This is the Songstress’s first trial, the Path of Wisdom. You can’t proceed unless you choose the correct path.”
“Huh. And what happens if we choose wrong?” Sora asked.
“If you choose wrong, a golem guarding the cave will attack, and the paths will shuffle. Then you’ll have to try again,” she explained.
“That seems like a fair penalty.”
The first question was simple: ?Is the level of the golem guarding the Wind Spirit 100 or not??
Confidently, Laura declared, “The royal golem would definitely be level 100 or above, so the first answer is the ‘No’ path to the right!”
“Wait, hold on! Don’t get it wrong from the start, Princess!”
Sora hurriedly grabbed Laura by the shoulder to stop her from taking the wrong path. Seeing her bewildered look, she explained gently.
“I remember Aria mentioning that the golem’s level is 100. Since this quiz is asking whether the golem’s level is 100 or not, the correct answer here is the path on the left.”
“I see… that makes sense…”
Assuming the golem’s level was indeed 100, they took the left path. A “ding-dong” sound confirmed their choice, and a staircase to the next floor appeared ahead. Relieved, Sora let out a sigh.
Laura, her eyes gleaming with enthusiasm, declared, “I get it now. I’ll answer correctly from here on out!”
“Well, we’ll support you, so let’s take it easy,” Sora encouraged.
Thus began Sora and her team’s trial of knowledge in ?Astral Online?.