Chapter 30 - 030_Lake Bottom Temple
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030_Lake Bottom Temple
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Rodney and the others, who had entered the Abandoned House Labyrinth, arrived at the shore of the lake on the 6th layer.
There was no sign of Selbanui in the vicinity. Nor could any presence of Selbanui be felt from the lake. It wasn't necessarily that the lake's master was only one, but for now, it was not showing itself.
"Well then, I'll be off."
"Are you really going into the lake? Please reconsider."
Yulin stopped Rodney, who had taken off his armor and clothes and was now in his underwear. He said that by obtaining "Underwater Life", he would enter the lake and explore the lake bottom.
"If it seems dangerous, I'll come back right away."
"But..."
Yulin had a very anxious expression. If anything happened to Rodney, it would be a major incident for the Forvas House. So she didn't want him to explore an unknown lake bottom where anything could happen.
More than anything, not as an attendant, but as a woman who admired Rodney, her heart felt like it would break from anxiety.
"It's alright. I have 'Swift Recovery', after all."
The source power that could heal any wound in an instant was nothing short of reliable.
Rodney placed his hand on Yulin's cheek and was about to say he had something to tell her when he returned, but he swallowed his words.
"I won't be reckless. Wait for me."
"Understood. Good luck."
The two, sharing a good atmosphere, reluctantly parted from each other.
"...Am I completely being ignored?"
Emilia muttered while scratching her cheek.
Rodney, wearing only sandals, underwear, and the White True Steel Sword, slowly entered the lake.
He could barely feel the cold of the water. The water clinging to his body didn't make it hard to move. Perhaps because the water was clean, visibility was good. Even if water entered his lungs, he could breathe. It was a strange sensation.
If he swept his hands through the water, he advanced greatly, and if he kicked with his feet, he advanced even further. Despite being easier than running, he could move at a considerable speed. He moved just like a fish.
It didn't take much time before he had advanced about 1 Kents (200 meters) from the shore.
When he surfaced and looked at the shore, he could see Yulin clasping her hands in front of her chest, looking worried.
He tried to wave to reassure her, but then a Selbanui attacked.
The Selbanui resembled the sawfish people in the Sea King Labyrinth, but its body was that of an ordinary fish. It was 70 Ceroms in length, smaller than Rodney, and wielded a three-pronged spear called a trident.
"A Sea Person?"
It was a Sea Person despite being in a lake. Rodney thought they could have been called Fish People, but this Sea Person was the same Selbanui that existed in the Sea King Labyrinth.
Possibly, after the Selbanui in the Sea King Labyrinth were named Sea People, they were also found in this lake. It seemed that being in water, whether sea or lake, made no difference to them.
Rodney dove underwater to confront the Sea Person and drew the White True Steel Sword.
Because the sensations were different from on land, he couldn't brace properly. Switching his mindset, thinking it would take time to get used to it, he fired an 'Earth Bullet'. The 'Earth Bullet' rapidly lost momentum and sank to the lake bottom after traveling about 3 Roms.
"Whoa, I hadn't considered this."
The Sea Person, approaching at tremendous speed, thrust out its trident. Rodney twisted his body to dodge it.
It was completely different from fighting on land; he couldn't imagine the movements.
Do I have to get used to moving in water before fighting? That's unplanned.
Rodney turned on his heel and fled. He fled at full speed. The Sea Person pursued, but if he just ran, their speeds seemed almost equal.
However, the Sea Person fired a water arrow from the tip of its trident. It almost hit him, but he managed to dodge it.
Can it attack with water while in water!?
"If so, I can do it too," he thought, grabbing onto a rock on the lake bottom and stopping abruptly. The Sea Person couldn't stop and overshot Rodney.
Seizing the opportunity, he fired a 'Water Bullet'. The speed of the 'Water Bullet' had dropped slightly, but it hit the turning Sea Person in the chest and knocked it back. However, that alone was not enough to defeat the Sea Person.
The power was considerably suppressed. Then how about this?
This time, he added 'Enhance' and 'Augment' to the 'Water Bullet'. The 'Water Bullet', now faster than before, hit the Sea Person's face, gouging it deeply.
That became a fatal wound, and the Sea Person disappeared. A Life Light Stone fell to the lake bottom, so Rodney picked it up and headed for the shore.
Yulin, holding a towel, ran up to Rodney as he came ashore. Like a wife waiting for her husband's return, she helpfully assisted Rodney in changing clothes.
"I can breathe in the water, and movement is smooth. But I need to get used to combat."
"There was a battle?"
"A Sea Person appeared. Since 'Earth Bullet' was completely useless, I tried using 'Water Bullet' and managed somehow."
Rodney said that if he got a little more used to moving in water, he would be able to fight underwater. He also said he needed to identify which source powers could be used underwater. Since this lake had Selbanui and was dangerous, he thought he would get used to being underwater in the sea of Dedel Territory.
"But there are dangerous fish in the sea too, I think..."
"You mean the sawfish? I won't go that far out, so it shouldn't be that dangerous."
Returning to land, Rodney entered the sea and confirmed which source powers he could use. At the same time, he trained to be able to fight with his sword underwater.
'Water Bullet' was usable, but its power decreased. 'High Water Pressure' could also be used, but this originally had short range, so it was for close combat.
The one that was completely unusable was 'Fire Bullet', which vanished instantly. He confirmed that 'High Heat Flame Bullet' had its speed and power greatly attenuated. However, there was the problem that firing 'High Heat Flame Bullet' scattered a large amount of steam around, blocking visibility.
What turned out to be surprisingly usable were the physical enhancement-type source powers. 'Monster Arm' could lift rocks on the seabed, and 'Acceleration' increased his swimming speed. Probably defensive source powers like 'Diamond' could also be used without issue.
Feeling that his long-range attacks had become considerably weaker, Rodney decided to develop long-range attacks for underwater use.
First, he tried 'Combining' 'Earth Bullet' and 'Wind Bullet'. He wrapped the earth bullet in a wind membrane. The earth bullet advanced through the water while spinning, increasing its power, but its short range remained unchanged.
Next, he 'Combined' 'Earth Bullet' with 'Water Bullet', but this was also unimpressive.
Thinking that 'Earth Bullet' had poor compatibility in water, Rodney tried 'Combining' 'Water Bullet' and 'Wind Bullet'. As a result, the speed of the water bullet increased, and its power rose considerably. The 'Wind Power Water Bullet' penetrated a rock that was on the seabed. It seemed that imaging the wind accelerating the water bullet had been effective.
This 'Wind Power Water Bullet' became a long-range attack means sufficiently usable on land as well. While it lost to 'High Heat Flame Bullet' in power, it surpassed it in flight speed.
He also continued training to move his body in water. Thanks to that, he reached a level where he could hold his own against a Sea Person and win without using physical enhancement source powers.
Then, before Rodney, a temple appeared.
"So something like this was at the bottom of the lake..."
The temple at the bottom of the lake on the 6th layer was a fairly large stone building.
Sea People were swarming around it, and he thought dealing with them alone would be quite tough.
To Rodney, it looked like a temple, but perhaps it was a castle of the Sea People. The number of Sea People made him think that.
When he returned to the shore and told Yulin and Emilia about it, Emilia got excited.
"I'm sure there's a lot of treasure sleeping there!"
"It's possible, but as it currently stands, only Rodney-sama can fight underwater, so we probably cannot enter that temple."
It was possible to bring a boat and go out onto the lake, but the Lake Bottom Temple was at a depth of about 25 Roms (50 meters). No matter how he thought about it, only Rodney could go there alone.
For now, there was no way to clear it, but Rodney wanted to enter that Lake Bottom Temple someday.
Emilia also wanted to go to the Lake Bottom Temple, but she definitely couldn't dive to 25 Roms underwater. Frustrated, she decided to give up for now.
"Big Brother. I want to be able to move in water too."
"There is a source power called 'Water Breathing', but it's not as comprehensive as the 'Underwater Life' I have."
"I don't care, I want it!"
Rodney promised to look into where the 'Water Breathing' source power could be obtained and returned to the surface.
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