kscans

Chapter 678 - The End of the Secret Cave

I learned this later, but the gimmick for the Secret Cave of Withered Water, the abode of the Great Water Spirit—as well as the three other secret locations—was remarkably simple.

You find and defeat the Riepis Aquia that contain each of the twenty-six Arcadia letters. Once that condition is met, the 'true path' through the maze lights up, guiding you to the deepest chamber where the 'master' resides.

It's a common enough trope. And because it's so classic, when combined with the time limit, it should have been an enjoyable experience with just the right amount of tension.

Yes, it should have been. Which is to say—it wasn't designed for an outlandish group that would kick aside the threat of the water spirits who command the unique underwater environment, the pressure of the looming time limit, and everything else, all while humming a tune.

"I still don't really get what that gimmick was…"

"I wonder what the condition was for the path to start glowing…"

"It just felt like we were defeating whatever appeared and moving forward…"

"…The three of you should watch an archive from some normal players later."

At the entrance to the final chamber.

Tetra tossed out an exasperated comment as he and Kanata, who was smiling wryly beside him, watched me, Sora, and Ui-san tilt our heads and mutter our questions.

We had basically gone with a search-and-destroy, or rather, a go-go-and-destroy strategy, and the whole trek took us just under thirty minutes.

As for the water spirits that stood in our way… their ranks were eventually joined by small sparrow-like creatures and large hawk or eagle-like ones, adding some variety to the seagull-like ones we'd seen before. But aside from slight changes in their swimming patterns, their threat level remained negligible (as usual).

After cutting them down one after another, the path Sora mentioned began to glow, and after following its 'guidance' for a while, we had arrived at our destination.

I didn't know what exactly had been so strange about our approach, but I was at least aware that our party was strange in every sense of the word. Judging by the two boys' reactions, I could easily imagine our entire run had been anything but normal.

Well, I suppose I should just accept it and puff out my chest with resignation—just as that thought crossed my mind.

"Anyway, I have to ask… are all 'Great Spirits' basically like… that?"

"You know the ice one, right, senpai? Yeah, they're pretty much all like that."

At the end of the path of light was our destination. It wasn't a perfect circle… but a perfect sphere. There were several 'mouths' opening here and there on the surface, including where we stood, which were probably the exits of various routes. Other than that, the space was a beautiful, smooth curve.

Covering the walls was a vast number of Arcadia letters, so many that they almost looked like they formed a giant mural. The light they emitted illuminated not the water that filled the space, but the spiraling pillars floating within it… and,

At the center of the nine objects arranged at equal intervals, releasing a pressure befitting its status and glaring down at the intruders, was an enormous, otherworldly body—Rapharn, the Great Water Spirit.

In a word, its form could only be described as a 'whale.'

However, its entire body was covered in feathers, its pectoral fins had become 'wings,' and its head was a gaping void containing a glowing blue core. This bizarre form… was certainly kin to Epel, the ice spirit.

A fusion of the grotesque and the divine. It seemed that 'spirits' in this world tended to lean in that direction. A far cry from the fairy I knew.

As for Sora-san, who was looking up at this rather peculiar and imposing sight… hmm, it seems she's fine with it. Perhaps her resistance grew after our encounter with the 'mole' the other day.

In any case, after a quick glance at her, I turned back to my partner and said one thing.

"Alright, Clan Master. What should we do?"

"Eh… W-What do you mean, what should we do…"

If I were a veteran leading the way, it'd be one thing, but both Sora and I were seeing this for the first time. Furthermore, the practice included 'exchanging opinions and figuring out how to deal with the unknown,' so Tetra and Kanata were, as usual, keeping their mouths shut…

"Ui-san, what do you think?"

"Hmm… It's a bit too large to cleave in two, I'm afraid."

"That's not exactly what I was getting at, but that's a very [Sword Saint]-like opinion, so I'll give it a pass. Yes, it is a bit too large."

"…Haru-kun, your eyes aren't smiling."

"No, no, I just find it endearing—Sora-san, please don't pinch my side."

"Don't just ask questions, Haru. Give your own opinion."

"I was just about to… Yes, I'll state it immediately. Yes, ma'am."

With our master joining in, we animatedly exchanged opinions right before the boss fight.

This, too, was part of the fun of cooperative play, so I tried to maneuver things so that they could enjoy the entire process… and as they watched me do so.

"…Hey."

"Ah, yes."

"Are we going to have to watch this flirting every single time?"

"M-Maybe we should just try to enjoy it, you know, as part of the experience…"

"You've been doing that from the start, Kanata—sigh… There are five of us, and I'm the only normal one."

I overheard the two boys' amusing conversation…

But I decided to play dumb and give it a masterful ignore, lest I stir up a hornet's nest.