Chương 163: Chapter 159

Wade took a few more steps over the bone floor by his feet, then stretched his arms.

"Suit looks to be working fine." He said, bringing his hands in front of his helmet to wiggle them.

"No leaks. No debuffs." Leon took a few steps next to him, pulling the wagon behind. They'd brought just about everything they could think of. Wade's crossbow with all the stuff that came with the box. Nestled next to that was a cardboard box filled with meal crickets, who were clearly not going to have a great day in a few hours from mana poisoning, but so long as they lived and could be targeted as enemies, that was all that he needed.

They had rope, food and water on the off chance they could take their helmets off, a jug of adamantine sealing oil looted from the armory, guns, magazines and more grenades than Wade knew what to do with. They'd even found a nice adamantine storage box containing large mithril chains isolated from the air. Apparently it was for maintenance, but Wade figured he could make use of both metals at some point, so into the bullshit wagon they went.

Nestled near the center were two gold compasses, which Wade intended on putting to good use. One pointed straight at the lake ahead, the other further off. Soon. The first few steps had been a little awkward in the suit, but otherwise he got the hang of it real fast. The massive domed helmet gave him a clear mostly unobstructed view. And the lights that had been installed inside had some oddly good visibility on anything he pointed his helmet at.

To the point he was slightly worried about blinding Leon if he turned directly. But the glass helmet had a little more than adamantine melted inside it. The silver-sheen reflected harsh lights off, making the direct light something more like small pinpricks. Oddly functional. Outside here, Eri wasn't anywhere to be seen, but Wade was mostly certain he'd gone off ahead, looking for trouble. The habitat remained as it had been, scattered crates and other buildings setup.

Now that he had more time to look at them, he could tell they were the kinds of structures that didn't require a livable atmosphere. Three entire storage sheds. A large workshop to fix items. Wagons left behind where crystals would be hauled to and from, although they did use wooden wheels in comparison. He inspected what he had to work with.

The sheds were completely empty of mana crystals, which meant this pirate base had either been counter-raided for all their spoils, or the captain had made it back from the doomed raid and instantly went to work on transporting themselves and only the crystals back home. But Wade was looking for something in specific on the ground that should have been dropped from yesterday.

The dim light here made it tough to find something he wasn't directly looking at with his headlights, so Wade decided to cheat and speed the process up.

"Identify." The nametag he was after soon appeared in sight among the others. Dirt Filled Sack (Low Quality)"Hah. All right, step one done." He grabbed the sack, but no health bars appeared anywhere within it. Perhaps they weren't in visible range? No he'd seen health bars through walls before, a sack shouldn't be different? Or maybe because they were inside a container, they didn't count? Leon chuckled.

"You wondering if blackrot bugs living inside or not overnight outside here, da?"

"You read my mind. It's freezing out here, and the entire place is completely saturated with mana. I'm mostly sure blackrot can survive, since it's anti-mana, right? What do you think?" He looked over the basic sack, weighing it.

"I know it's not a great idea to start rummaging for something that could bite a hole in the suit and also infect me with super cancer. Seems like the kind of thing my Luck would trigger for the wrong reasons." But on the other hand, how would he know there were blackrotten bugs in the sack at all?

"Ah." Leon nodded.

"Is Schrodinger's dirt sack." The nametag rippled. The words floating in white changed. Schrodinger's Dirt Filled Sack (Low Quality) Wade watched as the description updated in real time. Then he slowly looked back to Leon.

"I seeing it too." Leon confirmed, with a light chuckle.

"I say it having good sense of humor." Play had once described herself as an ant trying to get a cube of sugar from a human by spelling out the person's name on the road. But now that they had its attention, what would the human in this analogy do after the sugar cube? Wade fully lifted the dirt sack, and added it into the wagon of Wade Bullshit he was bringing behind him.

"Maybe the System having a sense of humor, or trying to, is a good sign for us?" He would rather go through all this thinking the System is something friendly at least. Or rooting them both on. Although good or bad intentions might not make a difference. After all, someone moving a spider out of their house instead of just killing it is nice. But the spider sure isn't going to be going through a good time, or even understand it's an attempt to keep it alive.

And if the person doesn't know better, they might leave the spider somewhere it ultimately can't survive for long without realizing it. Despite trying to do everything for the spider. A game notification snapped him out of his thoughts. Suit up - Enemies defeated 2/3"Eri's getting things done," Wade said.

"And since he's not out here, then he's probably past the bridge. We should get started before he runs off too far to find." Leon nodded, then tapped his suit and pulled out a lever right by the attached backpack. The lever connected to a small wheel, which he spun manually. Wade did the same, feeling like he was winding up an automaton, but this was part of the care and feeding of these suits, or rather himself. Warm air began to blow over his shoulders and near the small of his back.

He had no idea the engineering behind the backpack he wore, but so long as it kept him warm with fresh air cycling through, he'd consider it a win. The locals didn't know about oxygen like Earth did, but they did know if someone stayed in a sealed suit for more than an hour doing work, they would start to get dizzy and eventually die.

"Every half hour." Leon said, letting go of his lever before tapping another instrument on the suit, a rudimentary timer to track when he needed to do the next windup.

"Heh, is fun. Feel like astronaut working with dials." The wood bridge had been lowered in place ahead, which probably meant Eri had lowered the bridge down and then moved on. The pair set off, lights illuminating the path ahead, wagon rolling behind them. Once they were past the wood bridge, most of the floor was just organically curving bone, with patches of grey flesh growing like moss next to the small river streams of liquid mana. According to Medy, bonemoss was an annoyance.

Mostly in that it wasn't smooth like bone, which made it difficult to pull a heavy wagon over. And that anywhere it existed, the ecosystem did too. Wade thought of it like this world's version of grass. Something the bottom of the food chain animals ate, who would then be eaten by larger animals and so on. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Basically, the less of this thing was around, the less overall food existed in the local area, and thus the safer the location. This world was closer to feeling like a desert, oddly enough. Wade looked down at the fleshy undergrowth by the side of the stream gurgling next to them. What was the real name for this?

"Identify." Level Unknown Ur-Primordial Flesh - 100%"Holy shit. Leon, this thing is targetable by the System, and it can't guess the level."

"I see it." Leon said, flashlight lifting off the growth back to the wagon and Wade.

"Maybe come in use later? Can we cut piece of it to bring home to study in lab?" Was that even a good idea?

"It'll die a few minutes after it loses connection to liquid mana." Medy said over the phone speaker.

"Nobody really knows what it actually is, you know? If there's a use for bonemoss besides emergency food, I don't know about it. Without predators to eat it, it would have spread everywhere. At least it needs air, so we don't have to worry about it infesting the mana lakes."

"Does the name 'Ur-Primordial' mean anything to you?"

"Nope. Bael, you heard of that?... Okie. Yeah he also has no idea, sorry!" There was something about this that felt important to Wade, even if all the Azdrians hadn't figured out what it was or how to use it. New Fleeting Quest: The other side - Recover more information about Ur-Primordial Flesh. Rewards: One Storefront Coin. Silver Lootbox. Negligible Leveling Experience.

"All right buddy, message received." Wade said, nodding. Although he had no idea who the hell would know answers to this if not Medy. That would explain the silver lootbox dangling behind this one. One of those might unlock the leveling experience limit.

"You telling me too if discovering reasons, da?" Leon said from his end, getting the same quest. Fine by Wade, as far as he was concerned, any quest they both got meant double the rewards. As the pair moved, Wade pulled out the mithril compass, watching as the needle began to point down into the caves beyond. If this thing was made of actual mithril, then it would be growing hotter and hotter until it began to melt in his hand.

Right now, either it was lukewarm and he couldn't feel it through the gloves, or the System Quality meant it wasn't following regular rules. But if it did melt, he needed to collect as soon as possible. Anything mithril out here in the air was on a time limit.

"Let's go pick up Pope Eri the First, and then find the mithril lootbox to start with?" Leon froze for a moment, eyes scanning something only he could see.

"Oh, I getting quest for that. One storefront coin for escorting 'Allied Player' to destination, without letting you die. Insignificant leveling experience too. Very nice of System, da?" Wade stared.

"Wait, what? Where the hell is my coin for making it?!"

"Yeah, where the hell is our coin for that?!" Play asked, floating behind them. Both of them turned to stare at the goddess who'd snuck out of the bell.

"Play? What are you doing out here you goddamn troglodyte." Wade hissed, going from surprised to pissed off halfway through the sentence.

"Following you, duh." She wasn't wearing anything other than her pajamas, which were currently as weightless as her hair.

"And you're… okay out here?" Wade gave her a look, illuminating her bright with the light.

"I'm a goddess, Michael. I'm made of mana. Basically. Technically. But I should be fine out here. Wherever life exists, so does divinity. And life in this realm does exist, half of it has you on their menu remember?"

"Just spitballing here your NEETness, but maybe staying inside where it's safe might be an itty-bit preferable?" Zin immediately said over the phone speakers, sounding horrified.

"You know, on account of the possible DEATH out here?? Is it just me thinking this? Tell me I'm not the only one here with some common sense."

"Zinny, please." Play waved him away.

"Just so long as I don't take any baths out here, I'll be just fiiiine~""The mana lakes around here could be dangerous to you?" Wade asked. She slowly rotated in the air, until she was right side up.

"Maybe? I dunno, I don't intend on finding out." There was a deep sigh over the speakers from the Butler.

"At least you're excellent at avoiding water and showers already, your divinity."

"Of course." She instantly said with a deep tut.

"A goddess is purity itself. I don't need a shower or a bath."

"Your entire couch is a roach infestation." Zin deadpanned.

"You know what? Forget anything I said anything. Go on, what's the worst that can happen out there?" He started muttering more to himself after, voice growing lower and further as he rambled.

"You tell them good advice, they ignore it. Then, they get upset when exactly what you warned about happening, happens! Who woulda have guessed? Not me, clearly." Liquid mana not being good for her meant there was a limit to how much mana saturation Play could hang around. Which meant there was a danger out here to the goddess. And letting her get killed might be a real danger to his overall life. As much as he hated to admit it.

"He does have a point Play." Wade said, "I got no idea what's out there, and-""And it's borrrring back there!" Play rolled in the air, rotating lazily upside down.

"Plus, Zinny and the other two have my phone, I can't see anything fun happening!"

"I swear to God, I'm going to spray you with soap." Play recoiled and hissed down at him.

"You wouldn't dare. And I'm your God, you heretic blasphemer. Mind your swearing upon my name." New Fleeting Quest: A man of great focus - Spray your sponsor with soap. Rewards: Nothing.

"You know Leon, I think you're right." Wade said.

"I do like it's sense of humor. Did we actually bring soap with us in the wagon?" Play narrowed her eyes.

"We should be moving though, da?" Leon chuckled, pointing ahead.

"Not wrangling miss goddess back into Bell without racoon pole anyhow, is lost cause." Well, Play didn't screw with the game without good reason. Which meant she was likely following behind on the chance Wade could figure out some edge cases where she could be used. Or she might be able to point out something important in the future, maybe. Or she was actually bored. … She was probably bored. Wade turned, and marched forward, wondering how they were going to find where Eri had gone off to.

The answer was easy in retrospect: Listen for the sounds of panicking animals, currently being hunted down to be turned into hats. Past a two cavernous chambers, and following the downwards slope with a small liquid stream of mana glowing blue off to the side, they found the source of the terrified screeching below. Eri was busy penning down what looked to be another massive isopod, although smaller than the one that had come after Wade last round.

Level 29 Mana-infused Isopod - 72% It was clearly unhappy with the chain of events that led it to this, and was trying to find someplace to scamper away. It had only two options, left or right. To its left was a large slope that gradually steepend, which was the destination of the little liquid mana stream Wade and Leon had followed. All ending into a waist-height small lake. To the other side was a few more porous caverns where it might be able to squeeze through.

Eri however, was not letting the isopod go either direction. And Wade could see why: His pope hat had been sullied. Likely knocked off and rolled around, since it was stained with a large smear of red blood. It was back on the skeleton's head of course, but an insult had been dealt, and Eri suffered no fool to live. Leon and Wade began to approach from the sides, both of them nodding to each other in quiet agreement. One lifted his hammer up, while the other prepared the spray bottle, moving to backup the skeleton.

"Oi, mortal. What are you doing?" Play asked, floating quietly behind Wade.

"Uh, helping out?"

"Why?" Eri clicked his jaws and advanced forward, Nathir greatsword held up. And not defensively, more preparing to swipe down depending on which way his target was going to bolt.

"What do you mean why?" Wade asked, trying to keep himself upright as he advanced, since his side of the pincer was the downwards slope leading to the lake.

"That thing's got to be beat."

"Michael," Play said, still busy eating the chip bag she'd somehow smuggled in with her.

"That thing's got real sharp claws and teeth. Getting close to something with sharp claws and teeth isn't the smartest IMO." Leon stopped midway through his advance.

"Oooo suka, she right Wade. Hole puncture." The Russian tapped his arm sleeve. Wade stopped as well, realizing the issue.

"Ah, goddamnit." Sure, he could probably survive a hit. This was THE GAME, and he had options to outheal damage. Along with multiple plan B's in his bullshit wagon. But the Arcanaut suit did not. He was functionally walking around with one single health point, and however much shields his mana potion could maintain. Once that dried up, he was screwed. And there was no means to regenerate used up mana.

"Fuck. This really is hard mode."

"Of course it is." Play rolled her eyes, "You outright paid a coin for that. Now quit being dumb and wait for your minion to clean shop." The Isopod tried to dive to it's left, straight for Wade. It wanted to bowl him over and scamper past, up the hill the pair had come down from. And now that Wade thought about it, those sharp plates over the exoskeleton seemed particularly spikey this close up. The kind of thing that would damage fabric. And puncture holes.

Wade cycled mana through his enchanted plate, forcing the arcane ward into existence. But a glowing Nathir greatsword swung straight into the recessed head, and stomped it into the bone below rather than cut. Acting more like a sledgehammer than a blade. Eri clicked his jaw with disappointment, lifted the blade, and swung down again. Once more it glowed, and once more the isopod chitin seemed to resist. But the cracks were there. The thing tried to scramble backwards, away from the pain.

Which only gave Eri more room to properly stab with. And stab he did - directly into the little insect-like face, right at the eye socket. It gurgled for a moment, then went still as the blade cut through something vital. Suit up - Complete! There was a clunk behind him, and a copper lootbox landed on the bone ground, teetering back and forth from the uneven terrain. That must be the easiest copper lootbox Wade had ever gotten thus far. He gleefully started rubbing his hands together.

"Good work Eri! Boy do I love the smell of easy loot in the morning." Said easy loot finally teetered fully to the left, and then began to slide down the slope, skidding down. Directly at the mana lake.