Chapter 65

Adam dove deep into the inky darkness beneath the ocean waves, searching for the creature that had stolen Mei. However, no matter how deep or how far he swam, he couldn't catch sight of a single scale or fin belonging to the fleeing sea creature.

Running out of oxygen and with no clue where it had gone, he was eventually forced to surface. When he broke through the waves, he glanced over his shoulder just in time to see a ginormous sea serpent glide seamlessly over the top of Titan's Grave before disappearing beneath the water on the other side.

Its massive body somehow didn't create so much as a splash, as if it weren't even real.

However, when one of its sharp spines grazed Adam's leg, the pain and torn flesh told him that it was very real, and very dangerous. More importantly, it told him which direction the fleeing sea creature had gone, as the massive serpent seemed to be chasing it just as intently as he was.

Adam tried to grab hold of one of its dorsal, fin-like spines, only for the razor-sharp edge to slice straight through his fingers.

Luckily, his cursed gloves showed their usefulness once again, regenerating his lost digits almost immediately. Unfortunately, by the time his fingers had returned, the Sea Titan was already deep beneath the ocean and rapidly disappearing into the distance.

“This was a dumb idea…”

He needed a way to keep up, and fast.

Taking a deep breath, Adam calmed his nerves ever so slightly and tried the first spell that came to mind.

“Ocean deities, grant me your blessing. [Water Breathing]!”

Critical success! [Water Breathing] (Common) upgraded to [Neptune's Grace] (Legendary)

[Neptune's Grace] (Legendary)

By the grace of the sea god Neptune, the water is your domain to command as you see fit.

Effects:

Swim with the Fishes: Gain the ability to breathe underwater and swim with the agility of a natural-born sea creature.

Strength of the Fishes: Gain strength proportional to the rank and quantity of nearby aquatic lifeforms.

Speak with the Fishes: Gain the ability to communicate with and command nearby aquatic lifeforms below your class rarity.

Sea God's Decree (Passive): As the bearer of the sea god's blessing, all damage received while in the water is reduced by 25%, with an additional 25% reduction if the attacker is an aquatic lifeform.

Adam blinked in surprise, but he didn't stop to think about it. He quickly read through the description before immediately setting off in pursuit.

His body glided through the water as naturally as if he had been born in it. He moved far faster than he ever could have while running on land, and judging by his current speed, he wouldn't be surprised if he could outrun a speedboat by a considerable margin.

He blitzed past numerous stunned sea creatures, all of which stared after him while whispering among themselves.

“Was that a human?”

“Nah, musta been a merman. No way a human's that fast in the water.”

“But he had legs…”

“A legged merman, musta been.”

“Do those even exist?”

“Sure they do. We just saw one.”

Adam could somehow hear their voices even as he shot miles into the distance. More surprisingly, he could understand them despite neither creature speaking an actual human language.

To his ears, they were making nothing more than blurble and glurble noises.

Apparently, [Speak with the Fishes] handled the translation.

He could also hear the two massive sea creatures arguing several miles ahead of him.

“You sneaky thief! Give me back my Sea Dragon Pearl!” the giant Sea Titan roared.

Adam belatedly noticed the name floating above the colossal sea serpent.

Lesser Sea Dragon (Mythic BOSS) - Lv. 140

His eyes widened slightly.

Mythic?

That was the same rarity as some of the most absurd things he'd encountered since becoming a Player. Like Skysandra, Ymir, and Anubis. All of which were much, much stronger than him.

Adam quickly shifted his attention to the other creature.

The name floating above the sea creature that had swallowed Mei was much less intimidating, but that didn't make it any less dangerous.

Sea Monkey (Legendary BOSS) - Lv. 120

It looked almost identical to a monkey, except it was covered in fish scales, gills, and fins. It was also roughly the size of a semi-truck with a container attached. 

And apparently, it had stolen something called a Sea Dragon Pearl, as well as Mei.

On the other hand, the Sea Titan chasing it looked remarkably similar to what the Chinese called a Flood Dragon, a type of false dragon said to inhabit the sea and rivers.

Adam didn't know what exactly a Sea Dragon Pearl was, but considering a Level 140 Mythic Boss was chasing a Level 120 Legendary Boss over it, he had a feeling it was probably important.

More importantly, Mei was still inside that oversized aquatic monkey.

And Adam wasn't about to let some giant fish-monkey run off with his girlfriend.

Luckily, [Strength of the Fishes] decided to activate at that exact moment.

Two aquatic lifeforms detected. One Mythic. One Legendary. Adjusting stats accordingly…

Strength D → A

Constitution C → S

Dexterity D → A

Magic B → SS

Luck D → A

Stat requirements reached for [Cursed Gloves of Everhealing Chaos]. Unlocking full effect.

Adam's body jerked to a halt mid-stroke as the gloves on his hands suddenly began to heat up. The water around them boiled almost instantly, sending streams of bubbles toward the surface as it sizzled loudly around his hands.

The two sea creatures seemed to either sense or hear the commotion. Both stopped their chase and turned their attention toward the tiny human trailing behind them.

“A human?” they both asked at once.

“A dangerous human,” the sea monkey added.

“I sense the blessing of a god on him. A sea god,” the sea dragon said.

The sea dragon narrowed its eyes as it stared at the sea monkey. “You stole something from him, didn't you? Thief.”

“All I did was swallow a little human girl…” The sea monkey paused, seemingly considering the legality of its actions. “That shouldn't count as theft since humans can't legally own each other, right?”

“How would I know?”

“Should we attack him now?”

“He's undergoing a transformation. You know those are protected by system barriers, don't you?” the sea dragon asked in an exasperated tone. “We wouldn't be able to break a system barrier if we attacked until the moment we died of old age, and I can live several thousand years.”

“Lucky. My lifespan's only a thousand years.”

Adam could hear their conversation loud and clear, but he couldn't speak. Something was changing inside his body, something he had absolutely no control over.

In fact, he couldn't control his body at all.

His muscles moved without his permission as an unfamiliar sensation spread through him. His heart pounded harder and harder, each beat sending a powerful surge through his veins. His entire body felt as though it were being rebuilt from the inside out.

Then the system chimed.

Effect unlocked.

Everhealing Chaos: Constantly and infinitely heal your body while providing powerful buffs and debuffs at random to you and your enemies.

The beginning of everything is my purpose, and the end of the world is my beginning.

The only thing that can kill me is myself.

“Well, that's… ominous,” Adam said, finally regaining the ability to speak.

“Eh? He speaks?” the sea monkey asked.

“Of course he speaks. All humans speak.”

“No, I meant he speaks our language.”

“Oh. It appears so.”

“His transformation is done…” the sea monkey commented.

“I see that,” the sea dragon replied with a nod.

Then, without warning, both sea creatures split apart, one moving to Adam's left and the other to his right. They attacked simultaneously, using their enormous physical bodies as weapons.

The sea monkey threw a punch from Adam's left while the sea dragon swept its massive tail toward him from the right, creating a pincer attack that should have been nearly impossible to avoid.

Adam found their attacks to be strangely, almost painfully slow.

Without needing to exert much effort, he casually reached out and caught both attacks with his bare hands, stopping them dead in their tracks.

“Am I suddenly very strong, or are you two very weak?” he asked.

Instead of the sea creatures answering, the system provided him with another notification.

Overwhelming Strength Buff added to you. Strength stat +2.

Curse of Slowness added to Sea Monkey & Lesser Sea Dragon. Dexterity stat -2.

“Oh, a bit of both,” Adam said.

He exerted force through his hands.

The sea monkey's fist crumpled beneath his grip, while the end of the sea dragon's tail was crushed between his fingers. Red blood immediately flooded into the surrounding water from their wounds.

However, it wasn't nearly enough to take down either colossal creature. They were little more than flesh wounds, and even those began closing almost immediately.

Adam released them and stared at the two creatures.

“Give me back Mei, and you two can go back to your cat-and-mouse game. Or… dragon-and-monkey, I guess, in this case.”

The sea monkey grinned.

“No.”

The moment the word left its mouth, its lips parted and an arrow of compressed water shot from its mouth, aimed directly at Adam's head.

The attack wasn't slowed by the curse in the slightest. It tore through the water like a torpedo, moving so quickly that Adam barely had time to register it.

If it struck, his head would likely be blown clean off his shoulders.

At the same time, the sea dragon attacked from behind.

A razor-sharp crescent of water launched from its tail, slicing through the ocean toward Adam and effectively cutting off any path of retreat.

Even if he managed to dodge the water arrow, the crescent blade would bisect him at the waist.

The two sea creatures grinned savagely as their attacks closed in from opposite directions.