Chapter 17 - Sea Gods Temple 2 (1/2)
Triton groaned in pain as he tried to catch his breath. Now he was swinging the blue fin and moving a lot across the cold stone floor.
A complete defeat.
Woohyuk had made use of the effect of Calm Sea’s Silence to prevent Triton from using any magic spells for an entire minute. As a result, he had no choice but to engage in close combat.
He had hurriedly pulled out a trident, but nonetheless wasn’t Woohyuk’s match. After all, Woohyuk was enjoying a nice buff from his Legendary Explorer title, whereas Triton's full strength was instead suppressed.
Even when it came to combat experience and weapon proficiency, Woohyuk is not inferior to the demigod Triton.
He had defeated countless mythological creatures in order to sit on the Iron Throne. Although his Stats were significantly lower, he still had a Monarch’s dignity to maintain.
Triton trembled as he looked up and met Woohyuk’s merciless gaze.
“Unless you want to lose your pathetic life, guide me to where the Hidden Treasures are.”
“...”
It was his first time feeling fear from an insignificant human being. Swallowing his pride and suppressing his shame, Triton went ahead and led Woohyuk to the treasures.
Srrrrc
As Woohyuk placed his hand on the engraved rune, the stone wall transformed into a door, which he quickly pushed open. The inside of the room was quite dark and smelled very humid, so Woohyuk summoned Kelpie.
“Explore the inside.”
This could have all been Triton trying to set him up, using the excuse that as a designated Guardian monster he wasn’t able to enter the Secret room. As Woohyuk stared him down, Triton simply shook his head.
“There is only a small well, inside of which the treasure chest can be found.”
Since this is a Sea god’s temple, it was designed to be retrieved through salvage. After the Kelpie fetched the chest for him, Woohyuk was finally able to open it up and have a look at the treasure inside.
[Mermaid’s Kiss]
Category: Jewel
Grade: A
Durability: 30000
Effect: Able to breathe underwater and walk on its surface. 100% increase in swimming speed and increased intimacy with aquatic lifeforms.
[Deep Sea’s Orb]
Category: Personal Item
Grade: S
Durability: 50000
Effect: Able to have vision and exert a certain control over the sea, depending on the amount of mana used. To control living creatures a certain level of intimacy is required.
[Lost Lyre]
Category: Instrument
Grade: S
Durability: 50000
Effect: Able to delete any memory associated with you from the minds of unfriendly beings. The length of the memory depends on the amount of mana used.
‘Interesting’
“Are you satisfied now? That’s all the treasure that was in the well.”
“Good, now we just need to go find the rest. That is, unless you’d rather I torture the information out of you.”
Woohyuk’s eyes held a dangerous glint, causing Triton to swallow down nervously. He knew that it wasn’t any empty threat and was trying to quickly come up with a good excuse to not cooperate.
As Triton considered his options, Woohyuk pulled out the Paradise Tree Fruit from his Sage’s Pouch.
“Do you know what this is?”
“That’s….”
“That’s right, and if I eat this and I find out that you’ve left out any treasures, I'll execute you all on the spot.”
Triton’s face paled as the Dagons gathered behind him stared pitifully.
Will you guarantee our safety if I do what you ask?”
“Why would I go out of my way to kill you, it’ll only stain my sword.”
Triton had no idea that the entire Primordial Forest would disappear in just a few days. Unlike Lyla, he had been exiled here and wasn’t in contact with the outside.
“Fine, I’ll hand them all over to you.”
He ended up making the rational decision, as he led Woohyuk around into the depths of the Temple.
‘So there is other treasure.’
He had assumed that there wouldn’t only have been the single Secret room given the level of difficulty required to arrive here. As he went down a flight of stairs leading to the basement, he thought back to an ancient document he had come across.
‘It had mentioned that he had been pushed out of the ranking competition.’
Just like the 72 Demon Kings, the Gods had also fought to establish their position, and the Sea God had suffered several defeats.
Following his relegation, he had concocted some devious plan. Although there weren’t any details regarding it, it surely targeted the other Gods.
“It was the main reason that they betrayed the Creator. The Gods wanted to fight for their rankings, while the Creator only sought peace and stability.”
As Triton arrived at their destination, he spoke rather nostalgically before a large blue gem.
“Surely you can understand the boredom brought on by eons of peace. Hey, strong human, take this. It will definitely be of use to you in your adventures.”
Woohyuk walked over and grasped the gem. It briefly emitted a bright light, then was dislodged as he held it in his hand.
[Heart of the Sea]
Category: Personal Item
Effect: A gem containing the secrets of the Sea God. When used as a crafting material, it can lead to varying results depending on the user’s skill level.
‘Is it possible to make Hidden weapons with it?’
According to the documents he had read, there were Ancient weapons out there which were said to be able to face off against the Gods. Although there were no longer any traces of them left, he was convinced that it was true.
“And the sailors’ hearts?”
“They are over there.”
Triton pointed towards an ordinary looking chest, left in the corner of the room. Opening it up, he stabbed all the hearts inside using his Vampiric dagger.
Jurrrk
The hearts melted into water that spilled onto the ground. After taking care of them all, he noticed something else at the bottom of the chest. A fragment of a piece of rock emitting a faint blue light. Curious, Woohyuk picked it up to have a closer look.
[Azure Dragon’s Token]
Category: Personal Item
Effect: One of the nine tokens required to be a Dragon Lord. Intimacy with Azure Dragons is increased simply by having it in your possession, and it is possible to enter a contract with them.
‘There you are.’
He realised why it was that no one had been able to become a Dragon Lord in the past. It was a class which was basically unavailable unless someone retraced the same steps he’d taken, by returning to the past.
He wondered what abilities that class would have.
“There isn’t anything else, do you have any further instructions?”
“Well”
He had already obtained all of the items so it was fine to cut Triton’s head off. Still, even if he were to actually let him off, he would still disappear in a few days.
“I do have one question for you.”
Woohyuk turned to face him as he asked.
“Are you willing to serve under me?”
“....”
He had a tough decision ahead of him.
* * *
“What? Did the tree just disappear?”
The blonde woman Alice asked as she looked behind her. She was using an ash tree staff and a worn out leather armor.
“I’m not sure.”
“Same here.”
The party members shook their heads in response, as Alice tried to make sense of it all.
‘Could it be an illusion.’
This was a strange world they had been sent to, so it wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities. Didn’t they encounter a snake that was unharmed after being stabbed, and a lizard which spat our fire from its mouth?
Having gone from an everyday bartender to this unforgiving land, Alice really missed her warm showers and plush mattress.