The dungeon has been parasitized

Chapter 21 Underwater Passage

Exhausted, Klein returned to the plantation. The area around the plantation had not yet been ravaged, but he didn't know how long it would remain safe.

Phew... I'm finally back. I'm exhausted after a long day. Luckily, the Bone-Stealing Badger has a pouch on its belly so I can carry jerky with me. Otherwise, I would have starved to death before the flesh monsters even attacked me.

Klein deactivated his invisibility and planned to control the Bone-Stealing Badger to go to the pool for a drink.

But once inside the plantation, they discovered that something was missing.

Where did Yanami go?!

Klein frantically looked around, but couldn't find Yanami anywhere...

Is he sleeping?

They arrived at a room that Klein had woven for Yanami from vines, but there was still no one inside.

Didn't I tell her not to go out...?

Did she discover that the flesh-and-blood monster wasn't interested in plants?!

Just as Klein was about to go out to look for it, the sound of water suddenly came from the pool.

"Haa..."

Yanami poked her head out of the pool, still slowly splashing around in the water.

"Klein, you're back."

As Yanami splashed water, she spoke to Klein, and at the same time, Yanami's image appeared in Klein's mind.

"What are you doing? Taking a shower?"

"I'm diving."

diving?

"You went down there? That's too dangerous, and if there's some kind of monster down there, we're doomed."

"Ah...sorry, I didn't think that much about it. I was just curious before, since it's a small pond and there are so many fish, maybe there's an underwater passage down there, so I dived down to check."

Klein had initially thought she was a well-behaved girl, but she turned out to be more adventurous than he had imagined.

"Hey!"

Splash... Yanami splashed a handful of water at Klein, wetting a little of his bone-stealing badger fur.

"Seriously... hurry up and get on, it's too dangerous."

"No, I'm a great swimmer—ah! My leg's cramped! Klein...help me!"

Thump, thump...

Yanami suddenly struggled, and Klein manipulated the vines by the pool to pull her out.

"Ah... thank you, Klein."

"Seriously, what if you get a cramp while diving?"

Don't try to be a hero if you're just a weakling with a Strength of 7.

However, to be precise, it wasn't Strength 7. Yanami's strength should have increased after her upgrade, but Klein hasn't used Probe on her since their first meeting.

However, Klein was actually somewhat relieved that Yanami was trying to find other ways out even while staying at home.

Yanami climbed down from the vines, her clothes completely soaked.

"Hehe, I know water manipulation, so I definitely won't drown."

That's true, but Klein still hoped she would be careful.

However, it's an underwater passage.

"So, is there a passage?"

"Yes, it might lead to a river or a cave."

It really happened.

"What does the passage look like?"

"It's quite big, but the passage looks extremely long. I don't know where it leads. I can't stay underwater for that long before I come up."

Yanami sat down by the pool to rest, splashing water barefoot.

The fact that fish are entering the pool from other places indicates that the underwater passage connects to a cave. In other words, if we can explore it, we might be able to find a relatively safe area.

But Klein couldn't survive in water, so he couldn't explore it.

While short-term soaking in water is fine, prolonged soaking will cause his vines to die. If you want to explore underwater, you'll have to wait until you level up and gain the plant traits that allow you to survive underwater.

Yanami, who was twisting her hair, looked at Klein and suddenly asked a question:

"Klein, could you control a fish to swim in and take a look?"

Right?

"Yana, are you a genius?"

"Hehe, really?"

If he could parasitize a fish, Klein could swim directly in and explore.

"This passage might become our escape route."

"Looks like we need a fish."

Klein retrieved the fish basket, but there were no fish inside.

"We can only wait."

Next, Klein and Yanami waited by the pool, but no fish came out of the underwater passage to the pool for a long time; it was all a matter of luck.

Is fishing really that difficult?

"Klein, are we going to keep waiting?"

"Perhaps we should put some bait in."

Do fish eat smoked jerky?

"I don't know, but we can give it a try."

Yanami tore a few pieces of jerky into pieces and threw them down, but they quickly disappeared, swept away by the current in the underwater passage.

Klein grew a thin vine, then wrapped it around a piece of jerky and threw it into the water.

"Haaah..."

Yanami yawned widely.

"Klein, I'm sleepy..."

"Then go to sleep."

"Okay~"

Yanami stood up and took one last look at the pool. The dim light of the campfire couldn't illuminate the pool, but something seemed to be moving underneath.

"Klein, is that a fish?"

"It seems so?"

Just then, Klein felt the vine holding the dried meat tied to the bottom of the water being tugged. Klein was about to use his skill to entangle it, but the dried meat was pulled down by it.

Perhaps it's because it soaked for too long and became soft.

"Yana, strike with your soul!"

"good!"

Yanami reached her hand into the water. Klein didn't know if she activated it, but after a while, a fish floated to the surface.

A silver fish, about the size of a palm.

Klein quickly used the vines to tie it up.

By the way, did this mental shock last longer than before? I wonder if Yanami has become stronger, or if this fish is just too weak.

"Looks delicious, Klein."

"You can't eat it."

"I know, hehe."

Yanami smiled and sat back down by the water.

Klein pried open the fish's mouth with a vine and then placed a small seed inside.

Activate skill: Accelerate growth

First, take root.

Activate skill: Parasite

Success rate: 100%

Parasitism was successful.

"alright."

Klein placed some seeds in the fish's mouth, intending to let one seed take root at intervals along the underwater surface, serving as a temporary soul transfer station so that he could easily jump back to the plantation in case of danger.

"I'm going to check out the underwater tunnel. You can go to sleep now."

"Okay, Klein."

After saying that, Klein transferred his soul to the parasitic fish.

Find the entrance to the underwater passage. The water inside is very calm, and there are quite a few small fish in it.

The underwater light was very dim, as there were only a few scattered luminous crystals, making it difficult to discern directions.

The deeper they went, the more complicated the underwater passage became, with many forks in the road and deep areas, but Klein still tried to go straight ahead to avoid getting lost.

After swimming against the current for about 300 meters, Klein noticed a light source on the surface of the water. Although the passage was not yet at the end, Klein decided to stop for now.

Following the direction of the light, we arrived at the water's surface. Here was an underwater cavity of about twenty cubic meters, and the light came from the luminous crystals on the cave walls.

If we can bring Yanami here, maybe we can protect her safety.

It was surrounded by a 300-meter-thick rock wall, and the entrance was small and underwater, so that fleshy monster couldn't possibly get in.

But the problem is, how do we get Yanami here? Diving 300 meters is something no one without professional training could do, right?