Chapter 541 - 541: Solo Hunt

The monsters' shrill cries rang out without end.

[Poison Vermis] were roughly thirty to forty centimeters long, with purplish skin. Their combat ability was nothing remarkable, but the potent venom they secreted was strong enough to overcome low ranks of [Abnormal Resistance] and incapacitate upper-class Adventurers.

And now, those very monsters were crawling everywhere before Bell's eyes.

There were simply too many.

The ground, the walls, the ceiling, even the blue crystals. Everywhere he looked, purple monsters filled his vision.

Even the Dungeon's native monsters had been corroded by the venom, becoming breeding grounds for the Poison Vermis.

"As expected, there are even more of them in Water City."

Bell avoided a lunging monster and raced down the passage.

Ordinarily, Adventurers called a large swarm of Poison Vermis a [Graveyard of Poison], a name meant to warn inexperienced newcomers to flee the moment they encountered such monsters.

The number currently chasing Bell through the passage far exceeded anything that could be called a mere graveyard. It was closer to hell itself. Even an experienced Adventurer would instinctively hesitate at such a disgusting, horrifying sight.

Poison was always closely tied to dosage.

[Abnormal Resistance] was like a sturdy pane of glass. It might withstand a single strike from a hammer, but what if the hammer kept falling without pause?

Could [Abnormal Resistance] alone truly withstand an endless torrent of such terrifying venom?

Even if the answer was yes, this grotesque feast of monsters would still be enough to make anyone recoil.

Bell, however, calmly observed his surroundings and continued swiftly along the route he had memorized.

"I never thought I'd actually have a use for this..."

Bell opened his pack and pulled out a medium-sized pouch.

The instant he loosened the ties, an overpowering stench assaulted him.

The distinctive, pungent odor was even stronger than the rotten smell of the Poison Vermis. Within moments, it had spread throughout the entire passage.

[Morbul], an item made by Naaza, normally used its foul odor to drive monsters away and prevent attacks.

Bell had brought it partly because of how effective it was, and partly to avoid unnecessary friction with the others during the expedition.

He understood Bete's true nature and did not think the Werewolf would deliberately cause trouble, but with that explosive temper, there was no telling when he might end up clashing with Riveria or someone else. If that happened, the Morbul would become an especially effective weapon against a Beast Human.

Nothing of the sort had happened, however, and this was the first time Bell had actually used the item.

His goal was not to repel the monsters.

He intended to use its overpowering stench to draw the Poison Vermis toward himself.

Within moments, every giant poisonous maggot in sight began crawling toward Bell in a writhing mass.

"Just as I thought. It works."

Bell nimbly avoided their attacks.

As long as the venom and poisonous mist did not interfere with his vision or movement, he ignored them completely and focused only on avoiding the Poison Vermis themselves.

Their combat ability was extremely low. Even with so many of them, they could not so much as touch Bell.

The rush of wind mingled with the monsters' unsettling cries. Before long, Bell had raced through several passages and entered an enormous cavern.

Keeping an eye on the ground, he loosened the mouth of the Morbul and scattered some of its contents behind him.

Without stopping, Bell sprinted toward the exit on the cavern's left side.

Once countless Poison Vermis had flooded the entire chamber, Bell twisted around and unleashed his Magic.

"Firebolt!"

Firebolt erupted.

A blazing projectile wrapped in lightning struck the ground.

The next instant, a tremendous explosion tore through the cavern.

Countless Poison Vermis vanished into the flames before they could even cry out.

Bell did not stay to watch them burn to ash. He continued forward without looking back. By the time the explosion erupted, he had already left the cavern and escaped the blast entirely.

[Kaenseki].

The remnants of Evilus led by Jura had buried those crimson stones in an attempt to summon Juggernaut. After Bell accompanied Loki Familia in stopping their plot, he had frozen all of the Kaenseki.

Several explosions had already occurred by then. Dealing with the stones immediately might have played directly into the enemy's hands. They could not safely detonate them, digging them all out would have taken too long and delayed the expedition, and carrying explosives around came with risks of its own.

Bell had therefore suggested freezing them.

The Kaenseki were Drop Items from monsters of the Deep Floors, and one of their properties was that they could not be detonated for several days after becoming damp. Loki Familia could simply deal with the stones after the expedition returned.

Bell himself had never imagined they would become the key to stopping the monster wave.

"Firebolt!"

Ignoring the smoke, dust, and poisonous mist, Bell triggered explosion after explosion throughout Water City.

The operation sounded simple, but the requirements for carrying it out were extraordinarily demanding.

First, a monster wave gave no one time to stop. Pausing to check a map would be no different from asking to die.

Whoever carried out the plan needed to have every map of Water City memorized, along with the exact locations where the Kaenseki had been buried. That requirement alone eliminated nearly everyone in the expedition party.

Second, all of the Kaenseki were buried underground. Since freezing them earlier had completely ruined their fuses, the only way to detonate them now was with fire Magic.

Their Magic Swords had already been completely exhausted. Igniting the stones from close range would only drag the user into the resulting explosion. Whoever executed the plan therefore needed either chantless Magic like Bell's, or the ability to use Concurrent Chanting and fire off Magic while sprinting.

And even that was not enough.

The greatest danger posed by the Poison Vermis was their terrifying venom. Every explosion spread even more poisonous mist through the area, so anyone trying to wipe out the monster wave would inevitably be exposed to it.

An Adventurer without a high rank of [Abnormal Resistance] would not be able to advance at all.

Considering all of those factors together, Bell was the only person capable of carrying out the plan.

"Firebolt!"

Firebolt continued to thunder out.

The teardrop-shaped gemstone Syr had given him shone with blue light, protecting Bell from the poisonous mist.

With each booming explosion, the number of monsters within Bell's sight rapidly dwindled.

The 25th Floor.

Once the monster wave had disappeared and only a few scattered survivors remained, Bell drew the Goddess's Blade and continued forward, hunting down the remaining Poison Vermis as he went.

Two familiar figures soon appeared ahead of him.

"Argonaut-kun!"

Tiona waved happily.

"Bell, are you all right?"

Riveria hurried toward him, her expression anxious.

"I'm fine. What are you two doing here?"

Bell asked.

According to the plan, it would have been safest for the expedition party to wait until Bell returned before making their next move.

"The Captain sent me to check the situation, but we didn't run into any monsters at all on the way here. As for the Vice Captain, she insisted on coming with me no matter what..."

Tiona approached with a smile, then suddenly blinked.

"Huh? Argonaut-kun, you stink!"

"So do you, idiot."

Riveria lightly flicked the Amazoness girl on the forehead.

Even without the Morbul, the rotting stench of the Poison Vermis was strong enough on its own.

"Bell, I'm so glad you're safe..."

Riveria leaned close to the boy's ear and whispered,

"Later, let's go to the spring on the 18th Floor together. I'll wash your back for you. How does that sound?"

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