Chapter 72: Giant Starfish (2)

We entered its domain, which was deeper and darker than the night itself.

That familiar, unpleasant smell pricked my nose.

A unit of dozens of Merfolk holding tridents escorted us, and the dark blue current wrapped around the bodies of the party members.

The battle had already begun.

The legs of a starfish, so massive they could be mistaken for pillars, fell toward us with a heavy vibration and a cloud of dust, as if they had been waiting.

No, they attacked as if collapsing onto us.

“Kasia! Now!”

Kasia muttered something under her breath and spread her hands.

Water swirled around her hands.

At the same time, the current surged violently, hindering the starfish’s movements.

‘It seems more powerful than usual, doesn’t it?’

Until now, she had mostly just watered the farmland or generated steam so that Park Janghyeon could freeze it.

However, perhaps because we were under the sea where everything was water, the Spirit Power of the water became even stronger.

Things were still going smoothly.

As planned by the Merfolk advisor, while the Spirits of Water held back the starfish, the Merfolk unit hacked at its legs with their tridents, turning them into tatters.

But just as we had heard, the creature’s legs regenerated in an instant.

– That monster is already regenerating! Stab faster than it can regenerate! Cut it down!

Once the battle began, Sailun became a commanding officer full of vigor.

At his command, the Merfolk unit swam through the sea and attacked the legs even faster.

Nevertheless, the thick legs endured dozens of attacks and showed no signs of being severed.

– The, the outer skin is too hard!

Just as one Merfolk shouted, the outer skin was so tough that they could at least wound the inside, but it was difficult to cut it off entirely.

“Damn it, if only I could move as fast as they do!”

Jinsu’s frustrated voice could be heard.

No matter how much Kasia slowed down the starfish’s legs, our party members could not move as fast as the Merfolk.

It meant we couldn’t perfectly dodge the starfish’s attacks.

The starfish ignored the Merfolk, who were annoying but had weak attack power, and aimed for us, who were watching from behind.

Specifically, it seemed to be targeting Kasia, who was obstructing it with the Spirit of Water.

“Do Minho! Please ask Kasia if she can gather the legs in one place!”

Park Janghyeon, who was watching the situation, shouted.

He was the only one among the party members who did not have Sympathy.

Since he couldn’t communicate with Kasia, he asked me.

“Kasia! Janghyun wants to know if you can gather the legs in one spot. Is it possible?”

Kasia was already panting heavily, as if she were at the end of her strength.

This was a place where the oxygen concentration was already low because of the starfish.

It seemed to be even more difficult for that reason.

– Whew. Exactly one second. One second is possible!

Even without that, Kasia would soon find it difficult to handle the Spirit of Water due to stamina exhaustion.

We had to settle the fight before then.

“Janghyun! She says one second is possible!”

“That’s enough! Do it right now!”

Park Janghyeon seemed to believe it was possible, as he was already gathering a massive energy at the tip of his spear.

Even I, with my low Magical Power, could feel it; there was no way the starfish didn’t.

The creature immediately shifted its target from Kasia to Park Janghyeon.

Perhaps because the resistance had vanished for a moment, the starfish’s legs rushed toward Park Janghyeon at high speed.

“Kasia!”

It seemed she had intentionally withdrawn her strength to time it correctly.

The Merfolk unit members, sensing the situation, pushed against the starfish’s legs instead, shifting the point of impact.

Kasia screamed as she exerted all her strength.

– Aaaah-! Stop-!

The creature’s legs, which were pouring toward Park Janghyeon, were gathered together before they could go far.

Even so, the legs that squirmed to escape were constricted by blue chains that appeared from nowhere.

It was the Sealing Force of the Merfolk.

Kyuaaaak-!

The cry of the starfish, heard for the first time.

It seemed to be struggling with all its might to move its legs, which would no longer budge.

“Ice Judgment-!”

Park Janghyeon, who had been gathering strength for this moment, fired ice from his spear.

It stretched forward, rapidly freezing the seawater.

The ice looked even harder, perhaps thanks to the Sea God Stone I had handed him before the battle.

Crack, crackle.

The ice that touched the starfish’s legs began to flash-freeze them.

Soon, the surrounding water that Kasia was controlling froze along with it, and the creature’s entire legs were frozen solid.

Kyuaaaak-!

The threatening legs of the starfish gathered in one place and stopped.

“Now it’s my turn!”

It was time for Jinsu, whose movements had been inevitably restricted because we were underwater, to take action.

“Haaah-!”

We couldn’t hold the creature’s legs forever.

Jinsu took a stance, holding the Two-handed Sword he had shown in Eliya.

The blade of his sword glowed red.

Sssss-

Perhaps because we were underwater, the desired flames did not erupt, and only white steam rose up.

But that sort of thing wasn’t a problem.

The heat was sufficient to melt everything.

“Jinsu! Blow it away!”

The blade grew hotter and hotter, becoming bright red as if it were being forged.

Steam was generated even more fiercely than before.

“Ajajajaja!”

Jinsu ran forward in his drawing stance.

Crackle.

Park Janghyeon’s Magical Power was starting to run low, and the ice was beginning to break.

Jinsu approached the front of the frozen legs and leaped high.

And at the moment his height reached its peak, he swung the heated sword down vertically.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-t-!

Jinsu’s sword sank to the floor, cutting through the starfish’s legs like tofu.

Kyuaaaak-!

The starfish’s scream of agony.

Jinsu’s attack had landed perfectly.

As the black smoke cleared, a clean, charred cross-section came into view.

Normally, new flesh should have sprouted and regenerated immediately, but because the surface was burned, it was not regenerating.

“Whoa! This is what Bae Jinsu is all about!”

It probably wouldn’t be unable to regenerate forever.

But this precious time we had gained was enough to finish the creature off.

“Ddakkongi! Little Pepper!”

The bullet velocity would decrease because we were underwater, but there was no need to worry.

Ddakkongi had skills suited for the current situation.

Active Skill (1) – It’s a Critical Hit!
: For 30 seconds, critical hits occur when peanut kernels land.

Passive Skill (1) – Sharpshooter
: While in Sharpshooter Mode, you do not miss your target. (100% accuracy)

Passive Skill (2) – Dark Adaptation (Awakened)
: Accustomed to the dark, sight +50% and stats +30% are applied in darkness.

Bang! Bang!

Ddakkongi punched a large hole near the starfish’s stomach.

Little Pepper was not one to miss that opportunity.

Little Pepper, holding a sword glowing red just like Jinsu’s, ripped the hole even wider.

Kiiiiik!

The stomach fell out along with the creature’s painful scream.

“Captain! Are you okay?!”

Just then, something popped out from the severed stomach.

It was Minjun.

He looked pitiful, as his skin had melted here and there.

After staggering for a moment, he glared at the starfish.

“I’ll finish this bastard myself!”

His anger toward the starfish must have been deeper than anyone else’s among us.

But how was he going to do it with his bare hands…?

Unexpectedly, Minjun jumped directly into the creature’s maw.

“Uh? Minjun!”

“Captain! Where are you going!”

Jinsu, who was about to squeeze out his last remaining strength to cut the creature’s body, stopped his movement midway.

A sudden silence fell.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Then, along with a strong hitting sound from inside the starfish, its back exploded and a hole appeared.

And Minjun’s two hands, sticking out from the gap, grabbed the hole and widened it.

“Hraaaaaah!”

The vertical crack grew larger and larger, and then it split in half.

He had torn the giant starfish apart with his two hands.

– …That person is truly remarkable. His companions are the same.

Sailun’s low murmur of admiration could be heard.

Minjun approached only after his anger seemed to have subsided from tearing it to shreds.

“The stomach was so elastic that attacks didn’t work at all from the inside.”

Then he hesitated upon seeing Sailun.

“…Did I perhaps take away the opportunity for revenge?”

In a moment of rage, he had failed to consider the Merfolk’s perspective.

Fortunately, Sailun did not look like he thought that way.

– I am satisfied just by the fact that the creature has been slain. Thank you.

Phew, I’m glad it ended on good terms.

Now we just had to go to the starfish’s corpse and find the Inner Core.

There’s no way it’s not there, right?

– Merfolk! Search the creature’s corpse thoroughly! We must find the Inner Core!

The moment Sailun gave the order to the Merfolk, Minjun stopped him.

“Wait. Take this. This is what you said you needed, right?”

Minjun showed us what he had been hiding behind his back.

!!

“Well done. You’re definitely my brother.”

***

The Audience Chamber of the Dragon Palace.

In front of us lay a brilliantly glowing starfish Inner Core, the size of a human head.

Because the Inner Core had been pulled out before tearing the starfish to death, it had a perfect spherical shape without a single scratch.

“It’s incredible…. I’ve seen many ingredients at the Research Center, but it’s my first time seeing one this large and full of energy.”

Baek Seonwoo’s exclamation.

It was my first time seeing such an object, but I could still feel that this Inner Core was something precious.

“Sunwoo, is it possible to use this?”

It looked hard just by glancing at it; how on earth would we use it?

“I think it needs to be processed into an Elixir. As for the method, I’m not exactly sure…”

Although she was called an Alchemist, it was her first time seeing an Inner Core too.

The things she had handled were completed Elixirs that could be obtained in the Dungeon.

– Please wait a moment. I will go to the Pharmacy Department. There will be someone who knows.

A short while later, Sailun brought over a Merfolk whose face was full of wrinkles.

As soon as he saw the starfish’s Inner Core, he shouted.

– S-such a large Inner Core! You must handle it very carefully!

The Merfolk, who approached quickly, placed his hand on the Inner Core and shed tears.

– Ah. It is full of the resentment of the Merfolk who died so miserably.

The Merfolk, who slowly wiped away his tears, bowed his head as if apologetic.

– I have calmed down. Thank you for waiting.

“Not at all.”

– Elder, how should we handle this?

– It has been so long since I’ve made one myself.

The Merfolk called Elder opened a booklet made of polished seashells.

After reading it carefully, he spoke again.

– Now I remember clearly. However… it would be better if you Humans did it rather than me.

“Why do you think so?”

– Every time I touch it, the souls of the Merfolk keep clinging to me. If I touch it for a long time, my mind will be eroded by them. But since you are Humans, you won’t have such a problem.

Just as the Elder said, even when I put my hand on the Inner Core, I didn’t feel anything eroding or touching my mind.

– But I am worried. Even if we help you, handling the Inner Core is a very difficult task. I wonder if it’s possible…

They say manufacturing an Elixir is something even experts find difficult.

But we also had an Alchemist who manufactured secret medicines.

“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure to succeed.”

Baek Seonwoo smiled and relieved their worries.

– Then follow me.

After Baek Seonwoo followed the Elder into the pharmacy, the party was washing away the aftermath of the battle.

Then, after a full day, the door to that place opened.

“Ha, haha. Was everyone doing well?”

Baek Seonwoo came out of the pharmacy, looking like she was half-dead, massaging her arm.

Inside, she said she had done various tasks such as processing the Inner Core and mixing and boiling various medicinal ingredients.

“You worked hard.”

I offered words of comfort, but I was so curious about the result.

She had been stuck inside all day working hard, so I wondered if she had succeeded.

Baek Seonwoo, perhaps noticing my thoughts, spoke with a pouting expression.

“Hmph. I succeeded in making the Elixir a long time ago.”

“Oh! Congratulations! But why did it take so long?”

“Because the Inner Core was so massive, I had to process all of it. They said once you start, you have to process it as quickly as possible, otherwise the spirit energy might all leak out.”

Baek Seonwoo pulled out the Elixir and shook it.

Its color was red, just like the starfish.

At a glance, it was an appearance that could be confused with a recovery Potion.

“Ooh… so this is that Elixir.”

“Let’s go to the Dragon King quickly.”

I stood in front of the royal chamber door past the Audience Chamber with her.

When the guards announced our visit, Sailun came rushing out.

– H-how did it go!

“These people don’t even worry about me…. We succeeded. Here.”

Baek Seonwoo handed the Elixir to Sailun.

Then she quickly added some words.

“Don’t go tasting that. He has to drink the whole bottle. See the seal on the binding paper there?”

The Elixir had a binding paper connecting the lid and the bottle.

And the pattern that had been engraved on the pharmacy door was stamped right there.

Gulp.

I could hear the sound of Sailun swallowing his saliva, as he was very nervous.

It was understandable since it must have been a wish for 160 years.

We were just as nervous.

– Yes. I understand. Then, please come in.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the royal chamber following Sailun.