The Sea Dragon Temple (6)

‘…Meep. Useless.’

One of the party members in the <Sea Dragon Temple>.

It was Choi Mari’s thought.

In fact, unlike during the <Underground Waterway>, Choi Mari had a certain determination and confidence to shine on the front lines.

Thanks to Yu Seha’s help, she had fully unlocked [Lucky Machine].

Moreover, she had a cute, lovely, soft, and angelic junior named Ma Hana to supplement her lack of luck.

Thus, it was only natural for Choi Mari to imagine herself diving into enemy lines, swinging a mace like a flail to purify (?) evil.

Yes.

Like her esteemed senior, the 13th flail of the revered Lord, and the current head of the <Sisterhood>.

Like Senior Divine Light Garam, who held a position that even bishops could not easily touch.

But what was the reality?

‘……’

Her outstanding juniors, Ju Na-young and Moon Bora, also known by their titles <Flame Dragon> and <Snow Ice>, were performing magnificently.

On top of that, Im Hyeja, a senior who had long since graduated from the Academy, had demolished the <Sea Dragon’s Vortex>.

No one had even gotten injured.

It was as if she was nothing more than dead weight.

That’s how Choi Mari viewed her own value here in the <Underground Waterway>.

‘…Meep.’

In fact, it was because Choi Mari felt a sense of debt in her heart.

It was absolutely not because she was lacking in any way.

The role of a <Divine Profession> character was typically to protect the party’s lives and ensure that the battle could continue.

Sometimes, this meant not being on the front lines at all.

A typical <Divine Profession> hunter might have thought, ‘This is great, getting carried along!’ But Choi Mari’s kind nature made her feel awkward and uncomfortable, as though she were sitting on thorns.

Literally, she couldn’t sit still.

She hated being branded as a completely useless senior.

But finally, the chance to shine had come.

An unavoidable, guaranteed poisoning gimmick trap.

She wanted to prove her worth by purifying them with holy magic, but Yu Seha stopped her.

At first, Choi Mari was a little angry.

Soon, she looked at him with a sense of ‘No way…’.

“…Is this really that place?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“…Ah.”

Memories of the past flooded back to Choi Mari.

Yu Seha had said this before.

“For those who endure the rising poison, luck will follow, right?”

“That’s correct.”

‘GAL’ was basically a collectible RPG game.

As much as they explored various dungeons led by [Gates], there were gimmicks designed to mess with the Supervisors.

The phrase Choi Mari had just recalled was one such example.
The developers, though, did provide some conscience in the form of warning signs.

Well, of course…

Most of the time, these warnings were riddles that people only figured out after falling victim to them.

‘But who am I?’

A six-year veteran, that’s who.

I knew exactly how to counter them.

In fact, I had been curious.

It was a warning phrase from the [Underground Waterway] dungeon…
But there were no signs of any traps appearing.

‘In hindsight…’

It seemed to be a warning about the traps installed in the [Sea Dragon Temple].

‘There are examples like this…’

I guessed that the <Underground Waterway> and the <Sea Dragon Temple> were originally part of the same dungeon.

But the growing power of the <Trial> must have split them into two separate spaces.

Even the concept of the <Sticky Sewer> seemed to fit with this idea.

‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter now.’

What mattered was what happened next.

I carefully took Choi Mari’s hands in mine.

“M-M-Meep?! S-Se-ha?!”

“Listen closely, senior. You’re about to play a critical role.”

Instead of asking her to use [Purification], I asked her to use a [Dot Heal] to steadily restore the health of the poisoned party members.

Additionally, I requested that she use [Healing Touch] and [Blood Supplement] to ease the pain and replenish the health that was slowly being drained.

I had already confirmed with Divine Light Garam that these were all within Choi Mari’s capabilities.

Managing the party’s HP was a huge responsibility.

It was a heavy burden for Choi Mari, but there was no other choice.

She was the only proper <Holy Priest>.

“Th-that kind of important mission…”
“Please.”
“F-fine… I’ll do it!”

I nodded at Choi Mari’s bold determination.

I then opened the bag I had packed with various items just in case.

I handed each of them a suspicious piece of seaweed.

“Meow?”

Sniff, sniff.

“Hiiissss!!!”

Meowi sniffed it and hissed, raising her tail.

“Meow… Seha, this smells weird.”

“It’s a herb that slows the progress of poison for a day after ingestion. You must eat it.”

“Meow…”

Everyone except me chewed the herb with a grimace.

Their expressions seemed to say, “Can’t we just purify it?” but I shook my head.

‘They’ll understand soon enough.’

Why it was important to maintain this [Mild Intoxication] status.

“Chew, chew. Seha, give me one more plant.”
“What? Oh, okay.”

For some reason, Hyeja noona took one more.

“Seha, it’s an ambush!”

“Rurururrrk!”

Right after Meowi’s shout, <Mermen> began to spring out from all directions as if they’d been waiting for this moment.

Regardless of being a <Warrior>, <Archer>, <Assassin>, or <Shielder>, various higher species revealed themselves.

Everyone took their stances without a word.

It was a display of coordination honed on the way here.

Among them, Ju Na-young, who was activating [Burning Flames] at the front line, looked puzzled.

“…Hey, Yu Seha. These guys, their color is a bit different, isn’t it?”

Ju Na-young was right.

They were the same [Mermen], but the subtly tinged dark green scales were distinctive.

The response came from the <Information Window>.

“…Blessed of poison?”
“Rururrrrk!”

A <Merman Warrior> launched a lightning-fast ambush towards the mumbling Ju Na-young.

Using <Underwater Sprint> like a true sea monster, its swift attack aimed perfectly at Ju Na-young’s blind spot.

“…!”

Ju Na-young noticed it a step too late.
She raised a cross guard.

Clang!

A sharp noise accompanied by the sound of something being cut echoed.

“Ugh!”

Ju Na-young frowned and stepped back.
She examined the wound.
Soon, her eyes showed confusion.

“…What? It doesn’t hurt?”

Everyone flinched and looked at me.

This was the trap and crucial gimmick of <Rising Poison>.

The poison trap inflicted unavoidable poisoning on the entire party while giving us ample time to purify it.

At the same time, it granted the monsters the special buff known as <Poison’s Blessing>.

Most parties, not knowing any better, would use purification or antidotes before facing these enemies.

This was the true trick of <Rising Poison>.

‘Purifying the poison only makes the dungeon harder.’

Damage would be multiplied by at least three times, sometimes up to ten times.
Even ordinary monsters could unleash near-unavoidable attacks.

Additionally, using [Poison] techniques to reapply the poisoning was also not allowed.

Even with the same [Mild Poison], it had to be a trap-activated poison to avoid the gimmick.

‘Pretty nasty.’

Back when I was a newbie, I didn’t know this and ended up getting the entire party wiped out after purifying the poison.

But there was an upside.

For those who understood the trap and kept the poison, there were benefits.

Monsters blessed of <Poison> were weaker than normal in all other stats.

In other words, combat would be easier.

“[Push Shield]!”

Bang!

Just like how one enemy got torn apart by the ambiguous attack power of Meowi’s shockwave.

“Amazing.”

Swoosh!

As I cut down the head of a <Merman Shielder>, Choi Mari approached me with admiration in her eyes, her hands clasped together.

“To have figured all of this out and given us the right advice… I’m embarrassed for being so stubborn as a senior.”

Uh…
Was there ever such stubbornness?

“…Haha. I just happened to know something by chance.”

Shuk!
Whoosh!
Crunch!

Screech!
Gurgle!

The <Mermen> fell one by one in quick succession.
Monsters that would have normally taken more time to deal with were quickly slaughtered.

After we took down the last one and were about to take a short break—

“…Hmm?”

[Unprecedented Sense] whispered a warning.

I realized from the faint singing in my ears that ‘they’ had arrived.

“Meowi!”
“…! Meow!”

At my shout, Meowi, recalling what had been told earlier, slammed down the shield she was holding.

Wong! Wong!

The shield resonated and sent out vibrations.
Though the entire party was startled.
The singing was no longer audible.

“Wh-what is this?!”
“…Meep?!”

Thanks to that, Moon Bora and Choi Mari, who were walking towards the water as if enchanted, snapped back to their senses.

“It’s those girls.”
“Yes, Hyeja noona. Please stay down for a moment. I will handle this.”

I turned my gaze.
A crack in the rock not too far away.
A being with the upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower body of a fish was singing.

[Siren].
A monster that lures sailors with its enchanting voice, drowns them in the sea, and then devours them.

I immediately stepped onto the lake.

“Seha! Even with [Underwater Sprint], a [Siren] is a dangerous enemy!”

“It’s okay! I have something to rely on.”

Dismissing the concern, I steadied my breathing and dashed forward.

Kwa-kwa-kwa!

Like a sharp spearhead, like a swimming swordfish.
My body continued forward without stopping.

[Dash], [Underwater Dash], [Powerful Agility].

A combination of three abilities that seemed simple but were quite extraordinary.

“Oh, it’s actually four. [Free Charge] as well.”

Thanks to this, I was able to reach the <Siren> at an unbelievable speed.

Of course, getting closer also meant the song’s effects grew stronger.

Whirr!

The <Siren’s> melody dug into my mind, trying to ensnare my senses.

It was undoubtedly the symptom of [Status Effect: Enchantment] activating.

However, I resisted it in less than a second.

The <Siren> that was singing flinched at this sight.

‘Good, just as expected.’

The reason this was possible was due to [Unwavering Insight] grasping the situation.

[Strong Endurance], [Endurance of Pain Tolerance].
Two abilities that increased resistance to status effects made this possible.

Thanks to this, even while listening to the song head-on, my mind remained clear.

Once you resisted an effect, it became easier to resist again.

“…Whirr…”

Did it judge that there was no chance of winning?

The [Siren] stopped singing, slipped out of the crevice, and started to flee.

Splash!

The [Siren] disappeared into the water at high speed.

‘…Where do you think you’re going?!’

I gripped [Saint’s Sword] tightly but soon stopped.

I could catch it by using [Holy Slash], but it had a one-day cooldown.

I wanted to save it for a possible boss.

In that case…

Instead of [Saint’s Sword], a bow and quiver appeared in my hands.

They weren’t particularly special weapons.

For this [Trial] expedition, I had requested these normal-grade pieces of equipment from Chairman Yu Neung-hae.

‘But this will suffice.’

Creaaak!

I drew the bowstring back with great force.

Perhaps too much force.

The bow creaked under the strain, nearly snapping.

With [Strange Strength], along with the stability of [High Bone Strength], I could manage it.

At the same time, sharp rock fragments formed along the arrowhead, while flames wrapped around the shaft like a dry log catching fire.

Using the derived skill [Stone Hardening] from [Crack of Rough Stone] to increase hardness.
And applying [Burning Flames] to enhance attack power.

‘Lastly…’

Adding finesse with the recently acquired [Hand Dexterity].

Finally, [Unwavering Insight] granted machine-like precision with no errors.

“Whew…”

A single breath.

Whoosh!

The arrow shot forward, slicing through the air with incredible speed.

“…!!!”

The <Siren> turned in time to see the arrow speeding toward it, eyes wide with shock.

But it was too late.

Thud!

The arrow pierced the <Siren’s> forehead, burrowing through its skull and brain before exiting out the back of its head.

The <Siren> died on the spot without even a scream.

Its eyes rolled back as it slowly floated to the surface of the water.

“Ah!”

I glanced down at the bow in my hand, the string and wood now dangling in pieces.

‘Tsk…’

I swallowed my disappointment at it.

It seemed I needed to get some proper equipment later.

Anyway, with this, the battle was over.

Finally…

A deep smile spread across my face as I looked at the information window that appeared before me.