STGB Episode 523

Giant Island 2

Two ships cut through the silver waves.

Swoooooosh.

Our ship led the way, with Armin’s team following closely.

After much deliberation, we had finally chosen our destination: the island where someone from the Hex Clan had sent out a distress signal via the community.

The reason we chose this island as our first destination is simple:

“If I can get unpaid slaves, there’s no reason not to go.”

It’s a completely different situation than with the Armin Expedition.

The explorers trapped on that island would have survival as their top priority. By now, they’d be desperate enough to do anything if it meant returning to the city.

‘Besides, we’ll need to explore that island eventually, anyway.’

This basement floor one is an extremely peculiar floor.

The library, the tree island we were on until recently – both of them have a difficulty level that keeps rising without limit.

‘Even on the tree island, level 4 monsters were starting to appear.’

And that was when we hadn’t even climbed halfway up the island. Who knows? Maybe even Level 1 monsters would have appeared later on.

Therefore, we needed to increase our numbers.

There’s a good chance we’ll find a clue on how to escape this floor after completing the end game content on each island.

“Auyen, how much longer until we reach our destination?”

“If the course we heard from that navigator is accurate, about nine more hours, Captain.”

“I see.”
I spent the rest of the time planning how to distribute and form our lineup once we have more people.
About three more hours had passed when-

“Mister! Their ship— it’s sinking!”

There was a problem.
***

All of a sudden, we had a problem.

But for explorers, unexpected events are routine.

“Erwen! Tell me what’s going on over there!”

“Something’s pulling the ship down from underwater!”

“A sea monster?”

“I don’t know! It looks like a human hand coming out of the water…”

Erwin, looking down from the crow’s nest, shouted.

“It’s huge!”

“Like that giant we saw on the island?”

“Yes!”

What the—don’t tell me it’s really that thing?

If so, that’s a bit ironic.

After the rainy season ended, I couldn’t find a trace of it, and now it suddenly shows up in the middle of the ocean?

“Captain! It’ll take some time to turn the ship around!”

“Understood, do it as quickly as possible. And Erwin! Can you support them over there?”

“I’ll try!”

At my command, Erwin pulled the bowstring from the crow’s nest.

And then…

「Erwin Fornacci di Tercia has activated [Focused Shot].」

The energy on the tip of her arrow grew stronger with each passing second.

Unfortunately for us, she couldn’t fully charge her arrow.

“Uh, uh…?”

“The ship—it’s flying up…!!”

The expedition team’s ship, half-submerged as if something was pulling it down, began to float in the air.

A massive hand had emerged from the water, gripping both sides of the ship and lifting it.

It was an utterly surreal sight, yet for some reason, I could already picture what would happen next.

“Don’t tell me… is it going to hurl the ship like that?”

I couldn’t be sure.

Perhaps Erwin, imagining the same scene, finished charging and released her arrow.

Fwhoooosh—!

Her spirit arrow shot forth with a sonic boom.

Kwaaaaang—!

The arrow sliced right through one of the wrists holding the ship.

And then…

[Uoooooooooooh!!]

The creature’s cry, hidden beneath the sea, vibrated through the water, resonating against the ship’s hull.

Koooooong—!

Startled, the creature let go, and the ship, now without support, tilted and crashed back onto the water’s surface.

Still, perhaps they had invested heavily in that ship. Even in a situation where a normal boat would sink outright, the expedition’s ship righted itself like an egg balanced on its end.

‘Well, that takes care of the immediate crisis…’

Of course, it was too early to relax.

This didn’t seem like the kind of creature that would run away after just one stinging arrow.

A second attack was undoubtedly coming soon.

“Emily! It’s the underwater scenario we talked about!”

“Got it, I’ll get things ready—hurry!”

Since we’d already simulated and practiced for this kind of situation, there was no need for lengthy communication.

I immediately leaped high into the air from the deck.

And then…

「The character has activated [Transcendence].」

「The character has activated [Gigantification].」

Just before hitting the water, I activated Transcendence and Gigantification.

Kwaaaaang!

The moment my body touched the surface, a deafening explosion erupted, sending water surging in all directions.

Now this is how you dive.

“…….”

The moment I entered the water.

Wrapped in full steel armor, my barbarian body quickly sank.

Darkness enveloped the surroundings as if I was in the deep sea. Of course, it only lasted for a moment.

Dozens of light orbs summoned by Versil descended into the water, illuminating the area.

Well, it was still quite dark.

‘At least I can see.’

The ocean in the Record Depository was different from ordinary seas.

The silver waves were a far cry from the usual blue.

No, in fact, calling it “water” might not even be accurate.

Based on experiments, the Elemental Barbarian (Water) mode didn’t work here.

It was probably something with properties similar to water.

「Versil Gowland has cast Level 7 spell [Oxygen Channel].」

Fortunately enough, Dungeon & Stone’s signature snorkeling spell also works in this strange ocean.

Then again, it’d be strange if it didn’t work.

Unlike Erwin’s water breathing ability, this spell focuses on supplying oxygen.

In fact, you could even use it as a counter against certain poison gases in the game

Boom—!

My feet touched the seabed.

Seeing the giant hands reach out, I’d roughly guessed it, but the water wasn’t all that deep after all.

Tap.

As I sprinted toward the massive silhouette in the distance, its form gradually became clearer.

Hipramagent.

The creature looked exactly the same as when we’d briefly encountered it on the island.

Two arms, two legs.

A long neck and a head on top of it.

The overall proportions weren’t too different from a human’s, but…

Its skin was rotting, as if infested with maggots and weird wart-like projections covered its body.

And its eyes, nose, ears—

All the facial features a human should have were missing. In their place, there was nothing but a grotesque, gaping mouth filled with sharp, jagged teeth.

‘So that’s what its head looks like.’

Last time, it had been too dark to see.

‘Even though I am using Transcendence and Gigantification to get huge, I only come up to its thighs.’

Ah, is he also in [Gigantification] mode?

But even so.

I wasn’t too weirded out by Riakis, the Lord of Chaos, because he walked on four legs, but the sight of something that huge walking on two legs was quite disturbing.

However…

‘Is this your first time seeing a barbarian’

Judging by how it was staring blankly, it seemed just as fascinated.

Tap.

I dashed forward, stomping through the muddy ground, and swung my hammer at its Achilles tendon.

Thud—!

Tch, even with [Swing] activated, it didn’t even flinch.

Its endurance was beyond expectations, but it wasn’t a major issue.

After all, I had successfully drawn his aggro.

[Uoooooooh—!!]

The creature no longer paid any attention to the ship floating on the surface.

All its focus was now on the “threat” in front of it.

The monster let out a zombie-like groan and slammed its palm downward.

‘Why’s its attack speed so fast?’

Above water, it might’ve been manageable.

But underwater, with my movements slowed, dodging was nearly impossible.

So, I raised my shield to block.

Kwaaaaang—!

The ground beneath me cratered, burying me up to my waist. But at least the damage wasn’t too bad. However, a few more hits like that and my spine might probably snap.

‘For its size, its strength is about average.’

Of course, by ‘average’ I meant compared to other Level 2 monsters. His single hit alone puts him on par with ogres, who are known for their brute strength.

‘The real problem is its skills…’

According to the village chief’s book, this guy had three skills, including [Gigantification].

But…

‘There’s definitely more.’

From Level 3 onward, monsters often have five or six active skills.

And in this guy’s case, even its passives were unknown.

‘What could its passive skill be?’

I really hope it’s something a Shield Barbarian can use—

「The Level 3 space-time magic [Target Designation] has been cast.」

Kwaaaaang—!

The creature kicked me like a soccer ball, sending my body flying upward.

Of course, I didn’t go very high. Compared to a regular ball, I’m essentially a ball filled with sand.

Thud.

I landed in a gentle arc.

Meanwhile, support continued from above the water.

「Versil Gowland has cast Level 4 detection magic [Soul Silhouette].」

First up was [Soul Silhouette].

This spell was especially useful on the ocean-themed 6th floor.

With this spell active, even if something hid underwater, its outline would be clearly visible from above.

Just as I could see now.

[Uoooooooh—!]

Like looking through a thermal camera, I could see the giant illuminated in vivid colors.

Once the target was marked, a barrage of long-range attacks rained down from above.

[Charlotte Ambler has cast the Level 4 attack magic [Spiral Drill]

[Myul Armin has cast [Eternal Weakness]

[Garton Culter has cast [Catapult]…

“……”

Seeing many unfamiliar skills, it seems most of them belong to Armin’s team.

‘Well, we do lack long-range capabilities.’

Only Erwin and Versil from my team could perform long-range attacks.

The rest of us are all close range attackers.

I guess that’s something we’ll have to work on.

[Uoooooooh—!!!]

The creature let out a furious roar under the barrage of attacks from above.

Watching this, I instinctively gulped.

We hadn’t even properly coordinated with the Armin expedition team yet.
Hell, I never thought we’d end up fighting underwater like this.

But…

‘We have no choice but to try.’

Just as I was preparing to start the raid in earnest-

[Uoooooooh—!!]

The giant, whose head I had to crane my neck to see, suddenly started running at a speed unbelievable for its immense size.

“……?”

I stared blankly as it moved.

Thud, thud, thud—!

Stretching its long legs, the creature was running.

In the exact opposite direction from me.

***

‘It… ran away?’

At first, I wondered if it was preparing a skill.

But the monster, which had bolted in an instant, showed no signs of returning no matter how much time passed.

‘…What the hell?’

I couldn’t make sense of it.

With my current threat level, even a Level 2 monster wouldn’t lose aggro that easily.

Sure, monsters like goblins might flee when their health hits rock bottom or they sense imminent death, but…

‘We barely even dealt any damage yet…’

What’s with that guy? Was he just a coward in a giant’s clothing?

Ever since coming down to the first basement floor, phenomena that defied my labyrinth knowledge had been popping up almost daily.

‘…Let’s head back up for now.’

After wrapping myself in the specially crafted exploration rope that had been sent down from the ship, I tugged on it three times. Soon after, they began pulling me up.

Back on the surface—

“Mister! Are you okay?”

As I stepped onto the deck and shook off the water with the towel Amelia had handed me, Erwin rushed over.

“Don’t worry. I’m not hurt.”

“That monster was pretty unusual…”

“We can talk about the one that got away later. What’s the situation here? How bad are the injuries?”

“Ah, um…! We haven’t really had time to discuss it…”

Since the two ships aren’t very far apart, I canceled [Gigantification] and jumped over.

“B-Baron?! Are you alright?!”

“Yeah, I’m fine. What about you all?”

“We’re all unharmed. But… with the ship in this state, it will be difficult to sail until we dock and repair it properly.”

“No worries, you can just move to our ship.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

After that, we continued our journey with the stranded expedition team members aboard our ship.

Though our ship is considered mid-sized, with 27 people aboard, it inevitably felt cramped.

‘…What are we gonna do when we have even more people later?’

At that point, we’d definitely need more ships.

While I was thinking about this, Myul Armin approached and bowed deeply again.

“Baron, truly, thank you. If we had been crossing this sea alone… I don’t even want to imagine what could’ve happened.”

This incident seemed to have significantly shifted Muil’s perspective.

“Haha, no need for thanks among comrades.”

I laughed heartily while thinking to myself:

‘I could probably lower my conditions and they’d still follow.’

Hmm, but now’s not the time.

I’ll bring it up later when the situation calms do—

“Mister!! G-Giants! Giants are swarming toward us!!”

“…Huh?”

At the news from the crow’s nest, I hurried to the deck.

Even without activating [Gigantification], I could see giants approaching rapidly in the distance.

Perhaps because the water was shallow, only their fish-like faces were visible above the surface, but…

‘What is this, a school of Gyarados?’

I quickly counted the floating heads.

One, two, three, four, five, six…

Seven in total…

Among them was the one that had fled earlier. It was the only one still marked by [Soul Silhouette] beneath the water.

‘Did it run away to call for backup?’

Who knew they were social creatures?

Storing that information for later, I quickly snapped back to reality and shouted:

[Uoooooooh—!!!]

“Auyen! Dump all the mana stones into the engine!”

We needed to get out of here. Now.

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