Deep beneath the raging ocean.
Far below the battlefield above.
Far below the ships.
Far below the reach of sunlight.
An entirely different world existed.
A world where sea creatures ruled.
A world where ancient laws remained unchanged for thousands of years.
A world where strength determined status.
And where Leviathans stood near the top of the hierarchy.
The moment Kel entered their territory—
The ocean noticed.
Not the entire ocean.
Just everything living within it.
Schools of silver fish suddenly changed direction.
Ancient turtles raised their heads.
Sea serpents emerging from underwater caves paused.
Even several sleeping predators opened their eyes.
Something strange had arrived.
A human.
Walking.
Underwater.
Without drowning.
Without pressure crushing him.
Without fear.
The first creature to spot Kel was a giant armored crab.
The creature was nearly the size of a carriage.
Its shell was covered with algae and coral.
It blinked repeatedly.
"...what?"
A nearby octopus slowly turned.
"What?"
The crab pointed one claw.
"There."
The octopus looked.
Then froze.
Several seconds passed.
"...what?"
The crab nodded.
"Exactly."
The octopus stared.
The human was casually walking across the ocean floor.
As though he were taking a morning stroll.
Neither creature knew how to process this.
Eventually the octopus asked:
"Is he lost?"
The crab thought carefully.
"Humans usually float."
A pause.
"This one forgot."
Neither possessed a better explanation.
Meanwhile.
Word began spreading.
Rapidly.
Sea creatures communicated differently than humans.
Vibrations.
Currents.
Mana fluctuations.
Instinctive signals.
Information moved quickly.
Very quickly.
Soon.
An entire region knew.
A strange human had entered Leviathan territory.
One elderly sea turtle slowly opened an eye.
"A human?"
A swordfish nodded.
"Walking."
The turtle blinked.
"...walking?"
"Walking."
"Not swimming?"
"No."
The turtle became silent.
Then closed his eyes again.
"I am too old for this nonsense."
Meanwhile.
Closer to the Leviathan territory.
The discussions became increasingly serious.
A young Leviathan spotted Kel first.
The giant creature observed from a distance.
"A human."
Another Leviathan looked over.
"Food?"
The first Leviathan considered it.
"Probably."
A third Leviathan joined.
"Why is food walking?"
Silence followed.
None had an answer.
Eventually.
The second Leviathan shrugged.
"Let's eat it."
Reasonable logic.
Or so they thought.
The first Leviathan immediately accelerated.
Its massive body surged through ocean currents.
The giant jaws opened.
The human remained still.
Then—
Touch.
Crackle.
The Leviathan immediately lost consciousness.
Its gigantic body slowly rotated upside down.
Then drifted away.
Silence.
Complete silence.
The remaining Leviathans stared.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The third Leviathan finally spoke.
"Maybe don't eat it."
An excellent suggestion.
Unfortunately.
Another Leviathan ignored it.
The second attacker charged.
Five seconds later—
It also floated upside down.
The discussions became much more cautious afterward.
Meanwhile.
Far away.
Several giant sea serpents watched the spectacle.
One serpent slowly asked:
"Are Leviathans becoming weaker?"
Another immediately replied.
"No."
A pause.
"That human is weird."
Everyone agreed.
The title spread quickly.
The Weird Human.
The Walking Human.
The Human Who Touches Things.
Different species used different names.
None were particularly flattering.
Then things became worse.
Kel started knocking out Leviathans one after another.
The ocean community entered complete confusion.
A giant shark watched another unconscious Leviathan float past.
Then another.
Then another.
The shark slowly turned toward a nearby eel.
"What is happening?"
The eel looked terrified.
"I don't know."
A pause.
"But I think the Leviathans are losing."
The shark immediately denied it.
"Impossible."
Then another unconscious Leviathan floated by.
The shark became uncertain.
"Perhaps temporarily."
Meanwhile.
The deeper creatures had begun holding emergency discussions.
A group of ancient turtles gathered.
An old octopus attended.
Several sea serpents joined.
Even a gigantic stingray appeared.
The meeting lasted approximately ten seconds.
The conclusion:
Nobody understood anything.
Then came the worst part.
The Weird Human asked for the strongest Leviathan.
The information spread instantly.
Ocean creatures panicked.
Because that question had implications.
Terrible implications.
One sea serpent immediately shouted:
"WHY IS HE ASKING FOR THE STRONGEST ONE?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody wanted to know.
Unfortunately.
The answer arrived anyway.
The Weird Human reached the King Leviathan.
The strongest guardian of the region.
The ruler of local waters.
The creature feared by countless predators.
The living mountain.
The King.
And then—
The human punched him.
Every creature within several kilometers felt the shockwave.
Silence consumed the ocean.
Absolute silence.
An elderly turtle dropped a piece of seaweed.
A shark forgot how to swim.
Three fish simultaneously changed religions.
The ocean had officially lost its mind.
Meanwhile.
The King Leviathan became furious.
Naturally.
Being punched by a human was deeply insulting.
The battle began.
The entire ocean watched.
Nobody interfered.
Because everyone valued survival.
And survival currently suggested maintaining distance.
The fight continued.
The King attacked.
The human punched.
The King attacked again.
The human punched again.
The King roared.
The human punched harder.
At some point.
The ocean community stopped calling it a battle.
It became a beating.
A very unfortunate beating.
One sea serpent slowly whispered:
"Should we help the King?"
Another serpent immediately answered.
"Do you want to be next?"
"...good point."
Nobody volunteered.
Eventually.
The impossible happened.
The King surrendered.
The entire ocean entered collective shock.
Ancient sea creatures who survived for centuries questioned reality.
One old turtle stared blankly.
"I lived eight hundred years."
A pause.
"I should have stayed asleep."
Then things somehow became worse.
The Weird Human climbed onto the King's head.
The ocean community watched.
Confused.
Terrified.
Concerned.
Then the human started talking.
The King obeyed.
Silence followed.
Long silence.
Then—
A small fish finally asked the question everyone feared.
"...did the King get adopted?"
Nobody knew.
A giant squid slowly replied.
"I think the human adopted him."
The fish blinked.
"Can humans do that?"
The squid looked toward the King Leviathan.
Currently functioning as transportation.
Then answered.
"Apparently."
Meanwhile.
The King Leviathan sat motionless.
Its pride shattered.
Its dignity destroyed.
Its understanding of existence severely damaged.
Then came the final humiliation.
The human healed him.
Not because he felt guilty.
Not because he was kind.
But because—
He wanted his mount to move.
At that exact moment.
Every sea creature reached the same conclusion.
The human wasn't normal.
He wasn't a predator.
He wasn't prey.
He wasn't a mage.
He wasn't a warrior.
He wasn't even human anymore.
He was simply—
The Ocean's New Problem.
And as the King Leviathan reluctantly carried Kel deeper into the ancient sea—
Countless creatures watched him leave.
None dared attack.
None dared approach.
And one elderly turtle summarized everyone's thoughts perfectly.
"I don't know what that thing is."
A pause.
"But I hope it stays very far away from my home."
For perhaps the first time in centuries—
The guardians of the sea collectively feared a single human.
And that human was currently using their king as transportation.