Chapter 133: Aqua’s Aquarium

Enormous eyes sliced through the sea’s surface, radiating a heavy, murderous intent.

From the sharp horn atop their foreheads, aggressive electric sparks crackled and leaped.

“What are those things now?”

“Everyone, cover yourselves with anything rubber! Those things shoot lightning!”

The sudden appearance of uninvited guests threw the crew into a panic.

In an instant, dozens of Spark Eel monsters encircled the Mansunho.

They were level 231 Spark Eels.

“Huff……”

A crew member who was just about to put noodles into the pot was so startled he dropped the ramen.

Although there was an artifact installed on the boat to keep monsters at bay, there were still times when monsters, acting against their instincts, approached.

That’s why being a fisherman was dangerous enough to warrant hazard pay. Just like now.

“Wh-why are monsters……?”

For the crew member, only six months into the job, this was his first time facing such a situation.

He had seen monsters parting the sea from afar before, but never ones directly approaching the boat.

“……Unlucky. Or maybe, it’s actually lucky.”

Unlike the terrified crew, the captain remained calm. In different circumstances, it would have been a disaster, but right now, there were several top-tier Hunters aboard.

If monsters approached when it was only the crew, it would have been a catastrophe with casualties, but this ship had several of the best Hunters on board.

“Don’t worry.”

Lee Doha patted the trembling crew member’s shoulder and stood up. He pulled a sword from his inventory and immediately climbed up onto the ship’s railing.

“Let’s finish this before the ramen water boils down.”

“You really like ramen, don’t you, junior?”

Yoo Jaeri also took her place at Lee Doha’s side. Her eyes, full of longing, were fixed tenaciously on the pot, from which the delicious smell wafted.

Before anyone realized it, she was holding a massive bow glowing blue in her hands.

“So that’s a legendary weapon. Even its aura is different.”

Han Honghyun, clad in blood-red armor, also came to stand beside Lee Doha.

“This should be a decent pre-meal workout with this many.”

Kim Jaewoo also readied himself, swinging a sword surrounded by sharp spikes in his right hand.

“Poruru.” (Contractor, should I just finish them all off?)

Meanwhile, as the others were preparing, Aqua, with a slightly excited expression, spoke to Roy.

In the sea, Aqua wielded the greatest power. A faint blush had already appeared on her small cheeks.

‘Should I take out just half of them?’

Roy, too, wanted to hurry and eat what was bound to be delicious seafood ramen. But the cameras were filming the Red Team as they prepared for battle.

If Roy monopolized the fight and wiped out all the monsters here, it wouldn’t make for a good scene.

“Aqua, can you make a platform for us? Above the water.”

But she could still help in battle. The monsters currently swarming around the ship all used electricity as their attack method.

If they were hit by electric attacks in the water, even top-tier Hunters could end up injured.

“Por!” (That’s totally easy!)

Arra floated up into the air and extended both hands forward. Soon, dozens of small whirlpools formed above the sea surface where the monsters floated.

The whirlpools extended all the way to the deck where the Red Team was standing. As the whirlpools subsided, they turned into translucent, square plates. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

“Ice platforms were made just like that.”

Yoo Jaeri, looking amazed, lifted her toe and tapped the solid ice.

“Aqua, thanks to you, this will be an easy fight. Thank you.”

“Aqua’s the best, as always.”

Expressing their gratitude, Lee Doha and Kim Jaewoo quickly used the platforms to rush toward the area swarming with monsters.

Han Honghyun followed nimbly behind.

“I specialize in ranged attacks, you know.”

Yoo Jaeri, arrow nocked on her bowstring, narrowed her eyes and took aim at her target.

Piiiing—

The arrow shot out like lightning, and at the same moment, three monsters let out shrill cries and sank beneath the surface.

Yoo Jaeri’s arrow changed direction mid-flight as if it were alive.

Normally, arrows only fly straight, so this scene was a glimpse of her exceptional skill.

‘Aqua, now.’

“Porurung!” (It’s a shame I can only finish off half…!)

After Yoo Jaeri showed her skill, Aqua flew over the sea teeming with monsters and took her position.

Despite the oppressive aura, her smooth tail waved gently.

“Pii—.” (Sometimes I think Aqua’s a total pervert when she gets like this…)

Ber, deciding there was no need for him to step in, tried to make a comment from Roy’s shoulder as he watched the battle. The sight of blue waves soaring through the air sent a shiver up his spine.

“Hmm.” (Be quiet, Ber. If Aqua gets sulky, it lasts forever.)

But Ber’s beak was promptly blocked by Solum’s paw. With a pouty look, Ber shut his beak.

Ssss—

“Kkwiik?”

As their allies began to fall, the monsters, who had thought of these people as easy prey, started writhing, their bloodlust intensifying.

That’s when they noticed something odd in the water at their center.

Whiiiiish—

“Kkweeeek!”

A vortex, incomparable to the small whirlpools before, erupted in the sea.

The monsters caught in the vortex were swept up and lifted into the air.

•SPLASH- SPLASH-

The once-clear sea instantly became cloudy with the blood pouring out from the monsters.

In front of them, Aqua looked down coldly at the monsters—small in stature but exuding the charisma of a goddess from legend.

“……It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever felt sorry for monsters.”

PD Shimjun half-opened his lips and voiced his admiration. No matter how much of a star PD he was, there weren’t many opportunities to witness Hunters’ battles up close.

What was happening right now wasn’t in the original plan, either. No one had expected monsters to ignore the artifact and approach.

“Are you all getting this?”

“Of course. Top-tier Hunters really are different.”

Shimjun flashed a look of triumph at the cameramen. They, too, couldn’t help but marvel at the scenes showing up on their screens.

“At this level, it looks just like a scene from a movie.”

Capturing the daily lives of Highcycle and Tailstar was the purpose of this program.

But since they were Hunter idols and not just idols, showing them in action as Hunters was bound to boost ratings and create a buzz.

“Doha! Watch your back!”

“Yeah.”

At Kim Jaewoo’s warning, Lee Doha immediately spun around and swung his sword.

A viscous, crimson blood soaked into the black blade, which shimmered with a subtle red hue.

Maybe because it was a sea monster, the blood smelled even fishier than usual. Lee Doha frowned slightly for a moment.

Whoooosh—

“Pii—.” (I came to help, too.)

Lis climbed onto Lee Doha’s shoulder. The foul odor that had just tormented his nose was now replaced by a refreshing breeze.

“Thanks, Lis.”

“Piii.” (It’s nothing.)

Lis, looking embarrassed, tucked his head and limbs inside his turtle shell.

With a faint smile, Lee Doha stroked Lis’s shell, then resumed the paused battle.

“I wish I could fight with Lis too.”

As Kim Jaewoo sliced through monsters with his wooden sword, he glanced at Lee Doha.

More precisely, his eyes were hot with envy for Lis, who was once again poking her face out atop Lee Doha’s broad shoulder.

“Biiik.” (Here I am.)

Meanwhile, Ber, bored from just watching the battle, settled onto Kim Jaewoo’s shoulder.

“Ber! Did you come to cheer for me?”

His chocolate-colored eyes sparkled brightly, his smile so radiant it seemed to light up the surroundings. Ber gave a proud shrug, his forehead feathers shaking.

“Bihii.” (It’s because I have such a considerate personality.)

“Por.” (Seriously, what’s with him?)

Aqua, having overheard Ber without meaning to, shook her head, then began purifying the now-mangled monster corpses.

“Poruru.” (Contractor, here are the magic stones.)

She didn’t forget to gather the magic stones from the monsters and bring them to Roy.

“PD-nim, here.”

“Huh? You’re giving these to me?”

Roy, as if it were the most natural thing, held out the magic stones to Shimjun.

“Oh, I should give them to the captain.”

Seeing Shimjun’s odd reaction, he turned and handed the magic stones to the captain instead.

“I’ll bring the rest as well.”

“Wait, why are you giving these to me……?”

The captain, who usually showed little emotion, was suddenly flustered.

The magic stones Roy handed over were all quite large and looked expensive.

They were, after all, from level 231 monsters.

Even though fish prices had gone up a lot these days, a single magic stone was worth more than all the fish caught today.

“Please accept them. It’s fine.”

Maybe the magic stones from the other team members’ monsters didn’t matter, but the ones Aqua brought over were certainly Roy’s to give.

Roy glanced at the nets spread around the boat.

He saw places where the nets had been burned by electric attacks or soiled by monster remains and blood.

Focused only on subduing the monsters, he hadn’t even thought to worry about the nets. Repairing nets of this size would definitely cost a lot.

“You’ll need to do repairs too.”

“……Thank you.”

The captain, realizing this, accepted the magic stones despite his pride, but only took one and handed the rest back to Roy.

“This one is enough.”

Roy couldn’t push him to take more. Forcing someone to accept what they didn’t want was no different from violence.

While Roy unexpectedly showed a good side of himself, the battle continued on the other side.

“Kkwiik-!”

“What’s with these things’ cries?”

They were giant electric eels, but their cries sounded more like pigs. Yoo Jaeri clicked her tongue as she drew a new arrow.

Moving around made her even hungrier. In her line of sight, the pot was bubbling away.

“Ramen, I just want to eat ramen already……”

Just thinking about slurping up those chewy noodles soaked in savory broth made her feel like she had no other wish in the world.

“Shall we wrap this up soon?”

Roy, approaching Yoo Jaeri, gave Aqua a look.

Aqua, having already finished off half the monsters as Roy had asked, was waiting on standby.

She was also getting impatient to taste the seafood-filled ramen.

“Poruru!” (I’ll finish them off at once!)

SHAAA—

A towering wall of water shot up around the remaining monsters. The team, realizing Aqua was getting serious, quickly retreated to the ship.

“Biiik—.” (You should tell me before you do that! My feathers almost got soaked.)

Though he had the ability to keep his feathers dry no matter what, Ber still grumbled.

Arra, unconcerned with Ber’s fuss, summoned her power and swept the remaining monsters into a massive torrent of water.

“Seen like that, it really looks like a giant aquarium.”

Dozens of Spark Eels writhed, tangled up with one another in the transparent water.

The more they tried to escape from their watery prison, the more their long bodies became hopelessly entangled like yarn with no end in sight.