The Girls of the Swamp (3)
Splash!
The sticky swamp splattered as ripples spread across the surface.
Boots that should have sunk raced across the swamp as if it were solid ground.
In just a few strides, Dalen crossed the small swamp and kept running without pause.
His steps were unfaltering, whether on dry land or through the swamp’s muck.
He moved faster than a galloping horse, his breathing steady and unbroken.
“The creatures that should be guarding their territory have all vanished.”
Even as he ran, Dalen’s eyes scanned his surroundings.
His keen senses, honed in his mid-twenties, detected the flow of strange magic and any trace of the unusual.
In the distance, an eerie laughter echoed sporadically. The presence of other creatures had vanished.
Broken trees, overturned earth, and marks of teeth and claws were scattered about.
The conclusion was clear.
“They’ve already scoured the area clean.”
Despite racing through the creatures’ territory, there wasn’t a single interruption or reaction.
Except for the occasional ghostly laughter, the surroundings were deathly silent.
The swamp spirits had swept through the area, leaving nothing behind.
Whether creature or explorer, anything alive was considered prey by these spirits.
“They’re practically the apex predators of the third floor.”
Unlike the sandworms of the second floor, the swamp spirits lacked massive bodies or overwhelming strength.
But their invisible forms, ethereal nature, and ability to traverse the spirit realm made them even more troublesome.
Even one would be a headache, but the swamp girls possessed all three traits.
Unlike the solitary sandworms, the swamp spirits moved in swarms of hundreds, centered around a core.
“Invisible, they emerge from nowhere, tear off flesh, and vanish—hundreds of them.”
Only a truly powerful predator could withstand such relentless attacks.
Splash!
Dalen pushed harder with his legs.
The ripples on the swamp grew larger, and with a sudden thud, his body soared into the air.
Thud-thud-thud—
He leaped into the sky, the shrubs below shrinking as his view expanded.
“Hee-hee-hee!”
“Ha-ha-ha!”
A beat later, the ground he had just left behind erupted with bizarre laughter.
The spirits, having revealed themselves to claim their prey, looked up at Dalen, now out of reach.
“They think this is their territory now.”
Fortunately, the spirits couldn’t fly. They would continue to chase him from the ground.
Whoosh—
As he ascended, the musty air brushed past his face, and the entire area came into view.
Sticky, mud-colored streams flowed sluggishly between patches of dry land. Broken trees and churned earth dotted the landscape.
Fresh monster blood was scattered around the signs of battle.
The swamp spirits had conducted a massive hunt not long ago.
“Judging by the traces… about two to three days ago.”
In that time, only one significant event could have occurred. His suspicion solidified into certainty.
“The rebels must have dealt a serious blow to the core.”
But why?
Before the question fully formed, the answer was already clear in his mind.
The rebels were on the run here.
For them to risk delving deep into monster territory meant there was a compelling reason.
Considering their goal of summoning a demon, it wasn’t hard to guess what that reason was.
”…The spirit core.”
[What?]
The demon, who had been quietly observing from its pocket dimension, widened its eyes at Dalen’s muttered words.
Even as a demon, it seemed to have a basic understanding of monster ecology.
[Instead of killing the core, they extracted it. That would drive the spirits bound to it into a frenzy…]
And that’s exactly what’s happening.
If the swamp spirits were ants, the core was their queen.
Its role was similar: absorbing soul remnants from hell and crafting them into tangible monsters.
The core stored the persistent thoughts left over from this process in a physical form within itself.
The spirit core, thus created, functioned as the heart of the core.
Stealing it would naturally send the core into a frenzy, along with the spirits bound to it.
“That’s why, when they attacked the special unit, they kidnapped rather than devoured them.”
To restore the core, an enormous amount of nourishment was needed.
Not just any nourishment, but souls brimming with thoughts.
“Hee-hee-hee!”
“Ha-ha-ha!”
The laughter from below had multiplied several times over. Dalen glanced down.
The forms of the girls chasing him through the spirit realm numbered around a hundred.
It seemed they had drawn all the spirits from the direction of the special unit.
“The bait worked well.”
He had successfully lured the summoned creatures away from his party members, achieving his primary goal.
Now, he just needed to lead them to a suitable place for a showdown.
And if he could take down both the boss and the minions at once, all the better.
“Time for the boss fight.”
Perhaps today, he might even level up.
The terrain of the third floor of the labyrinth, the Bottomless Swamp, was simple.
A sticky river began at a massive reservoir in the north.
The river flowed southward, its current slowing and its depth increasing.
Even in the relatively shallow northern region, deep swamps over ten meters deep were scattered.
It was like a lake near the river’s source.
Splash!
The core of the swamp spirits was located in one of these lake-like areas.
“Damn it.”
Even a light landing caused his foot to sink, the squishy texture seeping into his boots.
Though he could leap across water and air with his skills, standing still in this sticky swamp meant sinking.
His legs were submerged up to his shins. As he clicked his tongue at the unpleasant sensation, laughter began to echo from behind.
“Hee-hee!”
“Ha-ha, hee-hee-hee!”
The swamp spirits that had been trailing behind him. A quick glance revealed their numbers had swelled to over two hundred.
Perhaps they no longer felt the need to hide.
Instead of retreating into the spirit realm, they openly giggled and swarmed around him in a semicircle.
[Whoa… Gives me the creeps.]
Ignoring the demon’s increasingly chatty remarks, Dalen casually placed his hand on his waist.
The spirits’ strategy wasn’t bad.
An unseen enemy is more troublesome than a visible one, but only when the numbers are similar.
In a situation like this, the sheer number was more intimidating.
Unless, of course, the opponent was an experienced player obsessed with gaining experience points.
“Two hundred blocking the retreat. Three hundred guarding the core.”
Over five hundred swamp spirits.
Or rather, over five hundred bundles of experience points.
As the spirits hunting outside noticed the intruder and returned, their numbers would only grow.
Swish—
Dalen drew his holy sword. In his left hand, he lightly gripped an axe.
In the distance, at the center of the vast lake, a massive fig-shaped mass sat.
A monster with a diameter of fifty meters and a height nearing ten meters.
[You’ve discovered the corpse of a guide turned swamp spirit.]
The core, bloated several times its usual size for recovery, displayed the text marking the end of a cycle.
Watching it, Dalen raised his hand and then lowered it.
Thwack-thwack-thwack—
He didn’t avoid the space. It wasn’t a mistake.
The trajectory of the axe, deliberately slower than usual, was just slow enough for the spirits to track.
“Ha-ha!”
“Hee-hee!”
The swamp spirits rushed to intercept the disc of light flying toward the core.
Thud-thud-thud!
The sound of flesh tearing echoed repeatedly. The axe blade, imbued with holy fire, easily sliced through the spirits.
Splash!
Over ten spirits lost their lives before the axe lost its power and fell into the swamp.
Even then, the core continued to expand and contract as if breathing, unmoving from its spot.
“It’s not a variant.”
Some cores could move on their own.
These powerful monsters were usually only seen in hell, but given the unpredictable nature of this cycle, it was worth checking.
However, judging by its reaction, this core was just an ordinary one.
With that confirmed, there was no need to hesitate. Dalen gathered strength in his legs.
Thud!
The spot where Dalen had just been standing exploded, sending mud, filth, and debris flying in all directions.
Dalen’s new form was already sprinting a dozen meters away from the blast.
Swoosh—
His footsteps skimmed across the swampy lake, a whirlwind forming around the sacred sword gripped tightly in both hands.
“Kyahaha!”
“Heehee!”
The vengeful spirits, their wariness heightened by the recent axe attack, swarmed toward him as if they had been waiting for this moment.
Swish…
Their thin forms flickered in and out of existence, slipping between realms. If they hid in the spirit world, even Dalen’s sword couldn’t reach them.
But there was no need to be anxious.
To stop an intruder from reaching their source, they would eventually have to reveal themselves in the real world.
Hiss…
A spirit lunged at him, baring its teeth right in front of his face. Dalen met it head-on, smashing his forehead into it.
Crunch!
“Gah…!”
Sharp teeth shattered and a transparent stream of blood followed.
The girl’s body, her face caved in, toppled over. Without hesitation, Dalen brought down his sacred sword.
Slash!
The body was cleaved in two with a simple stroke.
Crash!
The force of his crushing sword extended beyond, obliterating two more spirits.
Splash!
Dalen didn’t stop. He charged forward, stirring up waves in the swamp.
Hundreds of spirits lurked within his sensory field, appearing and disappearing, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Chasing those hiding in the spirit realm was a fool’s errand, a waste of energy.
‘When invading an ant colony, you only need to target the queen.’
As he neared the source, they would reveal themselves.
Sure enough, when Dalen was halfway to the center of the lake—
“Heeheehee!”
“Kyahaha! Kyaa!”
Girls with crazed smiles surrounded him, forming a tight net of spirits.
Shhh—
Teeth and claws attacked from all directions, even from above.
Each strike was powerful enough to tear through steel armor with ease.
Any ordinary adventurer would be shredded to pieces in an instant.
Even Dalen couldn’t fend off such numbers one by one.
Not that he ever intended to.
Buzz…
Magic surged at his feet.
The ripples in the swamp spread out in large concentric circles.
In the moment his leap skill activated, it was as if he stood on solid ground.
‘Not enough.’
But he pushed further.
Dalen’s abilities, having surpassed their limits, opened new horizons.
Rather than being a mere skill, it was the capacity to reshape possibilities already realized within his domain.
[Leap (E)]
A technique to propel oneself high with a single step. Though simple, it embodies the total application of strength and skill.
Mastery 100%
Reinterpreting the skill from its roots.
Reaching for a level beyond even the unknown creator of the skill.
If the principle of leaping is to push off, why not stand where one cannot?
Instead of forcefully pushing off, he gently spread his magic, fully grounding his weight beneath him.
[You have acquired a unique skill.]
[Reward: Standstill (D)]
A notification appeared, one that would typically only be seen in the late stages of a game.
Boom—
Another massive ripple spread from beneath his feet, and Dalen’s sword was engulfed in flames.
[Standstill (D)]
Crack!
The power erupted from beneath his feet, traveling through his ankles, knees, hips, waist, and shoulders, transforming into rotational force.
His joints, pushed to their limits, groaned softly, and his muscles burned with a long-forgotten heat.
The destructive energy, now enhanced by sacred fire.
A bright red glow enveloped the sword, condensing tightly.
The wave of power that began at his feet finally reached his fingertips.
He swung.
Swoosh—
A simple horizontal slash, powered by the rotation of his body.
In its path, the tough flesh of the monsters meant nothing.
The sword’s edge carved not a line, but a plane.
Not only the spirits charging at him from the front, but those behind them were cleaved through, space itself torn apart.
Thud, thud, thud.
Transparent chunks rained down from the sky like a shower.
As they fell, the invisibility spell unraveled, making it seem as if the air itself was endlessly vomiting blood and flesh.
In the midst of the crimson rain.
The muscular warrior, like a boulder, slowly lowered the sword held in both hands.
Thud.
His feet no longer sank into the blood-stained swamp.
The swamp spirits, having lost nearly a hundred of their kin in an instant, hesitated and retreated for the first time.
“Heh…?”
A puzzled smile crept across their lips.
“Scared, are we?”
With a fierce grin, Dalen took another step toward the massive source.