novelraw Chapter 63 : Deep Dive
Chapter 63 : Deep Dive
Although Russell had hoped the third floor might provide a chance to obtain the 【Symbiosis】 skill, reality proved otherwise.
The environment on the third floor was harsher than the second, with a denser concentration of miasma in the air.
Fortunately, Rozelite’s 【Poison Resistance】 had already reached lv4. This level of miasma couldn’t affect her at all—even without antidotes. And even if it did, with her HP now somewhere in the five-digit range, it would hardly matter.
The situation was exactly as the manual described. The main monsters here were swamp hounds…
…which were actually crocodiles.
Of course, not ordinary crocodiles, but monsterified, venomous crocodiles.
Though, Russell really couldn’t see the point of crocodiles having venom.
These monsters had more flexible movements than snakes and greater strength than poisonous insects—but that was only relatively speaking.
Against Russell’s merciless wide-range attacks, these monsters, averaging only in the low-tens in level, posed no threat at all. They were slaughtered effortlessly.
In fact, it was even easier than the second floor!
In this manner, their progress was swift. Despite the third floor being larger than the second, they cleared it much faster. After only a few hours, they had reached the deepest part of the labyrinth.
As expected, just as the manual stated, the final boss of the swamp labyrinth on the third floor was the 【Swamp Rot-Corroded Crocodile】.
【Name: Swamp Rot-Corroded Crocodile】
【Race: Crocodile】
【Level: 38】
【Status: Symbiosis】
【HP: 1550/1550】
【MP: 900/900】
【Skills: Earth Magic v3, Hardening lv4, Poison Resistance lv3, Underwater Breathing lv6, Impact lv5】
Its main method of attack was to lunge, bite down, and then roll violently to tear its prey apart.
Hmm…
Though its massive body was covered in corrosive mud, it was otherwise no different from an ordinary crocodile.
Honestly, its skills were so underwhelming that Russell didn’t even feel like eating it.
And besides, it didn’t have Symbiosis.
But then again…
Even though it didn’t possess 【Symbiosis】 as a skill, its status bar listed 【Symbiosis】. Could it be that some other entity capable of 【Symbiosis】 was attached to this monster? That would make sense. The bear he encountered in Dieppe Forest had likely been in the same situation—unable to use 【Symbiosis】 itself, but in a symbiotic bond with another monster.
“No matter what, let’s just kill it first,” Russell said.
Against such a large enemy, Rozelite’s swordsmanship was clumsy and ineffective. He would need to take control of the body and handle it himself.
He stepped forward, into the crocodile’s attack range.
“ROAR!!!”
A bone-rattling bellow split the air, carrying the stench of rot and mud. The massive body of the crocodile surged forward like a collapsing mountain, its charge brimming with destructive force.
The entire labyrinth seemed to groan and quake under its steps.
As expected of the dungeon’s final boss, it carried an oppressive presence.
Russell raised a finger and pointed at it.
【Mana Cannon v8】
Condensed mana fired and detonated.
BOOM—
【HP: 358/1550】
The swamp hound howled in agony and immediately turned tail to flee.
“Tough one, huh? Interesting.”
“Well then, how will you handle the next one?”
【Mana Cannon v8】
BOOM!
【HP: 0/1550】
The swamp hound was dead.
Russell blew theatrically at the faint smoke (that didn’t exist) rising from his fingertip, feeling quite proud of his style.
There was nothing a Mana Cannon couldn’t solve.
And if there was, two shots would do.
He devoured the crocodile’s body whole, then glanced at the skills he gained.
【Earth Magic v7 → lv7↑】
【Hardening lv3 → lv4↑】
【Impact lv3 → lv5↑】
【Symbiosis lv6 → lv6↑】
Not great.
Although Symbiosis had increased, its level was still too low. Even after the gain, it hadn’t reached v7. 【Poison Resistance】 and 【Underwater Breathing】 were useless to him, so he gave them to Rozelite instead. All in all, the spoils from this labyrinth run were pitifully low.
Still, if he wanted to grow stronger quickly, this was the only way.
His 【Insatiable】 skill required devouring others to grow stronger—and the same applied to Rozelite.
Meanwhile—
Rozelite was busy collecting harvested materials.
The dungeon itself wasn’t high-level, so it yielded no rare items, and clearing it didn’t drop treasure chests. The only valuable things were the monster materials she collected. She didn’t know their exact worth, but considering she didn’t even have a single coin left on her, it was critical.
Whether they would be staying at an inn and feasting, or sleeping in the streets and begging for food, all depended on how much these materials would sell for.
“Huh?”
As Rozelite pondered, she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye.
At the end of the third floor, there seemed to be a passage leading even deeper.
She walked closer—only to realize she was mistaken.
It wasn’t a passage. It was a deep well.
The well was filled with water, and strange liquid clung to its walls.
Rozelite touched it, finding the walls coated with a slippery, viscous fluid, as though something had crawled along them.
“Mr. Slime, could this be…”
“…Hard to say.”
Russell also felt suspicious.
If the fluid marked where some creature had climbed, then where did this well lead?
Could it be that the labyrinth had another hidden layer?
But that didn’t make sense. Monsters typically couldn’t move between floors—unless the layers were naturally connected…
“Either way, let’s go down and check,” Russell suggested.
“Luckily your 【Underwater Breathing】 is lv5 now. Short dives should be fine.”
“O-okay…”
Rozelite nodded blankly.
“But Mr. Slime, you don’t seem all that surprised, even though the manual clearly said this labyrinth only has three floors.”
“What’s strange about that?”
Russell countered.
Everyone knew—the Three Phantom Gods were four in number, and the Four Heavenly Kings were five.
For a dungeon with three floors to suddenly reveal a fourth was perfectly normal.
Rozelite took a deep breath and carefully descended along the well’s wall.
When her body touched the water, its icy chill made her shiver. Summoning her courage, she let the surface close over her nose and mouth. At first she panicked, but once the liquid filled her lungs, the 【Underwater Breathing】 skill allowed her to quickly adapt.
With her breathing steady, she could finally observe her surroundings.
From above, it looked like a simple well. But upon reaching the bottom, she realized it wasn’t a well at all—it was a massive underground reservoir. The well’s opening was simply the reservoir’s outlet to the surface.
Russell extended a tentacle. 【Light Magic】 illuminated the space.
Yet, nothing appeared.
The reservoir seemed utterly lifeless—not even a trace of living organisms, let alone monsters.
But Russell knew that was impossible.
Even stagnant water, over such long time, would at least breed microorganisms.
“Can you dive deeper?”
Russell asked.
Rozelite nodded.
She plunged toward the reservoir’s depths.
As the depth increased, so did the pressure on her body. Even with 【Underwater Breathing】, she began to feel suffocated.
【Mana Reinforcement lv4】
【Mana Reinforcement lv4】
With double reinforcement, the crushing pressure vanished.
Rozelite was able to continue her descent.
Finally, after diving more than twenty meters, Russell’s 【Thermal Sensing】 revealed a monster lurking below. Just as he expected—there was something down here.
Countless dark red tentacles writhed in the water, churning the reservoir’s currents. Black patterns ran along them, resembling overgrown aquatic plants.
Sensing intruders, the tentacles stretched toward Rozelite.
“Is that… an octopus?”
No—wrong!
Russell’s eyes widened.
【Name: Tentacle Monster】
【Race: Subspace Creature】
【Level: 67】
【Status: None】
【HP: 5920/5920】
【MP: 29885/29885】
【Skills: Symbiosis lv8, Magic Resistance v7, Cold Resistance lv5, Heat Resistance lv5, Corrosion Resistance lv5, Poison Resistance lv5, Regeneration lv8, Bind lv6, Mana Reinforcement lv7, Forced Seeding lv7, Arousal lv6】