The Princess Kidnapping System Made Me OP-Chapter 91: Swamp Monsters

"Three minutes, fifty seconds," Daphne said, heaving a breath as she turned to Wise, a bright smile on her face.

"Remember your promise," she said, her voice light and her expression bright as blood dripped down her cheek.

Wise suddenly felt a little afraid. He had made that promise in the moment! Anything? What if she asked for something he couldn’t give...

Taking his mind off it, Wise lifted Mirabelle, who was still whimpering, back atop his shoulders.

"You can stop crying now. Check, how do you feel?" he asked as they began moving.

Mirabell paused, then her eyebrows shot up in realization. "The pain, it’s actually gone!"

Wise nodded. "I’m a pro," he said smugly as they walked past the corpses of the goblins.

But by professional, he just meant he had experienced many broken bones, courtesy of his master’s harsh training...

"Oh, before I forget..."

A blue light began to glow on Wise’s hand, and immediately the goblin corpses vanished, their blood the only thing left to show that any battle had occurred here.

Goblins, although weak, actually sold for a fair price.

"Let’s keep going." The more time they wasted here, the higher his chance of getting late to his meeting with the princess.

They continued strolling through the forest, their eyes searching for what they needed. Sometimes they would talk to cover the periods of silence, while other times, they would just enjoy the ruins.

Surprisingly, they had not encountered any new monster, which was strange considering that they were in the middle ring.

"Isn’t it a bit strange?" Wise asked, as they jumped over a fallen tree.

Mirabell, who had her hands on his head to stabilize herself, turned to glance to the side before asking, "What is strange?"

"The monsters... I thought we would have encountered more."

They were in the middle ring, a place that posed considerable danger to most adventurers, and yet, nothing major so far.

She shrugged. "Isn’t that a good thing?"

In normal situations, it would have been, but Wise was still owing the dwarf a fair sum of money.

And in order to keep getting special treatment from Charlotte, he would have to prove his worth soon as well.

"Well, if you’re so eager to do something dangerous, then I guess we’re in luck..."

Wise pushed past a tree and burst into a clearing. There was a quiet sound of dripping water, accompanied by a variety of other concerning sounds...

Croak!

A loud croak spread past the surface of the water, followed by the sound of several others, in a soft, almost rhythmic manner, as though they were in an orchestra.

Wise watched as the slimy green water bubbled, an air bubble rising to the surface just before exploding with a popping sound.

Most likely the breathing of some foul swamp monster in the lake.

"A swamp?" Wise asked dryly, not a question, but an annoyed affirmation.

Beside him, Daphne took a step back, not too enthusiastic about coming an inch closer.

Mirabell smiled and tapped his head in excitement as she pointed to a particularly odd plant. "Crocodile nuts!"

It was a dark green herb that stood on the surface of the water like a water lily, but had a structure similar to a dandelion, only more solid.

It had two round buds that would vibrate each time ripples of water washed past it, and those ripples—

Were produced by a dozen Dolodiles that surrounded the plant as though it were a pot of steaming hot porridge during a famine.

Wise glanced up at the girl, slightly annoyed. "I thought you said you couldn’t go because you were too old..."

Charlotte smiled nervously. "Among other things..."

•

Dolodiles were vicious creatures, each one about the length of three horses. Think of a crocodile, but far bigger, and with teeth so large that they could not fit in their heads.

The only advantage when fighting Dolodiles was that they never stepped out of the water.

Not like it mattered, considering that he was going in to greet them.

Thankfully, they were asleep...

Wise stepped on the surface of the water, a soft ripple spreading through the lake.

Daphne and Mirabell watched him anxiously as the ripples clashed against the monsters.

Nothing.

He placed another foot on the water and began his slow, cautious trek towards them, gingerly moving step after step.

Twelve Dolodiles were nothing to him of course. The problem was their spit!

He could slay every single one of them with ease, but if they managed to spit their foul mouthed water on him...

Wise would stink for weeks!

’Not when I have a meeting with the princess,’ he mused as he continued onward.

Rumble!

One of the Dolodiles suddenly grunted, its nostrils bubbling out foul water as it turned to lay on its side, still managing to float.

Wise froze, waiting.

When the Dolodile did not wake up, he proceeded, hopping over the first one and stretching over the other up until he got to the plant.

The stupid ingredient that had made him go this far.

He reached out to it, his every movement fraught with caution as he grabbed the stalk...

Meanwhile, on the shore.

Mirabell sat cross-legged as she watched Wise finally arrive at the plant.

"Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something important?" she asked, her voice low as she crossed her arms.

"Hmmm."

Then her eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait, where are you going—" Daphne said, but she had already run to the edge of the pond.

"Wise!" she whispered sharply. Strangely, Wise heard her without any effort and glanced in her direction.

"What?" he mouthed as he reached for the plant.

"Don’t pull it out!"

"Huh? Don’t what?" Wise mouthed as he ripped the plant out of the water with a smile.

Click!

Dozens of eyes suddenly snapped open, revealing light green eyes and slit pupils. The Dolodiles had all woken up at once, their mouths wide open in a feral snarl.

"Oh... Don’t pull it out." Wise unsheathed his sword.

"Well, shit."

The Dolodiles suddenly descended into the swamp, and then the water began to bubble.