First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 9
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
(Kurokiri POV)
And now, just as I was beginning to deal with the aftermath, apparently the next unit was storming in. At least for the rest of the day, the responsibility will be delegated to all of my demons.
So, to recap, here was the cause of death for everyone in Alpha Squad:
Alpha 1: Exterminated by a surprise slash from the fin of the Swamp Flying Fish.
Alpha 2: Death by the butcher-bird prey impaled attack at the hands of the King of the Devouring Black Mist (myself).
Alpha 3: Death by the Mimicry Tree with a swift skewering attack
Alpha 4: Death by the slurping from the Disarray Dragonflies
Alpha 5: Devoured by the Thin Mist Wolves
Alpha 6: Plunged by Fogs into the black swamp
Beta 4: Sinking into the swamp, Dozaemon[i]
“…Huh?”
There was already a deceased member of the subsequent squad, and since the monster’s name wasn’t on the list, that meant that individual slipped and sank into the swamp without the interference of my demons and died of their own accord.
Ah, yeah. I should settle down for now. Or rather, I should simply disregard the subsequent team.
Now, let me expound on the two unexplained causes of Alpha 3’s lasting life in this context.
First of all, Alpha 3 appeared to be equipped with an ever-present, detection-type skill. Perhaps something along the lines of ?Warning? or ?Precognition?. Nonetheless, it may be that he was betrayed by his skill at a crucial moment owing to his low skill level.
The two things unexplained were the Mimicry Tree and the Devouring Black Swamp. The Mimicry Tree was a monster and the Black Swamp was a trap. The explanation of each was as follows:
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?Mimicry Tree
Plant-based arboreal demons
While incapable of moving from their position, they mimic plants that inhabit the vicinity and strike when their opponents expose their backs. Its ability to mimic is such that low-level detection skills cannot discern it.
Summoning cost: 500 each for HP and SP, 300 for MP
Prerequisite for creation: Plants other than Mimicry Trees must be present in the vicinity of the installation site.
?Devouring Black Swamp
A special swamp created by the black fog that devours + swamp.
1/s damage to HP, MP, SP when in contact with adversary.
The installation costs several times more than that of a conventional swamp.
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Mm. That’s terribly outrageous. Well, you know, my life is on the line here, too, don’t you?
Since the dungeon was unfolding at full scale with the intent of massacre, this much was to be expected.
By the way, assuming the opponents were cognizant of their route selection and their own skills, the possibility of reaching the boss’ room might be feasible.
Specifically speaking, the proper route in this dungeon was to utilize buildings and walled trees to refrain from falling into the swamp. Despite this, I had to confess that the challenge level was still steep owing to my demons’ surprise assaults in the dense mist.
Clip-clop ???????!
Hmm? Fanfare?
“Help-kun. What’s all this fanfare? Though I can somehow guess what is this.”
[As you predicted, it’s the sound of a level-up, resulting after about 15 kills.]
“Level up huh… Oh, I forgot that the third unit had already entered.”
[They were all exterminated though.]
When I observed the state of affairs outside, it can be seen that three units had charged in yet not a single person has returned, suggesting that they had determined that it was indeed overly risky and abandoned their efforts to conduct further inspections.
“Well, that’s a sensible decision. So, Help-kun, what can be done when my level rises?”
[Let’s see…]
Now, it would be fine if I let Help-kun elaborate on the subject for a long time here, but to simplify it plainly, here’s the summary:
First of all, the parts that are equally applicable to both humans and demons are as follows:
?HP,MP,SP are increased.
And, for humans and certain demons specifically:
?3 points (StP)[ii] that can be allocated to status to elevate your status.
?1 point is awarded for learning and reinforcing skills (SkP).
And for certain demons:
?Rank up at a specific level and have a significant enhancement.
In addition, in the case of the Demon King, there is another way called:
?DP are awarded for expansion of the area that can be served as a dungeon.
Furthermore, once the dungeon area is expanded, the original portion will be regarded as the first level and the expanded portion will be deemed to be the second level.
“By the way, Help-kun.”
[What is it?]
“Isn’t it inefficient to level up from 1 to 2 with 15 kills?”
[It can’t be helped that the experience requirement has substantially augmented due to the Demon King’s correction. For your information, if you slay a human outside the dungeon, the experience you gain will be less than 10% of the total.]
“Isn’t that awful?”
[That’s the way things are.]
Hmm. That means I’ll have to devise various efficient ways of accumulating experience from now on…
For now, let’s allocate StP and SkP.
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Name: King of the Devouring Black Mist
Class: Demon King
Race: King of the Devouring Black Mist
Level: 2
HP: 1700/1700 ?100
MP: 1860/1960 ?110
SP: 1810/1910 ?160
Status
Strength 40
Dexterity 55
Agility 55
Perception 45
Intellect 60
Spirit 71 ?1
Luck 10 ?2
Skill
?Dungeon Create?, ?Monster Create?, ?Devouring Black Mist?, New! ?Circulation?
Title
?King of the Devouring Black Mist?, New! ?White Mist of Ambush?
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First and foremost, I improved my status’ luck from below ordinary to average.
And then, thanks to the Demon King’s correction, my other stats were much heightened, so I had enhanced my spirit, which was my strongest attribute.
?Circulation? was a skill that enabled the user’s to change the flow of air, blood, atmosphere, and rivers to their liking.
If this were used in my dungeon, it can be utilized to locally clear the mist or create a stagnant swamp.
In addition, if used on living things, it can either stimulate energy production and strengthen them, or induce oxygen deprivation owing to blood flow obstruction.
After learning this skill, my SP had risen by about 50. According to Help-kun, this was a perk of acquiring this skill.
The only thing left to do was dispose of the corpses and their belongings, but… yeah. The corpses were already irretrievable. Whoever finished them off or was near them had already devoured them. As for the belongings, let’s collect the ones that can be recovered. It might be usable for something later.
“Well, that’s about it for the aftermath.”
[Then, please excuse me too.]
While contemplating his next step, I decided to start taking a nap.
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T/N:
[i] “Dozaemon” refers to the dead body of a drowned person
[ii] StP/SkP/DP stands for Stats points, skill points, and dungeon points respectively
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Check out other Outer World Story series in order: Outer World Story: The Black Mist that Devours (First series), Outer World Story: Pumpkin Sorcerer (Third series), Outer World Story: Basilisk of Ice Sculpture (Fourth series)