Round 364

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Is it really okay to leave after handling things like this?  

I was slightly worried, but Hassan waved his hand as if telling me not to worry.  

“This old man may not look it, but I have quite a bit of strength. What you see isn’t everything.”  

“Yes. But in this case, won’t Isthart or Saudi Arabia become interested in where we’re going or notice it?”  

“That has also been taken care of. Thanks to you protecting this country.”  

Protecting the country? That sounds too grand.  

If I think about it deeply, I did accomplish something remarkable.  

But to me, it just felt like I sent the kids out to play for a bit, so it didn’t feel real.  

“Hmm.”  

“Don’t worry too much.”  

“Yes.”  

Anyway, in the end, we arrived at our intended destination.  

A small port.  

Surprisingly, Hassan had already prepared a ship, a submarine, and experts waiting there.  

“Did you contact them in advance?”  

“I prepared them because you were coming right away.”  

That’s a submarine, right?  

A futuristic-designed submarine loaded onto a large ship.  

The submarine was also quite large.  

And so, the ship set out toward the sea.  

“Alright, since we’ve come this far, let’s go over things again. So, the name of Envy is Leviathan, right?”  

“That’s correct.”  

Leviathan.  

It’s a name I’ve heard before.  

Isn’t it the name of a legendary sea monster?  

Unlike the other names, this one was already well-known in legends.  

“It’s a dragon!”  

– A dragon? No, it’s not.  

– From what I see, it’s an Imoogi.  

– Ashu is Ashu.  

Hmm, a dragon.  

If I sum up what Mammon and Ras said, it seems to be shaped like a snake.  

“It’s cute.”  

– It is cute.  

– Almost as charming as me.  

– Ashu agrees.  

And like the other kids, it shared the common trait of being cute.  

At this point, it feels like cuteness is a default setting.  

“Are there any other characteristics?”  

“It likes swimming.”  

– It lives in the water.  

– It swims better than me.  

– It gave Ashu lots of delicious seafood.  

Characteristics… I guess there aren’t any special ones.  

I figured we’d have to meet it to find out.  

Just in time, the ship had reached the dungeon entrance and had already anchored while preparing the submarine.  

“They say we can board now, Mr. Kyu-seong.”  

“Yep! Let’s go.”  

I boarded the submarine with the kids.  

The atmosphere quickly became lively.  

“Wow! It’s a robot!”  

– This is my first time riding something like this! To think we can go underwater with it…  

– Swimming is nice, but this has its own charm.  

Finally, after Ashu hopped in, the submarine’s door closed.  

Soon, it slowly started to submerge.  

Come to think of it, this was my first time experiencing something like this, so I felt both nervous and excited.  

“We’re underwater! We’re underwater!”  

– I can see everything!  

The kids, more excited than me, peered through the transparent windows at the underwater scenery.  

As we turned on the lights, the brightly illuminated ocean was incredibly mesmerizing.  

“Ohhh, ohhhh!”  

Yeah. That’s how it felt at first.  

But the deeper we went, the more I felt an unexplainable, eerie atmosphere.  

As the surroundings grew darker due to the lack of light, it became slightly frightening.  

“Whoa! There are so many interesting things! I want to eat them.”  

– I’d like to research them. If I could turn them into poison, a new toxin could be…  

– Is there anyone here stronger than me?  

– Ashu is stronger!  

As an uneasy feeling started creeping in, we finally found the entrance to the dungeon.  

“Wow, there’s really a dungeon in a place like this.”  

“Sometimes, undiscovered dungeons like this appear in the ocean. And occasionally, dungeon breaks happen too.”  

“Then what about the monsters…?”  

“They can’t withstand the difference in water pressure.”  

“Ahh.”  

Right, even if it’s an underwater dungeon, the pressure inside and outside wouldn’t necessarily be the same.  

Thinking about it the other way around, if the Envy dungeon experiences a break, wouldn’t the monsters be unable to withstand the pressure difference?  

‘Only the one called Leviathan would survive, while the others wouldn’t.’  

That added another reason to bring it with us.  

The submarine stopped at the dungeon entrance.  

From here, we had to make further preparations.  

“These are diving suits made of magic stones. And take this as well.”  

“What is this?”  

“It’s an item that helps you withstand the pressure difference.”  

“There’s such a thing? That’s amazing.”  

“It was made by a craftsman from the Isthart Guild. It costs about 30 billion won per pill.”  

“Three hundred… what?”  

A single pill costs 30 billion won?  

Making something like this just to withstand pressure differences seemed ridiculous.  

As expected of the Isthart Guild.  

“It lasts for six hours. Any longer, and it won’t work, so we need to be out in about four hours.”  

I swallowed the pill.  

The kids did too, without exception.  

As we put on our diving suits, the kids burst into laughter, excited to see each other in them.  

Once we were fully suited up, we stepped into the isolated chamber.  

Water gradually filled the space until it was completely submerged.  

“Whoa.”  

The diving suits weren’t ordinary, but since we had already eaten the gills that allowed underwater breathing, we had no trouble breathing.  

Once the isolated chamber opened, we were able to go outside, connected by a safety rope.  

“See you inside the dungeon.”  

Hassan took the lead.  

These high-tech diving suits even allowed us to communicate with each other.  

Then, Hassan entered the dungeon first.  

One by one, the kids followed, then me, and lastly, Kyler.  

Wooong—.  

The moment we entered the dungeon…  

“Ugh.”  

A terrible stench hit us.  

How could such a foul odor penetrate these high-tech diving suits?  

At the same time, the suits sent out a warning signal.  

– The water pollution level is severe. Do not remove protective gear.  

Oh, so they have this kind of function too.  

No, that wasn’t the important part.  

What mattered was that the water quality here was terrible.  

‘Can anything even survive in a place like this?’

The inside of the dungeon looked like there was nothing alive in it.  

“I’ll start by looking for any living creatures. See you in two hours.”  

Kyler, who had entered the dungeon, disconnected from the safety line and set off alone to explore.  

The rest of us stayed together and wandered around.  

Watching the kids flail their arms and swim around made me smile.  

So cute, really cute.  

“I’m worried about something.”  

“Hm? About what?”  

“The water is too dirty. Levi will have a hard time living in a place like this.”  

So this isn’t a normal environment after all.  

I wondered if Leviathan could only survive in such polluted conditions.  

Or perhaps Leviathan was the one polluting the area itself.  

‘It wouldn’t make its own home dirty, right?’  

Either way, this was useful information.  

We continued swimming diligently, looking around.  

But in this dungeon, there wasn’t even a single piece of seaweed to be found—only rocks and stones everywhere.  

“I don’t see any living creatures at all.”  

“Hmm, when my guild members and the old man explored this place yesterday, we couldn’t find anything either. Though, that was for a much shorter time than now.”  

An hour had already passed.  

With only an hour left before our rendezvous with Kyler, it was about time we started heading back.  

“There’s something here!”  

“Huh? Where?!”  

Ara, who had the best eyesight among us, had finally spotted something.  

Following Ara as fast as we could, we soon saw it too.  

Something barely visible behind a gap between the rocks.  

Just in case, Mammon and I stayed behind under Ras’s protection.  

Hassan, Ara, and Ashu went ahead to check it out, then reported back to me.  

It was nice to have a radio connection even at a distance.  

“It’s a living creature.”  

“It’s a person!”  

– A fish person!  

What?  

Since it seemed safe, we also moved closer to check.  

And then, we saw it—something unidentified.  

“A mermaid?”  

It looked like a mermaid.  

But a young one.  

Judging by its appearance, it resembled a ten-year-old boy, but with a fish tail instead of legs.  

“Haha, I never thought I’d see a mermaid.”  

“Are mermaids originally monsters?”  

“There was a time when they existed. Not as monsters, but as the native inhabitants of the dungeon.  

However, when a dungeon break occurred, only the monsters escaped while the dungeon itself sealed shut.”  

“So it wasn’t an infinite dungeon, then.”  

“Infinite dungeons are rare. But in the end, we’ve rediscovered it like this.”  

Something seemed strange about this mermaid.  

It was stuck between the rocks with its eyes closed, looking like it was in a bad state.  

Could it be…  

“It’s sleeping! We must not wake it.”  

Oh, so it was just sleeping.  

That startled me for a second.  

But why was it sleeping alone in a place like this?  

At that moment—  

Suddenly.  

The young mermaid opened its eyes.  

It caught sight of Ara, who was standing closest, and flinched in shock.  

– Waaah!  

For a scream, it sounded oddly cute.  

Then, realizing our presence, the mermaid shivered and remained still.  

‘Why isn’t it running away?’  

Honestly, being a mermaid, it was bound to be an excellent swimmer, but it didn’t seem to have any intention of escaping.  

“It’s okay. We’re friends of Levi.”  

Ara spoke to calm the frightened mermaid.  

But the mermaid still looked startled and confused.  

“Why are you here alone?”  

– Uuung.  

The young mermaid made a blubbing sound.  

Then, as if understanding, Ara nodded.  

“You came out far looking for food and couldn’t find your way back! That’s unfortunate!”  

Came out far looking for food…  

Now that I thought about it, even after an hour of searching, we hadn’t found a single living creature besides this mermaid.  

Not even plants.  

This place was definitely a harsh environment.  

‘Polluted water and a lack of food supply.’  

I wanted to give the hungry-looking mermaid something to eat.  

Fortunately, Hassan had prepared a special artifact that allowed us to carry items even underwater.  

We had packed a variety of things inside, including, of course, food.  

“Sir, could you take out some food?”  

“Ah, I completely forgot! Let me get it right away.”  

Hassan, who had been watching Ara and the mermaid’s interaction with interest, hurriedly pulled something out.  

A magical carrot.  

Would a mermaid eat a carrot?  

Hassan handed the carrot to Ara.  

It seemed better for Ara to give it rather than one of us.  

“It’s delicious! Try eating it.”  

The mermaid tilted its head at the unfamiliar food.  

It took the carrot and examined it, sniffing it curiously.  

– Uwa?  

It tilted its head again and again.  

Its reactions were incredibly pure.  

‘If the little Humans and Frey are dumb-cute, then this mermaid is just purely innocent.’  

It felt like a blank slate, completely untainted.  

While I was thinking that, the little mermaid finally took a bite of the carrot.  

Crunch.  

– Uwaaah?!  

The mermaid flinched in shock.  

Then, suddenly, it started eating the carrot eagerly.  

“There’s more! You can eat slowly.”  

As expected, my crops are universal.  

No matter who eats them, they always seem to taste good.  

—Or so I thought, but I was wrong.  

“It tastes weird, but since I’m hungry, I want to eat more.”  

“It… tastes weird?”  

“It has a different sense of taste.”  

Even Ara shrugged, unable to understand.  

I, on the other hand, was completely shocked.  

Three years into my farming life…  

For the first time, I had met a creature that didn’t find my crops delicious.

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