Chapter 50
Supplying Materials (5)
It was only after about two hours had passed since I entered the Poison Swamp that I finally arrived at my intended destination.
The center of Area C. A massive anthill where Swamp Ants inhabited ca into view. Just as I had expected, the poisonous fog did not inflict any damage on .
It was rely at the level of unpleasant fine dust. Of course, it was so faint that it did not even make cough. After checking my equipnt, I stepped into the entrance of the anthill.
“It’s much bigger than I thought.”
The group turned the mont they sensed my presence. Just like that Magic Stone Spider before, why were insect bastards always so damn big?
Letting out bizarre noises, the ants charged at . I casually threw a glass bead. Most of them convulsed from the lightning explosion, but a few stubbornly managed to reach .
“Ha!”
Of course, it was aningless. I activated Lightning Armor and swung my gauntlet wrapped in electric current. The ones that took a hit to the head were slamd into the wall without exception. I did not forget to let them twitch as they were electrocuted.
I approached those that had beco incapacitated and stabbed the soft area beneath their jaws with my shovel.
For re insects, they spurted bright red blood. Stabbing them one by one like that ended the hunt simply enough.
The sll of burning was far worse than when I had used it on people. I continued walking deeper into the anthill. I blasted electric currents at every one I encountered, and they just loved dying from it.
“Soldier ants? Sothing like that.”
Of course, there were occasionally so that stubbornly endured the explosion of the glass bead. Ones far larger than the normal types let out savage cries, shook off the shock, and charged at .
From that point on, it turned into close combat. I dodged their sharp mandibles that could slice even stone and threw punches.
The shovel was useless unless I struck the soft spots, so most of the ti the gauntlet did the work. They thrashed about so violently that landing precise blows on their vital points was impossible.
A few punches wrapped in electric current were enough to make them go limp, and then I would finish them off with the shovel out of habit. If there were around three soldier ants, it beca a bit difficult, and I had to use more glass beads.
My stamina steadily drained due to Lightning Armor. It was far more economical than the Thunder Horn Mark, but it had its issues when used for a long ti.
I sat on an ant’s corpse and took a rest. I drank so water and chewed on jerky, conserving my stamina. By the ti about half of what I had lost had recovered, I felt an ominous vibration.
“Pheromones.”
The ones who had realized the deaths of their comrades were coming up with fire in their eyes.
The tremors echoing through the cave were no joke. It was the largest number I had encountered so far. I pondered for a mont. Should I use up all my disposable glass beads? Or should I use the spike?
“I can always co back.”
I decided to use the spike. Since the glass beads were single-use, I wanted to conserve them as much as possible. It would not be bad to hit it big this once, take a short rest, let the cooldown run, and then co back again.
I decided to refill my stamina and return after reorganizing. With that plan in mind, I summoned the Holy Scripture. A faint radiance filled the cave.
“A spear works too.”
Instead of swinging it like a sword as usual, I threw it in the form of a spear. The cave was not particularly wide, nor was it an open cavern, so I had no other choice.
A long spear of lightning took shape. I thrust it with all my strength toward the ones charging at without fear. The spear that shot forward fiercely created quite a spectacular sight.
The ones at the very front, rushing in, could not withstand the intense heat and lted away. The ones behind them t a similar fate.
Only after reaching the end did it lose most of its heat, yet terrifying electric currents still burst outward in all directions.
From the aftermath, part of the cave even collapsed. It was far more powerful than when I used it like a sword. I imdiately drove my shovel into the necks of those that had not died in a single blow.
“Ugh. The sll.”
I frowned at the foul stench of burning. It was unpleasant enough being splattered with blood—did I really have to go this far?
Grumbling aloud, I cut off the antennae of the dead ones. Rather than being hard, they were extrely tough and fibrous, which made cutting them far more troubleso.
I filled my backpack completely and stacked them neatly on top. Even then, there were too many left, so I bundled them as best as I could and grabbed so in both hands.
Even after going that far, corpses were still strewn everywhere. I smacked my lips in regret, but thinking I could co back after reorganizing and collect the rest, I moved on.
I felt a bit excited at the thought of breathing the clear air outside the cave, but the mont I rembered the poisonous fog, my mood darkened.
“Let’s see. If I head south of the anthill, there should be a lighthouse.”
The only place in the dungeon called Poison Swamp where one could rest. It was not that there was no poisonous fog at all, but the concentration was low, and monsters did not co near, making it a comparatively comfortable resting spot.
I moved while looking at the distribution map I had received from the guide. The lighthouse I soon found was tranquil. A building aging as it was, untouched by human footsteps.
I settled down in front of the lighthouse entrance and took a proper rest. I quite liked the chilly eeriness of the poisonous fog, but the dampness was an ambush.
Still, being able to relax and rest without tension was not bad. For the first ti in a while, I opened my status window.
[Davide Duhein]
Gender: Male Year: 2nd Year Title: Apostle of Anaye Trait: Ancient Magic
Skill [Trace of Anaye] [Lv. 10] [Religion] [Apostle]
The trace of the Ancient God, Anaye, the Thunder Deer.
Born from a lake and raised drinking lightning, Anaye controls water and breathes lightning. She paid particular attention to her first child.
―Blessing of Paillet Lake: Increased resistance to water attribute. Recovery rate increased by 60%.
―Thunder Horn: Increases lightning attribute resistance. Consus 30% of current stamina to leave a ‘Thunder Horn Mark’. The ‘Thunder Horn Mark’ deals additional damage equal to 10% of maximum stamina.
―Lightning Spike of Anaye: Summons a spike that deals damage equal to lost stamina x60.
For so reason, the skill level was increasing slowly. Since I had been crafting glass beads every day, I had reached level 10 in no ti.
However, even after spending quite a while beyond that point, there was no change in the level.
“Hmm?”
About an hour passed when I felt gazes fixed on . There was nothing visible in my field of vision. Even after getting up and scanning the surroundings, all I saw was a thick forest.
Only after searching for quite so ti did I finally notice red eyes scattered throughout the bushes. I let out a rough laugh. How dare re beasts open their eyes like that at .
***
“They’re all dead.”
“That’s because I killed them all.”
In the end, my twin younger sister decided to accompany . The reason was that the magic backpack could only be opened with that person’s mana.
Davide left behind a remark telling her to handle things herself and walked ahead first. After calming her brother, who was pouring out his worries, she obtained permission from the leader.
Then she followed Davide and arrived at the entrance of the ant nest. From the very entrance, my twin younger sister shuddered at the chilling sensation creeping over her.
Soon, upon discovering the pile of corpses, she stopped abruptly. Only after hearing Davide’s calm words did she finally understand why he was covered in blood.
“I’ll share so with you, so cut off the antennae.”
“The… antennae?”
“Yeah.”
Davide imdiately began slicing off the antennae from the corpses. Before long, he had her do the sa.
Not knowing why they had to collect the antennae, my twin younger sister tilted her head but diligently got to work.
“Why the antennae?”
“They’re good material.”
“Material?”
“Yeah, I’m going to make clothes with them.”
“?”
His replies ca quickly to every question. The content, however, was less than satisfactory. How exactly was he planning to make clothes out of sothing that tough and rigid?
If he had said he was collecting the exoskeleton to make armor, that would have made sense. But antennae? She could not picture it at all.
Curiosity arose, but it did not seem like he would give her an easy answer.
“It’s terrifying.”
“Is it.”
It was grueso. That was how it felt at a glance. They were enemies, after all, yet seeing so many corpses left an unpleasant sensation.
It felt as though the sll of blood was seeping even through the gas mask. The corpses were in better condition than expected. Of course, many were grotesquely twisted or had their head portions caved in, but most were intact.
If there was a problem, it was that they had bled far too much. To the point that one might suspect they had died from excessive blood loss.
Only after about ten minutes had passed did we finish collecting all the antennae from the first pile.
“Are we going now?”
“No. We have to do this about five more tis.”
“Ah. Pardon? What?”
She was startled at the ntion of five tis. That ant there were five more piles of corpses like this. Just what thod had he used to deal with those vicious creatures?
“How did you do it?”
“It’s their weak attribute. As you know, I mainly use lightning attribute.”
“I don’t know that…….”
“Didn’t you? Well, anyway, that’s how it was.”
From the very first day we t through the Acid Gecko, he had not shown anything in particular either.
Davide tilted his head as if to say was that so, yet he did not stop walking.
“Co to think of it, what’s your na?”
“……Rera.”
“Rerayo? That’s unusual.”
“Rera. Rera Gati.”
Rera felt sowhat complicated inside. It was not because of her na, of course. It was because his attitude was far too light.
His tone sounded as though he was heading out for a stroll sowhere. It did not feel like we were inside that infamous ant nest at all.
Was he the type who would not feel a sense of crisis unless the opponent was stronger than his own notoriety? Sohow, that seed like a plausible deduction.
“Was lightning attribute always this effective?”
“Insects originally can’t handle fire and electricity.”
This did not seem to be that kind of level. Having so knowledge of hunting, Rera imdiately noticed that the ants had been electrocuted and then had their vital points pierced.
The range was extrely wide. If it was sothing done multiple tis, then it was an attack he could continue using; if not, then it ant it was powerful enough to create this state in a single strike.
“How’s the capacity?”
“About half left.”
“That’s enough.”
We took a short break right after finishing off the fourth pile. Davide was fine, but Rera was the one struggling.
Knowing a mage’s physical capabilities, Davide sat down without saying much.
“Th-that poison fog… are you really okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Should I call it resistance? I’ve got sothing like that.”
“Resistance?”
She had heard about it from him in advance at the lighthouse, but that did not an she could help worrying. With concern in her heart, Rera asked again.
When poison was ntioned, tolerance naturally ca to mind. But the word resistance felt sowhat unfamiliar.
As Rera stared at curiously, I waved my hand, indicating that I had nothing more to say.
“The gas mask blocks slls too, right?”
“Yes. As far as I know, it does.”
“That’s a relief.”
“……Why is that?”
Now I was starting to feel afraid. There was nothing about him that was not extraordinary. The fact that he wandered this ant nest alone as he pleased.
That he possessed such ability, and was even calm amidst this chaos. Back during the Acid Gecko incident, I had thought there was sothing unusual about him, but this felt excessive.
“Th-this is…… what.”
The final pile we arrived at after our break. That place gave off a different atmosphere from the ones before. There were more than all the ones we had seen combined.
More corpses than that. In more varied ways than that.
The first thing we encountered looked like lted rock. Only after approaching and noticing the strange coloration did I realize it was a lted ant.
Next were the ones we had seen before. Only upon reaching the end of this slaughter did Rera realize that this entire scene had been created by a single technique.
There were bodies torn to shreds by a storm. A scene of absurd destruction. The damage was so severe that there was hardly anything left to harvest.
“This one’s a dud.”
There was regret in his calm tone. This was far more dangerous than expected. This was the hunt of a beast. If he was the one who had created this state, then it was understandable how he could be so relaxed.
Just what kind of person was Winter, maintaining a close relationship with soone like this? Were those who called him incompetent trash completely out of their minds?
“Did you collect everything?”
“……Yes.”
“Good. Let’s go now. I was just going to give you so antennae, but I’ll just give you knuckles instead.”
“Ah…… no.”
“Hm?”
Davide looked at Rera curiously when she reflexively objected. If you worked, you had to be paid accordingly.
Even a simple task like harvesting and storing had been considerable help. She had also benefited from the decent item called the magic backpack.
“Don’t refuse. It’s compensation for your labor.”
“Th-then…… yes. Thank you.”
Davide found it strange. It did not feel like sothing she would refuse. Davide and Rera returned to the lighthouse just like that.
When Rera struggled with the weight of the backpack, Davide carried it instead. She insisted that she would carry it herself, but in the end, she had to hand it over to him.
For so reason, she felt a chilling sensation from his expressionless face. Was being shown consideration supposed to be this frightening?
She had now reached the point of cheering on the peculiar life of Winter, with whom she was gradually becoming closer.
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