Chapter 295: 295: Perilous Adventures

Ding!

〚You have gained a level!〛 

Ding!

〚You have gained a level!〛

Ding!

[Quest - Eat a B-Grade Coral. Complete!]

[Quest Reward 250XP has been issued!]

Ding!

[Quest - Defeat a Water Behemoth. Complete!]

[Quest Reward 550XP has been issued!]

Ding!

[Quest - Increase Acid Resistance to LV8. Complete!] 

[Quest Reward 300XP]

Ding!

[Quest - Collect 50 Undine Pearls. Complete!]

[Quest Reward 650XP has been issued!]

〚Skill Aptitude Increase『Swim LV5』has become『Swim LV6』〛

Finally! Silence at last! 

I was exhausted as I pulled myself out of the water and onto a sandy bank made up of roots. 

The diced corpse of a Water Behemoth washed up soon after, followed by Cassio and Andromeda who were cruising over the waves. They had gotten the hang of swimming...or rather drifting on the water behemoth's blubbery corpse like it were driftwood. 

Once they reached land, they attempted to pull it away from the water and circled it like excited puppies. 

[Is this really worth something?] Andromeda asked.

|[Its skin and bones are.]| I replied, according to [Appraisal] at least.

[Can we take this?] Cassio asked as he chased after several large pearls that crashed against the bank.

I sighed. 

These brats only seemed interested in the profit of the creatures I collected. But since I was too exhausted to move, I didn't care.

|[Just grab everything you want, but make sure the corpse doesn't get washed away.]| I ordered.

The pearls and the Water Behemoth were both important considering it took a lot of time to gather/ kill them.

According to [Appraisal those pearls can help improve stats. And I hoped the Behemoth would give me an attribute to help me breathe underwater so I wasn't about to let any get wasted.

When I checked my stats, the only issue was my loss of SP, which I was keen to refill.

----------------------------

Apostle: Aurelia [LV42 Ael Etheno]

Specie: Ailith Cerastes

Notoriety: 30800

----------------------------

HP: 1100/1450 Defence: 1582

MP: 1120/1368 Intellect: 1144

SP: 380/1260[0] Magic: 1256

Attack: 1852  Agility: 1900

----------------------------

Well...I better start with the behemoth.

Ding!

[Adept Level Quest - Steal 20 Streiga Eggs. Reward [350XP]]

NO. Not Again!

This was too much. I was already tired of these stupid quests.

Ding!

[Adept Level Quest - Enter the Direangler's Lair. Reward [500XP]]

[Expert Level Quest - Defeat the Guardian of the Lower Stratum. Reward [2000XP]]

Aah. Damn this frustrating system! 

I bet Sensei messed with something in the system to annoy me before going to sleep. 

But I was done with these never ending quests. I wasn't moving from this spot no matter how much it prodded me. 

Instead, I began to eat my fill of the Water behemoth with my nestlings, while actively scanning our surroundings for any new monsters. If the Serpent Clan was anywhere, they would be somewhere inland.

Once my stamina reserves had increased by three I decided to look through the mangrove forest.

One thing I learnt from swimming was just how deep this Labyrinth ocean was. The mangrove was just the surface, it was really another world down there, an underwater forest so large it might even be as large as the Upper Stratum. 

And that wasn't the end either. 

Beyond that endless water was more land underneath, only from my brief glimpse, the water seemed to be suspended above an inhospitably barren world of ice. 

I couldn't swim too far for fear of getting sucked into the underwater whirlpool guarding the entrance to the Lower Stratum, and becoming lunch for the largest Aquatic Monster I had ever seen. We were lucky to escape that creature with our lives intact.

And not to mention the mermaids. 

They existed! Well...at least a version of them.

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But they were not at all like I imagined. 

They were ugly, with a generous amount of tentacles and scales or both, were endlessly aggressive and territorial. We were chased by dozens of them after stealing some of their pearls. Not that I minded, because all of them ended up dead shortly after.

But it was all too much as I once again realized the Labyrinth was beyond what I could comprehend. It could take me many years to explore it fully and the thought alone made me want to faint.

[Are we going down again?] Andromeda asked excitedly. [Are we going to defeat that monster too?] 

|[No, not now]| I replied.

Cassio looked thoughtful. [Why?]

|[You're not strong enough yet.]| I blunty said before glancing at the skeletal behemoth. |[You'll end up just like that.]|

Cassio swallowed nervously. [We must improve then.]

Cute.

|[How about you both get to LV30 first?]| I suggested.

The two exchanged a look before their determined gazes locked on me. [We will!]

|[That's good.]| I laughed. 

They didn't balk at a challenge. I liked that! 

All through the swim, they treated every threat with calm, measured reactions, with very few mistakes which the inexperienced would have made from panicking. Typhon had really trained them well, and I was really excited to see how well they would do on their own adventures. 

In fact, I was looking forward to them exploring - even if it was just to make me richer!

They seemed to have an eye for priceless things, having spotted the many pearl clusters even before I did.

If they were like this, I was sure the others would be itching to explore the Middle Stratum for themselves as well.

However, it was about time we wrapped up our current adventure, so we entered the water after taking in all the precious loot, ready to return home.

As we reached the cliff wall, we saw the centipedes had all returned to their burrows and the water was no longer red with blood. 

Still, we waited for a while before beginning the climb in case of any wayward monsters. As vicious as the centipedes were, they also served a purpose of keeping other creatures away from the cliff wall, so in a way, I was quite grateful to have them there.

At the top we were all relieved to touch familiar ground and found the tunnel with haste.

Ophelia just happened to be waiting in the underground as we emerged, and she approached as soon as she saw us. 

[I hope they didn't cause too much trouble.] She said, peering curiously at the three of us who were currently soaking wet. It didn't help that Cassio kept grinning mischievously.

I suppose we looked quite dishevelled to her.

|[No troubles.]| I replied, but Ophelia only squinted suspiciously.

[We were good, really.] Andromeda giggled. 

|[How did you know we were here?]| I asked Ophelia, as her timing was impeccable.

[I saw you coming.] She replied.

|[Saw me coming?]| 

How was that possible? Unless she also had [Mind's Eye]. 

[I don't know exactly.] Ophelia replied. [I knew you were here so I came down...and here you are.]

Hm? 

That was certainly…curious.

[Did you catch something?] Ophelia asked. [I'm sure you had fun.]

Fun? I disagreed. 

It was more tedious than anything.

A list of quests to complete as and when I wanted should have worked in theory, but I was beginning to miss a certain snarky system. And I shuddered just thinking about it. 

Admitting that to myself was just too...annoying. 

Instead, I agreed with Ophelia.

When we reached the surface Typhon met us there.

In my absence the nestlings seemed to have gone hunting and there were several serpents taking in scorpion corpses as well as other creatures that had been killed, there were even one or two white apes among them. 

Cassio and Andromeda also broke away from me to join the others to assist, and I watched them leave with a smile, before looking around. 

|[Did you get attacked while I was gone?]| I asked Typhon.

[Nothing too severe.] He casually replied. [They've been taking liberties with trespassing. A warning was needed, and when we set out to do so, your monsters assisted.]

That was interesting.

I was surprised he had gotten the Abyssal monsters to hunt alongside them without me present. They were still quite standoffish to the nestlings even after I ordered them to cooperate, I knew he must have worked hard. 

I glanced at them as they guided the other nestlings, and it struck me just how competent Typhon and Ophelia were. They didn't need much of my input to act and they rarely made mistakes. 

That alone made them indispensable to me, but they seemed almost too perfect.

There had to be another side of them I wasn't seeing.

As I rested, Apollo just happened to pass by Ophelia and although he greeted her, he was treated with a bloodthirsty glare from Typhon. 

Oh?

I expected Ophelia to show some hostility, but instead it was Typhon that reacted forcefully while she remained calm. At the same time, it was also Ophelia who dealt a swift punishment to Morgana when she thought Typhon was hurt, despite their friendship.

Their care for eachother was too much to be a coincidence.

I wanted everyone to get along, so even though Ophelia didn't hold a grudge, I decided to clear the air.

[Did you settle things with Apollo?] I asked her with [Thought Transference]. [But If you want, I could ask him to never speak to you again.] 

Ophelia looked startled, but she approached me immediately.

[He was right to be upset with me.] She replied. [But I don't want to be the cause of any conflict moving forward. So I apologised for my mistake and forgave him for his.] 

It sounded like she had done it just for me and from the sour look Typhon showed, he did not agree with my decision either.

I sighed. This was going to be tricky.

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