Born in Blood

The trip to Korsa would take at least two to three weeks.

Even with Usan's incredible speed to put them there.

However, they had to make several stops throughout the journey. 

Liam could breathe perfectly fine since his suit recycled oxygen from the water and supplied him with it.

But the reason they had to stop now and again was much simpler.

The depths were scary.

And they were not fully explored.

In fact, that was truer for the world Liam was in.

On Earth, only 5% of the ocean was explored.

Here, the world was much bigger than normal.

At least 4 times the size of Earth!

If it was not so, the powerhouses of the world would wage war constantly over land and rare resources.

However, this also meant the oceans were stupidly vast.

Even if there were more means to explore the ocean, like Usan and Liam were doing right now, they had to be careful.

There were cultivators who explored the seas and studied them thoroughly.

They were called Oceanors.

But there was a limit to what they could do because of the ocean's incredible vastness. 

At a level of 6,500 meters, only peak Rank 5 cultivators could venture in.

Around 10,000 to 15,000 meters, they would meet terrifying sea creatures birthed from nightmares.

At that length, only powerhouses could venture through.

But since Liam was with him, Usan didn't go that deep.

Not to mention, even mermaids lived under the tides, who were known to be hostile to foreigners.

Spending time at the Archives gave Liam some well versed knowledge.

It even outweighed the academy in terms of detail. 

Through that, Liam learned that mermaids lived beneath the oceans.

They were the ones who made that giant bubble that surrounded the academy.

Liam always thought that was peculiar.

He had yet to see a water elemental using bubbles as a weapon.

'But it also means that the Echorians somehow made a deal with the mermaids.'

Liam relayed that information to Usan before they took on the journey.

To steer clear of the Echorian waters entirely.

Knowing them, they had their own methods of knowing who passes their territories. 

'Trying to figure out who Half-head was a dead end,' Liam thought. 

Obviously, Liam had to research the man with the Corruption powers.

But nothing came up.

It wasn't like Liam had a name of any kind to search for. Just a vague description. 

Nevertheless, the journey continued. 

Liam couldn't even see the ocean floor. But even then, a few cute sea creatures passed by him now and again.

Even in terrifying depths such as these, there was non-hostile life.

Eerie whistles and clicking noises resounded through the water.

If Liam wasn't protected, his eardrums would have exploded by now.

Since sound passed differently through water, one couldn't exactly know where the source was.

Something deafening could come from a weak creature an incredible distance away.

But something quiet could come from a terrifying beast from nearby.

Something cute could be murderous.

Something vicious could be friendly.

…Who could tell?

Indeed… the ocean was terrifying.

After one and a half weeks of traveling, Usan and Liam stopped.

Liam felt chills creeping up and down his body.

Like he was being watched from all sides.

But he couldn't see who was watching him.

All around him was darkness.

Here, his King's Eye did nothing special. It only illuminated a distance of 

[Don't move,] Usan transmitted, his tone extremely grave. [Dim your eye.]

Liam felt his heart sink, but he didn't dare move.

Instantly, his King's Eye color flickered to black. 

And his crimson eye turned black as well.

Usan's shadows thickened around both their figures.

Unnatural silence.

There was no sound whatsoever.

A few minutes passed before Liam saw something approaching from a distance.

A little gray dot.

Slowly, the dot grew bigger…

…and bigger… and bigger.

Until it had covered their entire vision!

For 30 minutes straight, it continued growing.

Then, it was swimming past them both.

It was gray and slightly greenish in color, but the texture of its skin was uneven. 

Barnacles and smaller, symbiotic organisms were attached to its body.

But even the tiniest specimens were Zeniths, with the bigger ones being Rank fives!

This… monster was just an arms length away from Liam and Usan.

Despite its monstrous size, the water currents weren't affected.

As though the creature was weightless.

Slowly, it opened an eye the size of a mountain.

A myriad of bright colors suddenly colored the darkness. 

Blue, purple and green. They were almost neon-like, and the iris itself was a zig-zag shape that crackled like lightning.

Then, it opened another eye of the same kind.

And another, and another as it swam past. 

Its entire side was lined with a dozen neon-like eyes.

Silence.

A few minutes of unnerving, chilling silence passed.

The creature let out a low, almost human-like hum that spread across the waters.

But it sounded deceptively far away.

Not finding anything to eat, the eyes slowly shut, and the creature drifted to the opposite direction.

It took another 30 minutes for its figure to turn into a dot, then merge with the darkness.

[That… was not supposed to appear at this depth,] Usan transmitted with a wry tone. 

[We probably swam over its habitat, so it came to investigate,] Usan added. [Probably saw your glowing eyes and spotted us.]

Liam was suddenly hyperventilating inside the suit.

He didn't even see its full form.

Just its eyes.

[Was that… a Rank 6 magical beast?] Liam asked in between his erratic breaths.

[...Indeed,] said Usan.

…This was a cruel reality check of where Liam stood despite all his strengths.

Chaos.

Corruption.

Triumvirate.

King's Eye.

Void.

Sword.

Blood.

Ashuran strength.

What did all this mean in front of something like that?

Nothing.

Usan wordlessly swam forward again. At a higher depth this time, in case they met with another one of those hideous things.

And the rest of the journey was quiet.