Book 1: Chapter 77

Aqua After asking me a lot of questions about the massive group of monsters I saw, the tour guide practically begins to panic. Albeit in a serious manner. If that’s still considered panicking. Immediately after hearing everything I have to say about the horde of monsters, he rushes to the Guildmaster of this guild to tell her everything he learned from me. While offhandedly introducing me in the process as the person who spotted the migration. At this point though I’m just kind of following along behind him without really doing anything. If I’m being honest, I didn’t think a migration was too big a deal despite his earlier words. Until I saw that migration of sharks, that is. There were far too many monsters in that horde that were higher level than me. And that’s not even mentioning the massive shark who could swallow me in a single gulp. A shark whose level is almost forty above my own. I feel a shiver running down my spine as I remember the creature. It had pale scales and a relatively normal appearance for a shark. Except for its massive size, that is. A size so large it was at least twenty meters long. And that’s not even considering the many other sharks that were also higher level than me and also rather big. Honestly, the sight of that migration puts the shark I fought in the caves a while back in a completely different light. Making the thing that bit my arm off look like a small fry in comparison. Although I guess it kind of is. Considering the level difference. Anyway, the Guildmaster looks a little relieved after hearing that the migration at least doesn’t look like it’s heading in this direction. But she looks worried when she hears that the migration is heading vaguely in the direction of the Hunter’s City we left from to come here. Also, I take a moment as the two are discussing the matter to look at the Guildmaster. Because she is very different from what the Guildmaster at the other branch looked like. He was massive. Meanwhile this Guildmaster is actually shorter than I am. Her level is higher than his though. “Aqua?” I hear the Guildmaster ask, making me identify her again just to double check and remind myself of her name, which is Danielle, “You can go downstairs to the warehouse while Jaleth and I discuss this matter. There’s no reason for you to wait when you have business to handle.” Oh, she’s nice. Must’ve realized I wasn’t paying attention and gave me an out. I nod my head in appreciation before leaving the room, just to see someone working for the guild outside of said room waiting for me. They then lead me to the warehouse where I dump a few days’ worth of monsters. At this point I finally understand their reactions to it, so I’m not surprised anymore when I see them going full fish mode as they gape in shock at my haul. All thanks to Jen’s explanation a few days ago. I’m also not too surprised when I mention that this is just from a few days and end up finding them staring in shock without saying a word for so long that I just start looking at the chat while I wait. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. [Shocking more people again] [Classical Aqua] [Does Aqua know how not to break people’s common sense?] [Nope. I don’t think she does.] Rude. I don’t break other’s common sense. It’s just that other’s common sense is weird and that they should fit mine. Not my fault they’re living strange lives after all. At that thought, the people in the warehouse finally begin working on calculating all of my earnings from the haul. All before handing me quite a few crowns for my troubles. And when I’m leaving the warehouse while absentmindedly counting the crowns I got, I can’t help but wonder if I’m ever going to be using all this money for anything besides inns. Seeing as I’m getting all my food and supplies and other stuff from Sponsorships as it is. Making the only thing I’ve actually spent crowns on here being the inns. Come to think of it, is there even a point in me bringing all these monster corpses to the Hunter’s Guilds here? That thought gives me pause as I walk before I eventually just shrug and move off to find an inn to stay for the night. Which happens rather quickly seeing as this is a Hunter’s City. Although I make a stop right before that when I see a sweets shop. Because inside that shop I notice some mints through the window. Immediately finding an answer to my earlier question as I spend so many crowns buying mints that the shopkeeper looks like they’re going to die of happiness. Figuratively, obviously. And with a mint in my mouth, I enter the inn and pay for a room. Then I go straight to said room and take a bath in it. With the broadcast obviously being turned off. As it turns out, just because I’ve been underwater doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve been clean. There are a lot of dirty things in the water after all. Which is something I learned from Rhett and the chat. So bathing with soap is still necessary even when you spend all day underwater. Although how necessary it is for me considering that my trait and regeneration combo makes it rather hard for me to actually get sick, I’m not sure. But still. Baths are relaxing, so it doesn’t hurt. And when I finish with that, I head to bed. Then I wake up in the morning, do my normal morning routine, and immediately get to work at my jobs. All of which are rather simple today. So after getting those out of the way in a fast manner, I head out of the city and in the direction of the closest broken dungeon I spotted on the way here. Which is a massive prison-like structure of all things. Another structure that looks ridiculous underwater. And even from outside of the structure, I can already sense a powerful mana source inside. Clearly proving that there is at least one mage type monster in the place. As for the monsters I see scattered on the prison yard outside of the prison? They’re... uh... certainly something. The monsters are seahorses. Which isn’t actually a monster I’ve seen until now. And for some reason it kind of feels like they fit in the prison. I’m not really sure why though. Oh, and the seahorses are two meters tall. Very tall seahorses. They’re all covered in the usual bone plating seahorses have, except that it’s gray in color. Which kind of looks like armor a prison guard would wear. Sorta. I slowly swim down towards the prison yard, only for all the seahorses to instantly lock their gazes onto me as one. But as I’m expecting them to begin swarming me or something, they all expel some sort of liquid from their mouths instead. Just shooting it at me like a gun. Uh... even more like prison guards... I easily avoid their attacks since these seahorses are only level thirty-five. Making for rather easy prey to kill. Although their armor is extremely tough. To the point that my trident won’t pierce them even with their level being so low. But they have no protection against Pressure of the Abyss, so I just swim around and crush them with ease thanks to that. Not that they help me much since their levels are so low. Making it kind of a waste. Still. I’d rather not end up being poisoned by their attacks. Especially since these things surprisingly don’t appear afraid of me. Which is weird, but whatever. After finishing them off, I enter the prison itself. Going past the main entrance towards the gates separating the main entrance from the actual prison. Honestly, I’m rather curious what sort of monsters the System put in a dungeon like this. Seeing as this is a prison someone would normally see from a Class IV or sometimes a Class III world. Not some medieval castle or fortress like other broken dungeons I’ve seen on my way to this other Hunter’s City. The answer to my question comes rather quickly though. In the form of a corpse just floating in the water inside the prison. That of some sort of elf – clearly drowned – in military armor. Huh. Unexpected.