Chapter 146.
Natives, including Seruta, seemed to be afraid of going out of the ocean. Their sacrifices were too great, making Seiraksia’s victory meaningless. As the overwhelming amount of mana was concentrated in the sea, the growth of monsters and their new births were expected to be endless, strengthening the power of the monsters from the other world. So for them to go out to the shore would be impossible unless Jung Si-woo annihilated the Exotics, including those in the underwater dungeon.
‘Of course, there isn’t any guarantee that the Natives won’t confront humanity, so keeping the balance to some point will be much appreciated…’
Before leaving the place, Jung Si-woo briefly looked at the records written inside the Abyss. And unlike the so-called divine revelation spoken by Seruta, there wasn’t any critical information, but there were some things that could help the commandments.
‘The Abyss is a place existing to keep the god’s followers who hid within the ocean inside the dungeon. So that is why the monsters from the other world weren’t able to come here after getting released from the dungeon. In other words, it was just a collateral effect that monsters from earth started living in there.’
As things were becoming apparent, Jung Si-woo felt relieved. He didn’t have to take responsibility for the monsters from the earth just because he was chosen by the Abyss. But well, he wouldn’t turn them down if they could help him in killing the monsters from the other world. In the end, the same thing applied to the Ant Cave and the Sky Castle. If the monsters from the other world were released directly onto the ground, it would spread the power of the foreign god to both humans and monsters. The Sky Castle and the Ant Cave existed to prevent it from happening.
It was easy if one would take the Abyss like them. Though the Abyss had a minor difference wherein the monsters from earth were living in it!
[Puyooooong.]
“I’ll come by again, Puyi.”
[Gwooooooh.]
After learning everything he could, Jung Si-woo led his members to the shore. Seiraksia gave them a ride back to the surface. As Jung Si-woo patted its head, it wagged its tail out of joy, inadvertently causing a whirlpool.
“Good, then let’s go.”
“Don’t you want to enter the underwater dungeon?”
“We have to join the fleet first.”
Although there was an unexpected event, nothing changed right now. But if this were to be revealed to other players, even Jung Si-woo couldn’t be off the hook when he had a special privilege. In the end, they had to bid farewell to Seiraksia and rejoin the fleet. To the questions from people on what they had been doing, Jung Si-woo gave them a convincing lie that he had taken care of all the mermaids, which made them give him a round of applause.
Jung Si-woo didn’t annihilate the mermaid pursuers, but the following voyage went on quiet safely. The monsters in the pacific were reduced to the point that they weren’t a problem to worry about for now. The three-faction war, which couldn’t have been achievable solely with the power of the players, was a miracle. The current voyage could be considered as a failure, but the result was alright.
“It’s about the dinner tonight. The monsters didn’t eat all of the fishes. Thanks to the players catching fresh tuna…”
“Oh.”
[Oh…!]
And there was some more good news. The conflict between the civilians and the players was once too deep that it would seem irrevocable. Still, after defending the fleet together in the large-scale battle where even the players had a hard time surviving, their relationship had taken a smoother turn.
The civilians realized that even the strong players don’t always win against the monsters. The Players understood the sorrow of those not having any powers and their courage as well. People who didn’t get along well always existed, but most of them were acknowledging one another.
“Since we lost the cargo, everyone was going into the water to acquire some seafood instead. This tuna is part of the spoils.”
“Let’s dig in.”
[Let’s eat…Woah, delicious. I’d love to have Beto grab a bite on this…]
“Don’t worry; I’ll keep some in the inventory.”
[Master…!]
Caina was a bit moved by the tuna steak and sashimi for the first time in her life. Being a magical creature, she didn’t need to eat much, but she ate to the point that one might assume she was eating Beto’s share too.
[I think it was an excellent choice to come to earth.]
“That much!?”
[Master is a good person.]
“That was easy to get your loyalty…”
If she appreciated it that much…Jung Si-woo mumbled while putting down his plate, then took off his shirt. A mesmerizing sculpture that no artists could imitate came to life under the sunset. Soo-rin covered her tiny face with her small hands in a hurry while screaming. She wasn’t able to fully cover her eyes, but neither Soo-rin nor Jung Si-woo minded it.
“I’ll catch some more!”
“There aren’t many players that caught tuna…”
As people nearby praised his excellent physique, Jung Si-woo dived into the ocean with gorgeous form. It wouldn’t be a problem for him to catch some more as he could freely move inside the water with his Chaos Scale! But those fish weren’t seen for some reason.
“This is a shark.”
Only sharks instead of tuna charged into him. Sharks were said to be tasty when fresh, although they rotted too fast…
“But the high mercury level these days won’t allow us to eat them…”
[Gwooooooong.]
As he shoved off the sharks while telling them not to bother him, they suddenly disappeared completely. Jung Si-woo was at a loss for words when he heard a familiar roar and the sight of a giant whale at his feet.
“What are you doing here, Puyi.”
[Puwoooooo.]
It seemed to be chasing him for a while from afar since it felt sad to bid him farewell. Jung Si-woo patted him although he was surprised…and suddenly, a great idea popped up in his head.
“Eat this.”
[Puyooooo.]
Seiraksia gulped up a piece of tuna that Jung Si-woo took out from his inventory. Compared to its body, it was just as small as one piece of rice, but how it voraciously ate it looked somewhat cute. But there was no such thing as a free meal in the world. Since it had been fed, it was now time to work.
“Bring me some fish that have the same taste like this one. Can you do it?”
[Puyooooooong!]
Seiraksia nodded energetically, and it turned towards the abyss. Jung Si-woo saw it off and returned to the boat first. Soo-rin, who was waiting for him, didn’t bother covering her eyes anymore.
“What is it? You made a fuss when entering. Don’t tell me you didn’t catch a single tuna?”
“Wait for it.”
“Huh?”
It didn’t take that long. As the members quietly looked at the ocean’s surface, the surface boiled, and a splendid water pillar arose.
“Mo-monster!?”
“Wait for a second, that’s…”
A giant tuna sprung into the air through that water pillar! And it fell in front of Jung Si-woo while jumping up and down. He smiled at Soo-rin as he lifted it.
“How is it?”
“Cheater…”
Soo-rin mumbled with narrowed eyes, but Jung Si-woo didn’t mind it. And there wasn’t just one. Several water pillars appeared, and several more tuna that was 3 meters long appeared on top of the ship!
[Puyoooooong!]
Seiraksia roared as if it wanted to get a compliment before disappearing deep into the ocean. Jung Si-woo waved his hand at it. The others wouldn’t even have the slightest hint of what just happened.
“We won’t need to worry about it from now on.”
“Yeah, you just tamed it.”
After putting about ten inside his inventory, he gave out the rest to the others. People mumbled that Jung Si-woo could even create a miracle, and they enjoyed tuna for that day. It was another hot topic after creating a tsunami in the sea battle. And when the fleet arrived in New Zealand after a day, the voyage of the cruise ship came to a halt. Some of the people on the ship resented Jung Si-woo, but some offered him a handshake. They were those that could prioritize the balance of the earth more than their safety.
“We are looking forward to your cooperation from now on. America will always welcome you.”
“So does England.”
“Wait, France is the best.”
“Don’t we have to come together as the same Asians?”
Of course, Jung Si-woo was showing his awkward business smile to everyone. And after the people and the cargo were off the fleet, the ships newly filled with cargos sailed off. It marked a draw between the confrontation between humans and monsters. When the fleet arrived at Busan Port in Korea, Jung Si-woo’s members decided to get off.
“I’ll be back again, Si-woo!”
“I’d love to be by your side, though…”
Marina had to stay till the end of the voyage as a representative of America, and Lee Seo-hee had to maintain the barriers. Still, Seria seemed like she wanted to go after Jung Si-woo, yet he declined. There was nothing for her to do even if she went to the sanctuary with him.
“Call me anytime if something happens.”
“Argggh…alright.”
After bidding a clean farewell with Seria, who didn’t give up her dream as his secretary, Jung Si-woo spoke as he stretched.
“Now, let’s go for some wheat noodles. Ah, Seria, have you eaten Pork gukbap?”
[Ground (Pork is pronounced as Dweji, which sounds similar to the ground, Daeji) gukbap…? It has a mighty name…!]
“No wonder why Oppa didn’t talk about food.”
An end to the voyage was a gamble on the future of a country and someone’s life. The entire world was thrilled at the results. Opinions between those who claimed to continue with the trade as the numbers of monsters declined and those who asserted that tranquility on the ocean was just temporary clashed, and few started trading after gathering a small number of players.
Some wanted to chart new courses on the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, and others claimed that big problems would occur if the battle between humans and monsters became serious when the humans weren’t fully ready yet. Some sank into the ocean, and some succeeded. The number of ocean monsters increased, and the value of players among humans increased too.
Jung Si-woo didn’t care about all those things. He was focusing on his training with Caina.
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