Walking on the thin ice while reducing my weight felt a lot like walking on water. I basked in the feeling, wondering if I could do it in the ocean. I headed toward the strange blue light I noticed when I first arrived. It bobbed up and down in the distance. While I still wanted to work on my demolition skills, The hidden area in the hidden dungeon was too intriguing to pass up. The air got colder the closer I got to the strange light.
It became apparent why as I neared the source. A geyser erupted from a volcano made entirely of ice, spraying ice-cold water in every direction that glinted in a light that emanated from just beneath the surface. At first, I wasn’t sure where it was all coming from, and diving into the water coming from the cone felt like it would freeze me solid.
Taking out my trusty shovel, I crossed my fingers and uttered a silent prayer that my skill worked on ice. Digging into the base of the volcano, I used a skill. “Power Dig.”
Instantaneously, a blizzard erupted as my skill took a chunk out of the volcano and spat it out behind me in a flurry of sleet. The ice beneath me was much thicker than the rest of the underground ocean I’d fallen into. The source of the geyser glowed even brighter the closer I got. I continued using the skill until it was just a few inches away. Then I dug manually, careful not to damage anything.
Congratulations! You have reached level 29!
I whooped as I broke through and leveled simultaneously. My reward was a blast of water straight to the face. It was all I could do to reach out and grasp a glowing ball of swirling water before it shot me out like a cannonball.
Pure Blue
Legendary Item
Stats: HP +1000, MP +1000, SP +1000
Special: Eternal Fount
Level to equip: 50
I turned the ball over in my hand. Even though it was a liquid, I was still able to hold onto it as though it were solid. The geyser had stopped the moment I touched it. No matter what I tried, it refused to start up again.
“Oh well, it must not work until I hit level fifty,” I sighed, plopping it into my bag.
With Pure Blue gone, the light went out, and the volcano collapsed in on itself. While I could see in the dark with my Ignore Darkness skill, there was no longer anything to look at but endless sheets of ice over an unfathomable amount of water. The only thing that made any noise was the water pouring from the hole from the jungle up above. I skipped across the ice and plunged into the cascading waterfall in an attempt to swim up it.
The first thing I noticed was the water was much warmer than the sea beneath me. I wondered how long that was going to last now that I removed the source of the cold water.
Swimming up a waterfall was understandably difficult. I only made it a few feet before crashing back down. While I had significantly more strength than even Olympian swimmers while in the game, I was no match for a waterfall.
There was one thing I wanted to try before giving up. I set some blast oil near my feet, infused it with a rather large amount of mana, and used Make Explosive. Then I kicked for all I was worth and gurgled out the Detonate word.
“Kasploeey!”
I felt a pinch as I took damage and was rocketed upward amidst a blast of fire and ice. I dropped another blast oil and repeated the process. Then another, and another. I somehow survived until I shot out of the deep pool next to a very surprised Abigail, who just so happened to have found her latest fishing hole.
“What were you doing down there?” she gasped before focusing on more important questions. “Is it deep?”
“There’s an ocean down there,” I replied, holding up a hand to stop her when she looked like she wanted to jump in. “I think I broke it, though.”
“What do you mean you broke it?” she asked.
I reached into my bag and held up the Pure Blue. “I think this was the source that was keeping it alive.”
Abigail gasped as she inspected the item I’d found. “Holy, Veritas. That thing is legendary. Is there anything else down there?”
“I don’t think so,” I replied. “Just a bunch of water and ice, I think.”
She packed her kit and prepared to dive in. “Even so, I bet I can catch some interesting fish down there. Don’t wait for me.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
And with that, she jumped in and was soon out of sight in the murky water. I looked around the vacant forest, debating if I still wanted to mine. In the end, I decided to call it a day and fast-traveled back to Kingsport to see what Mary was up to.
She was easy enough to find as she was in the middle of a shift working at the pub. She smiled when she saw me and brought over a tankard of Ale.
“I’m almost off,” she said with a wink. “Would you like to go out tonight? I have something special planned.”
I nodded with a huge smile. “That’s why I’m here.”
----------------------------------------
“Are you sure we’re allowed to do this?” I asked as Mary guided me through a hellscape that didn’t look like it should exist on the planet.
The sky was red, and meteors crashed to the ground all around us, resulting in stellar explosions that shook the ground. None of it bothered me. It wasn’t even that hot. Mary held my hand and marched us steadily into the storm as though she was showing me a moonlit night beside a placid lake.
Over the crest of a hill, a large castle came into view. Thousands of demons stood in line out front, prepared to fight a nonexistent enemy on the grandest of scales. Mary marched me through them like she owned the place. She said nothing and only smiled occasionally when she looked back.
“Um, you aren’t the secret final boss in this game, are you?” I asked, only half joking.
Mary winked and chirped. “Maybe.”
When we got to the castle gate, she knocked three times. The gate slowly rose, and we stepped through. The courtyard felt even more out of place as it was decorated like a restaurant, with lanterns providing light for a single table with a white cloth and two place settings. An imposing figure of at least ten feet and clad entirely in crimson armor stood beside a table with a white towel draped over his arm.
“Greetings. My name is The Dark Lord, and I will be your host for the evening. Please take a seat. Might I recommend a vintage red wine to start you off?”
Mary tucked her napkin over her lap and smiled at The Dark Lord before nodding cryptically and saying. “We would like the special.”
The Dark Lord’s helmet tilted toward her. “Are you sure, My Lady? Without even explaining it to him?”
Mary giggled. “I want to surprise him.”
“As you wish,” The Dark Lord replied, clacking his heels together and marching off.
“Do I want to know?” I asked.
She smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll like this. I arranged the whole thing.”
“Where is this place?” I asked, looking around at the hellscape beyond the castle walls.
Mary followed my gaze. “This is the current end game. If you follow the storyline, you’ll end up here. Our waiter plots to take over the world. His real name is Fred, but don’t tell him I told you. He doesn’t think it’s intimidating enough for the role. Also, don’t ask him to take off the helmet. He’s kind of sensitive about it.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle when I thought about what I’d find under the crimson armor. Would it be a skeleton or just another guy from Kingsport? In either case, I decided not to pry. Mary had gone to great lengths to cook something up for my benefit. I wasn’t about to let the effort go to waste.
To start the meal, The Dark Lord brought out a bowl of red soup along with a salad and a bottle of wine. He popped the cork with a flourish and poured us both a glass. Mary made a show of swirling the wine in the glass and sniffing it before swishing it in her mouth.
When she realized I was waiting for her analysis, she giggled. “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m doing. It was just something I saw from your world.”
I laughed and took a sip. “Well, it does taste good.”
Mary blushed. “Uh, yeah, it does.”
“Are you ready?” The Dark Lord asked.
Mary beamed and nodded. The next thing I knew, the soup erupted into blue flames, which starkly contrasted with its bloodlike color.
“It’s tomato soup,” Mary whispered conspiratorily while hiding her mouth from The Dark Lord. “It’s just meant to look like blood.”
“And the fire?” I asked, leaning back.
Mary passed her hand right through it. “It’s not real. Er, it’s not hot in any case.”
I reached out and tentatively passed a hand through the flame. The aroma of peppermint made its way to my nose, which made my mouth water. Deciding to try a bite, I picked up a spoon, and Mary did the same. The soup didn’t taste anything like I expected it to. While tomato was present, and it was vaguely sweet, there were also crunchy bits I identified as bacon and something else that added a strange umami flavor that pulled the whole thing together. The flame added a gentle spiciness that tickled my tongue.
Judging from the smile on Mary’s face, she was either enjoying her soup…or perhaps my reaction. Either way, I quickly had another bite. The red wine provided the sweetness I expected from the flame and reminded me of an expensive wine I’d been fortunate enough to sample at my grandparent’s fiftieth anniversary.
The salad was nothing to write home about, but then again, I’d never much liked salads. Mary noticed my reaction and produced a bottle of salad dressing.
“Try this.”
I did as instructed and was shocked when everything about the salad changed. While it still looked like leafy greens held up by a handful of croutons and cherry tomatoes, it had the texture and taste of crunchy fried chicken.
Mary poured some of the miracle liquid over her salad and explained. “This turns something you don’t like into whatever you like most.”
“Apparently, I like fried chicken most,” I laughed.
The Dark Lord returned to clear our plates once we finished. Before leaving, he exchanged nods with Mary, letting me know something was about to happen. We waited in baited silence, looking into each other’s eyes. Then, suddenly, the air between us started to vibrate. I followed Mary’s gaze to the sky just in time for an impossibly large rock to pass overhead. A second look showed the rock was only the foundation for an even larger castle with eight massive walls, each lined with windows.
Mary slid her chair over next to mine and clung to my arm as we looked up together. “It’s a new resort that’s going to open for the players in a couple of months. It will float slowly over the world, giving them a bird’s eye view of the entire game world. I arranged for us to spend a night early…if you want to.”
“Why wouldn’t I want to?” I asked.
“Well…” she hesitated. “It’s my first time…and it’s very important to me. So I want to make sure you want to before…you know.”
“Before we…” it suddenly clicked. “Oh! Of course, I want to. I mean, if that’s what you want.”
She kissed me, then stopped and whispered. “This is important to me. I want you to be sure you’re serious about us. You know, our special situation.”
It was my turn to hesitate. I knew what she meant. She was an NPC, and I was a human. However, it didn’t feel that way. She was just as real to me as Abigail or Sasha.
In the end, my lizard brain won out, and I kissed her for emphasis. “Of course, I’m serious.”