Chapter 117
At that same time, Gahen's ship was crossing the eastern sea on its way back to the Sea Dragon Stronghold.
Inside a large cabin, Stark lay on a bed.
Hearing someone approach, he sat up.
Click.
The door opened.
A broad-shouldered man stepped inside carrying a tray of simple food.
He dropped it onto the table as though feeding a prisoner.
"Your meal."
"Enjoy it, Deputy Chief."
Once Stark was alone again, he sat at the table and let out a low sigh.
"Haa..."
"How the hell did my life end up like this?"
He was only given food at set times.
Other than that, he wasn't allowed outside.
Guards stood watch beyond the door, even taking shifts to keep him under constant surveillance.
Stark scooped up the porridge-like meal with a spoon and chewed gloomily.
As he did, he remembered what Gahen had told him the moment he'd been brought aboard.
You may fall into danger again, so we'll personally protect you from inside.
Your face has suffered quite a bit as well.
Deputy Chief, please rest comfortably.
Protect him?
In reality, Stark was practically being transported back to the Sea Dragon Stronghold as a prisoner.
Chew. Chew.
"Those bastards."
"If they're going to feed me this garbage, couldn't they at least give me proper side dishes?"
"Ugh..."
"My mouth's still split open. I can't eat anymore."
"Ptooey."
Then he heard humming near his ear.
His gaze shifted toward the bed.
[ Nya-nya-nyaa~. Nya-nyaa-nya~. ]
Leon was lying there, happily eating Churu while humming to himself.
"...Why did you even follow me?"
"Wasn't what you already did enough?"
"What else could you possibly want from me?"
"And what the hell have you been eating so happily this whole time...?"
Leon licked the Churu.
[ Chomp, chomp. I came to keep an eye on you, so don't worry about it, nya. ]
Then he glanced at Stark.
[ More importantly, are you okay, nya? ]
[ Whether you liked him or not, your father was killed by that unpleasant bastard, nya. ]
Stark's expression stiffened for a moment.
Then he scratched the back of his head and stood.
"Ugh, that damned old man."
"All he ever did while he was alive was nag me."
"I kept telling him to throw out that creepy bastard because he was bad news, but he kept him around anyway."
"So of course he died."
"Seriously, that old man was never useful for anyth-"
WHACK!
"Keugh?!"
Stark grabbed his head.
"W-Why'd you hit me?!"
[ Shut up, nya. ]
Leon glared at him.
[ You unfilial bastard. ]
[ You still haven't learned after getting beaten that much, nya? ]
"U-Unfilial bastard?"
Leon spat out the empty Churu wrapper.
Then he lifted a huge baseball bat.
Was it just Stark's imagination...
Or was there something red staining the end of it?
"Ack!"
"Ack! Aaaagh!"
"S-Stop...!!"
"Spare meeee!!"
Stark rolled across the floor, desperately trying to shield himself.
But Leon's bat found every unprotected spot.
There was nowhere to run.
Perhaps his cries for help finally reached someone outside.
The door suddenly opened.
Stark's eyes grew wet.
Finally.
Someone had come to save him.
But...
"...What are you doing on the floor by yourself, Deputy Chief?"
"Haa."
"Now you're putting on a one-man show too?"
"Get up."
"We're still not letting you out of the room."
"Tsk."
"N-No, wait..."
"Hey!"
"Hey...!!"
The guards left again.
Stark stared desperately after them.
That was right.
They couldn't see Leon.
And since the bat was hitting places covered by Stark's clothes, there weren't even obvious marks.
To everyone else...
Stark looked like a lunatic throwing himself around the room.
"Keugh...!"
He lowered his head and bit his lip.
He silently swore revenge.
Suhyeok and the others were all Players.
There was no way they could watch him forever.
Just wait.
Once this whole thing ends and those bastards leave...
The day I become overall Chief, I'll ignore every order and kill every last one of th-
[ Tsk, tsk. ]
Leon dragged the bat behind him as he approached.
[ I can hear the gears turning in your head from here, nya. ]
Stark stiffened.
Leon stopped in front of him.
[ Shut up and do exactly what you're told, nya. ]
[ Deal with the bastard who killed your father. ]
[ Then you become the overall Chief, nya. ]
Leon tossed a document in front of him.
[ Here. ]
[ Sign it, nya. ]
"...S-Sign?"
"What am I signing?"
[ Just an ordinary contract. ]
Leon tilted his head.
[ No. ]
[ A slave contract, nya. ]
Stark went pale.
[ It's only in case you betray us, so don't worry, nya. ]
[ You won't die, nya. ]
The conditions were simple.
The moment Stark betrayed Lee Suhyeok, he would suffer just enough pain to stop short of death.
And that wasn't all.
From that point onward, at least twenty percent of the Sea Dragon Stronghold's profits would have to be paid to Suhyeok.
[ Well, you'll basically be a puppet either way, nya. ]
[ But isn't it better for you if the place actually runs properly, nya? ]
Stark glanced at the bat in Leon's hand.
Maybe the earlier beating had completely broken his spirit.
In the end, he reluctantly signed.
"Keugh..."
"H-Here."
Leon inspected it.
[ Hmm. ]
[ Oh, looks like you wrote it properly, nya. ]
[ See? You can do things when you try, nya. ]
Then he grinned.
[ All right. ]
[ Shall we start again, nya? ]
Stark froze.
"W-Wait..."
"Start what?"
Leon pulled another Churu from his pocket, tore it open with his teeth, and began eating.
[ Mmm. ]
[ There used to be this pig I could beat whenever I wanted, nya. ]
[ But now he's become annoyingly respectable-looking, nya. ]
[ So I don't have any way to relieve stress anymore, nya. ]
He looked at Stark.
[ That means you should help me instead, shouldn't you, nya? ]
"H-Hiiik!"
[ Grit your teeth, nya. ]
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
And so Stark was beaten like a dog by Leon.
His screams echoed all the way outside the cabin.
AAAAAAGH!! S-Spare me!! Please!!
The guards outside shook their heads and sighed.
"...Haa."
"Whatever."
"He'll probably tire himself out."
"Let's leave him alone."
One yawned.
"Actually, let's go get some sleep too."
"It's not like he'll do anything inside the room by himself while we're gone."
"Yaaawn."
"True."
"God, I'm exhausted."
"Let's go."
Back in the northern sea.
Splash.
Suhyeok immediately jumped over the ship's railing and into the water.
The other three followed.
"You all know how to dive and swim, right?"
"Eat the fruit I gave you earlier and follow us."
Each of them held a blue fruit roughly the size of an apple.
They took a bite.
A message appeared.
[Consumed Rare ‘Underwater Fruit’.]
[Due to the effect of Underwater Fruit, you can breathe underwater for 10 hours.]
[Warning! Excessive consumption may cause abnormalities in the body.]
They followed the Merfolk beneath the surface and began swimming.
Suhyeok glanced behind him.
The other three were keeping up without issue.
The Merfolk kingdom was located somewhere underwater.
Naturally, reaching it required at least basic swimming ability.
Suhyeok already knew Bong Taesu could swim well, so he hadn't been worried about him.
But if either Lee Yumi or Kim Hyuna had been unable to swim...
That would've been a serious problem.
It wasn't as though he could teach them now.
"Oh?"
Drukal glanced back.
"For humans, you're keeping up better than expected."
"I suppose that gives you the right to speak."
"We're almost there."
"Right here."
Before long, they reached their destination.
A broad stretch of sandy seafloor extended ahead.
Huge rock walls ran parallel on either side.
It resembled a sprinting track.
Unlike the surface, where massive waves raged strongly enough to swallow ships...
Down here, everything was calm.
Perfect for a race.
"Mmph! Mmph-mmph!"
Bong Taesu was covering his mouth with both hands and mumbling something.
Judging by how long he'd been doing it, he clearly wanted to say something.
Suhyeok finally spoke.
"You can talk underwater."
"Stop covering your mouth."
Taesu froze.
"...Ah."
He slowly removed his hands.
"Ahem."
"You can speak underwater too?"
"Hahaha."
"I didn't know."
"I was covering my mouth for no reason."
Lee Yumi stared at him.
"We can already breathe underwater."
"Why would talking be impossible?"
Taesu thought about it.
"...That's true."
He suddenly looked embarrassed.
A short while later, Drukal and Suhyeok stood behind a line drawn in the sand.
Both began warming up.
Drukal pointed somewhere with his trident.
"Before we begin, I'll explain the rules."
"See that rock formation at the far end?"
A massive jagged rock formation shaped like a lightning bolt stood in the distance.
From here, it looked roughly ten kilometers away.
"If you focus your eyes, you'll see handprints on the rock face."
"You swim there and leave your own handprint."
"So whoever leaves their mark first wins?"
"No."
Drukal shook his head.
"You leave your handprint and return here."
"Our warriors will judge the race."
Lee Yumi immediately looked ready to object at the idea of Merfolk judging their own contestant.
Drukal continued as though he'd expected it.
"You don't need to worry about us falsifying the result."
"I swear upon the honor of Poseidon, God of the Sea."
Just as Barbarians swore as warriors...
And Elves swore in the name of the World Tree...
The Merfolk treated oaths the same way.
Humans might take promises lightly.
But to them, breaking an oath was considered more shameful than death.
"I believe you."
Suhyeok nodded.
"Either way, the contestants themselves will know who was faster."
"Kuhahaha!"
Drukal laughed.
"Exactly."
"The ones racing will know better than anyone who won."
"You're a surprisingly reasonable human."
Then Poseidon's messages appeared again.
[‘Owner of the Blue Trident’ proudly says this is exactly what he represents.]
[‘Owner of the Blue Trident’ strikes a pose and radiates majesty.]
[‘Owner of the Blue Trident’ maintains the pose and asks how he looks.]
Genuine question because I don't know, but is this guy an idiot?
Exactly. Why is he proud of himself? Seriously asking;;
Honestly, lower-body strength is lacking, biceps and triceps aren't great, deltoids are acceptable at best.
ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
Why is he even posing? He's alone, isn't he? Who's supposed to be watching? lol
This bastard isn't even typing anymore because he knows it's embarrassing lmao
His followers are probably trying not to laugh lol
Ignoring the flood of messages, Suhyeok looked again toward the distant rock formation.
Then he noticed something strange.
It wasn't the destination itself.
The surrounding walls were rough and deeply gouged in countless places.
As though they'd repeatedly been struck by attacks.
"So you finally noticed."
Drukal grinned.
"This race isn't simply about speed."
"While traveling to the rock and back..."
"You can attack your opponent and force them to retire before reaching the finish."
[Several Constellations rapidly become interested in the exciting match.]
[The battle-loving Constellations of Asgard cheer loudly!]
.
.
.
Ding!
[Constellation ‘Owner of the Blue Trident’ places a winner's prize on Lee Suhyeok.]
[Total Prize: 6,000,000 Coins and one of Poseidon's Traits.]
At that moment, Drukal tightened his grip on his trident.
Blue energy began wrapping around his body.
"...Don't worry."
"I won't go all out against a human."
His gaze sharpened.
"I'll crush you with speed alone."
He clearly had no intention of saying anything more.
His body lowered like a bull preparing to charge.
Suhyeok also turned toward the distant rock.
Seong-a was in his hand.
He lowered his stance.
A moment of silence passed.
Yet Suhyeok showed no tension.
He simply smiled.
[Opening Hidden Shop.]
[Searching specific keyword.]
[Entering Skill category.]
Then he spoke.
"Crush me with speed?"
Suhyeok's smile deepened.
"I'll return those words."
"You'd better use everything you have to stop me."
"Otherwise..."
"You'll be left behind."
[2,300,000 Coins consumed.]
[Skill ‘Furious Wave (S)’ purchased.]
[Skill activates.]
Suhyeok contracted his thigh muscles and drove every ounce of strength into his lower body.
The surrounding terrain began trembling.
Even the sandy seafloor shook.
RUMBLE.
[For 10 seconds, your underwater speed exceeds its normal limit.]
[Speed increases according to Mana quantity.]
The Merfolk warrior acting as starter dropped his arm.
Even underwater...
A deafening explosion erupted.
BOOOOOOM!
Sand filled the surrounding water.
Then the cloud slowly began to clear.
And the one tearing through it in the lead was...
"Keugh...!"
Suhyeok.
