Episode 361: The Image of Space
Black Dungeon “Tartarus,” Seventy-Second Floor—
A large, two-headed dog dashes through the rocky terrain. Akito swings Gae Bolg horizontally, but the jet-black dog easily leaps over the spear.
“Damn it! Moving around so much!”
Ignoring Akito’s frustrated gritting of teeth, Rui, who had entered the dog’s path, draws his katana.
A fiery slash catches the dog in the face. A fierce explosion erupts, and the dog is blown back against the wall. Even so, it rises, shakes its head, and glares at Rui.
“Tough, aren’t you? Seems like magic isn’t very effective after all.”
Rui says with a sigh. It’s said that many in the “Black Dungeon” are resistant to magic.
In Tartarus, this tendency seems even more pronounced.
Yuma stares at the dog before him, holding his pickel ready.
The black dog comes straight at him. Yuma ignites the pickel with flames and brings it down on the dog’s head as it approaches.
However, the movement is sluggish and lacks vigor.
The dog easily evades it, allowing a counterattack from the side. Yuma deploys a “Flame Barrier,” preventing the dog from biting him.
The dog, having lunged headfirst, is repelled by the barrier, and its mouth catches fire.
Disliking the fire, the dog shakes its two heads. Rui launches an attack at the dog. He draws his second katana and unleashes a fiery slash.
The jet-black dog can’t keep up with Rui’s speed, and both of its heads are simultaneously severed.
The dog collapses powerlessly and turns to sand.
“Phew… this much strength on the seventy-second floor… I dread what’s ahead.”
Rui says with a wry smile, sheathing his two katanas.
Yuma, looking around, feels the same way. This “Tartarus” is clearly more difficult to conquer than the “Black Dungeon” in Yokohama.
The Monsters that appear are also powerful, and there are more and more individuals that even they can’t defeat with a single blow.
—If only my body were in perfect condition…
As Yuma thinks this, Akito, with Gae Bolg on his shoulder, walks up from behind.
“We’ve been descending the Dungeon non-stop, but I’m at my limit. Let’s take a break around here.”
Rui and Yuma agree to Akito’s suggestion, and the three decide to rest.
Wanting to reach the lower levels quickly, they had been descending the Dungeon at full speed for about twenty-four hours.
Up to this point, they had encountered rock and Iron Golems, scorpion-like Monsters, Steel Apes, and even Varlin.
They had used magic to deter them and tried to avoid fighting as much as possible, but even Rui and Akito’s faces show signs of fatigue.
First, Rui takes charge of guarding the surroundings, while Yuma and Akito decide to rest on the rocks.
As Yuma exhales, Akito, who is next to him, calls out.
“How’s your injury?”
“Ah, it’s manageable. I’m still doing this…”
Yuma places his right hand on his chest and activates Recovery Magic. A faint light leaks out.
“I’m casting Recovery Magic regularly. But, I feel like I’m hitting a wall.”
“A wall? What’s that?”
Akito looks at Yuma with a puzzled expression.
“How should I say it… I used to feel like I was healing little by little. But recently, I don’t feel like I’m getting better… it’s hard to put into words.”
“Does that mean it might not heal completely?”
“I don’t know. But if this is the situation even with Self-Regeneration, then the injury I sustained might be more serious than I thought.”
Yuma and Akito stare ahead in silence. There is only inorganic rock surface, and nothing else.
Only silence envelops the area.
“Well, there’s no point in thinking about it now. It’ll take at least two or three days to reach the lowest level. We’ll just have to find an answer by then.”
Akito says this, lies down, and sprawls on the ground. Yuma also leans against a suitable rock and closes his eyes.
Indeed, they have no choice but to search for a way to overcome the current situation.
In their current state, they won’t be able to defeat the Yellow King, let alone have a rematch.
Yuma closes his eyelids and quietly falls asleep.
◇◇◇
Black Dungeon, One Hundred Twenty-Fourth Floor—
Large bats, each about three meters tall, attack one after another.
Rui swings his katana, creating many “Flame Birds.” The Birds soar at tremendous speed, shooting down the bats.
But there are too many, and he can’t defeat them all.
Akito also unleashes numerous Black Lightning strikes, shooting down the bats. An individual that slips through the lightning rushes toward Yuma.
“Alright! Come on!!”
A Monster with a round, smooth body and many tentacles.
Yuma is fighting in his Metal Slime form. He turns the tips of his tentacles into sharp blades, slashing at high speed to deter the bats.
Against the Monsters that still try to approach, Yuma skillfully bends one of his tentacles and launches it at a bat.
The moment the tip of the tentacle, now a blade, pierces the bat—Yuma pours Magical Power into it.
The bat freezes with a cracking sound, and the Monster falls while making a shrill noise. It shatters into pieces when it hits the ground.
He slashes at the remaining bats with the tips of his tentacles, freezing and defeating them all.
“Oh! Not bad, Yuma. You’re pretty strong even in that form.”
Akito approaches with a grin. Yuma also feels that it’s easier to fight in this form, so he replies with a smug look, “Well, yeah.”
“But there are some problems with this form.”
“What kind of problems? Your body is hard, and you can use magic, right? There shouldn’t be anything bad about it.”
“That’s true, but…” Yuma says, looking at his tentacles.
“I can’t grip the pickel well with these tentacles, and I can’t move my body quickly, so I can’t fight like I’m wearing Metal Armor.”
“Well, that can’t be helped. You should be satisfied with that for now.”
Akito’s words are reasonable, but Yuma’s impatience grows.
As they are talking, Rui squats down on the ground and brushes away the sand. “Ah!” he exclaims, so Yuma and Akito turn their attention to him.
“There’s Demon Ore here. It dropped because Yuma defeated them.”
“Oh, that’s right. That’s right.”
Akito also goes to the place where the bat fell and picks up the Demon Ore that is on the ground.
“Even if we defeat them, Demon Ore doesn’t drop easily. Yuma’s special ability is really convenient.”
The two bring a total of four Demon Ores. Yuma receives them with his tentacles and stares at them intently. Grayish, round Demon Ore.
Since he doesn’t have a mouth in his Metal Slime state, Yuma transforms into his “Metal Armor” form.
He opens his fanged mouth wide and swallows all four at once. Heat immediately rushes through his stomach, and his body tells him that he has successfully absorbed them.
“Alright! This should be good. …But, what kind of ability is it?”
It is said that Demon Ore that enhances physical abilities has little tangible effect. He has swallowed many Demon Ores up to this point, but he doesn’t feel particularly different.
Just as he thinks it will be the same this time, he suddenly hears a ringing in his ears.
“Huh? What’s this?”
“What’s wrong? Yuma.”
Akito asks worriedly, but Yuma is distracted by the “sound” echoing in his head. This is not a normal sound. The sound reverberates in his head, creating a three-dimensional image.
“This is…”
What is drawn in his brain is an image of the surrounding area. Yuma intuitively understands.
This is Spatial Awareness using the reverberation of sound.