Manuke FPS Chapter 177

Published at 6th of February 2022 10:10:53 AM

Kay: Early release before I forget *again*

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Wrapping up the first encounter of my exploration, I heard people talking as I delved deeper. However, no one appeared on my radar yet, so they were most likely some ways ahead. I slung the P90 over my shoulder and took out the sledgehammer. The P90’s performance would most likely be noticed by the other adventurers as I explored. I would like to delay that outcome as long as possible. 

Shaft had established his fame as a mercenary that only a few dared to approach, let along associate with me. But on the other hand, Schwartz was only starting to make his name as a labyrinth mapper, evident by the nickname ‘Map Seller Schwartz”. If I were to add the impressive fighting prowess under Schwartz name, they’d begin to expect me. Which would probably hinder my goal of conquering all the labyrinths. 

If I had to lie, I had to make it convincing. 

The source of the voices eventually appeared on my radar. There were three of them, probably a party. It seemed that they were doing something, not fighting, in a small room at the end of the corridor. 

“How about that one?” 

“Seems okay.” 

“Next, the one over there.”

“Yosh, get ready to chant the magic! Go!” 

I peeked into the room from the corridor. One of the noticeable things about the three was that one of them was carrying a ridiculously long stick. Judging from their height, the stick was about 3 meters long. It didn’t seem like a weapon, just a regular wooden stick with a small iron attached. What were they going to do with that?

I continued to observe them as they apparently hit a cluster of crystals one by one with the wooden stick to check something. 

This was probably….

Among the monsters I knew lurked within here, the quartz spiders were known to camouflage themselves as crystal clusters. This was written in the materials I had read. Back then, I thought it’d be easy to identify one as long as I carefully observed it. The crystal clusters in the room didn’t appear to be one as the radar only detected the three. But when the stick hit the cluster, it rose up and transformed into the shape of a spider with a gritting noise. 

There was no additional dot on my radar until it transformed and let out those noises. This meant that my radar would not detect their presence while in a camouflaged state. It was similar to the bats from the Wolf Fang Labyrinth, where they silently waited up in the dark where my sensors could not detect them at all. 

Meanwhile, in the room, a battle commenced between the adventurers and the monster. The spider turned and shot a needle-like hardened thread from its tail. The tank of the group moved to intercept it while the caster used [Stone Spear], and attacked the spider from below. The last one dropped the long stick, then moved in to crush the spiders head as it lay suspended in the air by the stone spear.

Magnificent teamwork I observed. 

I moved away from the room as it was a dead end. The path to the next level was through another turn backways. 

Going to the next level, the corridor was the same as before. While I checked my surroundings for any noises. I also switched between my normal vision and FLIR mode to check the clusters for any heat signatures — Just in case. 

The clusters here all showed a low blue temperature. I then spotted one with a slightly red color in its center. The corridor was 5-6 meters high. I couldn’t reach it with my hammer, but I didn’t want to walk over to the suspicious cluster. 

“Shoot it…” 

It was only a guess that the cluster was a monster. It was a good time to test that guess, so I held my PDW (E/N: p90s are Personal Defense Weapons cag) and aimed upwards before I let out a four shot burst.Compared to the quartz snake, the spider turned out to be more durable. The protruding crystals were shattered, but the cure was otherwise undamaged. It also had been enough to undo its camouflage. 

 The shattered pieces dropped to the floor as the cluster transferred into a five-meter long spider. It clung to the ceiling as it turned away and directed the tip of its tail at me. I saw this more already.

I moved away from where it was aimed with a slide jump and returned fire upward. Three shot bursts. They managed to damage the legs, through the damage to its torso was underwhelming. The 5.7x28mm bullets that hit the torso seemed to have dug into it rather than crushing its targets. Still, with damaged legs, the spider could no longer hold to the ceiling, and fell. Without its legs, it could not land properly and that gave me an opening to fire some more. 

Let’s do a little experiment here. 

I switched the P90 to semi-auto.  I shot the spider’s cephalothorax, abdomen, compound eyes, and mouth to see if the round had any effect. After all this, I found that the cephalothorax and it’s abdomen were too thick. Shooting it was not effective. If it was a normal monster, it would have been fatal shots. This monster was made from crystal though. It was only when I shot the area between the head and the cephalothorax that it died. Most likely as it pierced the brain. 

So, headshots still work. Simple enough. 

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Though, this meant that I was going to need more pinpoint accuracy when dealing with this kind of creature. At least I knew how to deal with this kind of monster now…

I picked up the mana stone left behind and reloaded my firearm. I continued down the corridor while I switched to FLIR mode. 

After I transversed through the second and third levels, I finally arrived on the fourth level of the labyrinth. It was there I found the first spring. By now, I’d already found a scorpion monster with a thick abdomen called a Fat Scorpion with a huge yellow body. The fat scorpion was a regular monster compared to the other monsters. For regular adventurers, engaging the fat scorpion with its claws and stinger in melee would be daunting. 

Actually, I saw another group of adventurers fight one. I observed, but it was mostly defensive while using magic to whittle it down. They broke the legs, amputated the tail and wore it down before it couldn’t fight back. They then gave the killing blow. 

According to what I read, the poison received from the tail of the scorpion was a deadly venom. So deadly that even a scratch could prove deadly. When I encountered the monster myself, I tried copying their method. Shooting the legs to impair its mobilities, dismantling the claws, and once it was incapacitated, I aimed for the head until it was dead. 

While I rested in the spring, I looked to the entrance when I heard a voice.

“Oh? I was wondering why there were fewer monsters on the third level. Did someone come here before us?”

“I told you, didn’t I? We should just head down directly without taking a detour.”

“Excuse us.”

The movement of the dots in the radar showed me that three people were approaching the spring. Turned out it was the trio with the long stick from the first level. Calculating the time, it should’ve been evening by now. Judging from their pace, I believed they were planning to stay the night here. 

“Good job there. Now, if you excuse me, feel free to take your time here.”

“Eh?” Going already?”

“Are you serious, moving out by yourself?” Without a good rest, you might end up dead.” 

“Thanks for the tip. But I’ve had enough rest. I’ll be fine.” 

“Well, if you say so. Just don’t get yourself in trouble and involve others in it.”

“Yes, of course. See ya.”

Originally, I didn’t intend to stop by the spring. A little further ahead, there was a road that led to a dead end chamber where I planned to camp. The bag on my shoulder contains only the minimum amount of food and tools. Blankets for sleeping and other supplies from the Marida Company were all in a GIFT BOX. But that would’ve been too eye-catching if I were to unload everything in front of the adventurers. Not to mention safety and prep I’d need to do before going to sleep.

In that sense, it’s better for me to camp at the dead end where other adventurers rarely went. I experienced it many times while I explored the Wolf Fang Labyrinth. Although the labyrinth was different, I didn’t think there would be a large change in the habits of the monsters. But to confirm that, it was necessary to camp someone other than the spring. 

Chapter end