Belly of the beast part 3

The water felt burning in his throat and oxygen was almost non-existing. The spinning of Asato’s head was a direct result of his lack of oxygen. On a good day, a perfect day even - Asato would have come to terms with it.

He would have adapted but it was something about this water -this very atmosphere which rendered his brain not working properly. It refused to cooperate and hence the body sank deeper into the greenish water.

Then his body stuck something inside the unclean water and the concentration broke. All the pain came rushing back toward his inside and Asato tried to gasp in pain.

The water took the chance to enter through his mouth and all of a sudden the dormant part of Asato’s consciousness felt itself rise.

His focus shifted from trying to breathe to actually reaching the surface of the water. He was not too far gone, but the water was unusually dense.

His body was heavy but Asato took advantage of the thing that stuck him to help him out. His hand reached to grasp the rough, uneven surface of something natural. Despite its unusual texture, it was not totally unfamiliar to him.

It felt like a root that had broken his fall, but he could not see it clearly. The water still obstructed his vision and made him unable to see much of anything.

However, it provided him with enough of a foothold to be able to proper himself back toward the surface. The water pushed him back down but the force of his push seemed rough to barely make to the surface.

His face broke through and he took in a few deep breaths before he felt the gravity pull him down again. Whatever this liquid did not help at all. All it did was to make his clothes heavier than before.

For a second time, Asato felt his body float down the water but this time he was ready. He allowed his body to float down toward the root. Once he reached it, he took hold of it.

Surely, if there was a root then there was a tree nearby. He could use it to exit the water and take a look around. Escaping water and finding dry land would not be easy - it was a swamp after all.

But a tree would have a lot of branches. Branches he could use as a high ground. And somehow, this liquid seemed not safe to be in.

It’s viscosity was way too much to be safe.

However, he soon came to realise that it would not be that easy. It took multiple jumps to break the surface before he made significant progress and reached the tree. His mind only prioritised his own safety and focused on conserving what precious oxygen he had.

The tree was a god sent for Asato. But it was frustratingly difficult to even hold onto it. The tree trunk was much slimier than the root and to get a grip on it was nearly impossible for his human hands.

And he could not call onto any of his magic - not as long as he was in the water. The water was hollow of magic, a contradiction to the laws of nature but somehow fitting for such an unnatural place.

Luckily, he had not discarded his bag. It might have been foolish for it could have killed him if he was not careful - but now it seemed like a godsend. It contained his cutting knives which he was grateful for.

The tree trunk gave way under his knives but it was really not easy to do so. His arms hurt after all the effort it took to get out of the water but as soon as he broke the surface, Asato took a deep breath.

His lungs still burned but the constant supply of oxygen made them feel much better. The lowest branch did not look steady at all. It was too thin to stand which caused an unfortunate delay in the quest for the foothold.

Asato collapsed as soon as he pulled himself up on a somewhat appropriate branch that could support his weight. The knives fell into the water as soon as they left his hand.

Asato held on for dear life as his breath caught up with his body. His mind which had been in an overdrive till now relaxed a little more. He was safe for now.

The place really was as dreadful as he had thought it to be at his first look. The whole palace stank really bad and the air had a salinity to it. The rocks above made the whole atmosphere all the more gloomy.

It was not a nice place to be at but there were bigger problems that tied up the whole thing. What was such a place doing in the easter city dungeon? There had never been reports of such a place at all.

Was this a new development? Again, not possible since dungeons were a magical byproduct and hence, could not change themselves at all.

Then there was only one option left - this was an undiscovered area. But why had they discovered it now? And so easily too?

No, they had not discovered it at all - they had been led here on purpose. The fall, the emergence of holes, it had all been a ploy to get them here.

But for what purpose?

He could theroise it all later but he had more urgent work right now. To find Sumeru would have to take priority since she knew much more than him.

And she fell as well which meant that she was down here too. To get back he would likely need her help.

But he could not leave the tree so easily. The magic in his surroundings was thin which made him hesitate to use it. He was not sure if it would be enough and he had no energy left to do much.

He wanted to go to sleep, but that was not a safe option at the moment.

The marsh looked far too quiet to be without it’s natural predators and Asato needed to secure his perimeters before he could proceed to rest.

His bag had his equipment which relieved Asato a lot. There were perimeter securing tools inside which made his job much easier.

But his lack of current power and injured state still made the job incredibly frustrating. The more he moved, the more he could feel the hurt and injury agitate on his back.

He needed treatment but he was not sure he was enough to give himself a good enough warping. He had almost nothing for such deep injuries and all he could do was to wait it out. His magic would take care of it but with such a thin supply, it would take longer.

He did not know how long it took to hand all his seals but if Asato had to guess then he would say that it took a little over two hours. Mainly because he had to stop and give himself a break every few minutes.

His body refused to move but he pushed it to move. He couldn't keep lying down forever, he needed to secure his place.

And he could feel the temperature drop. His body could feel the chills around the place. His body was not supposed to feel anything much less this.

This was not a normal phenomenon then. Ever since his death, he had lost the ability to sense temperature changes, but here he was once again, feeling the cold he was not supposed to.

As soon as his perimeters were secured, Asato felt himself collapse. His mind was floating, not fully there with him and he felt himself float away.

His eyes saw everything was blurry and there was a strange aftertaste on his tongue, most likely due to the swamp water. It had not dried up at all and somehow it felt like it would not dry at all if he did not do something.

So, with the last of his strength, Asato cast the spell necessary to dry himself and clean the water away. But it took everything he had and before he knew it, he was gone.

His consciousness faded to black and among the dangerous situation he found himself in - he went to sleep.

It was not a comfortable sleep but it did its job. However, the recovery period was not to last for long. The unnatural silence of the forest tilted and the sound of moving water reached his ears.

When he looked down, Asato was thankful he had been aware enough to lay down the preparations beforehand. The snake/creature from before was below him right at that moment.

(Apparently, web novel was kind enough to provide me with a redeem code that I can share with you all - AB9EYLDQWV26ENDEA. If you are able to redeem it then let me know by gifting a small amount so that I can provide and acquire more codes for youin future)