Chapter 501 - 500: The Frogmen of the Swamp

Chapter 501: Chapter 500: The Frogmen of the Swamp

Dorn put on a pair of leather gloves and took some quicklime out of his bag. He poured some of the Ooze liquid into a small pot, then set the pot over the campfire and began to stir slowly with a spoon before adding more lime powder.

As Colin watched the spectacle, he thought, ’This must be to neutralize the acid in the Ooze.’

While they were busy, Langgrin, at the head of the party, took out a small pot. He placed it on the ground and began to chant at it.

The pot immediately began to heat up, glowing red-hot.

As Langgrin controlled it, the pot’s red glow slowly faded back to its original black. He then poured in some water and added bits of jerky, potatoes, and oats.

’That must be the Tier Two Magic, Heat Metal,’ Colin thought.

He wasn’t surprised. Judging by Langgrin’s abilities, he had to be a Mechanician who specialized in enhancing Armor—an Armorer.

The Magic was originally meant for heating an opponent’s weapon or armor. ’I never would have thought it could be used to heat food,’ Colin mused. ’It must require a high degree of control from the Caster.’

Dorn watched the Ooze in the pot and explained to Colin, "By the way, this batch needs to sit for a while before it’s ready. Go get some stew from Langgrin first."

"Could’ve said so earlier," Kase muttered, getting up and walking over to Langgrin.

After eating and getting some sleep in the corridor, the party set out again.

With Colin and the others providing cover, they soon left the second level and arrived at the third.

Most of the third level consisted of exposed natural rock and damp subterranean rivers. But since Mist Harbor was located on this level, there were many merchant caravans passing through, so there were no particularly powerful monsters.

Of course, the monsters here were still much stronger than those on the first and second levels. Colin remembered the Hobgoblin outpost that had tried to stop them here last time.

But perhaps because they were in a different area, the group didn’t encounter any Hobgoblins.

They advanced in fits and starts, dealing with any troublesome little things they came across.

A few more days passed, and the group finally arrived at the entrance to the fourth level.

Walking at the rear of the party, Colin followed the Dwarves ahead down a spiral staircase.

Before he knew it, they had reached the bottom of the stairs.

The party stepped off the stairs and onto a rock ledge.

Thanks to the Dwarves in front not being very tall, Colin, who was at the back of the line, had an unobstructed view of the scene ahead.

It was a vast, subterranean swamp.

The swamp was little different from one on the Surface. Silty water covered every corner, and tall mushrooms grew crookedly in place of trees. Rock walls partitioned the vast cavern, creating smaller chambers and low-ceilinged passageways.

Thanks to the glowing moss on the ceiling, the entire cavern was filled with a faint light.

By this light, Colin could vaguely make out figures walking in the passageways.

It was worth noting that each level of the Undercity had its own name.

Because the first three levels were well-ordered Dwarf Ruins, they had been nicknamed the "Dungeon District" of Thousand Masts City by Adventurers. The fourth level, which they had just entered, was called the "Glimmerwood."

It was said that half of this level was the swamp before them, while the other half was a dense forest. They had likely arrived in the swamp section.

"The rest of the journey might not be very pleasant," Colin said.

"But it’s pretty warm here," Orelia said. "For me, that’s a little better than a cold place."

The party continued on, following a path along the ledge down into the swampy cavern.

Most of the swamp was covered in filthy water, several meters deep in some places.

Dorn and Kase were forced to close the distance with the main group. They took the lead, carefully pointing out safe footing to prevent any of the Dwarves from sinking into the mire.

Colin could hear the constant splashing as he waded through the water.

His boots weren’t waterproof, and his feet were completely soaked in the foul water.

The BZZZZ of mosquitoes reached his ears. Colin waved his hand in annoyance, shooing them away.

It was not a pleasant feeling at all.

Colin glanced at the surrounding rock walls, recalling what he’d read in books. He tried to guess what kinds of monsters they might encounter in these conditions and considered how to deal with them.

The party pressed on like this for a long time.

They stopped to camp and rest once before continuing on. Not long after they set out again, a commotion rippled through the Dwarves up ahead, and a message was slowly passed back along the line.

"Some Bullywugs up ahead," said the Dwarf in front of Colin, his face turned to the side.

Colin nodded.

Just then, Orelia asked, "What are Bullywugs?"

"They’re humanoid creatures that look like frogs. As far as evil creatures go, they’re relatively reasonable," Colin explained. "There’s no way a group this large can avoid them. We either prepare to negotiate, or we prepare to kill them."

As he finished speaking, Colin remembered an idea he’d had.

’In this situation, there’s no real need for me to be charging at the front lines. Besides, not many Mages in this world can perform Casting while wearing Armor. In that case...’

Colin began his Spellcasting.

A gray Magic Radiance enveloped him. An instant later, his Armor vanished without a trace, replaced by a dark gray Magic Robe and a Cloak.

Orelia asked curiously, "Mr. Colin, what are you doing?"

"Seeing if I can trick some unlucky fool," Colin said with a smile.

Ale explained, "If anyone thinks he’s just a fragile Caster, Colin will give them a nasty surprise."

The party continued forward.

A short while later, they entered a long, narrow tunnel. Soon after, Colin spotted several bouncing figures approaching from ahead.

As strange as it sounded, the approaching figures were indeed a group of frogs riding on frogs.

The frogs being ridden were enormous, about the size of donkeys.

The frog Knights wore shoddy clothing and clutched weapons cobbled together from scrap. Judging by their proportions, their limbs were somewhat short, and their torsos were much thicker.

Looking closely, Colin saw there were more than a dozen frog Knights in total.

Behind these frog Knights was a large crowd of bipedal frogs. They wore simple Beast Hides, and their weapons were Long Spears and the like, cobbled together from shards of metal.

Durkin, at the very front, raised a hand, and the party halted.

Colin, who was always the party’s designated negotiator, moved past the Dwarves in front and walked to the head of the column.