Underground waterway #4

 

It hurts so bad.

It’s painful to have my wrist pierced by a huge molar⋯

The giant rat’s teeth are saturated with poison. Once you’re poisoned, it lasts a very long time.

It takes at least two days for natural healing to occur.

“Nine Stars” does not forgive players’ carelessness.

You’re poisoned but there’s no antidote? Then it’s a game where you die.

“This is so painful. If you’re going to kill me, kill me quickly.”

I felt a cool poison flowing through my veins.

The feeling of slowly but surely approaching death.

My hands and feet are starting to get stiff and it’s getting harder to breathe.

The antidote is right next to you. You could use it right away if you wanted, but you don’t.

I’m trying to die on purpose.

Will it turn out as I expect?

My vision gradually became blurry.

⋯

⋯

⋯

“Characteristic: Resurrected with the effect of immortality.”

“As a result of immortality, some of your abilities will be permanently lost.”

“However, since it has already reached the minimum, the ability value will not decrease any further.”

Rich, Resurrection.

My whole body was aching.

This is what it feels like to die from poison and come back to life.

It’s only natural that the abilities haven’t decreased. I’ve put them all back in the holy reliquary.

What I was more curious about was…

Oh, it’s okay now?

If you die and come back to life, are all negative status effects removed?

I wanted to verify this.

And, judging by my condition, which has become lighter than before I died, the answer has already been found.

‘It seems that the status effect only applies to one life.’

I got a big harvest.

It was worth enduring the pain and trying to become addicted once.

‘Even if you are hit by a strong poison or curse, if you die and come back to life, that’s all that matters.’

This also allows me to think about strategies that will become my greatest weapon in the future.

These are elixirs that, when taken, give you great strength in a short period of time, but come with significant side effects.

The effect is excellent, but it is difficult to use it carelessly because it later leads to a decline in ability or drug addiction.

But if I were Estelle, I could boldly take the medicine without fear of such aftereffects.

‘Once you die, the aftereffects are reset.’

A few cool items already come to mind.

I know.

How to get those items.

And how destructive power these items provide, enough to make you laugh and accept the price of death.

The return of Richie is just around the corner.

***

There is an ordinary rat.

These rats struggle to survive in the harsh conditions of underground sewers.

In the process, it gradually grows in size, its temper becomes more ferocious, and its teeth even leak poison.

This is a giant rat.

The rat’s struggle for survival does not end here.

Contaminated water always flowing through the waterways, and the magic that is deeply stagnant.

Rats undergo dramatic mutations as a result of constant exposure to this hostile environment.

There are two notable changes.

First, the rat is arrogant about walking on two legs.

They cannot stand up straight like humans, and all they can do is walk with their backs bent vaguely.

Anyway, the rat gains a powerful weapon: two free hands.

The second is increased intelligence.

As they grow, their brain capacity also increases, allowing them to think at a higher level.

This is the main enemy of the second half of the underground sewer, Ratman.

—Kishishi⋯ dead⋯ human⋯.

Ratman’s red eyes glow with malice.

He doesn’t rush in rashly, giving in to his instincts like a giant rat.

The ratman kept his distance from me by slapping the bottom of the canal with his noisy tail.

“senior.”

“yes!”

A flash of light appears behind you.

The magic arrow that passed by my face aimed for Ratman’s head.

—Kissik-!

As I said, Ratman is highly intelligent.

The bastard easily dodged the magic arrow by sidestepping.

Look at this guy. He’s good at dodging.

As expected of a water-type monster, it is completely different from a mere beast monster.

‘We have to finish this quickly.’

Flora and I are magicians.

As we continue to fight, a resource called magic power is consumed.

We can’t fight and drag on forever.

There are several ways to catch a ratman, but I decided to take the quickest route.

Tadah.

I rushed towards Ratman and closed the distance in one breath.

—Wow! Kishishi!

A dirty, greasy Ratman’s claws swarm before your eyes.

Instinctively, you want to close your eyes tightly, but you shouldn’t.

Never lose sight of your opponent’s attacks for even a moment. That’s the basics of fighting.

A tomb.

At the perfect moment, a magic shield appears before your eyes and deflects the claws.

Ratman’s narrow eyes widened.

Yeah, that’s it. I believed it.

“Nice, senior.”

I gave a short shout and rushed into Ratman’s arms. His startled eyes filled my vision.

The guy was confused, and I wasn’t.

So the guy dies and I win.

“Magic Arrow”.

He aimed his pistol at Ratman’s lower abdomen and fired without hesitation.

Dismissal.

—Kishik⋯! Keu, kyaak⋯.

A man with a hole in his stomach kneels, blood-tinged saliva flowing from the corner of his mouth.

“That pose is perfect.”

I like the way I stick my neck out without being told to.

They’re like a pair of professional wrestlers who work well together.

I focused my magic power on the dagger.

“Frost Sword”.

rustle—

Ratman’s head fell into the canal, splashing sewage everywhere.

The journey of the rat, which has evolved over and over again while overcoming the struggle for survival, ends here.

“Hey, I won⋯.”

Flora frowned at the sight of Ratman’s decapitated corpse.

This will be your first time dealing with a water-type enemy. It’ll take some time to get used to it.

I soaked the dagger in water and washed the blood away.

“Well done, senior. But remember that magic arrow you used at the beginning? You don’t have to aim for just the vital points. It’s fine if it hits a vital point, but if it doesn’t, it’s fine. For now, just focus on hitting it and accumulating damage.”

“Ah, that’s right. If I’d hit him with the arrow first, Ratman’s movements would have been slowed down. Then, the next attack would have been much easier to block.”

“Right. That’s what I meant.”

Flora immediately understood the point without having to explain it in detail.

‘I like it because you understand quickly.’

She’s usually a clueless girl, but in real life, she’s quite smart.

That’s understandable, he’s a talented person who was selected as an apprentice magician at the Magic Tower.

He’s not completely stupid.

I just finished giving feedback on the previous battle.

Attack pattern A is fine to this extent. Let’s master B and C as well.

Good. Everything is going well.

There are no variables that have deviated from the plan I have drawn up yet.

“Estelle, why are you laughing?”

Flora tilted her head, her eyes wide.

“I laughed?”

“You were grinning like something good was happening? Please tell me too. Let’s laugh together.”

I was single without even knowing it.

Suddenly, I remembered the time I stayed up all night playing “Nine Stars.”

My body was tired, but at that time I was so happy I thought I was going crazy.

Dopamine was overflowing and it felt like my brain was melting.

Looking back, I think I often giggled while playing games back then.

Because it’s fun. Because the game is good. Because I’m really good at this game.

Yes. I just had a vague feeling of that old feeling.

The feeling of being immersed in the game and gradually climbing the ladder of growth.

“I laughed because my senior was so nice.”

“Huh? Hey, what is it? All of a sudden.”

Flora let out a chuckle as if she was feeling drained.

But it seemed like he didn’t completely hate compliments.

***

We continued to explore the underground passages and hunt for ratmen.

“Senior, this path ahead seems dangerous. Let’s go around to the other side.”

“yes.”

I carefully examined the mud smeared on the wall.

To someone without knowledge, this may seem like nothing more than a meaningless piece of clay.

I know this is the language of the ratman.

Since ancient times, veteran players of “Nine Stars” have been expected to memorize at least the basics of Ratman.

—Patrol this area. Three compatriots.

—Trap in the corner. Above the ceiling. Falling rocks.

—The passage is blocked. If anyone is inside, let’s attack them.

After all, knowledge is power.

The Ratmen wrote their message in large letters on the wall without any hesitation.

Surely you never dreamed that there would be a human being who could read Ratman.

The price of carelessness will be paid dearly from now on.

We steadily killed the ratmen in the underground sewers, hiding in advance and making surprise attacks, sometimes using traps to our advantage.

“My bag is starting to get quite heavy-”

Flora said, adjusting the shoulder strap of her bag.

Thanks to hunting alone in the vast underground waterway, the harvest was quite plentiful.

There are already 380 magic stones.

I also collected a lot of giant rat tails and whiskers, and even ratman byproducts.

What’s even more delightful is that…

“What kind of potion is this?”

Flora shook a small glass vial containing a pale blue liquid against her ear.

Unlike the Giant Rat, the Ratman has a low chance of dropping unidentified potions and scrolls.

That’s why you have to kill them as quickly as possible.

If you stall for too long, Ratman will drink the potion.

Losing loot? Absolutely unbearable.

“Is the light blue one soda-flavored, and the pink one strawberry-flavored? Estelle, would you like to try one?”

“Senior, give me that.”

Strawberry flavor is a piece of cake.

I took the potion from Flora’s hand.

Ratman only has two potions.

Healing potions. And poison potions.

There is no way to tell the difference. Color, taste, and smell have nothing to do with the nature of the potion.

Since the identity of the unidentified potion changes randomly in each game, you have no choice but to identify it individually.

If there was an “emotion” magic, this would be the perfect time to use it…

There’s nothing I can do.

There’s no other way than to try it yourself and see for yourself.

“Ugh-”

As soon as I drank the blue potion, my throat started to burn.

“I drank a poisonous potion. I’m poisoned.”

If it weren’t for Flora, I’d just die once, but I don’t want to reveal my “immortality” trait yet.

So I immediately took the antidote and drank the remaining pink potion.

“You have drunk the healing potion. Your health will be restored.”

“Hwaak⋯!”

I held my throat and convulsed.

No, why is a healing potion more painful than a poison potion?

It feels like they’re ripping and stitching up raw flesh without even anesthesia.

“Estelle, are you okay?”

When I came to, I was lying on Flora’s lap.

Are you okay?

It hurts like this.

No, objectively speaking, I should say I’m feeling better. My stamina has recovered.

Good medicine tastes bitter.

This is beyond bitter, it’s mouth-rending.

“⋯It’s okay, but it’s not okay.”

“Huh? What is that⋯.”

“But I think it’s better for me to drink this than for you, senior.”

If it’s different, I can die.

In terms of maintaining the party’s power, this is the best option.

It would be a problem if Flora died already.

I still have a lot more work to do.

But, it seems like Flora misunderstood something I said.

“Estelle⋯.”

With a moved face, tears welled up in his eyes.