The dungeon has been parasitized

Chapter 41 Survival in the Swamp

Thank you, Thunder Crocodile...

I was rude to you just now, I take back the words I said to you in my heart, you are my savior.

Klein has a brand new body and several underlings.

These are all the fish that the lightning crocodile stunned earlier, and he has parasitized them all. Although they are just food for the crocodile, there are still more than ten of them.

That way I wouldn't be afraid of poison; I almost fell into this swamp.

The native swamp fish have excellent visibility in the water, unlike before when Klein couldn't distinguish between humans and animals beyond five meters, so at least he won't run into crocodiles again.

Klein led the school of fish to search the bottom of the water for several minutes, but found no underwater passage.

Judging from the water flow, the swamp should be fluid, which means that when Klein was unconscious, he was carried away by the water for an unknown distance, making it impossible to find a passage.

If we want to get back, we can only slowly fish it out, but this swamp is so big, where exactly could it be?

With no other option, Klein began a meticulous search, tracing the bottom of the water.

After half a day of searching, they still hadn't found the underwater passage, and had even caught a few fish.

However, as we approached the shore of the swamp, we could see various lush plants growing on the bank, though we wondered if they were poisonous.

It's getting dark. Is it safe for Yanami to be alone on the plantation? If you encounter any danger, be sure to run to the safe house...

In order to get back as soon as possible, Klein decided to continue the search.

Whoosh.

Something swam past Klein, creating quite a current.

What is that?

Manipulating the school of fish to gather together, Klein spat out the next seed into the water, just in case.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...

more than one!

Through the murky river water, Klein saw a swimming figure, but its swimming style looked neither like a crocodile nor an ordinary fish.

Whoosh.

coming!

A figure rushed from a distance, and Klein saw his face clearly at that moment.

It has a fish head and neck with gills, but a body with human-shaped limbs, covered with green scales, and webbed hands holding a harpoon.

Fishman?

puff!

He charged at incredible speed, leaving Klein no time to react. He speared a small fish with his harpoon, then quickly turned and disappeared into the murky water.

As he turned, Klein saw his strong legs and wide webbed feet.

Like the fish-men in our minds, this is a natural-born aquatic athlete.

After the fishman swam away, he turned back, and other fishmen approached, making a total of four fishmen who circled around Klein's school of fish, keeping their distance.

Are they hunting? It seems I've been mistaken for prey.

"Snoring, snoring wh-huh."

Strange sounds, almost like language, came from the direction of the fishman who had just stabbed away Little Fish.

"uproar."

Then a response came from another direction.

Are they exchanging tactics?

Bang, bang bang...

Immediately afterwards, a splashing sound came from the water. Klein controlled a small fish to come to the surface and found that the fishmen were at a considerable distance apart, splashing the water with harpoons.

It looked like he was trying to stun the fish. Klein wasn't sure, but he didn't want his fish to get caught.

However, using my abilities might put them on alert, and I wonder how strong they really are...

Now I am a fish, and they think I am an ordinary fish. The enemy is in the open while I am in the dark. Perhaps I can learn about them first, and if there is danger, I can transfer my soul to the seed.

Klein maneuvered the school of fish to dive. He didn't want to be knocked unconscious and killed by accident. If he was just speared, he might not die immediately; he could transfer his soul to save his life. But being knocked unconscious would be the end of him.

Seemingly realizing that splashing the water was not working, they dived down with their harpoons.

One of the fishmen attacked Klein's school of fish, but the other fishmen stayed in the deep water and kept slapping the surface to prevent any fish from escaping.

Whoosh.

The fishmen charged, but Klein, who was prepared, maneuvered the fish minions that were targeted to dodge the fatal stings by wagging their tails, and then led the school of fish away in one direction.

At the same time, Klein activated his skill: Accelerated Growth.

The seeds underwater sprouted into a patch of vines and aquatic plants, hanging down in the water.

Activate Skill: Perception & Vision

Then give the seedlings a visual experience for one hour.

Klein gave the order: "When you see a merman, tie it up with vines."

Klein couldn't manage to control a school of fish and a patch of vines at the same time, so setting up an automated trap would be better.

Leading the school of fish toward the vines, the fish-man chased after them, approaching Klein's vines, but then stopped.

Seemingly puzzled by the vines, they hesitated to take any action.

There's no other way...

Go, little fish!

Klein maneuvered a rather large fish to swim past him, making a circular motion as it did so.

The fish-man opened its mouth in surprise, then charged forward with the fish. Klein quickly manipulated the fish to hide.

As he approached, all the vines activated simultaneously, wrapping around the fish-man. Klein then focused on controlling one of the vines, precisely binding its legs.

Wow!

It looked like it swore, while Klein had already led the school of fish to the side.

Let me see if you can break free...

"Waru, waruka!"

The merman seemed to be chanting, and then a radiance emanated from his entire body. The water around his body visibly began to swirl around him, slicing through all of Klein's vines like blades.

Then, he looked at Klein's school of fish, spread his arms, and pushed forward!

Gudong!

The water current carried the vines, and now a school of fish was rushing towards them. Klein had lost control of the vines and could only sheepishly lead the fish to dodge.

But the vines began to swirl like a vortex, and the water, with its powerful suction, pulled in half of the fish.

Damn it! We got too close!

All the fish enveloped by the water flow were turned around, and the fishman pulled them all back with his outstretched hands, bringing them right in front of him.

The fishman had a fish basket tied around his waist, and he caught all the stunned fish.

These mermen are stronger than I imagined; even the other three are just watching the show.

Klein couldn't let the fish population dwindle any further; he still needed the fish to find passageways.

Leading the school of fish to one side, Klein was confident he could escape from these fishmen.

Although the fish-men were very agile, they lacked strategic ability and failed to realize that their encirclement was incomplete.

Three fishmen were assigned to the deep water area, one to Klein's left and the other to the right, where the riverbank was definitely not an option; Klein couldn't just swim on the shore.

The fish-catching fish are in front of Klein, meaning there are no fish-men guarding behind him.

Klein dropped a seed, and as he swam backward, he activated his skill, causing a patch of vines to sprout.

They probably thought that as long as they didn't go into the deep water, they could catch all the fish with just that one merman, since his magic was very powerful.

But the problem is, Klein isn't just a fish; he can escape if he can only temporarily control the fish-man.

Hahaha, you idiots, I'm running away.

Klein led the school of fish away, while the fish-man, unsurprisingly, was delayed by the vines.

Hmm... I need to find a place to hide for a while, how about that patch of water plants over there?

puff.

Huh? What is that?

Klein's school of fish bumped into something thin and thread-like on the bottom of the water.

Whoosh!

A feeling of weightlessness enveloped his entire body, and the little fish Klein was pulled to the surface of the water.

What?! A fishing net?! ???

Behind Klein lay not a path to survival, but a trap to wipe him out.

They fell into the trap with him, along with many other fish that were not under his control.