Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 98: [Fish] - Nerio’s Part (10)

[Can I answer instead? You’re all insane!]

Cocona met Benjamin’s gaze and shrugged indifferently: "It’s nothing. I think staying behind is the wisest choice for someone as ordinary as Eryon. After all, we can’t be sure we’ll be able to protect him fully."

Hearing that, Eryon snorted coldly: "Don’t talk as if I’m completely useless. But if possible, of course, I’d be more than happy to stay."

He waved his hand and returned to his room, showing no embarrassment in front of his teammates.

Leonard narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly not too pleased with the decision.

Ron waved his hand off to the side and said, "Don’t worry. Mornings are usually safe—Eryon will be fine."

Vale suddenly added, "We’ll watch him from a distance. Nothing’s going to happen."

After all, staying in the room was the safest option for now. Leonard pressed his lips together and said nothing more.

[I wish Nerio could see Leonard’s current expression. He’d burst out laughing and revoke Leonard’s title as the top believer.]

[Or maybe Nerio would find it amusing? I never quite understand what goes on in his head.]

[Our adorable Nerio still hasn’t shown up. He’s probably avoiding this place ’cause it’s too boring—these humans are way too dull!]

[And yet still watching, lol.]

[It’s not dull at all! I think Eryon is pretty interesting—Nerio would like him.]

[Will Nerio show up in this dungeon or not? I’m already starting to miss him.]

Nerio had already appeared...

Cocona’s and Benjamin’s group split into two directions—one team would search outside the castle grounds while the other searched the remaining two floors.

"What could we possibly find outside the castle grounds?" Cocona said as she walked, looking bored.

They scanned the castle’s surrounding area, seeing only a vast estate bordered by a forest. Farther out were cultivated fields and livestock farms. Other than the castle staff, there wasn’t a single village or settlement below the estate.

The William family castle stood tall in the wilderness, a testament to their dominance and immense wealth.

"So this is why the castle has so many cold stones. It’s boiling out here," Alice said, visibly uncomfortable, wiping the sweat off her face.

Ron looked at her with surprise: "What’s wrong with you? The weather out here is normal."

The others also turned to look at Alice. She stared back at them, confused: "You guys seriously don’t feel hot?"

"The sun hasn’t even come out," Cocona said, seemingly speechless.

Bella suddenly moved closer to Alice, her nose twitching slightly: "Alice, don’t you notice? There’s a fishy smell on you."

Alice looked puzzled and sniffed the sleeve of her shirt—nothing.

"It must be the contamination," Cocona said coldly.

Alice frowned. "But I’ve been with everyone the whole time. I haven’t done anything different. More importantly, I’m an esper—contamination shouldn’t be happening this quickly."

"There’s only one explanation. The energy in this dungeon is far stronger than in any other, strong enough to contaminate even an esper in no time," Cocona said coldly.

The others began to understand—so this was why the William family hadn’t seemed rushed. Soon enough, the ones who would panic would be the humans, those quickly succumbing to the dungeon’s contamination.

"Alice feels the heat outside and prefers the cold because she’s been contaminated. And the dungeon’s name is [Fish], plus Alice smells fishy... Could it be the William family, which are some fish-type monsters?" Ron speculated.

"Very possible. Ever since we entered, we’ve hardly seen any water. Even the butler warned us to be cautious around it," Alice said slowly.

"A bunch of fish that don’t like water? That’s... weird," Bella mumbled.

By now, they had reached the garden behind the castle. It was filled with various flowers, but they all shared the same condition: they were withered. The once beautiful blossoms had turned yellow and limp. The cracked, dry earth beneath them was no longer suitable for life.

The gardener wore a long, loose black cloak and shuffled about the vast garden, performing her duties. But her care didn’t seem to breathe any life into the dying plants. What they needed was water.

"Why don’t you water them?" Ron asked, guessing from the figure’s build that the gardener was a woman.

The gardener froze when she heard his voice. She straightened up but kept her head slightly bowed. Beneath the oversized hood was only darkness—her face could not be seen.

"Water is forbidden in the castle, dear guests. I thought you were already aware of this," she said. Her voice was raspy and deep—sounding more like a man than a normal woman.

"But the flowers are already wilting. Why not just use water? At this rate, the entire beautiful garden will disappear," Bella said innocently, blinking—though in truth, she was probing.

At that moment, Cocona frowned and stepped forward, protecting herself before Bella.

The gardener’s cloak began to flutter right then, though there was no wind—as if some strange power was swirling around her. The hood flew back, revealing her true face.

The gardener’s head... was a massive tiger orchid. Each petal was lined with sharp, fang-like teeth. Saliva and fresh blood dripped from its maw, thick and revolting.

It cackled. "No need for water—because you’ll make excellent fertilizer!"

As soon as it spoke, the ground began to quake violently. At the same time, the withered plants around them started to shake—as if they were alive. They rose from the soil, revealing massive, monstrous bodies made of vines and rotting flesh hidden beneath the tiny flowers.

Though they had no visible mouths, the booming, unified voice they emitted echoed in everyone’s minds like a swarm of bees:

"Fertilizer, fertilizer, fertilizer, fertilizer!"

They roared in unison and lunged at the humans with terrifying speed. They could phase through the earth at will. The number of vine monsters matched the number of flowers in the garden—an overwhelming force.

The tiger-orchid monster howled: "Become our fertilizer, honoured guests!"

And with that, the monsters’ thick, robust vines shot toward the humans with incredible speed, launching their attack!

Austin, who had always been quiet, suddenly leapt forward to shield Alice, tearing apart the attacking vines with his bare hands.

His body seemed more significant than before—like a mountain. With unbelievable strength, he easily ripped apart a vine monster that lunged near him.

Several vines struck him, but Austin completely ignored them as long as they weren’t life-threatening. He just charged ahead, mercilessly slaughtering the plant monsters.

As long as they were torn into tiny pieces, these plant creatures couldn’t regenerate. If they just kept killing them, eventually, the enemy would fall!

Bella dodged the massive vines gracefully. She frowned slightly, raising her eyes to look at the monsters closing in.

"How ugly... Let me give you all a makeover, hmm?"

With those words, she gently touched the ground. Suddenly, a magic wand appeared in her hand—flamboyant and frilly, looking more like an accessory from a cutesy Lolita outfit than a weapon.

She waved the wand and tapped the heads of several nearby monsters. Instantly, fireworks exploded where she struck, and dazzling lights wrapped around each beast.

The monsters’ grotesque forms were engulfed in rainbow-coloured brilliance in the blink of an eye. When the light faded, they had been completely transformed—into soft, fluffy cotton candy creatures.

Bella placed one hand on her hip and pointed the wand forward with the other, cheerfully announcing:

"Go forth, my sweet candy warriors!"

Obeying her command, the cotton candy monsters slowly advanced toward the hideous vine creatures. They were sluggish—but sticky. Their bodies clung to the enemy, halting their movements. The explosions of candy fibres sounded like crackling fireworks, creating a dreamy, surreal sight in the middle of a brutal battlefield.

Watching from the side, Ron summoned his wind powers and muttered, "Still as cheesy and over-the-top as ever, huh?"

He got goosebumps from Bella’s magical-girl theatrics.

Bella snorted dismissively, ignoring him.

Meanwhile, Leonard stood to the side, watching everyone fight. So far, the monsters hadn’t attacked the central area where he was, so he was still safe. But he was terrified—utterly terrified.

Why were the top members of the association all this strong?

Can I stay here and wait for the battle to end? Leonard even found himself thinking that. His hands were clasped together, trembling as if he were plucking an invisible harp.

Cocona glanced over at him, smirking mockingly.

"Not planning to fight? I thought your power was confirmed to be S-rank. What’s with this pathetic look, huh? The top believer of Nerio?"

Leonard jolted in surprise. He looked toward Cocona, lips pressed tightly together, saying nothing. freeweɓnovel.cøm

Cocona chuckled, not bothering to continue the mockery. Instead, she raised her hand and pointed to the sky.

"Alright, I can’t let my teammates waste all their energy like this."

The moment her words fell, thunderclouds roared into the once-clear blue sky.

"Rumble! Crash!"

Bolts of lightning struck down at unimaginable speed, bombarding the entire garden. The earth shook violently as the onslaught hit. The plant monsters didn’t even have a chance to resist—they were turned to ash instantly, leaving no trace behind.

Cocona stood tall amidst the lightning, the deadly bolts in her hands behaving like obedient little puppies. Her eyes seemed to dance with electric sparks, and the lightning’s glow reflected off her face, making her look cold and arrogant.

This was Cocona—one of the strongest espers on the continent, second in raw power only to the "monster" known as Drake!