Chapter 118

Chapter 118

At that same time, Gahen's ship was crossing the eastern sea toward the Sea Dragon Stronghold's main base.

Inside a large cabin, Stark lay on a bed.

Hearing footsteps outside, he pushed himself upright.

Click.

The door opened.

A burly man entered carrying a tray of simple food.

He set it down on the table with a dull thud, treating Stark more like a prisoner than a Deputy Chief.

"Your meal."

"Enjoy it, Deputy Chief."

Once he was alone again, Stark sat down at the table and sighed.

"Haa... How the hell did I end up like this?"

Meals came only at fixed times.

Other than that, he wasn't allowed outside.

Guards took turns standing watch beyond the door, keeping him under constant surveillance.

Stark scooped up the porridge-like food and chewed while recalling what Gahen had told him the moment he'd been brought aboard.

You may be placed in danger again, so we'll personally keep you protected inside.

Your face is badly injured too. Please rest comfortably, Deputy Chief.

Protected, my ass.

He was basically being transported to the Sea Dragon Stronghold under house arrest.

Chew. Chew.

"These bastards..."

"If they're going to feed me this garbage, they could at least give me some proper side dishes."

"Ugh... my lips are split open. I can't even eat anymore."

"Ptooey."

Then he heard humming.

His gaze shifted toward the bed.

[ Nya-nya-nyaa~. Nya-nyaa-nya~. ]

Leon was lying comfortably on the mattress, happily eating Churu.

"...Why the hell did you follow me?"

"Wasn't everything you already did enough?"

"What else do you want from me?"

"And what have you been eating so happily this whole time...?"

Leon licked the Churu.

[ Chomp, chomp. I came to watch 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.

Then he scratched the back of his head and stood up.

"Ugh, that damned old man."

"He spent his whole life nagging me."

"I kept telling him to throw out that creepy bastard because he was bad news, but he insisted on keeping him around."

"So of course he died."

"Seriously, that old man never helped me with anyth-"

WHACK!

"Keugh?!"

Stark clutched his head.

"W-Why'd you hit me?!"

Leon glared at him.

[ Shut up, nya. ]

[ You unfilial bastard. ]

[ You still haven't learned anything after getting beaten that badly, nya? ]

"U-Unfilial bastard?"

Leon spat out the empty Churu wrapper.

Then he lifted a huge baseball bat.

Was Stark imagining it...

Or was there something red staining the end?

"Ack!"

"Aack! Aaaagh!"

"S-Stop...!!"

"Spare meeee!!"

Stark rolled across the floor, trying desperately to shield himself.

But Leon's bat found every opening.

Perhaps his screams finally reached outside.

The door flew open.

Stark's eyes watered in relief.

Finally.

Someone had come to help him.

But...

"...What are you doing by yourself on the floor, Deputy Chief?"

"Haa."

"Now you're putting on some ridiculous one-man show too?"

"Get up."

"We're still not letting you out."

"Tsk."

"N-No, wait..."

"Hey! Hey...!!"

The guards left again.

Stark stared desperately after them.

Of course.

They couldn't see Leon.

And since Leon was hitting areas covered by clothing, there weren't any obvious visible wounds.

To everyone else...

Stark simply looked like a lunatic throwing himself around the room.

"Keugh...!"

He lowered his head and bit his lip.

Then silently swore revenge.

Suhyeok and the others were all Players.

They couldn't possibly watch him forever.

Just wait.

Once this whole thing is over 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 froze.

[ 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 a normal contract. ]

Leon tilted his head.

[ No. ]

[ A slave contract, nya. ]

Stark's face went pale.

[ It's only in case you betray us, so don't worry, nya. ]

[ You won't die, nya. ]

The terms were simple.

If Stark betrayed Lee Suhyeok, he would suffer enough pain to bring him to the brink of death without actually killing him.

And that wasn't all.

From then on, he would have to hand over at least twenty percent of the Sea Dragon Stronghold's profits.

[ Well, either way you'll basically be a puppet, nya. ]

[ Isn't it still better for you if the place runs properly, nya? ]

Stark glanced at the bat in Leon's hand.

Perhaps the earlier beating had crushed his spirit.

In the end, he reluctantly signed.

"Keugh... h-here."

Leon inspected the document.

[ Hmm. ]

[ Oh, looks like you wrote it properly, nya. ]

[ See? You can do things if 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 a pig I could beat whenever I wanted, nya. ]

[ But now he's become annoyingly respectable-looking, nya. ]

[ So I don't have anyone to relieve my stress on anymore, nya. ]

He looked directly 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 standing outside shook their heads and sighed.

"...Haa. Whatever."

"He'll tire himself out eventually."

"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 railing and into the water.

The other three followed.

"You all know how to dive and swim, right?"

"Eat the fruit I gave you and follow us."

Each person held a blue fruit about the size of an apple.

They took a bite.

[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 following without issue.

The Merfolk kingdom existed somewhere beneath the sea.

Naturally, reaching it required at least some swimming ability.

Suhyeok already knew Bong Taesu could swim, so he hadn't been worried about him.

But if either Lee Yumi or Kim Hyuna hadn't known how...

That would've been a serious problem.

It wasn't like he could stop now and teach them.

"Oh?"

Drukal glanced back.

"For humans, you're keeping up surprisingly well."

"I suppose you've earned the right to open your mouths."

"We're almost there."

"Right here."

Before long, they reached the racecourse.

A wide stretch of sand covered the seafloor.

Huge rock walls stretched along either side, making the place look like a sprint track.

Unlike the surface, where waves raged violently enough to swallow ships...

The water here was calm.

Perfect for a race.

"Mmph! Mmph-mmph!"

Bong Taesu covered his mouth with both hands and kept mumbling.

He clearly wanted to say something.

Suhyeok finally looked at him.

"You can talk underwater."

"Stop covering your mouth."

Taesu froze.

"...Ah."

He slowly lowered his hands.

"Ahem."

"You can speak underwater too?"

"Hahaha."

"I didn't know."

"I've been covering my mouth for nothing."

Lee Yumi stared at him.

"We can breathe underwater."

"Why wouldn't we be able to talk?"

Taesu thought about it.

"...That's true."

He immediately looked embarrassed.

A little later, Drukal and Suhyeok stood behind a line drawn across the sand.

Both began warming up.

Drukal pointed his trident into the distance.

"Before we begin, I'll explain the rules."

"See that rock formation at the far end?"

A huge jagged outcropping shaped like lightning stood roughly ten kilometers away.

"If you focus your eyes, you'll see handprints on its surface."

"You swim there and leave your own handprint."

"So whoever leaves a mark first wins?"

"No."

Drukal shook his head.

"You have to leave your mark and return here."

"Our Merfolk warriors will judge the race."

Lee Yumi immediately bristled at the idea of Merfolk judging their own contestant.

Drukal continued as though he'd expected the objection.

"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 upon their honor as warriors...

And Elves swore in the name of the World Tree...

The Merfolk took oaths just as seriously.

Humans might treat promises lightly.

But to the Merfolk, 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 surprisingly reasonable for a 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 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 endless messages, Suhyeok looked again toward the distant rock.

Then he noticed something strange.

It wasn't the destination itself.

The surrounding rock walls were scarred all over.

Rough gouges covered them, as though they'd been repeatedly struck by attacks.

"So you finally noticed."

Drukal grinned.

"This isn't just a race of speed."

"While traveling to the rock and back..."

"You may 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 erupt in cheers!]

.

.

.

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.]

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 eyes sharpened.

"I'll crush you with speed alone."

He looked like a bull preparing to charge.

Suhyeok also faced the distant rock.

Seong-a was in his hand.

He lowered his stance.

A moment of silence passed.

Yet Suhyeok showed no tension whatsoever.

He smiled.

[Opening Hidden Shop.]

[Searching specific keyword.]

[Entering Skill category.]

Then he spoke.

"Crush me with speed?"

"I'll return those words."

"You'd better do everything you can 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 focused all his 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 water.

As it slowly cleared...

The one tearing ahead in first place was none other than...

"Keugh...!"

Suhyeok.