Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 255

259. The Hermits of the Black Sea

This was where the children of Estrotsha, who had once briefly dominated the seas of the 40th floor—no, the vast ocean from the 36th to the 40th floor—were hiding.

Their goal was singular.

To await Estrotsha, their queen, mother, liege, and master.

With that one conviction alone, they had spent eons as if dead.

Even as age brought them closer to death, even as they gnawed at their own flesh to stave off hunger.

“Dry, dry, dry, dry, dry—!!”

“Calm yourself.”

“How can I calm down! Huh? Can’t you see my scales are cracking?”

“The moisture content in the atmosphere remains at an appropriate level. There is no problem for survival.”

“Kuaaaaaaak!”

A monster with the face of an anglerfish roared inside the widest cave on the Black Island, surrounded by black mist.

The sound was so sharp that it created knife-like scratches on the walls just by being uttered.

“I’m a fish! Huh? Can’t you see these scales? I’m a damn fish! Can’t you see these gills? I’m! This freaking! Fish!”

The monster twisted its long arms, wrapping them around its body.

The scales that touched its arms fluttered as if they would fall off at any moment.

“Fish are supposed to play in the water! Huh? In that wide ocean! Freely! Swim!”

“Just bear with it a little longer.”

“A little? A little? When is ‘a little’? Haven’t you been saying the same thing for decades, centuries?”

“Wait. When Mother returns…….”

“That damn mothe—”

Clang-

A sharp blade touched the monster’s neck. No, it was sharper than any famous sword, but it wasn’t a sword.

A pincer [a claw-like appendage found on crustaceans and some arthropods].

It was the pincer of another monster that had been silently lurking nearby.

Moreover, the gazes of the monsters lurking around all turned to the anglerfish-shaped monster.

As if they would kill it immediately if it uttered even one more word.

“-r? Oh my, good heavens. Did I make a slip of the tongue? Yes, I should take a mud bath for the first time in a while. I should get my scales beautified.”

The anglerfish-shaped monster slipped through the pincers like a loach and ran out of the cave as if fleeing.

After that, no monster opened its mouth for a while.

After all, no matter what conversation they had, the answer would be the same.

The same story they always shared, the same ending that always came.

Why don’t they have the ability to hibernate? If they had such an ability, they could have fallen asleep until their mother arrived.

Just as they were repeating such thoughts in their minds.

“Huh?”

One of the monsters sprawled out in a corner tilted its head.

Soon, it widened its eyes, which had been hidden by its black skin, and stood up from its spot.

“What’s wrong?”

“Someoone! Came in!”

“Has Mother come!”

“Uung, no. Human? Human. It’s a human.”

“……Human?”

“A human, you say?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard that.”

“Flesh, it was soft and delicious.”

A human had entered.

The news caused a stir in the quiet cave.

That was because, since they had hidden on the Black Island under their mother’s orders, there had never been any significant anomaly until now.

“How did they get in?”

“Uung, flew in? A bird? No. Uung…….”

The monster tilted its head.

It was an ambiguous answer, but even if they had heard a proper answer, the result would have been the same.

All the monsters in the cave stood up.

“Perhaps it’s a human Mother sent.”

“A human? There’s no way Mother would use a human as a messenger…….”

“Perhaps she could send them without being detected precisely because they are just a human.”

“Hoo, that sounds plausible?”

“Muoong, guide them.”

“Uung! I understand!”

The monsters rose to their feet.

How long has it been?

The monsters all loosened their stiff joints and moved out of the cave.

Then, the anglerfish-shaped monster, who had belatedly arrived at the cave after running out earlier.

“Huh? Where did everyone go? Huh? Where did everyone go without me? Uh? Yaaaaa!”

It screamed so loudly that the cave seemed to collapse, wandering through the black mist.

* * *

– You have selected ‘The Hermits of the Black Sea’ as the trial of the 38th floor.

– You cannot escape or give up the selected trial until the island is conquered.

Fortunately, as soon as I entered the black mist, my vision cleared.

However, it didn’t become completely bright, and the atmosphere was still dark, like a corridor with red lights on.

It seemed the mist was intended to block the view from the outside rather than the inside.

“Is flying impossible?”

However, only the vision was cleared.

I felt like the mist was sticking to my wings.

It wasn’t just a feeling; my wings were becoming duller and heavier, so I had to land on the ground quickly.

– The constellation, ‘Serpent Entwined in Jealousy,’ worries about you, saying you should be careful.

– The constellation, ‘Crow with Lowered Head,’ pauses its research out of curiosity and looks down at you.

– The constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ drools and glances around.

‘I should hide and assess the situation first.’

As Leviathan worried, it was right to hide first since I didn’t know the enemy’s strength.

Time had passed, so the enemy’s strength would have decreased a lot, but I couldn’t be sure.

I tried to hide using Kilkegaard-style stealth [referencing a stealth technique, possibly from a previous chapter or a known trope], heading to the shadow of a rock that had turned black like the mist.

And then.

“Kahat? It’s a real human? How did you get in here?”

A creature suddenly popped out from the shadow of the rock.

It was an unexpected situation, but if it was a creature existing on this island, it must be a subordinate of Estrotsha.

Se-un immediately drew his sword.

– Through internal energy, the third form of the Blood Wolf Sword Technique, Blood Wolf Strike, is enhanced.

– According to the mysteries of the Supreme Demonic Art, the power of martial arts is enhanced.

Although the opponent appeared like a surprise attack, it was Se-un who swung his sword first.

The sword swung like a surprise attack aimed for the enemy’s neck.

Clang!

“You seem to have quite a bit of strength for a human? Is Kes right?”

However, Se-un’s sword was blocked too easily.

It collided with the enemy’s sharply raised fin, and the fin was so strong that sparks flew from the point of impact.

‘Strong.’

I could guess the opponent’s combat power in just one move.

The fin that predicted the direction of the surprise attack and lifted it, the composure shown on the face, the strength felt from the opposing sword.

All of that told me that the opponent had at least the strength of a boss monster from another field.

Just as I was about to swing the next sword.

“Vex, stop.”

“Kahat? No, it’s a misunderstanding? This human attacked me? I just blocked it?”

I felt many presences from behind.

In particular, the voice I heard immediately contained a force as strong as any enemy Se-un had faced while climbing the tower.

When I turned my head, I saw a monster with wide fins like a ray. But they were different from the fish-men I had seen in Leviathan’s sanctuary.

Something unnatural about their appearance…….

Should I say they looked like mutants?

It was like looking at a demonic beast whose body had been deformed by magic.

“Confirmation comes first.”

“Alrighty~”

The monster that had appeared from behind the rock melted away like a shadow.

Se-un, who had created distance, slowly looked around at the enemy’s forces.

Besides the ray-shaped monster, there were about twenty others with bizarre bodies that took on the characteristics of sea creatures.

Each of them had a dark face full of fatigue, but somehow their eyes looked bright.

As if they were expecting something from Se-un.

‘Damn it…….’

Is there someone among them with detection abilities?

I didn’t expect them to appear as if they had been waiting as soon as I entered the island.

So much time had passed since Estrotsha had retreated from the Black Sea, so I expected most of them to be close to being disabled…….

The appearance of the monsters I was seeing now was not like that at all.

Rather, the monster standing at the very front seemed as strong as a tower ranker [a high-ranking player in the tower].

It seemed that Se-un wasn’t the only one who thought so.

– The constellation, ‘Serpent Entwined in Jealousy,’ is flustered seeing Estrotsha’s still powerful subordinates.

– The constellation, ‘Serpent Entwined in Jealousy,’ urges you to run away from there immediately.

– The constellation, ‘Crow with Lowered Head,’ frowns and searches for a way to interfere with the system.

Once I had chosen the trial, I couldn’t change it. Even if I ran away, the inside of the Black Island surrounded by black mist would be the limit.

I couldn’t escape beyond that because of the system’s restrictions.

‘If I fight?’

I imagined fighting them in my head.

If I fought using all my magic, martial arts, and items to the fullest, such as the Authority of Jealousy, the Authority of Greed, and the ‘Mount Tai Blood Wolf’ that I had recently created by successfully combining attacks…….

However, Se-un soon shook his head.

‘That ray alone is overwhelming.’

The leader’s martial power alone reached the ranker level.

In addition to that, they possessed martial power that, while not reaching the ranker level, was at the level of players on the upper floors.

No matter how I thought about it, it was impossible to face them with the power I had now.

In this situation, I saw the shortcomings of the Authority of Jealousy anew.

‘If it weren’t for the restriction that it can only be used on one person…….’

Of course, the Authority of Jealousy was still a sufficiently overpowered ability. However, now that I was in this situation, I couldn’t help but feel regret.

“Poo. Confirm.”

“Sniff, sniff.”

Among the group of monsters, one with a wide nose came forward.

The monster approached Se-un, sniffing repeatedly.

The nose with dripping mucus was uncomfortably close, but I couldn’t move rashly.

It was best to stay still and wait for an opportunity.

The moment the monster called Poo went around Se-un once, the monster’s closed eyes widened, and its nostrils expanded surprisingly.

“I smell it! I smell Mother’s scent! It’s certain!”

“Really?”

“It’s certain! It’s faint, but it’s certain! There’s no way I could forget Mother’s scent!”

Poo jumped up and down, flaring its nostrils. The monsters standing behind also widened their eyes as if surprised.

“Really?”

“Is it really a human Mother sent?”

“But, why?”

“Su, surely!”

“Has the time finally come!”

From the words muttered like soliloquies to the words shouted so loudly that the island seemed to be leaving, Se-un listened carefully to every word.

In order to overcome the current situation, it was important to find some clues.

‘If it’s Mother, they must be talking about Estrotsha.’

I only met her once during the tutorial, but to smell her scent, it’s a ridiculously excellent sense of smell.

No, even if it’s a sense of smell, there must be at least a minimal scent left to be detected…….
The ability of the monster called Poo was far beyond the realm of the senses.

Perhaps all the monsters here have such special talents or personalities.

‘Besides, if they say ‘the time’…….’

There is only one possibility.

They see Se-un as someone sent by Estrotsha.

Perhaps they think that the time has finally come to escape this island and reclaim the Black Sea.

If so, I just need to do as they wish.

“Nice to meet you. Great children of the Black Sea.”

Se-un bowed his head.

The moment the name of the Black Sea came out. The expressions of the monsters who had been harboring doubts, saying ‘maybe’ or ‘surely,’ melted away like snow.

Even their leader, who had been maintaining a poker face, couldn’t maintain it at this moment.

“The new servant of Dea Vacandel Estrotsha, the Queen of the Sea of Blood and Darkness, the Black Sea, greets her children.”

– The constellation, ‘Serpent Entwined in Jealousy,’ gapes with a blank expression.

– The constellation, ‘Crow with Lowered Head,’ shakes its head at your actions.

– The constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ is startled, asking if you are betraying them.

Above Se-un’s lowered head, the voices of the monsters cheering could be heard.