Chapter 78 - Deep Diving into Temples
He cared little about falling now and raced ahead. He was shuffling with a renewed eagerness across the remainder of the creaking wooden beam before taking his heels upon the second one. A crying squall rang against the air, and a loud thud smacked against the water beneath him. Suta didn’t spare the disturbance a second look. The creature leapt out from the water and charged across his view, a few feet forward, and he might've been crashing against the thick beams along with it. The room shook, and fallen debris began plunging into the waters like torpedos. Suta heard the ceiling groan. A voice echoed, the ceilings impeding collapse Once the tear of cold sweat trickled down his neck. He bent his body slightly forward and raced ahead.
A cold wind crawled down his spine. Sensing danger, he rolled forward and leapt like a fish out of water. An imposing air struck his back violently; luckily, it somehow helped propel his momentum forward. A little forward. He saw the wall just about. He felt it and slammed hard against the small stone platform as a painful result. But swiftly, he rolled over his aching shoulder, staggered to his feet, and dashed backwards. Two long pink tentacles wrapped around the immovable long beam holding the ceiling together. Suta stared at the horror show up close, a mass of greenish paste filled with fleshly limbs and long, slimy tentacles. He blinked several times to make sure he was seeing this. Countless bulging eyes flickered open, quickly finding him with an expressionless curiosity writhed with danger.
Suta felt his skin crawl and swiftly twisted on his heels before bolting down the nearest wooden beam. He zigzagged along the narrow footpath. His hand dropped low, reaching for the dagger bouncing beside him. He exhaled a cooling breath, gripped his dagger from its butt and spun around, a thick muscle slammed squared into his bosom. Sending him flying across the air.
He almost missed the towering beams in his way and was sent crashing into the murky black water. The air was snatched away from his lungs, and air bubbles rose to the surface quickly. Suta regained his senses just in time and saw two giant creatures swimming towards him intently.
With those hardened coral fins on top of their helms, they looked like sharks covered in rigid gemstones. Like hardened boils.
With cheeks puffed, he wore a frown, quite literally having been tossed into the belly of the beasts. Trying his best not to panic, he allowed his body to wade deeper into the water. He timed the looming shadows arriving. They split away from one another and closed him down from different angles.
Sutas eyes flashed with a dangerous glint.
{Double Slash}
His hands moved without a second thought, and two red arcs blurred against the water. One of the creatures recoiled away, with a line of red drawn against the grey patch against its head. The other, however, evaded the second strike. Suta’s heart plummeted, realising the water had considerably decreased the speed of his double slash. Before he was allowed to retaliate, the half-shark, half-dolphin creature snapped at his ankles. It bit him so hard that his mouth involuntarily opened as he cried out in pain.
The creature held him tightly and, with an iron grip, latched around his ankles and pulled him down. He fast-drove like a sinking anchor, helpless to even struggle as the heavy water pressure near enough throttled him. The deep, murky water was filled with bits of debris and floating pieces of Ivory stone. He could see the white tiled floor beneath. And floating long benches created a pit of darkness right at the very bottom.
If this continued, Suta understood he was dead. His eyes scanned through the murky waters like a homing beacon.
Even in this agitated situation, the cogs within his thoughts started to move with efficient precision. One of the floating debris from the wooden beam above floated beside his gaze. Suta stretched for the slow-wading broken wood. He held the fractured timber and angled the sharp, prickly end. He raised his arm and slammed down. The first slam loosened the creature’s jaws. The second one drew ropes of blood-like ribbons. The beast turned its body away in a bid to flee, but Suta was furious and aimlessly tossed the wood towards it. Then he swam with his entire might and plunged his dagger into its side. Its body flayed wildly, and its fin slammed right against his arm. Suta recoiled immediately. His arm felt like several bones had been broken.
He searched the space above, unable to bear the lack of oxygen. He saw the second coral-finned creature darting towards him. Just before the beast could close him down, a giant tentacle wrapped around its body. Suta watched in horror as the swimming creature was helplessly hoisted out of the water. Seconds later, two large chunks of meat arrived back into the water. The one on the right is the coral-finned beast's head.
Suta dived deeper as though his life depended upon it. He swam closer towards the stack of piled long chairs and other heavy things caught in the tangle. He swam towards the wall. Beneath the thick waters, the limestone surfaces gleamed a greenish lustre. The strange mosaic murals were not missed, but Suta had enough trouble right now on his own. The moment he was dragged down here, his eyes had already started searching for the nearest exit. Returning to the surface wasn’t an option. And luckily, as he expected, the cathedral floor would indeed have exit doors. He had only hoped they were not sealed shut. He continued practically glued to the walls, fighting for air at this point, his eyes lifted at the sight of a closed wooden door. Besides, there were squared holes, which were once covered in shutters. Suta tucked his arms close and swam gracefully through one of the holes.
He emerged into a hallway and spotted stoned ivory steps ascending past a large pillar. He moved with purposeful eagerness and swam up the spiralling stairwell. The second floor was flooded, so he continued following the rising stairwell. Once he quickly reached the fourth floor, Suta was surrounded by a room filled with countless white statues anchored to the ground. He felt something odd stirring in his gut when he swam past them. He observed one of the statues and grimaced, given the impression he was staring at lifelike objects.
But against one side of the wall, there was a gathering of broken stones where the wall had caved in. Elation bloomed through his body, and Suta used the last ounces of his strength to move towards the rubble. Much to his thankful surprise, he saw a patch of light resting on the shimmering surface just above.
He pushed himself forward until he finally reached the surface. He dove out of the water, gasped, and lapped at the cool air hungrily.
When he eventually found his laborious breaths steadying, Suta took a lazy look at his surroundings. His palm rested against a dark rocky wall. The space was narrow, like a corridor, with the walls closely aligned. He tilted his helm back and saw a rising wall and what he believed was a path leading to the right side.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Thinking about his narrow escape from those creatures, he quickly took hold of his dagger and began using it as a tool to help propel him up the rocky wall.
He still carried the experience from his old world; rock climbing had become one of his favourite sports. Suta himself had found it one of the more peaceful sports he partook in. He dug his dagger into the wall and hoisted his body out from the water. He manoeuvred gingerly up the wall. His palm slapped against the flat surface, and he climbed up. Euphoria ran through his body as an invisible hand pressed him flatly against the narrow path. Suta allowed his body to meld with the cold stones. He felt exhausted, as though every bone within his body was on the brink of turning into dust.
He might’ve fallen asleep without that strange sound he could faintly hear whirring on the end of this narrow tunnel. The way was so small that he could only get through by crawling.
‘Here’s hoping I don’t have to fight anytime soon.’
He knew that was wishful thinking. But if he could avoid engaging anything nearly as troublesome as those coral-finned sharks. He’d count his lucky stars. Fighting in the water was perhaps one of the worst things he had ever had to overcome. But he survived. Again. These days, he was feeling a little luckier than usual.
‘I’m still unsure if I’m more troubled by the idea of an entire fallen city dwelling underground. Or the fact that some strange portal brought me here alone. Tsk!’
Suta finally gained enough strength to keep going. Just thinking about his little fairy companion mobilized his tired body into action again. He crawled through the narrow tunnel on his stomach like a military veteran. Pain wracked through his body unrelentingly, but his mind was focused.
The air smelt of decaying metals. And his way became noticeably darker the further he journeyed in. Not having those fuzzy balls of light anymore was a hindrance, but Suta made sure he moved at a pace that wasn’t too hurried enough for him to stumble into problems. He crawled through the tunnel silently, drawing closer towards that loudening sound.
The tunnel suddenly forked into two opposing ways. When Suta arrived at the impasse, he heard a loud skittering of tiny creatures coming from one down one of the narrow ways. His eyes narrowed through the darkness, and he first saw nothing. But the sounds of those tiny claws moving over hard floors irritated his ears. He lay there in silent wait, half hoping whatever they were, they would overlook his presence as a whole. 'Maybe they'll be half scared of my size.' He hoped
Much to his sheer dismay, he noticed a set of red eyes peering through the dark fog.
Alarm bells rang, and Suta didn’t waste a moment before angling himself towards the other way and crawling across as quickly as he could. His arms could barely withstand the added weight and intensity, but Suta could hear them closing in at a devastating pace.
His mind started to race again. The horror of having his heels eaten was a gruelling reality he would rather avoid.
Suta pressed his eyelids together for a few moments. And then they flashed open, caressing a dark grey light across his gaze
{Intimidation}
As a howling mist ran down the tunnel, Suta felt a gust of baleful emotions leaving his body. He also heard the reassuring shrieks of panic coming from the tunnel.
‘It worked!’ He mused, ‘That means they’re at a level where my intent can overpower them.’ That was the benefit of his intimidation skill. It oozed off the intensity of his negative emotions. The downside, however, is that after a short while, the creatures continued their pursuit, more enraged than ever if overused.
The intimidation skill at this level was almost like a smoke screen. Once the cloud of fear dispersed, the prey needed to sense his level again and forget all about the sudden burst of dread.
Suta could feel the outdoor air spurning him deeper. The creatures were set against his heels again in a flash. He moved without much second thought and activated his skill again
{Intimidation}
The effect would weaken, but he needed to keep them at bay until he found his way out. He practically clawed his way through the dirt. The cool air was blowing heavily against his face. Those scattering loud creatures weren’t relenting either. Swiftly, he activated his skill.
{Intimidation}
Unlike before, the skill's effects were like a small breath of warm air. He barely threw those creatures off him for a second or two. He could feel a few of them latched onto his foot. A few even dared to crawl up his leg. Suta reacted and gave a roar, channelling all his might into moving through this narrow tunnel.
He reached the bend and slithered to one side. A burst of cool air barded him as the ground suddenly disappeared. Suta fell right through it. His love, all surprised, reached the ground quicker than he landed. Landing on his backside with a resounding thud.
His view was spinning, so he lay there, barely trying to relax; Suta tossed his gaze above. In haste, his gaze narrowed, watching a thin, spindly-legged spider above. Suta had expected them to pursue him, but they gathered just on the edge of the fall. Either they were prehensile about jumping down, or something else had deterred them.
‘This cave or tunnel or wherever I am shouldn’t be this deep.’
Suta could somewhat reason with a cave filled with all the wonderfully dangerous things if it were all on the same level, But somehow, there were other areas in this place. Rather than sinking further in, this cave was travelling down.
He rose to his feet steadily. The sores and cuts nibbled at his skin. But he was more focused on his new surroundings. He traced the dark, earthy walls aligned down a spacious walkway; on the other side, he saw an opening filled with glowing blue lights. Naturally, he was compelled to approach. Before he took a second step, something harrowing appeared in the corner of his eyes. Suta twisted on his heels and, by instinct, took a few steps back with haste. He was almost startled beyond belief; suddenly, he just about avoided knocking into a grey skeleton dressed in loose beige clothes propped against the wall. Suta caressed the side of his head for a short while in deep thought.
'Ok, so our first human body, huh Suta? It's ok. It was bound to happen sooner or later. And no less in a place like this. Maybe I can pretend I didn't see it and walk by it.'
That was the most sensible thing, logically. Suta began his heavy-legged stroll; he made it two steps past the skeleton and felt a tingling sensation clawing at his nerves.
'Shit!'
He released a deep sigh before he slowly approached the thing.
The skeletal structure was human, which answered a long-standing mystery.
‘So I was right, there were humans here at some point.’ Suta wasn’t exactly glad to see that confirmation. It made him feel more confused about this world. Either they were hiding somewhere, or they were no longer here. And if the latter held any form of truth, then the glaringly obvious conclusion painted a dreadful picture.
Nestled beneath its dried bones, Suta noticed a glowing light. Catching his gaze, he drew upon it and crouched beside the decayed skeleton. His hand cautiously lowered, and he pried free a triangular-shaped pale stone. It looked like a thick arrowhead. He smoothed it beneath his hold and rubbed his fingertips, now coated in a chalky, glittering substance.
Suta caressed an idea in his thoughts.
{Appraisal}
Moon Shard
Rare Item
‘From the well of songs comes the dew drops of heavens, farmed and melded by the tiny hands of the divine.’
‘Moon shard ey’
The stone hardly weighed anything and, in the same breath, looked like one of the most dazzling things he had laid his eyes upon.
Suta felt slightly annoyed that he didn’t own a hack to help carry things in. His eyes shuffled back toward the corpse, where he beheld a dark leather sachel across its body.
A glint of joy sparkled in his brown eyes; Suta snatched the leather off the corpse un-ceremonially and hugged it tight.
"About damn time" He rang his fist at the empty air. Cursing fish bowl head, Lysann or whichever weird strange guardian had put him here.