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Chapter 40: Beach Episode
🕑 Added 2025-02-05 03:01:15 +0000 UTCJames gazed at the vast lake surrounding an island in the distance. Multiple shark fins slicing through the water discouraged him from even attempting to dip his foot in. Nevertheless, he was in no hurry.
Turning away, James walked inland—only to be met with an invisible wall about 200 meters from the beach.
“What is this?” James knocked on the unseen barrier.
[It is the border of the dungeon floor. Survivors may not go past this boundary.]
“Do I have to go into the water?”
[That information is classified.]
“That means yes.” James sighed. Just like the floor below, this one was an open world. The terrain was fully visible except for the island in the middle of the lake, where a dense forest obscured his view.
With no other option, James dipped his toes into the water. As before, he left everything except his weapons on the ground, each one tethered to him with spider threads. His wet fur felt heavy as the water seeped in. Undeterred, James waded deeper until he was fully submerged.
“It wasn’t a shark!” James exclaimed.
A swordfish with a literal, metallic rapier for a nose shot toward him. James braced himself, gripping his axe tightly before parrying the fish’s thrust. He countered with his sword, but the attack barely left a scratch.
Another swordfish appeared on his flank, this time with a golden glow shining from the tip of its sword-like nose.
“It can use a weapon skill!”
Although James had lost his Sahuagin feet and lungs, his experience from the dungeon trial’s water floor proved invaluable. He parried the sword skill, letting the knockback push him backward. His movements were rough, but they mimicked the techniques he had learned from fighting Sahuagin elite soldiers.
Thanks to his stats, James could hold his breath much longer than most humans. However, without Sahuagin lungs, he was forced to resurface every five minutes, robbing him of the chance to properly counter the fish.
“Hah…” James took several deep breaths before diving again, resuming his parries against the swordfish. Unlike Kouki, who invested all his points into swords, James had diversified his skills. Since weapons weren’t proving effective, he decided to rely on magic instead.
James considered creating whirlpools or launching ice spears, just like the Sahuagin priestess he had fought before. However, these were fish. A simple whirlpool wouldn’t disorient them, and given their speed, there was no way ice spears would hit them.
Instead, he gathered Mind Magic in his left hand and Water Magic in his right.
He cast Mind Flay on both fish. They immediately halted their charge, thrashing wildly in agony. The spell inflicted enormous pain, forcing them into erratic, unpredictable movements—too unpredictable for James to risk approaching.
Following up with his water magic, he created a strong current and blasted the fish onto the beach.
Now that he was on solid ground, the fight became much easier. The swordfish flailed helplessly, completely out of their element. James swiftly ended their struggle with his axe and sword, turning them into sashimi with a few powerful swings.
[You have obtained 20 coins.]
[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available Body Parts:]
SwordShark’s Gills (Water Breathing) (Negative Trait: Waterbound Respiration) (Lung Slot)
SwordShark’s Sword (STR +20%) (Extra Slot)
*cough cough
James coughed out the water that had slipped into his lungs. He inspected his new options and frowned at the body parts.
“What is this Waterbound Respiration?”
[It means that these lungs do not allow you to breathe outside of water.]
“Damn. It’s worse than the Sahuagin’s lungs, isn’t it?” James frowned.
[That is correct. Sahuagin lungs are amphibious, allowing respiration both on land and underwater. In contrast, these gills can only function underwater.]
James hesitated. Even if he had the option to gain Sahuagin lungs again, he wasn’t ready to part with his Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung just yet. The ability to breathe fire might prove invaluable in future floors.
“Well, let’s eat first!”
James wasn’t in a hurry to clear the dungeon floor, so he decided to set up camp and butcher one of the fish for a meal.
Using his Waterspout Dagger, he sliced through the fish meat and popped a piece into his mouth. The fresh meat exploded with flavor.
“I wonder if I’ll ever find vegetables or fruit in this place. The meat is delicious, but I’m getting tired of eating only this.” James muttered, stuffing himself with raw fish and cooked deer meat.
“I should have slept here instead of on the third floor.” James sighed. The sun was warm, and the palm trees provided excellent shade. After weaving a hammock with his spider web, he lay down and dozed off.
By the time he woke up, the blue full moon had risen in the sky.
“Hm? What’s that?” James muttered, noticing three moving rocks in the distance.
His heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he realized those "rocks" were munching on his precious meat. They weren’t rocks at all—they were crabs.
“Get off!” Fire spewed from his mouth, lighting up the dark night.
The crabs turned toward James. Their bodies resembled boulders, their uneven gray shells rough and coarse. Each had a massive right claw, with a much smaller left one.
James always slept with his weapons attached. A golden glow shone from his crossbow, and the yellow light shot straight toward the nearest crab.
CRACK!
The golden light flashed—but instead of piercing through, the bolt shattered on impact.
James leaped, his axe ready. A golden glow sparked as he swung down in a straight arc toward the crab.
But then—
BANG!
The moment his glowing axe struck the crab’s shell, it bounced off, sending James flying backward.
“Shit. This game is crazy! Why can’t I get an easy opponent for once!?” James cursed.
The crabs were slow, but they were tough. As James took a closer look, he noticed something—their underbellies were smooth. That gave him an idea.
“That’s it.”
James formed an ice platform beneath the crabs. As soon as they scuttled over it, he tilted one end up and lowered the other, flipping the crabs onto their backs.
“Let’s see you block this.”
He swung his axe down onto the first crab’s exposed belly.
CRUNCH!
The axe buried deep into its torso, the impact echoing satisfyingly through the night.
Using the same technique, James flipped over the remaining crabs one by one and hacked them apart.
Soon, he had three dead crabs on the menu.
[Congratulations. You have leveled up to level 39. You have obtained 30 coins.]
[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available Body Parts:]
Rock Crab Gills (Water Breathing) (Negative Trait: Waterbound Respiration) (Lung Slot)
Rock Crab Claws (STR +20%) (Hand Slot)
“Can I take the shell?” James asked as he examined it. The shell had repelled his weapon skills with ease. He wanted to add such an incredible defensive measure to his arsenal. However, the system refused.
[Calculating….]
He thought the system would reject him outright, but it seemed to reconsider his request. A new list soon formed. James raised an eyebrow at such behavior. Did the system not expect him to want the shell?
[Available Body Parts:]
Rock Crab Gills (Water Breathing) (Negative Trait: Waterbound Respiration) (Lung Slot)
Rock Crab Claws (STR +20%) (Hand Slot)
Rock Crab Shell (Physical Resistance +90%) (Extra Slot)
“Ah… it’s an extra slot.” James cursed under his breath. He was about to refuse, but then he remembered that he had leveled up his Chimera skill to Level 2. This provided him with two more extra slots.
“Wait a minute. You said I can put anything in the extra slot, right? Can I put the fish’s gills in the extra slot? If so, what would happen?”
[In that case, Survivor James could use his normal lungs on land and switch to the gills underwater, granting him the ability to breathe in both environments simultaneously.]
“Excellent! I knew upgrading Chimera was the right choice!” James exclaimed in glee.
[However, Survivor James must specify where the new gills will be installed. If they are damaged during combat, Survivor James will lose the ability.]
“Well, that’s a given, I guess.” James nodded. “Alright! The gills will be on my stomach!”
[Installing…]
Dark motes of light consumed the fish James hadn’t eaten from earlier that afternoon. Soon, the light gathered on his flank, forming gills on his stomach.
James immediately felt himself suffocating. Realizing he couldn’t breathe through the gills on land, he quickly switched his respiratory system back to his normal lungs.
“Alright. I still have one more extra slot. Could you explain how to install the Rock Crab Shell?” James asked eagerly. An unused extra slot was a wasted extra slot, after all.
[Chimera will create a round shield using the Rock Crab Shell, attaching it to the specified body part. For example, if Survivor James installs it on his arm, the shield will attach to his forearm. If placed on his back, it will act as back armor.
We recommend installing it on your left arm or back. Chimera cannot modify your Golem Arm, so installing it on your right arm is not possible.]
“I see. How big will the shield be?” James was intrigued by the idea of installing it on his arm. However, if the shield was too big, it would reduce his mobility and might even prevent him from using his sword properly. If it was too small, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
[Survivor James may adjust the diameter of the shield from 30 centimeters up to 1 meter.]
“Thank you. You’re getting more generous ever since we first met.” James smiled. His praise wasn’t entirely genuine—only about 30% of it was honest—but he was thankful nonetheless.
“Alright. I’m thinking 40 centimeters on my arm.”
Once again, dark motes swirled and consumed one of the crabs, integrating its power into James. As he had specified, a round shield formed on his left arm.
Its surface was rough and rocky, just like a crab’s shell. However, its underside was smooth—there was no handle. The shield had fused directly with his vambraces, embedding itself into his arm.
James stared in wonder as the system calibrated everything to fit his new physique. He knocked against the shield—it felt solid. However, the system’s wording made him frown.
90% Physical Resistance—Did that mean the shield could still be damaged or destroyed? Yet, it had deflected his axe skill like it was nothing.
In the end, James decided to shelve the concern for later. He then opened his status screen. After gaining another level, a new set of gills, and a shield, his final status screen now looked like this:
[Name: James
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 39
Coins: 290
Stats:
STR: 132 (↑2)
DEX: 125 (↑3)
MAGIC: 80 (↑3)
MANA: 840 (↑20)
Skills:
Novice Axe Mastery Level 4 (Powerstrike, V-slash)
Beginner Sword Mastery Level 7 (Hurricane)
Beginner Bow Mastery Level 7 (Quickshot)
Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1
Magic:
Mind Flay
Mana Sonar
Unique Skill - Chimera Level 2:
Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
Mana Core (Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra Slot)
Orc’s Left Arm (STR +10%) (Arm Slot)
Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) (Right Eye Slot)
Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Negative Trait: Repairable, Mana -200) (Right Arm Slot)
Ratking’s Legs (STR +25%) (Leg Slot)
Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung (Fire Breathing Skill, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Lung Slot)
Golem Core (Poison Resistance, Negative Trait: Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) (Heart Slot)
Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
Orc’s Head (Head Slot)
Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) (Mouth Slot)
Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur (Fire Cloak Skill, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Skin Slot)
SwordShark’s Gills (Water Breathing, Negative Trait: Waterbound Respiration) (Extra Slot 3)
Rock Crab Shell (Physical Resistance +90%) (Extra Slot 4)
Equipment:
Leather Armor Set (+10 DEX)
War Axe
Longsword
Crossbow
Waterspout Dagger
Mask of Identity
Leather Bag
Sphere of Fethusiane
Cloak of Dark Night
Thompson Center Contender (x3)
Frag Grenade (x1)]
