TEOCH 91

About an hour or two later, the other colleagues also woke from their sleep.

I acted nonchalantly, as if I had just been having a trivial conversation with Tristan, and checked on my colleagues’ conditions. None of them had a good complexion, but perhaps thanks to sleeping for a few hours, they looked much less tired than before.

While the awakened colleagues worried about Tristan and said a word or two to him, I assessed the current situation. Looking at Damian’s mana level, the amount of oxygen in the cave, and the amount of food we had left, it seemed we would have to go out for a bit.

“We don’t have much food. After we share it for this meal, there won’t be much left.”

“I see… Then we must go out to gather provisions.”

“We’ll have to. But before that, I need to explain this area to you. We can’t just explore a new area without any knowledge.”

My colleagues nodded their heads as if in agreement. They kept glancing worriedly toward the outside of the cave, even though it was too dark to see anything out there. It seemed that, unlike the last stage, the fact that we were underwater was making them uneasy.

It was, in fact, a valid concern. The deep sea, thousands of meters below the surface, had a completely different character from the stages we had experienced so far. Both the monsters’ behavior and attack patterns, and the underwater terrain itself, were difficult to get used to, so I absolutely had to explain it beforehand to make my colleagues understand.

I had my colleagues sit down and began to explain this stage. Hmm, perhaps it would be better to start with the overall structure…

“This place is not a simple sea, but an area called the ‘Labyrinth of the Deep Sea.’ We’re still outside the labyrinth, so it’s relatively safe, but inside, truly dangerous monsters await us. Once we enter the labyrinth, we can never come back out.”

“I see. If the flow is the same as before, is there a Guardian at the center of the labyrinth?”

“That is correct, Sir Rikiel. Once we break through all 16 sections of the labyrinth, we can enter the Guardian’s castle at its center. If we defeat the Guardian there, we can move on to the next area.”

“Hmm, if there are 16 sections, we have quite a long way to go.”

“Yes. In terms of the labyrinth’s overall size, it’s much larger than the ‘Sky Island’ of the previous area. Of course, I don’t plan on entering the labyrinth right away; for the time being, we will stay here, prepare thoroughly, and then carefully attempt to enter.”

On average, it takes about three to four months to break through the entire labyrinth. If one pushes through at full speed without dawdling, it takes three months; if one prepares thoroughly in the outskirts of the labyrinth and then proceeds at a leisurely pace, it takes an additional two weeks to a month. Compared to the ‘Sky Island,’ which could be cleared in a good 40 to 50 days, it was a considerable amount of time.

Well, that didn’t matter. There was a more important problem.

“And there are a few things I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I think you’ve all anticipated this to some extent, but… unlike on land, there are many restrictions underwater. It means we cannot use our abilities to their full potential.”

My colleagues’ expressions turned serious. Yes, this was actually the biggest problem. There was no guarantee that an ability that was useful on the Sky Island would be useful underwater. Of course, some skills were consistently useful from the first stage to the last, but unfortunately, some skills had no use after the second stage and were effectively left neglected. For example.

“First, Sir Rikiel, your wings are of no use here. You must be aware of that much.”

“I had a rough idea. Taking out wings like these underwater would just get them wet.”

“And Damian, your fire will also have its power greatly reduced here. Of course, it will help keep us warm, but…”

“Uh, I can’t burn things, but I can boil water to inflict burns.”

“It may be possible, but it will cost a lot of mana. Most of the monsters in this region don’t even get burned when exposed to hot water. You won’t be able to damage the monsters unless you raise the temperature enough to melt steel at the very least.”

Damian tilted his head with a bewildered look. I suppose from his perspective, it was hard to understand how monsters living in such cold water could survive in high temperatures. Instead of adding an explanation, I gave a light shrug. Damian would find out soon enough once we wandered around outside for a bit. Why the monsters here were resistant to high temperatures.

“Come to think of it, my arrows won’t work underwater either.”

“They aren’t completely ineffective. With the ability of your gauntlets, you should be able to at least shoot the bow.”

“But I have no confidence in hitting a target accurately underwater with an arrow. It would be more effective to just punch them.”

Rehas smiled bitterly and lowered his head, and the other colleagues’ faces began to darken. It was understandable. Our abilities had been weakened due to the characteristics of the underwater stage. Of course, in the third stage, Damian’s flames, Rikiel’s wings, and Rehas’s arrows would find a use, but at least here, most abilities were useless. This stage was originally like that.

“Well, don’t worry too much. We just need to build up enough strength in the outskirts of the labyrinth.”

“Will that be possible?”

“It is possible. If we build our strength here and acquire new equipment and gems, we can definitely do it.”

I patted the back of Damian, who had a dark expression. I had spoken grimly, but it was a problem that could be solved by gathering new equipment. The real danger started from the first section of the labyrinth anyway, and the outskirts of the labyrinth were peaceful beyond compare to the previous area. If we set our minds to it, we could easily raise our levels to 35-40 here.

Besides, the game system was aware of the state of the second stage, so there were many opportunities to obtain new equipment and parasites in the ‘Labyrinth Outskirts,’ the early part of the second stage. Of course, just because opportunities were plentiful didn’t mean they were easy to get, and if one got greedy, the entire party could be wiped out trying to obtain a single item…

‘Still, with Tristan’s ability, we won’t be taken down easily.’

One thing that made this area better than the Sky Island was that most monsters traveled alone, so as long as one was well-prepared for one-on-one combat, one could stay safe. Weaker creatures like tube worms or shrimp lived in colonies, but almost all other monsters lived alone. Of course, it was true that each monster’s ability was stronger because of it, but considering we were constantly chased by hundreds of monsters on the Sky Island, things had gotten much more comfortable.

Of course, if the ‘second playthrough’ element came into play, the situation could get worse, but I deliberately chose not to mention it. If a situation was unpredictable anyway, it was sometimes better not to consider it. Surely a ‘new situation’ wouldn’t arise right from the Labyrinth Outskirts.

“Anyway, let’s have a simple meal and then head out. Since none of you are familiar with the terrain around here, we’ll just look around for a few hours and come back.”

My colleagues nodded silently, and as I fumbled around in my bag for food, I went over the tasks ahead. First, go outside and find an oxygen source, then gather food for tonight’s dinner, and if there was time after that, I would need to get a new sword to replace the one that was melted by the Human Centipede’s acid.

There was a lot to do. Enough to make me completely forget about the conversation I had with Tristan a few hours ago.

After roughly sating our hunger with leftover tree nuts from the previous area, I decided to take my colleagues out to find oxygen. Before leaving the cave, I asked Damian to deploy his detection magic to its maximum extent.

“We need to go where there are few monsters, right? Fortunately, there are almost no monsters nearby…”

“It’s the opposite. We need to go to the place where the most monsters are detected nearby.”

“Uh, really?”

“Yes. There will probably be one place with an abnormal number of monsters… Don’t make that face. They’re non-aggressive monsters anyway, so they aren’t a big threat.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I am. And outside the cave, try to talk as little as possible. The barrier blocks sound so you won’t be heard well anyway, and it’s a waste of oxygen. If you really have something to say to me, just move your lips as if you’re speaking. I can understand you well enough.”

After finishing all preparations, I led my colleagues and swam out of the cave. It was dark all around, so Damian tried to create a fire, but I told him not to. Creating fire underwater was not only an excessive waste of mana, but other monsters might also come, drawn by the light.

We swam through the pitch-black sea. My colleagues kept glancing down, curious about the faintly glowing underwater plants, but I didn’t even give them a look. The reason they emit light is to lure and eat their prey. No matter how tired of the endless darkness you are, how desperate for light, you must never approach them.

Rather, the sense I was focusing on was touch. The whole time we moved in the direction Damian had indicated, I concentrated on the change in water temperature. As I swam with even my anesthesia magic dispelled, my hands and feet felt like they would freeze in the cold water, but this was the only way to find our destination more easily.

The abundance of monsters was just one of the many characteristics of an ‘oxygen source.’ If you approached carelessly without properly checking the water temperature, you might get caught and killed by numerous monsters without even getting any oxygen. In a situation like this, it was best to be as cautious as possible.

After swimming like that for about 15 to 20 minutes? Feeling a good sign at my fingertips, I let out a small smile.

‘The water temperature is rising little by little!’

I immediately swam in that direction. The water temperature, which had been as cold as ice just moments ago, grew warmer and warmer the more I swam. Of course, I knew I shouldn’t get too close. Around the ‘oxygen source,’ there were tons of tube worms and shrimp, and if you weren’t careful, you could be attacked by all of them at once. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason…

[Wha- what is that…?]

Finally, I arrived at my destination. Forgetting what I had told him about not speaking if possible, Rikiel, who was beside me, moved his mouth in astonishment. I suppose it was understandable. These people had lived their whole lives without knowing what lay deep in the sea!

[System: You have discovered a hydrothermal vent!

Here, a large amount of chemical substances gushing from an underwater volcano is released, mixed with hot water. These chemicals are toxic enough to kill underwater monsters just by being inhaled, but the monsters around the hydrothermal vent maintain this bizarre ecosystem through a wise symbiosis with bacteria that convert the chemicals into nutrients.

The bacteria here convert very dangerous chemicals such as oxygen and nitrogen into beneficial nutrients like hydrogen sulfide and methane, providing them to the monsters. Therefore, to the monsters of the deep sea, this place is a paradise rich in nutrients.

Of course, the Hero cannot receive help from the bacteria… but honestly, it doesn’t seem like you need that kind of help, does it?]

[System: The distance is too great to collect air. Please approach a little closer.]

I found it much faster than I thought. I stroked my chest in relief and carefully observed the ‘hydrothermal vent.’ It was a hole from which all sorts of toxic substances… or rather, just hot water mixed with ordinary air, gushed out, and around it, sediment erupted from the volcano had piled up to form something like a chimney.

Honestly, I had always wondered why something like air would spew from a volcano, and by what means the demon world’s bacteria synthesized hydrogen sulfide from oxygen, but none of that mattered right now. In any case, thanks to that thing, we could breathe even in this deep sea.

Inside the chimney’s opening, a faint light that seemed to flow from the volcano shimmered, and on the outside of the chimney, countless yellow and fluorescent purple tube worms and fist-sized shrimp were clustered together. The tube worms, which had no discernible mouths or eyes, swayed in the current, repeatedly sucking in and spitting out water, and the blind shrimp also showed no particular movement, as if they hadn’t noticed our presence. Of course, we could be attacked if we got closer.

They sported colors so vibrant that they would be hard to find even on land; since there was almost no light in the deep sea, there was no need for protective coloration, which paradoxically made their colors more brilliant. Such a spectacular sight was hard to see in other regions. Well, it wasn’t the first or second time I had seen it…

Just then, Damian poked me from behind. Unlike Rikiel, he seemed to remember my earlier warning well, moving his mouth without making a sound instead of speaking directly. Half-expecting what he was going to say, I focused my gaze on his lips. I knew how to read lips well, but Damian, thinking I wouldn’t understand him, tried to speak clearly, using gestures as well.

[That water, temperature, is hot.]

[Yes, it’s hot.]

[But, it’s strange. It should be boiling, but it’s not.]

[It’s because it’s deep. The water pressure, keeps it from boiling.]

[Water pressure…? Anyway, the monsters, how are they alive?]

[That’s why, I told you, earlier.]

Damian looked at the hydrothermal vent with eyes that were half-curious, half-bitter. That was why I had told him his fire wouldn’t work. The water gushing from the hydrothermal vent was at a high temperature of nearly 400 to 500 degrees, and the deep-sea monsters ate the tube worms and shrimp that lived in that hot water. There was no way a fire of a mediocre temperature would be effective.

‘Well, I’ll console Damian later…’

I carefully approached the hydrothermal vent. I couldn’t collect oxygen from too far away, but if I got too close, I would get seriously burned, not to mention being discovered by the monsters, so I had to carefully control the distance. When I got close enough and extended my hand, the message ‘Collecting air’ appeared, and air bubbles began to gather at my fingertips.

I created a large sphere with the energy of purification and trapped the air bubbles inside, compressing them as much as possible. If I compressed the maximum amount of air in here, the five of us could breathe for about a day. If all five of us returned to our temporary shelter with these spheres, we could last for a good five days. A moment later, when the sphere was full of air, I handed it to Rikiel and made another one.

[Rohan, without this, can we not breathe at all?]

[Yes, that’s right! And, don’t make noise underwater! Do it like Damian did earlier!]

Rikiel stared at my mouth shape and gestures for a long time before finally understanding my words and nodding. After tightly packing five large spheres with air, I secured them to my colleagues’ backs. Until those spheres completely deflated, all of my colleagues would be able to breathe sufficiently. It literally felt like I could breathe easier.

[Let’s go a little further. We need to find something to eat.]

My colleagues nodded silently. Shaking off the desire to stay a little longer in the warm sea, I swam toward the cold, dark place. There was still much to do.