“Seventy percent of Earth’s surface is water.”
So why the hell are they all scrambling to crawl up onto this dry land?
“Huff, sssh. Haah…”
Ah, I’m dying. Damn it. This is so exhausting.
I paused for a mont and looked around.
A dark and humid night with not even the moon in sight. An endlessly muddy mountain path.
Lined with bare trees along the way.
The fog is getting thicker.
Clammy and sticky moisture was clinging to my skin. Cloudy droplets were dripping from the wide sleeves of my hemp robe.
“Huff, Haa… Damn it. I’d rather swim. What is this?”
There were many things resembling trees around here, but there was no green to be seen.
The trees were covered in brown moss and gray mold instead of leaves.
No wild animals or birds were in sight. There were so bugs, though…
Buzzzz—
Are they really bugs?
They were not the type of bugs one would see in a forest or mountain. The sight of these multi-legged creatures which resembled mantis shrimp swarming together made nauseous.
It was definitely a place that should be called a mountain or forest, but it felt like the sea. A polluted and decayed dead sea.
It’s just like Tanhyeon.
No, to be precise, Tanhyeon resembled this place. Still, the situation here was better.
If I went further north from here, if I went up…
What was there again?
“…”
Damn it. My mory was a ss. I couldn’t stop. There wasn’t much ti. In the worst case, I might even forget who I was.
I started walking again.
Maybe I should add another spell…
I gathered my magical power to enchant my body but then changed my mind.
[Gale]
Whoosh!!
The wind blew precisely in a way that pushed forward. It was perfect as it blew away the moisture.
No matter how much magical power I had, this frail body was burdened by too many spells. Adding more wouldn’t be good.
Give back my artifacts, you bastards.
My vision suddenly blurred.
– I don’t trust you after all.
These were the words spoken to the past Kim Shin-hwa.
This was a relatively recent mory. My conversation partner was… the village chief’s face ca to my mind.
In this mory, the village chief had a much more sinister and serious expression than when I had seen him earlier today.
The village chief said he couldn’t trust .
The past Kim Shin-hwa responded to his words with a smile.
– How about putting up collateral like you usually do?
– Greuk, grr. Collateral?
– Yes. Take a look at this.
– This is…?!
– It’s a rare item, even in this village, right?
– What are you going to do with it?
– I’ll leave it with you. If I betray you, you can take it after the festival is over.
The village chief’s eyes glead with greed.
“…”
Can it be considered that I betrayed him now?
The commotion from earlier in the day must have reached the village chief’s ears.
Ah, who cares? Since I told him to take it after the festival, I’ll just collect everything before the festival ends.
“Besides, there’s no substitute for anyway, is there?”
They couldn’t kill . To exist as a living sacrifice, I had to be alive at least until the day of the festival.
At least that was one advantage.
“There it is.”
I finally arrived.
A huge building suddenly erged between the thick fog and darkness. It was so large that it couldn’t be taken in with a single glance.
It looks like a warehouse.
It wasn’t the temple. To reach the temple, I had to go a bit further up. Inside that warehouse, there was a ship.
But how did they manage such a large-scale construction in this village?
Moreover, what? They built a ship?
Did they combine human labor with the deep-sea people’s technology? Or did they capture construction engineers from sowhere?
Ah, the latter is more likely.
The old people I saw in the village. To be precise, the old human slaves.
To be blunt, if this village was established solely to create deep-sea hybrids, there would be no need for old people.
Yet they kept these people and even put them in large houses with fancy appliances, which would suggest that there was a purpose other than breeding and parasitism.
“Well, anyway.”
Ominous noises ca from inside the warehouse.
“Greuk, greuk.”
“Greuk, greuk.”
It wasn’t just a few. There were quite a number of them.
“Although the efficiency will drop because of the fog, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
I projected my senses through the window in the outer wall of the warehouse.
[Heavenly Sight]
As expected, it’s hard to see clearly.
The interior was hazy as if it was obscured by fog. Still, I could gather so of the necessary information.
“Why are these frog bastards gathered like this?”
Deep-sea hybrids. It was hard to estimate their total number, but there were at least more than thirty of them.
Their appearance was much more dramatic than the ones I saw in the village. Are they close to being fully grown? They must be stronger than the ones I saw in the village.
“There are more than I thought. But is that a spear?”
The deep-sea hybrids were holding harpoons, spears, and arrows.
Even though cannons existed during the Joseon Dynasty, the weapons they were holding were traditional cold weapons. But I shouldn’t be careless. The reason they carry spears is the sa reason I don’t carry a gun.
Moreover, the powerful magical power they harbor.
Hmm, should I storm into that frog den in this state?
No matter what, it seed difficult to handle this quietly. Surely, there would be deep-sea hybrids gathered at the temple on the mountain as well.
If things went awry and a big commotion occurred, enemies would swarm at from both the village and the temple.
How can I handle this quietly?
I briefly reviewed the magic I could use and the strategies I could employ.
And I had so items too. Like the magic stone bomb.
“Hmm… a safer thod might be better.”
I took out an item I had hidden in my clothes. Not the magic stone bomb.
A red bead made from my solidified blood.
I wonder if it’s okay with impurities mixed in?
Red had consud the deep-sea curse that had inhabited the old man’s body. In essence, it had consud Dagon’s magical power … No, it wouldn’t be beyond my control.
I raised my hand, brought the red bead to my lips, and whispered softly.
“Co on, Red, wake up. Be reborn.”
[Blood Tracker]
“Kiiee… kkeuuu.”
The surface of the red bead opened like a blooming rose and turned into a pair of red wings. Then the bottom of the bead split open to form a large mouth.
I stroked Red’s body and checked its condition.
“As expected, Dagon’s magical power is imbued in you.”
Whether I was worried or not, Red shook its body from side to side in delight. Did it enjoy my touch? Contrary to my concerns, it seed to be in good condition, which was a relief.
“Kkiiiee!”
Ugh, yes, but let’s be a little quieter for now.
In this state, it might be worth a try.
I took out another item from my clothes. Actually, there weren’t many items in to begin with.
[Ocarina of the Deep Sea].
This too was an artifact imbued with Dagon’s magical power. I spoke to Red.
“Here, take a look at this.”
“Kkiiiee?”
As expected, Red expressed curiosity and approached the ocarina. It even started to touch the ocarina without any specific instructions from .
“Kkiiiee…”
It glanced at and tried to figure out what I wanted. It hadn’t quite understood yet.
“You can eat it.”
“Krraang!”
Red’s mouth opened wide, much larger than its body.
Chomp, slurp. Crunch. Crack.
The Ocarina of the Deep Sea disappeared into Red’s mouth.
You eat well.
There was no need to feel regret. After all, it was never made for humans in the first place.
Since it had properties that clashed with my other artifacts, it was much better to use it through Red.
“Kkiiieee…”
Swish!
Not only did Red absorb Dagon’s magical power.
Now that Red took in the artifact imbued with the deep sea’s power, it underwent a dramatic transformation.
“Yes, grow well.”
Crack, slurp.
It even developed a large single eye and sothing like a tail. A large tail with round fins above and below. It might be considered a type of wing, but…
“A tadpole’s tail is more accurate.”
Was it because of Dagon’s influence that it took on such a form?
Even so, Red wouldn’t grow to resemble a deep-sea creature.
Since it’s made from my blood, its growth threshold will be much lower.
How long would its lifespan be?
“Kkiiiee.”
Red looked at with its large eye. It suddenly seed full of energy and quite excited. Was it asking for a command?
“Alright, let’s do sothing fun.”
I gave Red a quick kiss near its eye and gave it a new command.
Thud!
As soon as the command was given, Red soared into the air at an incredible speed.
“Kkiiiee!!”
Quietly… no, it didn’t matter anymore.
I took a deep breath as I watched Red fly toward the warehouse.
“Whew…”
I concentrated my mind and unleashed my magic.
[Heavenly Sight]
A red light gathered in my left eye.
While my right eye still saw the rotten branches, mold, and the large warehouse around , my left eye saw what Red was seeing.
“Yes, carefully climb onto the roof. There’s a vent, right? Yes, go through there.”
Red entered the dirty vent. For a mont, its focus drifted in an odd direction.
“Ugh, ignore the bugs and keep going. We’ll eat later. Good, that’s it.”
It seed that as Red grew, it developed desires beyond re obedience.
I barely managed to coax Red, which was moving to eat the bugs, into the warehouse.
“Whoa, it’s pretty big.”
The warehouse looked huge even from the outside. And there was a large wooden ship inside.
It was a three-masted sailing ship.
– This is the ship that the Dragon King will board when the day cos.
– Soon, the ti of the great flood will arrive.
– All lands will beco our territory.
– There is only one chance, just one day. If we miss it, we’ll have to wait another thousand years. So, absolutely! I won’t allow failure.
Red lost its direction for a mont and circled above the ship. Beyond my consciousness, I could hear Red growling, “Kyaaah—.”
“Calm down. Don’t get excited.”
It was due to the magical power emanating from the ship. Though it had sails, it wasn’t a vessel moved by wind. There was an enormous amount of magical power emanating from inside the ship.
“Co on, you have a job to do. Look over there. That’s your master’s enemy.”
Around the ship sward the deep-sea hybrids.
They appeared far more threatening than what I had sensed from outside.
However, Red, with a resolute determination, perceived them as the master’s enemies and steeled itself for battle.
“No, Red, calm down. I didn’t send you in there to fight them.”
It’s good to be spirited, but this was too much. I sent the magic-infused command once more.
“Rember the gift your master gave you.”
The Ocarina of the Deep Sea.
Though the ssage window didn’t display it because I hadn’t conducted further research, it was an artifact with various effects.
Red not only beca one with it but also consud a bit of Dagon’s magical power.
“Yes, start now. Sing a beautiful song.”
A sharp headache surged.
Red began drawing a huge amount of my magical power to activate the artifact it had swallowed.
[The unique effect of the S-rank magical artifact ‘Ocarina of the Deep Sea’, ‘Call of the Waves’ has been activated.
Call of the Waves: Plays a lody with powerful dominion over those who originates from the deep sea.]
[Effect reduced due to lack of prerequisites.]
The prerequisites were to have the trait of a musician and twelve fingers, but Red currently had a free pass.
[The authority of the ‘Lord of Murky Waters’ temporarily waives the prerequisites.]
Good, that’s it.
From Red’s mouth flowed a song so eerie and beautiful that no human could ever pronounce it.
|H- OOO- O- OO- H- OO- OOO-|
And then, the sound of waves could be heard from sowhere. It was a magical song that evoked sadness and longing in those born from the sea.
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