Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 56

Chapter 56 "The Deepest"

　It was utterly horrible.

I pulled out the arm that was eaten, but it was pretty much melted. I wondered if it would be possible to put it back together.

　It was too good to waste, so I absorbed it with "Root" and healed the minor wounds on my body.

　I finished repairing the body, but the clothes and armor...no good.

　I liked this cloak.

　The useless armor was discarded.

　Clothes and cloak...well, let's just leave them as they are.

　Still, it was a tough opponent.

　To be honest, if it was just one of them, I would probably be able to take them out a little easier next time, but if there were more than one of them coming, it might be tough.

　I looked at the back of the room. It looks like there is more to come.

I'm very curious to see the deepest part of this place.

In fact, I would have traveled a distance that would have taken more than a few days on foot.

　However deep it is, the bottom should be visible by now.

The structure of this cave has a gentle downward slope.

There was a fork in the road, but it seemed to eventually join the path I had taken before.

As I was going along, I saw several holes that looked like that.

I was sure that no one else was going to catch up with me, though.

I regained my composure and continued on.

　Using , I headed toward the back at a slightly slower speed.

　On the way, giant plants still attacked me, but I adjusted my speed while dealing with them appropriately.

　Within a few hours, the plant dragons appeared again. And there were two of them.

　I couldn't take them anymore, so I kept my distance and invited them to attack with their breath, and when they spit out their breath, I surged forward and passed over the plant dragons.

There was a sign that they were chasing after me from behind, but I was faster. Ignore it.

After far enough away, I lightly exhale...and as I do so, I feel a jolt and my legs are yanked back.

　"...what?"

I looked down and saw a humanoid clump of ivy extending its ivy from its arms, and it tangled around my leg.

　Humanoid this time. I mean, when did it appear? I thought I was being cautious, but....

　The answer came immediately.

The pit-like creature I had seen on the way here opened its mouth to allow other creatures crawling out of it.

　What a mess. One after another, the strange ones keep coming out.

　I cut the ivy with my and forced my way through.

It's tough to deal with that many of them.

But considering how well defended they are, it looks like my destination is close.

　The number of humanoids was growing, and the sound of their footsteps chasing me was causing a bit of an earth tremor.

　The ones that came out in front of me stretched out their arm ivy to try to catch me, or sent some sort of seed thing flying.

　Yeah, this was used by a guy named Dusty in the arena.

It seemed that their aim and accuracy were not very good, and although I was grazed, I was not seriously hit by them.

　I increase the speed. The barrage of seeds becomes more intense, but they can't keep up with my speed and don't hit me.

　I look ahead. I see a large space in the back.

　Is that it?

　I go full throttle and plunge into the space as I crash through the road.

　Let's be honest.

I came here to kill time as well as out of curiosity.

　I came here hoping to see something interesting, something I had never seen before.

　So I have no regrets, and in a way I'm happy with the situation I'm in.

　But this could be bad. Mainly my life.

The one in front of me is probably the owner of this place.

I thought the passageway was wide, but this place, which seems to be the innermost part of this place, is a different order of magnitude.

　It is large and high enough to hold a small town.

　If nothing else, I would have been surprised to find such a space underground, but the presence in front of me made such thoughts disappear.

　The huge body occupied almost half of the space that would fit a city, and the first thing that caught my attention was the ridiculously large flower petals. If I hadn't been flying by , it would have been difficult for me to grasp the whole picture.

　Five petals and a huge hole in the center.

　The color is... magically illuminated. Red...more like crimson.

　From the hole in the center, there was a sweet smell that was getting worse the further I went.

　The closest thing to the shape of a flower that I can remember is that.

　Rafflesia.

The world's largest flower and I don't know about the rest........

　...This is the source of the smell.

　All the ivy and such spreading all over the walls and ground seems to be growing from this thing.

　In short, this dungeon is inside his body...or, more accurately, it wasn't even a dungeon at all.

　This place itself is a huge monster, waiting with its mouth open for food to come in.

...I don't think any treasure can be expected.

　There are no legendary weapons in the belly of a monster.

In that sense, it was a disappointment, but I had this tremendous sight all to myself.

Good for me. Because, you know? I was probably the only one who got to see it.

　Yes, I was the only one who got to see this spectacle. I feel a little satisfied and superior for that.

Compared to that, it is trivial that the groups that caught up to my shield that I have just deployed are sending seeds and ivy at me.

　Well, now that I've seen what I want to see, let's go home.

　What? Don't you want to beat them? Why do I have to beat them?

　I'm satisfied with what I see here, and I think I've succeeded in conquering the place when I arrived here.

　I don't even want a reward. I don't need money that badly.

However, the problem is that the way back is already filled up, although it is good that I came here with momentum.

　Plant dragons and humanoid...plant man, okay? are coming in more and more.

　Later, I've been wondering since a while ago, does that flower itself have any fighting ability?

　As I was thinking about this, something came out of the hole in the center of the flower.

　It's a thick ivy like a pillar with something attached to the end that looks just like the trumpet I saw earlier.

It slowly turned toward me.

　Oh...this is definitely the one that sends something flying.

　As I had imagined, it was shooting a lot of seeds, probably as big as a cannonball.

　I raised my altitude to avoid it.

　It's so big, I don't think my shield can defend against it.

　I looked at the seed that was lodged in the wall... a seed, right? I looked at that giant Rafflesia....

... maybe I should just take one of them.

　I decided to take one.

　I had an idea, so I decided to take it home and experiment with it.

　I hold one of the seeds nearby. It's pretty heavy.

I push forward the way I came, with my shield strengthen as far as I can get it.

　I don't think about attacking. I think only about getting out of here.

　Plant dragon's breath, plant human seeds, and ivy are flying one after another, but I block them with my shield.

It is a shield with 6 layers of fire and 4 layers of wind, for a total of 10 layers.

The only drawbacks are that I cannot attack because I have allocated all my attention to defense, and I cannot maintain the shield for a long time because of its high fuel consumption.

　Either way, it is difficult to attack as long as both hands are occupied.

The shield seems to be holding up under the barrage of bullets that seems to fill up my field of vision.

The plant dragon, perhaps realizing that its breath is ineffective, bites down on me.

　I dodges the attack with gravity-defying trajectories, such as rapid descending, ascending, and circling.

If I am caught, I will be whittled down and that will be the end of me.

The others, perhaps sensing this, leaped and tried to seize me.

　I increased my speed and forcefully swept through. The attack of those who had been chasing me was cut off.

　I am not letting my guard down and fly toward the entrance, increasing my speed even more.

　I keep flying for a while, and when I completely shake them off, I slow down and land.

　I manage to get away.......

　Once I had calmed down, I looked at the seed I was holding.

It is red in color and has a large number of vein-like streaks on its surface, which is somewhat similar to a dried plum seed.

　Well, dried plum seeds are not this big.

Now, the immediate crisis is over.

All I have to do now is go back.　

　The way back was an easy one, as there were no plant dragons or plant people.

I occasionally ate the gourds and flycatchers that attacked me on the way back, and then headed back to the ground while nourishing my energy.

I knew most of the enemies that were coming out, so I moved at high speed and came back to the flower field where I first encountered them.

　I had already seen this one once, so it was no longer a threat. Speeding up, I went through.　

Will I soon return to the first fork in the road? I slowed down, gained altitude, and stopped.

I could see a light at a little distance. Adventurers.

　I approached slowly, hoping to pass over the top of them without being noticed, and saw a group of people.

　There were...15 of them...oh?

　There was someone familiar among them. It was Heidi.

What the hell is she doing?

I mean, is this what the quest is all about? You've taken on a very risky request, haven't you?

Is she in trouble? They seem to be arguing about something...

　"It's not safe to go any further. Let's turn back."

　"What are you talking about? It's just the beginning. We haven't got enough loot, and we'll lose money if we go back! If that happens, will you take responsibility?"

　Hmm.

It seems that the old man who seems to be the client is arguing with Heidi, who is saying that they should turn back.　

　Some adventurers, perhaps agreeing with Heidi, are also advising the client to retreat.

"I understand what you're saying, but the lady over there is right. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I can protect you any longer."

　"It's your job to take care of that!"

"Therefore, I'm not going to..."

　"That's enough! Go home! You're fired! I'll be merciful and give you the money up front. I'll split the success fee with the rest of you. Those who are willing, come with me!"

　It seemed that the matter had been settled.

　Heidi and a few others returned, and those who were dazzled by the reward decided to go on.

As I recall, she said they were going to use one day for preparation and then leave....

　I can't say for sure because my sense of time is paralyzed when I'm here, but I must have been here roughly three days.

　I guess I've been here for about two days. Roughly two days to get back, too.

　Well, good luck.

I passed over Heidi, who was inspecting her equipment, and headed for the exit.

　I thought it was none of my business, but there were some plant zombies on the way, so I kicked them away.

　I landed near the exit and walked out.

　Phew. I've been underground, so it feels a bit liberating to be outside.

　"Oh, you...you're safe?"

　The knight waiting at the entrance rushed to me with an astonished expression on his face.