Chương 606: In the Guardian’s Territory

[Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] The notification appeared, and Luke kept descending until he saw dozens of glowing points. More chests. They were scattered across floating stone islands suspended in the water. He dropped to one and opened another. [Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] Luke kept swimming and opened a third. [Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] The chests were not at the very bottom of the lake.

He looked down and saw no glowing points there at all. But he did see something else. Near one of the chests, a silhouette moved fast and slipped deeper into the dark. Luke swam toward another chest. [Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] When he moved toward the next one, he saw a creature waiting there. A humanoid thing, lizard-like, but without a snout. Its face looked almost human, only reptilian. It did nothing. Just stood there, watching him.

For a second, Luke thought it might be some kind of statue. Then it blinked. Luke raised a knife and threw it. [Telekinetic Impulse activated] The monster merely shifted a little to the side, and the knife passed by. The creature lifted a hand, pointed at him, then dragged one finger across its own throat.

"Did that bastard just threaten me?" Suddenly Luke hurled another knife into a floating stone. [Witch's Thread activated] The line yanked him away.

"You thought I didn't see you?" Luke said. He could see in every direction. One of those lizard-things had crept up behind him. Then he saw more of them rising from the bottom of the lake. [Abyss Stalker - Lvl 90] [Abyss Stalker - Lvl 90] [Abyss Stalker - Lvl 90] [Abyss Stalker - Lvl 90] They rushed him. Luke slashed one with a kukri. Another grabbed his leg and yanked downward, trying to bite. Luke moved through them with both blades, then threw one into a third.

[You have slain an Abyss Stalker - Lvl 90] Then he hurled another knife. [Witch's Thread activated] The pull dragged him away. The Stalkers came after him. Luke lifted his free hand and used telekinesis. Floating stones slid into their path. When they curved up and around the obstacle, he threw a knife infused with [Mana Infusion]. The blade exploded. Not a huge blast, but enough. Enough time. He closed the distance and tore into them with his kukris.

[You have slain an Abyss Stalker - Lvl 90] [You have slain an Abyss Stalker - Lvl 90] [You have slain an Abyss Stalker - Lvl 90] [You have slain an Abyss Stalker - Lvl 90] The rest fled toward the bottom of the lake. Luke ignored them. Chasing them was not worth it. Time was against him. He swam to another chest and opened it. [Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] Raising a hand, Luke focused on the floating rocks with the chests on top and activated telekinesis. The rocks drifted toward him.

Luke started opening the chests one by one. The moment he did, more Stalkers appeared and spun their tails at him, trying to slam into him. Luke activated [Cursed Weapon]. The blades of his kukris glowed purple as he cut into them. More were coming. A lot more. They were rising from below in huge numbers. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Now you're making this difficult." He kept opening the chests as fast as he could. Telekinesis could move them, but it could not open them. [Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] [Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] [Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] [Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] [Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] More kept coming. Dozens. [Unfortunately, this chest does not contain the key.] [Congratulations! You found the key!]"Got it!" He snatched up the key. All the Stalkers lunged at him at once.

"Good luck!" Luke pointed at the large rock beneath his feet. [Teleportation Circle 2 activated] Then he stepped down. [Teleport Pentagram activated] Luke reappeared on the surface at the edge of the lake.

"Now I just need to get out!" He jumped into the water and summoned the Spectral Beast. The massive shark emerged, and Luke rode it hard toward shore. By the time he reached land, the Stalkers were already pouring out of the lake behind him. Luke dismissed the shark and sprinted to the door, slamming the key into place.

"Bye, idiots." He shut the door. [Challenge completed!]"Why didn't you use your little shark earlier?" Artemis asked as soon as Luke reached the other side. The shark had already returned to his core.

"Because I don't want to depend on the Spectral Beast all the time. That's too limiting. It burns out fast in combat. And if it gets injured, it doesn't heal unless it goes back into my soul. Sometimes I have to handle things on my own, especially in Sunken Realms."

"Okay, fair. Smart way to think about it. But, idiot, you were racing the clock."

"I like testing myself."

"You've definitely got some crazy part in there that enjoys throwing itself toward death."

"And besides, something tells me the third challenge is the dangerous one. I need the beast fresh, no injuries. Didn't you read the notification when we entered the Beacon? The part about the Sea Guardian?" Luke had expected to fight that guardian the moment he first arrived and started swimming toward the labyrinth. He kept walking through the maze.

Core: Spectral Beast Rank: E Rank D Cores: [7/1000] Core Skill: [Form Devourer] Beast Skills: [Spectral Rend (Rare)], [Predatory Sovereignty (Epic)], [Typhon (Mythic)] Form Devourer: [Deep White Megalodon (Rank E)] Form Devourer Skills: [Powerful Bite (Common)], [Torpedo Charge (Rare)], [Successive Bite Assault (Epic)] The Spectral Beast's new form was far more offensive than the Grasping Octopus. Even the skill set made that obvious.

[Powerful Bite (Common)]: The Deep White Megalodon delivers a devastating bite capable of destroying structures or tearing away massive chunks of its enemies, even when they possess tough hides or some form of protection. Its jaws tear through defenses with ease, and its teeth grow even sharper during the attack. A true predator of the deep must be merciless in every strike.

[Torpedo Charge (Rare)]: The Deep White Megalodon launches its body in a brutal charge, using its weight to smash through rock and anything else in its path. Beyond serving as an aggressive movement skill, this surge can shove enemies back, break their stance, or drag them along while the Megalodon continues its assault with its teeth.

[Successive Bite Assault (Epic)]: The Deep White Megalodon concentrates its force in its jaws and activates [Powerful Bite] repeatedly, turning the attack into a relentless and savage offensive. During this state, its teeth become much sharper and the pressure of its bite increases even further, allowing it to rip into enemies again and again and deal massive damage, even against targets protected by extremely durable natural armor. It was a killing machine of the sea.

And on top of that, it was much faster than the octopus, and far less exhausting to use.

"Those Stalkers were different from the Selmarines," she said.

"While the Selmarines are beings that live between the sea and the islands of Sunken Realms, the Stalkers are creatures that worship the Abyssal Zone," Cadmus replied.

"Worship?" Luke asked.

"They revere whatever lives there as gods. The greatest pleasure in their lives is drowning an enemy, or offering one as a sacrifice to the beings of the Abyssal Zone."

"Okay. Then kill every last one of those bastards if they show up in your path again, Luke. I do not want another near-death experience in the Abyssal Zone," Artemis said.

"The Stalkers were responsible for many disappearances at sea. They attacked ships in the dead of night while most of the crew slept, always on calm, quiet evenings. They came silently and took one person each night into the ocean, always toying with the minds of their victims first."

"All right, Wall-E. I get it," Artemis said.

"You don't have to keep trying to scare us."

"And the Sea Guardians? What are they?" Luke asked. Cadmus was usually quiet. Since the robot was actually talking, this was a good chance to get more out of him.

"They are extremely aggressive creatures. They possess a complete absence of mirror neurons. In addition, because of their biology, they are composed almost entirely of muscle tissue. Most likely, they live in a constant state of adrenal stimulation, which makes them even more violent. In short, they kill even when killing serves no purpose. They are also extremely territorial, never allowing anything that enters their domain to go unnoticed."

"Like everything else dangerous in Sunken Realms," Luke said as he walked through the labyrinth.

"Not exactly. They are also one of the rare species that share a degree of kinship with the leviathans of the Abyssal Zone. And they lack the biological limitation that would normally stop their growth, at least within standard size parameters. Which means the more they hunt and devour, the more they continue to develop and grow. Combined with the fact that they are predators by nature, they leave nothing alive."

"That's giving me xenomorph vibes, Luke," Artemis said.

"Yeah. Me too."

"Wow, we think so much alike. It's almost like we're connected as lovers," Artemis said in a suggestive tone. Luke reached the final door. When he opened it, the ocean lay beyond. He had reached the far side of the maze. [Dungeon Challenge 3: Face the Sea Guardian in its own territory.]