Chapter 34: What’s with the eldritch horror, dude?

Chapter 34: What’s with the eldritch horror, dude?

Cold, desolated, and dark, are some of the few words that I would use to describe the place that I was currently going through. It has been quite some time now since I walked through the musty smelling passageways of a cave.

I hate caves.

An eerie silence followed me and Saori as we trekked through the trolls home. None of us talked as we continued walking on the stone-cold floor, feeling the chilly earth under us.

While the caves corridors were large enough to accommodate our monster forms, we instead chose our human forms for this stealth mission. Our smaller frames were ideal to avoid attracting unneeded attention.

No light nor fire guided us on this path as we couldnt risk revealing our location in enemy territory.

Anyways, thankfully, our [Night Vision] are both at a decent level, making walking through this pitch-black darkness, not a problem. What was problematic is the fact that this place is too fucking large!

Taking caution is important in a foreign place, especially when ambushes and traps are very likely. We cant even fully rely on [Detection Sensor] or [Enhanced Enemy Sense] cause it doesnt tell us about the location of inanimate objects.

At the beginning of the cave, Saori was nearly skewered by a spike trap. Our [Danger Perception] only activated when she was a foot away from falling into it.

We had to continue with the mindset to be wary of everything, but our paranoia led to nothing. But that's when it happens! We let our guard down for a moment, and boom, we triggered a string trigger that let down a giant boulder!

Walking is not a problem but noticing these small details, like hiding a string behind a corner, pushes our focus to the extreme.

We were following them with Saoris sense of smell, but the traps on the way were exhausting to deal with.

[I hate this place] I finally let out a complaint using [Telepathy] to avoid making noise.

[Come now, Hestia. Did you burn through all your daily energy, already?] Saori said sarcastically to lighten up the mood.

[No, I just hate this place. I hate caves] I snarled.

[Stay optimistic, dear,] she patted my back, assuring me that she was still beside me. [We have to rescue somebody, so do not allow your title to bring you down.]

My title [The Light] grants my body an annoying flaw, which not only makes me more susceptible to dark elemental attacks, but it also makes me feel uneasy being in complete darkness. Nighttime isnt much of a problem thanks to the moonlight.

It also mentioned that I would be weakened but it only worsens my mood.

Well, if the darkness and the traps werent enough, there was also a bunch of creepy totems. There was one in the front of the cave, and weve been seeing a ton of them along the path that we were walking.

The creepy part of these totems came from the fact that a monster skull was adorning the top of a wooden pole, with three dreamcatcher-looking things attached to its eye and nose holes. I just had no idea what it was supposed to say.

"Why do you have to make them so ominous?", I asked my mental image of the troll shaman, but he didn't answer back, of course.

[We found them;] Saori reported, finally locating them with her nose.

[Alright then, time to set up phase two,] I said with a sigh of relief.

Having said that, I put my homemade bombs that I was carrying around back into my storage, as the first phase was done.

I then proceeded to quietly construct a wall connecting the ground to the ceiling, blocking the path we just came through. After checking that there were no gaps, I took out a bunch of firewood, a self-made stone cauldron, and all my paralyzation toxins.

Our plan was simple. Create a distraction and let Saori rescue the fairy. Afterward, get the fuck out.

[You should have [Paralyzation Resistance Lv. 10], right, Saori?] I asked my companion, just to make sure.

[I have tested it;] Saori answered while pouring the toxic fluids into the cauldron. [Your poison cannot stun me.]

Saoris plan was to have me catch the attention from the trolls, while she would sneak behind them to pinpoint the fairys location. She would then free her, and then we would escape from there.

To make sure that our plan would work, we prepared some extra measures. Besides the whole of phase one, I would also boil all the paralyzing fluids to have the trolls inhale the fumes. They werent completely immune to it, compared to me and Saori, and considering that the only path outside from here is now blocked, they will have no way to flee.

However, we were still on a time limit with this plan. Fire eats up oxygen, and we still needed it to breathe. We had to hurry up, otherwise, we will be putting ourselves in danger, too.

[Here, Hestia,] Saori handed me a breathing mask. I thanked her and immediately put it on. [This amount of wood might cause enough smoke to cover the whole room. Better safe than sorry.]

The mask was completely blue cause Saori made it using her [Mana Weave] skill, just like my dress. For spectators, it might look like we were wasting time, but it wasnt.

Saori made a good point before we entered, "She is a stranger, Hestia. Our safety is more important than hers.".

I couldnt talk back to Saori, knowing that she was completely correct. Not only are we risking our lives for somebody we never met before but were also entering enemy territory just to save that one person. We arent action movie protagonists that would jump into a villains base just to save the girl.

Ive dragged Saori into this fight against her will, so the least I could do was to be a good friend and listen to her. I only hope that we werent too late.

[Ok, everything should be finished, now,] the fire was burning hot, slowly cooking the fluids inside the cauldron.

[Good job, Hestia;] she patted my head and smiled. [Dont forget to put a bomb on that wall. It will be the trigger for our escape.]

Saori pointed at the wall that I just made. I took out one of my bombs and stuck it into it. Using [Trap Creation], I also set a trigger a bit further away, so the bomb would trigger when I step onto it.

With that, we were finished. Our prep work was done and now the real show could begin.

[My skill says that four people are inside that room,] I informed Saori what [Detection Sensor] told me. [Three dots are surrounding one. Be careful, Saori.]

[You too, Hestia.]

Operation: Save the Fairy, start!

Using our stealth skills, we sneaked closer to the room where the action will be. Looking through the entrance, I was welcomed by a large, no, massive chamber, spacious enough to fit in an army. There wasnt much inside it yet, as the trolls must be its only occupant, right now.

What I could see were two bell-shaped tents placed to the left of the rooms middle, with a large campfire burning in their midst. A cooking pot was placed over it and from smelling the aroma, my mouth was filling up with saliva.

Gulp.

Behind the tents, a pile of weapons and armor can be seen. There wasn't a lot of it but identifying them showed that they had around the same quality the trolls were currently equipped with.

To the left of the camp, barrels and casket full of food and water were neatly packed beside and on each other. There were also boxes filled with glass bottles of a certain liquid. From this distance, it was too hard for me to use [Identify] on them, unfortunately.

I transferred my buff spells onto Saori with [Synergists Oath] and she then slipped through the entrance, evading the awareness of the trolls.

After reapplying the buff spells on myself, I entered the room and looked at the trolls who were huddling around something in the middle of the chamber. [Night Vision] helped me see in the dark but recognizing details were still troublesome, making it very hard to describe that very something.

Snapping my fingers together, I created a spark. Hello, Mister Trolls! I spoke with my humanized voice, amplifying it with [Aerokinesis] like a microphone.

As my job was to draw their attention to me, I cast [Shine] and [Light] to imitate spotlights and directed them to beam their light onto me.

I would like to request that you hand over!

In the middle of my speech, [Prediction] and [Danger Perception] exploded into action, warning me of something life-threatening.

That "something" the trolls were crowding around started to radiate blue light.

Terra Wall! Sanctuary! Air Shield!

My instincts were telling me that I had no time to dodge it. The panic and fear of this unavoidable attack pressured me to immediately construct my defensive spells, not caring for how much mana I would use.

Guk!

With the sound of an exploding cannon, an intangible blue ball was shot out of that something.

Faster! Faster!

It effortlessly bore through the incomplete [Terra Wall], leaving only dust behind, giving me little to no time left for [Sanctuary] and [Air Shield] to fully materialize as it pierced through the air, making its way to me.

My teeth clenched together, cold sweat pouring down my face, as I reminded myself that I was currently in my human form. Having no time to transform back, I crossed my hands in front of my body, tucked my head behind them, and prayed that my current stats would be enough to survive this attack.

The piercing blue ball made contact with my half-materialized [Sanctuary], shattering it into fragments, and then dispelled [Air Shield] by merely touching it. Colliding with my [Draconic Barrier], my naked arms could feel the impact literally shaking my bones.

Looking at my dwindling mana, I could feel the blood in my face draining away as I acknowledged that this attack would have definitely sent my Health to zero if it werent for my [Draconic Barrier].

My bones were shattering at the sheer pressure, but I was holding on by sheer will. My survival will be decided on who will triumph this showdown, my mana or the firepower of this attack.

ARGGGGGGGGGGGH!

Eventually, the winner was decided.

The blue ball that pierced through all my defensive spells was unable to destroy my [Draconic Barrier] and exploded, blowing me into the wall behind me. My whole body dug into it, leaving an imprint.

Clouds of dust and debris were released from this destruction and covered the area around me, making it hard to breathe under this face mask.

UaraghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhGUK! Arrrrrrghha ha.

[Hestia! Answer me!] I could hear Saoris distressed voice through my mind. [Are you ok! Hestia, please, answer me!]

[Stop!] fighting through nausea, I called out to Saori to stop approaching me. I couldnt see her cause I was blown outside the chamber, but my senses were sharp as always. [Im fine! Stick with the plan!]

Saori stood still for a bit, unsure if she should listen to me or not, [Kuso! Kuso! Ill kill those bastards!] (Shit! Shit! Ill kill those bastards!), with that declaration, Saori sneaked her way past everybodys attention.

We really need a tank or something

While lamenting the problems of being the bait, I inspected the damage on my body.

My mana dress was torn into shreds but was slowly repairing itself using my mana. My arms, being the closest to the blast, were completely deformed. Bones were sticking out of my fingers and elbow, my pale skin was riddled with wounds and blood, and my ability to move them was gone.

Health

328 / 2379

Mana

3697 / 8204

Stamina

456 / 1206 2379 / 2379 1003 / 8204

[I-Its you two!] stuttering, the fairy uttered her surprise at seeing us rescue her. [Y-You came back for me?]

["We made up our mind to save you, so of course, we will keep our word,] Saori spoke from the side to reassure the fairy.

[I-I thank you so very much,] still, in my hands, the fairy started to weep, continuously thanking us.

Feeling a bit timid holding a crying girl in my arms, I averted my eyes and changed the topic in a panic, [Right, right! We havent introduced ourselves yet! M-My name is Hestia, and this is]

[Saori Segawa. A pleasure to have met your acquaintance,] Saoris perfectly normal introduction left me dumbfounded.

[Thank you very much, Hestia and Saori. May the winds of Zephira and water of Plesia bless you two,] still sniffing, the fairy reciprocated our introduction. [My name is Tasianna Marina Silverpond. A simple fairy, as you can see.]

Plesia? Is that another god?

[I dont know how I can ever repay you for saving me but ask anything you wish. I will do my best to fulfill it,] Tasianna stated, humbly bowing her head.

[We can talk about that later, lets first!]

As if it was normal, I and Saori dodged to the sides when our [Prediction] warned us of an incoming attack. Turning my head around, I saw a boulder crashing into the mana cannon, spinning it around until its muzzle pointed at the source of the boulder.

Grrrrrrrrouugghghgh!

His eyes were abyss black, his body deformed to a grotesque abomination leaving no signs of his previous appearance. Horrifying, hairy tentacles grew out of his torso and wriggled around as if they had a mind of their own. His limbs enlarged and looked bloated as if they were left too long in water.

The only part of his body that was still normal was the head but even that received a make-over with all his teeth growing out of proportioned into tusks.

The troll shaman was no more. At first, I thought the slimes were the most hideous and bizarre creatures in this world, but this weird freak just went the extra mile to prove to me that it is the most outlandish and eldritch looking monster in existence!

Wanting to know more about it, I used [Identify] but all that came out of it was:

Information not available.

My brain froze for a second as I learned this fact. In that small window of vulnerability, the mutated troll grasped my leg, pulling me to it.

Aahhhh!

Screaming, my body collapsed onto the ground, releasing the fairy from my hands in the process. The troll swung me over his head and then slammed my whole body onto the ground with full force.

Any damage was minimized with my [Draconic Barrier] but my body still screamed at me for endangering it once again. My parallel minds were also dutifully healing me, leaving me relatively unharmed despite engraving multiple imprints of my humanized body on the caves floor.

The mutated troll kept on swinging and slamming me on the ground, just like a hulking man would do it to a jester god.

[Exhaustion (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Spark Inferno Dragon, Hestia Atsuko]

Urrrrgggh

Moaning, I activated [Flame Spark Veil], creating sparks to appear around my body, which unfortunately reduced my Stamina to zero. One of the sparks ignited the eye of the troll on fire, who then released me by throwing me away like a used-up tissue.

[Hestia!] Saori once again transformed back into her garm form and caught me mid-flight.

Feeling the soreness of my muscles, I couldnt help but groan a complaint, Fuck me

[Uhh, no thank you,] for some reason, Saori responded to my pain with a joke.

Saoriiiiiiiiii! like a whining child, I cried out.

[Ok, ok, I am sorry. Oh, my goodness, I am doing a terrible job as your retainer. I told myself that I would protect you, but I just let my princess be injured twice!] Saori apologized.

As we were having a moment, the mutated troll crawled to us in the most unsightly way possible.

Isht sa ous ahk zathll il hukma! Shouting in her own language, mine and Saoris head turned towards the source. The fairy, Tasianna, was operating what looked like the trigger of the cannon.

Pushing it, the cannons muzzle, once again, glowed a bright blue and shot out a powerful mana ball at the mutated troll, blasting him away into a wall.

Ja! standing up, I shouted in elation that the troll had a taste of its own medicine. Thats how it feels!

Saori looked at me in confusion, noticing my weird outburst. However, I didnt have the time to defend myself as Tasianna suddenly fell to the ground.

Picking her back up, I recognize that she was stunned by breathing in too much of the fumes.

Using [Cure], I cured her of that status ailments. [Nice shot!], giving her thumbs up, I complimented her shooting.

[Thank you very much, Princess Hestia.]

Uhhhh, what?!

Suddenly hearing somebody else besides Saori calling me princess, made my mind freeze, again. Fatigue was slowly getting to me, I guess.

[My Lady!] waking me up from my stupor, I shook my head and turned my gaze to Saoris. [We fulfilled our plan so it is time for us to escape, now!]

Gruuuuarghhhhhaghh!

That thing is still alive?!

Whatever was possessing this troll, made it so much harder to kill now. He recovered from that cannon shot as if it was nothing.

Not wanting to stay any longer than we had to, I got on Saoris back and let her ride us out of here.

Exiting the chamber, I threw a [Firebolt] at the trap I made at the start of this rescue operation, triggering the bomb that was jammed in the wall.

The bomb lighted up red for a moment and then detonated in a grand explosion.

Riding through the dust of the now destroyed wall, I noticed small balls stuck on the caves walls lighten up a similar red color, showing us the path to get outside.

After some time, those balls would also explode.

[This plan is so excessive! I cant believe youre the one to have thought of it, Saori!] I incredulously shouted.

[It was for the worse case that there were more trolls than we expected. Every single one of them would have been buried under this mountain!] Saori shouted back to rebuke me.

Hearing Saori explaining the first phase of her plan was enough to leave me speechless. She wanted me to plant bombs on the walls of the cave, while we traveled through it. They would light up before they exploded, guiding us out of this place, while simultaneously covering our escape from the trolls.

Grrriiaauauaauaghahaah!

[What the hell! Saori, I thought you killed that thing?!] looking back, I could see the mutated troll keeping up with us.

[I did, my Lady! You saw its Health. It was dead for sure!] Saoris loud voice cried out in her defense.

We werent sure how it got back up, but we knew that this thing would pursue us relentlessly if we didnt kill it off now!

Colliding my fangs against each, I took in a deep breath. The spark quickly grew into a massive ball of fire, as I continuously poured in mana through my mouth.

Spark Inferno Blast!

Opening my mouth, I released the bigger-than-my-mouth inferno ball. My dragon flame collided against the mutated troll and sent him flying back. The consequence of the chain of explosion finally showed itself as the ceiling of the cave began falling, burying the troll under it.

Giving it her all, Saori sprinted like the wind and we finally made it outside the cave.

Experience has reached a breaking point. [Young Spark Inferno Dragon, Hestia Atsuko] has risen from [Level 23] to [Level 24]

Attributes have increased due to level up

Acquired 600 skill points

Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Inferno Magic Lv. 5] [Noble Aura Lv. 3] [Battle Mind Lv. 6] [Prediction Lv. 7] [Danger Perception Lv. 2] [Probability Correction Lv. 3] [Acrobatic Lv. 10] [Leadership Lv. 3] gained

Multiple acquisition requirements fulfilled. [Concentration Lv. 1] [Body Temperature Control Lv. 1] [Fear Resistance Lv. 1] acquired

Skill requirement fulfilled. [Air Walk Lv. 1] gained

Magic gained: [Spiral Hellfire]

Is this!

[GuysI got the level up,] with that, I informed my companions of the mutated trolls deathuh, death-death?

[Ahhhh, this victory was hard-fought, Lady Hestia,"] Saori immediately collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

YEAAAAAHHHH! learning that we won, I wrapped my arms around Saoris fuzzy fur and began nuzzling against it.

[I wish to once again, thank you for coming to my rescue,] in all our cheering, a voice came from the side. [You have my greatest thanks, Madam Saori and Princess Hestia.]

Princess?! Did she just call me princess?

[Uhhh, princess? Nein, nein. I think you misheard that, Miss Tasianna,] I tried my best to object her claim, however, it was fruitless.

[You dont have to worry, Princess Hestia. I overheard Madam Saori mention it.]

I glared at Saori, who averted her eyes and simply said, Oops..

[I know this is rude of me, just after you have risked your life to save me but] Tasianna placed her hands on her lap and gave me a complete bow. [Please, allow me to serve you, Princess Hestia!]

Uhhh, what?