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Volume 4 Chapter 4.4

Translator: Reflet

Editor: Weasalopes

「Tatsu, Haru, Mako. No one to talk to right now, so first let’s just examine the dungeon we’re in to see what type it is.」

「Right. We should almost be near the poison gas, so do we pull out the aqua breath?」

「Sounds like a good idea」

Mio asked Haruna and the others as she shot through a giant miasma bat the moment it solidified. It would defeat the purpose of this mission if they let the unsolved problem distract them from dealing with what was in front of them.

This dungeon was brand new. There were still plenty of things that were unknown. The distribution of monsters, the design of the passageways, respawn time, the existence of traps, just tons of things to check out.

「For the time being, we need to examine the poison gas region.」

「Right. If it turns out one aqua breath isn’t sufficient, we won’t be able to go any further. Also, wouldn’t it be a good idea to understand how much resistance it has to poison gas?」

Taking out a blue sphere the size of a ping-pong ball, Tatsuya and Makoto ripped off the paper cover as they confirmed their first goal. The blue spheres, needless to say, were aqua breaths. The cover was a light mana seal, and its role the same as that of the surface of a battery. By tearing this off, the mana circuit ‘s remaining area would become connected before gaining function as an item. This structure was built to share all alchemy-made, endurance-based supportive expendable items.

Also, as the mana circuits were securely planted within, these items notified the user when the effects were wearing out or the defensive effects had been breached. In this case, if the aqua breath was unable to prevent the poison gas from entering the mouth or nose areas, the user would immediately know that aqua breath was unable to do so. Of course, even if the gas touching the skin was hazardous, the aqua breath would still function properly, so it was entirely possible for your defenses to be breached without aqua breath notifying you. All in all, aqua breath was simply a means to protecting the vital organs of the face and maintaining proper breathing in hostile environments.

「Mio-chan, can you investigate the condition of the toxicity?」

「Unsure. I do think I get most of it, but detailed analysis is definitely best left to Sensei.」

「Hm, okay. Do you know if skin contact is safe?」

「I think we’ll pull through.」

Handing one bottle each for poison gas collecting to them and preparing a simple air measuring instrument, Mio answered in a slightly regretful tone. Though they were able to do all sorts of things now, this team was still inferior to Hiroshi by a lot. Also, Mio went to the trouble of analyzing the area because it was always possible that three different poison areas had three different levels of poison. So this time, they were examining different locations from which Hiroshi had investigated beforehand.

「Now it’s time to map it out.」

A limited map in hand and Makoto and Mio in the lead, the group stepped into the poison gas region. Usually mapping was something left to Tatsuya, who wouldn’t be at an inconvenience if his hands were full. Mio mainly attacked with her bow, and right now her hands were full with the air measurer. Therefore, she couldn’t even participate in battle.

You might imagine poison gas to have a poisonous glint to it filling the air, but but no adventurer would plunge into such an obvious trap without preparing in some way. This dungeon’s poison regions were colorless and transparent, filled with gas that even pros had difficulty recognizing.

If this were outdoors or in a regular room, it might have been easier to discern the scent. But unfortunately, these were all dungeon rooms, and there were numerous smells mixing in and out (not necessarily bad smells). Unless you had a good sense of smell and observation, it would be difficult to recognize it anytime soon.

「Absorption via skin contact?」

「As anticipated, nothing in particular. I think aqua breath will block it out.」

「Roger that. So the gas in this region is safe to traverse.」

Nodding at Tatsuya’s additional confirmation, Mio continued checking the rough density of the poison gas with the simple air measurer. Conveying several numbers to Tatsuya and having him record them, Mio continued onward. All the monsters that appeared were killed mercilessly by Makoto and Haruna in mere seconds.

「Poison gas density eight. A little further down and we should be able to breathe normally.」

「Roger. Unless we get stalled by something seriously malignant, we pretty much just break through with aqua breath.」

「Right.」

Three hours after entering the poison gas region. Tatsuya and the others continued through the area at a turtlelike pace where they would normally have taken only one hour to move through. Mio’s report was certainly good news, as everyone was beginning to feel their concentration dipping, but they still didn’t look especially lighthearted just yet. If there was one thing the group understand right now, it was that they could get through the region, but considering how violent the gas was for its tasteless, odorless nature, who knew how twisted the nature of the other areas was ahead.

「For the time being, once we get to a place where we can breathe normally, I’d like to dig through the wall. Is that alright?」

「Alright. Careful though.」

「Yeah」

Nodding at Haruna, who expressed her desire for another essential search, Tatsuya once again wrote in numbers from Mio’s report. Once the poison gas meter hit six and the group approached an area where they could breathe well enough for a while without any negative health effects, Haruna began digging through the wall. Mio slightly changed location as well in order to collect information and begin excavation.

「So what now」

「I feel weird, so let’s check for any crevices. I don’t think Haruna or Mio would fall behind much if they were attacked by the monsters over here while excavating.」

「Roger.」

The place could cave in after they got past the gas region. It was a reasonable trap. No one, not even their team could survive being crushed, so it was best to check anywhere that could be deadly. With that strange conviction in mind, Tatsuya and Makoto began checking the walls and ceiling. After a brief while, once they had come to the densest region, the group heard a loud sound and felt a thundering vibration from the entrance.

「……So it’s THAT kind of trap!」

「More elaborate setups!」

Immediately knowing what had just transpired, they quickly checked the passage that was the entrance to the poison gas region, and as predicted it was half buried with rubble.

「Not enough space for people to get through」

「But it’s not like it’s totally sealed off」

「Must be one of those things where carving one path crumbles another elsewhere」

「Most likely, yeah」

Tatsuya and Makoto just scowled at the ill-natured trap that had activated on their way back. They had investigated all over the place, including for traps, and it hadn’t been all that long since they had given the place a light lookover. As a result there was still time remaining for aqua breath, but not enough for going to another location. That would just be a death flag.