Vol. 1 - Ch. 17 - Rare Monster [Part 2]

He checked the other water squares, but there was only one underwater passageway."What's wrong?" Clara asked

"There's a passageway inside this one. I believe it might lead us somewhere."

"You're right! Could it be a passageway for the Sahuagin?"

Ash was too thinking that this case was highly likely.

However, the possibility of it being something else excited him even more.

"Wait here for a bit."

"Huh? Ash, what are you doing?!"

Ash dove into the water and entered the underwater passage.

He moved to the side with a single stroke, only to be confronted with a dead end, leaving him with only one option, upward.

He emerged from the water in no time at all and was met with a narrow overland path.

There were no monsters in sight, and the place was secluded.

(Seems like my hunch was right after all.)

Ash could not hide his elation and hurried back the way he came.

As soon as he showed his face, Clara gave him a pouty look.

"Good grief! Why'd you have to dive in so suddenly? You scared the life out of me!"

"Sorry, sorry. I found a path in the back."

"R-Really?"

"Yea. There might be something. Let's go check it out."

"B-But I'm not much of a swimmer..."

"It's fine. I'll help you."

"Okay..." Clara muttered, reluctantly entering the water.

She held the hem of her floating robe with one hand while gripping the floor firmly with the other.

"I've hunted a lot in the Blue Tower, but this is my first time swimming..."

"You've only hunted on the 1st Floor though."

"Don't say that!"

"Oh yea! Clara, do you know you're famous as the Blue Tower's Ghost?"

"What?! That's the first I'm hearing of this!" Clara's face seemed to turn pale, and after she blushed.

"What shall I do... I'll be ashamed to show my face at the plaza from now on..."

"We're going. Hold your breath!"

"Huh? Hey, wait!"

Pulling Clara's hand from her grip on the floor, Ash began to dive.

He turned around to look at Clara and saw that her eyes were completely closed.

Her cheeks were swollen to the point of bursting.

It was kind of interesting to watch.

Soon, they were out of the water, and Clara was exhaling and inhaling in an exaggerated manner.

Ash ruffled his hair, then went up first and pulled Clara up.

"You were right, there really is a path here. Still, now I'm soaking wet." Clara remarked

"You'll dry in no time."

"I sure hope so..." S~ᴇaʀᴄh the ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Clara began to squeeze her clothes with a displeased look.

The clothing adhered to her body, highlighting her contours even more.

Below her narrow, gently curved shoulders, her modest but well-shaped breasts could be clearly seen.

Ash had forgotten that she was also a fine woman mostly because of her usually childish side. Now, perhaps because of her damp hair and skin, she had an unusual luster about her.

Clara tilted her head, seemingly noticing Ash's gaze.

"Something wrong?"

"No at all. I was just thinking that you really are a woman, Clara."

"...! L-Look away!"

It seemed like she hadn't realized what she'd been wearing up until now.

Clara hurriedly straightened herself up and glared at Ash with a bright red face.

"So you were a pervert, Ash..."

"There isn't a man that would react differently."

(Though I guess there are some who are more interested in the butts of the same sex...)

"I just meant that you were an attractive adult woman, Clara."

"I-I see. I'm an adult, huh... F-Fine then."

Given that she'd been over the moon when Ash had called her his senior, it was clear that Clara was hungry for respect.

Ash then proceeded to the back with Clara, who was now in a completely good mood.

"I heard a long time ago that there are several hidden passages in the tower, and at the end of them, there is a Rare Monster."

"A rare monster?"

"I haven't seen one either, but it seems that Rare Monsters have a higher chance of dropping Exchange Stones, Enhancement Stones and other things."

"That sounds exciting."

As they turned the corner they saw a room some distance away.

They peeked inside while making sure not to give themselves away.

The room was quite big, almost identical to the room they had been just now, and inside there was only one monster.

It had a vase-shaped body about the height of an adult, with many tentacles sprouting from the top that resembled a head of hair. It was a monster both of them had never seen before.

"So that's a Rare Monster... It's kind of wiggly, like a worm."

"Ew~ it's disgusting. Let's turn back... It's definitely strong, and from the looks of it, it's probably poisonous..."

Purple mist leaked out in puffs from the top of the vase, alongside the tentacles.

As Clara said, it really did look dangerous.

"Have we gotten a Magic Stone up until now?"

"Not one... But we still have time. We can hunt other monsters and--"

"But the drop chance is higher with this one. We should try it."

Ash entered the room, holding the swordbreaker in his left hand.

After about three steps, a vertical crack appeared in the skin of the vase-shaped body, and from the crack a red crystal emerged. The red crystal moved around like an eyeball and then stopped.

Immediately after, one tentacle came flying at Ash. He was able to repel it without any problem with his swordbreaker, but five more tentacles followed after it.

It wasn't a number Ash could handle.

"Ash!"

Amidst Clara's screams, Ash jumped back, creating distance.

A tentacle struck the floor where he had just been, and a loud sound echoed.

"Phew! That was scary. If that had hit me it definitely wouldn't have been good."

As he huffed, Clara turned an anxious look at him.

"We should definitely turn back..."

"It's still early to tuck our tails. Look carefully. Those tentacles won't attack us here."

"Now that you mention it..."

The monster's tentacles had already returned to their original state, and were showing no signs of pursuing.

"From this distance, we just might be able to launch a one-sided assault against it."

After Ash sheathed the swordbreaker, he struck the eyeball of the monster with his whip.

A powerful blow sounded, and the monster's pained, strange voice echoed.

Furthermore...

"Look! Its tentacles shrunk!" Ash exclaimed.

"Maybe if you hit that eyeball, all the tentacles will retract."

"It's worth a shot."

As Ash relentlessly continued to aim at the eyeball, all the tentacles eventually settled inside the vase-like body.

"Bingo. Now it can't attack us even if we get close."

"This feels way too cheap."

"This was probably the right way to beat it. Let's hurry up and get this over with, we don't know if the tentacles won't come back."

"I-I'm coming!"

Ash closed in on the monster at once and stabbed it in the eyeball with his stiletto. As the monster wailed like a crying child, Clara also delivered a weak blow with her staff. They weren't sure if their blows had any effect, but the monster eventually began to disappear, proving they had indeed worked.

"The Sahuagin from earlier were way tougher than this." Ash remarked.

"I'm sure it would have been quite the formidable opponent for those who can't use ranged attacks."

"You have a point."

Ash was reminded yet again that opting for a whip was a wise decision.

When the monster disappeared completely, a number of gems appeared in its place and rolled on the floor.

The Rare Monster ended up dropping way more gems than normal monsters.

"Whoa! A green gem. It's my first time seeing one. This should be worth 100 Duri." Ash exclaimed.

The first thought that came to Ash was that he could buy a round of ale with this, showing that he was now a proper resident of Dural Island.

"Wait... This should be an Attribute Enhancement Stone! Clara! We got one! We got an Attribute Enhancement Stone!"

"Ash!  Look, look!"

Just as Ash was about to share his joy, Clara, with a broad smile on her face, jumped in as if to take the initiative. With a twinkle in her eyes, she showed Ash a blue gem.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

The gem was round and small enough to pick up with one's fingers.

It looked different from both the Exchange Stones and the Enhancement Stones. This was Ash's first time seeing a gem like this.

Trying to suppress her overflowing excitement, Clara explained the gem's nature.

"It's a Magic Stone that drops in the Blue Tower... A Frost Arrow Magic Stone!"