First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 141

Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

(Ryo POV)

From our perspective, the first level of the “Palace of Abyss,” looked like a temple.

Yet, the proportions of the size of the temple seemed out of place.

“(Enemy group detected at 12 o’clock. Please hide behind the pillar here.)”

For example, the pillar we were hiding behind now had a diameter of about 6 meters and stretched up to the ceiling, which was about 30~40 meters above us, and there were dozens of pillars of this size erected in an orderly fashion.

The enemy group that Deborah had sensed and whispered to us a moment ago was heading in the direction from which we came, i.e., towards the entrance. At this rate, they would encounter Ichiko and Izumi…

“(With those two, you have nothing to worry about. They are on a different level than us.)”

Worrying over them, as Yuu pointed out, was a waste of time.

“(But still, there are several holes in the wall. I wonder why all these holes are formed.)”

Une gestured to a series of square holes in the walls.

“(I suspect they are not holes, but passages because there are signs of something like that.)”

Chirito, with binoculars in hand, then answered Une’s question through his observation of the hole.

“(Even if there is a passage in that place, it is impossible for us to get there, right? The effect of this ring prohibits us from floating too…)”

Hachi tapped the ring on her left wrist lightly before pointing out the problem.

“(No, I’ve installed a device that allows us to adjust the output of this ring so that we may adjust the membrane and swim if necessary.)”

Mugi fiddled with the ring a bit to change the size and shape of the membrane. Apparently, buoyancy may be achieved by sticking the membrane as close to the body as possible, while the recoil induced by the movement of hands and other parts of the body can be transmitted to the surrounding water, allowing swimming.

“(If we do that, would any complications arise?)”

This was something I had to ask thoroughly as the commander of the entire unit.

“(There are two drawbacks. The first is that the formulas are more complicated because the membrane is attached tightly to the body, and the battery runs out sooner. The other is the difference in sensation.)

The difference between battery drain and sensation? There would be no problem with the battery if we just used it where it was necessary and conserved it, but what do you mean by the difference in sensation…?

When I voiced my question, Mugi immediately answered, “(Our fighting style is primarily centered on ground combat. In our standard state of deployment, we can engage in combat with roughly the same sensation as if we were fighting on the ground, but in this state, the buoyancy and water-resistance are expected to change the sensation considerably, and I have just confirmed that this is in fact the case.)”

“(I see. That’s a problem.)”

For a few moments, I was distressed before reaching a conclusion.

“(Then, let’s use the swimming state only for moving to high places like that hole, and move on foot in other places. Also, first of all, we should move in the direction from which the enemy group just came. It is better than moving in the dark without any leads.)”

“(Understood. How do we let Ichiko and Izumi know where we’ve gone?)”

“(Izumi’s wolves are around, so I’m positive they’ll follow our scent.)”

“(I see. Then I’ll lead the way.)”

“(Please do.)”

We resumed our advance after settling on a line of action.

As for the formation, from the top, Deborah, Chirito, myself, Mugi and Hachi were in the same line, followed by Une and Yuu. If Ichiko and Izumi were present, Ichiko will be in the same line as Chirito and Izumi will be in the same line as Yuu.

“(Then, let’s go.)”

Now, we wanted to minimize consumption as much as possible.

————–

“(There is a presence of a mass of monsters in the back there.)”

Saying this, Deborah pointed out a hole about 5 meters on a side, about 10 meters above the floor.

“(Do you know their number and the distance?)”

“The distance is 50 meters behind the hole, and the number is about 10~20 probably…)”

“(It is all we need to know. Then let’s keep our voices down from here on out.)”

After saying this, I switched to hand-sign instructions.

Unless they were a member of the “Mercenary of the Mist” or a fellow Kirijin, this hand-signed instruction had been difficult to understand intuitively until now, but I had taught it to Yuu and the others over the past week, so there should be no problem even for a short period of battle.

First, I instructed Mugi, Une, and Deborah to switch the membrane’s state to swimming. After that, I directed them to the side of the entrance, which was a blind spot from the inside of the hole.

Subsequently, Chirito and I switched to the swimming state. While swimming directly in front of the hole, I asked Yuu and Hachi to remain in the shadow of the pillar as a backup.

Now, the operation will kick-off.

The first thing Chirito did was to check the status of the enemy through binoculars. If the enemy had perception ability at this point, our position will be revealed and the operation will be aborted.

Chirito gave me a hand sign that revealed “No problem” and another hand sign that was shaped like a fish.

Once I confirmed this, I sent Chirito to Yuu and his group’s location and swam to the hole myself.

After entering the hole and advancing about 10 meters, I spotted something approaching from the other side.

The approaching figures resembled a marlin. However, unlike other marlin fish, its sharp tip of the nose was clearly metallic, and it appeared to be capable of piercing through ordinary sheet metal armor with ease.

The most crucial part was their number: 14, just as Deborah had sensed.

When I confirmed that they were coming towards me, I invoked ?Mantle of Mist? and ?Mist Cloak?. Originally, I could only manifest my physical strength and leg strength in the “White Mist and Black Swamp Forest” but coupled with my skills and the ring’s effect, I was able to swim vigorously through the water and backtrack along the path I had just taken.

I alerted Mugi and the others who had been hiding by hand-signaling the number and the approximate number of seconds they would be arriving after moving to the hall where I had just been, and then I concealed myself in the shadow of a nearby pillar.

The marlins emerged spiritedly.

Mugi had already consolidated her power with the support of Une and was ready to cast ?Flame Javelin? at any time.

When the last marlin popped out of the hole, Mugi’s ?Flame Javelin? was hurled into the center of the group of marlin and explodes, wiping out the entire group.

However, this was the “Palace of Abyss,” the home base of the Octopus King. It was a place where the monsters under the control of the Octopus King can fully exert their power.

Therefore, I instructed Chirito and Deborah not to relax their guard or be negligent, and the three of us made sure to put an end to the opponents who may still have a few breaths left in them.

After successfully eliminating them, we retrieved the tip of the nose, which may be utilized as a material, and hurried to the hole’s far end, keeping an eye out for reinforcements.

After all, we were still at the first level of the “Palace of Abyss”. Although the level of the Octopus King was unknown, it seemed we had a long way to go.