WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈
Chapter 105: Strange Island
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[Lightning that sends a jolt through the entire body]
[Thanks to all the hardships of life and death he had endured, Ian’s spells have grown even stronger!]
[The fishfolk have been annihilated!]
Thanks to Turkan and me, we passed through the first area in no time.
Of course, we could not completely keep conductors away, so I still felt a jolt now and then, but it was tolerable.
“Just as expected of Ian!”
An excited Daisy skipped over and checked me for injuries.
“Bwahahahaha! You saw the genius at work, right?”
“You’re still annoying, but your skill is incredible!”
The barbarian Ulric laughed heartily, clapped, and threw an arm around my shoulders.
Heh.
Argus puffed out his chest as though he had done it himself and spoke to the dumbfounded noble party.
“Well?”
...
Just as the knight named Pierre was about to speak.
“Enough.”
The blue-haired noble, who had been silent until then, opened their mouth.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
The noble party left.
Watching them go, Argus sneered.
“Enough, let’s go, hm? You there. That guy only knows how to put on airs.”
“Still, his swordsmanship was the real deal.”
“Yeah. It was proper, orthodox swordsmanship.”
The archer brothers each added a comment.
I also remembered the blue-haired noble who had remained calm even after seeing my spells.
‘He definitely felt different from his subordinates.’
“Damn it! Whose side are you people on?”
Then my attention turned to another Expedition Party member aboard this ship.
The vampire had somehow approached us.
“Hey, why didn’t you join the fight?”
They had been nowhere to be seen during the battle.
‘They’re after something.’
I was suspicious, but the answer I got was disappointingly simple.
“I... I was scared...”
“...”
They were like Dize.
Not much like a member of the dark races.
“If you do nothing, you can’t have any of the loot.”
“Y-Yes...”
The vampire nodded, but their red eyes glistened with regret as they looked at the treasure.
In any case, the ship began moving on its own again, cutting through the raging waves.
“Let’s go inside, Daisy.”
“Okay.”
Back in the cabin, I took out jerky and bread from my backpack and filled my stomach.
“I don’t really have an appetite...”
“You should eat anyway.”
I made Daisy eat too.
“I-I’m full, Ian... Waaah.”
Because that pattern would happen soon.
Just as expected, commotion broke out inside the cabin a little later.
“The food has all rotted!”
[Hunger’s Curse]
Every bit of food, whether in our backpacks or stored aboard the ship, suddenly rotted and became inedible.
“Since this pattern appeared, the second area should show up soon.”
Only the noble party panicked. Argus’s group and I remained calm.
The appearance of Hunger’s Curse meant we were entering the second area.
Rumble!
In the dark night sea, filled with pouring rain, churning waves, and fierce sea winds, a faint light flickered.
An island appeared before our sailing ship.
“An islaaaand! An island appeared!!!”
* * *
A small fishing village, too shabby to call a port, clung to the tiny rocky island.
The ship headed toward the island and docked by itself.
As though telling us to regroup here for a while.
‘The second area, Nameless Island.’
Of course, beneath the surface, it was a dangerous place.
Shhhhh.
The rain falling from the sky tasted salty.
We took out our lanterns and disembarked.
“Phew.”
“I thought seasickness was going to kill me.”
After being stuck on that rocking ship, it felt good to set foot on solid ground.
“Don’t let your guard down.”
“Ian! Daisy! Come to the center!”
Still on guard, we climbed over a few rocks and immediately found traces of civilization.
There was a fork in the road that looked as though people had maintained it.
One path led toward the fishing village we had seen on our way in. The other led toward a jagged rocky mountain.
A crossroads.
[Go toward the village with the eerie atmosphere.]
[Go toward the quiet rocky mountain.]
Those were the choices that appeared in the game.
“It’s still a long time until the full moon rises. We’re going this way.”
Seemingly knowing something, Argus’s group headed toward the rocky mountain.
The noble party glanced at them, then moved toward the village.
They had chosen the latter because they had less information, but it was still better than following behind and picking up scraps.
‘There’s something we can claim first, like the treasure aboard the pirate ship.’
Huh?
But seeing this, I was a little flustered.
What was this? Why was everyone going that way?
Once we got here, we had to grab that first.
That was how we could get the special reward and lower the difficulty of the final boss battle.
Yet both parties were taking paths I had never considered.
“Ian! What are you doing?”
‘No matter how I look at it...’
After seeing that, I made my decision.
Neither Argus’s veteran party nor the noble party seemed to know about it.
In that case...
We had to get it ourselves.
“We’ll act separately.”
“Will you be okay? The ritual hasn’t started yet, but it’ll still be dangerous.”
“I have plenty of spells left, and Daisy is with me. We’ll be fine.”
“Alright. Contact us if anything happens.”
“Yes.”
While these people wasted their time, I would gather the hidden items on this island.
No matter how much we had overcome hardships together, we were still separate parties.
The Expedition Party members were strangers to one another.
‘If they aren’t in the Orphan Gang, I can only be a cold-blooded alpha.’
* * *
[A narrow trail located between the rocky mountain and the village.]
[Ian’s party chose a third option.]
Shhhhh.
Rumble!
We had gone through the trouble of docking on an island, but the scenery around us was still utterly dreary.
The moonless sky was pitch-black, and torrential salty rain poured down.
Lightning occasionally struck, illuminating our surroundings in grotesque flashes. Strange traces of civilization, out of place in the Labyrinth, could be seen here and there.
...
Everything was quiet, without a single sign of life.
‘If I didn’t have a veteran player’s knowledge, this place would be creepy enough to make me piss myself.’
Most Expedition Party members would probably struggle forward, overcoming their fear of this unknown place.
Daisy and I stepped over wet rocks toward our destination.
-Element! Element!
I could feel the Grimoire of Lightning and the Blue Grimoire within me rejoicing.
‘The harsh natural environment is raising the Grimoires’ proficiency.’
But there was a problem.
Red eyes glittered in the darkness.
The vampire from our ship was following us.
“Why are you following us?”
“Well... the dragonkin don’t like me, and the others are nobles.”
In other words...
“You decided to stick with us because we looked easy?”
I stared coldly at the vampire, placing Daisy, a natural enemy of the dark races, in front of me like a shield.
“Eek! N-No!”
The vampire frantically waved their hands and rummaged through their clothes.
I was on guard, thinking they might pull out a spell, dagger, or poison, but it was a holy book.
“I’m a believer of Lady Meia.”
They also wore a necklace engraved with Meia’s symbol around their neck.
“I offer prayers and donations every week! Save the weak and extend a merciful hand. Isn’t that Lady Meia’s teaching?”
Not the sort of words I expected from one of the dark races, who were as infamous as the dark elves in the western region.
‘Fuck, what the hell are they?’
‘The Coin isn’t appearing, either.’
Still, the opinion of a party member mattered, so I asked Daisy.
“What do you think, Daisy?”
“Hmm...”
Daisy was the miller’s daughter who had gained Blessing through good fortune.
Unlike other religious followers, who had received near-brainwashing education in temples from childhood, she had a more open-minded side.
‘Otherwise, she wouldn’t have traveled with Darnen.’
That was why she was lenient toward the dark races.
But perhaps because she felt pressure to protect me, she reacted more strongly than usual this time.
“If you try anything funny, I’ll show you Lady Meia’s power right away.”
‘Even if I’m weak, I’m not that weak.’
It sounded like a cute threat to me, but perhaps not to the vampire.
“Eek!”
They flinched in fright and said this.
“Y-Yes! If you still feel uneasy, I’ll walk in front!”
Vampires had excellent regeneration and were tough.
‘A fine meat shield has appeared.’
“Good. Lead the way.”
“Yes.”
As we moved, I noticed something.
Snake-shaped statues stood all over the island.
Rumble!
Maybe because of the pouring rain and intermittent lightning, the snake statues seemed to hiss like living creatures, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Looking at them, I said,
“They’re statues of the Snake King.”
One of the two traitors among the Seven Kings who had ruled the world.
Alongside the Giant King, it was the being that had brought Winter’s Curse upon the entire world.
“Don’t touch them carelessly! You might be cursed!”
“That must be why the whole island feels so strange.”
‘There’s nothing special even if I inspect them.’
After touching a snake statue, I continued walking.
Near a small cave at the end of the trail stood a little house, swaying dangerously in the storm.
Creeeak.
When I opened the door, I saw a girl with turquoise hair lying collapsed on the floor.
I hurriedly checked her pulse and sighed in relief.
‘Phew. Thank goodness. She’s still alive.’
Nadia, the Sea Priestess.
This was the hidden piece I had come to retrieve from this island.
“P-People? Are you that pirate-like guy from earlier?”
“Daisy, can you use Heal once?”
“Ah, okay!”
[Heal]
After Daisy treated her, the girl soon regained consciousness.
Sky-blue eyes filled with confusion looked at us through her curly turquoise hair.
“Mmm... Who... are you?”
“We’re travelers. We stopped here because we ran out of food.”
When I answered calmly, the girl cried out in surprise.
“Leave before it’s too late! This is a cursed place...!”
For the first time, an inhabitant of the outer dimension that had only shown hostility displayed goodwill.
“We can communicate with her?!”
The vampire was startled.
“Quickly! Before the villagers come!”
“The villagers? There are more people here besides this girl? Then why is it dangerous?”
Daisy had learned a little about Secret Dungeons from me, but this one was a complete newbie with lots of questions.
“Hey.”
I answered the vampire’s questions in the simplest way possible.
“Yes?”
“Shut it.”
“...Okaaay.”
At that moment.
Creeeak.
With a sickening scrape, the door we had shut opened again.
Moisture poured inside with the fierce wind.
Cra-rumble!
Lightning struck, briefly illuminating the figures standing outside.
They were children about Nadia’s age.
“Nadia... Let’s play...”
But the lanterns we held, their flames burning within, shook violently, and goosebumps rose across my skin.
Naturally.
Those were not people, but monsters wearing human disguises.
“What? Did you make friends besides us?”
The fishy stench grew stronger.
Rotten fish-like eyes blinked within the writhing shadows, and the boys’ and girls’ mouths curled upward grotesquely.
“Good. You’ll make perfect sacrifices for the Snake King.”
[Heads/Tails]
The Coin spun.
I pointed my staff at them and shouted.
“Daisy!”
“Got it!”
As Daisy stretched out her hand and prayed, the light of Purification shot forward.
“Eeeeeek!”
Struck by it, the village children screamed.
Their bodies swayed as their skin melted away. Inside their muttering mouths, saw-like teeth set in a circle wriggled like growths.
Good. They were revealing their true forms.
“Now I’ll...”
Before I could cast a spell.
“In Meia’s name!”
Daisy kicked off the ground and swung her mace, smashing the monsters’ heads.
Crunch!
[Daisy’s fighting spirit burns.]
“You can’t lay even a finger on Ian!”
Now that was a reliable priestly shield.
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