The dark gray rubber dinghy glided slowly across the shimmering lake surface. Although there was a mount for an engine at the stern, Ryu did not rely on external power. Instead, he honestly used the oars to paddle forward at a leisurely pace, adopting a standing posture to increase his field of view.
In this enclosed underground space, the sound emitted by an electric motor would be as noisy and piercing as a summer mosquito, especially to the [monster]s inhabiting the water. Once one provokes a siege by social creatures, no matter how strong one is, slips are inevitable. As the saying goes, a good tiger cannot withstand a pack of wolves~
Didn't a certain Shadow Emperor who unleashed his ultimate move in a school of fish still get gnawed into a skeleton?
Although the [monster]s here aren't that outrageous, there was no need for Ryu to increase the difficulty of his challenge.
In a sense, the [Dungeon] is an ancient tomb, and adventurers can be considered isekai versions of tomb raiders. In this line of work, the first to die are those full of confidence who charge in blindly!
Of course, the current Ryu didn't look like a 'tomb raider' at all; instead, he gave off the feeling of someone doing cosplay. He had already changed his clothes, mixing light armor and leather armor in the style of a fantasy world, using relatively heavy armor on specific parts, looking somewhat chaotic and mismatched.
But this was just the exterior. Inside, there was actually a layer of bodysuit woven from composite materials. While not hindering movement, it tried to balance insulation, heat resistance, and cut resistance as much as possible. The material of the gloves was slightly simpler to maintain the dexterity of his hands.
This made him look even more burly, actually fitting the image of an 'adventurer' quite well.
Even without counting other equipment, just these inner and outer sets of clothes brought the load to twenty-five kilograms, comparable to a full set of armor for an ancient warrior—the kind that would get you assigned as a centurion if you hauled it onto the battlefield!
However, even the bravest warriors only don their armor right before battle; otherwise, the physical exertion would be too great for them to charge at all. This is also why armies carry more logistical support troops than regular soldiers.
Ryu, however, was of the 'never remove armor' type, acting while wearing this set at all times!
If not for the repeated nourishment of his body and the enhancement of the [Demon Back], an ordinary person would be worked to death within half an hour.
But even so, he did not let his guard down, his single eye scanning the water surface as his head turned.
Hmm? Why a single eye?
Because the other eye was currently covered by a 'metal eyepatch.' It looked like something modified from a gauntlet or similar item, covering a slightly larger area, with scratches and stains on it, immediately reminiscent of an emergency measure taken when there was no time to treat a battlefield injury.
But in reality, this was a camouflaged detector. Not only could it provide a vision feed like a VR interface, but it also displayed thermal imaging and the like—an essential item for exploring a dark [Dungeon].
After all, many dangers are hard to observe with the naked eye—
Splash!
Water spray flew as a bloated, grotesque green figure leaped from the water. Its powerful tail pushed it a full two meters above the surface. The scaled hunter raised a harpoon, tracing a slightly arced trajectory as it thrust towards Ryu, whose back was turned to it.
Approaching the enemy silently from beneath the water, then solving the opponent with a swift assault and a deadly thrust!
This is a classic tactic reenacted time and again in history by numerous ocean overlords even on Earth. It seems the fish-men of the other world are no exception.
However, this time the adventurer was slightly different from usual. He foolishly chose to go solo, thus unable to cover a full range of vision, looking undisciplined and full of openings. But right when they met on a narrow path, and the distance between both sides reduced to zero—
Whoosh!
The man turned abruptly. His left hand grabbed the connection point between the harpoon's head and shaft, pulling it back, while his right hand had long since discarded the oar, drawing instead a 'short spear' whose length clearly exceeded the capacity of his backpack.
Gripping the non-slip insulation layer, he thrust forward with one hand, stabbing fast and hard into the fish-man's lower chest!
Crack!
The [monster]'s skin was full of toughness. Beyond the scales was a layer of mucus, and on the inside were hard bone plates. After the spear tip broke through all of these, it still got stuck.
The fish-man screamed in pain. The large fish, the height of a human, struggled frantically after being impaled, causing Ryu's dinghy to shake violently.
But it couldn't stir up any more waves, because in the next moment, an intense shock, like magic lightning, pierced through its entire body!
"Ooooooohhhhh!!!"
Its muscles instantly tensed and spasmed. Its eyeballs immediately lost their luster. Even after completely stopping breathing, it didn't relax, but remained fixed there in a struggling posture.
Ryu took two steps back to maintain the dinghy's balance, pulled the fish-man's corpse aboard, and had to step on it with one foot to pull out the 'short spear' that was tightly gripped by its flesh.
He had subconsciously aimed for the abdomen, which is usually fragile in humans, but he hadn't expected that although the fish-man had a barely humanoid torso, its ribs actually covered all the way down to there, and were even plate-like.
Although his 'natural superhuman strength' overcame these obstacles, if it were an ordinary person, they might really have died at the hands of these [monster]s, which looked ugly and not very smart, but possessed strength far above the norm.
After all, reality is not a game; the margin for error is very low. No one can sustain a fighting style of trading injuries for injuries.
The man held the short spear without changing his expression, observing the 'ripples' underwater through the detector's vision, his brow furrowing slightly.
Four dots... it was a fish-man hunting squad. Since they are humanoid creatures, they hunt cooperatively like a pack of wolves.
Right now, they probably hadn't realized that the 'sturdy' boat under his feet was actually inflatable. But if an individual went to test it, his weakness would be exposed immediately... He had to end this quickly!
Pu!
The tip of the long spear pierced the water surface. The moment a certain 'ripple' swam past underwater, Ryu's gaze sharpened:
Maximum power!
Splash!!!!
Gurgle gurgle...
Instantly, massive splashes and bubbles rolled and sprayed continuously!
——
"Then I'll choose [Monster Hunter], [Humanoid Slayer], and [Treasure Hunter]. As for the negative trait... I hope I can hold out."
Ryu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose [Weakened Poison Resistance].
The characteristic of [Monster Hunter] is knowledge about [monster]s, as well as how to find weaknesses when hunting them, or even achieve a one-hit kill!
In the original work, [Laios] was a 'genius' who had ordinary skills but dealt critical hits and true damage against [monster]s with every move.
The effect of [Humanoid Slayer] is similar, except the target changes from [monster]s to 'humanoid creatures.'
Ryu had hesitated before because these two seemed to be technique-based classes without actual numerical buffs. However, experiencing this battle made him feel they were quite necessary—better safe than sorry. With these two protecting him, the probability of encountering accidents in the [Dungeon] would drop significantly.
As for [Treasure Hunter], he was determined to get it, prioritizing it even above the other two, simply because it was a conceptual skill!
'Increases the probability of encountering 'treasure' during adventure and exploration;
Increases the probability of triggering inspiration during puzzle solving;
A clear and strong 'purpose' will provide a weak boost to the above two effects;'
——This thing seems to be able to synergize with [Golden Rule]!
Leaving that aside, [Treasure Hunter] has great potential in both the main world and instance worlds!
The most satisfying point is that it's a passive buff; once selected, you don't have to worry about it. Simple and convenient~
For this reason, Ryu didn't even mind drawing a negative term!
[Weakened Poison Resistance]...
Regarding poison resistance, the 'digestion' mechanism in this worldview is still very powerful. As long as one can identify the toxicity of ingredients and be careful, it's generally fine. Worst case scenario, he just won't eat the [monster]s here until he meets the protagonist team.
Of course, this isn't completely safe; there's still a possibility of accidents, such as chronic toxins accumulating gradually and then erupting suddenly.
Just like in biology class: the higher up the food chain, the more pollutants accumulate~
Then Ryu can only gamble on [Scene Transition Effects]!
Food poisoning takes time to fully flare up, right?
Why aren't insects afraid of cancer? Because their natural lifespan ends before the cancer cells can develop!
By the same logic, as long as I 'refresh' fast enough, the speed of toxin accumulation won't catch up to me!
With [Scene Transition] holding him up, even if there are problems, lasting a month shouldn't be an issue!
Beep!
Putting on his headset and playing [Uncle Mads]'s little tune, Ryu, having just finished the battle, quickly calmed down and entered the zone.
He pulled over the two fish-men floating in the water as well—the others had already been scared away.
Looking at the three corpses before him, he calmly took out a surgical kit and began to dissect them skillfully and precisely using the techniques of a [Monster Hunter].
Although not entirely appropriate, his movements looked even more fluid than a tuna dissection master who had practiced for decades~
Practice! Massive amounts of practice!
He didn't plan to buy these two technique-based terms; the only one costing money was [Treasure Hunter]. He had to digest these skills and make them his own during this month.
Freeloading? That feels too good!
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