"Ready to depart!" Ironjaw's voice came from the deck.
Clap!
Inside the cabin, Kiro slapped his palms together. Those fox eyes that were always squinting now opened slightly: "Well then, let's begin."
[Sin of Sloth]
Standing beside Kiro, Tanaka's body suddenly swayed slightly as a layer of blurred phantom separated from him.
That phantom was initially transparent like a reflection in water, then rapidly filled with color and texture... Within a breath, another Tanaka had stepped forward.
This clone not only perfectly replicated Tanaka's current physical appearance, but even that adventurer's leather armor, the束脚长裤, and the wear marks on his shoe surfaces were identical.
However, the underwater breathing amulet faintly flowing with magical light at Tanaka's neck, several magic rings on his fingers, and several magic-imbued potions at his waist did not appear on the clone.
Without verbal communication, the two Tanakas looked at each other, and the original smoothly removed those items and handed them to the clone.
The entire process flowed like water, as practiced as simply switching a tool from left hand to right hand.
Preparations complete, the clone pushed open the cabin door leading to the deck.
Ironjaw on deck glanced at the emerging Tanaka, detecting no abnormality whatsoever.
He simply nodded to this employer, arranged two subordinate snakefolk to specifically protect his safety, then with a smooth motion dove into the still-murky seawater below.
Upon entering the water, they were immediately attacked by monsters again.
Though they'd just cleared the area, this position was too close to the mist. In just this short time, new monsters had wandered over.
However, the mercenary company wasn't to be trifled with. A snakefolk mage beside Ironjaw raised a hand, and currents transformed into sharp blades, slaying those two monsters before they could approach.
In the gloomy seabed, Tidal Sanctuary's entrance was a massive gate embedded in a huge sea ridge's side wall.
But the dungeon entrance's current condition was somewhat strange—two fundamentally different magical currents were colliding, one from inside the dungeon, one from the mist's direction.
The two magical forces continuously compressed and collided at the dungeon entrance. Spellcasters clearly sensed that oppressive feeling.
Every dozen seconds or few minutes, somewhere near the entrance would produce small magical explosions due to overly intense magical opposition within a small range.
After each explosion, that area's seawater would briefly form a vacuum-like void, then seawater would rush back in, forming chaotic vortices that stirred up seabed sediment and debris.
This situation clearly arose after the mist's visit. For ordinary adventurers, it could already be called dangerous—even mist monsters had died here in considerable numbers.
Ironjaw raised his arm, signaling the entire team to halt in a relatively calm stretch of water outside the entrance: "Mages."
Several staff-wielding mages stepped forward to guide the surrounding chaotic magic power, at least ensuring no magical explosion would occur within the team momentarily.
Taking advantage of this gap, the team quickly swam through the gate.
Upon entering, they encountered even more monsters. One type with forearm bones mutated into two folding bone blades even cut an careless snakeman in half at first glance.
Though this ferocious monster was immediately focused down by surrounding snakefolk who'd reacted—dying under several water arrows and blade-axes—Ironjaw's expression still darkened.
He knew this journey was dangerous, but losing a capable hand right after entering the door didn't seem like a good omen no matter how you looked at it.
"I'm in." On the ship, Tanaka stated his current position.
"Good, follow the team for now. When passing the third room, approach the left wall and activate the ring I gave you."
Under Ironjaw's command, the mercenary company cautiously cleared monsters appearing along the way while advancing along the main passage.
When the team passed through the third spacious but half-collapsed stone chamber, Tanaka, mixed in the team's middle section, inconspicuously approached the left wall covered with glowing moss and cracks, injecting a trace of weak magic power into the brass ring on his left hand.
Click.
The clone pressed against that wall section. Inner and outer layers suddenly rotated like a flexible flip panel, instantly flipping him inside.
The entire process was shockingly fast. Before surrounding snakefolk could react, that employer's figure had disappeared before their eyes.
"Forward, then turn left." The foxfolk continued guiding Tanaka through this hidden passage.
Tanaka followed Kiro's guidance, continuing forward in the narrow passage.
The third corner was right ahead. He'd just carefully extended half his body when a black shadow accompanied by violent current suddenly lunged from the corner's other side!
"Glub!"
A fishman?!
The fishman's harpoon thrust straight for Tanaka's throat—fast and vicious!
Tanaka almost instinctively caught the harpoon barehanded, barely blocking this lethal strike from penetrating on the spot.
However underwater, the fishman's strength held absolute advantage. The harpoon tip pressed inch by inch toward his throat.
Tanaka struggled to raise an index finger.
At the fingertip, white light flashed and vanished.
[Memory Erasure]
The fishman's frenzied roar abruptly ceased, becoming completely vacant.
The thrusting motion stopped. Its entire body like a puppet with cut strings, stood blankly in place, bewildered.
Only then did Tanaka have time to draw his weapon and, while the fishman hadn't recovered, pierce through its head.
The fishman's body convulsed a few times. The vacancy in its eyes was rapidly replaced by death's grayness as it slowly sank toward the passage bottom.
From the wound, besides blood, floated some white fine threads.
Recalling the opponent's panel glimpsed during the earlier standoff, which had words like "parasitized," Tanaka disgustedly retreated several steps.
"Dead fox! There are fishmen ambushing here! Why didn't you say so earlier? Almost died!" Tanaka didn't have the ability to multitask. Only after the clone's crisis resolved did the original complain to Kiro beside him.
"The third corner..." Kiro didn't explain, only nodded thoughtfully, then urged: "Continue forward."
However before long, he encountered unexpected enemies again.
Several half-demons with a bunch of Puchis?!
And these Puchis looked incredibly bizarre—some covered in rock armor with sharp spikes at tentacle ends, others had fish tails, completely different from those Puchis captured from Empire forests on his ship.
Were these the rumored combat-capable Puchis?
But... this was too absurd!
Opening the panel and seeing entries like [Self-Destruct LV10], [Sharpness LV10], Tanaka felt a chill shoot up his neck, scalp tingling.
No communication, no warning.
The moment those half-demon soldiers discovered him, they unhesitatingly launched attacks, clearly identifying him as an enemy.
White light swept past. The eyes of five half-demons locked onto him simultaneously became vacant, attack motions freezing mid-motion, falling into brief stupor.
However, the Puchis that had already received attack orders were completely unaffected.
"Damn!"
Tanaka wanted to retreat, but his speed in water was far too slow.
Tentacles shot out. The clone didn't even have time for more reactions before being pierced through in multiple places simultaneously.
When the half-demons recovered, the Puchis were struggling to pull their tentacles stuck in walls free. Before them, only a few magic items slowly sank to the bottom.
Simultaneously, in the ship's cabin rang Tanaka's agonized howl and complaints.
...
Clap!
Kiro clapped his hands together. A small tuft of white fur fell to the ground.
Beside him stood Tanaka exchanging magic items with the clone.
Kiro took a deep breath.
Round two, begin!
(End of Chapter)
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