Chapter 17: Underwater Journey
[Touch of the Murloc King (Sprayer)]
[Quality: Lv1 (Blue/Decoration)]
[Attributes: +1 Constitution, + Spirit]
[Equipped Professions: Mage, Assassin, Priest, Warlock...]
[Equip Level: Lv1]
[Fang of the Murloc King (Dagger)]
[Quality: Lv1 (Blue)]
[Attack: 3-6]
[Attributes: +1 Agility, +1 Constitution]
[Equipped Professions: thief, Druid, Assassin...]
[Equip Level: Lv1]
Looking at these two blue-quality items, along with ten green ones and a large quantity of white items, Leon didn’t know what to say. His luck hadn’t been great this time, and the loot was unusable for him.
However, the Murloc village’s structures brought him some gains. The wood and aquatic plants that were dismantled turned into about fifty crates of standard supplies. Among them, seven were green-quality, and one was blue-quality, which were just as valuable as the loot from the last boss.
After packing up the supplies and equipment, Leon turned to look at the Squad. By now, they had finished dealing with the Murlocs' bodies.
Since all the corpses were to be used for the hidden boss offering, Leon didn’t touch any of them. They were all frozen by the Shaman and stored in some unknown space.
Afterward, the Hunter pulled Leon aside to explain the battle plan for the next day. Unlike the previous battles, there wouldn’t be any safe places for Leon to hide. He would have to stay close behind the Squad, and the safest spot would naturally be next to the Shaman.
But during the battle, not even the Shaman could guarantee his position would always be safe, so Leon had to dodge attacks alongside them.
Furthermore, when dealing with the boss, Leon would also need to avoid attacks. Even if he couldn’t completely evade them, he couldn’t lead the attacks toward the Squad.
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Leon had no issues with these demands. Previously, he had already played the role of bait and knew how to protect himself. Even if things got troublesome, surviving wasn’t a big problem. The challenge was coordinating with the Squad, as Leon had his own rhythm.
Meanwhile, the Shaman and others were busy setting up the camp and preparing food for the night. This time, the meal came from the nearby area—salted fish hanging inside the Murlocs' huts.
The Shaman made a thick fish soup and several skewers of grilled fish. The food was much better than the day before.
[Supply Meal Fish Soup: Recovers 100 HP and 100 MP over 3 minutes. If consumed for 5 minutes, all combat skill cooldowns are refreshed, and sleep effect increases by 15%.]
[Supply Meal Grilled Fish: Recovers 100 HP and 100 MP over 3 minutes. If consumed for 5 minutes, post-sleep HP increases by 15%.]
Early the next morning, the Druid was the first to dive into the water.
The Hunter and Shaman protected Leon, while the thief took up the rear.
Before entering the water, they briefed him on the key points of the operation. This time, they only needed to swim underwater for about ten minutes, so swimming ability wasn’t a major concern. The important part would be the actions inside the cave.
Once in the water, the Hunter didn’t immediately take Leon to the cave of the second part of the dungeon. Instead, they pointed out some herbs needed for the [Murloc Flower in Water].
This herb, called the Murloc Flower, is a plant that coexists with Murlocs. It usually grows underwater, absorbing Murloc body fluids to grow. It has a long blooming period and eventually bears a fruit that Murlocs use to coat their scales, strengthening their bodies.
For most people, the Murloc Flower has a skin-hardening effect, making it a common quest item.
The required amount for this quest wasn’t large. Moreover, since no one had gathered it in a long time, the Murloc Flowers grew densely. The only challenge was reaching the area between the second and third bosses to collect them.
Now that Leon had a guide, he easily completed the second quest. The final task was locked to the third boss, [Hundred-Eyed Giant].
The herb gathering was swift, and in less than three minutes, they were done. The Hunter then led Leon deeper into the water. At this moment, the Shaman pointed in a certain direction, gesturing toward something.
Following the direction, the Hunter saw a small ore vein at the bottom, with rubies glinting faintly in the rocks. It was clearly a rich vein.
Understanding the situation, the Hunter took something from their waist and waved it. The Druid, who had been leading the way, swiftly swam back.
After a glance in the direction the Hunter pointed, the Druid, in the form of a killer whale, nodded and headed toward the vein. Meanwhile, the Hunter led Leon a few steps back, watching from a distance.
As the Druid approached the vein, a small red serpent-like creature shot out, baring its fangs at the Druid.
But underwater, the Druid in killer whale form was the strongest among them. The little serpent had barely appeared when the Druid bit down hard, nodding and slamming the creature against the ground.
With a swift turn of its body, the Druid’s dorsal fin acted like a surgical blade, slicing the small serpent cleanly in two.
After dealing with the creature, the Druid tossed it aside like a trivial matter and began mining.
The ore vein was a gem mine. Thanks to the richness of the vein, the gems were of high quality. Every three gems mined automatically combined into a crate of supplies, marked with gem-like symbols and patterns.
The vein produced five crates of supplies in total. Based on their pre-dungeon agreement, these would be split equally between Leon and the Squad.
Leon took one green supply crate and one regular crate, leaving the rest to the Squad.
After the split, they resumed their underwater journey. Perhaps buoyed by their recent find, their pace slowed, and they began observing the surroundings more carefully.
However, no more ore veins were found. Instead, they encountered some deeply hidden minor monsters, including water serpents and ferocious fish, which the Druid dealt with swiftly.
After circling around a patch of underwater plants, the Hunter signaled Leon with a hand gesture. Following the direction indicated, Leon saw a large underwater cave behind the vegetation.
This was the entrance to the Black Hand Organization's tunnel. Originally, it had been a natural underwater cave, home to sea giants or giant lobster-like creatures.
After the Black Hand Organization discovered it, they made some modifications. Besides placing a Hundred-Eyed Giant boss as a guard, they planted a large number of entangling underwater plants at the entrance.
These plants would wrap tightly around anything they sensed. If you got caught, it would take at least half an hour to free yourself.
Most players needed to breathe underwater, and extended time without air would cause damage and eventually death. So entering the underwater cave required someone capable of underwater breathing to clear a path, cutting through to the inside.
But doing so would definitely alert the Hundred-Eyed Giant boss guarding the cave. If the team was too slow, they might be attacked while still underwater.
This time, the Druid moved swiftly. As they surfaced inside the underwater cave, they heard the roar of the Hundred-Eyed Giant.