Chapter 15: Going through an underground waterway?

  "This...! They're jumping around!"

  ?

  "Oh my, the visibility is so poor...!"

  ?

  I never thought we'd end up fighting aquatic monsters in the desert... Well, I guess that's a possibility if the oasis is polluted, I guess I just didn't have enough imagination.

  The triple combo of the water, darkness, and miasma made it hard to see, and the group of archer fish repeatedly spat out attacks that were more like water spears than water shots.

  Regulus and Liese quickly dodged the attacks and thrust their spears at them in counterattack, but they were unable to hit the fish as they dived underwater or sometimes jumping out of water, which left them compining.

  My favorite weapon, the bow, was not much use against underwater enemies, so I had no choice but to use a harpoon...

  ?

  "Look, look, Rion, your aim is poor."

  ?

  "Gununu...!"

  ?

  Uru herself, who had been giving me criticism, was able to successfully defeat them with her usual stone throw. As expected...

  Unlike enemies on nd, underwater enemies movement are difficult to predict because they move not only horizontally but also vertically. The enemies I encountered in the sky while crossing the mountains were in simir conditions, but I was able to maintain visibility, so it was better.

  ?

  "Water, flow as I will. Waterflow."

  ?

  As Fricka cast her magic, water rose up from below, and the Archer Fish was unched into the air. It was then dropped on nd and, as it flopped around helplessly, it was incinerated by fireballs. I see, she's responding with a wide range of magic instead of aiming one by one.

  ... However, that's a nice smell, isn't it?

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  "Rion, are these edible?"

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  "... Normally it would be fine, but these seem to be contaminated with miasma, so I think you should avoid them."

  ?

  It seems Uru had been thinking the same thing. But as expected, I stopped. I could easily imagine Uru being able to eat them without getting an upset stomach, but is not we are low on food.

  Ah, I'm starting to want to eat grilled fish... Ah, that's right, I guess this is how to deal with fish.

  I took out a cast net from my item box and hurled it at the archer fish. Huh?why did I even have something like that with me? A miko is supposed to make whatever she can, right?

  ?

  "Liese, help me pull! Regulus, I want you to block any attacks that come our way with your shield!"

  ?

  "O-Okay...!"

  ?

  "Oh, leave it to me!"

  ?

  By repeatedly entangling the monsters in the net and pulling them in, I was able to eliminate them all on nd.

  This is truly what is called catching them all in one fell swoop!

  ?

  ?

  ?

  After a short rest, we continue deeper.

  This pce has turned into a dungeon, but it's mostly a straight path - there are lots of small holes but they don't look passable, and there's no sign of the core coming from those directions, so in a sense it's easy. The only downside is that there is water everywhere, so I have to be careful not to fall in while fighting aquatic monsters like before.

  If it were normal water, it wouldn't be a problem, but this water is contaminated with miasma... Even though I'm using Holy Mist, I don't want to get soaked in something like that.

  However, I'm sure I'll be fighting in the ocean and other water areas in the future. I want to get some means to move and breathe underwater as soon as possible... Though I'm not only cking in skill level, I also ck the materials.

  ?

  "Hmm... I guess it's almost time."

  ?

  It feels like the core is getting closer.

  The miasma is getting subtly thicker, but it's a world of difference compared to when we fought Zephyrus, and it's even fainter than the fight with Evil Treant. The Guardians probably aren't that strong.

  ?

  "Uru, don't use all your power unless we're in a pinch."

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  "... Umu."

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  Even if the guardian is not strong, this is underground. It's a pain that our strongest Uru-san can't use her full strength.

  I could very well have her destroy the Guardian with enough force to bury it alive... No, that wouldn't work, that wouldn't allow the purification of the core and the Return Stone is not usable in this miasma in the first pce.

  I hoped that it would be something that even we could handle with ease, but naturally I couldn't be optimistic.

  ?

  "Mu, Rion, I sense a slightly rger monster."

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  "Probably a boss guardian. Any others?"

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  "Smaller ones... About twenty or so."

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  There are quite a few of them. They are definitely Guardians.

  I asked everyone to wait for now, and Uru and I went to scout the area by ourselves. Because Uru might not know enough about monsters.

  Holding my footsteps and holding my breath, I sneakily peeked out from the shadows at the end of the winding path... And saw a rge cavity ahead. If it had been narrow, the enemies would not have been able to move freely, even if they were numerous, we could tunnel them and deal with them on few by few, but it seems that things wouldn't go so smoothly.

  I lowered my gaze and saw a piece of nd in the middle of the water vein like an isnd, with the core enshrined on top.

  And a rge individual that probably might be the boss Guardian was sitting nearby, as if guarding the core. The core was emitting a mysterious light, so I could get a vague idea of ??what the boss looked like.

  That appearance was--

  ?

  We quickly returned and reported in a low voice to the others who were waiting for us.

  ?

  "It's a Newt Dragon."

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  "What? Is it a dragon?"

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  Regulus cried out in shock, So I put my finger on my lips and gestured for him to be silent.

  Ignoring Regulus who hastily covered his own mouth, I continued my expnation.

  ?

  "Although it has the word 'Dragon' in its name, it is lower rank one, so it's not that strong... Well, it's probably strengthened by the miasma and by the core's resources, though."

  ?

  A Newt Dragon. To be honest, it's almost just a newt.

  However, as it is an amphibian, it can be active both in water and on nd, so it may be the right monster for this ambient.

  Its scales are weaker than other dragons, but it's poisonous, so care must be taken. Additionally, it has a wide range of movement, as it can move anywhere, whether in water, on nd... Or on the walls. It doesn't fly, of course, but it can spray venom as it leaps, so if we have a means of long-range attack, I'll want to use that to deal with it.

  Under normal conditions it is only about a meter in size, but that one was about five meters. It must have been strengthened to that extent. Is it a relief that its huge size makes stealth impossible, or is it a formidable enemy that is not even bothered by that? We won't know until we open the lid.

  ?

  The other guardians that could be seen were goblin-type and worm-type, while the ones that couldn't be seen might have been Archer Fish lurking in the water. From what I could see, they were all cd in miasma.

  It was dark and I couldn't see the whole picture, so I kept in mind that there might be further threats waiting.

  Even so... It is tough being underground. If this had been above ground, it might have been over with Uru throwing an arrow of the sacred fire with all her might...

  There's no point in menting such things. You can't always fight in a favorable position.

  ?

  "For now, let's try to reduce their numbers little by little. I'll pce stone blocks to narrow the passage."

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  This will limit the number of monsters that come at once. Oh, and while I am at it, let's set up a net in the water. This will reduce the risk of monsters swimming the bottom which is hard to see to ambush us.

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  "Uru, could you go with me back there one more time and throw a lot of holy water at them while I fire my sacred arrows at the Newt Dragons? Then we'll retreat as fast as we can and then we can defeat the monsters that chased us one by one."

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  "Umu."

  ?

  ""Got it.""

  ?

  "Okay."

  ?

  If I'm lucky, the first wave of attacks will leave only the weakened Newt Dragon. If that happens, we can shoot it again with my bow or beat it up and finish it off.

  Of course, things won't always go as pnned, so I'll need to be flexible. I'll have to trust in everyone's strength.

  ... Or at worst, I can just fill the passage with stone blocks. Thinking about it like that makes me feel a little more at ease.

  ?

  "So, are you ready?"

  ?

  I used some poison resistance potions (however, they weren't of very good quality so I wasn't sure if they would provide complete protection. So I also handed out antidote potions), ate some buffed snacks, and looked around at the others, who were holding weapons sprinkled with holy water, before calling out to them.

  They all quietly nodded in return, and I quietly headed back towards the Guardians with Uru.