Chapter 55
The Abnormality that Began to Encompa.s.s the Ruins
It happened just when I turned towards one of the pa.s.sages .
The cries of multiple monsters began resounding from the place where I came from .
[Giggyyaahhhh!]
[Gooeeeggeeehhh!]
[Guoogggaahhhh!]
The approaching cries suddenly came to a halt,
but their ferocious roars kept on increasing, resounding from that area .
[Kissiiaaahhhh!]
These voices were in that location where Monk and the duo is nearby .
Monk and that duo was already paralyzed and poisoned by me before .
I wonder if they would die because of the poison .
Or is it they would be killed by the monsters?
I still don’t know what exactly happened .
Along with these atrocious cries, I also seem to hear a short scream resound from that place .
Pigimaru’s protrusion slithers out from the back of my neck with something that looks like a face on his protrusion .
[Pigii!]
Pigimaru looked a bit angry .
It seems that he’s angry towards those guys we had met before .
[It seems that you clearly know who you like and hate huh…]
[Pii!]
I killed some time at the corner of that pa.s.sage .
[Piipiipii? Piggiii!]
Pigimaru warned me .
The monsters that have been making noise at that place where Monk and the duo used to be .
The ruckus that they have been making had subsided .
It’s just that, their cries began to get nearer to where I am again .
Are they able to follow me through my scent?
[Their next prey is me, huh . ]
[Gisshhhiiaaaaa!]
I peeked out of the corner I’ve been hiding on and held out my hand towards them .
This is already a tried and tested move that I could rely on .
[Guugggooeee…]
The first move would always be to seal the movement of the monsters that are about to swoop down on me .
These monsters haven’t been affected that much by the poison that were already in Monk’s body .
The virulent effects of my abnormal state skills…
Does it affect no one other than the person that I had targeted?
I returned towards where Monk and the duo used to be .
It looks like they died as they were being eaten .
Their corpses are stained all over with their blood .
The blood even splattered all over the place .
I thought about taking their money but— I think it ain’t worth the trouble .
The satchels they have were torn apart and the coins were scattered everywhere .
Their blood had already clung into the coins .
There’s a possibility that the officers in the entrance of the ruins will check the coins that I have when I’m about to take them back home .
[Just in case that they would really inspect such things, I think that it would really troublesome for me if they were to ask for some explanation from me . ]
It will take some time and effort for me just to wipe the blood in these coins while I’m here underground .
Fortunately, I am still not that desperate for coins .
That’s why I decided to leave these corpses untouched .
I turned back to the pa.s.sage where I was hiding in earlier .
The monsters that I had paralyzed and poisoned were still alive .
It’s troublesome to just wait here for them to die from poison .
I cut the monsters’ throats one by one with a dagger .
Did I even get some experience points from them?
However, my level haven’t risen ever since I have entered this ruins .
I thought that I would gain some because I had been killing quite a lot of monsters from this ruins .
Is it that the monsters in here also give low experience points?
Then, it seems that there’s no need for me to go out of my way just to hunt them down .
After I finished killing all these monsters, I went down to another floor .
v
This place had been narrower than I had thought .
I feel cramped in here .
It may have been because the Disposal Ruins was too wide .
I already traveled quite some distance while I killed the monsters I encountered with the combination of paralyze and poison .
At present, the only problem I have is the range of my .
The range of is about 20 meters .
In other words, I can use this skill as a long-ranged weapon .
So, the first move that I will always use would be
If they were given enough time, I could use at that time but…
At that pace, it would take some time for it to gain sufficient experience . I want to reach Lv 3 .
As I proceed deeper into the ruins, the frequency of seeing other mercenaries have decreased .
My level still haven’t gone up .
I hid in the shadows and confirmed how much MP I have .
MP: +58517/59037
I don’t have to worry that much about my remaining amount of MP .
By the way, I have just known this morning that my MP recovers every time I get some sleep .
Last night, I had checked my remaining MP before I went to bed .
When I confirmed my status when I have woke up, I saw that my MP has recovered .
It seems that MP recovers after a certain amount of sleep .
I remembered back when I had stayed in the residential area of the Disposal Ruins .
The frequency of checking my status had decreased because I had been leveling up and my MP would recover every time I do .
At those times that I had rested there, my MP may have recovered a little but I haven’t noticed .
Anyway, now I can freely use my MP with ease .
I check the time in my pocket watch .
I bought this in one of the stores that I had visited together with Mist .
[I guess it’s about time for me to take some break . ]
[Pii . ]
There are several rooms that I could rest on in this ruins .
It seems that the mercenaries and the private soldiers of the marquis had set up these rooms before while they were conducting their search .
I heard that there were some kind people who would sometimes leave some preserved food and water .
However, if someone were to retreat towards this place, there’s a high probability that monsters would occupy this place instead .
I found a break room when I’ve reached the 10th floor .
The door to the break room was marked with paint .
This is the sign of a break room .
However, it seems that there are already others that were in this room .
Their voices were leaking out of the room .
Human voices .
It seems that this room isn’t occupied with monsters .
I ask Pigimaru to remain vigilant towards the surroundings as I listen on their conversations .
[Before we noticed it, we’re already in the 10th floor!]
[Even the faster ones among the other mercenaries should still be around 7th floor right now . ]
[And with that, we now have a perfect chance to get some rest . ]
[As I thought, it’s still advantageous for those who were first to dive into the ruins . ]
[Well, we still have to hunt these strong monsters that would come out from the newly discovered floor . ]
It’s just a thought but…
Are these the mercenaries who quickly went in here after the explanations have finished?
[This is great! Our Drunken Sword Party will be the one who will acquire this Dragon Eye Sakazuki!]
[That’s right!]
[If we were to descend five floors more, we’ll finally reach the new floor! You guys, are you ready or what!?]
[Leave it to me, Elder Sister!]
[Okay! That’s a good reply!]
It seems like the mercenaries here were the fastest ones to dive into this place .
I don’t see any other mercenaries that have reached this floor…
Now then— What should I do now?
I actually want to take some break right now .
It’s just that… I feel like renting the room together with them would make me a bit tired mentally .
[……… . . ]
That’s right .
Should I just look for another break room that’s available and take my rest in there?
I proceeded through the ruins and went down to the next three layers while killing all the monsters I’ve encountered .
13th floor .
Two more floor to pa.s.s through and I would finally reach the new floor that have just been discovered .
However, I still want to take a break before entering that new floor .
When I was wandering through the 13th floor, I finally found a mark that I had seen before .
The sign of a break room .
[Guugggaarrruuaahhhh!]
[Buuuuooooohhhh!]
It seems that this room is occupied my monsters .
Moreover, there are about ten of them in here .
I could feel their killing intent gushing towards me .
Designating multiple targets…
[]
[Guguuaahh!? Ugguuuahh…?]
[]
I had defeated the monsters that occupied the room .
It’s just that…
[How do I get these corpses out of here?]
There’s even a big one mixed in along with those monsters .
[……… . . ]
Should I just forget about it and proceed another floor deeper?
I went further into the 14th floor and tried searching for a break room while I killed all the monsters I’ve encountered .
However, I haven’t found any break room at all .
[It’s no good…]
I reluctantly returned towards the break room in the 13th floor .
I take the monsters out and cleaned the room as much as I could .
[Fuuu…]
This room is different from those room in the residential area of the Disposal Ruins .
[Can I ask for you to keep a lookout while I sleep?]
[Pii!]
I’m really thankful that I had a comrade who I could ask for lookout .
It’s really different compared to that time when I was in the Disposal Ruins where I could hardly rest as all .
I rest my back behind a wall and closed my eyes .
v
[————–]
I opened my eyes .
My consciousness have also began awakening .
I check the pocket watch for the time .
[I’ve had three hours of sleep, huh . ]
[Pigii!]
Shuba~
“There are no abnormalities!”
It seems that’s what Pigimaru wants to say as he salutes with his protrusion .
[Thank you . Umm, are you okay even if you haven’t slept?]
[Piipii!]
[However… don’t hesitate to say it if you want to take a break, okay? We don’t really have to partic.i.p.ate in their struggle to find that Dragon Eye Sakazuki… We also don’t need to rush with diving into this ruins if it’s impossible . ]
[Pii ♪ ]
I have never seen Pigimaru sleeping before .
Do slimes even sleep?
When I had asked him about it before…
[Pii?]
It’s a reaction that looks like he doesn’t know whether to say yes or no .
Wondering about that, I gave some dried meat towards Pigimaru .
There are still many mysteries regarding slimes .
[Pyuunyunyuu~ ♪ Pikyyuupikkyyuuu~ ♪ ]
He’s happily eating the dried meat .
It seems that it has a normal appet.i.te…
When we were able to satisfy some of our hunger, we promptly left the room .
v
We once again aimed towards the stairs leading towards the 14th floor .
Since I have been there once before, I already know the general location of where the stairs are located .
[Hmm?]
A man who had varying expressions on his face is approaching .
You could see other mercenaries following behind him .
I put my guard up against him for a bit .
He doesn’t seem to have any hostility towards me but…
[Oi, you . ]
This voice…
Isn’t this voice from that fastest group in the break room from the 10th floor?
I switch over to a humble mode as I spoke to them .
[What do you want?]
[There something weird that’s happening in this ruins right now . ]
[Weird? What do you mean?]
The people who seems to be from the Drunken Sword Party stopped in front of me .
Everyone’s complexion looks like they’re pretty disappointed .
Did something irregular happen without my knowledge?
A red-haired woman from the back vomits as she looks pretty mortified .
[d.a.m.n— He’s just another newcomer huh . ]
A tanned man glances behind his back .
[It’s just… it seems that there’s perhaps something that hasn’t happened in the past but is in the Mills Ruins right now . The guys who went here from the past already felt something really different exists in here . ]
I was only sleeping for about 3 hours .
Something must have happened around that time .
I don’t think they looks angry because of the expressions of their faces and the shape of their mouth .
It’s an expression where they’ve found something seriously unexpected .
Even I got anxious as I asked them .
[Specifically, what is this weird incident that has happened? Excuse me, but this is the first time that I have entered the Mills Ruins . ]
The tanned man looks quite meek as he answered my question .
[It’s just that… the monsters we have found before on our way here, they’ve died from something unnatural . ]
[They’ve died from something unnatural, huh?]
[Yeah . They’re all dead, but I can’t determine what in the world are the cause of their death . Their corpses have no wounds at all . There are also no particular changes in their body . The best that I could find was that their skin looks a bit deathly pale . ]
Hmm?