Surviving in a Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage - Chapter 54

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈

Chapter 54: The Salt Cave

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A magical creature that felt neither pain nor fear did far more than simply add another companion to the party.

Its slow movements were a drawback, but the Salt Cave was full of narrow passages to begin with, so it was not much of a problem.

Thanks to Alejandro's familiar spell, we easily swept aside monsters while collecting Mana Stones and gathering resources.

“Hyaaaah!”

Elena's Smite Grace Stone, the power she'd gained this time, also proved its worth.

Her blade carried an aura of destruction.

Ordinary fishfolk were split in half from head to groin in an instant, while even Fiddler Crabmen had their skulls crushed if they took a clean hit.

“See? Buying that Grace Stone was worth going into debt for, wasn't it?”

“Yeah. This is fucking awesome! But... huff, huff. I'm tired.”

“It consumes stamina. You've had enough practice, so don't overuse it now.”

“But I want to use it more... Hng.”

Perhaps the only thing we needed to watch out for was traps.

Just as the swamp golem in the Rotting Swamp had used a resting spot as bait, this place was full of varied, malicious traps.

“Stop.”

Hans gave a signal.

When I looked where he was staring, I saw a faint light beyond the glow we were producing. It looked like torchlight, writhing and swaying in the darkness.

Hans asked me to focus my light over there.

When I pointed my staff and concentrated the light, I could make out the glowing mass clearly.

It was a strange object with a red glowing orb attached to the top of a pillar.

...

Hans took a piece of dried jerky from his backpack and tossed it toward the light.

Crunch!

The floor wriggled and folded, then sharp teeth sprang out and swallowed the meat.

What I'd thought was the ground turned out to be a monster.

Beneath a small puddle, a gigantic fish the size of a house stared at us with vacant eyes.

Oooo.

If we'd approached out of curiosity about the light, it would have swallowed us immediately.

The egg sac hanging grotesquely from its belly was especially unsettling.

It was a trap-type monster that lured Expedition Party members in danger or who had lost their senses with the glowing tip of a torch-like tentacle, then devoured them.

“As expected, it's a Man-Eating Angler.”

A Man-Eating Angler.

It was difficult to catch and not worth the effort.

“They really have everything in here...”

“Let's leave a sign that it's here and go around it.”

“Understood.”

Hans marked the wall with a warning about the Man-Eating Angler.

By the time we'd continued exploring for a while, it was already six in the morning.

“We need to Memorize.”

We decided to rest somewhere suitable while we Memorized our spells.

It was beneath the remains of one of the fishfolk's buildings, a structure that gave off a grotesque, gloomy air.

“Ugh, it stinks. This smell's going to get into all our gear.”

Elena grumbled as she sat on a damp rock, let out a wide yawn, and chewed on jerky.

“It's bland. I miss the nun's touch.”

Perhaps disappointed that he could not drink, Gimlius smacked his lips before taking a sip of water.

Hans stood watch with perfect posture, while Alejandro rubbed his ankle as though the salt and moisture were making his prosthetic leg ache. Then he sat cross-legged.

“...”

The golem could be maintained for a set period, so as long as it was not destroyed, Alejandro did not need to summon it again. That was another advantage.

‘The more I look at it, the more I want one.’

I licked my lips and began Memorizing too.

[Faint Light] [4] [Electric Spark] [4] [Ice Spike] [4] [Frost Burst] [2] [Magic Missile] [3]

[Arcane Barrier] [2] [Lightning Arrow] [2] [Rising Water Jet] [2] [Mystic Dimensional Gate] [2]

[Ice Spear] [2] [Charge] [2] [Water Mist] [2] [Arcane Firefly] [2] [Chain Lightning] [2]

Those were the spells I currently possessed.

I had seven spell slots.

Being able to engrave spells suited to the environment of each floor and zone was also a skill.

Because spells were powerful, their slots were limited.

‘First, with Daisy gone, Faint Light is essential as a replacement light source. Arcane Barrier is essential too.’

And then...

‘I'll take Magic Missile and Rising Water Jet as crowd-control spells.’

Rising Water Jet was incredibly useful, and Magic Missile could disrupt an enemy's attack trajectory too.

‘Lightning spells are strong against the creatures that live here, but there's a risk of friendly fire. Water and Frost spells have reduced effects.’

‘Then the Dimensional Gate? A gacha roll?’

What a crazy thought.

Why gamble when our party was strong enough?

‘Because it would be fun?’

‘That's tru... not true!’

After overcoming my inner impulse, I engraved the remaining spells.

Chain Lightning, Charge, and Arcane Firefly.

Part of me wanted to test my new spells, but I was also preparing for the worst.

It should not happen, but I needed to be ready in case we encountered an obstacle that even our party's overwhelming strength could not overcome.

“Are you done?”

Elena asked when I opened my eyes.

“Yeah.”

She nodded toward Alejandro, so I motioned for silence.

“That old man doesn't look like he's finished...”

“Shh.”

Memorize required extreme concentration.

I was a genius mage, so I could do it even with swords and spears flying around. Ordinary mages could not.

...

Just as expected, Alejandro was frowning because he could not focus.

About ten minutes later, Alejandro opened his eyes.

“Are you ready?”

“Mm. More importantly, please be quieter next time.”

Alejandro looked at Elena as he spoke.

Elena tried to pretend she did not know what he meant, but when I smacked her helmet, she reluctantly nodded.

“Okay.”

Six in the morning was when mages were most vulnerable.

Whether they were archmages or wandering mages, the moment their spells disappeared and had to be engraved again was the most dangerous.

That was why experienced mages entering the Labyrinth prepared ways to get through Memorize besides relying on their companions.

Things like spell parchments or magical equipment.

I had Elena, a reliable companion, but I should still prepare some just in case.

As we resumed our exploration, we found something unusual.

The passage, which had been so narrow it felt claustrophobic, suddenly widened. The sound of waves reached us.

Whoooosh.

Mysterious bluish light shone down on our faces.

Before us lay a massive cavern, incomparable to anything we'd seen so far.

It was a natural underwater cave hundreds of meters wide.

Faint radiance poured down like rain from the ceiling, which was embedded with luminous stones, while calm water rippled below.

It looked as though a massive lake had been transplanted inside a cave.

But there was something even stranger.

The skeletons of sunken ships floated like ghosts over the dark blue lake.

“Wow...”

“To think we'd see something like this in a rotten sewer.”

For a moment, we simply stared at the view.

Creeeak. Creak.

The grinding sound of broken ships tangling together.

The rippling water reflecting bluish light.

We were captivated by the eerie yet mysterious scene they created.

Air seemed to flow in from somewhere, and the Salt Cave's usual disgusting smell was gone, which made it even more striking.

“It's pretty. Is this what the sea is like?”

Elena had never seen anything like it before, so she asked.

Her green eyes sparkled with curiosity. She really was still a kid.

“The real sea is much bigger than this. This is a lake.”

Her expression was cute, so I chuckled as I answered.

“Hee...”

“Haha! This is another side of the Labyrinth. Treasure isn't the only thing it has to offer. It's horrible and disgusting, but it has beauty like this too. That's why Expedition Party members who become captivated by it crawl back into the darkness.”

Gimlius spoke as though he were an experienced senior.

Hans had already begun drawing the scene on parchment.

“Are you planning to spend the day here?”

Alejandro broke the mood.

“No, we need to explore.”

Places with this many structures usually had something hidden in them.

Then Hans spoke.

“It looks as though there's something on that ship over there...”

He squinted because he could not see it clearly.

Elena's eyes were better than Hans's. She studied it carefully, perked up her ears, and spoke.

“It's a chest... It looks like a treasure chest!”

“What?”

Oh!

The sentimentality that had taken hold of us vanished, replaced by greed.

“Hehe.”

There was a problem, though.

First, the wreck with the treasure chest was in the middle of the lake. According to the Labyrinth's rules, treasure was always where danger waited.

“There's a sailboat over there.”

We had a way to travel, but...

“There'll be monsters under the water.”

“So are we giving up?”

“No.”

We just needed to prepare properly.

I took several bottles of potion from my backpack.

They were made by refining the Drake's Blood we'd acquired last time using the Magic Tower's facilities.

Because they contained the essence of a Blue Drake, they increased resistance to Frost and water while enhancing physical abilities, including strength.

“Would you like one too, Alejandro? They're not free, though.”

“Did you make this?”

“Yes.”

“...”

Why wasn't he saying anything?

Alejandro fell silent, then took the potion I offered without a word.

We were about to split up among the sailboats at the lake's entrance, but perhaps because of his experience in the Rotting Swamp, Gimlius hesitated.

“Mm, I don't know if this is safe. There are definitely monsters, and if we fall into the water...”

“We'll remove all our armor except our upper-body armor. We'll tie ropes around ourselves too.”

“That's what I don't like about it.”

There was no other way, so everyone made themselves as light as possible.

Alejandro returned his familiar golem to the earth as well.

That was not all.

‘This is why I Memorized it.’

I consumed parchment and activated a spell.

A writhing mass of violet light gathered around my finger.

It was [Arcane Firefly], the new spell I'd learned this time.

This light source could travel a long distance while shining brightly even through murky water like this.

In other words, it could draw the aggro of hidden monsters.

Splash.

As the firefly cut through the water's surface, dark shadows began moving after the light underwater.

Just as expected, monsters were lurking beneath us.

‘Ugh, how many are there?’

“Did you learn another new spell? That's incredible!”

Gimlius exclaimed.

“Well, I'm a genius mage.”

I shrugged.

The Arcane affinity had many support spells like this rather than destructive ones.

They were necessary for exploration.

“...”

Alejandro looked at me.

A strange light flickered in his eyes.

“Let's move.”

Alejandro, uncomfortable because one of his legs was prosthetic, carefully climbed onto the boat.

We boarded the sailboats and rowed toward the wrecks.

We'd shaken off the monsters, the water was calm, and there was nothing stopping us from reaching our destination.

Whoooosh.

But was fate playing a joke on us?

Another problem appeared.

“Uh?”

A party of Expedition Party members was approaching the ship from the other side in a sailboat.

“...!”

“What the fuck? Who are those bastards?”

“Marauders! Those are Marauders!”

“Not yet.”

“They're Marauders because they're trying to steal what's ours!”

“That is true.”

“Quickly! Dwarf! Row faster!”

“Leave it to me!”

We rowed at incredible speed and climbed onto the wreck with the treasure chest.

“Huff, huff...”

“Ian! You weak bastard, hurry up!”

Creeeak!

As the mage and the man with the bad leg, Alejandro and I were slow to climb aboard while holding onto the ropes.

When we finally hauled ourselves onto the deck, Hans and Gimlius had already drawn their weapons, giving off a murderous air.

By coincidence, our party and the other party reached the chest at the same time.

I looked over our opponents.

There was one elf Scout holding a bow, one halfling thief, and three humans. A party of five.

“We found this treasure first.”

With the ornate treasure chest that looked anything but ordinary between us, a warrior with striking thick eyebrows gripped the hilt of a greatsword and spoke threateningly.

“Fuck off.”

Elena spat out a filthy curse as she gripped her sword hilt.

...

As the atmosphere grew tense, the halfling thief examining the chest spoke.

“Hey, there's something written on this chest in an ancient language.”

There was writing in an ancient language.

I looked at the treasure chest.

[Choice, Gold Coin, Death]

That was what it meant when translated.

And...

‘I can feel mana coming from the chest.’

There were usually only two possibilities.