The cold was biting, but the thermal protection kept her body steady. Her flippers made her kicks sharper and faster, and the breathing slug filtered air steadily. The scavenger gear added a little bit of weight on her, but not uncomfortable.
Ming Sūlín explored the deep ocean, captivated by the haunting beauty of the oceanic landscape.
She swam exploring a seaweed forest, she came across. It amazed her, it had red algae spread across everywhere in shades of red and purple and felt hard like coral with tall blades of seagrass growing around and in between the areas where the red algae did not grow. Their were also different type of non-hostile fish and plankton that when swimming past her were unbothered by her presence surprising her quite a bit as she expected all Marine life to be a bit hostile.
Woah, so beautiful, she thought silently, swimming steadily while scanning her surroundings for hostile creatures. Checking her map, she found no red dots nearby and closed it, swimming toward a deep reef coral.
The tunnels looked almost like crafted structures, twisting and winding around each other—the coral walls pulsed with rhythmic light, like a heartbeat beneath the ocean. Ming Sūlín swam closer, inspecting the tunnels. They were larger up close than they appeared from afar.
The cold pressure of the ocean depth pressed against Ming Sūlín's suit, the faint pulse of her breathing slug supplying her a steady stream of oxygen, its tentacles coming out of its sides connected to her ears protecting them from popping from pressure as she cut through the dark water. Her game module display hovered in her vision, a pale-blue interface tracking depth and stamina.
She still needed a lot more materials. More gold. More teeth and scales and whatever else the module decided counted toward survival. Without materials, she couldn't build the first of her settlements, let alone upgrade her world to Level 1.
She entered the first coral tunnel to her right, exploring deeper.
A flicker of movement caught her eye, cutting her train of thought— it was a fish!
Ming Sūlín slashed her fillet knife through its gills, blood clouding the water as it thrashed wildly.
One that looked like a blue-eyed Jaggedfin Devilfish on steroids sliced through the water toward her.
The needle-thin teeth glinted in the faint bioluminescence, and their fins hissed as they whipped the water into cutting currents.
"Perfect," she thought sarcastically, staring at the gigantic fish silently, drawing her fillet knife.
The Devilfish lunged first. Ming Sūlín spun aside, the fillet knife gleaming with sharp cutting intent as she used her fillet slicer skill slashing it across its flank.
[Used skill Fillet slicer — 15 exp earned!]
The creature shrieked through the water, a ripple of sound that stung her ears, before thrashing wildly. The sound affected her breathing slug sadly, and she felt its tentacle retract from her throat as it shriveled up and detached itself from her mouth dead.
Dammit!! Her breathing slug — she didn't have many of them to begin with! Ming Sūlín screamed in rage in her mind.
Ming Sūlín held her breath and instantly pulled out her last and only breathing slug attached over her nose and mouth.
Blood clouded the water, and her game module chimed:
[-2 HP Damage dealt]
[You have killed a Blue-eyed Jaggedfin Devilfish. You received 3 kill points, 45 exp]
Loot added to inventory: Devilfish Razorfins × 2, Devilfish Teeth × 14, Small Energy Core × 1, Fish Oil Pouches × 5]
She swam quickly, following a faint light she saw flickering on the other side of the tunnel.
The other two darted in from the shadows, circling her in a deadly spiral. She kicked hard, slamming the butt of her fillet knife into one's face, before stabbing upward through the jaw of the second.
More chimes echoed in her mind as she scooped the loot directly into her module's inventory:
[You have killed blue-eyed Jaggedfin Devilfish × 2. You received +7 kill points, 90 exp]
Loot added to inventory: blue-eyed Devilfish Razorfin × 4, Devilfish Tooth × 28, Medium Energy Core yellow-grade × 1, Fish Oil × 10, Kitchen Set Blueprint × 1, Blue-grade Fishing Spear Blueprint × 1
[Items put into inventory.]
Ahead, a faint blue glow flickered near a jagged trench cutting deep into the ocean floor. Ming Sūlín swam closer, cautious.
Soon she reached the light on the other side of the tunnel—and breached the surface of a lake surrounded by dense forest.
What the hell?!
Ming Sūlín was flabbergasted.
Wasn't she just underwater in the deep ocean? And now she was here, in a lake beneath bright sunlight?
Did she die without even realizing?
She was breathless, staring in shock and awe at the forested shoreline.
Woah! What is this place?
She quickly swam to shore and pulled off her breathing slug. The moment her feet touched the warm sand, a notification popped on her module.
[DUNGEON DETECTED — Congratulations player for finding and entering blue-grade dungeon: Cabin Fever! {Floors: 5}
Time runs differently in dungeon zones:
1 hr = 7 days | 2 hr = 14 days | 3 hr = 21 days | 4 hr = 28 days | 5 hr = 35 days]
[Recommended Level: 3+]
Ming Sūlín gasped.
She was still only Level 1.
Without missing a beat, she turned and walked back toward the lake, slipping the breathing slug back over her mouth.
She dove beneath the surface—only to hit solid ground. The tunnel back to the ocean was gone.
[WARNING: Environment lock initiated upon entry.]
"Hell no! Hey, you damn cheap module! What happened to the level 3 and above rule? I'm only level 1, dammit! Are you trying to kill me before the safe period is up? Dammit, I know you have a hidden agenda! Hey, I'm talking to you!"
Her rant was cut off when she suddenly couldn't hear her own voice.
[Dear ruler, you are in the safe period. Any actual death is voided during this time. You may die (not permanently), but every injury, broken bone, or pain will be real. You will not heal until you return to shelter and sleep in a bed, which resets your health bar to peak condition. Alternatively, potions, pills, herbs, or crafted materials may raise health back to full.]