Since we decided to avoid the nest, we move to a different area of the cave. As soon as we move out, we soon got greeted by [Corrosive Spiders], spiders that instead of shooting webs, spew out acidic webs that they shoot on their prey, to effectively capture and corrode all of their prey, making them easy to eat.
"DODGE IT!"
Hearing my command, they immediately did as the [Corrosive Spiders] started to assault us with acidic webs. I pulled out my Versatile Weapon immediately and started blasting my bullets to the webs, letting them explode upon contact by using the skill [Fire Bullet Rounds], allowing me to convert the bullets shot in my guns to gain an attribute to flame.
My companions saw some of the webs landing on the ground and seeing how they corroded, they are not sure whether they are relieved from dodging that or a little bit, or worried since they are going to face more of it.
Since they don't know how to handle them just yet, I decided to do my work and stop my companions from doing all of the work. Once I finished shooting bullets, I immediately switched my gun to a normal sword, and darted forward, closing my distance between the spiders and myself before immediately releasing skills in close quarters.
"[Decapitation]"
SWISH!
The spiders immediately fell dead as they were cut in half. Since their bodies are segmented in two, it's only natural that if I use the [Decapitation], they will be cut in half. But I finally got to use the cheap trick of using [Decapitation] on enemies that are grouped will allow the skill to execute them all immediately.
"That was quick cleanup Master, well done," Lina clapped alongside Cotton.
"We should keep moving. We need to cover much ground so that we can avoid a chance of the nest we left awakening and starting moving. If my assumption is correct, those monsters might be the next raid enemies everyone will be dealing with."
I did all the harvesting and immediately move again to another chamber of the cave. We arrived at a few dead ends and some rooms that contains some treasure chests only to reveal themselves as f*cking mimics and our effort are worthless since they contain garbage stuff. All of them are eaten by the Versatile Weapon that for some reason, gave me a bonus of 1 HP after devouring them all. At least I got something but a sh*tty reward.
Oh, and while we are walking, I am also mapping out the whole cave. Despite my good memory, the twists and turns of this place can be confusing and it's very different compared to going in and going out so it's better to keep a map so that everyone can keep on track of where we are.
Then, as we got deeper into the cave, more enemies poured out. So many that Cotton leveled up from level 2 to level 20. It might be small but since Cotton takes a lot of experience points before she can level up, just this alone is awesome enough.
Despite the number of insect monsters pouring through, they are not that difficult and we managed to get materials and experience for Cotton with that so it's not a total loss, but it was time-consuming and we wasted enough time here already.
"Master, look here, it seems we got something new among the monster drops that are new to my eyes," Tina beckons me so that I can check out what she just found.
"What is it? Is it new material? Weapon?" I asked as I approach.
"No, master. It looks like a bottle of potion but it's a different color than usual. I checked its description but I don't understand its usage pretty well. Perhaps you can?" she then handed me the bottle she was talking about.
Just like Tina said, it is a bottle of a potion indeed but the content is not a color a normal potion usually possesses, heck even elixirs do not have these colors as well. The liquid inside is pitch black, something that I can see whenever a corrupted liquid is flowing out of something.
I checked its description and identified it as a potion indeed but it has peculiar effects.
[Reverse Potion]
Type: Consumable Item
Info: A potion that is made to harm the drinker. A potion that is not used for healing wounds and removing illnesses. A potion so sinister, only those who have the strongest grudge can make this potion with ease.
Usage: Once used, the drinker will experience a severe weakening in the body and health will rapidly decline. Status effects will plague the drinker for quite some time and old wounds that have healed will open up again. Can kill the drinker, so be warned.
I kinda missed the witty remarks about the items I check that give a note at the very end of the item description but I think it was for the best. But a potion designed to harm and not to heal? That is something I didn't expect to see. It's pretty different from the offensive-type potions that are used for combat as this one has the same effect as normal potions, only with the reverse effect.
Still, to think there is a reverse potion? That's something I have not seen before. This one is the first for me so having it in my hands is something else. But what is the main point of this thing if it doesn't even have any positive effects on the user? I don't know, but seeing it here, perhaps I can still put it in my inventory and perhaps I can find something that would make good use of this one. In fact, I might not even find a good use for this thing, but hey, if I find an appropriate situation for me to use this sh*t, maybe it will serve its main purpose.
"Let's just keep it. I don't think I have any usage for it, but there might be one in the future."
After that little side stuff, we returned to the exploration bit. It took some time looking for more things before we stumbled upon a room in the cave. Similar to the same cave where the octopus boss forced two merfolk siblings to sacrifice themselves to appease it, the same door that I found there appeared here as well.
"This door..." Lina immediately remembered it. After all, she was part of that battle that occurred the moment we opened it,
"Did you find this door familiar?" Tina looked at Lina seeing her seem to have a nostalgic stare at it.
"Haha, yeah. But I am sure this door is not the same as that door, it only looks similar. You remember that door I was talking about, right, Master?" Lina turned to ask me about it.
"Yes. And it was a long time ago since we found that place. You two are not even part of the gang just yet and even then, this door does bring up some memories."
"So, since you guys seem pretty familiar with this kind of door, should we open it up? Or should we just leave it alone?" Tina scratches her head.
"There's no harm done if we open this up. Either we face a boss or we will find a place filled with stuff and secrets. Doesn't matter which of the two, we can take both."
"Well, in that case, we should open this puppy up. But how? I don't think we can open it up simply by pushing it or pulling it up?" Gobu looked at the towering door and looked at us who have opened a similar door before.
"There's not really much of a gimmick here. But it is also not a door that would open by strength alone.
Compared to the previous door that I opened in the past, this one has no intricate patterns we can use to open it up. It's just one giant big door that blocks our way in and out. So naturally, the only way for us to open it up is to think of a way to do so.
I walk towards the door, holding the surface of it. It's a little warm. Not cold but warm for some reason. But there is definitely no way for me to open it up even by pushing it.
So, I went to the side of the door which is a mossy wall, knocked on it a few times, and listened to its sound before pulling out the Versatile Weapon and changing it to a cannon before shooting it into that wall.
BOOM! The surroundings are hooked but it's not strong enough to collapse the whole thing. But as a result of my actions, a new hole appeared right before us.
"And that should solve us of our path in. Now we can check out what's inside without the need of pushing this door open."
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