(Walson)
[Philip Rex_LV54_HP 1524/1524_Status: Frenzy, Curse of the Wither(X), 70% Wither]
In front of us stands a madman, no, a monster, holding a teleportation device that he had stolen from the palace of Teigitan.
His body gradually burns to ashes, with flesh being consumed by flames, leaving behind only bones that turn charred and black.
The nauseating stench of sulfur fills the air, and to make matters worse, while in this state, he jumps and runs towards us while using magical items. The sight will surely haunt me for the rest of my life.
As for what kind of teleportation device is it? Let me tell you something, a hundred years ago, several high-ranked adventurers commissioned by various countries embarked on a brave journey through the Labyrinth of Water located beneath the capital city.
And this teleportation device is the one they used back then.
When used, it transports the user to the recorded location. As for the usage...
Let's say you're playing an RPG game, and you're bravely exploring a dungeon. When you reach a certain floor and your mom calls you for dinner, not allowing you to continue, you can use this item to record your current location, return to the city, take a break, and then teleport back to continue where you left off.
That's the general idea of the item.
Those adventurers in the story didn't seem to reach the final floor in the end, and you might be wondering how I know about this... Well, it's because at this very moment, I am in the place where those adventurers eventually arrived a hundred years ago.
When the monster-human thing used the teleportation device, he, along with himself, me, and the princess, were all transported here. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have any time to react.
After a flash of light, I only felt an extreme sense of freefall, and then I plunged into the water.
The line on the minimap quickly changed.
[Flowing Purgatory, 70th Floor].
Reflected on the [Mini-map] was a vast expanse of water blue and a rectangular shape of black.
What surrounded me was numerous gigantic walls and waterways!
I kick my legs and resurface to catch my breath.
The water here is different from the first floor, which served as the competition arena; the water in this floor is much, much deeper than the first one, even though I can't see the bottom of it.
And that's not the worst part. When we plunged down, the countless blue dots on the [Mini-map] turned into an uncountable number of red dots.
Those red dots represented hostile creatures!
These red dots were located underwater, and when they noticed our presence, they were rapidly approaching our location.
Damn it! Why are we suddenly thrown into battle like this?
"*Gasp* Walson! Are you okay?" I saw the princess resurface about ten meters away.
"Th-through... the labyrinth... I... strong enough... to be recognized... burn... burning..."
The monster was soaked in water, his tattered clothes burned away, leaving charred bones with traces of flesh clinging to them. He struggled desperately... and then sank into the water.
I had no time to waste on him, instead, I immediately swam towards the princess!
The red dots were getting closer and closer! I could see the dark shadows appearing underwater!
No, there's no time!
I quickly equipped the [Mini Dispenser] in my hand.
"Wait, these are...!" the princess exclaimed.
Spider silk stuck to her shoulder, and I pulled her toward me hard, but the resistance of the water slowed her down.
The princess raised her spear and stabbed into the water, but it was too late. A red smear slowly spread in the water.
[Derisha Teigitan_LV74_HP 837/1637_Status: Agonizing Erosion, Bleeding, Poisoned(VII)_Title: Monster Hunter]
Damn it!
With my other hand, I switched to the [Gale Glove] and gave it my all as I grabbed hold of the princess and unleashed a powerful burst below us!
The explosive water current not only stirred up water but also revealed several massive fish!
I shot out spider silk, holding the princess tightly as we swiftly moved away. Meanwhile... a bizarre sound came from below.
The location where he was previously had been engulfed by the fish. Ashen bone fragments floated around as the fish tore it apart.
Those fish... outwardly they were no different from the ones on the first floor, but here, each one was over a meter long.
There was no time to worry about that fool, nor did I have the mood to do so. The princess in my arms already had a vacant look in her eyes. Just with one bite, she had become like this!
I scanned the surroundings in the air, searching for any possible footholds, but suddenly a fish flew towards me, startling me and causing me to change direction mid-air.
How the fuck can these thing jump so high!
On the [Mini-map], a mass of red dots was chasing after me.
[Giant Terrorfish_LV93_HP 4692/4692_Status: Hunger_Title: Swarmkeeper of the Flowing Purgatory]
These guys individually have HP values that rival the Mountain King Arkos!
Is this the level of monsters in the deep levels of the labyrinth!?
If I keep this up, they will catch up to me, and I need to buy some time.
So, I took out a weapon from my inventory that I had always avoided using.
The "Ultra-Concentrated TNT" — which I simply called the [Nuke].
The power of a single TNT bomb is astonishing, but to save space in my inventory, I synthesized a stack of 64 TNT blocks into one bomb.
I once conducted an explosion experiment with five compressed TNTs together, resulting in a blast that created a hole the size of about one-fifth of a football court.
I combined the [Nuke] with [Raw Porkchop] and created the [Pork Flavored Nuke]!
"Eat this, you bunch of bastards!"
With those words, I ignited the [Pork Flavored Nuke] in my hand and threw it down toward the swarming fish.
When I made the [Nuke], I specially designed it so that it would explode 10 seconds after I ignited the fuse.
As the [Pork Flavored Nuke] fell into the water, the scent of meat immediately attracted the fish, causing them to slow down and gather around it.
Ten seconds.
With no hindrance in my way, I swung around the labyrinth desperately.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
On the [Mini-map], I could no longer see the red dots. It seems they all gathered around the bomb.
With a swift swing, I landed on a huge wall and used spider silk to anchor myself and the princess.
She had a large tear wound on her waist… and she's bleeding profusely... it must be painful...
I immediately took out some milk and healing potions from my inventory, pouring them into the second princess's weak gaping mouth.
Two.
One.
"Hold on," I whispered softly to the trembling princess.