In the end, James had no choice but to dive underwater. He had explored every nook and cranny of this dungeon on the surface. He might have found out more on the other side of the lake, but his patience grew thin.
“Damn it, no chest or monsters…” James’ mood soured. He camped near the pond where the last treasure chest was located. He had been itching to test his new skill, quick shot. However, he knew that a ranged attack would be ineffective underwater.
He put his gauntlet, his crossbow, his axe, his leather armor, and his vambraces inside his leather bag. He had thought this when he was asleep. How should he fight underwater? He knew his armor would be utterly useless against a skill. Moreover, the armor would weigh him down, slowing him down. What can he do against such odds? He had to take the risk. He had to move faster underwater than those Sahuagins. The only way to do that is to set aside everything nonessential.
His axe had a shorter reach than his sword, So he also put his axe inside the bag. When he drifted into a slumber, he dreamt of when he got his first —and only— trophy. It was from a local mathematics championship. He felt proud. Of course, when he thought back now, the tournament was a scam.
He needed to pay for joining, limiting the number of participants. Only those rich, lazy kids joined the tournament. So, the chance of him winning was high. Still, at that moment, he felt he was the champion. He felt like if he worked hard, everything would be okay.
In reality, the world wasn’t so kind. Those rich kids ended up becoming more successful than him while he was mediocre. He had failed. They took risks and succeeded while he tried to play it safe and be forgotten. His parents already left this world, and James never had a single chance to make them proud.
A trickle of water woke James from his sleep. He felt footsteps coming closer. However, when he looked, nothing was there. It was nigh impossible to be stealthy in this cave. That could only mean whatever being the footsteps belonged to had already escaped. James wondered whether it was one of those annoying dogs he met on the previous floor.
The dream had calmed him down to a degree. He hesitated, but now he had gathered his resolve. He leaped into the pond, and the weight of the bag dragged him down like an anchor.
The underwater cave was not dark; luminescent moss and glowing plants clung to the walls and ceiling, casting an ethereal light like it was inside an aquarium. However, the clear, bright water didn’t ease his worry. It felt unnerving and alien instead, like something could come and kill you at any moment. James shouldered his heavy leather bag on his right while clutching his sword on his left.
James ventured into the caves. He hadn’t found anyone so far, but he knew now that there were other survivors here on this floor. That pond was interconnected with all the other chambers James had visited before. However, not all underwater chambers had a pond leading to the surface. In one such chamber, James found a chest.
“Finally! A chest! Let it be coins! Or axe mastery scroll!” James’ voice was muffled deep in the water. None heard him anyway, so only the thought that mattered. But fate, as always, had said otherwise. There were neither coins nor scrolls inside. Inside the chest, a single glass sphere the size of a ping-pong ball lay. He took it with his webbed hand, examining it. The glass sphere refracted the light inside the cave, creating a halo of rainbow around it.
[you have obtained the Eye of Mana. Do you wish to change your right eye with the Eye of Mana?]
“What’s the eye of mana?” James’ voice was barely audible, muffled through the water. Nevertheless, the system answered.
[Eye of Mana:
Created by genius alchemy who had no talent for magic. This eye of mana lets the user see mana swirling around the world.]
“Alright! Let’s try it.” James exclaimed, gripping the glass ball tightly. Light swirled on him. He shut his eyes, fearing something might poke his eye, but It didn’t hurt a single bit. Soon, his right eye was replaced, and James felt something hard on his right eye.
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When he opened his eyes, the world transformed before him. Streams of blue and yellow motes of light seemed to swirl, enveloping the very world before his eye. It then created a flow toward one point that James had instinctively tried to avoid.
James grimaced. That place had been on his mind ever since he came underwater. It was the lake in the center of the dungeon. The lake where he first met these fishmen. James had been unconsciously avoiding that place. That place had no cover. If he were to be attacked there, he would be surrounded, outnumbered, and die.
“I should leave that place for last. Right now, what’s important is getting experience. I want to beat at least 1 Sahuagin underwater.” He let out a long sigh as he resolved himself. This dungeon was too straightforward —and that made it dangerous. Imagine having a boss monster camping right before your spawn point.
James had been camping inside one of the lakes for a while now. After about three cycles of sleep and venturing, James was starting to get worried. Worried that there weren’t any enemies left. If there were no enemies left, he would have to fight the boss monster without any experience fighting In the water.
Lady Luck finally smiled upon him as he found what he wanted. At long last, he found the treasure chest he had been looking for. It was guarded by two sahuagins as a bonus. He let go of his bag on the floor and challenged the last mobs on this floor head-on. He intended to get the very last experience out of them. He must focus, he was almost naked, with only fur and a bloodied shirt covering his body. His weapon was only his sword. He left his axes and bows inside his bag, fearing it would weigh him down in the water.
The fishmen answered in kind. They snarled and swam towards him. Their movement was fluid and graceful, they floated up and down with seemingly no resistance. James followed them, but he quickly stumbled. His leg moved slower, and he felt the invisible force of water resistance on his body.
Unlike on land, the monster didn’t begin their strike with a weapon skill. They flanked him, circling him like wolves on the second floor. James deflected their strikes. Unlike on land, all movements here were slower.
At first, James was struggling. He clumsily dodged and parried their trident. Despite the advantage of his status, their trident still found its bark, scratching his torso. Thanks to his fur, the wound was light. James is a quick learner. Something finally clicked on him as the battle continued.
Fighting on water was different from fighting on land. James thought the battle would be the same; the difference is that if you are fighting on water, you can fly freely. That couldn’t be more wrong. Humans instinctively have a sense of gravity; they need to know which way is up and which way is down. Underwater battle didn’t need such notions. There is no falling up and down, there is only propulsion by your webbed feet.
These sahuagins were not elites. They were even worse than the first Sahuagins James met on this floor. Their movements with the spear were crude. It lacked the decisiveness and killing intent of the elite Sahuagins James met near the lake. James now began to wonder, Are they choosing not to use weapon skill… or can’t they?
James made the first initiative. He crouched low, preparing his weapon skills. Light glowed on his sword. This will be the first underwater weapon skill test. However, the skill was deactivated moments later as his posture broke down. He quickly raised his spear to deflect an incoming strike at his head.
“Damn it. I can’t get a good posture.” James spat. Using a sword skill requires a specific posture. The posture needed to activate the skills has some margin of error, but there is a vague line where the skills could get canceled.
James decided to make more daring moves. He decided to lunge at the nearest sahuagin, using his sword to shield himself. The monster jabbed its weapon at him, only to be caught by his sword. Then, James pushed. He pushed the monster hard toward another.
Of course, with its friend on the way, it couldn’t attack. James then took a posture for his skill. He had never prepared a skill in this way before. For a moment, he feared his skill wouldn’t activate. Luckily, he could sense the familiar glow his sword began to emit. Without delay, he launched the skill. The blade glowed and swirled as it drew an arc, slashing toward both sahuagin’s torso. Crimson clouds from Sahuagin’s blood covered his vision. The Sahuagins let out a high-pitched cry of pain, their cries trembled inside the water, vibrating on James’s fur, their body recoiling back before dropping and lying motionless on the dungeon floor.
“Now for the grand prize! What will it be?” James swam to the chest, attaching his spider web to its lid before swimming further away. He had sworn never to open a chest from up close. No matter what comes out of the chest, it will no longer catch him off guard. A crackle burst out from the chest, and sharp spikes shot out from it. The spikes drew a trail of green liquid in the clear water.
“YEAH!! Finally! I dodged a deadly trap!” James clenched his fist. A trap was triggered, and he was fine. It was a vain victory. Nevertheless, he felt as if all of his cautions, all his paranoia, were finally rewarded. He always felt stupid for opening chests like this. However, now he could finally brag that he had avoided a deadly trap thanks to his wisdom.
Reminding himself to be careful, threw a sahuagin’s spear to the chest. The spear flew and hit the chest harmlessly. Using Sahuagin’s corpse as a shield, he approached the chest. He saw a stack of books inside the chest.
[you have obtained a leveling book. You have leveled up to Level 20! Coins received 20]
[Name: James
Age: 35
Sex: male
Levels: 20
Coins: 320
Stats:
STR: 85 (up10)
Dex: 76 (up7)
Magic : 0
Mana : 0
Skills:
* Beginner Axe mastery level 8 (Powerstrike)
* Beginner Sword mastery level 6 (hurricane)
* Beginner Bow Mastery level 5 (Quickshot) (up 1)
Unique Skill:
* Chimera:
* Goblin stomach (Iron guts) (stomach slot)
* Lesser Mana core (Fire spell, Magic+10, Mana +50)(Extra slot 1)
* Orc’s left arm (STR+10%) (Arm slot)
* Eyes of Mana (mana sense) (Right eye slot)
* Sahuagin’s webbed hands(+10% dexterity in water) (right arm slot)
* Sahuagin’s webbed feet(+10% dexterity in water) (leg slot)
* Orc’s torso (torso slot)
* Orc’s head (Head slot)
* Jumping Spider’s fang (Weak Paralysis)(mouth slot)(new)
* Jumping Spiders spinneret (Thread creation)(Extra slot 2)
* Lightning Wolf’s fur (physical resistance +5%)(skin slot)
Equipment:
* Leather armor
* Leather helmet
* Vambrace
* Gauntlets
* War axe
* Longsword
* Crossbow
* Leather pouch
* Waterspout dagger
* Health potion
* Hematonic potion
* Leather bag]
[Magic Shop Unlocked]