D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Chapter 1350 Chapter 1350 Tresure for Four Part 1

?--- March --- (Just after entering the portal)

March looked around confused at the landscape. It looked like a perfectly normal beach from where she was standing. A few palm trees off in the distance, waves lapping against the sand. March waved a hand through the 'air' and noticed a slight resistance, but for someone of her strength that's all it was. Slight. *Am I really underwater?* March let out a big puff of air all at once sending a swarm of bubbles out of her mouth.

*That confirms that I'm underwater… but why does everything look like we're still on the beach?* March walked over to the beach, a bit surprised that she could walk over. Once she was at the edge of the 'water' March bent down and dipped her hand into whatever it was. She instantly felt the resistance. It was syrupy, and seemed to cling to her hand, though it didn't quite feel sticky. It was more like the liquid was grabbing onto her hand as best it could.

*Hmm. Entering that might be tough even for me but I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a spot of treasure under there. Is it worth going for though?* March didn't bother thinking for long. Perhaps it wasn't worth it… but it seemed like a CHALLENGE, and March?was never one to shy away from those. There was only one concern, and that was if the collar would let her keep breathing through whatever liquid that was.

So March decided to test it, she took a few steps backwards before charging forward with a bit of steam power to help her out as she built up speed. Just before her feet touched the water March kicked off the ground and flipped so that she was diving straight into the liquid. March took a deep breath just before she made contact and soon she was swallowed by the stuff up to her hips… but no further. She was still technically sinking, slowly, but it was a crawl compared to before.

March shrugged to test the extra weight and found that it was a bit of an issue, but not a major one. After that she tried to take in a small breath and found she could do so just fine. Nodding to herself March started to swim downwards, her powerful arms pulling the rest of her body into the muck. Once she was completely 'submerged' March started to expel a slight amount of steam from her feet to help her move around.

March was headed straight forward, aiming to go away from the 'beach'. It didn't take her long to spot a treasure chest deeper down. Once she'd spotted it, March found it a simply matter to swim towards the treasure. Her powerful muscles more than enough to keep her moving even as the liquid got thicker and thicker, trying to stall the movement of newcomers. Unlikely for this trap, it was March that found it first. For her, this was only a small workout.

March was pacing herself somewhat. No sense in wasting a bunch of extra effort for only a small boost in speed… but she was still making excellent progress. It took perhaps five minutes to get down to the chest and March wasted no time in opening it. Inside, March could see what Lily would recognise as a water gun. Of course, that's just what it LOOKED like.

March frowned as she liberated the odd contraption. Turning it over a few times in her hand. She was easily able to figure out the basics for the weapon. It launched something from the nozzle at the front. What that WAS she didn't know. March decided to give it a test. Pointing it off to the side, March pulled the trigger and… nothing noticeable happened. Frowning, March held it a bit closer and pulled the trigger again. This time she waved a finger in front of the nozzle and felt a slight bit of movement in the liquid.

March chewed on her lip for a second before shrugging and putting the handle of the weapon in her mouth. Treasure secure she swam for the 'surface' exiting the liquid after a short amount of time. She tried to swim up a bit further but found she couldn't leave the liquid with just the work of her arms and legs.

Grumbling internally about how much mana this was going to cost March built up a large charge of steam in the bottom of her feet. She felt them swell as the stored steam started to bunch up and then… release.

March went flying out of the syrup like a bottle rocket, flying in a graceful arc back towards the beach she'd started at. In the end, she fell a bit short of her target, landing heavily in the shallows near the 'beach', but from there she was easily able to jog out of the water. Taking the gun out again, March pointed it at the air next to her and fired. Dark blue gunk shot out of the nozzle at high speed and March nodded. Glad to have her guess confirmed. *Not sure if this is only useful underwater, but it's a good weapon for this challenge.*

--- Marigold --- (Just after entering the portal. Again)

As soon as Marigold was through the portal she found herself plunged into complete darkness. There was no light at all. She didn't let that stop her though, no instead she continued to charge forward until she ran headfirst into a stone wall and bounced off. Marigold didn't let that stop her thought. Despite the large gash on her forehead and several minor cuts she just shrugged it off and walked back over to the wall.

Pitch darkness? This has got to be one of the worst places for me to end up. I might actually regret not wearing a wetsuit if I'm stuck down here too long. It would've been nice to have some gloves or something. Sure the pain isn't a problem, but getting dirt and shit in my wounds? That's just annoying. Oh, and there's the fact that I CAN'T SEE!

*How are the spectators supposed to admire my fabulous body if it's all black down here? Wait… would Thyme bother to brighten up the scene for the watchers? Hmm… I'm not sure. Might as well show off just in case.* Marigold struck a quite pose. Chest out at the front, ass out at the back for maximum effectiveness and then put her hand on the wall and started jogging forward.

The speed she was going meant that her hand regularly suffered from minor cuts and scrapes but they were healed completely before even a second elapsed so it really was no issue for Marigold. She just kept walking forward, hoping to find either some treasure or an exit to the cave. She did bump into corners. Literally on more than one occasion, but for Marigold these were still minor inconveniences. The worst part about it was simply that she had to stop for a bit to reorientate herself, slowing her progress down.

Marigold wasn't really keeping time, so it was hard to say exactly how long it took, but after some unknown amount of time she spotted a light. Not really caring what it was, she hurried towards it, ignoring the cuts she got along the way.

Marigold burst out of the cave and into a large well-lit cavern. What was weird about it, besides from the lights, was that Marigold was now slowly drying. She'd found an air pocket. *Which I suppose makes sense considering the challenge.* Set up inside of the room was a series of platforms leading towards two different treasure chests. One was on the left side of the room and one was on the right. Perhaps this was some way of indicating that you were meant to chose one.

*Well fuck that!* Marigold sprinted forward, leaping through the jumping puzzle with all the skill and grace of a trained acrobat. She went for the left chest first and instead of opening it she swept it up into her arms and then kept going. She didn't stop for a moment as she jumped across the challenge, heading for the other chest. Despite carrying a heavy wooden box, Marigold was barely slowed down and it took her no time at all to reach the second chest.

Marigold put the first one down, and then, with one hand on either chest she threw them both open. Marigold smiled as the lids were thrown back on both chests, glad that her gamble had paid off in full. Looking into the first chest, Marigold saw that it was deeper then it appeared. She was able to pull out a wonderfully crafted spear that looked to be made of moon-

touched silver.

Marigold spun it around in her hands a few time and tested the balance before looking over into the other chest and finding… a miner's hat. Marigold grumbled as she put it on and shoved a bit of mana into it. The light went on as expected and Marigold sighed. "This hat is so uncool. It's bulky, doesn't help me show off my hair and it's heavy… but dammit I do need to see. Fine whatever, it's easy to carry and we are after points I suppose…"