CH 50

Chapter 50: The Welling Malevolent Lake

The small magic sailboat carrying us slowly advanced on the water within the labyrinth.

Considering the length of the previous labyrinth floors, there should be only a few hundred meters left until the very end.

However, despite the faint light from the walls and the lake, a thick mist-like substance emerged from the viscous water, obstructing our vision.

Strangely, even though Beth's magic was pushing the sail with the wind, the mist remained unaffected and wouldn't disperse.

Using my map skill, only places I've been to or seen before were displayed. And even with Larouque's reconnaissance skill, the magical density was too high for her to identify individual magical creatures.

I asked Lina, in her mage mode, to use magic to burn away any leeches or insects that might fall from the ceiling.

Nevertheless, the presence of the monsters was not diminished significantly.

In addition to jellyfish and fish, there were undoubtedly powerful magical creatures lurking beneath the surface.

It seemed as though they were monitoring us while moving alongside the ship.

A thumping sound came from the boat's hull, and we felt a shock. We started hitting something repeatedly. The boat shook.

It wasn't a shallow area.

If this water area was formed solely by the holes dug by the worms, it should have been shallow with a depth of only a few meters as we advanced through the labyrinth. However, we created ceramic surveying poles and, after Greon measured it earlier, we found that after advancing from the shore, the five-meter-long pole didn't touch the bottom.

It appeared that some magical creatures had widened the bottom of the area even after the labyrinth was created. We weren't sure if they did it to make their home or to gather food.

Hence, this was a living being, or rather, a magical creature.

Soon, the figure of one appeared above the water—a rugged, segmented shell-like thing, but not a worm. Yes, it resembled a crustacean. It had a larger body than a human's, several pairs of legs, and flat, giant knife-like arms were visible.

Displayed as <Bottom Shrimp Lv.10>, it was a giant shrimp.

It rammed the hull, and it slammed its knife-like arms. Perhaps it was using those arms to dig the bottom of the lake.

"Looks like it doesn't have any special skills..."

Larouque seemed to have carefully observed the enemy's status.

However, if we kept getting hit by this large creature and its giant knife, the boat wouldn't last long. We wouldn't be able to stand up with this much shaking, and the boat might even capsize.

"Beth, let's switch roles in piloting the ship!"

I called out to Beth. Originally, if a formidable opponent appeared, I was supposed to operate the screw to steer the ship, while Bess focused on magic attacks.

Additionally, I made several hardened ceramic poles like the surveying poles and distributed them among the party members. With that shell, bows and arrows wouldn't be effective.

Furthermore, I reinforced the vulnerable bottom of the boat with clay. It would make the boat heavier, but there was no other choice.

Greon and Cecily were trying to target the giant shrimp's mouth and eyes with the poles, but since they were hanging onto the side of the ship with one hand, they couldn't exert much force. As a result, their attacks on the ship lessened.

At that moment, Beth aimed for the part of the giant shrimp exposed above the water and struck it with magically enhanced flames. In an instant, the water nearby boiled, and the shrimp flailed about. Steam rose thickly.

Several giant shrimps emerged on the water surface, two or three were caught and turned into food, and finally, things quieted down.

Indeed, the power of magically enhanced attacks was remarkable.

But it seemed that the MP consumption was substantial. Bess was breathing heavily.

"Beth, why don't you try using that now?"

"Hmm, you're right. It's precious, but I think we should use it now."

Beth took out the pills we made together from a small bag.

"What's that?"

Karena asked with keen interest.

"It's a 'Magic Power Recovery Pill.' When I was a child, my deceased grandmother used to make it, so I made it while remembering... I haven't tried it yet."

"Are you sure that's safe?"

Cecily asked with a worried expression when she heard that it hadn't been tested, even though it was handmade.

Certainly, it should have been tested beforehand, right?

"Probably... Besides, it would have been a waste to test it..."

While saying that, Beth put the pill in her mouth and swallowed it. Her face indicated that the taste was terrible, at least for now.

After a few seconds, changes began to appear. Beth, who had been pale due to MP exhaustion, started to regain her color. It worked too quickly; it was too game-like.

"Yeah, I'm fine now..."

She concentrated magic in her right hand, and a faint light lit up in her palm.

"My magic power is filling up... Grandma."

"Amazing... You think we can sell this at a good price?"

Karena, you're talking about that in the middle of a battle.

Though it didn't fully recover MP, it seemed that it restored more than half with just one pill.

Unlike the relatively common health recovery potions, MP recovery potions were treated as "secret potions" and were rarely available except in considerably large towns or guilds.

"Everyone, be careful! Something dangerous is approaching!"

Along with Larouque's shout, the lake surface churned violently.

Even I could sense it. The presence was right below us!?

However, there were no eyes. The reptilian face, with its large mouth wide open, had neither eyes nor a nose, making it unlike any ordinary creature. Its head alone was easily larger than a person, but from its neck down, which was connected to the water, it...

Just as I was about to activate my identification skill, the boat was once again lifted from below. I used my clay skill to maintain its shape so that the boat wouldn't fall apart.

Something became visible under the lifted boat. It was narrower than the width of the boat, but long enough to pierce through it, and it was connected to the head with no eyes, facing its mouthless face towards us.

"It's a giant serpent!"

It was enormous. About 20 meters long? No, maybe even 30 meters.

< Naga LV17 >

"Be careful! It's highly venomous."

Isn't this unfair? It's already gigantic, and now it's a venomous snake too.

With Raluc's warning, the Naga opened its mouth, releasing a brownish mist like a breath.

Beth put up a magical shield to block it, but the toxic fluid hit the transparent surface like a heavy downpour.

Some of the splashed poison reached the deck, emitting a nauseating and pungent smell.

I forcibly shifted the boat sideways using my "move clay" skill to avoid the Naga's back. It consumes a lot more MP than turning the screw, but I can't afford to complain about that now.

The Naga spewed out toxic mist again, but this time, it was slightly off-target.

I squeezed more MP and moved the boat directly, avoiding its line of fire.

With a lack of MP, enduring a pessimistic mental state, and a pounding headache, I thought to myself:

As expected, it can't accurately pinpoint our location because it has no eyes. It probably relies on something like our body temperature or magical energy to detect us. Unless it directly touches our back like before, it can't immediately figure out our precise location.

While I had the chance, I swallowed the magic recovery pill Beth gave me.

Ugh! It's terrible. Bitter, sour, and smelly...

(Come on, you can do it, young man!)

I heard Lina encouraging me through telepathy, all the while desperately trying to swallow the pill without throwing up.

Lina doesn't have taste buds. I envy her right now.

As the Naga writhed, creating waves that rocked the ship, I felt my mental state improving rapidly. I began to feel that we could make it through.

Impressive, Beth.

Meanwhile, Beth enhanced the flames infused with magic power, shaping them into beams, which she then fired at the Naga. Thanks to her glasses, her aim was accurate.

The beam of flames swept past the eyeless face, and with a sizzling sound, it sliced through it.

The Naga let out a tremendous cry, sinking into the water. At the moment its head hit the water's surface, another large wave rose, causing the ship to sway like a leaf.

I struggled to keep the boat from capsizing.

This is bad. If it takes its time to search underwater, the eyeless Naga will be able to locate us. Moreover, we have no means to accurately detect or attack underwater.

Wait, is that entirely true?

Either way, the next move will be crucial.

"Beth!"

I used telepathy to communicate my plan to her, as she couldn't get close to me on the rocking ship.

"Lina!"

(Understood)

Lina replied briefly through telepathy.

Fireballs were consecutively launched towards the water's surface.

Then, an instant later, a powerful presence of a magical creature emerged from underwater. At the same time, the ship was lifted into the air and shattered into pieces.

The colossal body of the Naga appeared on the water's surface, searching for the humans among the wreckage.

Taking advantage of its vulnerable state, Beth released her barrier.

Sensing the sudden appearance of another ship and humans, the Naga turned its eyeless face in that direction, but ceramic spears were thrown into its face one after another. Then, Beth unleashed a powerful flame that she had infused, straight into its wide-open mouth.

To prevent the flaming Naga from escaping into the water, Beth quickly froze the water's surface.

The lower part of the body was encased in ice, and the head was incinerated by the powerful fireball from Beth. For a while, the Naga continued to writhe on the ice, but eventually, it stopped moving.

We defeated the Naga.

As the magical effect wore off, the ice on the lake surface began to melt.

I maneuvered the boat with the screw, docking it alongside the massive corpse. Kalena chanted a purification spell carefully. As the colossal figure gradually disappeared, a large magic stone appeared within the melting ice. Greon reached out with his gauntleted hand and managed to retrieve it along with the chunk of ice before it sank.

With the death of the Naga, the fog that had covered the lake's surface began to dissipate. Undoubtedly, this creature was at the top of the magical lake's ecosystem.

It was truly a gamble whether it would work.

As Beth used her barrier to erase our presence from the Naga's senses and simultaneously created another ceramic ship right next to us, I had Lina transfer over to that ship. It was a hastily made ship, lacking any details, just enough to serve as a decoy.

I had Lina launch a spectacular fireball towards the lake surface.

The Naga mistook that as our ship and charged at it from below.

Taking advantage of that timing, Beth dispelled the barrier and launched a concentrated attack. We knew where it would emerge, so we targeted its vulnerable spot.

And at the moment the decoy ship was destroyed, I used the "return home" skill at level 9 to collect Lina, and that's how we managed it.

If the timing was off even a little, the plan would have fallen apart. But I believed this was the most likely outcome if the Naga were to attack us.

Beyond the now cleared lake water, we could see a faintly glowing wall.

The end of the floor. And most likely...