The strange shark’s appearance ended in a fiasco.
The exploration team completed their diving preparations and jumped into the sea.
At the forefront, Neo Hyeong-seok and one Iris were leading the way.
Right behind Neo Hyeong-seok, the Necro Puppetmaster followed closely, and the rest of the exploration team trailed behind the Puppetmaster.
Naturally, swimming in the water was easy for everyone…
“Eh? What’s that?”
Just when I thought so, there was one exception.
Not long after diving, the Blood Jellyfish Princess was flailing, unable to go deeper into the ocean.
I never thought the princess wouldn’t be able to swim.
She was managing perfectly in the pond.
Well, it’s not like she’s a beer bottle or anything.
It’s probably just that she hasn’t gotten used to her current body since she hasn’t evolved long ago.
After all, her body composition is completely different from before, unlike Aracne.
It’s only a matter of time.
I firmly believed that if she adapted a little, she’d be able to glide smoothly underwater.
Of course, I wasn’t going to wait for that to happen.
That would be a nuisance to the other monsters.
So I called Arachné on Iris’s screen and asked for a favor.
“Kino, can you hear me? Please help the princess move.”
Arachné shot out her threads and snagged the princess.
The princess was pulled along, wrapped in thick threads.
After that, the exploration team’s dive went very smoothly.
They didn’t encounter any monsters.
There were no natural disasters or strange phenomena either.
*
The ocean was deeper than I thought.
Two hours had passed since the exploration team dove, but the door Neo Hyeong-seok mentioned was still nowhere to be seen.
Still, the journey was uneventful.
Occasional creatures presumed to be monsters flashed by, but all saw the exploration team and hurriedly fled in fright.
Even though they were quite far away, they dashed off so quickly I couldn’t confirm what monsters they were.
By the way, the Jellyfish Princess had now become accustomed to swimming.
As expected, she wasn’t a beer bottle.
She just wasn’t used to her current body yet.
【Mysticism】─🤔
Once there hadn’t been any situations that threatened the exploration team for a while, the tension that had been stiffening my shoulders began to relax.
Did I worry too much about them?
After staring intently at Iris’s screen for hours, my lips felt dry, and my throat was parched.
Even in a comfortable position, I couldn’t take my eyes off the exploration team due to my concern.
“…I should drink something.”
I briefly stood up.
Then I approached Neo Japan and grabbed a cola.
［Neo Japan! Enjoy it, Dad!］
“Thanks, I appreciate it. I’ll drink it well.”
［Yeah! I really love it when you drink my liquids! Just watching you makes me happy!］
After twisting off the cap of the pet bottle.
I chugged the cola, glancing around the hideout at the monsters resting.
Next to the Iri that were diligently broadcasting the exploration team’s visuals.
“Catch this!”
［Kyuah!］
“Now pass it back!”
［Kyuahh!］
Rize was playing ball with Merino and Melody Fox using the support crystal.
［Hmm, drawing is still difficult. But I think I can draw beautifully with a little more practice. It might not be possible to draw as well as the explorer though.］
Whether she inherited her mother’s talent or not, the Centauress exhibited remarkable improvement in her drawing skills.
［Doodoombah! Doodoodombah! Everyone shake your butts!］
As usual, the Hedgehog Summoner was lost in a dance frenzy.
［Son…］
When I told him to keep some distance, Niarah Nepensys was gazing at me from a respectful distance.
［Suuuu.］
Puffed up, the Black Magma Slime was serving as a bed for other monsters.
［Piii…］
［Orooro… Tchui…］
［I wish for a wish…］
The Medical Mushroom, Snake Head, and Mummy Skeleton were dozing off atop the Magma Slime.
“Adding this… equals, a ladder…”
［Oh, how surprising. Then, what is one plus one?］
“Uh…?”
［Wrong. It’s a window. The gauntlet is a window.］
The Azelas and Anubis Dragon were studying math.
‘They seem to be resting just fine.’
Everyone was enjoying their rest in their own way.
I looked contently at the monsters before returning to my place.
And then it happened.
─［What are these sharks?］
─［They’re all dead…］
The voices of the former destruction god and the god of corruption, Ignis and Lilith, echoed from Iris.
What’s going on?
With a sense of curiosity, I checked the screen and saw countless shark corpses floating around.
【Mysticism】─🤢
─［Pii! I need blood… eh? There’s no blood!］
The Jellyfish Princess quickly approached one of the shark corpses, her eyes widening.
There was only clear water flowing around the shark carcasses, not a drop of blood in sight.
Could they have been spirits and not ordinary creatures?
Small bubbles were rising from the lifeless bodies of the sharks, eventually melting like ice and becoming one with the seawater, disappearing.
As the shark carcasses began to vanish,
─［Yohii…］
A monster that had been hidden by the bodies revealed itself.
Sharkroad.
It was the monster that ran away after seeing the exploration team on the beach.
I don’t know if it’s the same entity or not.
Sharkroad was in a near-death state, floating weakly and groaning in pain.
Just then.
Something gigantic suddenly appeared and swallowed Sharkroad whole.
KWADEK-!
The sound of bones shattering echoed.
─［Burugar. Burugar.］
With the emergence of a new monster, the surrounding seawater transformed into a kaleidoscope of colors.
The multi-colored, starfish-shaped monster.
Actual Danger Level S-Class.
Nerfed Danger Level B-Class.
─［Burugarrr.］
Just one of its teeth was larger than all the exploration team combined.
Its name is Colorful Starfish…
No.
That name slightly overlaps with Jellyfish, so I named it Colorful Sea Star.
─［Burugar, Burugar크크.］
Unlike the monsters faced so far in the ocean, the starfish didn’t seem to plan on running away upon seeing the exploration team.
It wasn’t frightened.
In fact, it wore a confident expression.
Did it have some sort of backing?
I knew the exploration team wouldn’t lose to it, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.
“Guys, be careful. It may be weaker than you, but it could have hidden tricks like the Curse Devil Gentelman.”
─［Got it, Dad!］
─［Understood.］
The Jellyfish Princess and Puppetmaster responded.
Arachné scratched her head, looking troubled.
─［Father, I wanted to do that… but it already jumped out.］
Arachné pointed down with her finger.
Iris immediately shined light in the direction Arachné pointed.
─［Daoooong!!!］
Bastet Daong charged at the Colorful Sea Star.
─［My friends in Solorb were disappointed that I didn’t do anything! If this goes on, I might get replaced! I need to do something before I lose my spot!］
【Mysticism】─🤔
Bastet’s eyes sparkled like lightning.
In that moment.
Her speed began to increase rapidly, and
BAM!
Her body transformed into light and vanished with a shockwave.
SWOOOSH-!
A sharp sound resonated through the deep sea.
Instead of the usual Bastet Daong’s form, only a trail of light was barely visible on the screen.
Then,
─［Daaooooooong!!!］
With the speed of a shooting star crossing the universe.
The light-transformed Bastet’s body tackled the Colorful Sea Star from all directions.
In just a few seconds.
The Colorful Sea Star, unable to mount a proper counterattack, was riddled with countless holes throughout its magnificent body.
─［Bur, gar…］
The massive body of the Colorful Sea Star, now resembling a honeycomb, sagged weakly.
In the brief moment of silence that followed.
Bastet Daong returned to her original form, stopping her movements, and posed in a rustic way, smiling brightly.
─［I did great! Did everyone see? If anyone wants to take my spot, this is what happens, so remember it well!］
The battle ended with a victory for Bastet Daong.
I was worried that maybe the Colorful Sea Star had hidden tricks since it was so confident, but apparently, it was just overly arrogant.
Or perhaps it was just caught off-guard and couldn’t reveal its tricks.
With the battle over.
As I opened my notebook, the Centauress hurriedly approached with her own notebook.
［Explorer! This time, please let me do the drawing! Let me draw it!］
I wanted to draw, but I decided to yield this time.
The Centauress had been studying diligently to do the monster index.
—
■ Colorful Sea Star
─Actual Danger Level: S-Class.
─Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-Class.
─Ability: Invisibility.
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