Chapter 292

While Cynrik was scrolling through the Obelisk Market Place, trying to figure out what to spend his 370 OKP, Brance watched the final timer run down and sighed in relief when he saw what creatures he was facing.

|Now Summoning Twentieth Floor Opponents, 10 Tier-1 Level 19 AquaNewts.|

Stepping back a few paces and drawing his weapons, Brance watched as the particle cloud descended to the ground and broke into ten separate clusters before forming a group of large, bluish-green sports car-sized lizards.

[Its AquaNewts this time,] He said as the creatures flicked their tongues at the air, smelling their surroundings and locating Brance on the opposite end of the room.

[Not bad. At least it’s easier than Hobgoblins or Nagas. Just keep on your toes; they can shoot out highly pressurized jets of water on command. Other than that, they have a typical pea-sized brain and aren’t very intelligent. So you don’t have to worry too much about them using any kind of tactics aside from basic instinctual pack hunter strategies.] Tapping into the virtual market weapon category, Cynrik gave his brother a brief description and some advice.

It had to be said that aside from World History and Affinities Class, the third most crucial course Cynrik was taking seriously was the Creatures and Beast one. In it, he could get a generalized directory of familiar creatures that appear in both the wild and Egresses. Hence, when it came down to being a living encyclopedia for all things creepy and crawly, Cynrik knew enough to cope with most of the common types, so something like an AquaNewt was easy to handle and did not draw his attention away from the Obelisk Market Place.

[Got it, so they’re basically water Pkmn; I’ll watch out for the water gun and hydro pump.] Chuckling and readying himself for battle, Brance slowly advanced on the newts. However, to his surprise, half of them angled their heads upward instead of attacking him and began blasting fountains of water toward the ceiling. Meanwhile, the other half of the AquaNewts targeted the ground.

[Oh, one last thing, they like aquatic, damp or humid environments, so don’t lose your cool if they try flooding the room.]

[SAY THAT FIRST ASSHOLE!] Brance howled as he peeked down at the ground and noticed a thin layer of water rising.

In contrast to every other Virtual creature he had faced so far in the Obelisk, these AquaNewts ran off in different directions instead of grouping up and charging him down. By staying on the move and spraying water everywhere, it would only take a few minutes for the large scaley creatures to submerge the windowless, doorless room completely.

[To be fair, they are called AQUA newts. You should have been able to figure out by their body shape and coloring patterns that they primarily live in WET environments. So, of course, they would first try to adapt their situation to a favorable one. Hell, you were in that classroom with me when Professor Harron explained how AquaNewts tend to be an ecological disaster wherever they appear. Deserts turn into swamps or bogs, Plains into lakes. It’s pretty obvious; you’re just dumb.] Scoffing at Brance’s ignorance, Cynrik rolled his eyes.

[LISTEN, I WAS PAYING ATTENTION. I JUST FORGOT!] Chasing down the nearest of the ten blue lizards, Brance tried defending himself but was cut off by Cynrik being snide once again.

[Oh? Because I specifically remember you and Gabby flirting all class long and giggling like fucking school children. I am honestly surprised you even remember their name. Let me guess; you only knew what you were fighting because of Yenni’s notification.]

[Lies, slander, FUCK YOU!] Yelling as he caught up to one of the AquaNewts and slashed it in half; Brance couldn’t resist kicking the corpse as hard as possible, forcing it into a wall with a loud BANG!

|You have successfully Killed a Level 19, Tier-1 Virtual AquaNewt.|

|You have received 5 Obelisk Kill Points.|

|You have received a 1000 Essence, XP Crystal.|

|You have received 3 Merit Points.|

[Now, Brancie, getting angry during a fight is a big no-no. You know better than that, Kuekue.] Swiping through all the trash Tier bronze weapons, Cynrik made it to the Tier-1.5 iron shortswords and scanned through the list’s contents, trying to find something that fit his off-hand better than the crude Tier-1 Bronze shortsword he earned from an earlier Floor.

‘Serves you right, freaking making me paranoid during that last fight.’ Cynrik thought as he smugly laughed to himself.

[UGHH, insufferable, annoying, hooligan FUCK!] with each word Brance said in anger, he would slash out with his Greatsword, felling another one of the lizards. By this point, the water had risen to just below his calves, and his movement speed rapidly decreased as the seconds ticked by.

|You have successfully Killed 4 Level 19, Tier-1 Virtual AquaNewts.|

|You have received 20 Obelisk Kill Points.|

|You have received 4 1000 Essence, XP Crystals.|

|You have received 12 Merit Points.|

[Fuck, these bastards are getting faster and faster, five down.] With the water reaching his knees, Brance spun his greatsword overhead, channeling Terra Mana into its point, and slammed it down, parting the rising waters in front of him and manifesting several three-and-a-half-meter stone pillar platforms above the water.

Monitoring his surroundings and hopping up to the make-shift platforms, Brance activated his [Mana Sight] and scanned the murky deep blue water for any movement. However, within half a second, he realized something startling; even with his ocular skill active, Brance couldn’t see anything below the surface of the now two-meter-deep liquid.

[Cyn, what the fuck is this water made from? I can’t see shit.] Realizing it wasn’t the time to stay annoyed with his older brother and knowing he needed more information if he was going to walk out of this with his record intact, Brance yielded and asked for help.

[A combination of mid-ranged Terra and Water particles. How bad is the pooling?] Hearing the tone of Brance’s voice take a drastic shift, Cynrik paused his scrolling and inquired.

In response to his question, Brance crouched down and dipped his sword into the water; when he felt it touch the bottom, he frowned since his forearm was also submerged along with the blade.

[Give it another minute, and it’ll be deep enough that my arm will get wet to touch the bottom with my Greatsword, It’s already over my head, and I’d be treading water if not for the fact that I made several stepping stone platforms. But it’s an issue because I have to keep pumping more Mana into the pillars to keep them above the waterline.] Brance said while spinning his weapon to clear the grimy-looking liquid off its surface.

[Tsk, shit, alright, listen up. It would be best if you tried finding them as soon as possible; these rooms are only about 25 meters tall, and those bastards will keep swimming around and adding more water every minute. They are basically the reverse of a jetski. While one propels itself forward by emitting a compressed blast of air, the other uses water.]

[Under the pads of all four of their legs, the AquaNewt has what can only be described as water jets, making them incredibly quick when submerged. This makes things difficult since they are already fast and agile in the water as is, but once they no longer feel the need to add more liquid into the room, that’s when they will get scary fast. Odds are, they will start spy-hopping or doing those little dolphin jumps to target you, so you need to keep your head on a swivel.]

[Rely on your reaction time, we already know that [Mana Sight] won’t work due to the high concentration of water particles, so treat each of these lizzys like they have optic camo. They lurk like alligators or crocs, so be on the lookout for slight ripples on the water’s surface.] Finishing up his thoughts, Cynrik quickly purchased two Tier-1.5 Iron shortswords, with different lengths, and a matching Tier-1.5 Iron Dagger. He then clicked over to the Medical Elixers tab, where he found a number of options ranging from ones that boost stats to ones that cause splash or explosive damage to his enemies; without hesitation, he purchased anything that seemed practical, including several Mana and Stamina Potions.

Meanwhile, Brance stood with his shield raised and his Greatsword propped against his right shoulder, his typical defensive combat stance. Using Mana to increase his hearing, Brance calmed his breathing and ignored any sound that didn’t match what he knew was underwater movement. Be it a tail, legs, or even waterjets, they all had distinct sounds, and Brance was trying to isolate every bit of inconsequential information his brain was receiving and only allowed for what would lead him to his targets.

‘Five, there are five more of these car-sized lizards swimming around me. Where are they?’ He thought to himself as his eyes slowly closed and the world fell dark.

Splash, splash

Standing perfectly still and listening to the sound of the water lapping at his stone pillars, Brance pushed more Mana into his ears as his search continued.

Splash, splash

Splash, splash

Splash, splash, SLOOSH

“THERE!” Snapping his eyes open, Brance kicked off the ground, gripped the air, and pumped his left arm up, rising a stone pillar from under the water, forcing it and its freeloader, one of the Newts, into the open air. Then, spinning his Greatsword with only his right hand, Brance met up with the pillar, which carried a flailing and panicked AquaNewt, and slashed down, splitting the creature into perfect halves.

|You have successfully Killed a Level 19, Tier-1 Virtual AquaNewt.|

|You have received 5 Obelisk Kill Points.|

|You have received a 1000 Essence, XP Crystal.|

|You have received 3 Merit Points.|

[Six down, four to go, these things are quick, but so long as I focus on the minute changes in the water sounds, I can pinpoint their location.] Brance said as he landed on the same stone pillar, he had just used to force his enemy out of the water.

[Why does it sound like you are using echolocation to find those lizzys? Do you think you’re a whale, dolphin, or bat?] Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Cynrik teased Brance, even though if it was him in the same situation, he would have come to a similar conclusion.

[Che, whatever works, works. It’s basically silent in here, with the only constant sound being the water smacking up against my stone pillars. If I focus on my hearing and increase the strength of my inner ear, I can hear the subtle difference between something underwater and above. Then using its relative distance from the nearest pillar, I can pinpoint a rough location and its movement direction.] Closing his eyes and repeating the process, Brance returned to searching.

[So….you made a shitty Mana Radar…]

[EAT A DICK CYNRIK!] Brance growled.

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