Chapter 77 — The Pit of the Deep Sea
In the pitch-black depths of the ocean, where not even a single ray of light could reach, there was one place darker than anywhere else.
The Pit of the Deep Sea.
It was the deepest hole in the ocean, created long ago during the endless war between humans and merfolk, when the great hero of humanity fought against the great hero of the merfolk.
It was said that a sealed weapon lay at the bottom.
And beneath that weapon slept the great human hero who had sealed it away.
“Down there is practically another world.”
The merfolk hero spoke to In-gwang while biting down on a piece of bamboo.
Even though he was a merfolk, unlike Spotty beside him, he needed a thin magical membrane around his head so he could breathe underwater.
In-gwang stood firmly on the deepest seabed and stared ahead with vacant eyes.
Nod.
Under the magical light floating nearby, In-gwang simply nodded reflexively.
Spotty felt strangely uncomfortable.
Ever since they had accepted this mission, In-gwang had shown almost no interest whatsoever in anything they told him.
It was so extreme that she sometimes found him downright creepy.
Her original name was rather long and difficult for humans to remember, so she had kindly told him to simply call her Spotty.
Yet after using her name only a few times, In-gwang had confidently switched to calling her Miss Octopus, openly admitting that he had forgotten her actual name.
Spotty simply couldn't understand him.
“Um... you do remember what I explained to you, right?”
Once she received permission from her superior, Spotty had explained everything to In-gwang in detail.
Well, as much detail as possible while still keeping it short for someone who hated listening to stories.
Fortunately, In-gwang had actually paid attention this time.
At the very least, he clearly understood where they were and what they were supposed to do.
He nodded confidently.
I actually listened to the story this time.
Before coming down here, In-gwang had finally enjoyed some peace and quiet alone in his room.
Perhaps that was why he was able to look so confident now.
Spotty looked puzzled but eventually nodded as well.
The merfolk hero continued.
“Human. If you truly manage to break the ancient great hero's curse down there, we merfolk will finally be able to breathe through our gills again.”
“I hope you remember that.”
The seal created by the merfolk's great hero, who had once stood almost at the level of a god, had eventually become a curse passed down to later generations.
Except for rare mutations like Spotty, modern merfolk could no longer live freely underwater.
That was why the underwater dungeon was filled with air.
Whenever a hole appeared in the walls and seawater began pouring inside, the merfolk hurried over to repair it.
Of course, they were still much better underwater than ordinary humans.
But merfolk were a race that should have been capable of spending their entire lives beneath the sea.
Being forced by a curse to regularly surface several times a day just to breathe was nothing short of miserable.
That was also why they couldn't simply hate humans.
Humans were detestable enemies.
But humans were also the only ones capable of breaking their curse.
If the merfolk openly showed hostility, humans would naturally respond with hostility of their own.
Then the curse would never be broken.
For the merfolk, cooperating with humanity was a painfully rational choice.
Spotty secretly glanced at In-gwang.
But seriously... how is this human standing in the deep sea with his bare body?
They had deliberately sent him down without any protective magic, partly because they wanted him to suffer a little.
Yet he looked completely fine.
At such extreme depths, even humans protected by magic would feel tremendous pressure.
Without magic, they would die almost immediately.
In-gwang, however, was protected by the effects of his Sea Swimming skill and his ability to use the Flow.
The pressure barely affected him.
Spotty was still young and knew very little about humans.
And so she became curious about In-gwang.
Unfortunately, curiosity was exactly what Madness loved most.
Thankfully, only traces of the power of Madness currently remained inside In-gwang.
But if Spotty continued feeding that curiosity...
Once In-gwang regained the power of Madness, she might become the very first person infected by it.
The merfolk hero spoke again.
“Naturally, you will be properly rewarded.”
Nod! Nod!
In-gwang immediately nodded enthusiastically.
A bright smile appeared on his face.
He even gave them a thumbs-up before stepping forward.
Looking at that shamelessly materialistic expression, there wasn't the slightest hint of the terrifying danger hidden inside him.
The merfolk hero turned toward Spotty.
“Then, Captain Oxytopo. I'll leave the rest to you.”
“Yes! I will take full responsibility for guiding the human to the sealing site!”
“Good. Be careful.”
The hero looked at Spotty with genuine concern.
“We cannot afford to lose a merfolk like you, someone who can still move freely beneath the sea.”
Spotty was like a mutation.
Unlike the other merfolk suffering from the curse, she could swim through the ocean freely, just like the ordinary merfolk of ancient times.
The hero gently patted her shoulder.
“May the sea wish for peace.”
It was a traditional blessing.
Spotty nodded before turning toward the Pit of the Deep Sea.
The hole had no visible bottom.
Even here, in a place where ordinary light could never reach, glowing star coral and magical lights normally illuminated the surroundings.
But inside the pit...
Even those lights were swallowed by darkness.
It was an artificial otherworld governed by completely different rules.
In-gwang stood at the edge with his toes hanging over the abyss.
Then his body slowly floated upward.
With a relaxed motion, almost as though diving into a swimming pool, he threw himself inside.
Spotty watched him fall with an expression of disbelief.
Then she stretched out one of her tentacles, attached herself to his back, and descended with him.
“Once we reach the very bottom, light, sound, and color will all disappear.”
The magical light followed them downward.
But as they descended, the darkness devoured it little by little.
Soon, the light vanished completely.
“Below us is a world of black and white.”
“There won't be any light, but you should still be able to distinguish objects.”
In-gwang had already experienced a similarly endless and unsettling darkness when he traveled toward the underwater castle the merfolk called Karantlia.
Because of that, he remained relatively calm as they descended.
Spotty continued.
“There are truly horrible monsters living at the bottom, so be careful.”
Her voice gradually became quieter.
It was almost as though something was eating the sound itself.
The environment suddenly changed completely.
Yet In-gwang didn't react at all.
Spotty panicked.
Did he die?!
She immediately clung tightly to his back and tapped his shoulder and the back of his head.
Something soft and strangely resistant pressed against him.
It felt like having a jellyfish stuck to his body.
In-gwang shuddered violently.
Goosebumps covered him.
Ugh... I seriously hate seafood.
Still, it was better when he could actually see what was touching him.
He wrapped an arm around Spotty's waist and tucked her beneath his arm like luggage.
The sensation was strangely soft.
Different from Mallang's softness.
And somehow much weirder.
In-gwang actually felt slightly nauseous.
Then, without warning—
Thud!
His face slammed directly into soft sand.
At that exact moment, the world changed.
The absolute darkness transformed into a world of black and white.
They had reached the deepest part of the ocean.
There was still resistance against his body, proving they were underwater.
Just as Spotty had said, he could feel vibrations but couldn't hear sound.
Black and white existed.
But actual colors were completely gone.
It was like stepping inside a black-and-white comic book.
Seeing such an unnatural world made In-gwang tremble slightly.
Tap. Tap.
And then...
He realized something.
This sensation felt familiar.
It was the same sensation he had experienced when he was a tester.
A sensation he had almost forgotten.
And the same sensation he had felt when he opened the document that the Fanatic had leaked to him.
Spotty wrote words in the water using magic.
[Are you all right?]
The cold seawater touching his skin no longer felt like information being transmitted by a game.
It was truly cold.
He wasn't simply being told that breathing was difficult.
He genuinely felt suffocated.
The sensations were no longer dull information, knowledge, or automatic reactions generated by his character.
When something poked his side, his body instinctively curled away from the pain.
It was real.
Nod.
In-gwang nodded.
Painful memories approached him.
A hypothesis he desperately didn't want to remember resurfaced.
Cold sweat formed across his body, and his breathing became rough.
Yet he still nodded.
In some ways...
Perhaps this was actually fortunate.
Everything surrounding this mystery had been hidden behind too many layers.
He hadn't even been able to decide whether he should continue investigating it or simply forget about everything.
If something here could answer his questions...
If something here could prove his theory wrong...
Then he couldn't simply stand still because he was afraid.
Spotty continued writing magical words in the water.
In-gwang lightly flicked her forehead with one finger.
Then he motioned with his chin.
Lead the way already.
He took a deep breath.
And without realizing it...
A faint smile appeared on his face.
In-gwang himself didn't realize it, but he actually smiled quite often.
That was why the village chief had admired him.
That was why Mallang had chosen to follow him.
That was why Ayen respected him.
And that was why Pie had seen light within him.
Spotty was no exception.
The Pit of the Deep Sea was a strange and grotesque place.
Even merfolk, a race born from the ocean itself, instinctively rejected this place.
No matter how brave someone might be...
Very few people could smile here.
Spotty's expression softened slightly.
[Follow me.]
For some reason, In-gwang suddenly seemed dependable.
She began guiding him forward.
Although most merfolk avoided this place, Spotty had visited it before.
A strange power flowed through the area.
It was also a unique environment where Steel Seaweed, the material used to make Spotty's clothing, grew naturally.
Because of that, she knew the general layout.
Guiding In-gwang wasn't particularly difficult.
There was only one small problem.
This place was a demonic region comparable to the center of the Forest of Labyrinths.
BOOM!!!
They had barely taken a few steps when a huge vibration came from behind them.
In-gwang and Spotty immediately prepared for battle.
Then In-gwang saw it.
...Wait.
Is that a Leviathan?
It was a sea monster In-gwang knew far too well.
Far, far too well.
And one he desperately hoped never to encounter again.
Its enormous body was long like a serpent.
Hard crustacean-like shells covered it, making ordinary attacks almost useless.
Large, rough blades resembling mantis scythes grew irregularly from its body and moved like legs.
Its gigantic mouth was packed with countless teeth.
One look at those teeth was enough to make anyone realize that traveling through the inside of this giant creature's stomach was absolutely impossible.
The moment he recognized it, In-gwang grabbed Spotty and ran.
Even if Spotty believed she could defeat the Leviathan, In-gwang had absolutely no desire to fight the creature responsible for more of his deaths than anything else.
Not when pain here felt completely real.
He ran desperately while keeping his eyes on Spotty and the path ahead.
He absolutely couldn't afford to get lost.
Spotty continuously pointed out the correct direction.
In-gwang tried to launch his chains and move quickly as usual.
But his mind was too distracted.
He couldn't properly grasp the Flow.
Shadow Movement was another option.
But in a world made entirely of black and white, how was he supposed to tell exactly where the shadows even were?
BOOM!
CRACK!
Then—
As though announcing the end of their short chase...
As though reminding In-gwang that this place was absolutely not easy...
Something enormous descended from the completely black ceiling.
It looked like a thick cylindrical pillar.
It slammed directly onto the Leviathan.
