76 Serpenthian Abbyssalor.



The Southwestern Sea.

Year: 1738

Date: 14th

Month: Veleria

Time: 3:00 AM

The boat glided steadily through the waters, but my gaze fixated on the ominous sight before me. Hours had passed since I departed from the safety of the shore, and now I understood why this place instilled fear in the hearts of all who heard its name.

"Trutonic surges," I gulped, the weight of those words heavy on my tongue. Ahead lay a scene of dread, an otherworldly phenomenon unfolding in all its terrifying glory.

"That's... familiar," Blaze muttered, but his words barely registered in my mind. My attention was wholly consumed by the spectacle unfolding before me. Even from miles away, the crackling resonance of majestic thunder reached my ears, and the sheer magnitude of the swirling whirlpools was enough to strike awe and fear in the hearts of any who dared approach.

The trutonic surges existed in a realm far beyond my understanding, a realm I knew I could not survive in my... I mean Kael's boat.

"System Store," I muttered, and the blue panel appeared in front of my vision.

"What are you buying this time? I don't think there's anything useful there," Blaze asked, but his gaze was glued to the natural disaster unfolding before our very eyes.

*Ding*

----------------------------------------------------------------------System Note: Successfully bought the item!

*400 Blood points deducted!

Current Balance: 50 BP

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"This will be enough, I think," I whispered as I looked at the item I just bought. It's expensive, but there's no point in thinking about the price in this situation.

[Mariscale Visage]: A mystical mask that utilizes mana to enable the wearer to breathe underwater, offering a seamless connection and converting water into breathable air using mana.

The Mariscale Visage is an intricate silver mask adorned with delicate etchings of aquatic motifs, embedded with shimmering gemstones that mimic the colors of the ocean depths.

"Let's go," I said, and with an internal count, I pressed the panel key to full speed, and the boat sped up directly into the surges.

It took us half an hour to get close enough to feel the currents, and it's nothing like I saw from afar. The moment we entered the surges, there was no time to fight them. The whole boat just got sucked into the ocean.

"Gaa!" Along with the boat getting sucked into the ocean at tremendous speed, I pushed the mana throughout my whole body to get a hold of myself, and I did succeed but just for a second, only to be able to see the lovely boat being destroyed in front of me.

Because the next moment, another current pulled me in a different direction. It's like a web of complex water channels. In one place, this whole part of the ocean is chaos.

'I'll do that then.' I knew if something like this was going to happen, then I had to do it.

"!" Without wasting any more time, I went deeper into the water... yep, I was going deeper. I don't know how much, but until I felt like the storm effect didn't reach underwater, I just kept swimming.

Maybe after what seemed like hundreds of meters, I was finally able to reach the calm waters.

'You are a smart nut, huh?' Blaze complimented. I don't know why I thought about how some storms don't reach until the bottom of the ocean and how the submarines avoid them by going deeper into the water, but it's normally like between 30 to 250 meters. But what I am doing now is insane because these tritonic surges reach the bathypelagic

 layer of the ocean (700-1000 meters).

As I descended deeper into the mysterious depths of the ocean, giving way to an endless expanse of darkness, the coldness of the water seeped into my bones, sending shivers down my spine. Straining my eyes, I searched the blackened abyss for any sign of life.

"Whoa!" And then, like tiny stars in the night sky, glimmers of bioluminescence emerged, casting an ethereal glow upon the unseen. In that hauntingly beautiful moment, I witnessed the graceful dance of otherworldly creatures. Their shimmering scales and delicate tendrils created an enchanting spectacle. These are the ocean mana beasts and other normal fishes here.

"How long will it take to swim there?" I asked Blaze. I didn't come here for sightseeing.

'How would I know? It's my first time seeing those... whatever surges. I can't understand the distance like this. Give me some time,' Blaze replied. Well, I can't blame him for it. It's impossible to -

Thaad!

Suddenly, a huge wavelength pushed every single mana beasts, rock, water, and even me aside.

The wavelength was so powerful that it almost made a crack in my mask. I hope it won't break here, or else I am dead.

"What was that?" I wondered and swam near it. Even though I couldn't see anyone, I knew the direction.

Suddenly, I felt like a huge lump of mana was somewhere around me. It's alive, it's moving, towards me.

The whole place seemed to get gloomy at once. All the creatures scattered here and there, and then there it was.

I looked at the entity, the cause of every action. It's gigantic. I can't even look past my head. This serpan is...

'Hide now!' Blaze's voice laced with fear and shock.

'?' I was in a state of pure shock too. What is that creature?

'I said HIDE! Now.' Blaze wasn't playing around like any other time. He was serious, and it was scary... yes, it's scary. How many times have I felt scared after coming to this world... almost never, but now I feel like my whole body is frozen.

The colossal creature began moving, and I came out of my stupor, getting under the shade of a nearby coral, I held for a safe spot.

'What is it?' I asked because it's Blaze who knows the real identity of this creature.

'He is Morokar, a Serpenthian Abyssalor. What is he doing here?' Blaze was worried, almost scared... just like me.

'Serpenthian Abbyssalor's are the guardian serpents, strong like dragons, but they rule the oceans while we rule the sky. And this one here is the youngest Morokar of their clan. I didn't know I'd get to meet him here,' Blaze explained. What does he mean by youngest... that thing is so gigantic that the head is almost as big as a cliff, and I couldn't even look at the body at all.

'Guardian of what?' I asked, almost unconsciously.

'Of the Maritime Aquarius Dynasty and a few other submerged kingdoms,' Blaze said calmly.

'The mermaid kingdom?' If I remember correctly, Blaze once told me about it. I didn't believe it at that time, but now that I see the guardian myself, maybe everything he says is not a bluff. But some... no, a lot of pieces of this puzzle are missing.

I peeked outside the corral and saw the majestic creature moving at a steady pace. It doesn't bother with anything; it's silent, but its presence is dreadful. 'You said you know him, right? Why don't we try to talk to him then?' I said jokingly. I know we can't do that.

'I killed his father,' Blaze replied, and that sums up everything. Now we better not show up at all.

After that, I stayed there, burning my mana for an hour or so, waiting for the Serpenthian Abbyssalor to leave.

'What are you thinking?' I questioned Blaze.

'Do you think you can swim another thousand meters?' Blaze responded with another question.

'Umm... yeah, I can, but I'll be wasted after that, though.' I can swim that much because my mana is still there, but when I run out of it, then it's over.

'The Morokar is guarding the kingdom, and from what I observed, he is going in a specific direction. That means the outer edges of the mermaid kingdom are not far away. And from what I remember, the Crooked Islands Passage was somewhere around here in that direction. I think we might be able to make it there,' Blaze said. But I am still stuck on the first few sentences. The mermaid kingdom is near, but the game never mentioned the mermaids even being in existence... Doesn't that just mean that the Demon Continent is also there?

I brushed off my thoughts and swam like crazy until my body ached like hell. It was horrible and exhausting to evade the hostile aquatic mana beasts.

But at last, 'Is it here?' I asked, to which Blaze agreed.

I was in front of a grotto or, in simple terms, an underwater cave.

The underwater grotto was immense, with towering rock formations, shimmering water, and hidden alcoves, creating an ethereal and captivating subaquatic world.

'Yep,' Blaze answered. According to him, this will take me directly to a pond centered in the heart of the island. I'd have to walk when I get a certain distance in the cave.

'phew' with a deep breath I swam directly into it, I think I am coming to hate water now after this.

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[A/N: One more piece added to the chess board.]