Free Web NovelChapter 67: Chapter 67: Her Luck Is Just That Good
Faye Yardley watched in disbelief as Pudge, which had only been waist-high, suddenly ballooned in size. It now stood four to five meters tall; she couldn’t even reach its knee joints.
"Good grief, this is getting ridiculous."
’How am I supposed to fight this?’
Just as Faye was pondering this question, a fist the size of a bulldozer’s bucket came smashing down from above, trailing a terrifying gale.
Faye dropped and rolled toward Pudge’s heel. BOOM! The horrifying fist didn’t just shatter the thick ice—cracks like centipedes shot out in all directions from the point of impact.
And with that one punch, the enormous Pudge sent itself plunging into the sea.
Swept by the gale, Faye tumbled several more times across the already fractured ice. Just as she was about to hit the water, she whipped the Water-Repelling Pearl out of her backpack and shoved it down her collar.
Pudge was luckier than the Stingerpillar in that it could swim. Unfortunately, no matter which side of the ice it tried to climb onto, the sheet would shatter, trapping it in the sea.
Faye watched it struggle and rage in the water. Then it turned and swam rapidly toward her, its enemy, clearly intending to swat her dead. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
But as it turned out, her luck was just that good!
Not only did it fail to hit her, but it also stomped on a coral reef, waking a polluted Sea Monster that was hibernating underneath.
Faye then found herself with a ringside seat to an incredibly perilous battle between Pudge and the Electric Eel Fiend.
She retreated again and again, but made sure not to go too far. It was a classic case of the snipe and the clam fighting—and she was waiting to be the fisherman who profited.
The commotion was so huge, in fact, that Logan Langdon could feel it from where he was.
Eventually, he even felt as if a battle was raging right under his feet, beneath the ice.
But he couldn’t spare it a thought, as the fourth wave of monsters had begun to spawn on his end.
The battle under his feet seemed to be moving away, but he couldn’t just abandon the newly spawned monsters, chisel a hole, and jump into the sea to check things out.
As she passed Logan Langdon’s raft, Faye silently prayed for the two brawling behemoths to take their fight somewhere else, and fast.
’Fight all you want, but do you have to do it right under someone else’s raft?’
’They’ve already fought their way over here, so what’s a little farther?’
Their battle sent schools of small fish and shrimp fleeing for their lives, while the unlucky ones were killed in the crossfire. Faye took the opportunity to scavenge.
A light touch was all it took for the system to prompt ’Can be dismantled.’ So, without a second thought, she touched her way along, letting the system do its work.
She was almost brained by a falling Iron Treasure Box, which she happily stuffed into her backpack.
Now she even found herself hoping the two creatures up ahead would fight longer and move farther away. Who knows, she might even get to pick up a Silver Treasure Chest or something.
But the battle was getting more and more brutal, and Faye couldn’t follow too closely. The situation ahead was unclear, and the water around them had become murky and crimson.
’Scavenging is one thing, but my own safety is the top priority.’
THUMP! A dark, meaty arm struck the protective barrier formed by the Water-Repelling Pearl.
Faye’s hand moved faster than her brain. She touched the arm, and to her surprise, the system prompted ’Can be dismantled.’ She immediately did so.
[You have obtained Mopan Beast Meat x2, Mopan Beast Bone x1.]
Faye crouched and stealthily continued to follow.
A segment of the Electric Eel Fiend’s tail came flying over. She snatched it up.
A thick, black leg was lying by itself not far away. She took that, too.
When she caught up, the large, murky, crimson cloud of water seemed to have fallen silent.
’Fortune favors the bold,’ she thought. ’Besides, everything’s gone quiet, and I’ve already collected so many of their... pieces.’
With that thought, Faye hesitated for less than a second before gripping her blade and charging in.
Inside were two monsters, their life signatures nearly gone. With a swift fall of her blade, she cleanly dispatched one after the other.
Then she happily collected the orbs of light. The final tally was an absolute jackpot.
[You have obtained: Energy Stone x2, Dungeon 5 Fragment x2, Dungeon 1 Fragment x1, Moso Bamboo (Plantable) x2, Invasion Card x1, 8-Hour Invitation Card x1, Circuit Installation Blueprint x1, 100m Electrical Wire x3, Indoor Lights x2, Soup Dumplings x10.]
"Tsk, tsk. An Electric Eel Fiend indeed. The loot it dropped is all electricity-related."
’Looks like I might get to live the good life with electricity, even in this game.’
’And once I get back and plant this moso bamboo, I’ll have an endless supply of bamboo shoots to eat.’
’I’m getting happy just thinking about it.’
The battle had been so fierce and brutal that the surrounding sea was now deathly silent.
She had been hoping to run into a polluted Sea Monster before, back when she was short on Energy Stones. But now, she had plenty.
’More importantly, the fourth-wave boss is gone. What if more monsters spawn around my raft?’
’The fifth-wave boss is guaranteed to drop Energy Stones. Why should I be out here trying my luck? I should just go back and wait. I’ll be able to protect my raft that way, too.’
’My raft has its own defenses, but I can’t help but worry.’
’Besides, the Water-Repelling Pearl only works for two hours, and I’ve already been down here for a while. And my swimming skills are just... average.’
Faye desperately ’ran’ through the water toward her raft.
As she ’ran,’ she saw a figure swimming toward her.
Logan Langdon was understandably surprised to see her.
Faye gave him a wave in greeting before continuing on her way.
’Ugh, this is so difficult. Running inside the Water-Repelling Pearl’s bubble is like a spacewalk; I can only drift forward by mimicking a running motion in the direction I want to go.’
Farther on, a thin layer of ice was already reforming over the area Pudge had destroyed, so she instantly abandoned the idea of surfacing and paddling back in a small boat.
The closer she got, the more she could hear bloodcurdling screams from above, along with the WHOOSH of Arrows slicing through the air.
’Did the fifth wave start already?’
Drifting upward, she saw several green-skinned Dwarfs flailing in the water, their bodies bristling with Arrows.
’What are these things?’
’Humanoid monsters are appearing this early?’
Faye moved a little closer, but she only watched, making no other movements.
One of the green-skinned Dwarfs spotted her and opened its mouth, releasing a stream of bubbles. Its green face began to turn pale.
’What’s it trying to do?’
’Is it... trying to ask me for help?’
’As if. The greatest mercy I can offer is not finishing them off myself, but simply waiting for them to die on their own.’
She didn’t have to wait long. Apparently, they couldn’t breathe underwater either, because one by one, they went limp and began to sink in front of her.
Just as Faye was about to go loot the bodies, another green-skinned Dwarf fell in with a SPLASH.
But this one was clearly different from the others. It actually had a Water-Repelling Pearl, too.
Faye’s brow furrowed slightly. After a moment’s thought, she headed toward the extravagantly dressed, utterly clueless-looking green-skinned Dwarf.
