Chapter 16 - Sea Gods Temple 1 (2/2)

After claiming ownership of the Abyssal Ship, Woohyuk used the submarine to head straight for the Temple.

Although he had to navigate through the pitch black darkness of the lake’s bottom, it wasn’t a problem since he still had the added night vision from the Black Machete’s passive. Also, it did help that he was able to command any of the creatures.

‘It’s really quite deep.’

The lake wasn’t named as a sea without reason. Before being brought over to the Primordial Forest area, it had almost certainly been part of some sea. The submarine’s lights would illuminate the different aquatic creatures wandering about. When they sensed Woohyuk, they would wiggle their fins and tail in order to express their happiness.

‘I could use them as guards.’

He only had control over any living creature, and could still encounter trouble in the form of ghosts like Drake or even a being connected to the Sea God.

Woohyuk thought about which of them he should use. The Kraken’s incredible size made it unsuitable for summoning in areas that had limited space.

Then a familiar fish came into view.

[Kelpie]

Waist up it was a horse, but it’s bottom half was that of a fish, making it amphibious. Of course, since it didn’t have any rear legs it’s movement speed on land was a bit pathetic.

He tamed the Kelpie and immediately unsummoned it. He continued forward for quite some time, until he could finally see the bottom of the lake, teeming with strange looking fish that were hurrying to greet him.

Woohyuk took a look at the map provided by Drake, before carefully examining his surroundings. He had to carefully navigate the seabed since some unexpected seaweeds or rocks could cause severe damage to the vessel if he was inattentive.

‘I’ve arrived.’

From a distance, the remains of an ancient civilization gradually came into view. There were impressive columns and pyramids, as well as a formation of rocks resembling Stonehenge.

It would be a real treat for any archaeologist looking to unravel the many historical truths that had been lost in time, but Woohyuk had his eye on the prize.

‘Where would the temple be?’

It was said that the long lost civilization had been one of city-states, so the Temple would most likely be situated on a hill overlooking the city or perhaps even at the heart of the city.

Woohyuk continued to patiently explore the ruins, but since it seemed to take far too long, he decided to employ a few sharks to act as scouts.

‘There are so many wreckages.’

Whether it was due to the rough waters, or something else, the remains of countless pirate ships littered the entire floor. It was to the point where one could call it a ship’s graveyard.

As Woohyuk was taking in the sights, one of the sharks made some abrupt gestures, warning of an incoming drowned man dressed in a sailor’s outfit.

‘Undead’

No doubt it was another being that had been cursed by the Sea God. As Woohyuk gave the order, the shark bolted ahead and ripped its body apart with its sharp teeth.

Shortly after the undead had been taken care of, another shark had returned and wiggled its fins excitedly, to show that it had found the desired location.

Following its lead, Woohyuk finally arrived at the Lost Temple. Araeosystyle columns supported a large triangle stone roof.2 The architectural style completely matched with what was known about the Sea God’s Temple.

[Would you like to enter the Lost Temple?]

[YES / NO]

As Woohyuk selected [YES], a bright light encompassed his surroundings.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, a large stone room came into view. There was seaweed growing along the walls and it was a very dark and humid environment.

‘I guess I must be inside.’

Some Historical Sites would teleport you inside just like this one, in fact most were inaccessible without some special entrance method.

To a certain extent, the Creator was also taking into account some conveniences for the adventurers, making it so that this starting location wasn’t submersed underwater.

‘There shouldn’t be anyone here besides me.

This was a space that was shared among all the sectors, but he strongly believed only he had the ability to make it here. Also, players weren’t allowed to harm each other in these kinds of locations.

People couldn’t be waiting here in ambush, and also when you leave you are given invulnerable to any attacks for a short duration. The only thing they allowed was to physically block others from getting the treasures using your body. It was a dirty group tactic thought up later on, so the best thing to do was to prioritize taking all the treasures as soon as possible.

‘What monsters might there be?’

Some mutant being, half-human and fish was the most likely scenario. Woohyuk walked forward carefully along the passageway, with his sword Grandia raised.

It wasn’t only monsters, there would also be various traps which he would have to be wary of. It could be an arrow suddenly being shot out, or an iron plate full of spikes falling from the ceiling.

Still, since he was familiar with so many of the traps, he was able to make it past the passage without suffering too much damage. Upon exiting, he arrived at a large amphitheater, only to be greeted by a group of ugly half-human sea monsters.

[Dagon]

They were all quite diverse in their appearances, some covered in scales and fins like a fish, others with hard shells and pincer claws like crustaceans.

Swoosh!

Swooosh!

The Dagons’ bodies were cleaved at the waist with a single swing of Grandia. Dark green blood splattered across the floor and columns. The moisture in the air along with the blood and guts spilled on the ground gave rise to a very bad fishy smell. Woohyuk couldn’t help but frown as he looked around.

His priorities were to find the Guardian monster and the Secret Treasure room. But he also had to carefully explore and discover anything this place might hide, since he wouldn’t be able to return later on.

‘Should I eat it now?’

Eating the fruit from the Paradise Tree which Lyla had given him would give him complete knowledge about any hidden secrets in this site. Still, he wasn’t willing to resort to that just now. The fruit was very valuable and it was still likely that he’d discover an even more important Historical Site in the future.

‘I’ll try to settle it myself.’

He still had 3 days that he could spare over here. He could also choose to summon his party to help him look around, or even go up to the surface to ask Drake for any tips.

‘He didn’t seem to remember much though.’

Due to encountering the Sea God, Drake’s expedition to the Temple had ended rather early. Woohyuk picked up his pace, hoping that the Sea God was nowhere to be found.

“A human actually stepped foot in here, how arrogant.”

Woohyuk turned his head to the source of voice. It was a young man with bright blue hair and the lower body of a fish. He was staring right at Woohyuk.

“Nice to finally meet you, I’ve been looking for you.”

He hadn’t imagined that the Guardian monster would suddenly appear before him. Maybe it was because this time around it was an intelligent creature.

The Sea God’s children. Most of them had been killed over the years, but there were some that had been exiled to guard the Temples.

His name was Triton, and he was quite strong because he was a demigod. Still, due to the Creator’s arrangement, he would suffer from a considerable debuff.

It was something that Woohyuk who had explored countless Historical Sites, was able to quickly pick up on.

“Who are you, you can’t be from the Royal line, due to your black hair.”

Triton asked as he approached Woohyuk. There was a waterway on the floor which allowed him to move despite the absence of legs.

“I am the one who will be a God at sea.”

“How rude, do you even know who I am!”

Triton became enraged as he sent out several Ice arrows towards him, but the attacks were completely absorbed by the Ghost Queen Star Serpent.

“You are the one that doesn’t seem to understand the situation.”

Woohyuk exclaimed as he sent Triton’s magic right back at him.

The water rippled as the spells skimmed its surface.

“It’s time for you to learn a lesson in humility. ”

The Ice arrows that were sent back connected hard with Triton's body.