Chapter 221
Surprisingly, the golem glaring at Zeke in the sea wasn't a typical one but resembled the ancient mermen he had seen in books.
Kugugugu!
While Zeke was slightly stunned by surprise, the golem charged at him, wielding a trident.
Hoo-oong!
As the golem thrust out its trident, the water currents swirled and wrapped around Zeke.
'Kuh-uk!'
It wasn't easy to move freely in the water.
He used his Dragon Body Transformation, changing his feet into the form of a dragon's.
Kagagagak!
Grasping the seabed with his dragon claws and enduring, the golem quickly lunged towards Zeke with its trident.
Geooooo-oooooh!
The golem brought its massive trident down towards Zeke.
Kwa-kwang!
Zeke returned his feet to their original form and then quickly rotated his body, dodging the trident.
Barely regaining his balance, Zeke faced the golem.
At that moment, Zeke realized something.
'If I make my body heavier, it'll be easier to maintain balance.'
He deployed the Field of Gravity, making his body heavy.
Kugugugugu!
Instantly, the pressure around Zeke's body increased, causing a splash of water.
Having stabilized himself with the Field of Gravity, Zeke adopted the stance of the Infinite Chain Binding.
Then, he took a step forward and used Forceful Quake.
Uwooo-oong!
The vibration of mana felt even more distinct in the water.
Zeke, having adapted to moving in the water through the Field of Gravity, looked at the golem and aimed his fist.
Then, he took a step forward and unleashed an explosive force through the Infinite Chain Binding towards the golem.
Infinite Chain Binding
Forward Thrust
Target Pierce
A powerful shockwave blasted into the golem's body.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The golem, pushed back by the shockwave, collided with the wall. Zeke cut through the water and charged towards the golem as if flying.
Kwa-kwakwang!
And he unleashed a barrage of Infinite Chain Binding to prevent the golem from getting up.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
Due to the impact of the Infinite Chain Binding mixed with gravity, the golem's body gradually burrowed into the pile of rocks.
Kurururu!
The golem, buried in the pile of rocks, shone with an inner light.
At the same time, the runes embedded in its body began to glow.
Kugugugu!
The water currents around the golem began to become rough.
'This is?'
A massive whirlpool formed where Zeke was.
Kwaddeudeudeuk!
Zeke tried to withstand the whirlpool by deploying gravity, but its power was too strong.
'Ugh...!'
In the end, Zeke's body floated up, unable to withstand it any longer.
The golem tried to use the whirlpool to push Zeke out.
Noticing this, Zeke drew Bahamut and felt the rough water currents.
Uwooooo-oong!
A faint sword hum resonated from Bahamut.
Zeke decided to naturally accept the water currents that were twisting around his body.
Soon, instead of just being tossed around by the water currents, Zeke could feel the flow of the water comfortably.
'Instead of trying to fight brute force with brute force, naturally yield and redirect.'
Zeke, having imbued the principle he had learned in the Inverted tower into his sword, held his blade and swung it in accordance with the flow of the water currents.
Kugugugu!
The power of the violently surging whirlpool instead followed Zeke's sword.
Zeke didn't try to cut the whirlpool with his sword but tried to follow its flow.
Uwooo-oong!
Within the violently surging whirlpool, Zeke felt the even more natural flow of his sword with his whole body.
The golem, which had created the whirlpool, increased its output even more as Zeke instead controlled the flow of water with his sword.
Kugugugugugu!
An even stronger flow of water pressed down on Zeke's body.
'Subdue the strong with the gentle.'
Zeke felt the flow of the whirlpool pressing against his body and deployed the Field of Water.
Uwooo-oong!
The water currents began to move according to Zeke's will.
Instead, Zeke manipulated the whirlpool, sending the rough water currents back towards the golem.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Losing control of the whirlpool and unable to withstand the rough water currents, the golem's body floated up.
Riding the water currents, Zeke swung his sword towards the golem.
Elemental Sword
Field of Water
Spiral Sword
A secret technique that Zeke had never used before unfolded.
The spiraling wave of energy that erupted from his sword pierced the golem's body.
Kwaddeudeudeuk!
The wave tangle the golem's body, leaving a spiraling trail.
As the pile of rocks where the golem had been collapsed, a hidden entrance appeared.
Zeke manipulated the power of the spiral, pushing the golem into the entrance.
The whirlpool swept both the golem and Zeke together, engulfing them and pulling them into the entrance.
* * *
"Hwah!"
Riding the whirlpool into the entrance, Zeke barely managed to surface.
As he came out of the water and caught his breath, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[You have gained insight into the Elemental Sword Field of Water.]
[Elemental Sword proficiency has increased.]
[Elemental Sword proficiency has reached 'Expert'.]
[The basic course of Elemental Sword has ended.]
[Elemental Sword is evolving into the practical course.]
[You have acquired the title 'Successor of the Hero King'.]
"Basic course? What I've been using until now was the basic course?"
Zeke, unable to believe the content of the message, checked the special skills category in his status window.
Special Skills: Elemental Sword /[SS-rank (Beginner)] / Dragon Slaying Sword Art \[S-rank (Expert)] / Soul Sealing Technique \[A-rank (Beginner)] / Spirit Focus \[S-rank (Beginner)] / Infinite Chain binding \[S-rank (Proficient)] / Holy Fire \[S-rank (Beginner)] / Giant Beast Hunting Art \[A-rank (Proficient)]
"SS-rank? It evolved to a rank above S-rank?"
Zeke held his sword and focused his elemental power.
Uwooo-oong!
The speed at which elemental power concentrated was faster than before, and the power contained in the sword itself was different.
Zeke lightly swung his sword, imbued with gravity.
Kururung!
Even though it hadn't directly touched anything, the cave shook in response to the gravity.
Zeke's jaw dropped at the power of the SS-rank skill.
'I think I understand a little why Saturn and Tyr were so surprised when they heard I had learned the Elemental Sword.'
He was embarrassed at himself for having thought of the Elemental Sword as just an auxiliary skill for the Dragon Slayer Art.
On top of that, the title 'Successor of the Hero King' had been added.
'Does this mean this is the real Elemental Sword from now on?'
However, there was one drawback.
"The mana consumption has increased now that it's SS-rank."
Mana that would previously only be consumed when using a major technique was now being depleted in large chunks just by swinging the sword once.
He definitely needed to be careful until he got used to it.
To move again, Zeke took out the monster corpses he had stored in his inventory and threw them into his shadow, replenishing his depleted mana.
'This isn't even a snack.'
Thinking he would have to devour any monsters roaming inside the cave, Zeke sheathed his sword and examined the golem that had been swept in with him.
"Let's see. Can this also be considered a guardian?"
Normally, the system would recognize ruins, and guardians could be registered as summons simply by acquiring an authentication code.
However, the Isle of the Sea God wasn't recognized by Cabala's management system.
'Is this place not yet considered ruins?'
Zeke approached the golem that looked like an ancient mermen.
Then, he opened its chest area and looked for the core.
"Huh? Why doesn't this one have a core?"
Unlike typical golems, the golem with the appearance of an ancient mermen didn't have a core.
Just then, a message appeared.
[Would you like to devour this entity?]
Zeke was taken aback by the message.
"Devour? Can I devour a golem too?"
This kind of message hadn't appeared when he had defeated other golems.
Zeke thought it was strange but decided to try devouring it for now.
Tsutsutsutsu—
The shadow enveloped the golem and began to absorb it whole.
At the same time, a message appeared.
[You have devoured a relic imbued with the power of the Sea God.]
[Consumed health, mental strength, and mana have been restored.]
[By absorbing the power of the devoured relic, the proficiency of the active skills mana Reflection (A-rank) and Area of effect Buff (A-rank) has increased.]
[By absorbing the power of the devoured relic, the proficiency of the active skill Bloodshot Eyes (S-rank) has increased.]
[By partially absorbing the power of the Sea God, you have acquired the skill Underwater Breathing (C-rank).]
Zeke realized something as he saw the skills whose proficiency had increased due to devouring the golem.
"Area of effect Buff and Mana Reflection weren't magic, but the power of sorcery. No wonder their proficiency wouldn't increase no matter how much I used them."
Seeing them increase along with the sorcery skill Bloodshot Eyes, he was convinced that these two skills were also related to sorcery.
Zeke closed his status window and looked around the space that the golem had been guarding.
It felt different from the lava cave that the Hounds had been guarding.
"This place... doesn't feel like a naturally formed space."
Zeke approached and touched the wall of the cave.
The wall was heavily worn, perhaps due to the passage of a long time.
Zeke tilted his head as he examined the wall.
"It doesn't feel naturally formed, but it also doesn't feel like a place made by humans."
It felt completely different from the Dragon Slayer's Resting Place or the Hero King's Resting Place.
Rather, it felt similar to the ruins of the Sky People's Resting Place or the Death Valley ruins where the Ark had been.
"It seems... this place was probably made by the ancient mermen, not humans."
The ancient mermen, described in the legends of the Hero King's era, were portrayed as a very mysterious race.
They were as secretive as the druids of the forest, and they were beings who lived quietly, having built their own civilization beneath the sea.
In the Hero King's legends, there's a story where Kaisir rescues the ancient mermen who were suffering from ferocious sea monsters. No matter how strong the sea monsters were, they couldn't stand against Kaisir.
Zeke recalled the contents of the chronicles left by Kaisir.
'I don't think there were many stories about the mermen... Master Kaisir suffered from severe seasickness and just quickly dealt with them in annoyance before returning to Chronos.'
It was hard to believe that the Grand Master, who even made dragons tremble, suffered from seasickness, but Kaisir himself was such an unusual being that he had just brushed it off.
Zeke stopped thinking about Kaisir and looked around the space again, thinking about the mermen.
The mermen race, descendants of the ancient mermen, also lived in small numbers in various untouched southern islands.
Peter Pan had gathered these mermen to create the mermen pirate crew and had risen to the position of uniting the southern pirates.
Zeke thought that Peter Pan's abilities might be close to the sorcery that the ancient mermen possessed.
'It probably isn't the same as the sorcery that deals with spirits. I'll have to fight him to find out.'
Zeke cautiously entered the inner part of the space.
The further he went in, the wider the space became.
He could see places where the walls were worn down and the reliefs were damaged.
'Judging from the traces, it looks like it was an ancient mermen temple. Who destroyed it like this?'
While examining the temple and going deeper, Zeke confirmed that a new space appeared at the end of the path.
"This is..."
The traces of a long-lost temple remained intact in the space.
There was a circular space in the middle filled with seawater, and next to it were the remnants of a broken garden.
Zeke looked towards the circular space where the seawater surged.
"Is it connected to the sea?"
Zeke looked around the spaces of the ruined temple.
It was then.
Ripples formed in the space filled with seawater.
Pshoo-shook!
Water surged violently, and mermen holding harpoons sprang out from within.
The mermen threw nets at Zeke.
Chrararak!
Zeke stepped back using the Phantom step.
Then, other hidden mermen appeared and threw hooks tied to ropes at Zeke.
Zeke drew Bahamut and knocked away the mermen's hooks.
Paching!
The hooks that bounced off Zeke's sword returned to the mermen.
The mermen who had emerged from the seawater aimed their weapons at Zeke.
'Shiny skin and gills on their necks. Are these the mermen pirates?'
Zeke looked at the mermen and asked,
"Are you Peter Pan's subordinates?"
The mermen didn't answer Zeke's words and charged at him.
Chrararak!
Four nets spread out from all directions towards Zeke. Zeke drew Bahamut and unleashed the Phantom step.
Dragon Slayer Art
Phantom step
Tornado Strike
A tornado arose, and the nets that were trying to engulf him were swept away by the wind and flew backward. Then, other mermen charged at Zeke again.
Kwaduk!
Zeke blocked the attack of a mermen who thrust a harpoon at him.
However, as Zeke faced the mermen up close, he sensed something strange.
The eyes of the mermen charging at him were bloodshot red, and foam was bubbling from their mouths.
Zeke knew what this was.
'This is... the stimulant those Empire bastards were experimenting with!'