Chapter 27: Twisted Fate (1)  

A marine tank formulated with the same salinity as seawater.  

SPLASH!  

The Gigasnail, dropped right into the middle of the saltwater, began thrashing wildly.  

[KYEEEEEEEEEEEE~!]  

The more it thrashed, the more its entire body soaked in seawater.  

Soon.  

BANG! KWAKWAKWABANG-!  

The Gigasnail began slamming its head, tail, and torso against the tank with ferocious force.  

KWABANG! BANG! KWAKWABANG-!  

As the massive body flopped madly, waves started forming inside the tank.  

At the same time, thick reinforced glass began CRACKING with fine fissures spreading out.  

But then.  

ZZZZZZZT!  

The Gigasnail’s tail was torn off in a huge chunk, as if ripped away.  

[KYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~!]  

The Gigasnail writhed, screaming.  

Yellowish-green fluid bubbled up from the severed tail.  

White chunks of flesh melting off the Gigasnail’s body fell PLIP PLIP.  

I clung tightly to a drain pipe and watched the spectacle.  

“……Wow, it really works.”  

Salt is no different from poison to snails.  

Sprinkle salt on a snail, and the moisture in its body rapidly drains, melting it to death.  

Sure enough, the Gigasnail’s tissues were collapsing.  

At that moment.  

GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG……  

The Gigasnail began spewing black oily mucus.  

But the mucus dispersed immediately.  

At this rate, defeating the Gigasnail was only a matter of time.  

However, there was one unexpected variable.  

GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG……  

Due to the endless oil mucus the Gigasnail kept spewing, the water level rose without limit.  

‘……!’  

In an instant, water rose to the top of my head.  

Seawater mixed with mucus and flesh began pouring into my nose and mouth.  

The briny, sticky taste of seawater mixed with the slimy flavor of oil.  

It felt like holding snail juice ground from raw shrimp, seaweed, and salt in my mouth.  

Suppressing the rising nausea, I looked around underwater.  

BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE-  

Beyond the frantically rising bubbles, a vortex swirled violently.  

The glass wall that had CRACKED from the Gigasnail’s collisions.  

Seawater was draining through the hole there.  

“……! ……! ……! ……!”  

I’m reaching my limit. I’ll suffocate at this rate!  

I swam toward the tank wall with all my strength.  

As I neared the hole, my body was sucked in like being caught in a black hole.  

Soon.  

WHOOSH!  

I was flung out of the tank.  

SWHOOOOOOOOOSH~! THUD!  

The outside of the tank was already drenched in oil and mucus.  

I slid SHWOOOOO for a long while before crashing into a wall and stopping.  

I immediately vomited everything in my stomach.  

“BLEEEGH! BLEEEGH~!”  

Yellowish mucus and pale chunks of flesh poured out endlessly.  

+ Interest  

No matter how many times I vomited, the acrid, slimy oil smell in my nose and mouth wouldn’t fade.  

I raised my head.  

THUD! THUD! THUD!  

The Gigasnail was still thrashing inside the tank.  

“Still alive? Tenacious, really.”  

The Gigasnail’s body had shriveled like a deflated balloon.  

It looked ready to POP if pricked with a needle.  

Large chunks of flesh were gouged out across its smooth skin, and yellowish-green fluid and black oil mucus flowed endlessly from the holes.  

[KIKIKIKIKIKIKIKI…….]  

Its bulging eyeballs on the antennae had shriveled like squeezed tomatoes, and the teeth in its maw were falling PLINK PLINK into the water below.  

At that moment, the Gigasnail turned its head toward me.  

Then.  

BANG!  

It began slamming its body against the tank with ferocious momentum.  

Once. Twice. Thrice. Four times. Five times.  

BANG! KWAKWABANG! BANG! KWABANG! KWABANG! BANG!  

The Gigasnail charged persistently, as if in a final struggle.  

CRACK-CRACK-CRACKCRACK- CRACK- CRACKCRACKCRACK-  

Clear cracks spread across the tank like spiderwebs.  

The glass wall began trembling as if about to shatter any second.  

The Gigasnail slammed into the glass wall again.  

KWABANG-! SWHOOOOOOOOOSH-!  

Water from the tank began gushing out like a fountain through the cracks.  

But.  

[…….]  

The Gigasnail could no longer move.  

Its body had melted into a thick paste, sticking to the glass wall.  

At that moment.  

PLINK- PLINK PLINK-  

Something like byproducts separated from the Gigasnail’s body.  

‘That can’t be……!?’  

They escaped through the broken glass and fell at my feet.  

CLANG!  

They were the Gigasnail’s drop items.  

-<Gloves of the Brackish> / Gloves / B+  

Gloves with the Gigasnail’s mucus glands attached. 

Can emit adhesive mucus to stick anywhere.

-Defense +645  

-Skill ‘Adhesive Mucus Secretion’ available  

└Adhesive Mucus Secretion (B+): Secretes adhesive mucus on the glove surface to stick to objects.  

Can adhere regardless of material. (Duration 5 min / Cooldown 30 min.)  

『One Who Treads Oil』: When worn with Brackish Boots, cooldown of ‘Mucus Secretion (B+)’ disappears.  

<Brackish Boots> / Boots / B+

Boots with the Gigasnail’s mucus glands attached.

Can emit adhesive mucus to climb anywhere.

-Defense +645 

-Skill ‘Adhesive Mucus Secretion’ available  

└Adhesive Mucus Secretion (B+): Secretes adhesive mucus to climb surfaces the boots touch.  

Can adhere regardless of material. (Duration 5 min / Cooldown 30 min)  

※『One Who Steps on Oil』: When worn with Gloves of the Brackish, cooldown of ‘Mucus Secretion (B+)’ disappears.  

“Wow, with this, I can climb anywhere?”  

The defense stat alone is useful, but the utility is endlessly versatile.  

Thanks to the set effect of gloves and boots, I can secrete adhesive mucus infinitely.  

But what truly caught my eye was something else.  

<Essence of Oilfield Skin> / Essence / A  

Essence extracted from the Gigasnail.

Absorb to acquire the ‘Oilfield Skin’ skill.  

Oilfield Skin (A): The skill holder can secrete oil mucus from sweat glands across the body and sprint across oil mucus without slipping. 

Additionally, all physical attacks have a 50% chance to miss due to the oil mucus coating.  

“The options are insane.”  

Following Cerberus, even the Gigasnail dropped a skill essence.  

I may not know much else, but my item luck is top-tier.  

“This will work well with the Brackish set.”  

The Brackish set lets me climb ceilings, walls—anywhere.  

The Gigasnail’s essence lets me sprint at high speed over oil.  

Mobility and survivability.  

The two stats I need most right now.  

I cupped the Gigasnail’s essence in both hands.  

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH.  

A warm sensation seeped into my body as the essence turned to light and vanished.  

-DING DONG!  

<You have acquired a new skill!>  

[Skills]  

▶ Expand 

▶ Collapse  

『Oilfield Skin <A> [NEW]

The Gigasnail’s skin is like an oilfield, capable of spewing vast amounts of oil endlessly.  

“Oil…… definitely versatile.”  

The skill’s core ability—high-speed movement over oil—is already useful enough.  

But the applications are endless.  

Spread oil on the floor to create traps, emit oil vapor to make oil fog, or even use fire to turn it into an attack method.  

‘Should I carry a lighter from now on?’  

Thinking that, I carefully scanned the surroundings.  

The aquarium floor was covered in sticky mucus and chunks of flesh.  

Colorful tropical fish flopped between them.  

And more mucus. And more flesh.  

“Ugh.”  

The oil and fishy smell surged again.  

“First, find the exit. And Jeanne.”  

Far down the corridor, a green emergency exit light blinked into view.  

As I started toward the emergency door.  

BANG!  

‘……!?’  

A massive BOOM suddenly came from beyond the door.  

Something had slammed into it.  

I quickly backed far away from the door.  

At the same time.  

BANG! KRRRRRRRRRRRT!  

The emergency door crumpled and flew off.  

From the mangled door, a familiar silhouette rose.  

Our eyes met.  

[Master.]  

A familiar voice.  

It was Jeanne.  

[You are unharmed. I am relieved.]  

“……You look anything but unharmed.”  

Jeanne’s appearance was a wreck.  

Her body was covered in gashes, and the sword in her hand was tattered.  

‘Something pushed her this far.’  

There is only one existence that can overwhelm an A+ rank Death Knight.  

An S-rank dungeon boss, without a doubt.  

At that moment.  

STEP STEP STEP STEP STEP-  

Something began walking out from beyond the emergency exit.  

Blackened iron armor. 

A pitch-black helmet covering the entire face.  

And a dark blue crystal embedded in the center of the helmet.  

The identity of the beast that had cornered Jeanne was…  

“A Death Knight?”  

It was another knight of death.