WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Mordor
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈
Chapter 74: Third Floor Pig Den
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We had collected Mana Stones and spoils from the Marauders.
Elena had already eaten it, but we even had a Grace Stone.
Honestly, since eating too much at once could give us indigestion, I thought it would be fine to return now.
“But I'm still hungry.”
“We're full.”
“I said I'm hungry!!!”
If we went back like this, I'd still be in debt!
If Elena alone was unhappy, everyone else would be happy.
It would be nice if a return portal appeared around now.
But my companions shook their heads.
“Unfortunately, I have a feeling it'll lead to a different area.”
“I think so too.”
“Yeah, we'd better prepare thoroughly.”
Even kind Daisy said so.
“Because it's Ian.”
Everyone was looking at me.
They saw me as someone who brought both fortune and misfortune.
The more fucked-up part was that I thought the same.
'There's no way my expedition ends here!'
I had a feeling.
Like some more fucked-up thing was about to appear.
The kind of intuition I hoped was wrong.
“Let's Memorize, eat something, rest, then go in.”
'The Emerald Forest won't be a problem since we have Daisy, a Priest.'
After six in the morning, I engraved new spells.
[Chain Lightning][2] [Charge][2] [Lightning Arrow][2] [Arcane Barrier][2]
[Electric Spark][4] [Arcane Firefly][2] [Arcane Doppelganger][2] [Ice Spear][3]
This time, I would focus on Lightning and Arcane.
They were basic spells, but if we ended up in the Pig Den, Electric Spark would be especially useful.
[Heal][3] [Shining Light][3]
[Blessing][2] [Purification][2]
Daisy had these...
“What about torches and food?”
“Two weeks' worth. We have plenty left.”
“Holy Water?”
“Eight bottles left.”
We organized our consumables and maintained our weapons.
We sharpened dull blades with whetstones, then polished them with oil and sand.
“This place is certainly comfortable.”
The good thing about the Plaster Banquet Hall was that the monsters weren't aggressive.
Unless we went looking for them, they didn't move.
That made resting easier too.
Once again, we made hot soup and grilled meat instead of eating dry rations.
Mm, I'd felt it since the snowfields, but Daisy really was an amazing cook.
“This is delicious!”
“Hoho, whoever becomes Miss Daisy's husband will be a very happy man!”
The dwarf bastard said something rude.
“Really? Hehe.”
Daisy only smiled at me.
Elena, who had been happily stuffing her face, seemed displeased again. She held out her empty bowl to Daisy and sulked.
“More.”
“Okay.”
Still smiling, Daisy looked after Elena as if she were her younger sister.
“Here, eat lots, Elena~”
Grrr... Kaaaahn!
Elena seemed to dislike that even more.
Managing our condition was essential for a smooth expedition too.
“No one has any injuries or feels unwell, right?”
“I'm fine, so let's go already!”
“No problems here!”
Once we had finished preparing, we entered the red portal.
* * *
The first thing I noticed after taking the portal was the foul stench of animal musk and filth.
Unlike the relatively bright Plaster Banquet Hall, the surroundings were pitch-dark.
Squeeeal...
A faint monster's cry reached my ears.
“Ugh, it smells fucking awful.”
The torch in my hand lit up the area.
Fwoosh!
The stone walls of the underground cavern were covered in damp moss tangled like snakes.
The high, arched ceiling was shadowed and unstable, as though it might collapse at any moment.
Sewage pipes pouring out wastewater and entrances sealed with planks gave off a sinister feeling, as if they were meant to confine something.
The Pig Den.
Thankfully, we hadn't been teleported directly into the middle of enemies like in the Plaster Banquet Hall.
“I don't see any enemies, but...”
Hans raised his lantern and carefully inspected the floor, walls, and ceiling.
“Let's move.”
We began exploring the Pig Den.
Sticky liquid clung to the soles of our sturdy boots.
It was filth made from mixed human and animal bones, scraps of food, and vomit.
Those things ate not only humans, but their own kind too.
Elena looked around and recalled the village's cannibal pig.
“So Elizabeth's friends come out here, is that it?”
“They're worse than her.”
I shuddered as I looked around.
'I've finally made it here.'
I'd hated pigs since I was in the village.
Whenever I saw them, I was reminded of the Flesh Pigs, the monsters here.
They had been disgusting even through a monitor. What would they be like in real life?
'Ugh.'
We proceeded through one of the tunnels branching out across the cavern.
Then we found an obstacle.
“The entrance is blocked.”
It looked like a barricade made by piling up stone fragments, human bones, and scraps.
“There are no traces of a curse.”
After Daisy and I said we couldn't sense anything unusual, Hans pulled a shovel from his pack.
“If it's heavy work, Elena and I can do it.”
“It's fine. You two stay back.”
As if he felt strangely indebted to us, Hans began breaking apart the barrier with his shovel.
Clang! Clang!
The obstacle collapsed, opening up the space again.
The surroundings still looked like a blocked sewer.
But there was one difference.
“Just as your information said, Ian.”
Clink.
Hooks hanging down from the ceiling were scattered throughout the cavern.
They were smeared with blood and flesh, while unidentified lumps of meat hung from some of them.
“The pigs' food storage.”
A monster habitat.
They were dull when it came to sound, but they could detect the sound of these hooks rattling with frightening accuracy.
They were basically field objects used to draw aggro.
“We don't need to wear ourselves out from the start, so let's proceed carefully, Hans.”
“Understood.”
Hans's Black Crow Cloak allowed him to hide in darkness.
It gave him a huge advantage, letting him scout ahead of monsters that could see through darkness but were sensitive to torchlight.
Wearing the cloak, Hans slipped out of the torchlight and vanished into the darkness.
A little later, he returned and gave us a signal.
Monsters spotted.
Five in total.
Their types were...
'One Screaming Pig. Two Pig Warriors. One Pig Thrower. One Filth Pig.'
'And no traps on the way.'
Having spotted them in advance, we dimmed our torches and approached.
Sniff, sniff, sniff.
Their splashing footsteps and distinctive breathing grew louder.
...
Hans stayed hidden in the darkness, keeping his distance from us.
After noticing something strange, he watched the Flesh Pigs moving our way, then fired his crossbow.
Thud!
Squeeeal...!
The Screaming Pig fell silent.
It was a horrific monster with wrinkled skin all over its body, crawling with only its arms and no legs.
It always screamed first when it spotted Expedition Party members, drawing massive aggro, so it had to be dealt with first.
Then it was my turn.
[Electric Spark]
'Bolt.'
It was a basic spell, but thanks to my increased spell level and the staff Castlelight gave me, which increased the destructive power of Lightning spells by thirty percent, it had changed a little.
I could stun third-floor monsters with it.
Bluish electricity flickered in the darkness.
Crackle!
Squeeeeeeal!
The Filth Pig, whose stomach was grotesquely swollen like a starving child, carried all kinds of diseases.
The second-priority target trembled all over before collapsing unconscious.
That left two Pig Warriors and one Pig Thrower.
Grrh!
A hulking pigman over two meters tall, clad in armor, threw an iron ball.
Boom!
Elena and Gimlius stood side by side, blocking the iron ball with their shields before crashing into the monsters.
“Hup!”
These monster pigs were Aberrant-type monsters.
They had greater regeneration and toughness than normal types.
They could be harmed by Divine Power and were weak to fire and Lightning, though not as weak as undead. Still, we couldn't waste spells recklessly when our exploration had only begun.
Squeeeal!
“Dwarf! Don't just hold out, beat it to death!”
“That's... not that easy! It's my first time fighting one!”
Strengthened further by the Grace Stone, Elena shoved back a Pig Warrior and drove her sword into its shoulder.
Squeeeal!
But it endured with its absurdly tough body.
Since it had no room to swing its iron ball, it cleverly used its head.
Clink!
It grabbed a metal hook hanging from the ceiling and threw it at Elena.
“You Elizabeth the Third bastard! Trying to be clever!”
That was the frightening thing about monsters that used even crude forms of civilization.
Of course, it didn't work on Elena, but since it was our first time fighting them, it looked like it would take a little longer to kill them.
In the meantime, another monster moved.
The Pig Thrower, holding a spear, was searching the darkness for Hans, who had sniped them.
Sniff!
Unable to find Hans after he hid again, it turned its head and threw its spear at Daisy and me.
“Ian! It's coming!”
I was about to use my barrier.
“Leave it to me!”
At that moment, Daisy signaled to me, stepped forward, and raised her shield.
Clang!
“Urgh!”
She staggered, but blocked it.
Daisy was a Priest, but she wasn't an ordinary woman.
Even when she had been the textile shop owner's daughter, she had crossed the snowfields. When we explored the first floor, she fought monsters herself.
She had shown more skill than Dize, a man.
'She even held her ground against the beastman thief.'
'A true battle priest!'
A quarrel Hans fired from the darkness lodged in the thrower's shoulder.
Hans set aside his crossbow, grabbed the longsword and shield taken from the Elven Archer, and charged at the thrower.
Squeeeal!
They were both backline types, so the fight didn't end easily, but...
“Hup!”
Daisy seized an opening and swung her mace, crushing its head.
Crunch!
Gimlius and Elena had settled their fights as well.
Elena strangled a Pig Warrior with a chain hanging from the ceiling, suffocating it.
“D... die, you pig. Elizabeth...”
Squeeeal...!
Gimlius held on while striking his Pig Warrior, then finished it with Elena's help.
For monsters we had never fought before, this was a decent result.
“Phew.”
The good thing about weapon-using monsters was that they were harder to fight, but their drops were better.
After recovering Mana Stones and equipment from the corpses, we entered the area where the pigs had been.
Inside the open room was a dining table alongside a few pieces of furniture.
Flies buzzed over the food scraps on the plates.
Chunks of meat and bones floated in the nearby fire pit, and they looked unmistakably human.
“Ugh, fuck.”
It was even more horrifying to think those disgusting pigs had eaten this.
“The Elizabeths here eat well~”
That was all our barbarian elf Elena had to say.
'What a psycho elf!'
“Haha. Elena, you're something else...”
Gimlius admired her for an entirely different reason.
“That's disrespectful to the dead, Elena.”
Having received proper Priest training, Daisy offered a short prayer of mourning for the dead.
“Only a few coins.”
We collected the loot and continued exploring the Pig Den.
Grotesque idols and traps made by the pigmen were scattered everywhere.
We avoided them and fought more monsters as we advanced, until something unexpected happened.
Fwoosh.
Torchlight appeared in the distance.
In the depths of this underground place, light was a sign of life.
“People.”
They were Expedition Party members.
They must have spotted us too, because the light drew closer.
I told Daisy to light up the area with holy light.
'They could be Marauders.'
After our previous fight with Marauders, we became even more wary.
By coincidence, the other side seemed to have had the same thought.
Step. Step.
“Don't shoot. We only want to talk.”
The other group soon came into view.
I narrowed my eyes.
'They're not third-floor level.'
The vanguard wore gleaming full plate armor, and they had both a mage and a Priest.
Every piece of equipment they wore gave off unusual magical power.
'At least the fifth or sixth floors.'
As a Dungeon of Death veteran, I immediately judged their level.
They were mid-ranked Expedition Party members who had surpassed veteran status.
The matching badges worn among their equipment showed they belonged to a clan as well.
“We are members of the Golden Lion Clan.”
“The Golden Lion Clan...”
It was a famous clan.
I'd thought we would gradually begin encountering high-floor Expedition Party members.
But I hadn't expected this.
“There are a few things we'd like to ask you...”
“T-those are the ones!”
A hooded man who had been watching us nervously from among the intimidating group.
It was the Marauder mage we had let escape before.
“Huh? You?”
“Those are the Marauders I told you about!”
Then he pointed at us and said that.
What?
Was that bastard really an idiot?
I let out a hollow laugh.
Not because I felt threatened, but because it was too absurd.
'Did he seriously think that would work?'
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