Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 196

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TL: ALT

Chapter 196 – Underwater Battle

When I jumped into the water, the first thing I thought was, “How am I going to breathe?”

Even though I have the Underwater Breathing skill, it takes courage to take a deep breath in the water.

I can understand how to use the skill intuitively, but it’s hard to do something that goes against your instinct.

I started by taking in a little water to feel how it felt and gradually increased the amount I was taking in.

I was soon able to breathe underwater without any discomfort.

I thought it would be dark underwater, but contrary to my expectations, some brightness was maintained.

But come to think of it, the dungeon room outside the water also maintains a certain amount of dim light, even though there are no lights.

I think the underwater area is the same.

The water seems to be quite deep.

I can vaguely see my surroundings, but I can’t see the bottom of the water.

I create a light without chanting and send the ball of light to the bottom of the water.

I can’t cast spells underwater.

Even if I have Underwater Breathing, I can’t pronounce the chant properly, so I can’t cast magic.

Of course, if I use No Chanting, I can cast magic underwater without any problems.

However, there are probably only a handful of explorers in the world who have No Chanting.

There is even a possibility that no one other than me has it.

So, it’s no exaggeration to say that this underwater section of the Umihotaru Dungeon effectively seals off the magic of explorers.

Even for me, who can use No Chanting (currently a unique bonus of the Demon King), the power of my magic is greatly reduced without chanting.

It is also known that some elemental magic, such as fire and lightning, becomes difficult to activate or can even go off unexpectedly.

I thought I had become strong by collecting a lot of skills, but the simple addition of the “area is underwater” condition has suddenly narrowed the range of what I can do.

I may encounter phenomena like “I’m in a dungeon, but there’s an ocean here!” or “I’m in a dungeon, but I’m above the clouds!”

As for countermeasures for such situations… Well, I guess I’ll leave that for another time.

While I was thinking about such things, the ball of light reached the bottom of the water.

As I looked at what was reflected in the magic light, I couldn’t help but mutter to myself.

“Blubblubblub?”

Oh, sorry, I was underwater.

I thought it would be a plain floor, like the bottom of a pool, but the floor was covered in creepy things.

There were clusters of creatures that looked like white tubes with red tips.

I made a Detailed Appraisal of the creatures.

Status──────────────────

Tube Worm Scavenger, Level 877

An inactive monster that absorbs and stores DP removed from the dungeon’s DP cycle. When the DP concentration in its body reaches a certain level, it creates a dungeon-like space inside its body. It absorbs the DP produced by the monsters living in the dungeon-like space.

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…There are such monsters?

Last time, it was almost confirmed that the magical moss biome claimed by Kandori of the Women’s Association was a product of delusion.

Maybe it is more like this tube worm that comes close to the idea of creating monsters out of magic moss (which is actually just DP residue).

But it’s a story that feels a little strange.

If this tube worm is collecting DP, isn’t the DP that should be circulating in the dungeon being lost?

I don’t think there’s any benefit to the dungeon in creating this monster…

If the tubeworm continues to accumulate DP in its body, the Umihotaru Dungeon will constantly lose DP, which should be used to create monsters.

If we compare DP to the blood of a dungeon, it’s like a wound that won’t stop bleeding.

Speaking of which…

The Umihotaru Dungeon, which has underwater areas, is apparently an A-rank dungeon that no one has ever conquered.

Dungeons that remain unconquered will eventually become flooded.

However, it is said that the Umihotaru Dungeon has never experienced a dungeon flood.

According to Haitani-san, there is a difference of opinion among dungeon explorers as to the reason for this.

The relatively strong theory seems to be that “Actually, floods occur underwater, and the monsters that spill out of the dungeon are released into the waters of Tokyo Bay?”

The weak point of this hypothesis is that it is impossible for the Voice of Heaven not to warn us when a flood occurs.

The way these tube worms reproduce seems to be a strong argument against this theory.

The “bleeding” of the dungeon was not stopped for some reason, and the “blood” (i.e., DP) that leaked out was absorbed by the tube worms and could not be recovered――

I think that’s the real reason this dungeon didn’t flood.

Well, I guess I can just tell Serika and Haitani-san about it as a story when I get back.

Relying on my Dungeon Master instincts, I swim deeper into the water.

I’m swimming at a speed that would make competitive swimmers blanch, but I can’t really match the speed of running on land.

Perhaps because I’m underwater, it’s difficult to hide my presence or disappear with magic.

If I encounter an enemy, it also seems difficult to use Escape, too.

The tube worm was described as “inactive,” but of course, I didn’t want to go up and try it.

As a result, I ended up swimming proudly in the middle of the waterway.

I sensed the presence of a monster in the darkness ahead.

Something of considerable volume was approaching at the speed of a torpedo.

It would be difficult to avoid it.

Without chanting, I created a huge block of ice in front of my body.

I can’t use fire or lightning underwater.

The huge mass collided with the ice block that was sharpened like a sword.

Changing the shape of the ice I created was a simple use of the Demon King’s magic skills.

The huge monster sank its body into the sharpened ice with the inertia of its swimming.

Meanwhile, I kicked up the back of the ice block and escaped upwards.

Then, from the top of the ice block, I appraised the giant monster.

For now, its name and level will suffice.

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Ancient Megalodon, Lv883

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Wasn’t a Megalodon a super-large shark that became extinct in ancient times?

I seem to remember seeing something about it in a children’s encyclopedia or something when I was a kid.

The water here is fresh, but can marine life live here?

Or rather, isn’t it a bit redundant to use the word “ancient” to refer to an ancient creature?

Perhaps the megalodon, which is said to have become extinct in ancient times, is actually still alive at the bottom of the deep sea, and the word “ancient” is used to distinguish it from the megalodon?

Aside from such a silly question, the question is how to deal with this thing.

I take out the ‘Spear Gun’ from the item box and equip it.

It’s the underwater cannon dropped by the Sahagin in the Drainage Canal dungeon.

It’s more of a crossbow that shoots harpoons than a gun.

Without any pretense, I pull the trigger of the spear gun.

The harpoon flies out with a dull thud.

When the harpoon struck near the megalodon’s dorsal fin, it tore off the flesh around it and sank deep into its body.

The water turned bright red with blood, and the megalodon disappeared from sight.

Soon after, the Voice of Heaven announced the destruction of the enemy.

The red mist of blood disappeared along with the Voice of Heaven.

The extinct species of giant shark that was so huge had disappeared without leaving any bodies behind.

The sight of such a small harpoon killing a giant shark with a single blow was strange, but it wasn’t strange considering my current attack power.

Or is it strange that the value of attack power is reflected in the damage of projectiles?

Mechanically speaking, the power of the spear gun should be the same no matter who pulls the trigger.

However, the user’s attack power is reflected in the damage done by different types of bows and crossbows.

If attack power were not reflected in damage, archers would probably suffer from a lack of firepower.

Even if the party level increased, their firepower would not increase.

I think the reason why the implementation of projectiles is more game-oriented than reality-oriented is because of such “considerations.”

In RPGs, archers tend to be at a disadvantage towards the end of the game.

However, depending on the game, they can become a “destructive” job that can “hit” from a distance by using their long range.

It’s probably difficult to strike a balance between the unique strengths of the bow, which has a long-range, and the attack power that should be allowed to the archer.

As long as you have the advantage of long-range, you want to keep your attack power low compared to close combat.

But if your attack power is too low, you’ll be removed from the starting lineup for lack of firepower.

In the second playthrough, for example, you can use doping items on characters with ranged attacks to make them invincible without even moving.

Using a spear gun now is a bit like that.

After that, I’m attacked by a giant Anomalocaris and a Deinosuchus (a giant crocodile-like ancient creature), but I manage to get through using only my underwater skills and stats.

I’d like to fight in a more sophisticated way, but there are too many limitations underwater.

As I progressed through the underwater area, I discovered a black portal near the bottom of the water.

The portal, which originally looked like a shimmering water mirror, was a little hard to see when it was at the bottom of the water.

I swam to the black portal and jumped in.

The next moment, I was suddenly thrown into the air.

“Whoa?!”

I quickly somersaulted forward and landed on the third floor, feet first.

That’s right. The third floor is a normal, dry space.

And there was a sign of human presence in that space.

As I hurriedly equipped the Crow Tengu Mask from my Item Box,

“W-who are you?!”

I hear a voice from the corner of the space.

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