Chapter 215 - Episode Ten - High Elf Sorcerer, Devin (3)
On the way up to the third level, I was explaining to Mea about the three levels of the Witch’s Tower, reading from materials I had gathered beforehand.
“The third level is a labyrinth of water. Most of them are shallow enough to get the soles of your shoes wet, but the foggs are active and surprisingly dangerous,”
“Fogg, huh …… Mea don’t like that one very much.”
Mea scowled in disgust.
A fogg is, in essence, a frog magical beast.
Their size varies greatly depending on their species, ranging from palm-sized to three-meter class.
I’ve never been bothered by it, but it’s certainly not a pleasant thing to look at up close if you’re small, but it’s not a pleasant thing to look at if you’re medium or large.
“I see, Mea’s not a fan of the Fogg family line. I’ll vaporize them in an instant if they come into view, so don’t worry.”
“Tha-, that much is okay …… You’re kidding, right?”
The first level was just goblins wandering around, and the second level was destroyed by my Abel ball, so it wasn’t a normal dungeon exploration so far.
It was just a simple stair climb.
This is where the real work begins. In dungeon exploration, slackness can quickly lead to death.
It’s not uncommon for an A-class adventurer to lose his or her life by a simple mistake.
I must brace myself as I’m also entrusted with Mea’s life.
“I’ve heard that …… deep water is infested with half-fish demon sea marines, so we have to be very careful.”
The half-fish demon sea marine is a magical beast with the appearance of a goblin mermaid.
It has an ugly, wrinkled, dark green face, and its teeth are numerous and spanning two rows.
Its eyes are eyeless and open, and its lower body is a fish.
It drags people down into the water and drowns them, then gathers with its companions to eat their corpses.
Although their simple danger level is considered to be in the upper D-class, they are more feared than they are dangerous due to their ability to attack at once from the water, and the brutality and cunning of the half-fish demon sea marine.
“I’ve heard that there are gemstone starfish living in the water. I heard there aren’t that many of them, but I read that if you search for half a day, you’ll find at least two of them.”
“Jeweled starfish, is it?”
“Yeah. The jeweled starfish is said to have a hardened skin in the center that looks like a jewel is attached to it. But it’s just skin, so when it dies, it turns black and rots. I heard that rich people buy them as pets because they look so beautiful.”
The number of naturally occurring gemstone starfish is small, and there are few areas where they can be found consistently.
Although rumored to be abundant in the Riveras Kingdom, there are many suspicious stories in the Riveras Kingdom, and since there is almost no diplomatic relations with the neighboring Dinrat Kingdom, it is not possible to go out and get them casually.
However, in the three levels of the Witch’s Tower, the number of jeweled starfish is overwhelmingly higher than the outside world.
In the past, when the tower was free to enter, more than 70 percent of adventurers entering the witch’s tower were looking for jeweled starfish, according to past records.
“Heh…… Somehow it’s amazing. Mea wants to see it!”
“You want? Then I’ll figure out a way to lure them in, and I’ll catch a hundred of them.”
“I don’t need so much ……”
On the way there, my feet were hanging at the top of the stairs, and Mea who were trying to help me had trouble falling down the stairs, but somehow I managed to make it to the third level.
Panting for breath, I stepped onto the third level.
“Well, now I can finally do a normal search ……”
There were puddles of water here and there in the large brick-built room, just enough to lightly wet the floor.
In the vicinity, there was a half-fish demon sea marine moaning in pain with its belly up.
It seemed that the half-fish demon sea marine was hiding in the water waiting for its prey to pass by, but for some reason, the water suddenly dried up and it was forced out onto land.
It’s just a matter of time before you get to the point where you can’t breathe and you’re just a legless goblin.
“Oh …… jewelry starfish”
Mea muttered with a straight face.
Out of the corner of her eye, a blackened, limp starfish was left on the floor.
The center of the starfish was slightly swollen, with a rotten black rubbery substance sticking to it.
It must have been beautiful before, but now it looked like a piece of trash.
I turn my attention to the wall.
At the top of the three-story wall, there was a large hole.
It seemed that the Abel ball shot upward at an angle, piercing the floor and walls of the third levels and shattering the wards.
It could be surmised that this must have diminished the influence of Altamir’s magical power and lowered the water level that had spread across the third level.
A cold sweat ran down my temples and reached my chin.
Of the total eight floors of the Witch’s Tower, nearly half of the third floor had already been damaged.
I didn’t know that the Abel ball, which I had intended to lightly fire as a test, had destroyed so much of the witch’s tower.
“…… Thi-This floor is no better.”
When I mumbled, Mea let out a huge breath of relief.
“Thank goodness …… the wall is pierced, so there’s no more damage to the upper floor …… Mea’s now relieved.”
“…………”
I wanted to say something about that, but since it is a fact that the witch’s tower could have been completely destroyed by my carelessness, I decided to take it seriously.
“I’ve heard that there aren’t even many rare magical beasts until the third level. Let’s take a positive view of it as a good thing that we were able to take a shortcut.”
“But won’t it break the seal of Altamir ……?”
“If you want, I’ll look into it and re-write it at random to fit the existing magic circle.”
The magic circle that was used to separate space when the Abel ball was released was floating up, but it didn’t look like much.
It seemed to be somewhat of an elaborate magic circle, but it was nearly a hundred years old at best.
It might take two or three days, but I’m confident I can rebuild it more robustly.
“I-It’s reassuring …… It’s not going to be the Altamir’s Tower anymore, it’s going to be the Abel’s Tower……”
“Anyway, where’s the next step?”
“Isn’t it that?”
At the end of the Mea’s finger, there was a high staircase leading to the ceiling.
But far away. There was a big dent in the floor, and the fact that we had to go the long way was another minus.
With this series of stairs, my legs were about to reach their limits.
“…………”
As I silently pointed my wand at the ceiling, Mea gently grabbed my arm with both hands to stop me.
“…… It’s okay. This time, I’ll do it better. I’ll make a clean hole in it, and I’ll repair the wards when I’m done ……”
“But I feel like it’s not a good idea. Besides ……”
Mea glanced silently ahead to see a school of half-fish demon sea mariners, suddenly washed ashore and moaning in agony.
Their cheeks are emaciated, and some are dried up and doomed.
Although they are evil monsters that love to take people’s lives and will even eat each other if they are hungry, looking at them like this, you can’t help but feel sorry for them.
Inside the witch’s tower, there is a food chain that is independent of the world, and these monsters are desperate to live.
I put down my wand slowly, not wanting to destroy the tower anymore.
Mea and I walked up the stairs to the fourth level of the tower, leaving the half-fish demon sea marine bouncing around in agony as it tried to move into the puddle.
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Cursed Tribe Reincarnation Volume 3, out June 15!
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