After the demise of the Deep Sea King (human form), I was suddenly brought back to the ocean once more. All I did was just blink, but when I opened my eyes once more, I was back in the ocean.
The Whale Lord and Deep Sea King had stopped fighting. In fact, the former was watching the very still figure of the latter, monitoring and waiting cautiously. There was a twitch, and then the titanic form of the Deep Sea King vanished in bubbles of golden light.
I tried not to panic as I stumbled through the water, suddenly bereft of my footing. The Whale Lord gave me one last look with those enormous eyes, and then with a sudden flip in midwater, the ruler of the ocean swam away. I drifted helplessly, watching him disappear into the abyssal depths below, his island-sized, enormous form melding into the shadows.
"Whoa…"
Shaking my head to clear myself of the stupor I found myself in, I righted myself and looked around. While I could see fishes, whales, sharks, cephalopods and crustaceans all around me, their distant shapes were blocked by several notification windows.
-Divine level contract successful. –
I could vaguely sense the immensely powerful form of the Deep Sea King in my summoning space. Looked like I had managed to "capture" him. Now that I defeated him without the assistance of any of my summoned spirit beasts, he had no excuses. He would have to submit to me.
-User be informed. Restrictions of the Divine level spirit contract forged with a Heaven ranked spirit beast apply. –
"Huh? What kind of restrictions?"
I remembered the system informing me about the restrictions before, but it had been cryptic back then, assuring me that it would tell me what they were once I was successful. Well, now that I had accomplished the exceedingly difficult task of subjugating a Heaven ranked spirit beast, it was about time it revealed everything.
-Even though the user now has a Heaven ranked spirit beast, his strength will only be proportionate to the user's. –
"What does that mean?" I asked, though I already had a sinking feeling I knew.
-To be more concrete, if the user were to summon the Deep Sea King right now, you will only be able to summon him at peak Yellow Rank, and not at his original Heaven rank. To be able to summon him at his original Heaven rank, the user must first obtain Heaven rank himself. –
"I knew it. I figured there would be a catch."
That said, I had no complaints. Normally, I would never stand even the tiniest of chances of winning against a Heaven ranked spirit beast that was essentially a godlike existence, but the system gave ma a fighting chance by leveling the playing field and bringing the poor Deep Sea King down to my level in that void space earlier. It was only natural that restrictions would apply.
If I was going to whine about it, I might as well spend all that effort and energy into increasing my cultivation realm as quickly as possible, so as to unleash the true power of the Deep Sea King even one day earlier.
As usual, I received the same notification that I did for my "unique" spirit beasts.
-Deep Sea King. Rank: Heaven (Restricted to user's cultivation realm). Elemental Affinity: Water, Darkness. Nature: Domineering and intelligent. Gender: male. Would you like to give him a name? –
"What? I need to give him a name? Doesn't he have one already?"
-Apparently not. Would you like to give him a name? –
I considered for a moment. I was tempted to name him Xiao Hai like Shun Tian did, but I wasn't a cultivator in a superpowers world. Sighing, I decided to just call him Long Wang because why not?
For now, though, I just wanted to rest. Battle in the mindscape or not, it was still as equally exhausting as a physical one, and I desired nothing more than to sleep. Before I could pass out, though, I caught sight of Myria and the other Atlanteans swimming toward me from the ruins of the Abyssal Tomb.
"Song Jun Wen! Are you all right?"
Do I look all right? Despite wanting to complain, I swallowed my grumpiness and forced a smile while slowly drifting about.
"Yeah."
"What did you do? The Deep Sea King…just disappeared! And I'm pretty sure it wasn't the Whale Lord who defeated him!"
"Yeah," MerArthur agreed, floating alongside Myria. "I…don't understand what just occurred. One moment, the Deep Sea King was there, having ceased all movements…then the next, he was gone! Poof! Like he was never there to begin with."
"That was your doing, wasn't it, Song Jun Wen?" Myria asked. I hesitated, but seeing her earnest expression, I couldn't bring myself to deceive her. So I nodded wearily.
"Yeah. I dealt with the Deep Sea King. He is no longer a threat. Your people never have to worry about him ever again."
"I knew it!" Myria was ecstatic, pumping her fist in the water and sending a stream of bubbles. "I knew you will create another miracle again!"
I stared at her, bewildered. "Why do you have so much faith in me? I'm not even an Atlantean. And truthfully, it was a hard-fought situation. It could have gone either way. If that had happened, the Deep Sea King will be free to wreak destruction across the globe. Maybe the Whale Lord would have stopped him, but…honestly, you're putting too much faith in me."
Myria giggled and waved her hand dismissively. "You think too much. Call it intuition or whatever, but I just knew you would be able to do something about it."
"Right."
"Anyway, let's return to Atlantis. We could all use a good rest, and as promised, we will reward you."
The next few days flew by in a blur. With the Merfolk Monarch dead, the armada of Atlantis was able to drive the rest of the undersea tribe to the darkest depths of the ocean. It would take a long time before they could recover, if ever, but the Atlanteans had completely routed them and would continue to hunt the survivors down to ensure they would never be a threat to their underwater kingdom again.
That was no longer my business. I wasn't a soldier of Atlantis, and I wasn't obligated to participate in their wars. Rather, I was getting ready to return to the surface.
"Are you sure you have to go?" Myria asked, looking a little stricken on the day of my departure. I nodded firmly.
"Yeah. Sorry, but I've been away from the surface for too long. My family is waiting for me."
Not to mention, I still had the tournament in Divine Path Academy to participate in. There was about a month or so left before that, and my performance would determine whether I could stay enrolled in the school.
There were simply too many affairs that I needed to settle.
"If you so wish, we will definitely grant you a place here. You're pretty much an Atlantean now, after all that you've done for us."
I smiled at that and shook my head. "Sorry, but my place is in the surface."
"…I see." Myria looked disappointed, but she nodded and shook my hand, her grip tight and reluctant. Then she also smiled. "I'm sure I'll see you again in future, though."
"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow. Surely there was no way the crown princess of Atlantis would leave her kingdom and visit the surface. And I wasn't sure if I would ever return here. I was supposed to keep the existence of Atlantis a secret, and even swore on it in front of everyone here. Partly because I didn't want to inadvertently lead anyone from the surface to this place, but mainly because I couldn't think of a reason to revisit.
Don't get me wrong, I love the place. Atlantis was beautiful and I appreciated the coexistence of nature and humankind underwater, but…
Yeah, maybe I might return. After I settled everything I needed to on the surface. For a visit, at least.
"Then see you," I told her before I kicked off the water and swam upward. Glancing down, I saw Myria and her delegation waving, and I did a last flip before I left Atlantis for what was presumably forever.
Well, this had been quite the fruitful trip. Not only did I secure an entire army of summoned spirit beasts, I even forged contracts with a Mystic ranked Abyssal Serpent and a Heaven ranked Deep Sea King (though restrictions applied for this particular dude). I had also advanced to peak Yellow Rank, just in time for the tournament about a month away. I had essentially restored my cultivation before I was crippled, no. I probably even surpassed my peak from before.
Not only that, Myria had stayed true to her word and given me something precious. A spirit ore that reminded me of sapphire. Sea steel, or so she called it, a durable alloy that could withstand the tremendous crushing pressures of the sea depth, and the same they used to fashion their tridents and structures. She told me that it would surpass most weapons forged in the surface, and from what I had seen, I believed her. I just needed to bring the spirit ore to a blacksmith and request them to forge a weapon for me.
Speaking of weapons, Myria had taken the sword used to seal the Deep Sea King for millennia. When I asked her about it, she had giggled and revealed something shocking.
"I'm actually more of a swordswoman than a spear user. I think this sword will suit me more. I can hear it calling to me."
She had wielded the sword a few times, and I noticed how harmoniously her qi synchronized with the esoteric energies embedded in the treasure sword. I wondered if the cultivator who had used the sword to seal the Deep Sea King was an ancestor of the royal family of Atlantis. That might explain Myria's affinity with the sword.
Damn. I really wanted a sword of my own now. Clutching the spirit ore of sea steel for luck, I then jetted toward the surface, though I was careful not to rise too fast so that I wouldn't suffer from the bends.
I hadn't gotten far when I noticed something was pulsing in my storage space. The Ancient Aquatic Artifact was shimmering restlessly, and when I took it out, it glowed a deep blue before emitting a beam of light that pierced through the shrouded depths of the sea.
"What's going on? Is the Ancient Aquatic Artifact responding to something?"
This was strange. It never behaved like this in Atlantis or the trench where the Abyssal Tomb was located. Judging from the path that the light took, it appeared that it was trying to point me somewhere. But where, exactly?
-New quest: Dungeon Odyssey. Please follow the route that the Ancient Aquatic Artifact has laid out. Completion of this mission will grant the appropriate rewards. –
Huh? A new quest? At this juncture? And what was with this weird mission title, Dungeon Odyssey? Did they think I was Kim Jin Woo, a dungeon baby, and was I supposed to unlock my own dungeon and raise a legion of Nagas or something?
"Interesting."
Scratching my head, I smirked and made my decision. I didn't know if I was going to become a Korean web novel or manhwa protagonist next, but great risks came with great rewards. I didn't know what dangers I would encounter while following the path the Ancient Aquatic Artifact had plotted for me, but I was eager to see what kind of treasure lay at the end of the road.