I cut down the Cyclops.
The hope those words gave me was beyond description.
It had become a faint lamp in a place where no hope could be seen at all, so one could say something had been created from nothing.
Having achieved such a feat, normally I would have been jumping for joy, but…
“Cough…”
Blood was pouring from the wound the Cyclops had carved into me, and my left hand, which had burst with light like a flashbang, throbbed with a searing pain as if it had been branded by fire.
I was in terrible shape.
If I didn’t do something, I felt like I would collapse any second.
Perhaps because I had lost too much blood, my vision began to blur.
My mind began to stop thinking, and even the pain grew more and more distant.
The sensation of death.
Yes, there was no other way to describe the feeling that was encroaching on my body.
Now I couldn’t even keep myself upright.
All I could do was lay my body down on the old but well-paved road.
The sight of this ancient city as I gazed at it from where I lay would be my last.
[A gift request has come in from Truth Scholar.]
ㄴTruth Scholar: Accept it and put it straight into your mouth!
What was this? What effect would it have?
Before such thoughts could even form, I accepted it and shoved it into my mouth.
I ate something that looked like green patterns engraved over a black bead, and its effects soon revealed themselves.
The terrible pain slowly receded.
First the burning pain, then I felt as though the blood I had lost was being replenished.
Once that mysterious sensation passed, my body had somehow returned to normal.
My head gradually started working again, and I was able to look around more carefully.
I was lying on the boundary road between the submersible and the city.
Fortunately, there wasn’t a single Cyclops nearby.
If there had been… I didn’t particularly want to imagine it.
After that crisis passed, the comment window began scrolling up at an incredible speed.
Even though only registered users could chat, it was moving so fast that the important comments were hard to see.
Still, amid the wave of comments, I did my best to read everything related to the medicine.
ㄴHealingIsViolence: What on earth did you give him? With a wound that severe, immediate recovery should be impossible unless it’s the holy power of a saintess or a cult leader.
ㄴTruth Scholar: There is something among ancient relics called a Gu Chuk Pill. But this is a bit strange. Normally, it should only heal him enough to get back to the submersible.
ㄴKkukku: Definitely, compared to holy power, the Gu Chuk Pill is more like an inefficient emergency tool… How strange?
Gu Chuk Pill. That seemed to be the name of the medicine I’d taken.
And… an emergency tool? My body had recovered completely from the brink of death, so perhaps things were different on the surface.
Whatever the case, I was glad I had survived.
But there was something that bothered me too much to simply move on.
How was I supposed to repay Truth Scholar?
ㄴTruth Scholar: Another good irregular has appeared, hasn’t it? Looks like I’ll have even more to analyze!
ㄴChooseGradSchoolCarefully: Gyaaaah!! Aurora, you bastard! You’ve increased the amount of studying again!!
ㄴBoozeIsLife: Ah, shit, because of this bastard, the higher-ups are making a fuss about excavating ancient technology.
…Well, Truth Scholar seemed satisfied, but if I just let it pass, there might be one less person willing to help me in a crisis.
Ignoring the cries of those harmed by my exploration, I opened my mouth.
“Truth Scholar, is there anything you want? If it’s something I can do, I’ll do it.”
ㄴTruth Scholar: Really?? Really?
ㄴBoozeIsLife: I’m reading that guy’s comments as drinking snacks, and you’re finished. Goodbye, yep.
ㄴDrawingSwordSaint: …I do not know the details, but is there truly a need to go that far?
At my words, Truth Scholar showed an unusual reaction, while the other registered users reacted with concern.
Still, I thought it would be better to repay him.
The gallery was my only means of communication.
There was nothing good about making enemies there, and the gallery had means to help me indirectly, such as gifts and trades.
‘And Truth Scholar seems like some kind of big shot too….’
He could spend a lot of time in the gallery and even give out ancient relics.
It was reasonable to view Truth Scholar as someone of high status.
ㄴTruth Scholar: Hmm, truly whatever I want?
“If it’s something I can grant…?”
At this point, I was starting to get nervous.
Just what on earth was he planning to make me do?
Enough time passed for me to gulp nervously.
Then Truth Scholar’s comment appeared.
ㄴTruth Scholar: Please investigate the ancient city in more detail. And please study magic too.
“…That’s it?”
ㄴTruth Scholar: Yes, that much is enough.
I was relieved that it was smaller than I had expected.
Honestly, I thought he would ask for something like “hunt a creature stronger than a Cyclops.”
And the things he had requested were matters I would have done someday anyway.
If I learned more about the ancient city, my chances of survival would increase, and I had been planning to learn magic as well.
Swordsmanship was good, of course, but it didn’t have many uses for survival.
Magic, however, could be used in many different situations.
So.
“Yes, I’ll do it.”
I had no reason to refuse.
However, one person seemed to think differently.
ㄴDrawingSwordSaint: A magic swordsman, is it? If this goes wrong, you will become a half-baked fellow who is neither one thing nor the other.
I know your talent is outstanding, but to reach a high realm, you must focus that talent on one thing.
The Sword Saint’s words had a point, but my current goal was survival above all else.
Raising my realm would come after my survival was assured.
When I told the Sword Saint that, he understood to some extent.
In exchange, I was given my next assignment: kill more Cyclopes.
As I blankly watched the rapidly rising comment window, I realized quite some time had passed.
I immediately turned off the broadcast and approached the bisected corpse of the Cyclops.
Then I brought the scanner close and began recognition.
The reason I was doing it again, even though I had scanned it before, was that the information changed depending on scan time.
And soon.
-Cyclops corpse (freshness 92%)
-Highly nutritious food. One of the experimental byproducts of Jin███. “Cyclops cornea” is an essential material for producing an Observation Device.
The information I had already obtained before was excluded, and only the important information was displayed briefly.
At any rate, another item called an Observation Device had appeared.
Tap. Tap.
Since the scanner also functioned as an encyclopedia, tapping the screen allowed me to easily see the information I had obtained so far.
For reference, information on living creatures could only be obtained if I scanned them myself.
The Observation Device was not a tool but a building-type structure, so it was impossible for me to make it right now.
Setting aside my disappointment at being unable to produce it, I grabbed the Cyclops’s corpse.
At first, I intended to at least take the cornea, but I had burned it, so it couldn’t be used.
“Rather than the upper body… the lower body would be better, right?”
Like in The O Hunt, I dragged the lower half of the Cyclops’s corpse, which had been split in two, back to the submersible.
The upper body was… that eye was far too oppressive.
The reason I had dragged the Cyclops back was because of the scanner’s information.
“Highly nutritious food.” I was certain it could be utilized somehow.
“Now, if I bring the scanner close to the fabricator…”
Clack!
When I brought the scanner close to the fabricator, the scanner attached itself to the side of the machine on its own.
It felt as though I was looking at a checkout counter back on Earth.
In any case, the fabricator downloaded the information from the scanner and added a list of ways to utilize the Cyclops.
As I looked through it, I found the entries I wanted.
-Purified Water
-Only water has been extracted from substances such as blood, seawater, and mucus. Depending on the material, it may have a fishy taste, metallic taste, and so on.
-Cyclops Ham
-Ham processed from the highly nutritious Cyclops. Excellent in calories and useful as emergency rations.
After browsing the list, I immediately put the Cyclops into the fabricator.
Now it was time to eat my substitute food.
When I pressed Purified Water and Cyclops Ham, a horrifying sound like flesh twisting filled the air.
Then, a short while later.
Thump.
Packaged Purified Water and Cyclops Ham popped out of the fabricator.
Nervously, I opened them.
The water was naturally clear, and the ham looked better than I had expected.
I tried eating them nervously.
…The water had a faint metallic taste, and the ham had a texture like chewing muscle.
After eating it, I thought to myself.
The deep sea really was a shitty place.
Thinking that I would survive as quickly as possible and escape this hopeless deep sea,
I spent that night in deep sleep.
…That night, I had a nightmare where a Cyclops tore open my stomach and crawled out.
The fourth day in the deep sea arrived.
From having nothing at the start to cutting down a Cyclops on the third day, confidence that I could do this welled up inside me.
I entered the gallery and immediately turned on the broadcast.
-Aurora: Deep Sea Escape Log, Day 4. Ancient City Exploration (Broadcast)
As soon as I started the broadcast, the number of viewers surged instantly.
However, the only comments running by were from Truth Scholar and DrawingSwordSaint.
Come to think of it, there seemed to be fewer registered users than I expected.
I felt like there had been quite a lot on Earth.
So I asked about it.
ㄴTruth Scholar: If you set a registered nickname, the posts you wrote before show up under that nickname too.
ㄴDrawingSwordSaint: And once a registered nickname is set, it can never be changed again. Even administrators cannot escape this rule.
Ah, now I understood.
If a person who had been trolling anonymously before switched to a registered nickname, they would be clearly identified.
In this gallery, IPs weren’t even displayed on posts, so it was difficult to determine whether people were the same person.
And aside from that, there was another reason.
ㄴTruth Scholar: From the moment you create a registered nickname, the administrator’s surveillance becomes stronger.
Apparently, it was a rule that had existed since long ago, so even they didn’t know the details behind it.
In any case, for those reasons, there weren’t many people who commented.
…That was how it should have been.
But once I began exploring the ancient city, the comments multiplied at a terrifying speed.
Of course, the one most terrified was me.