Chapter 262
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Chapter 262: I Am Like a Fish in Your Pond
Early the next morning, Rin, Emilia, and Angela stood on an abandoned watchtower at the back of the crowd.
This used to be a military building built by the islanders to defend against the demon race in battle.
Later, when the entire continent entered a period of peace and rest, the villagers, lacking building materials, took apart several watchtowers, leaving only this one symbolic tower.
Although it hasn’t been taken down yet, it hasn’t been repaired in over twenty years and is quite run-down; the ladder is broken, and the wooden floor can collapse underfoot.
Yesterday, Rin found out about the location of the ceremony and explored the area. He discovered a perfect spot.
After the villagers finished collecting Tree Sunflowers, he spent some money to hire about a dozen people to make some minor repairs with wood, ensuring it wouldn’t collapse.
The ritual is about to begin, and standing here allows me to observe everything while also feeling safe.
Rin proudly raised an eyebrow at the waste hero and said, "How about that? The place I chose is pretty good, right? Tsk tsk, how come you didn’t think of this before? This shows the difference in brains."
Emilia’s dazed gaze was fixed on the distant waves. After hearing this, her deep blue eyes stared at Rin for a few seconds.
She neither argued nor agreed but showed a hint of affection.
Ever since she was a child and had a deep-seated shadow, she hadn’t participated again. Standing with Rin this time, she had to be a bit braver.
"You must not have much to be proud of, right? You can flaunt this little thing, tsk tsk."
Angela’s sarcastic voice echoed in her ears, and Rin, unwilling to back down, started to argue with the teacher.
While they were bickering, the villagers, who had been quietly reciting their prayers, suddenly burst into cheers.
"They are coming! The messenger of the Sea God is here!"
"Watch over your own children, don’t let them come forward, everyone clear the area."
When Dhalsim gave the order, others quickly moved the playing children to the back, reminding them not to run around, or they would be taken into the sea by the messenger.
Sarah also separated from her friends, hiding behind a wooden box, and waved her hand in the direction of Rin.
As the most important event on the island every year, the ceremony requires both adults and children to participate.
Because it is said that the Sea God’s messenger not only brings everyone a bountiful harvest and protects them from the sea monsters, but also blesses the children to grow up healthy and safe.
So, even though many children have cried from fear in the past, they still follow the tradition of participating together on the island.
Of course, most children are quite obedient, but only the waste hero was too mischievous as a child and happened to be surrounded by a school of fish, which scared her and left a lasting fear.
She hated fish, not only because of that but also because of the fish bones.
Being too small, she didn’t know how to handle fish bones, and once she became a hero and was treated like an important person, the adults did not help with the bones.
Eating fish is painful because of the sharp thorns, and since he can’t show his talent, every time he eats fish is a torment, which naturally leads to his dislike.
Suddenly, the rising sea waves interrupted Rin’s thoughts, making him glance that way instinctively.
The once calm sea began to stir, with waves rolling in and crashing against the shore.
From the undulating surface of the sea, a large head emerged from the waves, and then its body grew taller and bigger, resembling a small mountain.
"It’s so big! The guide didn’t say this creature would be this large."
Rin widened his eyes, staring at the creature that was as big as Godzilla, and it looked incredibly ugly.
It had a head like a shark, a high, rounded bump, and tiny scissor-like legs that looked especially small compared to its huge body. Its belly appeared translucent, looking like a big bubble, and inside were many small black spots.
Compared to the abstract illustrations, its real appearance was even more disgusting than imagined. It reminded him of something he had seen in a horror comic.
"It’s great that they can write about this creature in the book," Angela explained. "The Land Fish that lurk in the deep sea are very hard to spot and are social fish. Without the priest’s chants mimicking their calls, plus the strong scent of the Tree Sunflower, we wouldn’t be able to attract the Land Fish queen."
Rin nodded and pointed at the big Land Fish’s belly, asking, "Is that where its fish eggs are? Do they come to shore to breed?"
"No, this type of fish is special. The eggs have already hatched inside its belly, but because the ocean is dangerous, the queen fish will find an uninhabited island with Tree Sunflowers to release the little fish. They leave after eating and getting their fill."
"So, that means all the little fish are in its belly…"
Rin started to feel a bit uneasy. At that moment, he looked back at the Land Fish King, which was standing in the waves about ten meters from shore, raising its belly.
Then, a large number of fish burst out from its belly, splashing into the sea, with many landing even further up on the shore.
These fish were as big as volleyballs, while the smaller ones were the size of an adult’s fist, and the waves brought them up onto the beach.
After shaking off the seawater from their bodies, they quickly released a lot of slime, shining in the sunlight, and released green gas when they saw the crowd.
Rin felt the hairs on his body stand up and couldn’t help but take a step back.
Turning to look at the waste hero, Emilia’s eyes had turned into cat-like slits, her hair was standing on end, and the little cat was frantically pacing back and forth, feeling restless.
Rin grabbed her and pulled her close, gently patting her back while complaining, "What are you scared of? They are just a bunch of four-legged fish. With you like this, how can you call yourself a hero? You might as well step down and let me take over for a few days, what a shame."
Under his "comfort," Emilia’s feelings slowly calmed down, but her cat-like eyes still hadn’t returned to normal.
Angela stared in shock, suddenly feeling pity for the future of the human camp.
Thankfully, she is not human; she is a witch. Otherwise, she might feel even more pessimistic.
Oh, wait!
The fact that human heroes are extremely afraid of four-legged fish is information worth selling to the Demon King Castle. I wonder if I could sell it for a few million gold coins to spend?
No, no, the Demon King Castle is still a bit dangerous, and the current Demon King is also hard to deal with.
Or I could simply use it to threaten this guy and make him tear up the IOU; wouldn’t that be nice?
The more Angela thought about it, the more she felt this plan was doable. She cleared her throat, ready to talk to Rin about a deal, when she saw the two of them kiss again.
After this kiss, the hero surprisingly returned to normal, and even his hand holding the sword stopped shaking.
This… this exchange of saliva is surprisingly useful?
The plan she just thought of was doomed before it even started, Angela secretly hated it and almost couldn’t help but kick Rin down.
Meanwhile, the little Land Fish had already burrowed into the pile of Tree Sunflowers, happily eating the green fruits until their bellies were round.
Then the Land Fish King let out a sharp cry that sounded a bit like a whale’s roar, and the little fish quickly wiggled their fins to crawl away.
At that moment, it stretched out a long tongue like a frog and scooped up a pile of Tree Sunflowers from the shore, chewing them with big bites.
After a few bites, all that was left on the shore was crushed green juice everywhere.
The little fish gathered back together, some chasing and playing, some lazily rolling on the ground, and others curiously moving around the crowd like crabs.
At least a thousand little fish were packed closely together on the shore, some looking frightening. They got even more excited when they saw the children, but could only turn in circles as they were blocked by the crowd and piles of wooden boxes.
Seeing this, Angela nodded and tossed two bottles of potion to Rin and Emilia.
"Get ready, or soon they will start to swim back. We need to drink the Diving Agent and follow them."
Angela had already explained this to them yesterday.
Once the Land Fish enter the sea, they quickly dive into the deep ocean caves, and the boats cannot go deep enough to find them.
While waiting, Rin carefully thought about whether he missed anything.
The gifts have been delivered, the greetings have been said, and even the captured helmsman has been asked to stay on the island for work training.
Hmm, only that dead bat hasn’t returned yet. She has been very lazy; I must make sure to complain about her when we get back.
Soon, the little fish on the beach turned back reluctantly, returning to the Land Fish King.
The Fish King, facing the crowd, moved its huge body backward, preparing to return to the sea.
"Let’s go."
Rin and Emilia jumped down from the watchtower and followed Angela to the empty shore. They turned around, waved goodbye to everyone, drank the potion, took a deep breath, and dove into the water.
In the shallow water, they could still see the huge body of the Land Fish King, slowly sinking as it swam.
This was Rin’s first time using the Diving Agent; he was not used to the pain on the sides of his neck and the numbness in his skin.
The basic Diving Agent only helps you hold your breath longer, and you can learn it in the second grade.
However, the advanced Diving Agent is completely different in both materials and composition; it is just categorized as a Diving Agent because it is also used for diving.
Its essence is a transformation potion that allows a person to temporarily grow fish gills, have skin that can withstand pressure, and swim faster.
The duration depends on the quality of the potion, lasting between two to three hours, with a cooling time of about a day.
Rin and the waste hero were already wearing the otherworldly version of a diving suit, and when they entered the water, they put on fins to swim quicker.
The swelling in the jaw quickly turned into an unbearable itch, and finally, with a rush of fresh air coming in, it might have been hard to adapt to breathing from a different spot at first, but soon it became comfortable.
Following the Land Fish into the sea, the light that shone down at first was very bright, then gradually faded, until it was completely dark, with only the occasional glow from passing fish or jellyfish providing some light.
The front of the Land Fish King has glowing sacs, which are usually used to attract deep-sea prey while hunting.
But now, carrying thousands of baby fish, the glow could attract fierce ocean demon beasts to attack the young ones, so it did not activate the glowing sacs.
Instead, it relied on sharp, long sounds and scents to lead the way, while also scaring away those demon beasts.
Rin and Angela could not see in the dark like Emilia, so they could only rely on sounds and the rope tied around Emilia’s waist to find their direction.
This journey lasted over half an hour, and at the speed that fish swim, if it were the Rin who first entered this strange world, this would have been his limit.
Now, after several strength enhancements, he didn’t feel tired, but his once-numb skin was starting to sting, and the stinging and pressure sensation were getting stronger.
Before long, the pressure-resistance ability brought by the Diving Agent would vanish under the water pressure.
Fortunately, there were no real dangers. As they looked ahead, they saw groups of purple lights getting closer and closer. They had reached the entrance of the underwater cave.
From the outside, the ground was rough and full of holes, some big and some small. The entrance was covered in purple coral, and there were strange things that looked like rocks or coral, glowing purple and bubbling up with air.
The Land Fish had entered through the largest cave entrance.
Angela steadied herself, gestured to the two, and was the first to dive into the cave.
Rin and the waste hero followed right behind.
The sides of the cave passage were lined with glowing objects, and many colorful stones peeked out from the walls.
Luckily, these things were bubbling up, which helped the water pressure return to a safe level.
As they moved down the cave tunnel, it felt like a pipe that suddenly poured into a pool. Rin’s vision opened up, and he was surrounded by colorful lights, refracted by the water, creating a rainbow of colors all around him.
This was a huge underwater cavern, with the ground covered in all kinds of glowing stones, turning the cave into a vast pot of colors.
Upon closer inspection, the ores below are actually elemental ores used to make magic devices.
There are even rare Thunder Stones that spark with lightning and Wind Stones.
The most astonishing thing is that the Everfrost Stone can grow alongside the Flame Stone, showing just how complex the elemental realm below is.
Rin followed a nest of ores, and his gaze finally landed on several dark green stones at the cave’s exit, each as tall as an adult.
Earth Spirit Rock?
He almost blurted it out; after blowing a few bubbles, he felt as if his throat was stuck, so he quickly covered his mouth and coughed a few times.
Earth Spirit Rock is one of the world’s most recognized precious ores, its rarity only surpassed by a few legendary-level stones.
Its main use is to create space-related magic devices and teleportation magic cards, so you can imagine how rare it is.
A large chunk of Earth Spirit Rock is worth tens of thousands, and if it is of high quality, it could be worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins.
Hmm, it really makes people’s hearts flutter.
But Rin also knew that this thing must be useful, and when he looked closely, the Land Fish had already disappeared.
So its purpose became clear.
Just as he expected, Angela waved to them and swam first toward the Earth Spirit Rock, with Rin following closely behind.
When they reached the vicinity of the Earth Spirit Rock, Rin noticed a faint layer of dark green, as if a barrier covered the several Earth Spirit Rocks completely.
Because the light from other stones mixed together, it was hard to see from far away.
Angela signaled for the three of them to hold hands, and then led them into the barrier.
Before Rin could observe more, everything went dark, and he felt an unsettling spinning sensation like last time when he passed through the huge mouth of another "Lin Wuyue" left by an abyss.
When he was able to see again, he found his body caught in a current of water, and he was thrown away.