Chapter 30
{ Treasures Beneath the Water }
Ian’s blue fins moved freely beneath the water.
The Transformation skill was wonderful—it gave him the feeling that he had been a fish since childhood.
He moved his tail and small limbs effortlessly, without any trouble.
His gills worked naturally, drawing in the small amount of air hidden within the water.
Because of this, Ian entered the lake without any problems.
Water surrounded him everywhere… rocks… coral… schools of fish… and—
Sharks.
From a distance, a school of sharks moved in an organized formation, like soldiers.
Ian trembled and hid within a cluster of coral until they passed.
This is terrifying.
The Transformation skill doesn’t allow me to fight… the moment I engage in combat, I’ll return to my human form.
Naturally, this skill hadn’t been researched deeply yet. There was still a major research project pending, along with several skills requested by the builder and the farmer from Aliano, as well as skills for the knights (detection skills) and many others. Simply put, there was a mountain of work on that elderly chief researcher’s shoulders, so he hadn’t put much effort into refining this skill—and Ian himself didn’t want to waste time on it.
All he wanted right now was to explore this place and understand the limits of its danger.
The shark groups he’d seen earlier were all Level One.
More than twenty of them… all Level One.
And that was only near the surface.
The path below was unimaginably deep to Ian’s narrow vision. Even after entering the water, he felt as though he couldn’t see the true depths or boundaries of this place.
From within the coral…
Something caught Ian’s eye.
It was a small rock, golden in color.
Ian moved toward it and examined it.
Spawn Stone
Collect 100 and place them in a Spawn Gate to summon a person of Rare grade.
Collect 1,000 and place them in a Spawn Gate to summon a person of Ancient grade.
Collect 10,000 and place them in a Spawn Gate to summon a person of Epic grade.
Collect 1,000,000 and place them in a Spawn Gate to summon a person of
Legendary grade.
This—
Ian froze in place, stunned for a moment.
This treasure… it’s incredible.
A quick reminder—Spawn Gates, even legendary ones, cannot produce a Legendary individual. But here… there was a method.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Even if it was brutally difficult. Gathering a million stones would be an enormous challenge for Ian. And even if he managed it, he’d probably prefer obtaining an army of Rare-grade individuals over a single legendary one.
Of course… unless he had a billion.
Then he could produce a legion of Legendary-grade beings—but that line of thought was pure nonsense.
What kind of madness is this…
A million.
He had found only one stone… even if he explored this place every day… every hour… every minute… how many would he collect?
That is assuming there are a million spawning stones here… and if so, how many years would he need to gather them?
And what about labor… and how many transformation skill stones… and how many dangers would they face in this unknown environment!
Ian ignored the idea of the legendary and focused on the rare… 100 to obtain a rare grade… and more importantly… it would be another member for the village…
A full member.
Ian currently lacked numbers… whether soldiers, laborers, or others… Ian needed many people…
Other lords had armies in the thousands… with the army numbering one third of the civilians… so imagine how many civilians they had (Ian’s case was abnormal and not counted).
Ian absorbed the stone into his belly and continued his search.
The fish he disguised himself as was not random.
It was called the Pocket Fish. Its belly contained a vast storage space… do not underestimate its body, its belly capacity was extremely large…
Along the way, Ian observed a large number of dens here.
The dens that were rare outside… were abundant here to a frightening degree…
The most common among them was the shark den… in various colors and forms.
Blue Sea Shark.
Sword Shark.
Fighter Shark.
…
But what shocked Ian was…
A whale…
Ian’s body trembled and he fled rapidly…
This aura…
Third level.
Impossible.
Each level was a major point of difference from the one before it.
Every level was far stronger and fiercer than the previous one…
Ian had suffered at the hands of second-level beings, but here before him was a third-level monster… and the most shocking part was that it was a newborn.
Where…
Where the hell am I?
The purple aura worked to calm him.
He was not afraid… only shocked.
In this remote place, something like this existed.
Suddenly, another whale appeared.
Fourth level.
Much larger, fiercer, and more magnificent.
Ian would not even be a point beside it.
This whale caused the water to become still for thousands of meters.
Not a single soul dared to breathe.
Ian continued to flee.
In his haste, he collided with a group of coral reefs that led him to a black pit at the center.
Shooo—
The black pit sucked him inside and closed over him.
Damn it…
These were the last words Ian said before he lost consciousness.
---
“Noa… where is the Lord?” Yora asked.
“He is below,” Noa replied.
Yora frowned. “More than an hour has already passed.”
— And how would I know? — Noa shouted in his mind, then replied, “I know… but he hasn’t returned yet.”
Yora’s expression tightened, and she felt extreme danger.
“I will send you General Chris and the army.”
….
Below.
Where am I ?…Ian opened his eyes.
His expression was dazed, and pain spread through his entire body.
Beside him appeared the spawning stone he had swallowed…
The only one he had found, even after more than half an hour of searching (the dream of a legend had been a foolish dream).
Ian looked around and found himself inside a large ship… a wrecked ship on a sandy shore.
“Where am I?” Ian said in surprise as he looked around.
This outcome exceeded his imagination completely.
“You’re awake,” a surprised voice said.
Ian turned to find a small girl beside him.
She was about thirteen, or younger.
“You… who are you?”
“My name is Lisa… and you?”
“Ian.”
“How did you get here?” the girl asked as she sat beside him and handed him the fruit in her hand.
Ian thanked her and shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
“You’re not alone… my father and mother are the same. No one remembers how he came here, but… since you’re here, we’d be happy to take care of you. Come. My father will be happy with your arrival,” Lisa said cheerfully as she pulled him along.
Since her birth, she had seen no one other than her father and mother.
She had no siblings…
And across the entire shore… the island had no one else but them.
Three people… so adding one more would be a very happy event for the little girl.
Ian saw the joy in her eyes, but did not respond; his eyes wandered around instead.
A wrecked ship.
A large island…
A vast ocean.
Just where am I…
All I remember is the fourth-level whale.
I tried to escape so I wouldn’t be dragged into its breath if it decided to breathe on my unlucky self, but I collided with a strange cluster of coral.
To tell the truth… there was no coral in my path, so how did I collide with it… and worse was that damned black hole.
Now I’m in an entirely different place…
Damn it… the village needs me desperately now… my absence will be catastrophic for them.
“Father… Father… he woke up!” Lisa shouted as she pulled Ian toward their large house…
Boooooom—
The moment they arrived, he found her father and mother… the two standing at opposite sides, each staring coldly attach?? let's keep faithful: staring coldly at the other, with their energy swirling powerfully around them.
Fire and water… and their personalities were the same.
Mages… Ian was surprised. But were they fighting?
“Father, Mother!” Lisa cried out in alarm.
