Vast stretch of the limitless water body spread before me. It was accompanied by the smell of salt and the sound of the seagulls. It was the ocean.
I have little clue as to why we are traversing different regions. The first was to get me a perk. Was this also for the same reason?
“In the ocean, you shall get your third perk. Here, you shall transform yourself altogether.” My grandma looked over at the ocean with determined eyes.
“Gran..um..the thing is..I can’t swim..”
“That is not an issue. We can buy equipment to traverse underwater.”
I nodded.
My grandma activated [System Store] the next moment.
There she carefully selected the required gear for our journey.
–Whale Lungs
–Pill of Water Lamination
…
The list went on.
Then, once everything was ready, we set out.
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I don’t know how long we swam in the dark, murky depths of the ocean, but we continued for an additional twenty or so minutes until reaching an underwater temple.
The outer atmosphere surrounding the temple was well-lit due to light leaking out from the underwater temple’s windows, cracks, roof and the entrance. It was in a ruined state.
In front of the temple, however, instead of going in, my grandmother just stood and observed quietly. It took a few more minutes before she unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the temple.
[The skill, Sword of Blare Lv.25 (+10), is activating!]
She activated a skill and cast it at the temple. A roaring sound traversed the water and entered the temple through the various openings. Sound underwater is faster and more powerful than above-water.
How long did she cast it? She continuously swung her sword. Soundwaves repeatedly entered the temple one after the other. The power was ear-shattering even from a distance.
Then after some time, something moved. The water around us formed currents and a whirlpool formed. I would be sucked into it if not for the useful equipment my grandma bought earlier. It enabled me to maintain my center of gravity underwater. It felt like I was walking on air. My vision was also clear enough for me to see the ocean bed. It was convenient.
Then something like a tentacle flew at me. I activated [Blaze] but the power was nerfed due to an unsuitable atmosphere. It wasn’t enough to stop the tentacle. My grandma came in between me and the tentacle and sliced it off. However, that was just a tutorial. In the next second, numerous tentacles, about ten, charged at us. I poured all my magic power into my skill.
[The skill, Dark Eruption Lv.4, is activating!]
The good thing was that this skill worked underwater unlike my previous skill.
[The perk, Ember Ignition, is in effect!]
The atmosphere became dark as it was blanketed by my skill’s black flames. The incoming tentacles quickly turned into ash.
The sound of a building collapsing resounded through my ears. The dilapidated temple crumbled to the ground.
The clearance of dust and soot gave way to a petrifying creature. A dragon, possibly in the same league as the Hell-Fire dragon, emerged from the ocean bed. It had at least twenty tentacle-like tails, blue and scaly body, with red, menacing eyes.
As if to inform me, my grandma said, “Triton’s General, one of the Four Godly-Dragons.”
It definitely won’t be easy….
I poured more mana into my skill. My grandma also joined me this time from the beginning.
I repeatedly cast it at the dragon whose body was glowing in a blue hue. It was unleashing its aura. I nearly puked just from the sheer pressure of its aura.
[The skill, Shepherd’s Ring Lv.25, is activating!]
Numerous sound rings were shot at the dragon. Some of its scales fell off, but its vigor still remained the same.
It moved its tail and countless sharp, blue spikes flew at us.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
[The skill, Sound Barrier Lv.25, is activating!]
The sound barrier blocked the incoming spikes.
How long did we fight for? We just continued our barrage of attacks and defended its occasional but deadly attacks.
I was getting visibly tired and frustrated because I could only use a single skill which was effective against the current surroundings. For that to deal a critical blow, I had to pour a considerable amount of magic power into it.
Then, suddenly, the pressure underwater increased. It should be impossible with our current gear. Even the Triton General’s whirlpools had no effect on us, so how…
As I was contemplating, I noticed that the pressure came from my grandma. It seemed that she was getting serious now.
[The skill, Soundwave Manipulation Lv.25 (+10), is activating!]
A perfect skill used in the perfect moment is deadly.
In the next moment, the surrounding water began vibrating intensely. A raucous sound filled the atmosphere. I reflexively shut my ears but it wasn’t enough. Even though it was only directed at the dragon…. Just how powerful was my grandma?
The dragon roared and opened its mouth while loading its water magic energy as perhaps its final sign of struggle. But before it could unleash it, my grandma strengthened her own skill’s power. I joined her in while casting my [Dark Eruption] skill.
The dragon finally resigned and let out one final cry before dropping to the ocean floor.
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Soon after, we got out of the water. The sun was gradually setting and the hot, yellow light was nice after getting out of the cold water.
“I’m sorry gran. I wasn’t much of a help.”
“No, it’s understandable since your attribute is fire. Rather than worrying about that, look at how many coins you earned.”
I opened the system window and the backlogged messages started pouring in one after the other.
[You have slain a Godly-Dragon!]
[You have acquired a new perk!]
[Your will to survive has earned you additional rewards!]
[A new skill has been acquired!]
[300,000 coins have been awarded!]
I opened my [Individual Information] to check my profile.
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Individual Information
Name: Elias Raymon
Unit: Combat
Attribute: Lord of Fire
Level: 60
Exp: 7545/20313
Stats:
Strength: 90
Stamina: 90
Defense: 90
Agility: 90
Endurance: 90
Magic Power: 90
Skills:
Blaze Lv.14
Dark Eruption Lv.7
Fire Storm Lv.1
Perks:
Goblin’s Shield
Ember Ignition
Blessing of the Water-God
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It seems like [Dark Eruption] had gone up many levels while I was preoccupied fighting the Triton’s General.
[Your attribute is on the verge of evolving!]
Even though I didn’t contribute much, it seems like the rewards were massive.
Time to upgrade my stat components now. My grandma, like earlier, gave me her share of coins which she got as a reward.
[Coins: 811,200]
This might seem to be a lot, but the cost of upgrading a single level of a stat component is just as exorbitant. It is like the inflation grows higher and higher.
[128,000 coins have been consumed, Strength: 90 —> Strength: 100]
[128,000 coins have been consumed, Stamina: 90 —> Stamina: 100]
[128,000 coins have been consumed, Defense: 90 —> Defense: 100]
[128,000 coins have been consumed, Agility: 90 —> Agility: 100]
[128,000 coins have been consumed, Endurance: 90 —> Endurance: 100]
[128,000 coins have been consumed, Magic Power: 90 —> Magic Power: 100]
[Coins: 43,200]
Yep, the inflation is fucked up.
With the help of my grandma, I was slowly inching closer to being battle-efficient. Till now, we have killed two of the Four Godly-Dragons. I don’t think we would kill the other two because grandma has other plans for me.