3/4
Eileen’s Second Illustration will be released soon,
“Ugh! What are these? They feel so disgusting.”
Eileen, with a look of discomfort, covered her nose with her hand. Not far in front of her was a gray-brown Miasma swamp. .
To call it a swamp was not quite accurate; it was more like filthy black mud. Like ground moss, it covered and crept over the original soil. Wherever it passed, the grass and shrubs withered and turned yellow, and many trees were bald, with only rotten branches left.
A nauseating stench emanated from these black mud swamps, and what was even more hair-raising was their regular undulation, almost like breathing. Each of their movements absorbed nutrients from the earth below, causing the land and all its vegetation to increasingly lose vitality.
Having successfully incorporated the “Lizardmen Tribe” into the alliance, and learning that most of these tribes were actually descendants of his own contractors, Renji didn’t stay long and quickly adjusted his strategy.
He left 86 at the camp for prevention and immediately continued south with Eileen and Nova, aiming to investigate the Wild Swamp and to find the “Watcher” tribes that were still holding the line against the swamp.
They thought it would take some time to reach their destination, but surprisingly, it only took a day to see the Wild Swamp.
Following Eileen who was leading the way ahead, Renji also caught up.
He followed the girl’s gaze to the patches of black mud swamp undulating on the surface, furrowing his brows slightly, feeling that the situation was a bit worse than he had imagined.
And more importantly.
He found a sense of familiarity in this black mud swamp.
Indeed.
It was somewhat similar to the scene in the final level of the first playthrough—the source of all disasters, the “Miasma Abyss” The resemblance to the current scene was uncanny, but of course, the level of contamination in the Savage Wild Swamp couldn’t be compared to the complete assimilation of the land in the Miasma Abyss back then.
Both were chilling black mud at first glance. Of course, the level of contamination in the Wild Swamp was not comparable to that of the Miasma Abyss then.
The swamp in front of them was only absorbing and devouring the nutrients of the earth, causing the plants to wither.
But in the Miasma Abyss of that time, the memory surfaced – it was a land completely corroded and assimilated.
No, to be precise, it should be described as a “hive.”
On the black mud, not a single blade of grass grew, but instead, many “plants” were thriving. The catch was that they either resembled “eyeballs” or appeared to be “human hands” growing from the ground. When you approached them, these bizarre “plants” would emerge from the soil and chase you, considering you as their prey.
Many indescribable and bizarre plants like these grew in the black mud, leaving a deep impression on Renji during his first venture into this dungeon.
Especially as he ventured deeper into the hive, another characteristic of the “Miasma Abyss” began to manifest—tentacles.
This phenomenon was unique to “Miasma Abyss” a manifestation of the will of “Miasma.” No matter what kind of Miasma monster it was, they could sprout tentacles from various parts of their bodies.
In the final boss battle, in front of the “Mother of Miasma” at the deepest part of the hive, the screen filled with tentacles was hauntingly beautiful, making Renji, who played late into the night, question the mental state of the creators of such a creepy and twisted scene.
Even Renji, outside the screen, felt this way, not to mention the characters inside the game. Most of them, upon entering dungeons like the “hive,” were automatically afflicted with a debuff that reduced all stats due to mental fatigue. The longer they stayed, the more severe the debuff’s weakening effect.
However, there are always exceptions, and two Characters were immune to the psychological terror of the “hive.” One was the “Cloaked Man” protagonist controlled by Renji, and the other was his Mommy, Miyuki, the Elven Knight of the “Guardian” class.
This was all thanks to Miyuki’s “weird yet powerful” talents.
The first talent made all ‘positive buff’ ineffective on Miyuki, while all ‘negative buff’ would cause her to receive double the opposite effect. (In short, pain will became pleasureX2)
The second talent meant that every time Miyuki received an attack from the outside world, she gained increased defense, higher damage reduction percentage, enhanced shield resilience, improved experience gain efficiency after battles, increased affection, and skill proficiency.
It’s worth noting that both talents, whether the first or the second, did not differentiate between friend and foe, meaning attacks from ally characters could also trigger Miyuki’s passive abilities.
Therefore, there were often ‘dramatic’ scenes in the game where, at the start of a battle, before the enemy could even attack, Renji would have his characters curse Miyuki and then focus fire on this female knight.
When Miyuki later acquired a skill that allowed her to take on all the damage for the team in a short time, the harder the enemies hit, the thicker her shield became, allowing Renji to recklessly use all-out attack characters.
With the shield of a mother, safety was assured.
Because of this improved gaming experience, even though Miyuki was the last of ‘them’ to join and joined the latest, Renji’s affection for her was no less than for the previous four. After all, she was his ‘Mommy’, who had saved his life countless times.
Pulling his drifting thoughts back, Renji shook his head in front of the black mud of the Wild Swamp.
He had become sentimental, partly because recent series of investigations all pointed towards Miyuki, leading him to reminisce about the Elven Knight.
Indeed, considering Miyuki’s motherly nature of ‘protecting others’ it was indeed likely that she would ‘shelter’ those characters who were once abandoned.
However.
While Eileen, leading the way ahead, was still trying to touch the sludge with a small twig, Renji cast an inquiring glance at the Dragon Empress behind him, wanting to know if the Wild Swamp had always been like this.
Nova shook her head.
In her memory, the southern territories did have remnants of Miasma pollution at the beginning of her Nation, it should have been mostly purified after Karl and the demi-humans cleared the land.
‘As I thought…’
Renji sighed inwardly.
Whether it was the Miasma Well Zone created by Roca of the Jackal Demi-humans, enveloping the entire Sealed City, or the filthy black mud of the Wild Swamp in front of them, these things that should have only existed 500 years ago were showing similar traces today.
Renji and Nova both felt a shared sense of unease as they observed the signs together, both wearing frowns on their faces.
‘Certain beings…’
‘It seemed they were making a comeback.’
However, Renji was not too afraid of these once defeated foes, recalling the satisfying and relieving battle when he, at level 150, easily crushed them in the final fight. He vividly remembered dismembering the Miasma Mother, a centipede-like giant octopus, cutting off its “tender, multi-limbed” tentacles until it was left completely bare.
For Renji, who had once decisively defeated such an entity, there was little fear left, somewhat like how a TV star might feel after a resounding success, appearing somewhat ordinary on screen afterward.
Although the analogy wasn’t perfect, Renji’s feeling was somewhat similar.
Taking a deep breath.
It was one thing to disregard it mentally, but strategically, it was important to remain vigilant.
Like now, with Eileen, driven by curiosity, continuously poking at the filthy black mud with a twig.
This undoubtedly made Renji raise an eyebrow, understanding the feeling of parents with mischievous children, his fists tightening as he reflected on whether he had been too indulgent and lenient with Eileen recently.
Just as he was about to call the girl back, someone else beat him to it.
Or more precisely.
A swiftly flying arrow did.
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