Chapter 137: One-Day Dungeon (5)


    I knew it was about resonance!


    I still dont quite get that!


    Of course, you, as the Master, would have no problem mastering it but youve only been learning magic for less than half a year, right? Maybe thats why its taking some time.


    Well


    I doubt Id be able to do it even a few yearster.


    As I was tilting my head in confusion, Ca smiled brightly, as if to reassure me.


    But dont worry! This time, Ive prepared a method that might be a little helpful for you! Lets try it as soon as we return to the dormitory!


    Ca exuded anticipation with her whole body. Unable to voice my doubts, I awkwardly nodded.


    Okay Ill give it a try.


    <hr>


    At the end of the left path, we finally arrived at the Core Room.


    The ces weve been calling rooms were actually just expanded drainage areas with no doors and empty spaces.


    But this ce was an exception.


    The Core Room was originally a kind of staff room controlling the sewage treatment facilities of Antis.


    This ce was a proper room, through and through.


    Moreover, due to the spatial distortions centered here, the Core Room has preserved its original form from 300 years ago.


    Yes, 300 years ago. The scene from the midst of the War of the Gods remained as it was.


    The walls of the square room were all covered in blood, and mermaid corpses were strewn about over unidentifiable devices.


    However, all the corpses were disfigured beyond recognition.


    A corpse with its eyeballs gouged out and stones inserted in their ce, another stripped naked with one side of its chest cut open and stuffed into its mouth, and another with its facial skin peeled off, among others.


    Everyone frowned at the sudden, horrific scene.


    This is


    <em>Ugh!</em>


    An unpleasant memoryes to mind.


    A ritual perhaps?


    No, Senior Faye. Its not a ritual but a game. Fishermen are narrow-minded predatory monsters. You know their traits, right?


    Discord. And cruelty towards the losers.


    The attribute of narrow-minded predators was jealousy.


    The cultists and monsters following the creature couldnt tolerate anyone being better than themselves.


    Even if they bow their heads for now, they were filled with thoughts of bringing down the opponent someday.


    Were there exceptions? Perhaps only the narrow-minded predators themselves and the high-ranking officers directly appointed by them?


    Beyond these, they probably never even truly followed the other Evil Gods.


    Thus, the followers of the narrow-minded predators caused discord wherever they went and were excessively cruel to those they defeated.


    Have you seen the appearance of the Fishermen? They are part fish, part human, just like mermaids. But Fishermen are treated as monsters, while mermaids are considered sentient beings.


    Thats because the Fishermen behave like monsters, isnt it?


    I patted the puzzled Iris on the head.


    Right. Fishermen possess their own intelligence and civilization but they are too barbaric and violent.


    If their behavior were moderately violent, they might have been considered sea barbarians. After all, the Eurelia Continent was home to a diverse array of races.


    But Fishermen were too extreme. They were a nuisance in the sea even before they became narrow-minded predators.


    Unlike barbarians, who would respond to a request for dialogue without drawing weapons first, these creatures were filled with intentions to kill and enve at any attempt.


    There had been more than one or two instances where they struck from behind those who thought they had sessfully negotiated.


    Goblins and orcs, regardless of their intelligence, were ssified as monsters for the same reason.


    Coexistence was simply impossible.


    But Fishermen themselves believe theres no difference between them and mermaids, except in their appearances.


    In terms of technology, character, strength, and many other aspects, they are different.


    They dont care to see those minor details. Thats why they are considered narrow-minded.


    I see.


    Iris nodded as if she finally understood.


    They had to be outright jealous of others.


    That was the only condition the narrow-minded predators required from their followers.


    Anyway, the Fishermen had been jealous of mermaids for a long time, and the massacres that ensued in their quest to usurp the rulership of the sea were quite brutal.


    Despite being extinct for a long time, mermaids, known for their beauty regardless of gender, showed no trace of such beauty among the corpses here.


    Any part that looked even slightly pretty was mercilessly mutted.


    Thats why I hate both the Evil Gods and their followers.


    This was the aftermath of the cultists uprising. That is, if one yed through thetter half of H&A, they would encounter scenes even more gruesome than this.


    Knowing it was a game did little to mitigate the difort, but how much more disturbing must it be now that it has be reality?


    I clicked my tongue unknowingly for a moment. Suddenly, my gaze was drawn to a corpse in the center.


    The only corpse with an intact face.


    But as if topensate for that, there wasnt a single intact spot from its neck down to the end of its tail fin.


    Lying on a desk, it almost looked like a sacrificial offering for human consumption.


    Which, in fact, it was.


    This mermaids corpse is the core of this dungeon.


    Thest manager of the drainage route that became the invasion path. The 3rd Princess of the Antis Kingdom. And a sacrificial offering to praise the achievements of the Evil God, the narrow-minded predator.


    Wasnt this a perfect candidate for the dungeons core?


    Wasnt the core supposed to be an object, Master?


    A corpse isnt a living thing.


    Though we were a bit distant now, approaching closer would reveal the core emitting a unique, brilliant, multicolored light.


    The other women wore expressions of dismay, while Iris simply smiled bitterly.


    The atmosphere, buoyant in anticipation of the dungeons imminent clearance, quickly dampened.


    To lighten the mood a bit, I pped my hands lightly and continued.


    <em>p, p.</em>


    Come on. Its all something that happened 300 years ago. Lets focus on what we need to gather.


    Ah, right. You said you needed my alchemy, Junior? What do we do here?


    Its simple. This was the ce controlling all of Antiss drainage. Such an important facility was always managed by a member of the royal family


    High-ranking people always have a habit of hiding important things somewhere. We just need to find that, right?


    We already know the location. The lock magic must have been broken when the narrow-minded predators forcibly lifted Antis. We just need Senior Fayes alchemy to open the box inside.


    I tapped the floor near the desk with the corpse of the mermaid princess a few times with my foot, feeling a spot that sounded a bit different.


    Invisible force, be my hand. Force Grab.


    One of the strongest psychokinesis spells I could use. Pouring a generous amount of magic power into it, even thin metal should easily bend.


    <em>Crack.</em>


    The floor was forcibly torn open with the sound of something breaking.


    Inside, there was a small box and a letter.


    I opened the letter to find it matched exactly with what I had read in H&A.


    Roughly, it talked about her being the 3rd Princess of Antis, and how she came to take charge of the drainage area to somehow stop the iing Fishermen.


    And then, her unfulfilled wishes were listed one after another.


    A will with somewhat solemn and regrettable content.


    But the important thing was thest line written.


    <em>If only we had a little more time, if this potion had beenpleted, would anything have changed?</em>


    Obviously, the potion she referred to was in the box.


    I handed the box made of unknown metal to Faye.


    There should be an unfinished potion inside. Pleaseplete it, Senior Faye.


    Is there a recipe?


    No. If there had been a recipe, it wouldnt have just listed the ingredients unfinished like this. However, I do know what the final result is supposed to be.


    The legacy of Antis that granted permanent underwater breathing and, to a lesser extent, the ability to control water.


    The Blessing of the Sea.


    It was originally intended to be crafted to bring Sword Masters or Arch Mages of other races.


    Had masters capable of exerting their full strength underwater after consuming the Blessing of the Seae to their aid?


    The destruction of Antis might have been inevitable with the intervention of an Evil God, but perhaps the extinction of the mermaids could have been prevented.


    Well, that was all hypothetical.


    Im certain you can create something bybining the potions here. But the method has to be figured out by Senior Faye.


    A multibination potion? It seems like it will take some time Cant we just take it and make it elsewhere?


    One of the ingredients is a potion called the Essence of Antis, which loses its effect the moment it leaves this ce.


    Then theres no choice. Give me a moment to try.


    Mixing several potions to createplex and new effects was known as multibination.


    300 years ago, this was a theory justing into prominence, and they couldnt produce it in time


    But now, its possible.


    The long war and 300 years had dramatically advanced various technologies, including alchemy.


    And since high-ranking alchemists had started to share their knowledge, anypetent alchemist could find thebination by now.