Yugioh Card Summoner

CH.276 The banished Mermaid

“I was … banished.” The merfolk girl admitted.

“... I see. I’m sorry.” I apologized. “But still, why attack the fishermen?”

“... I … I need… the fish… to leave.” She told me.

“Can’t you just swim away? There are a few rivers leaving this lake.”

“No. This is … a prison… as long as I have this,” She used her right arm to point at her dungeon terminal. “I cannot leave.”

A dungeon which the master cannot leave? Is that possible? 

(Laura?)

(Check the dungeon out with Dungeon Founder.) She told me, and I did as ordered.

Oh yeah. That is new, by the way. When I look at a dungeon status with Dungeon Founder, I can tell the rank of the core from it. I can also see the status of the founder, deceased, present, near or away. I got that ability after I became a Founder of the Chaos God Dungeon. Didn’t know about that ‘captive’ part.

So, considering there is a current master, and the fact that she has a terminal, her name should be Cailie. But still, this explains nothing. How is the dungeon holding her captive?

(This is a slave dungeon. It was made that way by the Founder. That means that there is a stronger dungeon in some other place, which can be used to remotely control this dungeon. It was then turned into a prison. That means that the Dungeon Master is trapped in here, until they earn enough Generation points to buy their freedom. If they try to leave before that, the core will teleport the Master back to the core.)

(Oh? Alright. I think I get it. So she is attacking the fishermen so that she can take the weak fish monsters to the dungeon, and absorb them for points, so she can leave. Am I even remotely correct?)

(I believe you are, but you should just ask her.) Laura confirmed.

“Are you… trapped… in this dungeon?” I asked.

“Yes. I cannot leave. If I try… the dungeon forces me back here.” 

“I see. … and you need the fish monsters to buy your freedom, right?”

“... how? … how do you know that?”

“I’m somewhat familiar with dungeons.” I said, as I rolled up my sleeve enough that my terminal, with the Ground Assault Bugroth still on it, was revealed.

“... are you also… a prisoner?”

“No. No. Of course not. Do I look like a prisoner? I’m someone who founded a dungeon.”

“... founder… Founder… evil? Founder Aminah made this prison… so did you found a prison?”

“No, I didn’t. There are good dungeons too. Not all of them are prisons.”

“... I see. Good prisons…” Cailie said. “I… trapped here. Not allowed to go home… until I suffer punishment. For that… I need to hunt monsters… and give them to the dungeon…”

Okay. I still don’t think I have the whole story, but I think I understand. Somehow, this girl was imprisoned here and she can’t leave. And she needs to hunt monsters so she can leave. So I think as long as she meets the point requirement to leave, everything should go back to normal, and she will stop attacking the fishing boats.

“Cailie. If I help you get the points you need to leave, will you let the fishermen start fishing again?” I asked the merfolk.

“... but how? No monsters, but fish?”

“Don’t worry. I have plenty of monsters with me. I can give them to you, as long as you promise to let the fishermen fish in the future.”

“... I … I just … want to go home… so if you can help… I’ll leave the fish.”

Good. Sure this will be a bit of a waste, but I do have plenty of monster corpses from our run through HomeBase, so why not? I’d only use them for materials, or absorb them for quicker miasma gains anyway.

I quickly explained everything to Alice, because while she could understand me, she couldn’t understand the merfolk. Then I asked Laura to relay the info to Lua, so she could also go to the Yomi Ship to tell Agunan and Ria that the mission was a success. At least I hope it will be. Well, I guess the Yomi Ships purpose was to help us identify the target, and we did that just fine. But still, Ria will soon-ish have to unsummon Yomi Ship, so better to get that message going.

---

“Alright. I’ll bring out some monster corpses now. You can just absorb them all.” I told the mermaid… merfolk girl, before I began piling some insect corpses on the floor. Both Alice and I had unsummoned our Bugroths, just to hopefully have the merfolk girl relax a bit more.

I started with some of the spiders from the first floor of 27_001. I already stripped the venom glands, as well as the spinnerets from them, so they would be worth less points than if they were complete, but without those parts, they weren’t that great. Sure you could eat them, but I’d rather not eat a spider, and you could also use their exoskeleton to make armor, but I have better stuff for that.

As for why I took both the venom glands and the spinnerets, well, the poison from the spiders is quite potent and it does damage over time, instead of instant damage like my Poison of the Old Man. Mixing the two would make for quite the lethal combo, a big burst followed by DOT. 

And the spinnerets could be used to extract high quality spider silk, and that can be quite valuable. And comfortable. I kind of want to make some nightgowns for Alice and Lua from spider silk, so of course I’ll keep them. Or maybe I should make some tights. Or maybe knee highs. So many options.

“These… are high level … monsters… Can I really … have them?”

“Don’t worry. I already took the most expensive parts out, so they aren’t that expensive any more.” I lied to the merfolk girl. Sure they are stripped from some parts, but each of these spiders would still sell for anywhere from 4 to 6 gold coins. With the venom glands and spinnerets, they’d be a bit over double that, 12 to 14 gold.

As the merfolk was still looking at the pile of spiders, probably wondering if she really may take them, I began making a second pile. This time, from plant monsters from the second floor of 27_001. After that, the third floor bird monsters. Then fourth floor griffons. 

---

Click. Clang.

“I … I’m … I’m free?” The merfolk questioned as the Master’s terminal opened from around her arm, and clanged on the floor. Soon after the terminal hit the ground, it disappeared into nothingness.

We hadn’t even gone through three floors worth of monsters from 27_001 when the terminal opened and released her. According to Laura, the merfolk got around 200,000 Generation points from the monsters she absorbed, so that was likely what she needed to be released. Had she done it with the local fish, she’d have had to hunt around 1000 fishes for that. In all honesty, quite the reasonable punishment, depending on why she was sent here. 

… I actually never asked why she was sent here… I hope I didn’t just release a murderer mermaid or something. 

Well, I don’t think I did, considering that all she was doing was attacking the nets and fishing lines so that she’d have more fish to hunt.

“... thank you… human. I … Thank you.” The merfolk mumbled.

“Don’t worry about it. So, what will you do now?” I asked her, but before I got an answer, something began to happen.

Some sort of magic circle was beginning to form under her … well tail. Merfolk don’t have feet, they have a tail fin. 

“Going home. This,” She said as she pointed at her feet. “Will take me home. Thank you. Come visit… if you can.”

“I’ll see if I can.” I answered. “Take care, Cailie.”

Soon the magic circle was complete and after it was, it shined brightly and then the merfolk girl disappeared. The magic circle glowed for a bit longer, before it too disappeared from sight. 

(Laura, make sure Tahlia has a good picture of that magic circle. I want to know how it works, so we can potentially use it.)

(Yes. She already records all that you see, so I’ll have her make a perfect render of it, and I’ll ask the spellcasters that know teleportation to analyze it.) Laura answered.

And there is my reward. I have to say, it was worth giving up all of those monster corpses for a new set.

“Alice, let’s head back. … wait. We should probably come up with a different story first, just so we’ll have something to actually blame. I don’t think the citizens will be happy if we blame a merfolk that is no longer even here.”

---

After we came up with a story, which is… believable, I summoned a copy of Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 and we both got into it. It wasn’t too bad for two, but it was still clearly meant for one person, so Alice had to sit on my lap. Not that she minded.

I let Alice keep the Spellbinding Circle, as well as her Amphibious Bugroth MK-3. I also handed her her own copy of Monster Reborn, while I was at it.

After we got to the surface, we rendezvoused with the others, quickly told them all what happened, and what was going to be our plan going forward. I also got three fish from Ria and Agunan, which they had caught during their bait operation, so that was nice. I’ll have Kitchen Dragonmaid cook something nice from the fish.

---

“So you located and eliminated a dark shark?” The guild master questioned.

“Yes. I believe that was the cause of what happened. It must have been attacking the easy prey held in the nets or fishing lines of the fishermen.” Yeah. That was the lie I decided to go with. Blame it all on a B-rank monster. One which is basically invisible to the naked eye anyway, and with the lake being as muddy as it is, there is no way anyone would be able to tell what the true culprit was. And even if they did, when I bring out the corpse of a B-rank monster from my Storage, I don’t think many will question what the true cause was. 

Soon enough, we were in a guild storehouse and I brought the corpse of a dark shark out from my Storage. Before I revealed my status to the public when I was given my noble title, I claimed I had Inventory, but now, there is no point since the truth is out there anyway.

“I see… so there really was a monster like this in that lake…”

“Yeah. Well, no longer, hopefully.”

“Yes. If more B-rank monsters showed up, we would be in deep trouble.” The GM said. “Come with me please. I’ll process you completing the mission, and pay you. Also, we’d like to buy this shark for 20 gold, if that is fine.”

20, huh. A bit high for a dark shark, I believe, but I’ll accept it. 

“Sure. That is fine.” I agreed.

With the problem plaguing the town now gone, the guild master, as well as Mariina’s assistant quickly got to work. Tomorrow they’d hold some preliminary exams, and then the day after that, Mariina would hold the actual tests. But that is not for me to worry about, so I just headed back to our lodgings. 

I have a new set, and I want to open some packs.

---

Yes. Let’s see what saving a … not a mermaid gets me.

E-call and Righteous Justice, huh. Not bad at all. Diamond Dude is alright as well. Even Elemental Recharge could be useful in some situations. And I guess if I want a Guard Dog, I have one now. Mariner is just food for the fusion challenge, I should summon my new fusions by the way, and Celestial Transformation is a bit too limiting to be actually useful. 

Next.

Well, well, well. Cyber Prima, huh. Not bad. Forced Back is… potentially useful. Storming Wynn is alright, as in Captain Tenacious. Heated Heart is not bad either. Misfortune is just… well, maybe it has uses.

Next.

… Don’t tell me Dimensional Fissure does what I think it does. It opens a dimensional fissure, won’t it? Well, I guess Exodia could already do that, so … still. Maybe I should not use that card.

Also, two more charmers. Well, they aren’t actually charmers, but they are part of that series of cards. How many variants did they have again?

Royal Knight and Senku are… usable but not that good. Well, Royal Knight is not bad, I guess. Just needs an equip or two. And Herald of Green Light is not bad.

Next.

And now I got the Oversoul. That is all the parts of Hero Flash, except the flash itself. Doom Lord is nice, even though I’d rather defeat the opponent than send it to the future. Searchlightman… well, maybe I’ll need a lot of light at some point. And Whirlwind Weasel looks like a badass and his effect isn’t bad either. And because he is a flip monster, I should be able to set him on myself, and have him auto summon himself if I face a magician. I’ll consider it the next time I redo my set cards.

Next.

Grand Convergence, huh. Too bad it needs Macro Cosmos. And it might be a bit too destructive. Hiita is also looking pretty, but she always is. Red hair just looks nice. Isn’t that right, Lua? And Guard Penalty is useless.

Next.

There is the Macro Cosmos. I honestly thought it was a rare, not a common. Majestic Mech - Ohka looks cool, it is like a mechanical winged lion thing, so I might actually use it. Bountiful Artemis is good in Counter Fairy decks, but I’m not sure if I’ll need her. Actually, if she can activate counter traps, she might be useful for things. And Necroid Shaman, well, it is a fusion monster. 

Next.

Clock Tower Prison, huh. Fitting, considering that I was in a prison dungeon today. Also, Cyber Tutu is cute. I wonder if Alice or Lua would cosplay her if I asked?

… let’s open next pack, before I get too degenerate.

Wow. An Ultimate Rare Phoenix Enforcer. Nice. It might honestly be even better than Flame Wingman for me. The effect is just a bit better under the rules I play with. Cyber Kirin is also nice. I can use it to negate Power Bond damage. And Destruction of Destiny is just … why? Why does it work like that?

Anyway, two more packs. Let’s go.

Wow. Four commons that I didn’t even have in one pack. Cyber Gymnast is not bad at all. Swift Birdman Joe is just an off brand Harpie Lady. Power Capsule need a Victory Viper, but still good to have in case I get the ship, and D - Shield is… well, a card.

Last pack of the day. Maybe something good, please.

Life Equalizer might be, actually, it could have some uses. I have a lot of HP, and if the extra HP from Agunan counts, I might be able to activate it whenever I want, so I can instantly heal someone to 3000 HP. Still, I have better cards for healing.

But still, because of the Ultimate Rare Elemental HERO Wild Wingman, this is a great pack to end on.

I hope Cailie is doing as well as my packs did, wherever she teleported to. Maybe I should ask around about this Nixie merfolk clan. Cailie should be a member of it, so if I find out where they live, I could go visit. 

Well, something to do later.