The briny scent of ocean water hit her nose immediately. A massive blue lake, glittering under the warm dungeon sunlight spanned as far as the eye could see. It might as well have been a sea.
The cerulean sight was amazing, comparable to the seas of Hawaii.
"Wow," Renae breathe, "I'm surprised this wasn't rented out as a lifestyle dungeon. A hidden treasure for sure." Her fingers skimmed over the surface of the clear water, creating soft ripples on the still lake.
The three of them stood on fine black sand. Hana glanced behind her, only to see blue. They stood on a tiny piece of land surrounded by water. That was worrying.
"Please tell me you all can swim," Hana said. Renae and Song Qi nodded. Hana pursed her lips. To clear the dungeon, they would have to kill the dungeon boss. Considering the amount of water surrounding them, they would likely have to enter the water.
She currently could see two scenarios. The three of them stay of land, and dungeon monsters attack them, which would result in some defensive game. The other was that they enter the water to engage in battle under the lake.
The second option was disadvantageous for them. She had no water Pokemon, and no water related abilities. Elemental disadvantage due to her fire dragonslayer abilities. Would she have to use Hyorinmaru?
Song Qi is a healer, with no known combat abilities. Renae was the only one with an advantage in this environment.
Hana's eyes shadowed as she weighed her options.
"Well, we seem underprepared for this," Renae laughed. Three glass bottles of blue liquid appeared in her hand. "Good thing I bought these hehe."
"Elixirs?" Song Qi looked at them curiously. Elixirs were rather expensive since most ingredients came out of dungeons. Yet Renae took out three of them of so casually . . .
"Yup," Renae handed them each a bottle. "We will be able to breathe underwater for an hour with these. I don't need one, so you two will have the split the third."
"Our time to clear the dungeon has become limited," Hana noted. A gush of clear energy slid down her throat as she downed the elixir without hesitation. While she usually was apprehensive about drinking unknown substances, she knew there was no reason for Renae to harm her.
"Let's adopt a 1 - 1 - 1 formation," Hana said, "Renae will take the front, while I guard the back."
"Sure," Song Qi placed her supplies on the sand. "Although I have no combat abilities, I will do my best to keep everyone alive."
"Ah, it's best that you still have something to defend yourself with," Renae handed her a dagger as she secured a whip to her side.
Hana frowned. "I don't have useful summons in this case, but I'll still defend if you take the initiative." Her physical abilities were still above average since she had a fire dragonslayer body.
The water was cool as she slipped beneath the surface. The lake seemed bottomless, midnight darkness beneath her. It was difficult to breath, since she reflexively held her breathe like a normal person.
"Incoming," Renae warned. Her velvet hair suspended around her as she gestured toward their left.
Sound travels faster in water. Hana could hear the water splitting before the monster even appeared. The sleek metallic blue bodies shot through the water like torpedoes. The triple fins and opened mouths filled with razor sharp teeth were a terrible sight.
"Chomper sharks," Renae cursed. She clasp her palms together, churning the water around them.
"They are low- advance level dungeon monsters, but can be difficult for us. They flock together in groups of at least 30, and are considered among the top underwater monsters in terms of speed. I've seen their bite can crush through 1 foot of solid metal. The nice part about them is they don't have a brain."
Under her control, the water formed a barrier around them. "They're not exactly smart," said Renae, "So we can probably take them one at a time."
The translucent water barrier expanded. The sharks circled around it, as if they were planning to siege.
Hana narrowed her eyes. "Let one in." She needed to get a grasp of its abilities. Renae waved her hand.
The barrier warped, until a lone shark was within with them. Once it realized it could attack, it immediately shot toward them.
It was definitely fast. Hana watched as it neared and swam toward it.
"Wait —" Renae started. She thought the three of them would gang up on it, not Hana going in alone!
Seconds before the shark monster reached her, Hana tilted to the left. Her palm deflected against the head as she somersaulted into its back.
She grabbed dorsal fin tightly she secured herself onto her new ride. The monster seemed to panic, writhing in circles trying to throw her off. It speed up toward its brethren, trying to exit the barrier.
Hana gritted her teeth as water pushed against her. The drag force was too much, even for her. At first, she thought she could ride a shark like a horse and use it to get closer to the group to do cutting attacks with Hyorinmaru. However, the watery environment was against that idea.
Hana drifted off the shark, letting it exit Renae's barrier.
Her eyes narrowed calculatingly at the circling monsters. Now, how should she handle this?