Chapter 302 - Devilfish Stomach Labyrinth (III) (1/2)

”What is this?”

Opening the small diary, the map that is included in the diary fell out. Picking up the map, my eyebrows frowned seeing that the current map I was making is the same map that I was currently holding right now, however, this one is a fully mapped one. It even has some markings that mark the unusual things present in that particular area.

I compared the two maps and indeed, it was the same map. There are some slight differences but very subtle and maybe it was due to how long it has been since the map was made compared to my map that is still in the works. However, seeing a complete map means there is someone here in the past that mapped out the whole place. Looking at the map, it seems we have yet to fully explore the whole place and just managed to cover half of the area.

I quickly skimmed through the diary and check anything that might sound insightful. There are a few that is unimportant as he was just writing some ramblings on how he is so powerless while inside the stomach of the Ice Devilfish. One fact he laments is that he lacks the necessary tools to escape as he didn't bring any weapons. Now I know what happened to him. There are two fates he might have suffered. It would be either he got crazy and killed himself or he starved and died.

Now, in this matter, the starving thing should be illogical. If he was an explorer, he can easily find any sort of thing he can use as food. In fact, the fleshy parts of the stomach of the Ice Devilfish might serve as a portion of emergency food and if the Ice Devilfish eat fish and other kinds of food, he can just scrounge it since the Ice Devilfish never chewed it.

But getting crazy is much logical. A normal human would go crazy especially if they are in a harsh situation like this for a long time. Unless they can fully adapt, getting crazy and killing themselves is a very high probability.

I took note of those entries that have the important bits and folded them so that I can check them again after I fully check the other entries. After a full scan, I folded 10 entries. All of these entries are pretty long and from what I skimmed on these entries, they are all pretty important tidbits.

”Master, I think you should see this,” Lina directed my eyes to something hidden near the growing shrubs on the side. Although this is a stomach, I am a bit not sure how the shrubs and some trees are growing inside the stomach. If I have something like this on my stomach, I would feel very uncomfortable.

Lina led me a bit before we arrived at the place she discovered. There, I saw a corpse, or should I say a skeleton. He is still wearing clothes but due to his body no longer possessing any flesh after it decayed for how many years it has been, it is no longer fit on his body. But one thing that immediately strike my attention is the knife embedded in his heart area.

Yep, my theory is correct, it seems this guy has gone crazy and decided to end his life in the process. His sanity has dropped tremendously perhaps and depending on how they can handle it, the worst and the most common outcome is that they will just go and die.

From his clothes alone, he is indeed an explorer. Perhaps he stumbled upon the Ice Devilfish and got swallowed in the process. I think it was also mentioned in the diary but I skipped it so I don't know his real story.

I checked the pockets of his clothes and checked for anything inside of it. Although I didn't find anything interesting, there are a few disheveled cigarettes inside. Maybe it got wet in the process, lowering his chance to even light up one cigar to alleviate his mood and restore a bit of his sanity. Other than that, there is the damp and torn map of the Aquagius Continent and a Compass. Checking the compass, I didn't expect to see what the compass was since this was not a normal compass that anyone can get their hands into.

[Treasure Hunter's Antique Compass]

Type: Gadget

Info: A compass that can provide both directions and the location of a treasure in an area. Only 5 pieces were produced around the world and due to how unique it was, many people wanted to get a single one just to find treasures.

Note: This compass might be older than you think but it's more useful than you.

As enticing the compass to me, this isn't my compass and this is a clear disrespect if I decided to covet it. Even though this is a game, taboos like this are pretty common and usually, it doesn't end well.

I sighed and decided to put it back on his clothes. However, I didn't want to let him stay here forever. Seeing that his corpse is now labeled as an item, I decided to put his body in my inventory. Once we get out, I will bury him somewhere that he can give back his peace.

There aren't any clues left behind by him other than the map and the diary.

”Looks like there isn't anything left here. He didn't have anything left other than the clothes and compass. The map is barely useful so I didn't bother to salvage it. I think we are done here, guys,” I stood up after putting the corpse to my inventory.