The The Maw was massive, its overall shape resembling a long, upright inverted cylinder. It progressed layer by layer from bottom to top, with the space becoming larger the higher one went.
The very bottom consisted of various compartments containing ballast water and filled with various water pipes.
Located at the very top were the only parts of the The Maw's massive body that rose above the water—the restaurant and the Ship Master's control room.
Their current goal was to reach the top layer of the The Maw—above the water surface—as that was the only way to find a means of leaving this place.
The two slowly walked forward...
Although they had left the Bilge, the air on this floor was still not fresh.
Unlike the damp and fishy smell of the ballast tanks at the bottom, the air here seemed to emit a pungent smell of coal dust.
The lighter's flame had been lit at some unknown point.
Two small figures, illuminated by the firelight, slowly walked towards the depths of the darkness.
The direction was chosen at random; Mono didn't know where the passage to the next floor was located on this level.
The lighter's flame couldn't illuminate all the surrounding scenery; except for the yellowed wooden boards on the ground, everything else was terrifyingly deep.
...
This ship was much larger than imagined. Every room and every compartment seemed to have long, distant borders.
Mono didn't speak, and Six remained quiet.
They both walked very slowly, trying not to make a single sound.
The reason for doing this was, naturally, to avoid startling any monsters that might be hidden in the darkness.
Besides, if he hadn't guessed wrong, this floor was the territory of the blind Long-armed Monster.
A blind person's hearing is always exceptionally sharp. If possible, Mono didn't want to be discovered by it, nor did he want to have contact with any monsters.
Because, although hunting monsters could grant progress points, while there were gains, there were also risks involved.
Killing ordinary monsters didn't give him much of a reward.
Just like those Drowned earlier—even after so many died, he only gained 0.1 progress points.
As for the ability, there was only one: [Underwater Swimming] (allows flexible movement underwater, with lung capacity increased based on stamina).
The blind monster itself just looked a bit peculiar; what kind of ability could it have?
Mono didn't think there was much value in it.
Moreover, another difference between the blind Long-armed Monster and ordinary Drowned was that it was an important servant of the Owner of the Tan E Vessel, constantly finding and providing meat for the three thousand Eaters coming and going on the ship.
If it were killed, then with part of the food supply lost, the Ship Master might discover the anomaly here.
As for the Ship Master's identity, although Mono had some guesses, he was still unclear and couldn't confirm anything.
The only thing he could be sure of was that it wouldn't be easy to deal with.
The eerie Ship Master, who wore a bizarre white skin mask and a Japanese kimono all day, had abilities that ordinary monsters couldn't compare to. This was evident from the fact that both [North Wind] and [shadow] had to help it capture prey.
Mono didn't want to alert it.
And even less... alert those eyes.
Fighting them on the enemy's home turf wasn't always smooth sailing. His primary goal now was to leave this place.
After walking through the darkness for a short while, a broken wooden door suddenly appeared ahead. Passing through the shattered gaps, their vision suddenly changed.
The ground beneath their feet was no longer solid floorboards.
Mono stepped on it, and black coal lumps immediately slid off to both sides.
Looking into the distance, boxes and piles of coal slag stretched far away, with no end in sight.
Mono finally knew why he had smelled the air full of dust earlier.
This was a warehouse for storing coal.
That meant they weren't far from the Engine Room.
Just as he was thinking, his ears suddenly twitched slightly.
"Little Six, put out the fire..." Mono signaled with a wave of his hand.
There seemed to be movement in the corner of the coal pile.
Little Six understood instantly. The Nuclear Lighter immediately lost its light, and the surroundings fell into a hazy gloom. One could only barely make out the outlines through the light reflected by the coal dust.
Mono pulled Little Six and slowly approached the source of the noise... It seemed like something was rummaging through the coal. The sound of rolling pieces became clearer in their ears as they got closer.
Soon, they reached the vicinity of the coal slag where the noise was coming from.
"Shh?"
Mono gave a quiet signal, and Little Six nodded.
Mono slowly took a step forward, revealing his figure.
And in the next moment, the scene behind the coal pile also came into view.
Several small figures with pointed horns could be seen constantly swaying their bodies, walking back and forth atop the coal pile. Occasionally, they would burrow into the coal heap, while others buried their heads inside.
Little Six also hid behind Mono, peeking her head out to get a clear look at the creatures before her.
Weren't these exactly the things they had seen when they first emerged? Little Six silently and puzzledly watched the small beings in front of her.
She didn't know their origins...
ooo
Mono now had another chance to carefully examine the few small Gnomes before him.
He remembered that not long ago, he had kicked one of the poor, unlucky little creatures, after which it had scurried away.
However, these little things seemed to behave almost exactly like they did in the game, darting around with jerky, clumsy movements.
"More Crispy Corners, huh..."
Hesitating for a moment, Mono took a step forward, heading toward the front.
His curiosity had been piqued once again by these little creatures.
What kind of existence did they represent now?
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"