“Halt, dungeon crawler, in the absence of combat, I have a puzzle for you to solve for you to continue on your way.”
HUUUHHH?!
This piece of sushi can speak? Interesting.
With my initial surprise out of the way, this situation is awesome.
Hmmm? Why is it awesome?
It said ‘no combat’. I’m all for that.
Why don’t I want to fight?
It's because of my evolution. Duh.
Eh? I didn’t show my status?
Whoops. My bad.
Status.
| Name: | |
| Race: | Joru Pa |
| Gender: | N/A |
| Condition: | Good |
| Level: | 1 |
| EXP: 0/1250 |
| HP: 14/14 | MP: 8/8 | STA: 12/12 |
| STR: 1 | INT: 8 | DEX:19 |
| Danger Rank: | G+ |
| Titles: | Migrant, Loved by a Goddess, Progenitor, ???, ??? |
| Racial Skills: | Slime Secretion LV.1 |
| Acquired Skills: | Appraisal LV 1, Night Vision LV Max, Mana Manipulation LV 1, Acid Resistance LV 2, Acid Manipulation LV 1 |
| Unique Skills: | Thoth |
Hmm? I said that I definitely wouldn’t pick the Joru Pa?
Well, I lied. It’d be stupid of me not to choose it, especially with the aspirations that I have.
Plus, I was already the weakest member of the weakest species, I can manage ‘below average’ stats. It’s still an upgrade for me~
A-and bunny ears are…
Are what? Hmmm? HMMM?
A-are…..cute.
Uwah! You’re so adorable!
Don’t tease me, st-stupid Maua.
She’s one of two people that can fluster me like that. The other one...nevermind. Maybe she wasn’t lying about that ‘lovers in past life’ thing.
Speaking of past lives, some things have been bothering me. Why do some memories feel strong and fresh, like my heartbreak, while others feel like they’ve almost been removed, like the mind breaking at the agency?
And why am I taking to being like this so well? I felt comfortable as a Grey Slug. I feel even better after this evolution. Maua said something about me gaining the perfect body for me. What does it mean about that I feel comfortable being a genderless gastropod? I don’t even want to think about it.
Anyways, let's get back to Angler-san, before I go down a rabbit hole. Maybe they’ll answer some questions before I do whatever. Guess it’s worth a shot.
Ahem. Uh, Angler-san could I ask a question?
“You have already asked one but proceed.” it replied in a monotone voice.
Touché. Thank you for indulging me. Now could you explain what exactly you mean by a puzzle?
“By puzzle, we mean a riddle or a physical puzzle for you to think about and solve. However, if you incorrectly answer, you will be punished.”
Punished? How so?
“For every mistake you make, you will have to fight a creature fitting either the mistake you made, or the phase of the puzzle.”
Noted. Avoid messing up. Got it. Well, that’s all I think I really need to know so, I guess we should get this show on the road, huh?
“Yes that is all, dungeon crawler. We shall proceed. The puzzle for this level is the following series of riddles. Are you ready? ”
Uh-oh. I’ve never been that good at riddles. I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.
“In that case, let’s begin. First, what happens once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?”
Once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years. Hmm. A moment isn’t a defined measurement of time. So I don’t think it has to do with something actually occuring in time. Hmm. Minute. Momement. Thousand years. Hmm. Uh… is it the letter ‘m’?
“Correct.”
BING!
|
20 Experience points earned. |
Whoa. I get experience for getting the answer right? SCORE! This is even better than I thought at first.
“Next riddle. What can you keep after giving it to someone else?”
Uhhh…..uhhhhh. I got nothing.
Oooh OOOH! I know, I KNOW!
Ah...the beautiful intelligent and amazing Maua onee-sama. Better yet, the fantastic Maua senpai. An existence that transcends mere moral thought processes. Please bestow this lowly slug with the answer.
Of course, my love. I was going to give it to you regardless but being praised is always nice. Maua senpai sounds quite nice, I like it. Do you want the answer? I give you my word that I’ll tell you.
I do.
May I kiss the bride now?
A-a-are you messing with me again? You could at least give me the answer.
Ehehe. Maybe just a little bit, but I already gave you the answer.
When? Wait, your word?
Bingo.
Angler-san. The answer is one’s word.
“Correct.”
BING!
|
30 Experience points earned. |
Nice. Even more this time, must have been considered more difficult.
“Proceeding to the next riddle. I am the beginning of end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place.”
Hmmm. I’m stumped. Maua senpai, got any ideas?
Nope. I’m just as lost as you are.
Fiddlesticks.
Wait. I think I got it. The only thing I can think of that fits is energy. Like if the sun exploded, that would be the beginning of the end. It goes hand and hand with time and space. And I’m pretty sure it’s important to creation and surrounds everything.
Sounds good to me. As expected of my beloved. What a genius.
In that case, my answer is energy.
“Incorrect. The correct answer was the letter ‘e’. ”
Are you kidding me? It was that simple?
“Due to your incorrect selection, you will be subjected to combat.”
Okay, dang it. Who will I be fighting?
“Me.”
Fudge.
APPRAISAL.
BING!
| Name: | |
| Race: | Tiamatian Anglerfish |
| Gender: | Female |
| Condition: | Good |
| Level: | 5 |
| EXP: 340/430 |
| HP: 38/38 | MP: 17/17 | STA: 27/27 |
| STR: 17 | INT: 12 | DEX:14 |
| Danger Rank: | F- |
| Titles: | |
| Racial Skills: | Hooked Fangs LV 5, Night Vision LV. MAX |
| Acquired Skills: | Magic Manipulation LV. 2, Water Manipulation LV. 2 |
| Unique Skills: |
Aren’t her stats too close to that freaking super eel? This isn’t fa-
“Since it seems that you will not initiate, I will. Water Trident!”
As she said that, a glowing and rotating circle full of symbols appeared in front of her.
It was quite mesmerizing. Blue and glimmering, that's got to be magic. So cool!
FWOOSH!
A trident of condensed water flew towards me, scoring a deep gash on my back.
GAH! That freaking hurts! But it gave me some insight.
If what I’m thinking is right, this fight won’t last long.
Now, lets try infusing my body with mana and activating Acid Manipulation at the same time.
Just like I thought, a circle appeared in front of me. Unlike angler-san, mine was a pale green. I can feel it taking the shape I thought of.
Well let’s fire it. I think I’ll call it, Acid Javelin.
FWOOSH!
The javelin came flying out the magic circle, at almost double the speed of the Water Trident.
With her low DEX, there was no way for Angler-san to dodge it.
BANG!
A direct hit!
BING!
|
40 Experience points earned. |
Eh? A one shot? I know I was expecting it to end fast because she didn’t have any acid resistance, is this a little scary?
Well, not that I’m complaining. The sooner I get out of this dungeon the better.
So, let’s continue~
Danger Rank: G
-> didn’t Joru Pa have a danger rating of F-?
about me gaining the perfect body for me. -> gaining the body perfect for me.
already asked one but proceed.” it replied in a -> one, but proceed,”
if you incorrectly answer, you will be punished.” -> maybe “if you answer incorrectly you” ?
Well, that’s all I think I really -> remove extra space before really
need to know so, I guess we -> know. So I
Yes that is all, dungeon crawler. -> Yes,
Hmm. Minute. Momement. Thousand years. -> Moment.
beautiful intelligent and amazing Maua onee-sama. -> beautifully, intelligent,
that transcends mere moral thought processes -> mortal
was going to give it to you regardless but being praised is always -> regardless,
correct answer was the letter ‘e’. ” -> ‘e’.”
I think I’ll call it, Acid Javelin. -> remove comma
was expecting it to end fast because she didn’t have any acid resistance, is this a little scary? -> resistance, but isn’t this a
able to set a consistent schedule . -> schedule.
Hehehe, the power of cute compels them!
So Maua is watching the entire time right? Does she have popcorn or something else for her to snack on while she watches? It’d be funny if she did a gag like “Hang on a minute, need to refill on popcorn.” and just be quiet for a little while before creating more. Maybe she’d even offer to share some...but it would need to be salt free popcorn since they’re currently still a slug. Unless they’re a slug that isn’t harmed by salt?
“With her low DEX, there was no way for Angler-san to dodge it.”
“What do you mean her DEX is only a little bit lower than mine? Shhhh! Don’t sweat the little details.”
School ends for you next month? Good luck with final exams.
As always. the corrections are very much appreciated.
Yes, Joru Pa’s danger rank is averaged at a F-, but Slug-chan is weaker than a normal member of their species according to the system’s measurement.
Maua is definitely always watching, but she probably would stop to make popcorn cause she’s a godly multitasker. She’d offer some but salt other than the amount present in the seawater is probably not a good idea.
I love this DEX line, I might just add it in when I get around to corrections.
And thanks, striving for a 4.0 once again.
@Lulla so slug-chan is a weaker than average member of a species even though they're the only one that exists? Wooooooow. System-San really is a bully.
(Unless they were just the *first* Joru Pa since the system had to create the species for them to be able to evolve into, but there may be others of that species now?)
Feel free to use the line. It does sound like something slug-chan would say
4.0 *again*?! Wow, keep up to good work!
Good luck with exams author
Also maua and everyone knows that cute bunny ears are the way to go!!
Thank you for the chapter!
Thanks for reading!
The riddle you gave while good, had a grammatical error that hurt it, you would have been better off putting I am the beginning of end rather than the end as in your riddle the beggining of the end is t which would end that thought path ok I'm overthinking it but it irked me, great story so far loving it btw
How did he get the first one and not the last one they are basically the same riddle, the second one was too open ended though, could’ve been a disease.
That’s exactly why I chose the last one to be similar to the first one. I don’t know if there’s a name for it, but I’m like when you choose the same answer choice on the quiz to many times in a row and you start doubting yourself. Maybe I should make that doubt apparent. I’ll probably do so when I get around to it,
And you’re totally right on the second one. Any ideas on how we could make it more specific?
@Lulla for the second one being specific maybe add a part about how once it breaks it can’t be fixed cause once you break your word nobody will trust you. There are probably better ideas but I couldn’t think of any.