Chapter Forty-Four: The Sunken Ship Cavern (2)

As it turned out, Elay’s strength was now more than enough to easily handle the lesser monsters in a C-rank dungeon. Moreover, since the creatures were spread far apart, clearing them one by one became even simpler. However, because of this, it would probably take more than half an hour to completely clear the first floor.

A venomous flying serpent, an elite monster capable of spitting poison from afar and moving with astonishing speed, was blocked by Elay’s spear as she deflected its toxic spray. With a twist, the glowing red shaft of her weapon pierced straight through the serpent, killing it instantly!

“Whew, I’m burning through too much mana. Without using my active abilities, I still can’t deal enough damage to elites,” Elay muttered with a frown of mild dissatisfaction.

After all, back in D+ dungeons, she didn’t need to consume mana at all to take down mutant elite monsters.

“The elite water elemental before, now this venomous flying serpent—both are really troublesome. The former can’t be killed without active skills, and this one must be taken down quickly,” Zhao Tianhe consoled her with a smile. “But if we run into a pure physical-type monster, it probably won’t withstand that technique of yours.”

“Mm!” Elay nodded, clenching her fist.

“Two hundred meters ahead—humanoid sea monster? No, it’s one of those undead we saw on the second floor…” Zhao Tianhe’s gaze swept over the rocky, rising terrain ahead. He sensed a large, bipedal creature rapidly approaching.

Just as he finished speaking, a humanoid undead sea fiend charged up the hill. It wore tattered leather armor, its body covered in rotting scales, and wielded a massive, rusted trident as it bore down on them from above.

“Fast—looks like a strength type,” Zhao Tianhe observed. “Let’s use that technique.”

Elay nodded and gripped Zhao Tianhe’s left hand. At the same instant, Zhao Tianhe’s eyes became unfocused, his vision shifting entirely to touch and hearing.

The spear flew back into Elay’s hand, and now it looked different from before. Where it once resembled a dual-pronged knight's lance, it had transformed into a strange weapon with a spiked spearhead and a half-length blade-like, hollowed shaft—clearly a heavy weapon well-suited to slashing and stabbing.

Wielding this weapon—more akin to a greatsword or battle-axe than a spear—Elay advanced to meet the undead sea fiend.

Zhao Tianhe, both hands grasping Elay’s left, attuned himself to the flow of her movements and strength, even perceiving the force channelled through the weapon’s bizarre shaft.

This was the combined battle technique Zhao Tianhe and Elay had devised: using Zhao Tianhe’s senses to compensate for Elay’s lack of agility, striving for perfect harmony between body and weapon.

Elay’s three-dimensional movements unfolded vividly in Zhao Tianhe’s mind. Though his senses were strong, his lack of agility made it difficult for his brain to keep up, and he was already pushing himself to the limit—no room for stray thoughts.

The air around them stirred as the undead sea fiend drew near…

“Strike!” Zhao Tianhe shouted.

Elay’s spear surged forward, the massive blade swinging toward the monster’s head and neck!

“Now!” Zhao Tianhe sensed the precise moment to unleash her strength and called out.

Elay’s immense power exploded in an instant—body and spear moving as one!

Crash!

The undead sea fiend’s neck and most of its torso were cleaved apart!

The heavy weapon smashed into the ground, leaving a deep depression in the earth.

“Hmm, the power’s impressive, but it still feels a bit off…” Elay frowned, glancing at Zhao Tianhe, who was still gripping her left hand. “Isn’t this a bit much?”

“Huh? Uh, well, I…” Zhao Tianhe assumed Elay was uncomfortable with the physical contact, but he was overthinking it.

“It’d be easier if you used both hands. Next time, just climb on my back,” Elay suggested, pointing to herself. “Wouldn’t that make it easier to work together?”

“Well, it would be more convenient, but…” Zhao Tianhe took a deep breath, silently worrying he might not be able to control himself.

No, I absolutely can’t embarrass myself! I remember high-agility skills that allow you to control your own hormone and adrenaline levels—I’ll have to track those down! Zhao Tianhe resolved that he would not allow any awkward incidents to occur while clinging to Elay’s back.

Come to think of it, in Chapter Seven, Gudao was smashed in the face by Ishtar dressed like that and didn’t even react. Is he really a man? Or does he possess the legendary iron will? Zhao Tianhe mused, realizing once more that protagonists are never ordinary people.

“Hm?” Zhao Tianhe instinctively tuned his senses outward, finding a mass of lumbering monsters approaching. “More undead sea fiends closing in. Their footsteps are similar to before, but they’re much smaller and weaker.”

Elay nodded, climbed to the top of the hill, and proceeded to clear out the ordinary undead below.

Half an hour later, Zhao Tianhe and Elay stood before the shimmering barrier that led to the second floor.

“My mana is completely spent,” Elay said. “And we’re running out of time. If there’s any danger inside, just summon that ahoge knight right away.”

Between Elay and Artoria, each had their own nickname for the other in Zhao Tianhe’s presence: Elay called her the “ahoge knight,” while Artoria referred to Elay as the “grim stone maiden.”

“Alright, but let’s stick to the plan as much as possible,” Zhao Tianhe nodded, then suddenly called out to the air around them, “Hey! Jeros! Are you there, Jeros?!”

“Are you really there?! Or did you sneak off to the beach to drink and chase women?! Hey!”

“Stop shouting! I’m here!” Jeros’s irritated voice sounded from the distance. “How could I be as shameless as you suggest? As a responsible summoner, I would never abandon my companions!”

“Alright, alright, I was just checking,” Zhao Tianhe muttered, curling his lip.

He distinctly remembered seeing Jeros with a different beauty on his arm at restaurants and on the beach more than once, though Elay had been by his side at the time. But that didn’t even compare! All he could do was look, not touch!

Still, just looking was already a treat.

The second floor of the Shipwreck Catacombs was a vast subterranean lake, spanning several dozen square kilometers. Countless jagged peninsulas jutted into the lake, and the monsters of this level gathered in groups along the shores.

At the very center of the lake, a colossal whirlpool nearly a kilometer in diameter rotated slowly.

This whirlpool didn’t suck in the surroundings; on the contrary, it continuously spat out battered ships and all manner of strange debris—among them, naturally, more monsters. Each week, the floor’s boss would appear in the form of a gigantic vessel over a hundred meters long—sometimes a heavily armed merchant ship, sometimes a pirate galleon, sometimes a navy warship, and so on.

“Let’s follow the plan,” Zhao Tianhe said, looking at Elay.

“Alright.” Elay nodded, and her spear flew straight toward a cluster of monsters in the distance.