As expected, the boss’s
sporangium raises the levels of both Tamiko and me, letting them learn new Fungal
Skills.
Now I am at level 66 with 17 Fungal
Skills, and Tamiko is at level 41 with 6 Fungal Skills.
The acidic taste of the slime’s
sporangium does not dampen our joy. Now that my strength had been restored, the
tension between the two of us was at its highest.
“So, let’s find the
exit.” (Shuu)
There was a smooth stone slab
on a rugged rock face. It was about two meters wide and four meters high. This
seemed to be the doorway.
There was no sign of it opening,
no matter whether I pushed or pulled. I tried hitting it with my [Hypha Hammer]
covered with [Spore Light], but it only got a crack on the surface. If I hit it
again and again, it might eventually crumble, but it would be easier to find
the switch.
“Abeshuu, there is,
squeak! Here, squeak!” (Tamiko)
After a few minutes of
rummaging around in the surrounding walls, Tamiko finally found what looked
like a switch. It was a small button secretly embedded in the rock face. The
entire rock surface around it was cratered and blackened as if the slime had
pressed it with its tentacles. It was a little devilishly hard to find.
When I pushed the button with
trepidation, the wall shook and the stone slab was sucked into the rock wall.
“…It’s open…” (Shuu)
“…Squeak…”
(Tamiko)
At last, at long, long last.
The door leading to the road
ahead opened.
I spent five years working for
this moment.
I clenched my fist tightly.
“…Let’s go, Tamiko.
We’ll head straight to the surface.” (Shuu)
“Squeak-yeah!”
(Tamiko)
As soon as you pass through
and leave, the stone door closes on its own and opens again as you approach. It
seems that from the outside, the door is opened and closed by some kind of
sensor.
Now that we have overcome the
biggest obstacle, there is nothing to stop us from returning to the surface.
(There was a time when I
thought like this.) (Shuu)
(I still had it in me.) (Shuu)
“Pigya! Another slime,
squeak!” (Tamiko)
“Damn it! I’m already sick
eating this sour sh*t!” (Shuu)
The 49th floor is almost a den
of slime. The Intermediate Slimes are not strong, but my [Beast Repellent
Spores] are ineffective. The sporangium is also very, very bad tasting.
Other metro beasts are also
caught by the spores here and there, but they hide in the shadows and don’t
come out. It was as if they were hiding from the slimes that were flooding the
place.
“I wonder if that slime
was as only just big as the Intermediate Slime at first?” (Shuu)
“Do you squeak so?”
(Tamiko)
The bosses that lurk in the Metro
are basically either evolved or mutated individuals. They survive for a long
time, grow up through repeated battles and predation, and finally become
bosses. Or they are born as special individuals from the beginning, lived long
enough, and become bosses. I don’t know which one that boss slime is, but if it
is the former, it may have been an ordinary slime at first.
“I wonder how slimes
reproduce. The boss seems to have given birth to Intermediate Slimes all by itself.
I don’t think it’s like they simply increase by fission since they have very
solid internal organs and sporangia.” (Shuu)
“I don’t know, squeak.”
(Tamiko)
“So, you also don’t know.”
(Shuu)
“At the very least, now
that the boss is squeaked, the slimes will probably decrease little by little,
squeak.” (Tamiko)
“Maybe I could be of some
help to Oldman Uni and the guys on the 50th floor.” (Shuu)
Will another Slime Boss be
born again on this floor? Or will it follow the gradual decline as a country now
that they have lost their king? I have no idea what would happen.
“Either way, I don’t want
to have to deal with that kind of monster again.” (Shuu)
“Don’t squeak a flag, squeak!”
(Tamiko)
We got lost many times as we
traveled. We got into a fierce battle with a swarm of Intermediate Slimes and so
I scatter [Smoke Screen Balls] to escape.
While searching for the stairs
to the 48th floor, night falls. The area is tinged with the blue glow of the [Firefly
Moss]. Thinking that it would be dangerous to camp on this floor, we gathered our
remaining strength and continue on our way. We managed to reach the stairs
before morning comes.
“…I’m as tired that
time during the boss battle…” (Shuu)
“…Squeak…”
(Tamiko)
The staircase to the 49th
floor is almost the same as before. The two of us decide to spend the night on a
landing in the middle.
So, we took turns taking naps
because of the possibility of an Intermediate Slime or other Metro Beasts
passing by. When I woke up a few hours later, Tamiko’s eyes are fluttering so
fast they are leaving afterimages.
The next day, we reached the
forty-sixth floor, and then the day after, the forty-fourth floor.
After passing the 48th floor,
the number of slimes drastically decreased, and mammalian and reptilian species
begin to appear. Giant insects and legged fish also appear, but they are all
low ranked compared to the top group on the 50th floor. After the slime-free
life, the two of us finally had a more comfortable journey.
On the 41st floor, we had a
series of battles with reasonably tough Metro Beasts. They were the same as the
gargoyle I had fought before.
Although they are not as tough
as the Boss-like beast on the 50th floor, their attacks are varied, from claws,
trident spears, and other Hypha Weapons. They are not simple opponents.
I fought back with my [Hypha Arms]
and [Spore Light] without a second thought. After the second and third battles,
I became able to adapt to their movements, and the one I bumped into in front
of the staircase took less than a minute.
“These guys are pretty
strong too.” (Shuu)
“About level 40, squeak.”
(Tamiko)
After taking the sporangia, I
decided to also take the fur and bring it back with me. I felt that they would
be great materials for a hunter. I made a sharp cut with my Hypha Sword and
Tamiko used her front teeth, and the skinning went surprisingly smoothly. We
kept at it on the way, but I had become accustomed to it over the past five
years.
“It’s time to start
collecting that might be worth money on our way to the surface.” (Shuu)
In order to keep myself light,
I have so far left most of the stuff alone except for the sporangia and some
meat. From now on, we have to think about what happens after we go above
ground. I don’t know what kind of society we will find on the ground, so I
can’t be picky, and I will have to make my choices appropriately.
“It’s okay, I can carry
some squeak.” (Tamiko)
“If you carry the luggage
while riding my shoulder, it’s the same if I just carried it myself.”
(Shuu)
I then stuffed the gargoyle
pelts and wings into my bag and resumed our travel.
We lost our way many times and
fought with many Metro Beasts.
We suffered almost succumbed
to thirst because it was difficult to get drinking water.
We were almost flattened by
traps of falling rocks.
Sometimes, I quarrel with
Tamiko over trivial things.
I found a pod of peas that
contained pearly white gems.
A giant clam rolls down the
slope.
We can spend hours idling by
the edge of an underground lake, or traversing a swamp of boiling mud.
While touched by the rapidly
changing scenery across the Metro,
The two of us finally get to the
30th floor and reach the 29th floor. It’s been ten days since the life and death
battle with Boss Slime.
Metro beasts usually do not
have the ability to analyze enemy forces as accurately as Tamiko. So, despite the
difference in strength, they attack on instinct and appetite alone.
Even so, if I scatter [Beast Repellent
Spores], most of them thankfully back off, sensing the difference in rank. This
is clear evidence that the level of Metro Beasts is dropping. This power does
not seem to be very fuel-efficient, and it is tiring and hungry to keep spraying,
but it is much better than wasting time dealing with small fries.
“Well, Tamiko the
repellent doesn’t work against them.” (Shuu)
“Don’t you squeak mess
with me you beasts! *Hiss*!” (Tamiko)
Tamiko is not the only one who
has been unable to get along with insects and the other creepy crawlies.
Perhaps because their predatory instincts are stronger than their intelligence,
they boldly attack when they see potential prey. Having dealt with slimes so
many times, I have developed a tolerance to the creepy crawlies, and I only
have to wince every time I take out their sporangium.
The area of the floors seems
to be shrinking as we go up the stairs. The journey from one stairway to another
stairway must have taken around three hours on the 40th floor, but now I can
see the next floor in a little more than half that time, partly because I have
fewer chances to get tangled up with Metro Beasts.
From the twenty-ninth floor,
it takes one day to reach the twenty-fifth floor at the staircase, and just a
single day to reach the twenty-first floor.
Finally, the goal is visible,
and Tamiko and I begin to become more and more elated.
“Wow… I’m feeling a
little nervous…” (Shuu)
The moment that I have been
dreaming about for the past five years while living side by side with death, is
approaching. At this rate, I might start crying once we reach the single-digit floors.
“That’s right squeak, I’m
squeaking excited.” (Tamiko)
“I wonder what is left
after a hundred years?” (Shuu)
“Just a squeak more. We’ve
already squeak this far, the goal is near, squeak.” (Tamiko)
“…no, we have to be
careful at such times. It would be a shame to get
carried away, slip up just before the finish line, and get seriously injured.”
(Shuu)
“You’ve learned
something, thank squeak!” (Tamiko)
“Well, it’s because I’m Abeshuu…
You tell me when I’ve goofed.” (Shuu)
And on the 20th floor where they
set foot.
There is something waiting for
the two of them.
Summary of Shuu’s Fungal
Skills (level 66)
01: Regenerative Mycelium
02: Hypha Sword
03: Burning Ball
04: Hypha Shield
05: Healing Ball
06: Hypha Hammer
07: Electric Ball
08: Hypha Great Shield
09: Enhanced Leaping Ability
10: Sensory Spores
11: Mysterious Mycelial Ball
12: Smoke Screen Ball
13: Beast Repellent Spores
14: ?????
15: Spore Light
16: Hypha Arms
17: ?????
Summary of Tamiko’s Fungal
Skills (level 41)
01: Enhanced Hearing
02: Hypha Shell
03: Risk Counter
04: Hardened
Front Teeth
05: Camouflage
06: ?????