NOVEL WEB Chapter 193
Chapter 193. Nymph
Metal walls stretch endlessly. As I descend using the rope, I look around, but the vastness is overwhelming. It would have been a better view if it weren’t so dark. I’ve already used my night vision, but there’s still a limit to my visibility.
However, many things concern me.
“Tree roots are clinging to the wall.”
“It must be the roots of the Ancient Trent. But these roots are still alive.”
Shizuku, who is ahead, answers while tapping the tree roots on the wall. The roots of the Ancient Trent we defeated are still alive, which gives me a bad feeling.
[Drain Blitz]
Man-Eaters crawl out from the ground in droves, so I create dark bullets and shoot at them—even initial spells with 1500 mana cause high damage. Adding Drain allows me to recover mana and use spells indefinitely. However, it’s not enough to defeat them in one shot.
[Circle Blade]
Matching my spell, Shizuku lets go of the rope, falls headfirst, and swings the Goblin King’s sword.
Taking damage, the Man-Eaters stagger, and Shizuku runs along the wall through them.
As she passes between the enemies, she unleashes silver threads, defeating them all, then reaches for the rope to regain her posture. Showing moves like an action movie star, she proudly puffs out her chest.
“It’s been a while since it’s just the two of us, so I got a bit excited. You can pat my head if you want.”
“As expected of Shizuku. I’ll pat you later.”
Kicking away the small fry, we descend until the metal ground comes into view. Tree roots creep across the ground, creating an eerie scene. The corpses of the defeated Man-Eaters lie scattered.
Shizuku lands cautiously, and I follow. Looking around, there’s a passage extending to the side with a faint red light leaking from it.
“It’s a boss fight, Sakimori-san. Are you okay with such equipment?”
“I’ll have to nag Serika about the equipment. Let’s go.”
“There’s a usual line there, but indeed, our equipment is too weak.”
It’s the equipment from our D-rank days. It’s too weak. Like in the Dragon Fantasy 3 game I played as a child, where I fought with a holy knife until mid-game, struggling all the way. The difference is that there’s no resurrection spell here.
Trying to move silently, I peek into the room at the end of the passage.
“Oh, more unexpected intruders. I’m very sad.”
A graceful voice echoes, and I sigh, nodding to Shizuku before entering the room. Well, we made such a flashy entrance; it’s no wonder we’re discovered.
“Did we interrupt your research?”
I greet them with a raised hand as I enter the room. The room is as large as a gymnasium, covered in tree roots, with spring flowers blooming as if parasitizing the roots. In the back, a two-meter crystal glows red between the tree roots, with a fox girl sleeping beneath it. Machines similar to those that gathered energy in Seriton are installed around, and Sei stands before the crystal like a priestess guarding it.
And… for some reason, there’s a Core Store placed here. It shouldn’t be in such an underground location… Why is it here?
“The research takes time, so there’s no problem.”
Her delicate smile gives the impression of an innocent, sheltered girl. A pure-looking girl.
If only tree roots weren’t protruding from her back like spider legs.
“We came to see the research as a couple. May we ask what kind of research it is?”
“It’s simple. To restore this resource-depleted world. I believe it’s about to succeed.”
Sei speaks calmly with vacant eyes, raising her hands. Huh? What is she talking about?
Shizuku steps forward and speaks sympathetically.
“It’s an initial model stored in the research ship. I suspected it. An outdated machine created solely for research.”
“Can you tell me what makes it outdated?”
“It lacks the consciousness to fight dungeons.”
“I see.”
Though she explains easily, it’s crucial information. A fairy machine without the consciousness to fight dungeons means it doesn’t know about dungeons?
“Now, success is imminent. I never imagined obtaining elements so easily. The crystallization ability of the World Tree was perfect, but I couldn’t find plants capable of flowing mana.”
Sei speaks crazily with a cheerful smile. What’s so close to success?
“So, you brought the Core Store here?”
Is she a space magic user? She could also create barriers.
“Unknown mana plants that grow underground. And an element production device. With this combination, the World Tree can be grown immediately.”
“It seems to have failed and become an Ancient Treant, though?”
“It’s fine. This time, it will work.”
I sigh at Shizuku and Sei’s conversation, realizing Sei is insane. Oddly, she seemed normal during the day. She’s like a machine executing orders from a long-dead commander.
“Sakimori-san, this girl has a stronger human consciousness during the day. At night, she activates as a Nymph and conducts research. Probably a self-destructive transformation relying on healing magic.”
“Is she still human…?”
Sei, or rather the Nymph, extends tree roots from her back, making her look far from human.
“She’s probably pushing herself hard. The transformation likely relies on healing magic.”
Looking at the Nymph, it seems like a self-destructive transformation. The Nymph holds a spring flower crystal and throws it beside the fallen fox girl.
A flash of purple lightning surged through the air, and the crystal transformed into a pitch-black crystal before quickly melting away. The dark particles were absorbed by the tree roots, which began to pulsate and envelop the fox girl.
“Isn’t it wonderful? I’ll use this girl, who volunteered, as the core. Soon, the Ancient Treant will be revived as a controllable Ancient Treant.”
She announces with a serene smile, but I doubt the fox girl volunteered. She was probably caught while trying to steal something.
“Using a human as a core will fail. If they’re alive, they can’t handle the information load and will either die or reject the core. Whether their spirit is strong or weak doesn’t matter. If the brain is dead, it can only be used as a database, not as a core.”
“…The experiment will continue. The next one will succeed. Success is imminent.”
Shizuku states calmly, but the Nymph ignores her and repeats the same lines like a broken tape recorder.
They continue their serious conversation, leaving me, Sakimori, out of the loop. I’m here too, but I can’t join the conversation. It seems important, and I can somewhat imagine what it’s about. Feeling a bit left out, I nod along, pretending to understand.
Yes, yes, I get it, it’s probably about before the dungeons appeared. They likely tried to create a core to harvest resources endlessly in a subspace and failed spectacularly. I don’t quite understand how it spread worldwide. The mechanism of dungeon emergence is strange for reproduction.
As Shizuku and the Nymph continue talking, I quietly approach. It’s not to save the fox girl. She stays put. If she wakes up, I’ll kill her to prevent her from taking this information away.
Positioning myself beside the Nymph, I exchange eye contact with Shizuku. Ready?
[Dark Strings]
I create dark strings instantly, aiming to entangle the Nymph. Once captured, I’ll change the administrator privileges by touching her.
But the Nymph stops talking to Shizuku and turns her head toward me with a swift, creepy motion. Damn it.
[High Wood Blade]
She transforms the roots sprouting from her back into blades, swiftly cutting through my strings.
“How sneaky, old man! Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
The Nymph sheds her graceful mask, suddenly cursing at me with a harsh tone. She raises her hand, and I brace myself.
“Sorry about that. You seemed focused on the conversation, so I held back from interrupting.”
“What a lame excuse, typical of an old man!”
[Leaf Whirl]
[Icicle Storm]
Her area magic is countered by my ice area magic. Seizing the moment when her attention shifts to me, Shizuku steps forward, sword at the ready.
[Accelerator]
Leaving an afterimage, Shizuku swings her sword, and the Nymph gathers mana to her body.
[Teleport]
She disappears, reappearing in a distant location, and swings her arm.
[High Wood Spear]
[High Icicle Field]
I barely block the wooden spears sprouting from the ground. The Nymph slightly grimaces as her magic is canceled but smirks.
“You can’t defeat me, who can use space magic.”
[High Wood Weapon]
Branches sprout from her palm, transforming into a massive three-meter hammer. She easily lifts the heavy hammer and grins.
“Looks like we have a new volunteer. If this one fails, I’ll use you next.”
“Dual personality… That rough demeanor… Nymphs are supposed to be gentle. She must have retained some human consciousness when she took over the body. How pitiful. She’s already insane… She’ll probably go mad during the day soon.”
“I have a rough idea, but fine. Let’s take her down before she goes completely mad.”
Shizuku readies her sword, and I prepare my magic. The mana within the Nymph is substantial, but only slightly stronger than us. The problem is her skill level is higher than ours.
The higher skill level is an issue, but we should be able to overcome it with the difference in mana.
“Alright, to make the volunteer obedient, let’s call for reinforcements.”
With a wave of her hand, the Nymph makes the tree roots rustle and transform into vines. The gathered vines turn into Man-Eaters and crawl out. Ah, so she can create monsters too.
“Eh, eh, eh.”
“What is this?”
“Alert level, level.”
“Emergency, emergency.”
The Man-Eaters mutter in broken speech as they appear, wearing necklaces with metal tags. Are those… soldier identification tags?
“Hehe, intruders have no rights. Let the guards arrest you.”
“Her speech is becoming more erratic. She’ll continue to lose her sanity at this rate.”
Shizuku says with a stern expression. Indeed, the Nymph is going insane, but she doesn’t realize it. The Man-Eaters that appeared are…
“The Man-Eaters’ lines… No, never mind. Let’s just defeat them quickly.”
Shizuku doesn’t notice that the Man-Eaters are speaking Japanese. Or rather, she can’t understand it.
There’s some kind of restriction. A rather painful one.
Raising the administrator privilege level is urgent, but for now, we need to deal with the Nymph first.
I’ve learned something from Shizuku and the Nymph’s conversation. When the subjects are fairy machines, the information protection loosens. If used well, we might extract interesting information.