Chương 379: The Grey

Directing a living creature by shocking its nervous system continuously wasn't a simple affair, and after a while of flying in a–Approximate–Straight line, my invasive additions and repeated controlled shocks started to show their collective toll. I would have loved to be able to fly this Roc until thirst and hunger brought it down, but I fried its nervous system entirely before that could happen, and eventually, my ride took a nose dive, or rather, a beak dive, straight toward the ground. …

Wait, there is no water here. Can the things here even die of thirst? Do they exclusively drink blood? That would explain why I've only run into predatory creatures, huh? This somehow was the only thing on my mind right before I crashed into the ground. The Roc was splattered and mangled, whilst I managed to avoid being launched by firmly holding onto the wires I had been using to direct the winged beast. Some of them snapped, but there were enough to keep me in place.

I erased the evidence of my crime by devouring the creature and looked toward the castle. There was still a fair distance separating me from the castle, but I had undeniably made a lot of progress. However, I had now landed in an area that I couldn't previously see, due to the distance, and also because it was lower than what came before and what would come after. Huh… Did they dig here or something? That was a rhetorical question. I was able to spot abandoned shovels, pickaxes, and the like.

The stone had clearly been dug into, which showed me that I wouldn't have to worry about the ground opening up beneath me here, which was a massive bonus. The abandoned tools were also entirely made of steel, which served as a nice little treat. Bread crumbs to collect along the way… More importantly, the air was filled with some sort of grey gas here. Just being within it for a little while caused an unusual kind of tingling within me, indicative of yet another reaction from the form department.

Speaking of which, I hadn't checked the system panel whilst flying. I had been a bit too worried about losing control of the Roc. Mascot Form Pure Spirit Form Rusted Plague Form Biobot Form Ghost In The Machine Pure Curse Form Giant Form Accordion Jack-Out-Of-The-Box Remanent Jack-Out-Of-The-Box The Robot Of The Opera??? Steam Machine Form Alright, why is one of them just three question marks, and why would putting wires in a living being have anything to do with a form that is so secretive?

I also don't quite get what my actions had to do with a machine running on steam… I am seriously getting the feeling that it is completely random at this point… The only thing I can say for sure is that the tingling caused by being within this grey gas doesn't have anything to do with either of those newly discovered forms. The tingling was different from usual. It was more akin to the tingling I felt when I unlocked El Gigante-01. Which should indicate that it had something to do with a variant of my 'Base Form'.

Any ideas, Nara? Well, I have no clue what the three question marks mean, and I can only presume that the 'Steam Machine Form' was unlocked because of the act of turning the Roc into what was essentially a machine… … As for the variant form, well, it probably has to do with toxins, as the grey gas that you can see is a rather aggressive, airborne poison, and also, I notice grey liquid seeping from nearby rocks. That is the same thing but in liquid form Mmh…

It would seem that the mining efforts were abandoned because they ended up digging something out that they shouldn't have. A tale as old as time, I remember several stories that used such a scenario to explain why being greedy and gluttonous was bad. Though digging too deep was something that literally happened quite often, as far as I remember. If you know where to look, you can definitely find a bunch of abandoned mineshafts that still contain precious metals and the like.

Unfortunately, digging often unearths noxious substances or disturbs some cave-dwelling creatures, and the miners are often not equipped to deal with the problems. Neither are they usually accompanied by people who can deal with the issue. It seemed like the problem applied even to this smouldering realm. Though I soon found weapons amidst the tools as well, indicating that the mining efforts were being guarded quite closely, but these blades and similar items had never been used.

They had been dropped in a hurry, just like the pickaxes. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The grey gas was all that had gotten in the way of the work here. There had been no pesky monster to strike down… I had been planning on continuing forward, but the fact that this gas had affected the progress of another variant form intrigued me. So I investigated while devouring all the steel I found along the way.

It didn't take long until I found an area where the gas was much denser. A tunnel led deeper down in the stone. I am frankly surprised that it is possible to dig in this realm without immediately being greeted by magma, but I guess even a fiery place like this has different biomes to offer. As I descended and the toxic gas got thicker and thicker, I ended up faced with a flood. A grey flood.

I don't know what those poor bastards accidentally released, but it had filled their tunnel to a worrying extent, and probably quite quickly, too. Amidst the grey liquid, I could spot bones floating. They weren't floating as if they were in water, though. The poison was thick, and from a distance, it looked like the bones were actually stuck in solid matter, as if encased in ice.

I put one finger into the liquid, and as expected, the poisonous effect didn't affect me whatsoever, but I could tell that spending too long submerged would cause rust to appear. It wouldn't be a quick process, but it was worth mentioning. With how strong I currently was, not much could cause rust to actually stick to me. Unfortunately, the poison couldn't be absorbed. It would be convenient if it had actually been the blood of some creature, but it seemed to be merely something that formed deeper down.

I grabbed the bones and ate them, though, and I felt a subtle tingle. It was having an effect, which led me to walk into the grey and let myself be submerged. … Huh, I can actually see quite well. Despite being opaque from above, I could see as if it were clear water once my eyes were submerged. Everything just looked much greyer, but I could make out the tunnel that had been flooded. There were some tools that had been partly eaten away by rust, and a fair quantity of bones, as well.

Everything was suspended in place, as if the people who had been caught by the noxious flood had been instantly turned into skeletons, and their bones had dispersed only for a few seconds before being frozen right where they currently rested. Clearly, the worst part about the grey substance wasn't its poisonous nature, but its corrosive effect. It seems like steel is resistant to it, while bone is somehow immune.

In fact, the bones I am running across are bright white, as if they were being constantly cleaned and polished. It took a few dozens of minutes for me to get to the end of the tunnel, where there were quite a lot of bones to be found… Yet, it didn't seem like these gentlemen were to be blamed for the release of the grey flood.

The wall they were mining seemed to have been torn open by something from the other side, as evidenced by the fact that some of the skeletal remains were shattered, whilst others were intact, and that without there being any logic behind which was untouched and which was damaged. If the mines were intentionally flooded, then it probably meant that this wasn't the only tunnel that had been breached. Mmh… I carefully inspected what lay beyond the shattered wall, only finding a grey abyss without any clear end.

All I could tell was that the ceiling of this place was close enough for me to touch it if I were to give it a casual try, whilst the bottom was a complete mystery as to how deep it went. As curious as I am, this seemed like more trouble than it was worth. I don't want to be sinking for weeks, and I certainly don't want to get eaten by rust without any quick way out. I doubt I would even be able to bring out any of the trinkets that grant me access to the Gravescape.

These things would probably melt into nothingness the moment I pull them out of the Mindscape. Maybe I'll give this place another visit in the future, but I'll go back to my main goal for now… I didn't even get to turn around and begin to walk away when something suddenly swam up from the depths and attempted to grab me. I quickly backed off from the edge, but the creature gave chase, pulling itself into the mineshaft. It looked like a somewhat typical water-dwelling humanoid.

Webbed hands and feet, catfish-like whiskers, simple holes for ears, but with the added spice of an unnaturally large jaw akin to that of an anglerfish, and huge, round eyes that were definitely not windows to any kind of soul. Those things were clouded, and it was a wonder how it could see anything with them. It absolutely could see, as it was following my movements with its gaze. The creature's entire body was grey, just like the liquid we were in, and from the look of things, it was determined to catch me.

It lunged forward with somewhat impressive speed, intent on grabbing me and presumably dragging me into the depths. The monster's hands grabbed hold of two of my steel ribs, and… Well, nothing happened. The poison-dweller looked up at me as if hoping for an explanation, but all it got was my hand grabbing its head and popping it like a balloon. There is no way this pathetic creature was the one who broke the wall…

Interestingly, the corpse of the creature and the splatters of its brain travelled for a few seconds, but eventually stopped right in place. I guess non-living things just don't get to move more than a meter at most… I was thinking that any of my skeletal acquaintances would love this bone-cleansing place, but maybe they would just get frozen in place if they submerged themselves in this liquid? I'll keep that in mind. … As I devoured the creature, I felt a stronger tingle, just like the previous ones.

It felt like I was close to unlocking this variant form, but I was missing something, perhaps a few minor components? I wonder, do I really have to collect all that is necessary from some upgrades, or would brute-forcing things work? Like, if I found an absurd amount of pure curse energy and absorbed it, would it allow me to unlock the 'Pure Curse Form', even if I were lacking some other components? I doubt it…

The reason that thought emerged is that my guts were telling me to let myself sink to the bottom of this toxic pocket would allow me to gain something, but being quite familiar with my own instincts, I got the feeling that my guts were telling me about something that had nothing to do with the variant form I had made progress toward… Regardless, now was not the right time to be doing such things. I left the flooded tunnels and was not interrupted in the process.

I hadn't stayed long enough for any amount of rust to form upon my bones. Only some of the wires had been affected. I was good to go. … Actually, let me go to the Gravescape for a moment…