Pick Me Up!

Chapter 139: On the Sea (3) (1)

“……sigh.”

I took a deep breath.

My whole body was drenched with water. I had just let go of the ballista’s aiming device. The sea, which had been stormy with waves and wind, was now calm.

‘We’ve passed the first one.’

Anytng was operating the waiting room as if nothing had happened.

It was an unexpected performance. Anytng had managed to distract the water dragon easily until Katiio could summon the stationary ballista. He naturally dodged the water cannon, and he also managed to escape from sudden obstacles like reefs, sharks, and other monsters. Thanks to that, We were able to get through without facing any major crises.

“Why is he so good at driving…?”

Katiio stood beside me, dumbfounded.

“From now on, just leave it to the master. You just cast support magic from the deck.”

The mini-game was similar to KartRider in its mechanics.

Accelerating and decelerating to drift and collecting gauge through drifting to use boosters.

Well, it was fortunate that it came in handy somewhere.

There are three more bases left.

At the first base, we obtained the mermaid’s tears.

A core item for underwater combat, enabling breathing underwater.

However, it was not perfect.

It was the lowest grade. With this, you could only last for 10 minutes.

‘I can only hope for a more useful item at the next base.’

I had already grasped the pattern.

Each time we obtain an item from a base, the water dragon appears, and it attacks the airship with various patterns during its pursuit. We have to shake off its pursuit and obtain items to counter it, and once all preparations are done, we just have to press the ‘Start Hunting’ button at the bottom of the game.

‘If Anytng is this capable…’

It seems possible to gather all four items.

No, we have to gather all of them.

I recalled the chase from a few minutes ago.

We had summoned the ballista prepared in the waiting room, and Jenna was ready to fire. The plan was to inflict some damage, even if we couldn’t kill it. However,

[‘Blessing of the Water God’ activated!]

[The monster is conditionally immune!]

As the arrow struck its body, this log appeared.

It was the same immunity message as seen on the 20th floor.

But it was written as ‘conditional immunity.’

‘I need to gather more information on it.’

In the end, whether I liked it or not, to strategize, we had to confront it beforehand.

“Next time we encounter it, try shooting arrows underwater.”

I told Jenna, who was practicing underwater shooting at the training ground.

Jenna’s eyes widened.

“Underwater?”

“You saw how it’s immune. We have to find another way. Tie a rope around your body, connect it to the railing, and jump into the water. I’ll pull you up immediately after it’s done.”

“There’s a risk of being swept away.”

Velkist, who was diligently training on the other side of the pool, said.

“Wouldn’t it work if we use a strong rope? It seems like we need to test it.”

Jenna smiled brightly.

“It’s much better to go in knowing as much as possible.”

“That’s true, but.”

“Then it’s decided. Let’s do that tomorrow. Since I’ve handed over the longbow for modifications, I’ll use a short bow.”

I nodded in agreement.

We were expected to arrive tomorrow at the second base.

“And you two are making slow progress. Don’t come out on deck even if it appears. Just practice in the training ground.”

“That’s disappointing.”

Velkist swung his sword with a bitter smile.

To reduce risk, it would be better if everyone could come out on deck, but it couldn’t be helped. If things continued as they were, the ‘tour of bases’ would end in less than a week. We had to become proficient in underwater combat to a usable degree within that time.

‘I’m no exception.’

Three hours of sleep a day was sufficient for me.

I devoted all my remaining time to training.

And the next day.

Our journey to the second base ended relatively smoothly as well.

Anytng was logged in just in time, and we left the driving to him while we secured the item. As expected, the water dragon appeared again.

“I’m going in!”

Jenna saluted me and dived into the sea.

“Kwaaaa!”

I had heard the creature’s roar so many times that it was now becoming tedious.

Jenna’s arrow, shot from underwater, hit the dragon’s body beautifully.

The arrow didn’t pierce the dragon’s skin but didn’t bounce off either.

It wasn’t immune.

‘He’s immune to attacks from outside the water.’

That was the blessing of the water god.

I had somewhat anticipated this.

That’s why we had practiced underwater combat in advance.

[Nice Drift!]

[The acceleration bar is filling up.]

[Nice Drift!]

[The acceleration bar is filling up.]

[Booster On!]

[‘Capitalism’ sails forward rapidly…]

We successfully evaded the second pursuit.

I opened the treasure chest brought from the island.

[Model of the Great Sea Vessel]

[Grade: C+]

[When used, summons a ‘Combat Vessel’.]

[Note 1 – Can only be used in the sea field]

[Note 2 – Requires the goddess’s blessing to use]

[Note 3 – Disappears after one usage]

Inside was a reasonably sized wooden model of a ship.

An unmistakable shape of a ship.

‘It’s similar to the warhorse statue.’

The difference was, unlike the warhorse, the ship model seemed to have a use.

It was clear just from reading the description.

It seemed like an item meant for use on the 35th floor.

“Can only be used in the sea field. Disappears after one usage. The goddess’s blessing…? The goddess’s blessing is… Ah!”

Jenna clapped her hands as she examined the ship model.

“We can use it after activating the goddess statue, right? We should look for the goddess statue first when we go on a mission, like when we were hunting that stone statue.”

Jenna turned to me and smiled.

She had almost fully grasped the rules of the game.

Even without considering the training in Niflheimr, her comprehension was excellent.

‘She would make a good leader.’

Except for her slight softness.

Of course, I had no intention of handing Jenna over to another party.

The next day.

We went to the third base.

[Nice Drift!]

[The acceleration bar is filling up.]

[Nice Drift!]

[The acceleration bar is filling up.]

[Booster On!]

[‘Capitalism’ sails forward rapidly!]

After evading the pursuit.

I opened the third box.

Inside was a long, cylindrical machine that looked like a glass tube.

[Oxygen Supply Device]

[Grade: B+]

[When equipped on the goddess statue, it can recharge the oxygen level of a hero in the ‘Underwater Breathing’ state.]

[Note 1 – Requires the goddess’s blessing to be used]

The bottom of the glass tube had something that looked like a plug.

It seems like you need to plug it into a hole to use it.

‘I see.’

Drinking the mermaid’s tears puts one in an underwater breathing state.

It seemed to extend the duration of underwater breathing. A kind of charger, it seemed.

‘I have a rough estimate now.’

Unlike previous missions, this mission allowed us to grasp the attack pattern in advance.

It was a significant advantage.

‘The goddess statue is the key.’

The ship model and the oxygen supply device couldn’t be used without the goddess’s blessing.

Considering the pattern so far…

‘Protect the goddess statue while another party attacks the water dragon.’josei

It would be nice if the goddess’s blessing was permanent, but that’s unlikely.

Probably, we’d have to split into attack and defense teams, with the defense team protecting the goddess statue until the attack team achieves its goal.

‘Can only one party be used for the attack?’

The potion supply is limited.

Up to five people. Judging by the fact that they offered us a ship statue model, it seems like we need a ship for attacking and another for defense. I recalled the personnel in the current waiting room and began to assign roles.

It took us two days to arrive at the last base.

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!