Dungeon Refrigerator 57

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Salt Sauna

When I was small, I liked to watch horror shows about spirits while hiding under my blanket, trembling in fear. When I grew older, I couldn't muster the courage to imitate those cosplay enthusiasts who took low-angle shots of cute girls. I envied them from a distance, too embarrassed to join their ranks.

Before me stood 3 delinquents, overwhelmed by ghosts, their composure gone, reduced to a state of foolishness.

"W-What? My Nine-Syllable Sword Seal doesn't work on them!?"

I had somewhat anticipated that, so I wasn't surprised. The shock I displayed was merely part of the routine for such situations.

"Guhii! Gur...guruj...ii..."

Oh, is that the guy who, despite being a ghost, somehow managed to strangle someone? That's intriguing. If I ever have the chance to share ghost stories, I'm sure recounting this experience would make me the hero of the moment. That's an envy-inducing person.

And there I was, calmly observing the delinquents and the ghosts.

I had nothing to say about the delinquents. They're just the unfortunate end of young people who got carried away. Whether they lived or died had nothing to do with me. Life can be ruthless. I need data on dungeon monsters, on these unfamiliar creatures called ghosts.

Ghosts are like hazy, amorphous entities. The delinquents desperately flail their arms and legs to shake it off, but the ghosts seem unaffected, neither repelled nor dispersed. Lesser ghost is immune to physical attacks.

On the other hand, Lesser Ghosts surround the delinquents, gently stroking their faces with their hands, causing the delinquents to writhe and scream in agony.

(I see, so that's the method of attack for the ghosts.)

In games, people usually call attacks that drain the opponent's life force an [Energy Drain] or something similar. However, despite the delinquents getting surrounded by Lesser Ghost for at least 5 minutes now, they still showed no signs of dying and continued to scream and struggle.

Hmm, could it be that the ghosts have weak attack power...?

No, that's not it. The ghosts seem to derive pleasure from watching the delinquents squirm in pain. Being a ghost, it probably has nothing better to do and is bored. So, if a delicious feast falls into its lap, it's understandable that it would want to savor it slowly and leisurely.

Its method of attack likely involves depleting the delinquents' mental strength, something akin to a mental drain.

From what I can see, the pressure the ghosts exerted on me is minimal. Combat Frog in my dungeon possesses far more murderous intent and imposing presence. Therefore, these ghosts must belong to the category of relatively weak undead monsters.

I see. Based on these observations, one could call it Lesser Ghost.

"Guhii! Guruj...dajige...de..."

One of the delinquents, spewing saliva and foam from his mouth, pleads for my help. Oh well, what a pitiful sight. A short while ago, he was full of himself, mocking me and even spewing poison. I'll leave that delinquent alone and focus on gathering important data.

"Take this, you ghosts! Salt Splash!"

I throw salt with all my might toward the ghosts surrounding the delinquents. Why do I have salt, you ask? Ah, this remains from an experiment I conducted to see how much salt is needed to defeat Giant Slugs on the 4th floor of my Refrigerator Dungeon. 

The bag was covered in slimy residue, making it too dirty to keep in the kitchen, so I left it in the storage room. By the way, it took approximately 3.5 kg of salt to defeat Giant Slug, and it even required more salt for individuals that produced slimes frequently. It turned out to be an impractical attack method due to the cost involved, as I discovered through this experiment.

"Mmm... No effect, huh?"

Once again, the attack did not affect Lesser Ghost surrounding the delinquents.

"... (Pfft)..."

"Abaaah! Dajige dee!"

"Ubuh! (Erororororoh...!)"

"Gyaaa! Hii! Hihiiii!"

The lesser ghosts briefly turned their attention toward me. However, they still didn't release the delinquents. Someone's spitting something out. It's disgusting, so knock it off.

"Well, how about this? (Jubaa!)"

[Scoffs]

It's an acid bullet attack using the skill [Strong Acid]. However, it passes through the targeted lesser ghost. It seems my [Strong Acid] gets treated as a physical attack. Nevertheless, the skill-based attack caught the attention of one of the lesser ghosts, which finally started moving toward me.

A white mist-like lesser ghost approaches before my eyes. But... not yet.

"Shine! Excalibar! (Buon!)"

"GAAAAHHHHH!"

Splurt... (Puff)

I brandish the Excalibar I took out from under my coat. The white mist-like Lesser Ghost is slashed in a single stroke, emitting a fierce, agonizing scream, and is vanquished.

"Hmph... Just as I thought...!"

My Excalibar has been enhanced by a weapon enchantment scroll, not a doodle for Kerotaro. As a result, it possesses a faint magic aura. Therefore, I believed the attack also had magic properties, and my assumption was correct.

"In that case!... Double Excalibar. Boomerang!! (Byuuoooo!)"

"GAAAAHHHHH!"

Zububishaaa! (Puff, puff)

Uh-oh. What if it only works when I'm holding it? I panicked after throwing it and realized it, but the Double Excalibar splendidly tears Lesser Ghost, and annihilates it in a single strike. By the way, despite shouting "boomerang" and throwing it, it doesn't fly back.

Yes, I won! It's the victory of me and Excalibur! Lesser ghosts, you're not worthy of fear!!

.....

Afterward, I guided and evacuated the delinquents, whose legs had turned weak and whose minds were in disarray to the 3rd  floor while I kicked their helpless backsides. They had accompanied me in collecting valuable data through battles with monsters, so at least I have to save their lives.

"Po... popopo..."

"Uh... Hii... (Shivering)..."

"Choucho... Uhihi... Choucho..."

Due to Lesser Ghost considerably draining their mental strength, they exhibited symptoms of confusion, panic, and regressed behavior.

"Well, hmm... Stay safe, I suppose. Just make sure not to get beaten up by Kobolds or anything."

I've done my part in taking care of them. The rest is up to their luck.

......

"I have become deeply impure..." said Izanagi-no-Mikoto, the Shinto deity who returned from the land of Yomi, as he entered the water to purify himself.

Likewise, after battling lower-level Lesser Ghosts in the dungeon, I feel I got tainted. Even now, it feels like something impure is clinging to me. Hmm, this is concerning. I tend to worry about such things a lot.

"Alright! That's it! I'm going to the bath!"

To cleanse the impurity I acquired, I quickly wrapped up my dungeon exploration and hopped on my motorcycle to head to the super public bath. Yes, there it awaits!

Upon arriving at the super public bath, I immediately washed my body and immersed myself in the nano-carbonated hot spring bath, to take relief. Ahh, this is my favorite super public bath. I often bring Ruu and the others.

"Alright, it's about time... (Splash!)"

Cleansing impurities is no easy task. After all, even Izanagi-no-Mikoto, the Shinto deity who returned from the land of Yomi, had to purify himself 3 times to rid himself of the impurity he brought back, and each time, new deities were born from his body. As a mere human, I'll need to cleanse myself as well.

And there it is, my destination. The place I went to is the salt sauna.

On a weekday afternoon, the bathing area was sparsely populated, including the salt sauna room, which was empty. Yes, to purify the body, I will use the purifying salt! I will rub it thoroughly all over my body, purging every bit of impurity!

"Like this... Let's start with the feet..."

(ScrubScrubScrubScrubScrub)

I take a generous amount of salt from the mound in the jar and rub it meticulously onto my body. Feet, ankles, knees, thighs, buttocks, waist, abdomen, chest, back, shoulders, neck, and of course, I must rub it firmly on my ears so that I won't become "Mimisen Yōichi."

(Melodious music playing)

Hmm, the relaxing music flowing from the speakers is somewhat distracting. I should stuff my ear canals with salt as makeshift earplugs.

(Rubbing sound)

"Rub... rub... (More... more)... There! Perfect!"

I rub salt onto my face and hair, and as a finishing touch, I pile a generous amount of salt on top of my head, resembling a large acupuncture point. Yes, it's perfect. From now on, I will perform salt meditation, or "Salt Meditation," to cleanse the impurity in this salt sauna!

I sit cross-legged, placing my palms on my knees.

Breathe through the nose, slowly, deeply. And relax as if existing or not existing. Even if the salt seeps in and causes a stinging sensation on the backside of my testicles, endure, endure.

And then...

(Piiiiinggg)

There it is. Tinnitus. When I enter a meditative state, I often experience tinnitus with a fairly high probability. Alright, this should put me in a good meditative state...

(...)

No one else is here anymore. All that remains is nothingness...

In this state of meditation, where I no longer sense the passage of time...

(...)

(((...)))

(What...?)

It feels like something is calling out to me.

(((...)))

Could it be the voices of the salt particles that I rubbed onto my body?

(Salt...? Are you salt, and am I salt? From the smallest things to the biggest...? In that case. Am I also just a single grain of salt...?)

(SplashSplashSplashSplash)

In that moment of realization, the chakras, which had fully opened through meditation, connected in a series, and the gathered energy within my body transformed into magical power, shooting up like flames from the crown of my head.

My mind goes blank.

Only the magical power ascends from the crown of my head towards the heavens. For some reason, it feels incredibly pleasant.

Ah... What will become of me if I continue like this...?