Day 551-560/Day 557

Still needs editing/proofreading. ~Miraclegrass
Day 557 / 87th day
There were no trees, and we were stepping on black soil that felt slightly hot as we climbed up the ≪Lightning Cremation Mountain≫ where fumes were rising from everywhere. The slope was steep and the foothold was very poor. There were only rocks and soil, and it was fragile and unstable. If we missed our footing, we would roll downward with great force, and if we couldn't stop, we would probably die.
If you don't stop, you will die. If you get hit directly, you'll be hit by several rocks and stones that are too big to hurt. I don't know if the monsters are moving up there or if they are being blown by the wind, but if you don't pay attention to your surroundings at the ≪Lightning Cremation Mountain≫, you will be exposed to the power of nature and die.
In particular, you have to be careful of the volcanic gases that are spewing out from here and there. The smell of sulfur is coming from somewhere around us, and the【Gas Detection】ability has detected dangerous gases many times. Some of the gases we detected were so dangerous that they could kill you in one breath.
Fortunately, the silver-gray Wolf and I both have magic items that can supply clean air to our respective mouths. This is a magic item that we bought in the village where we left Professor Tanuki, and with it we can deal with volcanic gases.
However, overconfidence in this item can be fatal if it breaks, so I try to find a safe place to climb. When I took a route that seemed safe, I was attacked by a magical bug monster.
* Flame Demon Fireflies, a red swarm of fireflies which are only a few centimeters long each, but have super-heated metallic luminescent bodies on their wings, attacked us while flying at high speed.
* Flame-Storm Swallowtail is a huge butterfly about 2 meters long, and its reddish-purple wings create a whirlwind of purple flames that burn the surrounding area every time it moves.
* Lava Bomber Caterpillar is a natural caterpillar-shaped bomb that feeds on lava and explosive rocks, accumulating heat inside, and can grow to tens of meters in size in long-lived individuals.
* Pyroclastic Armored Bug is a monster that looks like a falling stone rolling down a steep slope, but is really a curled up rubber bug that will ram into you while correcting its trajectory.
* Blood-sucking Mosquito is about 30 centimeters in length that hatches in magma and uses its red-hot proboscis and special poison to melt its prey's body and suck it out.
But these are just a few of them, there are many more. It seems that there are many types of monsters in the ≪Lightning Cremation Mountain≫ and they mimic their surroundings to launch surprise attacks, and their tactics and sizes vary greatly. Personally, I think small monsters are more troublesome.
Large demonic bugs can be conspicuous even from a distance due to their size, and while they are large and powerful in what they do, such as manipulating the terrain, they are relatively easy to deal with.
However, the smaller bugs are fragile but quick, and while there are many of them, they have strong abilities related to fire and heat due to their location.
The Fireflies are a notable example of this. Their attacks are simple: they try to hit you with the super-heated metallic luminescence of their wings, but they are numerous and each strike is deadly.
I had obtained a magic item from the Balance Tower that would have protected me by deploying a wind barrier around me, but without it, I would have been severely burned everywhere.
As it turned out, we were able to deal with the swarm, but we'll have to continue to be careful of the small, fast demonic bugs. By the way, the Fireflies we killed were surprisingly delicious. It tasted crispy and shrimpy, and the metallic luminescent substance was spicy. I guess it's similar to shrimp chili. We ate it as a snack and moved on.
The higher we climbed, the stronger the monsters became, and the more special abilities and advanced mimicry they displayed, but the gray wolf avoided them or attacked first. His nose seemed to be ineffective due to the thick smell around him, but he still seemed to be able to use it.
At any rate, we made it over the summit today. At the summit, there was a large crater where magma was burning. The heat was so strong that we could feel it even from a distance, and volcanic gases were spewing out here and there. It didn't look like it was going to erupt anytime soon, but I was sure it would. It was powerful enough to make me think that.
As we gazed at the crater, we found ourselves in the center of the crater, admiring the magnificent natural scene. At the center of the crater, I spotted something in the flowing magma.
It was a little difficult to see because of the strong light and volcanic gases emitted from the magma, but there was definitely something there. After I noticed it, I took a closer look and was sure that it was there.
There was a structure in the center of the crater that was not created by nature. I couldn't tell exactly what it was, but when I looked at it, I thought it looked like a gate. It was square and made of black stone, and it was on top of a block of rock that looked like a floating island.
Maybe it was a gate leading to a secret place hidden in the crater. I was curious, so I explored the surroundings and found a black rock with various patterns on it a little further away.
I can't decipher what the patterns indicate right now, but I'm sure that solving the mystery will allow me to interfere with the structure in the center of the crater. For the time being, I decided to proceed as planned while recording all of the patterns in the【Virtual Archive】.
I'm quite curious, but I need to decipher it first. To do that, I need the help of Professor Tanuki, but that will come later. Then I guess I'll have to move on.
Despite the increasing number of mysteries that were bothering us, we decided to spend the night in a cave located in the middle of the ≪Lightning Cremation Mountain≫. The entrance to the cave was wide enough to accommodate the gray wolf, but it narrowed a bit as it extended into the back. We explored for a bit, but after more than 30 meters, we turned back.
The cave tapered off and gradually got narrower. The Black Goblin King's small body still had plenty of room. It's a little scary to search for a place where you might have an obvious disadvantage in the ≪Lightning Cremation Mountain≫ where there are many monsters of the magical bug type.
If you're stuck in a place and small poisonous insects come flooding in, it's a disaster. After we turned back, we blocked the cave with rocks to prevent monsters from coming out from the back, and tried to keep it safe.
For dinner, the sound of the cave being renovated drew us out of the cave, and we were greeted by the Lava Armored Spider, a large spider about a meter tall with lava armor all over its body. It tastes like a crab, and is very tasty because of the spicy spice of its internal heat. The lava armor is also very chewy and crunchy. We were able to collect a few of them, so they would make an excellent dinner.
----
RAWS
“八十七日目　／　五■五■七■目”
木々は無く、薄っすらと熱を感じる黒い土を踏みしめながら、あちこちから噴煙が上がる≪燈蟲火葬山≫を登って行く。
勾配は急で、足場は非常に悪い。岩や土しかなく、脆いし不安定だ。踏み外せば勢いよく下に向かって転がって、止まれなければそのまま死んでしまうだろう。
時折上から石や岩が転がって来るので、気は抜けない。直撃すれば痛いでは済まないサイズの石や岩が何度か転がって来る。
上でモンスターが動いているのか、風に吹かれているのかは分からないが、≪燈蟲火葬山≫では周囲に注意を向けていないと、自然の驚異に晒されてそのまま死ぬだろう。
特にあちらこちらから噴出している火山ガスなどには気を付けなければならない。
周囲からは硫黄の臭いがどこからか流れて来るし、【ガス検知】のアビリティには幾度も危険なガスが検出されている。
検出した中には一呼吸で死に至る、そんな危険なガスもあった。
幸い、俺と灰銀狼にはそれぞれの口元に清浄な空気を供給してくれるマジックアイテムがある。
タヌキ教授と別れた開拓村で買ったマジックアイテムで、火山ガスの類でもこれがあれば一応は対応できる。
ただ過信しすぎると壊れた時に致命的なので、極力安全な場所を見つけながら登っている。
そうして安全そうなルートを通ると、待っていたとばかりに魔蟲系モンスターに襲われた。
数センチほどの小さな体ながら尻に超高熱の金属発光体を形成し、高速飛行しながら襲ってくる赤い群体“炎魔蛍エフェルメータル”
二メートルほどの巨大な蝶で、赤紫色の羽が動く度に紫炎の旋風を生み出して周囲を燃やす放火魔“焔嵐アゲハ”
溶岩や爆熱石などを食べ続けて内部に熱を溜め込み、長命個体では数十メートル級にまで巨大化する事もある天然の芋虫型爆弾“ラヴァルボマー・キャタピラー”
急な斜面を転がり落ちる落石かと思えばその正体は丸まったダンゴムシで、軌道修正しながら突っ込んで来る当たり屋"火砕鎧蟲"
マグマの中で孵化し、赤熱する口吻と特殊な毒を使って獲物の体内を溶かして吸い取ろうとしてくる三十センチほどの吸血蟲“溶毒腐蚊”
などがいるが、これらはほんの一部だけで、他にも数多い。
どうやら≪燈蟲火葬山≫の魔蟲系モンスターは種類が豊富らしく、周囲に擬態して奇襲を仕掛けてきたり、戦法もサイズも大きく違うようだ。
個人的には小さな魔蟲系モンスターの方が面倒なイメージがある。
大型の魔蟲はサイズからして遠目でも目立つ事もあり、地形を操作するなどやる事は大規模で強力だが対応は比較的しやすい。
しかし小型の魔蟲は脆いが素早く、数が多いのに場所の関係から炎熱に関する能力が強い。
"炎魔蛍"などはその顕著な例だろう。
尻の超高熱の金属発光体をこちらに叩きつけようとしてくるだけと攻撃は単純だが、数が多いし一撃一撃が致命的な威力を持っている。
周囲に風の防御膜を展開して防御するマジックアイテムを天秤塔で入手していたが、それがなければアチコチに重度の火傷を負っただろう。
結果的には群れに襲われても対応できたが、素早い小型の魔蟲には今後も気を付ける必要がありそうだ。
ところで、仕留めた"炎魔蛍"は意外と美味かった。
味はサッパリとした海老風味で、金属発光体はピリ辛だ。エビチリに近いだろうか。
ポリポリとツマミとして喰いながら、先に進む。
登る程にモンスターは強く、特殊な能力や高度な擬態能力を発揮するが、灰銀狼はそれを回避、あるいは先制攻撃を仕掛けていく。
鼻は周囲の濃い臭いで効き難いようだが、まだ使えるようだ。
とりあえず今日は山頂を超える事が出来た。
山頂には大きな火口があり、そこではグツグツとマグマが燃えていた。熱は遠くにいても感じられるほど強く、火山ガスもあちらこちらで噴出している。
今すぐ噴火はしそうにないが、いずれ噴火してしまうだろう。そう思うだけの迫力があった。
雄大な自然の光景に思わず見とれて火口を眺めていると、火口の中心。流動するマグマの中で、何かがあるのを見つけた。
マグマから発せられる強い光と火山ガスのせいで少し見難いが、確実に何かある。気が付いてからは更に詳しく観察してみると、やはり間違いない。
自然にできたもんではない、構造物が火口の中心に存在した。
構造物の正体はハッキリとしないが、見ていて、まるで門のようだと思った。
それは四角く黒い石材で作られ、浮島のような岩塊の上にある。
もしかしたら火口に隠された秘密の場所に繋がる門なのかもしれない。気になったので周囲を探索してみると、少し離れた場所に様々な紋様が描かれた黒い岩を発見した。
今すぐ紋様が何を示しているのか解読はできないが、きっと謎を解く事で火口中央の構造物に対して干渉できるのだろう。
とりあえず紋様全てを【電脳書庫】に記録しつつ、今は予定通りに進む事にした。
かなり気にはなるが、まず解読する必要がある。そして解読するにはタヌキ教授に協力してもらいたいが、それは後日だ。なら先に進むしかないだろう。
気になる謎は増えつつも、今日は≪燈蟲火葬山≫の中腹にあった洞窟で一泊する事にした。
洞窟の入口付近は灰銀狼が入っても余裕があるほど広く、少し細くなりながら奥に伸びている。
少し探ってみたが、三十メートル以上ほど探索したところで引き返した。
洞窟はどんどん先細りしていった。黒小鬼王の小柄な肉体ならまだ余裕はあったが、魔蟲系モンスターが多い≪燈蟲火葬山≫で、あからさまに優位そうな場所の探索は少し怖い。
身動きがとれなくなったところで小型の毒虫が溢れてきたりしたら大惨事だ。
引き返した後は奥からモンスターが出てこないように岩で塞ぎ、安全性の確保に努めた。
そして晩飯は洞窟の改築音に惹かれて奥から出てきた、全身に溶岩の鎧を装備した一メートル程の大蜘蛛"溶岩鎧蜘蛛"だ。
味は蟹に似ているので美味しく、内部に秘めた熱がピリ辛のスパイスとなっているので非常に美味しい。
また溶岩の鎧はバリバリボリボリと歯応えがある。
数匹も纏めて採れたので、晩飯の食材としてはかなり優秀だろう。
----
Category:Novel
Category:Re:Monster ~ The Dark Continent ~ Vol. 3