“This damned river… Emperor Joseph doesn’t want to go down anymore!”
In order to find the thing that Pistachio had mentioned, Joseph braced himself and searched in the river water for more than twenty minutes.
However, the piercing cold river water did not allow him to continue diving, so he did not see a single hair except the river water.
In order to get rid of the cold, Joseph got out of bed early in the morning, cooked a big pot of meat soup, and sprinkled a bunch of chilies to get rid of the cold.
The taste of the completely spicy soup completely exploded in his mouth, making him sweat profusely.
Thus, the spice completely drove away the cold in his body. His whole body became comfortable as if he was in a sauna.
After recovering, Joseph once again began a new round of exploration with pistachio.
From Joseph’s transmigration until now, the excavation work he had carried out was usually carried out under the Prompting System.
Sometimes, he even wondered why the treasure chest that the system had prompted was either underground or hidden in the earth wall.
Then, was there no treasure chest above his area?
So, after making all the preparations, Joseph decided to try digging upward as a short-term exploration goal.
The tunnel that he explored yesterday was considered a set of alternatives by Joseph. If the plan to dig upward did not yield any results, then he would explore that tunnel again.
Other than himself, he believed that very few people would want to explore the world above their heads.
It was a task that might not give any results.
However, Joseph wanted to give it a try.
Especially with the system’s prompt, he believed that he would not return empty-handed.
Joseph chose an area and stood on the ground, sizing up the wall above his head.
[System Prompt: a Ghost-Faced Butterfly is sleeping on top of your head. If you have not seen a butterfly that is even bigger than a Demon Pig, then I hope you can be mentally prepared. The Ghost-Faced Butterfly will give you a huge surprise!]
Joseph took out the Magical Beast Handbook and flipped to a page that belonged to the Ghost-Faced Butterfly.
[Species: Ghost-Faced Butterfly ]
[Living Area: in the tunnels above the underground world, often falling into a deep sleep ]
[Attack Method: by flapping its wings, it will release poisonous pollen, and the sharp needle hidden in the ghost face will deliver a fatal blow.]
[Danger Level: low ]
Poisonous pollen?
Joseph, who had been hunting close-combat magical beasts, suddenly met a guy who could attack from afar. Thus, he was really not used to it.
However, since he had already made a decision, there was no reason to give up.
Who knew if there were things that were more troublesome than this Ghost-Faced Butterfly in other places.
“Looks like I have to make some small preparations!”
In order to prevent the poisonous pollen from being absorbed into his body, Joseph bought two N95 medical masks on the trading platform and carefully put them on his face. The other one covered happy’s entire small face, all that was left was a pair of cute little eyes.
“Everything is ready. Get ready to start digging!”
In order to dig upward with less effort, Joseph had dug out a small platform from the mud wall at the side to close the distance between himself and the mud wall above his head.
The ground to the top of his head was about ten meters, while Joseph dug out a platform about one meter at the nine-meter point.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Joseph stood on the platform and kept knocking upward. This was completely different from digging underground, which increased the difficulty and physical strength of digging.
Just as piles of sand piled up beside him, it slowly formed a small platform again, allowing Joseph to continue digging deeper along the tunnel he dug.
Joseph closed his eyes tightly. He held the shovel handle with both hands, and he repeatedly tapped on it.
Pistachio lay in a corner and watched this scene with curiosity.
“Bah! Bah!”
Joseph opened his eyes and shook off the sand on his body. He looked at the tunnel that was already showing some results. He tilted the shovel again and began digging deeper into the side.
In order to stand in the tunnel, he had to dig a place that could accommodate himself. Otherwise, he would not be able to dig a tunnel that he was satisfied with.
Every time Joseph dug, the sand platform under his feet would be higher. This allowed him to maintain a certain distance from the tunnel above so that he would not be unable to continue digging because of the distance.
After digging for about ten minutes, Joseph finally dug out a spot in the tunnel that was less than one meter wide but was enough for him to stay in.
He squatted in the tunnel and repeatedly repeated this operation. When he continued digging up about ten meters, the sound of a cave collapsing suddenly rang out.
“Bang!”
A large pile of sand quickly fell to the ground, almost burying alive Pistachio that was waiting below.
Looking at the collapsing scene above, Joseph discovered that there was another cave in this place.
He had originally thought that the earth wall above him was like the Earth, and there was an endless amount of soil.
However, he saw a cave that was exactly the same as the one below.
The earth wall was surrounded on all four sides, and at the center of it was a space that was about nine to ten meters tall. It was like a building on Earth. Other than the difference in size, there was not much difference in the size of the houses.
“Pistachio, come up!”
Joseph took out the rope that he had prepared beforehand from his backpack and threw it down. He pulled up Pistachio that was biting on the rope.
“Go up first in a while and investigate the situation above. If there is any danger, come down immediately. I’ll follow you later!”
Just as Joseph spoke to Pistachio, he stretched out his hands to support himself on both sides of the tunnel and slowly climbed up.
Pistachio jumped a few times and disappeared into the tunnel.
Joseph held the Cursed Dagger in his mouth and continued moving forward with his hands and feet.
“As expected!”
When Joseph climbed out of the tunnel, he looked at his surroundings. It was just as he had guessed. The underground world was not like Earth, where everyone was on the same level.
Instead, it was divided into different areas like buildings.
There were neat mud walls on all four sides. In the corner, there was a gigantic Ghost-Faced Butterfly hanging upside down on the wall. It was in a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, Pistachio stood on the ground and kept observing the Ghost-Faced Butterfly.
The Ghost-Faced Butterfly was about three meters long. It was already slightly bigger than two of Joseph even before it spread its wings.
Its face was like a ferocious ghost face. It was extremely ferocious and terrifying, completely unworthy of its colorful wings.
“Strike first and gain the upper hand. Strike later and you’ll suffer!”
Joseph took out the Soldier’s Crossbow and gently pulled the switch with his finger.
“Whoosh!”
The Ghost-Faced Butterfly that was sleeping seemed to have foreseen the danger. It immediately opened its emerald green eyes.
However, it was too late.
Joseph, who had gone through many battles, was no longer as inaccurate as the newbie with the crossbow.
“Bang!”
The arrow pierced through the Ghost-Faced Butterfly’s face, and its huge body fell onto the ground weakly.
It did not even have the chance to use its trump card, the poisonous pollen.
“Pistachio, look around and see if there are any other Magical Beasts around!”