Sea Monster Attack
As its World’s Will was in disorder, the Purgatory World was a very suitable place for powerful existences from other worlds to migrate to and settle in easily.
From the distant past to the present, it wasn’t just the Snake Dowager who had moved here with all her kin. Over the years, seven ‘dignitaries’ had appeared amongst the powerful natives and intruders. They each held control over one continent and did not interfere with each other’s rule of their respective continents.
Many commoners treated these dignitaries like legends, and even gods to be worshipped. And to some degree, they were indeed quite similar to gods and perhaps even surpassed them.
‘But… are there only seven existences who possess laws in the Purgatory World? What kind of joke is that? Forget those living in seclusion, these oceans are even larger than the continents! It would be even more suspicious if there weren’t a few dignitaries occupying these vast oceans!’ The more he thought about it, the more Leylin felt there was to the Purgatory World, and the more he felt it would become a huge variable in his plans.
‘I need to find a way to make use of these dignitaries, or at least stop them from spoiling my plans… There’s also the World Will, which could be the most important…’ His brows furrowed tightly in thought.
……
A chilly wind blew across the deck, and the sky was filled with shining stars. The moon here seemed to be much larger than the one in the Magus World, and it even glowed with a purple radiance.
*Moo… Moo…* Great sounds of breathing came from under the speeding ship, and white streams of water sprayed out from it on occasion.
“Mister Ley!” “Good Morning, Lord Ley!” Many of the merfolk sailors immediately bowed to Leylin after seeing him come their way. He waved his arms and sent them away, coming to the side of the deck to watch the black surface of the water. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking about.
Below the surface of the water was a large silhouette of what seemed to be some prehistoric creature. Though he could only see only one scale and half a claw [1 Bits and pieces] of it, it still showed off a frightening strength.
‘What an enormous body it has, and so full of life force too!’ Seeing the image of the creature from the A.I. Chip’s scans, as well as the data that had been gathered, Leylin sighed in praise.
‘Compared to an Evil Eye like Geiger Dole who is limited to rank 3, this being seems to be the most powerful on this ship. With this beast here, dangerous creatures wouldn’t dare to provoke these sailors…’
“Mister Ley!” Geiger Dole dragged his many tentacles across the ground and arrived at Leylin’s side. His current expression was more respectful than it had been before.
After all, this Mister Ley was an extraordinary exemplary that was not at all inferior to his father, this was something that his father Geiger Dole had told him himself. That alone was enough to earn his respect.
“Mm…” Leylin only nodded slightly, but Geiger did not find this attitude strange. Exemplaries and other mysterious beings naturally had short tempers, and Leylin’s indifference was already a better attitude than most.
“You’re interested in our Godric?” He asked with a smile as he came to the edge of the deck. His large eye peered down at the shadow under the ship.
“Godric? Is that its name?” Leylin’s interest was piqued.
Noticing Leylin’s attention, Geiger put more effort into his explanation, “Godric is the name we’ve given these creatures. In our ancient language, the word Godric means large and powerful; we named them this because mature Godrics are often as powerful as Morning Stars. Though this one is only an infant and likely won’t mature further, we Evil Eyes had to send out quite a few elders to subdue it.”
Geiger had a rather proud expression while mentioning that point, “Getting the Godric hasn’t just helped the ship avoid trouble. It’s even allowed us to speed up even when there’s no wind. It’s really saved us from a lot of inconvenience.”
“It’s not bad!” Leylin nodded.
“But it’s also because of this Godric that we can only sail along the Hail route. More faraway places like the Deep Valleys, Path of Bones, and Golden Coast have Godric communities, so we can only give up on them…” Geiger’s tentacles rose in what seemed to be regret and sorrow.
Leylin knew very well that some intelligent creatures hated seeing their kin enslaved. If the ship was spotted, they were likely to face ferocious attacks. It seemed like it was because they were aware of this that they avoided the areas where Godrics could appear, and only used this shipping route. Though there was still some risk of danger, it was much better compared to the dreadful problems they faced before.
“So you intentionally sealed its growth to block its breakthrough to Morning Star, so it wouldn’t become uncontrollably powerful?” Leylin shot a glance at Geiger who was beside him, but did not say more.
The law of the jungle ruled supreme, be it in the Magus World or other unknown worlds. From Leylin’s experience, the commoners of the Magus World were considered to have higher standards of living compared to those of other worlds.
However, the commoners and even the nobility of the Magus World did not enjoy lives as good as the ordinary people from his previous life. However, Magi led rather satisfying lives which were perhaps even better than the citizens of his previous life. Yet the chances of joining the Magus community and overcoming one’s commoner status was practically negligible.
‘In a highly powerful and mysterious world like this one where only the strong survive, the weak can only form organisations to band together and rely on social order…’ Leylin looked absentminded, but he was deep in thought.
The robotic voice of the A.I. Chip snapped him out of his reverie. [Beep! High-energy radiation discovered at a distance of 18762m. Target determined to be hostile.]
‘There are dangerous beings even in coastal waters? If it doesn’t care about the Godric it must be powerful…’ Leylin’s eyes flashed slightly. He suddenly exclaimed, “Mister Geiger; if I were you, I’d retreat a little!”
“Hmm? What do you mean?” Although he was slightly confused, Geiger still obediently followed Leylin to the heart of the deck.
“Something huge is heading for us rapidly.” Leylin didn’t conceal anything as he spoke bluntly. After all, mysterious beings and Exemplaries had their means of detection, and even Geiger would’ve realised it soon enough. He just thought to do them a favour.
Whatever be the case, they had saved him and allowed him on their ship. As long as there wasn’t a conflict of interest, he had to repay them.
“Something huge? What do you mean? Wait… Monster attack?” Geiger was stunned at first, but he immediately began to roar. Terrifying spiritual force encompassed the deck, and even spread outwards.
“Attention, crew! Protect our goods! If we lose anything I’ll turn you into fish soup for tomorrow!” Hearing this command, the merfolk on the deck froze for an instant before beginning to pull the mooring ropes as if they’d gone mad. Some of them darted into the warehouse.
Just as the situation on deck grew chaotic, a dark red light covered the entire ship and calmed the merfolk down.
“Prepare for enemy attack! It should be a deep sea being, see if the Godric can scare it away!” Geiger’s voice resounded throughout the ship. He then thanked Leylin.
Leylin was half-hearted in his assistance, more interested in such spells that could envelop the area. ‘Let’s see… There’s Soul Appeasement, Maximise Potential, Natural Instinct…’ Though paths to power varied in different worlds, Leylin would rather analyse such things from the viewpoint of spells.
Seeing the calm merfolk sailors having their strength and agility enhanced, Leylin could obviously notice the changes to their power.
‘According to what I learnt from our discussions, the Evil Eye tribe is more like a community of bloodline creatures. Their power grows with age, and they can even awaken some innate abilities.
‘But I can’t just ask about the Purgatory World’s paths to power, they’ll grow suspicious…’ Leylin stroked his chin in thought, ‘Just as well. Though there’ll be a little danger, I’ll get to see the power of this world’s natives, as well as how they channel energy. Anything else will have to wait until I get to Port Elias or the Hail Continent so I can understand in detail…’
*MOOO!* A low voice that sounded like a cow’s came from under the ship while Leylin was still speculating what was happening. A gigantic black figure rose from the depths of the ocean, appearing in its entirety before Leylin.
This sea monster was absolutely enormous, and looked similar to a manta ray with many irregular brown stripes everywhere on its body. There were many thick iron shackles firmly binding it to the body of the ship.
The Godric roared, and terrifying sound waves burst out in a specific direction. A large figure slowly emerged from that spot, starting with many metallic spikes that looked like sharp blades rising from the surface of the sea. The creature parted the water into two long white sea waves.
The large head that poked out was like that of a fish, and two pectoral fins followed. The beast’s entire body was covered in a metallic jet-black luster, and its orange eyes were like searchlights in the deep ocean. A bloodthirsty, ruthless aura erupted from its body.