NABC Chapter 134: Cloud Zone
Chapter 134: Cloud Zone
Chapter 134: Cloud Zone
Ahem, so I know we had the cores stolen, and really easily at that, but I believe its time we move on and proceed to exploring this new zone
I had on a dead, glazed look as I declared in a dead, monotone expression.
The cores, which could be called our lifeline, were all taken, but no party member had been injured. Thinking practically, we should start moving again so as to not fall behind.
The goma fortress battle had us running around a tonne trying to somehow escape, so we hadnt gotten any good weapons or parts from there.
Id personally very much like to have more parts to add to Rem. Since, depending on those, she might become strong enough to fight off Sugino and Ooyama. Rem was, in my belief, the most reliable ally I had, and the stronger she could get, the more at ease I could be.
Cmon guys, its not the end of the world, give me a response
It feels worse dude
Right, I felt the same, my motivation was at an all time low. Like wed gotten super rare gear after finishing off a raid boss only to have said gear stolen by small-fry punks.
I know you feel down, we all do, but weve had enough brake time. We should get moving, staying here will only keep us depressed
Haah Hes got a point
Ahh, this day fucking sucks
Ueda and Nakai stood to leave, despite their irritation. Shimokawa followed, and the usual trio was all convinced.
Yamada-kun, you alright? If youre still not feeling up to it, we can stay a while longer
Im fine
He was insta-KOed by Sugino, so the shock of it mustve been getting to him. He had a dark look on his face. It was probably the first time in a while that he felt pain since his Heavy Fighter Job granted him a lot of immunity to it.
Now the question was whether Yamada will become scared and useless for our battles to come, or whether hell use this experience to grow I wanted to hope positively, but, shit man, itll be a problem if our tank cant tank. Ill have to make sure he doesnt go down that path, such a pain.
Hmm, Ill throw this one at Yamajun.
Everyone set? Lets go
Those homo lovers Sugino and Ooyama had left a few hours ago with their stuff, so I didnt think wed meet again. They looked like they knew how to get out of this zone while we had to start from scratch. If we did meet again though, I had no doubt itd become a bloodbath. Lets try not to let that happen.
But rather than those super strong gays, we should focus on how to clear this zone. Wed literally just gotten shown that we hadnt become tough stuff in the least. And if our caution and morale also drops, we might really get annihilated by a munch of small-fry monsters.
Woah, whats with this place
Shits bizarre, its all fluffy
Dude, its like some kinda theme park
Waah~, its clouds everywhere~
Right outside the square, we all voiced our impressions of this area that was completely new to us.
Reina was right, it did look like clouds everywhere. Like some sort of cloud kingdom that you could maybe find in an amusement part recreating a fairy tale land.
From the size and shapes of the passages and empty rooms, it seemed like a normal dungeon zone was covered by this soft and fluffy stuff all over the walls to make it resemble clouds. I tried jabbing my knife into one of the cushion-like walls and it slipped through easily. The wall had the consistency of a sponge.
This isnt the sort of place were used to, and I think well be seeing new types of monsters here too. Keep an eye out
We advanced through the cloud zone, wary of our surroundings.
Some time passed, and we hadnt encountered anything. I considered if Sugino and Ooyama, who went ahead a while ago, thinned out their numbers, but then there were no signs of fighting anywhere, not one corpse, or any blood. The place was pure white and spotless.
Man, I was kinda getting sleepy with all the soft and white around
Khruuu
When my attention was waning, Raptor gave a cry from beside me. I was going to have Raptor act as proper combat potential for us, so I was not riding on it.
Rem, whats up?
Oi look, somethings coming out of the walls!
Before Rem could respond, Ueda who was on point gave the answer. Looks like we got company.
Oi oi, whats up with this stuffed costume fella?
This cloud things giving me the creeps
Our two vanguards, Ueda and Yamada, were the first to let out their impressions of these new monsters. Monsters that looked like fluffy costumed people, cloud creatures.
They seemed to be made of the same cloudy stuff that constituted the walls, and they were around as tall as a short man. With a big head and small arms and legs, these cloud sponge creatures looked pretty deformed despite the overall human shape.
They had no weapons, and moved slow like zombies. But there were way too many.
Momokawa, do I go up front?!
No, theyre coming from the back too, stay here Nakai-kun. Youll need to help Shimokawa-kun and Raptor
Got it!
Sure thing, dude
Rem, arrows, Yamajun, some sagittas please
Well start off with ranged. They looked like arrows wouldnt affect them at all, but lets test out how much punishment these cloud creatures can
Moaaaaahhh!
Rems arrow and Yamajuns bolt of light each struck a different cloud creature. And as they did, the creatures let out low-pitched, sort of pathetic sounding groans as they collapsed.
Wait, theyre weak?
Lets round up some kills
After Yamajuns second shot, go for it!
I put down Rotten Bog behind us while casting support for the vanguard duo. I also had Rem switch out to Nonomiyas lance and join them.
Now, GO
We finished off the cluster of cloud creatures in a matter of minutes.
They didnt heal if damaged, couldnt revive when killed, and hadnt shown any ability to get super strong or fast after a certain point. They were simply defeated, nothing more or less.
They really were weak. Weaker than skeles
Their slow, dawdling gait made them seem like matango but without the poison. Like, I could beat them in melee, and thats saying something. They were by far the weakest monsters Id ever seen in the whole dungeon.
Fuck, not one damn core drop
Not really unexpected, these things are weak as kittens
Fork in two?
GA
Three?
GAGA
Any obelisk or object of interest?
GA
Any trees or cover that monsters could hide in?
GA
Nothing at all?
GAGA
Is it bigger than a forest dome?
GA
Less than a dome, but double a fairy square?
GAGA
You see any boss rooms ahead of the three exits?
GA
Ok, got it. Thanks a bunch, Rem, attagirl
I gently stroked her skull top while summarizing the earlier conversation.
Were gonna find exits on 3 directions after we enter, theres nothing of note inside, and it shouldnt be a big deal I think we should go for it
No one seemed particularly opposed.
I decided our current destination to be the exit opposite to where we were. We should reach it by just walking straight.
Just for extra reassurance, I had Rem go and make sure. Yup, we just had to walk in a straight line.
Okay, since I said its fine, Ill go in first
Are you sure, Momokawa-kun? You might get attacked suddenly, so maybe we should start with Yamada
No its fine. I know youre all feeling nervous. Besides, I trust Rem
I claimed, as I straddled Raptor, leaving the worried looking Yamajun, and the fidgeting-as-they-await-their-turn others, behind.
Since Im on Raptor, I wont lose my way or stray from the straight path. As for Rem, itd be her third time going, so there was one more assurance.
Aand were here literally, nothing happened
GUGA, GAGAGA
Rem nodded vigorously to that. Now the three of us, Rem, Raptor and I, had safely traversed across the pink room.
I figured they could all come over together, but we did say wed go in turns, so lets stick to that. I couldnt be sure there wasnt a trap that triggered if there was two or more of us going at once.
He~y! whoevers next, you can go ahea~d!
It felt like I was calling the next in line to a rickety old rope bridge. The distance wasnt very big, so they should hear me if I shout.
Got i~t! Im ne~xt!
The reply was from Ueda. Now that he knew Id crossed over safely, his voice didnt hint to any nervousness.
He was, taking a while. The path shouldve been a straight line, but Ueda still hadnt arrived.
I confirmed on my G-Shock watch that wed gone past a whole minute already. Strange, this was too strange. The path across wasnt any more than 50 meters.
There was a trap, something happened. But I couldnt hear anything indicative of that. Dammit, Ill call him myself then.
Ueda-ku~n! You alri~ght?!
Got i~t!
In spite of my worry, hed responded immediately. He didnt sound particularly in trouble; hed replied normally, like the first time.
Did you get lost in there?
Got i~t!
Alright, but Ill send in Rem to get you, wait where you are, kay?
Got i~t! Im ne~xt!
My spine instantly froze over. That wasnt Ueda talking!
The voice was just like his, but he kept saying the same thing. The exact same thing, in fact, that he said in reply to my first call. It was as if, his voice had been recorded and played back
Shit! Rem, we gotta go!
I got on Raptor again and went back inside the pink room. Maybe Ueda was attacked by a well hidden monster.
Id gone in ready for the fight of my life but
What the!? Th-theres no one here!?
Id made it back to the passage I started at. And no one, none of the people who were supposed to be waiting their turn were there.
Why, how did they HE~Y! GUYS! ANYONE!!
My yelling only echoed on the walls, uselessly.
But there was one thing. As if it was reacting to my voice, all the pink gas in the hall dispersed.
Shit, shit, weve been had No ones there anymore
The fog gone, I could confirm with my own eyes that the room was exactly as Rem said. I could confirm that there wasnt any form of cover, so my party wasnt hidden anywhere in the large hall either. The place was empty.
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TL: Scallop