Chapter 102
The sun rose, painting the ocean surface in shimmering gold.
A player emerged from the water, gasping for breath.
The monsters on the ship eagerly lowered a rope ladder and yelled:
“Did you get it?”
The players, without answering, climbed onto the deck, exhausted, and collapsed, panting.
A monster snatched the high-level Water Breathing Pearl from a player’s neck and put it in his pocket, then, baring his teeth, asked again:
“I even lent you such a valuable pearl. Don’t tell me you failed!”
The players, weary from their underwater mission, weren’t ready to hand over their prize so easily.
“Where are the two merpeople?”
The monster snorted, his face filled with suspicion.
“I’ve heard humans are cunning, and it’s true! Do you think I’d lie to you? Give me the treasure, and I promise you’ll see the merpeople!”
The players’ mission was to obtain a Mermaid’s Tear and survive for seven days.
They had spent two or three days searching the ship and had finally discovered two injured merpeople being held captive.
They believed the key to completing the dungeon lay with these merpeople.
They had to see them, gain their trust, and obtain a Mermaid’s Tear.
But their plan had been exposed, and they had been forced to make a deal with the monsters.
The monsters wanted a treasure kept by an octopus in the deep sea. They didn’t know what it was.
“It’s the only thing locked in a box, hidden among its treasures. You humans have your tricks. You should be able to open it without a key.”
The players, their faces grim, did indeed have such props, but they were hesitant.
The monsters, eager to obtain the treasure, had even lent them a high-level Water Breathing Pearl.
“As long as you bring back the treasure unharmed, I’ll grant you any request! And that octopus hasn’t been seen in years. You won’t run into it.”
The players, after much deliberation, had dived into the ocean.
They easily reached the octopus’s lair and were dazzled by the mountain of treasures.
But the monsters had warned them that the octopus was powerful and dangerous, and they shouldn’t take too much, or they would be killed.
Heeding the warning, they found the box, used their prop to retrieve the treasure inside without opening it, and quickly returned to the surface.
Having spent the entire night worrying, now, with the treasure in hand, they felt more confident in their negotiations with the monsters.
“We have to see the merpeople first. We won’t give you the treasure otherwise.”
The monsters, enraged, cursed them, but finally led them to the lower deck, where the merpeople were being held.
Realizing its treasure was gone, the little octopus, like a bloodhound, followed the lingering human scent and pointed with a tentacle.
“They’re there!”
Xing Nuo patted the angry little octopus’s head. “It’s okay, no angry. We’ll get it back. Stealing is bad. Police uncles will catch them!”
The little octopus hummed, still fuming.
“I never steal!”
I just take what I want!
The two of them, having eaten some sea fruits to replenish their energy, swam towards the surface.
Xing Nuo, worried about the little octopus, picked up a few pretty stones along the way and gave them to it.
“It’s okay. Still have lots of pwetty tweasures!”
The little octopus took the stones and hid them in a small hole in its lair, its anger still simmering.
“This different! That treasure…special!”
More valuable than all the other treasures in its lair!
Xing Nuo nodded, patted the little octopus’s head, and swam faster.
He was now quite adept at using his tail and quickly reached the surface before noon.
He surfaced, spitting out a mouthful of seawater, his little head bathed in golden sunlight, his wet curls shimmering.
The little octopus also surfaced, climbed onto Xing Nuo’s head, and, after sniffing the air, pointed in a certain direction.
“There! That ship!”
The cruise ship, about three stories high, had a large, red symbol painted on its side, a white skull and crossbones flag flying from its mast.
Xing Nuo, having seen similar ships in cartoons, whispered:
“Bad pirates stole your treasure?”
The little octopus, its beady eyes cold, wasn’t sure. “Don’t know. But humans…not good.”
Xing Nuo, being human himself, defended his species.
“Some bad humans…but many good humans too.”
He was innocent and believed that most humans were inherently good.
The little octopus didn’t argue. It slapped the water with a tentacle, sending up a spray of water.
Xing Nuo, enjoying the warm sunlight after so long in the dark depths of the ocean, squinted his eyes, then dived back into the water, swimming towards the ship.
He quickly reached the ship, but the little octopus grabbed his hand, stopping him, afraid of the strong currents.
“Wait. If ship no stop…we find another way.”
Xing Nuo nodded, his head above water, his long, dark eyelashes shimmering in the sunlight.
They followed the ship, and just as dusk approached, it slowed down and stopped.
“Yay! Ship stopped! We go up!”
Xing Nuo swam around the ship, looking for a way to climb aboard, but couldn’t find any handholds or ladders.
The little octopus jumped into the water, its tentacles, with their small suckers, gripping the smooth hull, and slowly climbed up.
Being small, it went unnoticed by the humans and monsters on the ship and found a rope ladder.
It tossed the ladder down and, clinging to the railing, waved at Xing Nuo.
Xing Nuo circled the ladder, trying to climb it, but his tail wasn’t as useful as legs, and he couldn’t get a grip.
The little octopus tossed down a rope, and, using its tentacles, pulled Xing Nuo up.
Xing Nuo, on the deck, his tail flopping awkwardly, said:
“If only I had legs.”
The little octopus, turning back, thought for a moment, and hid Xing Nuo in a wooden barrel.
“Stay here. I’ll get my treasure back. If there’s danger, jump into the ocean and find the merpeople.”
The merpeople were the only trustworthy creatures in the ocean.
Xing Nuo wanted to say something, but the little octopus had already crawled away.
He stayed hidden in the barrel, unaware of the panic among the humans and monsters on the ship.
“That octopus, its aura is strong! It must have realized its treasure is missing!”
“What do we do?! Should we give it back?”
“No! We tricked those humans into stealing it! Besides, the octopus only sensed the human scent. We’ll just blame them!”
The monsters agreed to deny any knowledge of the treasure.
The players also felt a powerful, oppressive presence, and the dungeon level, originally A-rank, started fluctuating between S+ and SSS+,
finally settling at S+.
The players huddled in their cabin, cursing softly.
“That damn octopus must be here! Those monsters lied! They said the octopus had left the ocean!”
“If it had, why didn’t they retrieve the treasure themselves?”
Those monsters were all aquatic creatures. They had the advantage in the ocean!
“There’s nothing we can do. Since the octopus is here, we have to hide the merman.”
The merman, its wounds deep and bleeding profusely, was barely alive. The players had just traded the treasure for it.
They hadn’t wanted to use their precious healing spray on it, hoping to trade it for a Mermaid’s Tear once it recovered.
Afraid of the merman being killed or stolen, they searched for a hiding place and finally chose a spot on the deck.
“Here! The monsters don’t usually come here. And if they do, we can jump into the ocean.”
They found two empty barrels.
“We’ll put the merman in here and come back for him later, after dealing with the octopus.”
To be safe, they also placed an invisibility charm on the merman.
Unless you touched it, you wouldn’t be able to see the merman inside the barrel.
Inside the barrel.
Xing Nuo, his ear pressed against the wood, listened to the players’ conversation.
A merman?
Hearing the players approach, he huddled in the corner, hoping they would choose the other barrel.
Fortunately, his barrel was smaller, and the players put the merman in the larger one.
The hurried footsteps faded, and Xing Nuo sighed in relief, pressing his ear against the wood again.
After a long moment of silence, he carefully pushed the lid open and peeked out, making sure no one was around, then climbed out.
His tail awkward on the deck, he hopped over to the other barrel.
Too short to reach the lid, he found a wooden crate, used his tail to propel himself up, and peeked inside.
It was dark, and he couldn’t see anything.
Did they take the merman away? He’s not here.
Just as he was wondering this, he heard a soft whimper.
The unique sound of a merman, even just a single syllable, was instantly recognizable.
The merman was still inside!
